After we had worked on his swing and got it in much better shape, Jim, from Ontario, Canada, got a top notch club fitting from Lynn Griffin. Lynn is a master club fitter that I am associated with in Columbia, SC. I also do some teaching at his center now and then.
With all first time lessons, I conduct a history check with students that includes everything from how long has the student played, how often do they play, and how much do they practice. I also ask if they've had lessons, what their handicap is (or average scores), and what are their strong and weak points. And I ask if they have been fitted for their clubs. Then the big questions: How is their physical condition, do they have any physical problems and is their golf swing causing them any problems. Lastly, I ask what are their goals, what are they looking for from the lesson, and how much they intend to practice.
This history helps me in making setup and swing adjustment so students can maximize the laws of physics of the swing to best fit to their physiology. All this adds up to students developing the best setup and swing they are physically and mentally able to do. I also need to know their goals, expectations and work schedule to make sure my prescription is within their range of their desires, willingness and time to work and improve.
Jim is in his mid to late thirties, works out, and is in good physical shape with no problems — except he wears out the pad of his golf glove in record time. He likes the PPGS and is committed to it and is working hard to learn and master it. His #1 problem shot with all clubs is a weak pop up: high, short and to the right. These are usually followed by a power pull with a little draw and usually never a duck hook. He was previously fitted for the top brand clubs, woods and irons he was using, yet he was too often hitting the pop ups and pulls that were his downfall.
Jim plays right handed and his overall setup was pretty good, from his grip to his posture. His one liability was he was more heavy left than pre-loaded heavy right (PLHR). His right knee was not in line but slightly cocked inward and inside of his right foot. He was making a pretty good in-the-mitt takeaway and started lifting the club up the tree OK until his shaft got to toe high to the ground. It stopped going up the tree trunk and instead slid down a branch to 10:00 o'clock. I detailed this in yesterday's article 'Avoiding the El Foldo and Huggy Bear' explaining his right arm was over folding, causing the club to get flipped inside and flat to the 10:00 o'clock 'heavy club' position.
Jim's strongest asset was a spot on T ' Finish. He was in good balance and square to the target. The exception was when he hit pulls his T finish was left of his target and square to where the ball finished. This was because the upper torso had to pull more left and spin out to pull the heavy laid off club up and then down and thru impact.
The good news is that when I got Jim to keep his right arm in the right angle at the top of the backswing, his club stayed vertical and his pulls to the left were history. What lingered were the weak, face open, toe digging 'Puke (as I call them) to the right' pop ups. I knew without a doubt the clubs were the culprit. So now, it was time to get fitted and find out where the equipment failure was coming from.
Lynn, a master club fitter, uses a Doppler radar system to register club head speed, ball speed, spin rate, launch angle, and face angle at impact. The system also measures the amount of shot deviation, swing path, carry distance, and total distance based on the angle of descent. Another awesome stat is that it registers the 'power transfer ratio' which indicates where the ball impacted on the club face. Another great measurement is that the system captures club head speed starting at two and a half feet before impact and records the speed to impact in six inch intervals. These speeds show whether the club is accelerating or de-accelerating approaching impact.
Lynn also videos the shaft and club head approaching impact and through to have visual confirmation of the face angles approaching, hitting and leaving impact. This video also confirms the response of the shaft approaching impact and the effect on the club head at impact. In Jim's case, it was toeing down and the toe was digging into the turf badly. This caused the club to open up more through impact, adding more loft to the club and thus Jim's right weak and short pop ups. (See Picture #1 for the toe down turf digging face opening impact and Picture #2 for the more open face after impact). Following the picture, I have included Lynn's evaluation and explanation of Jim's club problems and their effect on his shots.
Jim at impact.
Notice open face.
Lynn said: 'First, the main problem with Jim's clubs was that he had a set with shafts that were way too weak for him. Jim swung the club with such force that the soft shaft could not sustain the weight of the head and therefore he experienced excessive toe down effect or droop. The second problem was that the overall MOI (moment of Inertia) of the club was too low.'
According to Wikipedia, 'Moment of inertia, also called mass moment of inertia or the angular mass, (SI units kg''m2) is a measure of an object's resistance to changes in its rotation rate. It is the rotational analog of mass, the inertia of a rigid rotating body with respect to its rotation. '
In layman's terms this means the club's resistance to twist when force is applied. As it relates to the golf club there are two MOI effects. The first is MOI of the club head and the second is the MOI of the total club.
Lynn continued, 'In other words, he could not feel the club that he was swinging. It was like swinging a straw. So, there was basically no feedback being transmitted to the brain for it to react to. So, one time the club could come through open the next time closed. As you noticed, when weight was added to the hosel, it gave him a 'feel' for the club. It also brought the center of gravity in closer to the axis of rotation, the hosel, and he was able to square the club head better and his shot pattern on the face was centered and consistent.
'The same problem existed with the driver. Number one, the shaft was too weak. Number two, the shaft was too long. And number three, the MOI of the club was too low and offered no control. When we put him in the shorter, smaller, heavier (higher MOI) driver, the shots were much better and more consistent.
'About 50% of the people I fit have the same problem as Jim. The other 50% have clubs that are just too stiff for them, with heads that are too big for them to return to square. It is easier for a player to hit clubs that are too stiff, rather than too weak, if they have a reasonably hard swing. The reason being that regardless of what they try to do, they will continually be fighting the toe lag drag and dig.'
Once the club fitting absolutely determined the problems with Jim's clubs, Lynn provided a few irons and a driver very close to how he would build Jim's new set of clubs. Jim used these test clubs the rest of the lesson time. His setup, because they were the correct length, and his swing, because they were the correct length and shaft flex, was immensely improved and his learning curve greatly increased. Using his old clubs would have been slowing his progress down and simply sabotaging it.
I have said it often, written about it in these daily articles, and will reiterate it and even scream it at the top of my lungs: 'Buying a fitted set of clubs and truly getting a fitted set of clubs, only happens when the club fitter is also the club builder.'
This lesson and fitting session Jim experienced will take his swing and game to another level and likely one beyond his original expectations and goals because now he has the complete package.
I have, for over 15 years, had a vision of providing golf instruction with a total package including swing instruction and club fitting wrapped together. I call it the 'GIFT' program. The 'GIFT' stands for 'The Golf Institute for Fitting and Teaching.' I have considered adding another 'F' for Fitness as this is also an important aspect of playing good golf. The 'GIFT' program presently exists in Columbia, SC. It will soon be a reality everywhere PPGS golf is played.
Golfers deserve nothing but the best instruction and best fitted clubs to be the best players they can be.
The Surge!