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Dragged Into the 21st Century


bkuehn1952

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My stepson and I went to two fitting sessions recently. The first was irons, and the second was driver/3-wood/hybrid. Each was two hours. I hit somewhere around 125-150 balls each time. I have never been a range rat and hitting 100+ balls was a chore.  Fortunately for me, the fitter had to swap shafts and heads which allowed me rest periods.

Being a low-tech senior citizen, I had never hit balls in a simulator or been measured by a Trackman. Frankly, I did not want to know how slow my swing was, and I have never been comfortable hitting balls off Astroturf. I also do not like being under assessment by some golf geek. The fact that the sessions were a gift from my family (Father's Day) was the only reason I was willing to get dragged into this cyber golf experience.

We may as well get right to the punch line so everyone can move on; my driver swing speed is 81.5 mph. On the plus side, my slow-motion swing is very efficient. The geek felt I needed more height to maximize my distance. In the end we settled on a Callaway Rogue ST Max head (10.5 degree) and a Mitsubishi Diamana ZF-Series 40 R-Flex shaft (all this stuff is pretty much blah, blah, blah to me). 3-wood similarly Callaway. Hybrid Ping G425 3-19 Degree.

Irons are Cobra King Forged Tex X with Aldila NV Iron 45 A shafts (shit, I may as well be trying to write this in Greek for all I understand).  Wedges are Cleveland.  My putter, for now, remains a 2-ball Odyssey.

The new clubs will be built in 4-5 weeks, just in time for our first snow fall. Naturally, this coincides with playing my best golf in the past 5 years, using my beat up, mismatched set of 20-year old clubs. A final battle for my golf loyalty seems in the offing. 

Positives:

·         I now know the grim reality about my ancient swing and no longer need to worry, just accept the truth.

·         The geek was very good at putting me at ease and the fitting was fun ... sort of.

·         This likely will translate into better golf. There may be a breaking-in period but I am confident the new sticks will be an improvement.

Negatives:

·         I don't like hitting off carpet into a screen. I prefer to see the real result, not what some computer tells me.

·         My pocketbook is a lot lighter. But as the saying goes, “you can’t take it with you”. Hmmm, do you think there will be room in the casket for my clubs?

Edited by bkuehn1952

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Something that is always interesting to me is how many fittings (including my own) result in someone having a lighter flex on irons compared to woods.  There's likely a lot I don't understand about the process.

On one hand, I am jealous of putting a bag together all at once.  I have never done this (and I don't view it as likely that I would any time soon).  I look forward to seeing your success in the upcoming season.  

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Thanks.  Yes, I plan to report on my progress of incorporating the new clubs into my golf game when they eventually arrive. The expectation is there will be some bumps along the way.

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If "CC" is Club Champion, that was our fitter in Ann Arbor.  They suggested breaking it up into two sessions (consecutive Saturdays).  I never would have been able to do 4 hours of hitting balls.

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Are there people (other than those who play for a living, maybe) who can hit balls for four hours at the volume you'd need to?

I'm trying to remember what it was like when I (over fourteen years ago) went to a fitting where, if they were still around, would be a competitor to CC.  It was supposedly a full bag fitting, but I doubt I hit more than irons, a driver, and a putter.  I also later found lots of people, of various abilities (ranging from my 20+ handicap unathletic self at the time to someone with a plus handicap) who went to them and all got the same recommendations, so how accurate the fitting was is beyond me.  I would bet CC is far better about proper fittings. 

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"But as the saying goes, “You can’t take it with you”.  Hmmm, do you think there will be room in the casket for my clubs?" - Mr. Kuehn

I would ask the funeral director if you could have your favorite putter with you as you head to Pebble Beach Heaven to play a few rounds with Ben Hogan.  But don't be surprised if that putter ends up in the funeral director's golf bag after you've been planted.  Unfortunate for the funeral director I'm thinking you've still got at least 30 more years of golfing on this side of the ground.

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