“BUBBA” & Custom Fitting
What a finish on Sunday! As usual the back 9 at Sunday’s Master’s made for amazing drama. Congratulations to Bubba Watson the 2012 Champion. Even though I picked Lee Westwood for the win and for a couple of rounds it looked like I was going to be right, Bubba was always a player I was rooting for. It seemed it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
A player who hits the ball so far and has such creativity with his irons, Bubba kept it together and hit that amazing shot in the playoff. You have to hand it to him for trying to pull off that incredible shot as opposed to laying up and trying to make an up and down. It was really nice to see the emotions he had as he made the short putt for the win showing the world how much it meant to him and his family. I will remember that shot and this Master’s for many years, I hope you enjoyed it as well. Now, what do you suppose Bubba will choose to serve at next years Champion’s Dinner?
While watching the Master’s I thought about how important custom fit clubs are and not just for tour players. If you are thinking about getting new clubs I highly recommend getting properly fit. What does it mean to be fit with golf clubs? Getting fit for clubs is about a 45 minute process. We take both your total height and wrist to floor measurements to start. This gives the fitter a basis for how long the clubs should be and what lie angle. The fitting process helps us pick the correct club head (cavity back or blade iron) the stiffness and length of shaft (regular, stiff, or graphite) the size of grip and the lie angle (upright or flat). When fitting for a shaft we try to find the stiffest shaft possible as this will help minimize shot dispersion. The flex of the shaft determines the trajectory of the ball (higher or lower) Grip size is important; if you have big hands you will need a bigger grip and vice versa for small hands. I myself have little hands so I use smaller grips. The bigger the grip the less “handsy” your swing will be. With smaller grips your hands will be more prominent in your swing. Once we have determined the shaft, club head and grip the final component is the lie angle. Lie angle affects the balls shot pattern (fade, draw). To determine lie, we place impact tape at the bottom of the club and hit off a plastic board. Once you make contact with the board the tape will have a mark on the sole of the club. The goal is to have the mark in the middle of the sole; this means the club lie is coming in at the proper angle. If the mark is towards the toe or heel this means we need to adjust the lie accordingly. Ping fitting has 12 different lie angles that are all differentiated by colour. I am a yellow code which is 1.5 degrees upright.
For a process that takes less than an hour and is free of charge custom fitting can really help your game. Every PGA Tour player has this process done for them and it will certainly help you hit some shots like Bubba. Keep in mind we can also retro fit your irons in case your swing has changed over the years. The Caledon Country Club Professionals would be happy to help you play better golf!
