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mr.hicksta's fitting with Joe Kwok!

Nippon Shafts
mr.hicksta

mr.hicksta

Golf->Tacos->Gainz
Joined
Jun 2, 2013
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Location
Chula Vista, CA
I was going to wait until after the fitting, but I'm so excited about it I decided to start the thread a couple days ahead of time! Initially my plan was to go with Hot Stix Golf in Stanford, but the dates didn't work so after that I made an appointment with Cool Clubs. Shortly after that I was reminded about Joe Kwok who is more well known on that 'other' golf forum, but is well reviewed. After an email exchange with him, I cancelled the Cool Clubs fitting and scheduled a fitting with him. So with that said, this fitting is for driver to lob wedge and will include shafts, which is probably the part I'm most interested in finding out about. My current setup follows, and whatever new hotness I get fit for will be right below that! Shout out to mrs.hicksta for delving into the world buying clubs for me :wink:. LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Current setup:
Driver - :ping: G400 Max 10.5º (45") |
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ATMOS TS Black 6-X (69g)
FW - :taylormade: M4 3HL 16.5º (42.5") |
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ATMOS TS Blue 7-X (77g)
Hybrid - :ping: G400 3H 19º (40.25") |
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ATMOS HB TS Blue 85-X (85g)
Irons - :taylormade: P790 4-PW | Oban CT-115 X (112g)
:titleist: Vokey SM7 50.08º F, 54.10º S | :NipponShaft:Modus3 Wedge 115 (122g)
:taylormade:Milled Grind HI-TOE 58º | :NipponShaft: Modus3 Wedge 115 (122g)


​
New setup:
Driver - :callaway: Rogue 9º N +1 (45") | :MitsubishiRayon: Kuro Kage XT 70 S (71g, tipped 1"-1.5", D3)
FW - :callaway: Rogue 3W 15º (42.75") | :MitsubishiRayon: Tensei CK Pro Blue 70 S (73g, tipped 1.5"-1.75", D3)
Hybrid - :ping: G400 3H 19º (40.25") | :MitsubishiRayon: OT Hybrid 90 S (95g, tipped .5", D3)
Irons - Epon AF-505 4-PW (standard length) | :NipponShaft:Modus3 Tour 130 S (124g, D3 4-9, D4 PW, 2.5º upright)
Wedges - :callaway: Raw Tour 50º S, 54º S, 58º C | :NipponShaft: Modus 3 Wedge 125 (133g, D4/D5/D6 2.5º upright)
Grips - :GolfPride: Tour Velvet midsize with one wrap



​
 
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Here we go! I arrived at Joe's at our scheduled appointment time and we got right to it. His garage and backyard immediately became #housegoals. Full workshop, hitting bay and a backyard putting green. It was pretty cool to see!

I got warmed up, and he asked me to work up to a 6 iron. I knew that today would go based on how my swing was behaving, and to be honest it was a mixed bag. Joe quickly identified one of my issues, which is me not doing very well staying behind the ball. Additionally, he had mirrors setup face on and down the line, which were quite helpful in seeing certain quirks in my setup. We spent about 30ish minutes trying to smooth out a couple issues and then we got into the fitting.

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mr.hicksta's fitting with Joe Kwok!

Iron/wedge fitting:

I'll start by saying I don't have any pics of numbers aside from seeing my swing speed a few times. With that said, we got to work with my 6 iron and I was striking it decent, but was honestly fighting old habits the whole time. Joe quickly determined a couple things that surprised me. First, he said there would be no issue sticking with the Oban iron shafts and second he said the P790s were fine as well. But he did say that going with a heavier shaft could be beneficial, which is why I listed the Modus3 130 on my first post. I did try Epon latest offerings (hard pass) and hit a few with a JPX-900 but neither produced better numbers than the P790s. With that being the case, I didn't even try any Ping or PXG because he felt the P790s fit me just fine. And for wedges, he was more concerned with getting the gapping to 4 degrees and said I should consider a new setup to achieve that goal. Additionally, he suggested going with traditional iron lengths. For now, though my current setup is bent 2.5* up so I'll be figuring out what I'm going to do once I get home next week.

Driver/FW/hybrid fitting:

I literally took three swings and Joe said, "You driver shaft is way too stiff." First blow to the ol' ego. The second was seeing how slow my swing speed was. It has been almost two years since I've messed around on a simulator and last time I saw my driver swing speed, it was in the 102-105 range. So seeing it in the 92-95 range was a little bit disheartening. Joe also said, "Look, you're not a high speed player" and said I needed to be using shafts that will help me get the most of my swing. With the Rogue/Kuro Kage combo I saw the best launch (14ish) and smash factor (1.52) and Joe felt it would offer me the most forgiveness. The thinking was similar with the Rogue 3W and I’ll be swapping out the shaft in my G400 3H as well.

I noticed a few comments about the tipping being interesting, and Joe explained his logic like this. He said my swing speed doesn't fit into an X-flex, but my tempo does so that's why driver/FW/hybrid will be the 'soft-X'. I have to double check the iron shafts, and he did say I'd be fine sticking with the Obans, but I would like to move to something a little heavier. That's why I'm planning on going with the Modus3 130s.
 
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Final thoughts:

All in all I'm pleased with my fitting experience with Joe, and as I've alluded to in a few posts, I left his place humbled and even more hungry to get my swing in order. I am relieved knowing what setup will work better for me and Joe specifically mentioned that the builds will work for me as my swing speed increases. Seeing how this was the first full bag fitting I've had, I read up on Joe as much as I could and everything I read and heard was true. He's extremely friendly, professional and thoroughly explained why he suggested the clubs that he did. I've been around plenty of fittings at big box stores so I had a general idea of what would be happening, and the fitting with Joe exceeded my expectations. Of course I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't hitting the ball as well as I wanted, but that's golf for you. Bottom line is the experience was very enlightening and I feel like I know more about what will work for me, which was the point all along.

Oh and I forgot to mention, towards the end Joe said, "Dude, you're a straight up club ho!" I pretty much shrugged and said "guilty" haha!

Now to figure out what to do with all these 'old' clubs :wink:.
 
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There is nothing newer than what is in your bag already LOL! What if he says you’re good to go?
 
Looking forward to seeing end result. Curious, going into this fitting, have you committed yourself to stay with whatever is fitted for a period of time before starting all over again?

This will be fun follow, thanks for sharing.
 
Joe is fantastic.
 
*Reserved for comment about unbelievable distances and ball speeds and then one or two wise cracks about how long these will last*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Looking forward to hearing about your fitting. Enjoy it
 
DataDude said:
What if he says you’re good to go?
Click to expand...

what i was wondering too. sometimes buying new and shiny is the main goal regardless of gains and that’s totally cool. his current setup seems pretty great to me so it will be fun to follow and see what he ends up with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jimmy3864 said:
...have you committed yourself to stay with whatever is fitted for a period of time before starting all over again?
Click to expand...

Remember, 2 days is a "period of time". Better quantify that with "elongated", "prolonged", or "lengthy". :bananadance:
 
Looking forward to following along Josh. Have fun.


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Read the title too fast and read "fighting with Joe Kwok".

Definitely need to wake up a little more.

Anyways hope everything goes well!

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk
 
Looking forward to seeing the end results. I think shafts in most of the clubs will change. It will be hard to beat what’s in the bag now with what’s available to the fitters, but I think ping or pxg May replace the p790s when you see similar numbers in a better looking head
 
I'm sensing some FS threads going up in the Marketplace soon.
Have fun and I can't wait to see what they fit you in.
 
Have a great time. Should be interesting to see what comes out of it.
 
Good luck with the new mortgage. :laughing:


In all seriousness though, I can't wait to follow along. I know you'll have a blast, and spoil us with updates.
 
Have fun! Looking forward to seeing the results and seeing what pops up in the FS thread.
 
I'm going to laugh when Joe Kwok calls Mr. Hicksta a master tinkerer that has perfected his bag so well that he should not touch anything for at least a year.
 
Well, this is exciting! Big week for you coming up!!
 
Subscribed

Enjoy, my man!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Can't wait to follow this, good luck!
 
As someone who has been "kwoked" before, you will love it!
I played the clubs he built for me for the longest time - this was way before Cool Clubs or Club Champion became available.
I must say, his craftsmanship is absolutely perfect in every way.
 
DataDude said:
There is nothing newer than what is in your bag already LOL! What if he says you’re good to go?
Click to expand...

I've considered that, but I'm fairly certain there will be some changes!

Jimmy3864 said:
Looking forward to seeing end result. Curious, going into this fitting, have you committed yourself to stay with whatever is fitted for a period of time before starting all over again?

This will be fun follow, thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

I have committed to sticking with it because of the indirect threats I've received :rofl:

Molten said:
*Reserved for comment about unbelievable distances and ball speeds and then one or two wise cracks about how long these will last*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

See above. Too late! :wink:

c.a.eleric said:
what i was wondering too. sometimes buying new and shiny is the main goal regardless of gains and that’s totally cool. his current setup seems pretty great to me so it will be fun to follow and see what he ends up with.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I do like my current setup, but it was all put together based on visual appeal and feel. If he says something produces better numbers, then I'll definitely consider making the switch!

TheLetterSee said:
Read the title too fast and read "fighting with Joe Kwok".

Definitely need to wake up a little more.

Anyways hope everything goes well!

Sent from my SM-G935R4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

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Pre-coffee foruming is dangerous!

emart2173 said:
Looking forward to seeing the end results. I think shafts in most of the clubs will change. It will be hard to beat what’s in the bag now with what’s available to the fitters, but I think ping or pxg May replace the p790s when you see similar numbers in a better looking head
Click to expand...

Yeah I think the shafts will change as well. Funny you mention Ping and PXG because he has fitting heads with both! I'm trying to go into it as neutral as possible so we'll see what happens.
 
markm778 said:
I'm sensing some FS threads going up in the Marketplace soon.
Have fun and I can't wait to see what they fit you in.
Click to expand...

They should be up later this week :wink:

blakehall said:
Good luck with the new mortgage. :laughing:


In all seriousness though, I can't wait to follow along. I know you'll have a blast, and spoil us with updates.
Click to expand...

You only turn 40 once, and mrs.hicksta said this is what she wanted to get me so who am I to argue!

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Ryan Loves Golf said:
As someone who has been "kwoked" before, you will love it!
I played the clubs he built for me for the longest time - this was way before Cool Clubs or Club Champion became available.
I must say, his craftsmanship is absolutely perfect in every way.
Click to expand...

I'm pumped to hear this, and having read similar thoughts before that's part of the reason I decided to get fit by him. All jokes aside, I hope to game whatever I get fit for for as long as possible!
 
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