Brand Name Clubs Vs. Custom Components: Part 2

Thanks for the advice. Can a set of brand name off the shelf clubs be customized to fit me?

Amos,

The skips and re-loads are caused when there is an interruption in your local Internet connection. I can assure you that the master video on the server plays perfectly. Sometimes this can be caused by having too many programs running on your PC or if you are connected via a wireless router.

Doc's studio has high ceilings and a lot of hard surfaces and there is a bit of echo in every House Call he makes.

Tom Jans

You surely got a great deal as the average cost for a Miura club with a high end shaft is $250 per club.  Congratulations.

Robert, I didn't cheat but as I read his first line I started chanting "static,dynamic" knowing yours would be the first reply, very nicely done,my friend!

Off topic but important. DJ needs to make a move this week to avoid Q School. Come on DJ.

Loud and clear on my computer.

Doc, thank you my friend, for another very informative house call on the technical side of the equipment. I'm sure Josh will enjoy it tomorrow when he gets home from school. Leisa is tired of having me under foot during this small hiatus between outages so I'm taking the clubs out for another round tomorrow. Shoot, I may even pull a Dick and play all day.
 I've posted on the blog several times about how much I enjoy my new clubs and their quality and it's true. I think in my golfing life,if I were to make a list, getting fit by you would be a very strong #2, falling just short of finding Surge and this swing that's given me back the game. But then again, that may not be fair to either of you,you know what I mean. I will say this, of all my golfing trips, and I had many over the years all across the country, the one to Columbia in June was indeed,the best!
Now to address, JimP, was it worth it? Absolutely, I see where you mentioned a 2% improvement for you and also noted the responses from Doc & Steve and it not being worth the  expense for you.For myself it was for a couple of reasons, I needed new equipment to replace some outmoded stuff after a 4 yr. hiatus. I'm, not so far down the road, about to enter into my retirement years and wanted some clubs to take me there. With my old sticks and this swing I would lose about 4 shots a nine and have to make some Seve type recoveries,not all successful,Might scramble for the par or bogey,sometimes worse. With this swing and the new clubs I might lose 2 a side and the recoveries are easier because the ball isn't that deep into the really bad stuff. That's enough of a difference for me and I only see things improving as I continue to work on the other aspects of my game.
 

If I were you check your audio's  not to good....

I prefer not to see shaft labels that could distract from hitting the shot at hand. ADD or something like that.

Let's see, 2% would mean about 3 strokes per round.  That is a pretty good improvement.  But, it would really have to be broken down into where the 2% improvement is and what still could use some improvement.  Since  you said that you paid $2000 against $400 to $450 for an entire set, I'm wondering if you meant just the irons.  If you paid that little for an entire set including the wood, hybrid, wedges, and fairway woods then you must have had a package set.  The custom clubs have got to be better from a fitting stand point as well as quality of materials.  I also don't know how many irons you purchased.  I won't address the pricing of another builder but I can tell you that my average cost per iron is $100 per.  I can also tell you that Swing Science does make a quality product.  Give it some time.  Getting properly fit clubs is not an end in itself.  The purpose of that whole exercise is to eliminate clubs as being part of the equation as to why you experience negative results in your game.  With properly fit equipment, the place to look for needing improvement is then the player.  Keep working on the mechanics and don't give up.

"Shoot, I may even pull a Dick and play all day." 

Alrighty then!!!!  What else can be said? 

Dick, are you out there?

With the money you would spend re-shafting you could put towards a fitted set. You could do it in stages, like a driver to start with, or a couple of woods ,if your happy with your driver. Then maybe 2 or 3 wedges , until you've got the full set. Just do it as you can afford it.  I have vowed to never buy another club unless its a fitted one after my last internet purchase turned out to be a total waste of money

On your off T, he's kicking a** as you speak. Had 4 birds in a row on his first nine. One bogie, now just birdied #1 and back to 4 under. As usual the Golf Channel hasn't shown any of this great playing even though he is one of the "exciting" on the edge at 130th 'needs to do well' to get into top 125 guys. Business as usual. They are showing several golfers even, 1 or 2 under while DJ looks great at -4 and currently t-8th.
BTW, though he needs to play well he has this and next week to make it happen.
Go to PGA.com shot tracker to watch his great round.http://www.pgatour.com/shottracker/

Yes, it surely can.  But, if  you want an OEM set then the set has to be purchased and then the work done.  It does wind up costing more than if you just bought the set as is.  If you've already bought a set then it can be retro fitted.  If the current shaft is useable, the cost is minimal.  If the shaft needs to be replaced, then it gets costly.  The major expense in irons is the shaft and not the head.

The audio on this clip was awful, too much echo. bad enough that I just closed this  clip before it got half way thru.

chet chesapeake va

Hj, you mean yours? I heard him load and clear. Must be your sound system/computer.

not quite true.  There is some sound reflection from the hard background.  Doc, if you are just talking, it might be better to talk in a soft environment, on with soft walls like a living room setting.

Second point, most mikes need to be directly in front of you mouth and close.  Its a common mistake.  The sound wasn't to bad but with a little help these videos can be jumped up a notch, much like we are trying to jump up our shotmaking.

Anyway the content was great.

Boy would it ever!  However, would you have gotten the same grade of shaft?  I'd love to hear the particulars.  Please email me with the details if you don't mind.

jgriffin@docgriffingolf.com

Sounds like his rep just took a hit. Would have been alot less with Doc. (e mail him to find out), and it was around $350 for me including 7 shafts and two seperate club heads from my fitter in Cal. Buyer beware. Why in the heck did you fall for that price? Was it gold plated?

Randy,

Excuse me, but perhaps you should qualify your statement, it is NOT QUITE TRUE AT YOUR END.

 I will say it once again, please pay attention, THE SOUND AND VIDEO ARE BOTH VERY (QUITE) CLEAR AT MY END.

I might suggest that you invest in some quality external speakers for your system. Or just adjust the sound quality of your unit. I hear everything quite clear with no echo or audio problems AT ALL.

PMG

Very well put.  It also can be added that if the lie angle is properly adjusted that the player may still hold his hands in a position that has the club flat at address.  Most players will adjust their setup to achieve this.

      That is why you are advised to go to a Swing Surgeon certified fitter if possible. They only approve reputable fitters. Hence, buyer beware. At the bare minimum you would want to do your homework to find out if they are highly recomended.

Pick up a phone and call one. Many times clubs can be retro fitted. Certianly lie angles and shafts can be redone. Do the research. A better fit is only a phone call or web click away. E-mail Doc for what you may do.

Hope you're watching DJ. 4 under and t-8th on his 14th hole now.http://www.pgatour.com/shottracker/

edit update....... Just dropped a 22 foot putt on his 17th hole. Now -5, T-5th!

Final update; 5 under 65. They gave him a token 10 second TV glimps on the last hole showing him miss his last putt and making par. Tied for 5th place and only two shots off the lead. Great day Deej!! Keep it going tomorrow.

You can. However, if the clubs need to be reshafted it would probably get to be cost prohibitive for you as shafts are the most expensive part of the club.  If the shafts are ok, then it would be a rather nominal charge to get the other work done.

So a new set of custom-made clubs costs about the same as an off-the-rack set, but what if I can't afford an off-the-rack set. I buy second-hand. What to do? Can I take my current X-22s to a certified guy and have him tweek them and re-shaft them to my needs? About what would that cost?

N6zo:  Must be something wrong on your end.  My audio was perfect!  No echo, great volumn, strong voice and perfect video.  Sorry.  :-(  R2

I recently paid close to $2000 for a set of custom fitted clubs put together from custom materials and I was tested beforehand on the range with comptuter equipment that measured everything possible.  I may hit these clubs 2% better than my  off shelf clubs (which were about 3 yrs. old)  which I paid probably $400 - $450 for the whole set.  The fitter did put me into a gap wedge which was a great improvement for me since I never had one.  My point is that had I known what little improvement it made in my game, I would never have bought them.  I don't think these custom clubs will make much difference for the 16- and up handicapper.  Also, I don't think they are all that great of a quality.   Does anybody know how much a set of Swing Science irons and 3 woods should cost?  On line, they don't bring much  of a price/

Correct you are.  The shafts that you got are some of the most expensive graphite shafts available.

Doc:

    I'll have to partially agree with Hjdahlman on this one. Normally I hear you loud and clear ---  but for some reason the audio in this video clip had a few "skips" and re-loads in it.  Video was fine though -- played straight through, no problem.

    My "simple fix"  was to turn up the volume on my speakers -- easy enough to do

    Amos

Nice round DJ.  I had to laugh at the side by side shot of DJ and Lucas Glover and the dueling beards comment.  I was rooting hard for the putt on 18, but 65 is nice.

I paid a reputable fiiter over $900 for a driver and 3-wood.  OEM would have cost a lot less.

Sorry Amos,
Same for me as Roy, audio and video both fine at my end.

At the beginning of my second year of golf, I had a great set of custom clubs made for $800 (7 irons, Driver, fairway wood). It made a huge difference in my game. My club fitter was recommended to me by another fitter from further away in NC. I used the perimeters discussed in previous Surge videos when I made the order. The results and price reveal that he does his work for the joy of making clubs rather then the profit.  Perhaps the trick is finding the right fitter.

Was happy to see the real nice interview of Seen after his round.

That's what I'm thinking too, Doc. I didn't even consider Miura clubs, though I did dream about them once before coming up to your place but I knew that besides a piano, I would've had to have sold a kidney to boot. I'm tickled with the ones I got & Paul is too!

First, a professional fitter never sets the lie angle based on the static address position. It's irrelevant to what happens later. While there is a toe-down effect that pulls down on the head of the club, the extent of it depends on the particular head, club, and person's swing. It also matters whether and how much your hands come in toward your body or stretch away from your body, and how you load the shaft, and your timing of the release of the club, and so on. So, whether the toe appears to be up, or down, or level at address isn't particularly relevant to the actual swing. Doc did a video about this early in the year, as I recall.

I think you are dealing with a preference rather than a specific regarding the shafts.  I don't put labels on shafts as most people prefer not to have them.  Nippon screen prints their shafts as does True Temper and Apollo.  Kim Braley shafts have absolutely no markings.  I wouldn't be too quick to throw the baby out with the bath water because there was no label or screen print on the shaft.

I would have to say you got an incredible deal.  I'm not by any means near the most expensive out there but I couldn't even sniff the price  you got with the components that I build.  I'd be really interested in knowing the brand of components that were used including the shafts.

Sounded so clear on my end that when he mentioned, "Up above my head" I thought I heard Jake Hess. :)