We had the chance to visit Modern Golf Vancouver and experience our first ever club fitting experience (see part 1 and part 2) several months ago. It was an eye opener to see what a properly fitted golf club could do to optimize our swing and our games. Last week, we had the opportunity to go through another fitting experience at the Taylormade Performance Centre (TMPC) at University Golf Club in Vancouver.
It was only recently that we discovered that University Golf Club in Vancouver was home to the Taylormade Performance Centre. At the Performance Centre, Taylormade provides the ultimate swing and custom fitting experience for golfer’s of all abilities to test and be fit for the entire line-up of their vast range of custom and stock options. Master Fitter, Andy Johnson, was on hand to give us the tour-experience and analyze our golf swings so the best equipment could be built for us. Andy is a native of Australia and a past player on the PGA Tour Canada and Australasian Tours.
As a Master Fitter, Andy is very knowledgeable about all things golf, having the experience as a Tour player as well as putting in countless hours honing his craft while fitting at the Taylormade Performance Lab at Glen Abbey GC in Oakville. He has learned the breadth of the Taylormade custom line on the deepest of levels and really helped us understand our game a lot better after going through the fitting experience with us. At the beginning of the fitting, we hit our own golf clubs to warm up while Andy explained to us what was going to take place and what to expect.
While we were warming up, our shots were being recorded by the FlightScope X2 Launch Monitor, integrated with Taylormade’s specific software. With FlightScope, Andy was able to analyze the swing speed, initial velocity, vertical/horizontal launch angles, spin axis, and total spin of our shots as well as carry and total distance and more, in real time. With this data, he was able to provide us the correct golf clubs to fit our game. And with each recommendation, he made sure to explain why a particular club would work for us and explain what different shafts can do, how it manages ball flight and more to provide us with more consistent results. The fitting started with an analysis of irons, which was done by hitting 7-irons.
One of our team members are currently playing a set of Callaway X-18 irons with stock uniflex shafts. As we discussed in our article at Modern Golf, the big miss is a pull-hook. Andy noticed this right away and got us to hit some balls off of a lie board. With this analysis, he would set up his suggested irons 2 degrees upright. Secondly, he provided heavier shaft options as well, before deciding on Dynamic Golf S300 stiff shafts in a Tour Preferred MC club head. The proper shaft along with the latest technology (particularly the speed pocket) helped to increase distance while also tightening dispersion and minimizing the misses. Overall, iron shots were much more consistent and FlightScope numbers optimized to where Andy wanted them to be – it definitely left us amazed at the difference a properly fitted club can make.
It’s not all just about getting fit for the right clubs though. Andy would have a deep conversation with each of us to discuss our games, our tendencies and what we like to do on a golf course. He would take each golf club in our bag into consideration and ask questions on how they’re used. In doing so, he builds a picture of what our bag should look like and the clubs that should be played. For our team member above, the rest of his bag was fit with a SLDR 460 driver with a Speeder Fujikura 757 X-stiff (1/2″ shorter), SLDR 3-wood with a Motore 7.2 SPeeder TS X-stiff (1/2″ shorter), Taylormade 3-iron UDI and Tour Preferred wedges (50* C-grind, 54* and 58* ATV grind) with Dynamic Gold S300 stiff. A ball was also recommended (Tour Preferred X) and also a conversation about putters – because we were all so comfortable with our current putters, that was left alone.
With Andy at the Taylormade Performance Centre, he can dial in any club in the bag from drivers and fairways to rescues, irons, wedges, the putter and golf ball. With the combination of Andy’s experience and the technology of FlightScope data, the ideal set up for a player’s bag can be determined and suggested as the best fit for a player’s game. At the end of the fitting process, we were provided detailed specifications from where we can place an order for the new set to a point of contact to follow up with any fitting related inquiries. Overall, it was a great experience to be fit to Taylormade equipment by Master Fitter, Andy Johnson, where we could really see the benefit of being properly fit and the innotaive technology in Taylormade equipment.
All Fittings Include:
– 1 session with a TaylorMade Master Fitter, in a private environment, sheltered from the elements
– Session conducted on FlightScope Launch Monitor with TMaG Integrated Fitting Software
– Access to the largest matrix of TaylorMade Demo Head and Shaft Options
– Special Player’s Gift
-Metalwood Fitting: 45min – $75 +tax
-Iron Fitting: 45min – $75 +tax
-Short Game Fitting: 45min – $75 +tax
-Total Bag Fitting: 1.5hrs – $150 +tax
You can book a fitting with Andy Johnson at the University Golf Club by visiting the driving range kiosk, calling 604-240-1512 or sending an email to lessons@universitygolf.com.
Source: Taylormade Performance Centre, Canada, University Golf Club
