Flooder
Active member
Lately I've been pondering whether I'm gaming the right driver/shaft for me. So, yesterday I went to Joe & Leigh's Discount Golf (a top 100 fitter according to Golf Digest) and decided to put myself in their hands. Hitting out onto the range from an indoor bay gave the best of all worlds - sheltered from the elements, trackman data and the ability to see actually ball flight. I did however have some definite frustrations with my experience. $100 for an hour sounded ok to me, but we got so little accomplished and as you'll see from my notes below, moved so fast that I wasn't even able to retain many of the things that happened - what I hit, what the results were, etc. Here's a quick overview...
My fitter gave me some time to warm up while interviewing me about my game and current driver results. For reference, when combining my swing with the SuperTri with regular flex shaft, I get lower than desired ball flight, too much back spin and a fade. When I miss it can be either a higher slice or snap hook. Obviously a lot of that is my swing, but I felt it likely that some could be improved with the right combination of equipment. After the warm up I hit half a dozen with my driver and the results were fairly typical. I was pleased to see that as I wanted to know I was having a "normal" swing day. Ball speed 144, launch 9*, side spin mostly low enough to be in play but with one 800 R and one 800 L, backspin over 3000, carry 240.
At this point it was time to start trying the new toys. The fitter handed me a Titleist D3 with 72 stiff shaft (sorry I forget brand but i'm pretty sure it was the stock offering). Hated everything about this one. Sound, feel, . It was a little longer and the spin was down but my personal dislike was too strong so we moved on. Next the Ping I25. Nothing good happened here. Honestly, I can't even remember what happened with this one. 5 minutes later we're on to the next... We moved to the Callway Big Bertha and immediately I liked the look, feel, etc. The results were ok with the standard stiff shaft and we agreed it was in the running.
I'm thinking, "oh this is fun, wonder what's next?" but no, here he comes with that damned Titleist again touting a change in shaft. So, I hit it and still hate it and now he's got the Big Bertha back in his hands and telling me that he has switched shafts to the Fubuki ZT60 stiff which apparently comes in the Alpha but can be had as a no charge upgrade. Well, I hit this and the results are even better. Ball speed 148, Launch up to 10.5*, side spin all left but moderate and he had it set to draw so probably could be tweaked, backspin down 500 revs to 2500, carry distance up to 248.
You're probably thinking, what's the problem you improved across the board; and you're right. The thing is, I hit 3 clubs in 5 configurations. What about all the other stuff out there on the market. And for the Big Bertha I only hit two of the multitude of possible shafts - are these really the two best options for me? Did this guy know what I needed and guide me to the right driver for me or did we just hit a few and now he's recommending the best of those 3? I may have been unrealistic but kind of thought that for $100 I might get some clarity - I could have done most of what we did yesterday alone in the simulator at Golfsmith for free. What say you?
My fitter gave me some time to warm up while interviewing me about my game and current driver results. For reference, when combining my swing with the SuperTri with regular flex shaft, I get lower than desired ball flight, too much back spin and a fade. When I miss it can be either a higher slice or snap hook. Obviously a lot of that is my swing, but I felt it likely that some could be improved with the right combination of equipment. After the warm up I hit half a dozen with my driver and the results were fairly typical. I was pleased to see that as I wanted to know I was having a "normal" swing day. Ball speed 144, launch 9*, side spin mostly low enough to be in play but with one 800 R and one 800 L, backspin over 3000, carry 240.
At this point it was time to start trying the new toys. The fitter handed me a Titleist D3 with 72 stiff shaft (sorry I forget brand but i'm pretty sure it was the stock offering). Hated everything about this one. Sound, feel, . It was a little longer and the spin was down but my personal dislike was too strong so we moved on. Next the Ping I25. Nothing good happened here. Honestly, I can't even remember what happened with this one. 5 minutes later we're on to the next... We moved to the Callway Big Bertha and immediately I liked the look, feel, etc. The results were ok with the standard stiff shaft and we agreed it was in the running.
I'm thinking, "oh this is fun, wonder what's next?" but no, here he comes with that damned Titleist again touting a change in shaft. So, I hit it and still hate it and now he's got the Big Bertha back in his hands and telling me that he has switched shafts to the Fubuki ZT60 stiff which apparently comes in the Alpha but can be had as a no charge upgrade. Well, I hit this and the results are even better. Ball speed 148, Launch up to 10.5*, side spin all left but moderate and he had it set to draw so probably could be tweaked, backspin down 500 revs to 2500, carry distance up to 248.
You're probably thinking, what's the problem you improved across the board; and you're right. The thing is, I hit 3 clubs in 5 configurations. What about all the other stuff out there on the market. And for the Big Bertha I only hit two of the multitude of possible shafts - are these really the two best options for me? Did this guy know what I needed and guide me to the right driver for me or did we just hit a few and now he's recommending the best of those 3? I may have been unrealistic but kind of thought that for $100 I might get some clarity - I could have done most of what we did yesterday alone in the simulator at Golfsmith for free. What say you?