Posted on 02 June 2008 by Jeff Summitt
Often Overlooked Biases When Purchasing A Golf Club
Before a club is every purchased, hit into a net or on the range, often times the
quality of the club is scrutinized carefully by a potential golfer. Here is a list of three little things that a clubmaker should pay very close attention to if they want their products to sell or provide a positive impact on their customer base.
When I am at my local golf shop and pull a club out of a demo bag or off the rack the first thing I will do is sit it down in the playing position to see how it looks. One of the things that get my goat is when the grip is on crooked. How can something so simple be missed in the final QC stage? I personally would never consider purchasing that club because I would be constantly reminded every time I placed the club behind the ball instead of the task at hand.
OK, let’s say it passes “is the grip on straight” test. Next thing people do is use their senses whether it is by touch or sight. It is only natural that a customer will pick the club up and closely examine the head. With the clubhead literally inches away from the eyes, the club will be rotating inspecting every square inch as if were a fine piece of jewelry. It is one thing seeing fingerprints let by the last person coddling the club, but nothing screams “put me down” more than seeing a glob of epoxy or epoxy-encased fingerprints all over the club from the person who built it.
Golfers may also take their fingers and touch and feel the contours of the club to reaffirm what our eye sense. The sensory perception is that the clubs should be smooth to the touch. That means the transition from the head onto the ferrule should be as well. When the fingers snag or catch on a lip that immediately raises a red flag that a step was missing.
In the mind’s eye of the consumer if the manufacturer or the clubmakers can’t control these three simple things, what makes you think that the other factors that make up the performance of the club are every considered? Take the little extra time to inspect the quality of work you produce and you will find your work will be appreciated.
Loading ...
June 3rd, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I too look at the grip as well as the ferrule. If the ferrule over or underlaps the hosel, rest assured it was assembled in a hurry and may not be centered. Also…is the shaft logo either exactly centered on top or bottom at address? If not, it’s is sloppy work.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Please be advised that I sline allign every shaft before I epoxy it.Sometimes the shaft logos will not be on top or bottom at adress.This is done for performance purposes as for cosmetic reasons
June 5th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
I spine align all graphite. I explain to customer before I build that this might happen. I explain this technology and in 10 years of doing this I only had 1 customer insist he wanted the logo underneath so he would not see it. Just like Titlist, etc.!
June 8th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
If I see ripples or “sinks” in the face, the quality of the head casting is immediately suspect.
How can you possibly make consistent contact with the ball when the striking surface is inconsistent?
June 13th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I have been a club maker for 15 years and I do place a lot of value on the physical appearance of the overall club. I also spline align all graphite shafts for maximum performance. If the logo is perfectly aligned on top or bottom, that tells me that the club will not perform as well as it could.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:14 am
First Hole-In-One…….2/7/2007
I am proud to say that I got my first hole-in-one at Port Charlotte Golf Club on February 7, 2007. It was a 185 yard par 3 and I used an ACER XP 26 degree/ #5 hybrid assembled by me with a Grafalloy ProCustom R-flex shaft. These have been great clubs and so easy to hit off any lie. As a certified custom clubmaker and clubfitter, I highly recommend them to all levels of golfers.
Chris Molis
Divot Custom Golf LLC