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trumptight111 · #1 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 08:15 AM

I went to golf galaxy on Saturday and had a ball fitting. I was interested in which ball would be best for me but I was more interested in all the other info I could get. So here are some numbers and I'm wondering what I can take from them. I had never done this before so this is new to me. I don't know if it mattered or not but I hadn't hit a ball for about 5 weeks until yesterday. Is there anything I can learn from these to help improvement?
Thanks all..

Avg club head speed : 110.5
Avg ball velocity : 154.8
Avg launch angle : 8.2
Avg ball spin : 3735
Avg carry : 249
Avg total : 259.6
Avg deviation : 8 R

JohnDoeBIAMC · #2 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 09:18 AM

As a newbie who's still learning to read those #'s, here's what I'm seeing.

Your club head is moving at an average speed of 110.5 mph at ball contact, the ball's leaving the tee at just under 155mph, low ball flight at under 10° launch angle. You're flying the ball just under 250 yds in the air (carry distance) and with the ball rollout at the end of the shot you're getting 259.6 yds on average. If the deviation is what I think it is, it appears you have a mild fade (if you're right handed) or a fairly strong hook (if you're left handed) off the tee.

All things considered, that's not a bad driver shot off the tee. I wouldn't change anything if you're consistently hitting fairways when you're on the course. I'm looking forward to the day when my average tee shot with the driver is that long.

trumptight111 · #3 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 09:36 AM

I hit more fairways than I miss but not by alot. My little misses are fades. The avg was 8 yards to the right but some were around 20. When I miss badly its not what I would call a slice, more like just straight right. Thats what I need to fix, I just don't know if these numbers tell me anything really usefull. And I have always hit the ball low. The first club in my bag that I like the ball flight is my 8 iron. I would like to hit everything higher.

trumptight111 · #4 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 11:37 AM

From what research I've done today the number one thing I need to improve is my launch angle. Second would be spin rates. I've read you can improve these with different shafts. Does that sound right? I may schedule a full club fitting and hopefully I can figure what changes to make.

***Billyg*** · #5 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 05:14 PM

Get a club fitting by all means. You have the power and, it seems, a natural fade which is a good thing. The fitting should help you take advantage of these.

trumptight111 · #6 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 05:35 PM

What clubs other than a driver should I expect to use for a proper club fitting? I had one when I bought my irons. They had me hit about 8-10 balls off of a white mat with a 6 iron and some tape on the club. I bought the clubs last year and have made some small swing changes. I would really like to be able to hit my longer irons higher. Is that something that can be done by changing shafts, or is that another swing change? I really appreciate the replies,

Teuts · #7 (**permalink**) February 1st, 2010, 10:45 PM

First my disclaimer - I'm no pro but I've had my swing stats analyzed before and done some of my own research.

Your swing speed is solid but at that speed the ball should be going further. The reason it isn't is because your spin rate is way too high and the launch angle is too low. Basically a higher launch angle, with lower spin rate will mean the ball will go higher and hang in the air longer.

The best way to increase launch angle is increase driver loft, but this will also increase the spin rate so not a feasible solution. WIth your swing speed, depending on the driver you can probably go with 9 or 9.5 loft to help bring the spin rates down. The ball fitting should help bring the spin rates down too.

To improve the launch angle will depend on the specific driver/shaft combination depending on the flex point in the shaft and the CG in the driver.

In the end you should make sure to get fit so you can get the most out of your swing speed.

Hope this helps and good luck!

JohnDoeBIAMC · #8 (**permalink**) February 3rd, 2010, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trumptight111

I would really like to be able to hit my longer irons higher. Is that something that can be done by changing shafts, or is that another swing change?

I don't know exactly what would bring the ball flight higher with long irons. My 6 iron is where I start getting height. When I hit my hybrid or my 2,4,5 irons, the ball comes off low & like a bullet. I know there's not much loft (23° on the hybrid) on those clubs so I don't expect a high ball flight. They're fairway clubs meant for getting the ball a good distance closer to the pin on long par 4's & par 5's so I just focus on hitting them solid and as straight as I can.

Definitely a club fitting, though. I'm almost, but not quite, at the stage where I will need to consider that to get my game better.

Ringer · #9 (**permalink**) February 3rd, 2010, 08:03 PM

As a golf professional who has fitted hundreds of people for clubs, they mean nothing. It's smoke and mirrors unfortunately and a lot of people buy into it.

Where in that data does it say when the club is loading and how much? How about club weight? What about your grip size? Shaft length vs your setup posture? Lie angle? Is the ball going where you want it to? Are you able to KNOW exactly what to expect from the club when you do something with it?

The truth of the matter is that the questions they ask are not the questions they should be asking in those fittings. One of the most basic fundamental principles that they adhere to is that swing speed determines shaft flex. It's a completely faulty preposition that undermines every bit of work that they do.

During the transition from your backswing to forward swing you LOAD the shaft. The ACCELERATION that you impart on the club and at what time do you accelerate/decelerate determines the shaft flex.

Let me give you an example.

I have a 115 mph swing speed with a very very smooth transition. The club hardly flexes at all. I also accelerate very evenly and gradually throughout my forward swing.

Based on the number of 115 I should be a stiff. But I cannot swing a stiff. I need at the MOST a light firm flex, or more likely a strong regular flex. That's not even concrete either since swing weight has a lot to do with it as well.

Bottom line, your WHOLE swing needs to be assessed to determine what club you need. Impact has almost nothing to do with the fitting you need.

conwaygolfer · #10 (**permalink**) February 3rd, 2010, 10:56 PM

Looks like you have the same problem that I had with all my irons - a too low ball flight. And since you just bought your irons recently, I am hesitant to tell you this. But I just bought the Titleist AP1 irons with the True Temper hi launch steel shafts. Got to play with them today for the first time. My ball flight is now like all my playing partners - mid range to high. No more low shots unless I hit the ball in the wrong place. Not sure they would help you, but they sure did the job for me. My other irons are Taylor Made Rac irons. And they will be sold on Ebay very shortly.

Just to give you an idea of how low all my shots have been for the last 15 years - my driver is a Geek Fail Safe 3 with 12 degrees of loft. My previous driver was a Nike Sweet 16. You guessed it, 16 degrees of loft. I hit my 12 degree like most people hit a 9 degree. The problem is that I shift my weight forward on the downswing and therefore close down the club face somewhat.

You might check with a club repair person to see about changing the shafts.

Hope this helps.

Conwaygolfer

trumptight111 · #11 (**permalink**) February 4th, 2010, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringer

As a golf professional who has fitted hundreds of people for clubs, they mean nothing. It's smoke and mirrors unfortunately and a lot of people buy into it.

Where in that data does it say when the club is loading and how much? How about club weight? What about your grip size? Shaft length vs your setup posture? Lie angle? Is the ball going where you want it to? Are you able to KNOW exactly what to expect from the club when you do something with it?

The truth of the matter is that the questions they ask are not the questions they should be asking in those fittings. One of the most basic fundamental principles that they adhere to is that swing speed determines shaft flex. It's a completely faulty preposition that undermines every bit of work that they do.

During the transition from your backswing to forward swing you LOAD the shaft. The ACCELERATION that you impart on the club and at what time do you accelerate/decelerate determines the shaft flex.

Let me give you an example.

I have a 115 mph swing speed with a very very smooth transition. The club hardly flexes at all. I also accelerate very evenly and gradually throughout my forward swing.

Based on the number of 115 I should be a stiff. But I cannot swing a stiff. I need at the MOST a light firm flex, or more likely a strong regular flex. That's not even concrete either since swing weight has a lot to do with it as well.

Bottom line, your WHOLE swing needs to be assessed to determine what club you need. Impact has almost nothing to do with the fitting you need.

Thanks for the info Ringer. Thats twice that I've had some sort of fitting from one of the golf store chains and neither times was I really happy. They seem to not want or be able to answer alot of the questions I had and apparently I wasn't even asking all the questions I needed to. It seems that they were more worried that I wasn't going fast enough and was taking too much time. I'm going to do some research and try and find a professional fitter here in Ohio.

By the way I'm new here but I've spent some time reading your posts and I really like the one on relaxation. I'm definately going to spend some time working on that...

trumptight111 · #12 (**permalink**) February 4th, 2010, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by conwaygolfer

Looks like you have the same problem that I had with all my irons - a too low ball flight. And since you just bought your irons recently, I am hesitant to tell you this. But I just bought the Titleist AP1 irons with the True Temper hi launch steel shafts. Got to play with them today for the first time. My ball flight is now like all my playing partners - mid range to high. No more low shots unless I hit the ball in the wrong place. Not sure they would help you, but they sure did the job for me. My other irons are Taylor Made Rac irons. And they will be sold on Ebay very shortly.

Just to give you an idea of how low all my shots have been for the last 15 years - my driver is a Geek Fail Safe 3 with 12 degrees of loft. My previous driver was a Nike Sweet 16. You guessed it, 16 degrees of loft. I hit my 12 degree like most people hit a 9 degree. The problem is that I shift my weight forward on the downswing and therefore close down the club face somewhat.

You might check with a club repair person to see about changing the shafts.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply Conway. I've been doing research lately on ways to get the ball to go higher without making a big swing change. And your right it would be hard for me to get new clubs at this point. While I would love to, I'm married and just bought a set. (Nuff said)

I think the next thing I'm going to try is to change golf balls. I read yesterday that Nike One Platinum is a good ball for players with a low ball flight. I'm going to try those and see if I notice any change.
Conwaygolfer

Ringer · #13 (**permalink**) February 4th, 2010, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trumptight111

Thanks for the info Ringer. Thats twice that I've had some sort of fitting from one of the golf store chains and neither times was I really happy. They seem to not want or be able to answer alot of the questions I had and apparently I wasn't even asking all the questions I needed to. It seems that they were more worried that I wasn't going fast enough and was taking too much time. I'm going to do some research and try and find a professional fitter here in Ohio.

By the way I'm new here but I've spent some time reading your posts and I really like the one on relaxation. I'm definately going to spend some time working on that...

That's a fairly common reaction for people who are looking for answers. Most people who gain anything from those experiences already have something in mind and just want the numbers to confirm their intentions.

Again i would advise you find a fitter who is also a teacher. In most cases the two sectors of golf are kept seperate. Fitters aren't teachers and teachers aren't fitters.

Thank you for the kind words about my posts. I am happy to see them have a positive influence on people.

dereckbc · #14 (**permalink**) February 5th, 2010, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringer

As a golf professional who has fitted hundreds of people for clubs, they mean nothing. It's smoke and mirrors unfortunately and a lot of people buy into it.

Could not agree more. The public is gullible and will fall for anything. Kind of like Cap-N-Trade.

About the only thing a club fitter can get right is lie, length, and grip size. Other than that it takes a close examination over a period of time to get flex and bend point right.

Ringer · #15 (**permalink**) February 6th, 2010, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dereckbc

Could not agree more. The public is gullible and will fall for anything. Kind of like Cap-N-Trade.

About the only thing a club fitter can get right is lie, length, and grip size. Other than that it takes a close examination over a period of time to get flex and bend point right.

That is precisely it Dereck. I'm glad you are one of the well informed and observant.

Length is however also up for debate. Just because you are of a certain height with a certain reach to the ground does not mean you need a specified length. POSTURE or more specifically the poster YOU WANT TO HAVE is what determines the length.

If they stand you up against a measuring tape and mark where your hands are, run run run. You are doomed to fit a "standard" which has nothing to do with you or your swing.

That is the primary problem I have with fittings as they are now. They are NEVER matched up to the swing you WANT to have. They are always fit to the swings you currently have.

If you have a very fast transition currently but you are looking to slow down your tempo, you'd be amazed at the improvement you can make just by putting a flexible shaft in your clubs. It forces you to change without ever needing a lesson. That's just one example of the many changes you can enforce just by changing equipment.

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