Roy Harris

Hello, I've been practicing with a Taylor Made Rossa Imola 8 putter at my local golf store: http://www.taylormadegolf.com/produc...ection=gallery Finally, after practicing with it for three months, I finally broke down and purchased it. One thing I would like to do to customize the putter is to have one or two lines cut into, and painted white, near the back of the putter. This would aid in alignment. Does anyone know if Taylor Made does this kind of customization? if not, does anyone know where I can find this kind of service? Thank you for your time, Roy

One more thing I forgot to mention: I am sure the fact that this fitter is located on the West Coast and in a very nice part of town added to the cost of the equipment! I experience this in my own industry (I teach martial arts for a living). People ask me how much money I charge for group classes or private lessons. When I tell them, they fall over in shock. They can't believe I can get away with charging that much. When I tell them what other schools charge in San Diego (most schools are higher in price than my school), and when I tell them my outgoing expenses each month are well over $4000, they sit in disbelief. So, while I am sure that I paid a lot more for my driver and three wood than others around the country would have paid for theirs, I do have to factor in the cost of living here on the West Coast, plus the location of the fitter's business. In the final analysis, I got what I paid for: A great set of woods that have helped me by lowering my scores, on average, by two to four strokes (because they have put me in fairways more often and have put me closer to the greens on my first and second shots). When I put in another 200 to 300 hours of practice with them (along with my lob wedge and putter), I am sure they will take off another two to four stroke off my game!!! That should get me in tournament shape. Roy Harris

This discussion has lead me to believe that a standard fitting session is not so standard. I am curious how each of you were fitted. Here's what happened during my fitting session: 1. My initial warm up was done by a Power Plate ( http://us.powerplate.com/EN/ ). This was the first time I had ever experienced anything like this. Definitely warmed me up in 60 seconds! I can now understand why NASA and professional athletes use such a machine to warm up. It feels like cheating. 2. Next, I continued my warm up by hitting several balls with my pitching wedge. 3. Next, a bunch of electronic gear was strapped onto my body, and I was told to swing one of the irons. Then, I swung one of their drivers. 4. Next, I swung the electronic gear with my clubs while the launch monitor and other equipment gauged and recorded my swings. 5. Next, the fitter went over "the numbers" on his computer. He explained what was good, what was not so good and how he was going to try and help me find the right equipment to help me reach optimal numbers. 6. Next, the fitter taught me some subtle details on improving my stance and address position for driving. While these were awkward at first, they definitely gave me greater swing speed without me swinging any harder. I was impressed! Who would have thought an address position would increase swing speed???? 7. Next, he showed me an instructional book where this address position was mentioned. I read a little of the book and then played with it for about 15 minutes. 8. Next, he gave me a break. He gave me a bottle of water, a Gatorade and a protein bar. He said, relax while I go get some gear. 9. After 10 minutes or so, he came back with an assembled driver (i.e. various pieces from various clubmakers). I hit quite a few balls while the launch monitor recorded everything and the fitter made observations. He told me there were improvements in my numbers, but not what he expected. So, he left the room again and was gone for another 10 minutes or so. We continued this testing of various shaft, head and grip combinations for quite some time. Finally, he found a combination that gave me the numbers he was looking for: The Taylormade SuperQuad head with a Diamana shaft that is 45.5 inches long, and an oversized G8 Winn grip. NOTE : Keep in mind, this fitter is not loyal to one clubmaker. Rather, he is loyal to helping his customers finding the right clubs for their swings. For example, the drivers that gave me the best numbers were a toss up between two manufacturers (Taylormade and Titleist). The irons that gave me the best numbers were a toss up between three manufacturers. In the end, I got the best mix of equipment. 10. Next, we worked on finding the right set of irons for my swing. Again, we worked on finding the right combination of head, shaft and grip. After 30 minutes or so, the fitter had found the right mix that gave me the right numbers. 11. Next, we worked on finding the right ball for the new clubs. After hitting Titleists, Taylormades, Slazengers, Precepts, Topflights and others, the fitter found the best ball for the new clubs. 12. Finally, we went over to a new machine and worked on putting for about 30 minutes. Turns out, I had the best putter for my putting stroke. However, a weighted insert was added to my shaft to help me stabilize the putter. After a little over three hours of testing, I had finished my fitting session and was waiting for the results. I hung out at the putting green and waited for the fitter to come back with the results. He handed me a piece of paper that had $4000+ worth of recommended equipment on it. We sat down and went over each club, inch by inch. I finished by reaching into my wallet, gave him my credit card, payed for the fitting session ($250 for three hours) and paid him for the new woods. I was a bit timid at spending that much money, but I had to trust somebody. Two week later, I had the clubs. Two weeks after receiving and playing with them, I was a VERY HAPPY MAN! So, is this the kind of experience all of you have had? Have you had similar experiences? More was done? Less was done? Give me the details. I'd like to compare what I received (and paid for) to what you receive (and paid for). Thanks, Roy Harris

The Taylormade r7 superquad driver, brand new, when it first came out, costed $750. The Diamana shaft costed $300 ( http://www.clubmaker-online.com/diamana.html ). The Winn oversized grip costed $8. Plus, the fitting company charged a hefty fee for ordering, shipping and assembling this club. Good clubs cost money! While I have definitely see the difference in my game, I had to change my mind about the way I viewed spending all of this money. Instead of focusing on how much money I paid, I am focusing on the benefits I have received from getting fitted. What are they? Consider the following: 1. Without swinging harder, I hit my drives 20 to 40 yards farther. That's not too bad, considering the fact that before the fitting session, my drives averaged around 260 yards. Now, they average around 285 yards. I have even hit a few 340 yards! 2. I am now hitting more fairways. In the past, I used to average 6 to 8 fairways. Now, I am averaging 10 or 11 fairways per round. 3. Because I am hitting the ball farther, I am now hitting a shorter iron into the greens, which means my ball is ending up closer to the hole on second and third shots. 4. Because I am hitting a shorter iron into a green, and because my ball is ending up closer to the hole on the second and third shots, my scores are lowering. The first time I went out and used the driver, I shot 71 on a par 71 course. My second round was 68 (par 72). My third round was 71 (par 71). My fourth round was 73 (par 71). My fifth round was 69 (par 71). My work schedule got busy for two months and I had to lay off of golf for eight weeks. That hurt, cuz I am now shooting in the mid 70's again (73 to 76). Now that I am practicing again, my numbers are improving. 5. As a result of having this new driver and spending considerable amounts of time with it at the driving range, I now have confidence on the tee with my driver......and that's a great feeling! So, while I did pay a lot of money for this driver, I am also reaping MAJOR BENEFITS from having paid so much for a new piece of technology that really has helped my game. Now, if I can do something similar with a new set of irons, I will be all set! $2800 seems like a lot of money to spend. However, I am curious if I can spend a lot less (maybe just $1200) and notice a similar improvement. While technology will not be the main factor (practice will be), I want to use technology to help me accomplish my goals! Here's an interesting side note: Several years ago (2002 to be exact), I did not believe in golf technology. I thought, "Why get fitted? Why spend all that money? All golf clubs are pretty much the same, anyways.....right?" Well, then I met a guy at a local driving range who fitted clubs. He tried hard to get me to try some new clubs. Of course, I didn't want to try anything new because I was satisfied with the clubs I had. Plus, I thought he was trying to get me to spend some of my hard earned money! Well, one day I decided to give in and try a few clubs - mainly out of curiousity. This fitting guy spent four hours with me and never once asked me to buy anything. That was the first thing that impressed me! The second thing that impressed me was his knowledge of clubs. In just two short hours, he had found three sets of irons (Mizuno, Bridgestone and Cleveland) and a couple of sets of woods (Titleist and Bridgestone) that helped me hit the ball farther and straighter. What's interesting is the fitter did not put me on a launch monitor or anything. He simply guided me by my swing and my ball flight. After allowing me to hit all those clubs, and after spending all of that time with me, the fitter simply closed up shop and went home. I was impressed. However, I was also curious about these new clubs! Fast forward six months. I could no longer take it. I had to purchase these new clubs (irons and driver). I spent $800 on the Bridgestone driver and three wood, and about $1000 on the Cleveland irons. Boy, did they help my game. That was 2002. Fast forward to 2007. Since the guy who fitted me no longer worked at the driving range I frequent, I decide to give another fitter a try; This time, a very popular fitter in Los Angeles (I live in San Diego). I drive two hours to get there, have my three hour fitting session and walk out the door with an order for a $1260 for the driver and $600 for the 3 wood. Whew.... I wait two weeks for my order to come in, and then it arrives. I take it out to the range and am banging it off the range mats. I make slight adjustments to my swing and set up and get ready to use it with some friends the following week. I show up with the new driver and everyone is curious to see how I hit it. I set up, waggle, waggle, waggle, and then BOOOM, I crack one 312 yard down the middle of the fairway. Of course, my playing buddies want to take a look at the driver and see what kind it is. I smile, head right to my cart and say, "Don't touch!" It was a great feeling....... It was even better when I shot 68 with them! Roy Harris

AnalogAG, Thanks so much for your help! ------- Matt P, Thanks a lot. That URL was very helpful. ------- neudi, That's a great piece of advice! I never thought about making the current loft 1 degree stronger on each club. I already have a fairly high trajectory with each club. I guess making certain clubs 1 degree stronger would help with distance! Thanks!!! ------- golf_junkie27, The swing speed listed is with the driver. It is my average speed (my highest was 121 and my lowest was 111). I got fitted for my driver and three wood a few months ago. The fitting session lasted three hours. At the end, an entire set of clubs was recommended. Because money was on short supply, I only ordered a new driver and a new 3 wood ($1260 for the driver and almost $600 for the 3 wood - granted, the new driver added 30+ yards to my usual 260 yard drive [making me average around 285 yards and hitting 9 to 12 fairways], and the 3 wood added 12 yards to my average 210 yard drive [making me average around 220 yards now and feeling more confident I can hit the tight fairways]). The guy who fitted me told me the irons would have been another $2800. Since I don't make that kind of money, I decided to look into having my current irons re-shafted. While I am sure the irons that were recommended by this fitting professional would fit my game to a tee, spending $2800 is not something I can afford to do right now (or in my immediate future). So, getting fit for the Project X shafts sounds like a great idea! Thanks. ------- Everardo, I will definitely get fitted. Thanks for the info and the URL! Based upon what I've read thus far, I don't think the flighted shafts are for me. I already hit the ball pretty high with the TT S300 shafts - which is fine with me. However, on windy days, the ball flight kills my distance. Thanks again for the info! Roy Harris

I currently play the Cleveland TA 2 irons with a stiff shaft. My handicap is currently at 3.6 and my swing speed is 116. I am looking for a small increase in distance, as well as a lowering of the trajectory. I was doing some reading about the Project X shafts and was considering giving them a try. However, I am confused by all the numbers (e.g. 5.0, 6.0., 6.5., 7.0, .355, .370, etc...) and by some of the terms (e.g. "flighted", "non-flighted", "tips spined", etc...). Also, I am open to any other suggestions for shafts that will help me lower the trajectory of my ball as well as increase distance slightly (5-8 yards). Any info to help me with this decision would be great! Thank you for your time, Roy Harris royharris@runbox.com

I carry three wedges: PW 47 degree LB 56 degree SW 60 degree Roy

I use a Scotty Cameron Circa 62 #2, as well as a Scotty Cameron Futura Phantom Mallet. When I'm stroking the ball very well, I use the Futura. When my stroke is off, I use the Circa 62. Roy

I use a Bridgestone J33R driver with a stiff Aldila shaft. While I love this driver, cuz I hit around 60% of the fairways, I am curious to see if I can find another driver than can add 10 more yards (without any loss of accuracy). Roy

I shot 79 today: 45 on the front nine and 34 on the back nine. When the round started, I didn't feel anything. My drives were all over the place and my putting was horrible. However, after eight holes of not feeling anything, I warmed up and then shot two under par on the back nine. Roy Harris

My goals for 2007 are: 1. Spend a bare minimum of six hours per week at the driving range. 2. Chip 100 balls (from ten yards) at home each day (3000 per month). 3. Putt 100 balls (from six feet) at home each day (3000 per month). 4. Focus the first half of the year on six foot putts, and chipping and pitching from around the green. 5. Focus the second half of the year on keeping the ball in the fairways 60% - 80% of the time. 6. Lower my putts per round from 38 to 32. 7. Make time to play golf at least once per week. Since January, I have spent six hours a week at the driving range....and it shows on the course. 60% of my drives are in the fairway and almost 60% of my fairway shots land on the green. My putts per round now average 34. And my up and down averages are around 50%. Last week, I just shot my first sub par round of golf since I was 18 years old. I was hoping to shoot a 69, however, I became anxious and blew it on a few holes. So, I ended up with a one under par 71. My goal for this year is to shoot in the high sixties at least once. Since it's only May and I have broken par once aleady (an shot even par a few times), I believe I am right on track. Roy Harris

I teach martial arts for a living. I manage an academy here in San Diego and teach 30+ seminars per year in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, Austraila and the US. Roy Harris Bag: Titleist S75 Driver: Bridgestone J33R 3W: Bridgestone J33 5W: Bridgestone J33 3-PW: Cleveland TA-2 (stiff, +2) LW: Cleveland SW: Cleveland Putter: Scotty Cameron, Futura Phantom Mallet Ball: Bridgestone 330