tweaky

John as a ten year clubfitter my best advice for you is to find a clubfitter who deals with Wishon components. Specifically the 770CFE irons. by far the most forgiving irons on the market. they are milled thin and the ball comes off the face with a *click* rather than a *thwock* thereby lessening the impact that vibration has on the hands. Matched up with graphite shafts fitted to your liking for length and oversized Winn grips for comfort. you won't be disappointed. as far as how the lengths and lie angles go each club must be fitted to your feel and adjusted as a separate entity rather than all of them to some "standard" (there are no standards in golf clubs).

the NVS has the same "body flex" as the NV but the tip is much softer which causes you're ballooning. try a lighter weight stiff tip shaft like the NV 55g. my swingspeed is 105+ and i still use stiff flex shafts, i just trim the tip to fit my "feel".

the guy at Dick's is dead wrong. you cannot optimize the launch angle and spin rate for a 90 mph swing speed using a 9 degree driver with any shaft. the TRUE LOFT of the driver head is the FIRST fitting factor. the shaft is for fine tuning. by TRUE LOFT i mean the ACTUAL MEASURED center-of-the-face loft when the head is in it's designed and manufactured lie angle. the guy at Dick's has no idea what that is unless he has learned how to measure it and has the proper tools to do it. the number that is on the bottom of the clubhead is a reference point of the design. it is the INTENDED loft. and just saying that it's within a degree or two is pure BS. the rest of your post, Southern, is very accurate and please don't take offense at my post here. i'm not dissing you at all but there is a LOT of BS hype out there that golfers are being fed that is KILLING their game. btw- next time you talk to a "Salesperson" at a retail outfit ask them what schooling in clubfitting they've had. it's scary!

the grips won't soften with use. they'll just wear out and get thinner wherever your grip pressure is highest. what you're experiencing is grip pressure that is WAYYYY too high. loosen up your grip. the best advice i can give you as a ten year veteran clubfitter is to learn how to regrip your clubs, experiment with some extremes in size, softness, texture, and tackiness. regripping your own grips is not that difficult and less expensive than having them done by someone else. especially if you have an air compressor. if not then doing some research on the net will reveal some very useful info. anyone who is experiencing calluses, blisters, or any other grip related issues is likely having to adjust their grip pressure to the grip and not the grip to their optimum grip pressure. for just about every "name brand" grip there is a "knockoff" that is every bit as good but made to last longer and is cheaper.

before you buy look for a local clubfitter who can build a set to YOUR liking and at a very reasonable price. that fitting yer talking about is a sale. you'll hit a bunch of clubs, they'll say things like "you need them all one degree upright" or "you need them all a half inch shorter". i just built a set of irons and hybrids for a guy who drove across an entire state just to have this done. i met him part way with my van full of clubs with various shafts and lengths. this was after we emailed back and forth and spoke for over an hour on the phone. we discussed what his goals are, what his preferences are for heads, shafts, and grips and i made a seven iron based on his input. he hit it there at the driving range and loved it, straighter and longer than anything he's ever tried. we new we'd need to get together at least one more time so i sent him home with that club, no charge, to use at his home course while i readied the components for the set and waited on his final input. the end result is that he wanted the 4 and 5 irons the same length, ditto with the 6,7, and 8 as well as the 9 and wedges. "swingweight" was not an issue since "swingweight" is an arcane expression of...something that has never been fully explained to me so i sold the scale. we used light weight shafts that gave him the feel he wanted. not completely MOI matched, but darn close. i witnessed him hitting them all the appropriate distances, consistently, straight, in the center of the faces. i only adjusted the lie angle of the 4 iron. they are not 1/2" different in length and a couple of them have the same lie angles. he's one happy camper and i made a new friend. can Nike, Callaway, Titleist, Taylormade, et al do that?

is there a clubfitter in your area? we have mad skills and resources that the general public isn't aware of. there's a big world of golf out here besides Nike. have you ever been fitted for clubs? i don't mean at a store like Golf Galaxy or Dicks or any other retail outlet, i mean someone who has been certified by some reputable organization. we can build a club to suit your swing and wallet.

i like 44" drivers and always build them to 44". my swing speed is upwards of 105-110 mph and stiff shafts have worked best for me, although i know how to tip trim to suit me. cutting from the butt won't change anything but the length. all aspects of "kick point" and shaft flex are affected by tip trimming only. i'm a Wishon fan, too. ex PCS Clubmaker A, ten years clubfitting experience. just do it.

i go with Schlebrock and add that it's also IMPORTANT to have the ACTUAL MEASURED LOFT of the club as well as the face angle fitted to your swing. the ACTUAL MEASURED LOFT is NOT ALWAYS the same as what is marked on the sole (bottom) of the club. ask the guys in the truck if they can MEASURE the ACTUAL loft of the club you have. there is a very specific way it's done and if they don't have the equipment to do it then you really don't know what you're getting. oh, they'll TELL you that Ping has "very tight tolerances", but so does every other company, right?

still put the tape on the end, it makes sliding easier. i've also blown grips on with the water soluable tape and air and have been able to swing them right away instead of waiting for the solvent to dry. a little water on the end of the opening is all that's needed, even with Winns.

"Let's enjoy discount and save dollars!" say no more, I'm in! i just ordered a bunch of clubs from them and now i'm gonna sit here and hold my breath waiting for the enjoyment to begin!! YYEEEEEHHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

since most of the responses are likely to come from folks who don't have a clubfitter i'll point out that Wishon shafts are high quality and easier to fit to a particular swing and feel as well as Kent Sports' Platinum line (ever heard of the Alpha C830-2 head?). Then there's Fujikura, well known in the industry. A LOT of shafts from the past are still on par in quality with what's on the market today. Grafalloy, Penley, Aldila, AJ Tech, etc. in my ten+ years of clubmaking i've hit hundreds of excellent shafts and some of them came from "cheap" companies costing around $15 but sold on the market for upwards of $65. and no one knew the difference.

sorry to chime in so late but if there's a clubmaker anywhere near you call them and ask if they can do a flex test of your shaft. that way if/when it breaks you'll have the specs on that perfect shaft. there are resources online that can help you find the match. in fact you could go to the Wishon site and ask if that shaft is in the index then someone could tell you what matches it. or you can post the info here and i'll look it up for ya. whichever suits you best.

she was my girlfriend when i was in Germany! she's into welding now?!

whenever the wind stops blowing down there go out to the range and hit ten drives as if you really meant to keep them in the fairway. PUT YOUR MIND INTO IT OTHERWISE IT WON'T WORK. if yer just hitting it to see what happens yer wasting yer time. BE COMMITTED! now, if you spray those ten balls left and right without any consistency then changing the club settings won't matter. it's YOU not the club. once you've gotten to the point of being CONSISTENT with a particular setting THEN AND ONLY THEN will changing it have any REAL meaning. don't waste the club pounding balls. take another driver with you as well as a "warmup club" like an 8 iron or wedge and get ready with them first. friendly advice. ;^}

i still have a 15 of original standard green Torsion Control grips as well as 8 of the standard blue/black if yer interested. $5 each plus actual shipping. brad

the BEST thing you can do is to find a certified clubmaker/fitter who'll work with you to help you find the best match. By certified clubmaker/fitter i don't mean the guy at Golf Galaxy, Dick's Sporting Goods, or any of the "big box" stores unless they can build one club at a time for you to try before you buy. failing that you're on your own as far as REAL improvement, even tho' you may come close with "off the shelf" stuff.

dank- there are several ways to cause that type of ball flight and without seeing it on video in slo mo yer gonna get ALL kinds of well intended advice and comments, like this one. you could describe what you're feeling in the swing but then when viewed on video all kinds of other things can come into play. Some things that need to be taken into consideration are- the ACTUAL, measured, loft and face angle of the club head the ACTUAL flex properties of the shaft the angle of the club head coming into the ball or "angle of attack" and whether it's open or closed at impact Without at least that much info it's a crapshoot.

i use graphite and steel in the two sets i have and there is no difference in distance and dispersion. some people just believe that graphite is meant for those who struggle with the extra weight of steel. now that lighter steel is available (Nippon 850GHs for example) and torque in graphite has been lowered to match steel (Alpha Luxe and Platinums) the only difference is that with graphite you can build a longer club and maintain the preferred balance. and EVERYONE knows that LONGER clubs go farther than shorter, right? I mean, that's why most store bought drivers are 45" or longer even though most pros are playing 44.5" or shorter, right? The extra length is there to make up for the lack of swing speed. right? just in case you can't tell, i'm only being facetious about that.

i would recommend lighter weight (no more than 70 grams) shafts. The Xcon looks good. Stay away from the fairway shafts since they are generally 80+ grams and may be too stiff. I swing at 105+ mph and prefer lightweight shafts so i know where the head is during the swing. you really won't know for sure until you've swung them all. imho of course

all the above (other than the 6.75* open faced X flex driver comment! ) getting fitted by a clubfitter who has some street cred is always a good idea for ANYONE of any ability, new or experienced. A good clubfitter won't try to sell you a product unless they see that you have an established swing that won't require the clubs to be majorly changed in a short period of time, say one season. a little tweaking here and there is normal but an entire shaft refit is not. take your time when going thru the process. i fit one club, usually a 7 iron, and allow the player to use it for a week or two to really get a feel for what they want before moving on to the other clubs. i do this one club at a time until i see a consistent pattern.. Speaking of "feel"- there is no formula for figuring out YOUR "feel". don't hesitate to tell your clubfitter that you are more comfortable with longer irons than "standard" length. there are no "standards" in golf. if there were there would be a governing body that sets them and there is no governiong body that sets "standards" in golf. not even the USGA nor Royal and Ancient. Go get fitted!

good for you! i'm bagging a laminated maple Orlimar from the '90s and have hit it farther than anything else i've tried. it is actually a larger than normal wooden head and has a different shape (think Jesse Ortiz style). 10* and square face angle with their stock graphite stiff shaft that i've cut to 44". love it!.

Taz- is there a clubfitter in your area? that would be your best bet since they are not there to make a commission but to bring in more business through word of mouth. a good clubfitter will have a larger knowledge base of head/shaft combinations that are proven. if not then go to a demo day and buy the club that performs the best for you. by that i don't mean buy one that is LIKE the one you hit best. i mean BUY THAT CLUB THAT YOU JUST HIT THE BEST AND MOST CONSISTENT! good luck

Coby- there's absolutely nothing wrong with using older clubs. they go just as far as anything out today and are just as forgiving. you could easily find a good set at a thrift store, or even a couple different clubs from different makers and piece together a decent set that won't cost much. look for irons that have cavity backs, not blades. look for shafts that don't have rust on them. if there's a set with graphite shafts that's good too. the shafts don't need to be really stiff but also not really whippy. the main expense will be getting good grips that fit YOUR feel. don't let anyone tell you that you are a certain size. we've all experimented with grips and from what i've experienced the trend is to go with a larger grip than what has been "traditional". look for a couple hybrids in the 19 - 25* range in case you struggle with the 3 and 4 irons. driver loft of 10* or more will help you get the ball up in the air until you can get fitted for one. look around your area for a clubfitter. they will help you more than any sales person in a store. do you check on Craigslist? most areas have plenty of good deals going for less than $100 for a full set of clubs and a bag.

i can't bench press a pound of butter but my swing speed is 105+ on average. technique in the swing is what you need to put your $$ in to before another club. you're trying to "buy a game". work on more swing speed first- right now you've worked up your strength muscles. Remember this- Mike Austin still holds the Guinness World Record for the longest drive in a PGA sanctioned tournament in 1974. 515 yards. He was 64 years old using a steel shafted 11* persimmon headed 43.5" driver. look him up. technique, not technology.

having run my own clubfitting biz and used three different launch monitors i would say that it was worth the endeavor to get the data. what i saw on the monitors is what i saw on the course. knowing what i know now i wouldn't put the money into another one. it would take too long to recoup the money invested. the unfortunate thing for most golfers who go to a retail golf store that has one is that you don't know if the machine has been calibrated correctly; you don't know if the person operating it knows how to properly interpret the data; and if they don't measure the club your using for the ACTUAL loft at the point of ball contact on the face you don't know what actually just happened nor what to do about it. just saying that you hit that shot at a launch angle of "LA" degrees and with "S" rpm of spin isn't enough info. Launch monitors also don't read the actual spin of the ball, they use an algorithm to deduce it (yes, even Trackman).