Best OEM web store: Cleveland gets it right!

[Tee2Trees]

Just picked up a Cleveland Classic XL Custom off the Cleveland website.  These are steeply discounted in the used bins already but you can also get a smokin' deal from Cleveland direct.

A disclaimer: I am not good enough to get "fitted" by a professional.  There, I said it.  I have too many swing thoughts, grip thoughts, stance manipulations, and general off-days to be able to expect any kind of permanent swing characteristics of my future golfing career to appear over the course of hitting 20 balls against a projector screen in street shoes and no glove on.  I would prefer to pick something out that just works for most people of similar build and I can then go off and learn to hit it correctly.

"Paper" Fitting

First I'll mention a bit of a qualm.  Parent company Srixon offers the best guide for fitting "on paper" which is not found on Cleveland's own website.  Otherwise the information would be equally applicable to the XL Custom as it is to any Srixon stick.

http://www.srixon.com/pdf/quicktune_system.pdf

This really makes it simple.  I've spent enough time in the store simulators to know my comfortable swing speed is usually just under 100 in street shoes and bare hands, and my corresponding ball speed suffers due to inconsistent contact.  So according to the Srixon guide: flex = stiff (function of swing speed), loft = 10.5 (function of avg ballspeed).

Ordering the Driver to Fit

Now on to the fun part.  Armed with the information gleaned above, the shopping experience at Cleveland really shines.  I was able to pick out a shaft among 4 options.  I chose Matrix Black Tie for low launch as the head is already the highest loft and I like to be able to occasionally nut one way out there.  Then a weight screw: 7gm standard for me.  Then shaft trimming options: -0.5" and no tip trimming for a 44.5" finished length.  Then grip: standard Cleveland grip with +2 wraps (1/32").  All choices available from dropdown menu fields!  Finally the the bill for the driver, with these options and a headcover and a wrench, comes to $200 with free shipping.  Color me impressed!

[Mr. Desmond]

Black Tie? At 100 SS.

Red Tie ...

10.5, unless the stamped loft is bogus, is low lofted now. Even some pros use 11-12 deg drivers. If you're lofting your combo too high, it's not the setup. If it's too low, well then...

Good luck with it.

[Tee2Trees]

I clock the ferrule shut which adds another 1.0-1.5 degrees of loft depending on how far I go.  Based on past results, I've hit my biggest drives using the Fujikura Fit-On Red (tour trajectory) and the UST Proforce V2 70, so it would seem the lower trajectory shafts allow me to get the high flat shot shape that hangs in the air forever.  I dunno, maybe I'm pushing a higher SS out on the course in full dress.

[Mr. Desmond]

Then you ought to just point out the obvious: "You're a beast."

[Tee2Trees]

Well I'm no Michelle Wie, who swings an X-flex on an 8.5 degree head.  But I can smash my 4 hybrid 175 yds and watch it drop out of the clouds only to suck back off the front of the green 20 yards short of my target.

But seriously, the active-tip shafts are no friend to "flippers" like me.  I think the lower spin shafts produce distance by controlling spin even though I'm on the edge of the recommended SS.