Mizuno Shaft Optimizer 3D

[JB]

We preach fitting a lot here at THP and many times the conversation shifts to cost and/or availability. What if a local store could get you dialed in with some technology based on just a few swings and a couple of minutes? And the cost? Zero! Enter the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer 3D.

While it won’t replace or even replicate a full fitting at a place like Club Champion, the option exists and it is quite good. Rather than explain how it works, we had Chris Voshall from Mizuno in the THP Tech Studio to walk us through the entire process.



With just three swings, we have everything from shaft recommendations to lie angle and a whole lot more. The new...

Continue reading...

 

[JW Smoove]

Great to see that tool in action.

 

[kiwichris]

Tried this a couple of times for fittings or just figuring out if I'm in the right shaft.
Funnily enough I get the same KBS shaft each time (C-Taper X).
Be good to know if this system has been updated/improved over the years of use.

 

[JB]

Tried this a couple of times for fittings or just figuring out if I'm in the right shaft.
Funnily enough I get the same KBS shaft each time (C-Taper X).
Be good to know if this system has been updated/improved over the years of use.

The video above is on the new version.

 

[DNice26]

A little more than 3 mins guys....

Can I say I heart this video and what Mizuno has done here..... Awesome video.

@Canadan crushed it with the questions. Like the HS vs. SS options questions, set makeup questions etc..

Question for Dan: If I recall, you enjoy playing the KBS Tour V shafts. I imagine you play the X at 120g. Do the Mizzy recommendations, which from what I can tell didn't have the V listed at all....make you rethink your go-to?


Lastly - on the "3D" device - is this a new device or is this the same one they released maybe a year ago? Curious if this device would be available at local shops now. In other words, is the device the same and they just updated the software to provide more feedback and options throughout the entire bag? Smart of them to throw the ball in there too.

 

[JB]

Lastly - on the "3D" device - is this a new device or is this the same one they released maybe a year ago? Curious if this device would be available at local shops now. In other words, is the device the same and they just updated the software to provide more feedback and options throughout the entire bag? Smart of them to throw the ball in there too.

This should be available at local shops now.

 

[Puttmaster]

I tried it recently and the main take away was it recommended shafts in the 105g weight range. Being accustomed to S300s, I'm still trying to adapt to the lighter weight of the Modus3 120 (114g) shafts in my ZX7s. Perhaps I should take a full leap of faith and go all the way down to the recommended 105s.

 

[BriMac]

Very cool - I suppose the fellas might see these in Myrtle in the summer.

 

[DNice26]

If I were a club fitter, I don't know why this process wouldn't be apart of my arsenal to get a fitting started. So much great info to work with.

The set makeup recommendations are very cool.

 

[G-Man]

You guys following my search history? I was reading all about this and very interesting product. Definitely want to try it when available near me. Usually home course has demo Saturdays and now that I'm down the the running bird, might give it a shot.

 

[JW Smoove]

The entirety of the results and recommendations really impressed me.

Now, for those without a dedicated fitter if the tool could sent, used and returned, perhaps with 20 swings recorded and the really bad, if any, swings removed by the reviewer, might add more depth and get in more people's hands?

I'd like to see it demoed by an average hack (such as myself) as well as the accomplished players.

 

[JB]

Now, for those without a dedicated fitter if the tool could sent, used and returned, perhaps with 20 swings recorded and the really bad, if any, swings removed by the reviewer, might add more depth and get in more people's hands?

I would venture a guess there would be zero chance of this happening. It is not an inexpensive tool. Combined with software. You would need multiple full time employees just to deal with the customer service aspect of it.

The good news is that any place that has a Mizuno fitting cart, such as retail stores, will have it and be available to use.

 

[Chris]

These are great. I use them every day. Multiple times per day doing my fittings. It’s a great tool to get the fittings started.

 

[vintagebob]

Well done!

They used this at the Mizuno Demo Day where I got fitted for the 921 Forged irons and CLK hybrids. Interesting tech.

 

[thewilderside]

My LGS has one and I've used it a couple of times. The information it provides is really fascinating and while my game hasn't improved much (me more than anything club/shaft related) I feel like the weight of my new shafts (125g) is a much better fit for me than what I had been playing (85g).

 

[bmongi1]

That was an exceptional video. I had no idea that much detail was available to help dial in a fitting. Impressive to say the least.

 

[JW Smoove]

I would venture a guess there would be zero chance of this happening. It is not an inexpensive tool. Combined with software. You would need multiple full time employees just to deal with the customer service aspect of it.

The good news is that any place that has a Mizuno fitting cart, such as retail stores, will have it and be available to use.

That's great to hear. I'd still wonder if say a deposit or something could be employed. That said, you raise a great point - industrial espionage. Isn't it only a matter of time before other companies get their hands on it, reverse engineer and have their own variants? Sadly, that seems to be the hand that's played behind the scenes in so many tech forward industries. Or with new tech toys.

One thing I like about this tool, it keeps me in one family (mizuno) that I chose up front. In my fitting, as anyone who's been at CC will attest, they have dozens of options, but most are not considered. I only hit The g425, with shaft after shaft, before I indicated that I was open to any and all. So, if a fitter had a preferable brand they may guide the client towards it.

This tool removes that and let's the client make choices. So, in the future if some generic version came forward, it could narrow the options and a fitter could move to those heads/shafts based on the tool's initial data, vice human 'opinion', hope that makes sense.

One last point about direct to consumer use, in spite of the cost and possible tampering, if it did happen, it could really pay for itself in additional sales (maybe), if you're right in that mizuno would have to have dedicated employees to read the data and process orders, then it stands to reason, more sales as well.

 

[ddstanford]

I just tried this out a week ago and while the main idea behind my trying the clubs was to see how they hit the ball, the sensor fit me into a shaft and gave me lie angle which will help if I order the clubs. I really liked the MP MMC's

 

[Jman]

This was a really fun one to see shot while Vosh was in studio. The read outs and detail is just so much deeper than most would ever realize.

 

[Just_Hacking]

That is an amazing tool!! I have a wedge fitting coming up at the end of the month with one of Mizuno's top 100 fitters. I think I will ask him to not only use his expertise, but the shaft optimizer as well to compare the two different methods.

 

[JB]

That's great to hear. I'd still wonder if say a deposit or something could be employed. That said, you raise a great point - industrial espionage. Isn't it only a matter of time before other companies get their hands on it, reverse engineer and have their own variants? Sadly, that seems to be the hand that's played behind the scenes in so many tech forward industries. Or with new tech toys.

One thing I like about this tool, it keeps me in one family (mizuno) that I chose up front. In my fitting, as anyone who's been at CC will attest, they have dozens of options, but most are not considered. I only hit The g425, with shaft after shaft, before I indicated that I was open to any and all. So, if a fitter had a preferable brand they may guide the client towards it.

This tool removes that and let's the client make choices. So, in the future if some generic version came forward, it could narrow the options and a fitter could move to those heads/shafts based on the tool's initial data, vice human 'opinion', hope that makes sense.

One last point about direct to consumer use, in spite of the cost and possible tampering, if it did happen, it could really pay for itself in additional sales (maybe), if you're right in that mizuno would have to have dedicated employees to read the data and process orders, then it stands to reason, more sales as well.

Playing devils advocate here, having golfers view a device like this as a toy (which would occur) without any understanding of what it is doing would be a recipe for disaster in my opinion. If a golfer is still going to need to go to a course to hit balls to determine the outcome, going to a store that features it isn't that much of a stretch, since generally speaking a golfer is going to want to try the clubs before buying blind.

While I understand that not all golfers want to see a fitter or want to see a golf professional, I think sending off a club with the hopes it comes back in similar working condition, only to evaluate said data and send back would be a tough task. A brand could just as easily offer a data solution to those that can gather numbers from any launch monitor (nearly every store them) and extrapolate that out with a simple screen shot sent in.

Now combine this with the alienation of retail stores and fitters to stock your equipment (buy in) and I believe the net outcome would be lesser than one might imagine.

My thoughts entirely though and have no information other than I think demo programs tend to be a bit smaller scale than we believe currently.

 

[BuffaloPlunger]

I used one in a fitting a few months ago and it was really cool. I wasn’t necessarily expecting to be in an xstiff shaft but it seemed to have worked in the clubs selected. By the end of the fitting i was using a shaft selected by the device and was hitting everything pin straight the same distance every time!

 

[billyh]

I am amazed that all that data is available from something that clamps on a shaft. It's a great tool, and hats off to the engineers that designed it. @Canadan didn't you say the 921 Tours were too intimidating for you?

 

[Golfever]

At my fitting my fitter used this device to determine what shaft was best for me. Then we hit the different shafts until we found a shaft that not only gave good results but also felt good in the swing.
Still surprised that I fit into a X shaft. Ended up with the C-Taper lite X that gave me the best results. Then we moved on to trying different heads.
The battle between the Mizuno HM PROS and the Callaway Apex 21s ensued. Ended up picking the HM Pros. Here's my readout for the Optimizer.

 

[JW Smoove]

Playing devils advocate here, having golfers view a device like this as a toy (which would occur) without any understanding of what it is doing would be a recipe for disaster in my opinion. If a golfer is still going to need to go to a course to hit balls to determine the outcome, going to a store that features it isn't that much of a stretch, since generally speaking a golfer is going to want to try the clubs before buying blind.

While I understand that not all golfers want to see a fitter or want to see a golf professional, I think sending off a club with the hopes it comes back in similar working condition, only to evaluate said data and send back would be a tough task. A brand could just as easily offer a data solution to those that can gather numbers from any launch monitor (nearly every store them) and extrapolate that out with a simple screen shot sent in.

Now combine this with the alienation of retail stores and fitters to stock your equipment (buy in) and I believe the net outcome would be lesser than one might imagine.

My thoughts entirely though and have no information other than I think demo programs tend to be a bit smaller scale than we believe currently.

You make great points, I can't disagree. Particularly the part about it being viewed as a toy. I sometimes tend to think that most people are decent, it only takes a few screw things up. I think (maybe) there is a hybrid way to make it work - but not at the scale that I immediately considered. I can the tool being the first part of a demo day at a range or something along those lines. As well as (obviously) at fitters. I do think some kind unbranded version would be immensely helpful - but would never happen - too many competitors. I always remember back to my 'fitting' it was not a fitting it was a demo of clubs... the retailer kept pushing me to one brand, and one club, one specific shaft, and the data was not supporting it. That along with yesterday's work (I got to hit the Cobra head exactly 2 times - felt good, results not too different, then back to the Ping) some fitters may have an agenda, and others may just not be equipment savvy or may have their own preferences. I know, time only allows for so many tests, but I felt that was a lot left on the table - and this tool could cut through a lot of the guesswork very fast.