Earlier in the month, we visited Modern Golf Vancouver for their open house to see their new, state of the art club fitting facility. We’ve featured the original Modern Golf Toronto location, but we are so glad they’ve decided to expand to Vancouver – their facility is definitely one of a kind in the city. We had the opportunity to experience a full bag fitting with head club fitter and manager of Modern Golf Vancouver, Dean Walters. In the next series of posts, we’ll take you through our fitting experience with Modern Golf Vancouver.
The fitting process starts at the Blueprinting Station where your current golf club specifications are measured. This information is invaluable if you have been playing with off the rack golf clubs – finding out if you’re playing exactly what you think you’re playing will definitely help your game. Swing weight and shaft length is measured and then shaft stiffness is tested through a “shaft frequency measurement.” The grip is clamped down into the device while Dean pulled the shaft down and released it – the device then measures the oscillation of the shaft to determine the stiffness level. Lofts and lies were also measured as well as grip thickness. Below, you’ll see our blueprinted length, loft and lie angle iron specifications compared to the manufacturer stated specifications:
The blueprinting process is definitely important for both the golfer and the club fitter (Dean). For the golfer, it allows us to find out if we’re playing what we actually think we’re playing. If you’ve ever said “it’s the club” after a bad shot – there may actually be some truth to it! For the club fitter, they’ll use this blueprinting session as a foundation for the fitting. Areas of concern in a golfer’s game is looked at and related to the measured specifications, then, recommendations and sample clubs can be hit.
For example, having the wrong length of golf clubs can lead to inconsistency in ball striking. Lofts are important as well in relation to dynamic loft (which is looked at through TrackMan Analysis – see Justin Rose and Ian Poulter). The wrong lofted golf clubs for a golfer’s swing can affect trajectory, spin and more, ultimately, affecting carry and total distances. Club lie angle will also differ depending on a golfer’s height, swing characteristics and arm length. For our Callaway X-18 player, the lie was too upright causing severe hook shots – Dean had a very simple way to measure the proper lie angle for a golfer! And lastly, swing weight is checked throughout each club to ensure a consistent feel throughout a golfer’s entire set – something that can definitely be inconsistent when purchasing off the rack irons.
Blueprinting takes roughly 30 minutes for a set of golf clubs and will set the tone for the rest of the fitting experience. This is part one of our Modern Golf Vancouver Club Fitting – in our next post, we’ll be going through the entire process of the club fitting in more detail! Stay tuned and see what we were fit for at Modern Golf Vancouver!
Source: Modern Golf
