Off Course is back this week with a fantastic show. Hosted by Dan Edwards, each Friday he gives you a deep look into the world of golf and equipment in a way unlike any other podcast has done before. Today Director of Custom Fitting & Player Performance at Callaway Golf, Michael Vrska joins the conversation to talk about shaft fitting and a whole lot more.
It wouldn’t be Off Course without some tangents, but Dan and Michael take a deep dive in a way that is easy to understand everything about shaft fitting and finding the best clubs for you. This show has a lot going on and is one you will not want to miss as Michael Vrska goes Off Course.
Episode 127 is here and Dan and Michael discuss the following topics.
Where Should Fitting Begin?
Shaft vs Head vs Ball
Shaft Specs vs Shaft Reality
Shaft Fitting Importance
And so much more
You can listen to the show right here, Apple Podcasts or of anywhere you do your listening and downloading from. Search for the Hackers Paradise and make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode. After listening, come back over and drop us a note below on what you agree and/or disagree with from the episode.
THPGolf · Off Course: Shaft Fitting Explained
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I think I was talking to JT with Titleist about this very thing at Ballyhack. He was saying they do a ton of testing and research to find a handful of “stock” shafts for their lineup. Was very interesting to hear that side of the company and what all goes into that.
I had to listen to this on and off yesterday and looking forward to listening to it again all the way through.
Thanks. Though that may be a passive aggressive take on how long winded @Canadan and I tend to go on pods. ???? Maybe next time we will go 2 hours just to test it. ??
I’m all for all the hours you two can muster! Hahaha
Don’t encourage me.
Wait.
with clarity comes fairness – and I think that’s all we can ask for.
Let us know what’s under the hood, don’t try to fool us – and of course explain why.
Meant to post this up yesterday… drove back to Bay Area from Lake Tahoe…. So much great content and thought provoking…. And yeah… I like 2% milk… but I want options in shafts, balls heads!
I also can appreciate what you guys were talking about related to how swings can be different when testing/fitting, and how that can impact results. It basically speaks to the need of a real sample size and being open minded that there are other factors. I definitely think I experienced that to a high degree during a driver fitting in which I knew I was making better contact, but I felt it was largely due to me simply adjusting and putting together a better swing, so at the end, after seeing some eye-popping numbers, I asked to hit my gamer a few times and the results were then much closer. It was still evident what would be best, but it took some of that guesswork/randomness out of it. I also appreciated how open my fitter was to being sure that we had the right numbers and weren’t buying into other factors too much.
1. Fitting is still as much art as science and can’t be done on paper. You need to hit stuff and ideally have an expert guide you through the process.
2. The shaft that produces center contact most often is the best fit.
add me to the list of THPers that would love him and @Canadan to do this more often.
I so enjoy the feeling at a demo day doing club fittings when someone brings me their gamer (insert club) and we can get them dialed into something better. I live for that little smirk I get where you just know the person is saying “alright, you got me on this”.
There’s been a nugget or two that I’ve been finding on just about every listen. I’m on my fourth. I really just need to sit down and focus on this podcast instead of listening while I drive. I love shaft talk.
I’m back on the FCM chart talk and I remember that chart well. I’m starting to pick up on how often Michael Vrska talks about center contact. I’m beginning to think that might be an important factor that exists outside of using shaft length as the sole fix to contact point.
I never thought of having all the options available when there not being a standard in place. I like that analogy.
As someone that gets fit for clubs I have seen some really good fitters and some really bad ones. I still think I can get some better performance out of my clubs but that is part of the fun.
I like the demo days conversation. You have to be fair with the reps. If you just want to try stuff that is one thing but there are also some consumers that are really there to get fit to buy so play nice people.