The OS Golfer's Thread!

[BDKiiing]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

As our resident OS club fitter, any thoughts on whether some of the 'premium' club-fitting services (e.g. TrueSpec) are worthwhile? I think we've had this discussion in some form or other before, but my experiences with club-fitting (either myself or as an observer with family/friends) is that the standard club-fitting at your local golf store/superstore is extremely hit-or-miss, with more 'miss' than 'hit' in my experience.

I think I'd be willing to pay for a more 'premium' club fit experience if I had a sense that there would be some minimal level of expertise involved, which has not been my experience in general with club fittings.

As someone who does club fittings everyday, this is my take on fitting. Do I feel being fit for golf clubs is important, absolutely. However, club fitting means different things for different golfers. At the end of the day a club fitting is about reasonable expectations. If a bogey golfer comes to me with relatively modern golf clubs and the expectations to pick up 30 yards, that's unreasonable. My take is that the better the golfer the more important, in-depth, and nuanced the fitting will get. A scratch golfer will notice the difference between various shafts and slight adjustments to loft/lie, etc. A higher handicap golfer the fitting can be viewed as finding the correct head, shaft flex, length, and lie angle. With the higher handicap golfer I'm not going to dive into a ton of different shaft options, I'm just getting that golfer into the ballpark that helps now, but will also be beneficial in the future if they anticipate working on their game and improving.


At the end of the day you need to be honest about where you slot in at a talent level for a golfer. If you're a bogey golfer, you'll likely notice difference between clubs, but the fitting will stay relatively basic. But when you get to be a single digit handicap, we'll talk shaft options and other tweaks, because that golfer can potentially see changes from more nuanced tweaks to the golf club.



End of the day it's purely about expectations. A bogey golfer expecting to magically become a single digit is unreasonable, but slight tweaks can help. While fitting is absolutely an important part of getting the bag dialed in, it starts with being aware of what's possible.


Also, anyone coming to the Detroit area anytime, I got you dialed in.

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Awesome, thanks BDKiing. Makes a lot of sense.

I think for me, I need to buy new clubs and it's simply a matter of making a club-purchase decision based on some metrics, rather than just buying whatever looks good or feels okay when I hit it a few times at the store. Given how much money is involved, I want to make a purchase based on what the Trackman (or equivalent) numbers say give me the highest clubhead speed, smash factor, optimal launch angle, etc. in a brand-agnostic fashion.

That's pretty much what I want to get out of it - I don't for a second think it's going to take strokes off my game or add significant distance to my shots, although presumably if it's optimized, those things may happen to a greater or lesser degree.

[kehlis]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Awesome, thanks BDKiing. Makes a lot of sense.

I think for me, I need to buy new clubs and it's simply a matter of making a club-purchase decision based on some metrics, rather than just buying whatever looks good or feels okay when I hit it a few times at the store. Given how much money is involved, I want to make a purchase based on what the Trackman (or equivalent) numbers say give me the highest clubhead speed, smash factor, optimal launch angle, etc. in a brand-agnostic fashion.

That's pretty much what I want to get out of it - I don't for a second think it's going to take strokes off my game or add significant distance to my shots, although presumably if it's optimized, those things may happen to a greater or lesser degree.

Most major retailers will give you a free fitting if you buy the set from them. It may not be the services bdolski can provide but may be sufficient for what you are looking for.

[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Most major retailers will give you a free fitting if you buy the set from them. It may not be the services bdolski can provide but may be sufficient for what you are looking for.

Yeah, I think that's what I was referring to in my earlier post - the majority of fittings I've seen or been a part of at the major retailers are not done by anyone that appears to know anything more about equipment than I do, and they left me entirely un-impressed. That's why I was interested in some of the more 'premium' fitting services.

I think it's one thing to be able to turn on a launch monitor and read numbers, then suggest a Taylormade driver that they have for sale. It's another thing entirely to see that someone's spin rate is too high because the kick-point in their driver shaft is too low, put that together with their swing speed, and come up with an optimal combination to help get the most out of their swing or at the least, find the right driver for them. Which may be some brand they never even heard of or thought of.

Anyway, I'm sufficiently interested to look into getting an appointment at like a TrueSpec or similar whenever I can. Of course if I were in the Motown area I would go to BDKiing first (!).

[BDKiiing]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Yeah, I think that's what I was referring to in my earlier post - the majority of fittings I've seen or been a part of at the major retailers are not done by anyone that appears to know anything more about equipment than I do, and they left me entirely un-impressed. That's why I was interested in some of the more 'premium' fitting services.

I think it's one thing to be able to turn on a launch monitor and read numbers, then suggest a Taylormade driver that they have for sale. It's another thing entirely to see that someone's spin rate is too high because the kick-point in their driver shaft is too low, put that together with their swing speed, and come up with an optimal combination to help get the most out of their swing or at the least, find the right driver for them. Which may be some brand they never even heard of or thought of.

Anyway, I'm sufficiently interested to look into getting an appointment at like a TrueSpec or similar whenever I can. Of course if I were in the Motown area I would go to BDKiing first (!).

I would say most shops will for sure do that. The biggest thing is to find a fitter who can explain and translate the data produced by the clubs to you. Before I got into the industry, I had a general idea what the numbers all meant, but didn't know how they were all affected by what you can all do on the golf club. A place like TrueSpec does a similar offering to what I do on a daily basis. So if they're close by, it's definitely worth looking into. The other thing that is beneficial is what I did with my previous job with TaylorMade. Find a local club that has fitting events with different manufacturers. Sometimes you'll even find multi-vendor events, which can be good as well. Most of the club companies you can find dates and times for fitting events on their websites, so that's always one way to look too.

[jb12780]

The OS Golfer's Thread!

Question.

So I just realized I have a bit of a gapping problem at the bottom end of my bag. My PW (Callaway Rogue ST Max) is 41 degrees. My next closest wedge is my 52. I was thinking of dropping my 60 degree to get something in between the 41 and 52.

Any thoughts or suggestions?


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[pietasterp]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Question.

So I just realized I have a bit of a gapping problem at the bottom end of my bag. My PW (Callaway Rogue ST Max) is 41 degrees. My next closest wedge is my 52. I was thinking of dropping my 60 degree to get something in between the 41 and 52.

Any thoughts or suggestions?


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BDKiing is probably the best to comment on this, but some places that do club-fittings can do a 'gap analysis' and you go hit your wedges and figure out what your carries and other numbers are and where the 'holes' are in your distances. I suppose you could do a version of that yourself as well but might be worth the afternoon if there is a facility available nearby.

[BDKiiing]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Question.

So I just realized I have a bit of a gapping problem at the bottom end of my bag. My PW (Callaway Rogue ST Max) is 41 degrees. My next closest wedge is my 52. I was thinking of dropping my 60 degree to get something in between the 41 and 52.

Any thoughts or suggestions?


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Easy answer, I'd just pick up the Rogue ST Approach Wedge. It's 46°, and fits perfectly in there. The "standard" 8 piece set of Rogues is 4-AW, that's essentially the lofts of an old school 3-PW set, so most people are absolutely going to need that AW to go along with that set.

[jb12780]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Easy answer, I'd just pick up the Rogue ST Approach Wedge. It's 46°, and fits perfectly in there. The "standard" 8 piece set of Rogues is 4-AW, that's essentially the lofts of an old school 3-PW set, so most people are absolutely going to need that AW to go along with that set.

Ordered the A wedge this morning, thank you.


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[countryboy]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Due to life, health and other things, I played for the first time since the Spring over the weekend. I played 9 holes at a local course and it wasn't pretty. Shot a 55.

I just didn't have the distance down on my clubs, even ones I feel extremely confident in (PW, 7I, utility wood), and just miss hit after miss hit. And putting was just a nightmare as well, no feel to roll the ball.

But despite the struggles it felt good to get back out on the course. I haven't played nearly as often as I want, or normally do for various reasons, so I will forgive myself for playing ugly this time.

[MrArlingtonBeach]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

My dad and I just played 9 holes this evening. We both had our most consistent rounds in a long time. We both drained some lengthy putts, including both making 25 footers on the same hole. Our driving was good, approach game was serviceable, and our two scores combined would have broke 100 (I shot 45 and my dad shot 47). Bogey golf is pretty good for us!

It was a great night and it's always wonderful to get a round in with him...it's even more fun when you play "well". :-)

[jb12780]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Now hitting a little patch where I can’t get my irons off the ground unfortunately, but have some what straightened out my driver. Hoping to get a lesson or two in with a different pro from who I was using before.

Even had a hole out from about 60 yards yesterday.

The nice thing about being single with no kids is there’s a lot of time for golf. I’ve played around 45 rounds so far this season.


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[BDKiiing]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

So I got to play Oakmont Country Club again the last two days. What an experience. What a beast of a track. The history there is unbelievable. The views there are unbelievable. Yesterday I got my breaks beat in, shot an 88. My goal was to break 90 the first round, so I was pleased. Today I had a terrible front, after getting in the church pew bunkers on #3 and struggling to get out. I rallied with a 38 on the back, with a par, birdie, par finish to shoot 83. Felt like I shot 73. I sat down behind the 18th green as soon as I holed my last putt. What a grind. But what a rewarding grind.

Spoiler

[jb12780]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

That looks incredible!

Played yesterday and shot a 94. Figured out that my trail arm was causing me some issues on the downswing and I was able to hit some very nice iron shots.

I will be playing at my friends club in NoVa this weekend and some local courses here before I head down. 90 holes over 5 days I’m very excited.


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[kehlis]

Re: The OS Golfer's Thread!

Does anyone have any experience with the Arccos Caddy sensors?

Saw Taylor Made was giving them away free to anyone who bought TM clubs this year along with I think a three year subscription so went ahead and got them (nothing to lose).

Just curious if anyone has tried them?