Custom matching a driver to the swing can give golfers immense benefits in performance and as a result, improvement in handicap, and it is a great way for a pro to encourage customer loyalty. To do this well the club-fitter needs to understand component specification thoroughly, and how to custom match components to a particular golf swing.
The first question asked should be: what are the playing goals and weaknesses of the player?
Looking at playing goals first, there are only three major options: more distance; improved accuracy; better trajectory and ball flight. In many ways these can be linked together, but the easiest way to gain performance benefit is by analysing each area separately for a weakness.
To gain more distance is almost every golfer's desire, and it can be aided by investigating the shaft and its benefits. Too little flex and a shaft weight that is too heavy will take speed from the swing and therefore lower the distance achieved. By playing with a shaft that is too heavy for the swing, shaft length also becomes an issue, as it affects the driver's swing-weight and can make it too high. This again will take clubhead swing speed away from the player and distance from the drive.
Changing the ball flight trajectory is another easy way to get more distance, and again the shaft gives distance improvement. By checking and changing a shaft's bend-point, driving distance can be increased significantly. A shaft with a high bend-point will give a lower ball flight and the reverse for low bend-point. Changing these affects launch angle and the spin rate of the ball as it leaves the clubhead, and matching bend-point to improve a weakness in a player's ball flight is quick, easy and it works.
Trying to increase distance brings us next to driver loft. Working on the same principal as shaft bend-point, changing your driver loft is one of the easiest ways to improve driving distance. It changes launch angle and spin and has a dynamic affect on trajectory. Increasing launch angle using greater loft (experimenting with a loft of up to 14.5 degrees can prove an interesting test) usually gives greater carry and more air time, whereas reducing loft can remedy a stalling trajectory that is too acute on leaving the clubface. This will give more run to the ball when it lands on the fairway. Try combinations of these to improve distance.
Accuracy with the driver is obviously essential (even if golfers don't always realise it!) and improving this is often a trade-off against distance. When fitting a driver the target is always to achieve the best of both requirements.
Staying up to date with clubhead technology is very important, as playing with the head best suited to a customer's game really makes a big improvement. With so many different head technologies available it's key to focus closely on playing goals and shot patterns.
Adjustable weight technology is one of the best systems for stopping fade or draw problems. The technology is not new but it is easily understood and club adjustment is usually quick, with an immediate change in shot pattern. Fitting more weight to the heel changes the MOI of the clubhead, forcing the toe of the clubhead to pass the hosel, thereby encouraging a more right-to-left shot shape. Moving weight to the toe has the reverse affect and should bring the left-to-right shape into a golfer's game.
Square-headed drivers are also great for improving accuracy. They provide a more stable MOI to stop the clubhead twisting before and through impact. Square heads are most useful if a player's shot pattern is erratic, for golfers who hit the ball to both the left and right side of the fairway with no fixed consistency.
As ever the shaft plays a big part. It really can improve accuracy. Heavier weighted, stiffer shaft flexes with less torque will give a closer shot dispersion due to greater stability within the design and manufacture of the shaft.
Using one or more of these options will give a major improvement in accuracy.
Last but not least: trajectory. This element is always important and often overlooked by handicap players, perhaps with a comment such as: "well I always hit the ball low", as if that low trajectory is inevitable. Trajectory affects distance and accuracy both dynamically and mentally, as often confidence in achieving best ball trajectory will change a golfer's swing.
Playing into a stiff breeze is tough if you struggle to hit a penetrating ball trajectory, and the reverse occurs if there are hazards in front of the tee that require a reasonable ball carry and higher trajectory. These are concerns that can dampen a golfer's confidence and thereby alter the swing.
These are the options: clearly more loft gives a higher trajectory, while less loft produces a lower trajectory, and loft technology is easily understood and tested.
Head design is another quick fix for changing trajectory. Moving-weight technology allows for more weighting at the back of the sole area, which alters the centre of gravity to increase launch angle, whereas removing weight from that area of the clubhead lowers trajectory. Bullet, or the more triangular head designs, also create a higher trajectory, so club-fitters should look into this technology before recommending a driver.
All this information fits into a cult custom fit word: optimisation. Simply by making sure the club-fitter selects the most suited components for a golfer's swing, whether buying off the rack or a specially made custom driver, and investigating component performance and technology, will bring golfers' playing goals closer to realisation.
