Are you deciding between a standard stock club(s) straight off-the-rack verses a custom made club(s) because the standard stock club will have a greater resale value?  If so, you should think about this. You are going to take a huge loss regardless compared to what you originally paid for them when you trade in your clubs.  After all, who ever takes in the trade-in has to make a profit to resell your set.  Sadly but true, clubs equipped with stock offerings (length, shaft, grip) will have a higher resale value than those that have been customized or altered slightly from a manufacturers standard specifications. After all, you or the buyer will have to find another customer that fits your specifications or cut the price so the player have afford to have to modified to his or her specs.

Another very important consideration, there is a very good chance the standard stock club will not fit you for length, lie, and shaft type or grip size. If so, you will never be able to hit the clubs to your full potential.  In that case your investment is not a very good one and not a valid excuse to opt for the stock setting for the higher resell value.  The bad part is maybe there is only one specification that is different than the stock offering such as the length 1/2” longer, lie 2 degree flatter or the grip midsize instead of standard and the cost of the upgrade may be minimal, if at all.

When you buy a custom suit, the idea behind that investment is that you intend to use it because you know that it fits and not because of the potential resale value.  After you get your use out of the custom fit suit (or out grow it), you are only going to donate it to charity, give it to a fellow friend or family member that it might come close to fitting (they can have altered) or throw it away if it badly used.

Golf clubs should have the same amount of consideration when buying them – the intent that they will work the first time you take them out.  If you are unsure if a stock club will fit, don’t buy the whole set.  You can buy a single club first.  If it fits, then you can buy the rest of the clubs around it.  In the unfortunate event it does not fit, you are not out much and in many cases the club can be altered to fit for a nominal fee. Don’t let the potential resale value of a golf club be a reason to purchase one.

Humans are enamored by numbers.  For example, the media gets in a tizzy whenever a new century or decade rolls around.  Or we use numbers for benchmarks like they are magical, for instance when the Dow reaches 10,000 or the S&P at 2,000.  In golf, players get excited the first time they break 100 or 90, but never a number like 95.  So it should come as no surprise the new fascination in golf club marketing is drivers that are under 300g.

Back in the old days when woods were made out of wood and shaft of steel, a driver weighed 13 ounces.  Just goes to show you how long 20 years ago seems, heck, we didn’t use grams back then.  Well for you metric challenged individuals, 13 ounces is the equivalent of 368.5g.  Over the years golfers have moved away from shiny chromed steel shafts for much lighter weight and colorful graphite shafts in attempt to gain more distance off of the tee. It must have worked as you don’t see steel shafted drivers these days.

Chances are in your golf bag right now is some sort of large headed titanium driver with a 60 something gram graphite shaft assembled at 45”.  The reason why, that has been the modern men’s standard for the past several years.  By now you know heads have been much larger over the years and are capped out at 460cc.  Yet the weight of the head has not change from the days of the wooden head.  For the most part, the majority of manufacturers make their driver heads 200g +/-4g which is quite a small range when you consider the different philosophies that exist in the golf industry.

The biggest impact on weight reduction has come in the shaft.  The modern shaft is nearly half the weight of its steel predecessors.  With newer materials, they are becoming lighter and lighter each year.

Standard sized men’s grips have pretty much held the line at 50 grams for some time now, except for just recently with the debut of the new WinnLite grips.  Both those are the exceptions rather than the rule.  This means the modern driver is approximately 320g, which is nearly 2 oz. lighter than the previous generation of steel-shafted drivers.  Don’t forget to factor in @ 5g for items like epoxy, grip tape and the ferrule. So the goal of making a sub-300g driver is not far away.

In fact most ladies driver are almost there anyway because of the smaller and lighter grip (40g) used and the shorter assembly length.  They tip the scales closer to 305g.  But for men’s driver to get there and not make the head any lighter required the use of very light shaft in the neighborhood of 45g.  If you look through the catalogs, shafts this weight are far and few between.  Examples are Grafalloy’s ProLaunch Blue 45 and Apollo’s Masterflex HP48.

The easiest way to reduce the weight now is with one of the newer breed of lightweight grips.  This is one of the secrets the name brand manufacturers have in combination with a lighter shaft when making their sub-300g drivers.  As you can see from the chart, even using a common 65g graphite shaft and one of the WinnLite grips can match this feat.

If you want to make the lightest possible driver you can use a combination of a lightweight grip and shaft and tickle the ivories at a mere 275g or 9.7 oz. for you fossils out there. Now there is nothing magical because the weight of a driver is now 299 verses 304 or even 320g.  Good marketing?  Perhaps, due to the fact that people are fascinated with numbers. But will the customer see a difference going to these lighter drivers is the most important point.  I will tell you this, not everyone will benefit from these sub 300g drivers, just like not all golfers can use X-flex shaft or 46” drivers.  This is just another custom fitting option that is available to golfers today.  But I wanted to show you how this happens and what components to look at if your goal is a lighter weight driver for potentially more speed and distance.

If you are looking to advance your knowledge on the ever-confusing world of shafts, take this opportunity to download the 2010 Shaft Fitting Addendum.  This is a companion piece to one of the best books written about shafts called the Modern Guide to Shaft Fitting. And the best part is both of these books are available for free. This is just another example of how Hireko is helping out clubmakers, club fitters and fellow golfers alike by providing you with such indispensable information so you can make more well-informed choices when it comes to purchasing new equipment.

What Type of Information Will You Find?

For those that are not already familiar with the Shaft Fitting Addendum, the first thing you will find out is not all R-flex shafts are created equal – that is in terms of flex, torque, bend point, etc. as every manufacturer are their own standard.  In reality, there are no industry standards for shafts and the reason why this book serves as a valuable guide.  Consistency has been the key to this text as each of the over 3000 shafts and 50,000 measurements has been conducted by one individual using the same set of procedures and equipment for the past 21 years.

There are 19 published specifications listed for each shaft that include:

Flex, Uncut Shaft Weight, Tip Diameter, Butt Diameter, Uncut Shaft Balance Point, Cut Shaft Balance Point, Completed Club Balance Point, Total Assembled Club Weight, Head Weight, Grip Weight, Cut Shaft Weight, Completed Club Frequency, Butt Deflection, Tip Deflection, T/B Ratio, Cut Shaft Torque, Raw Shaft Torque, Club Length (and wood bore type) and DSFI (Dynamic Shaft Fitting Index) Rating

To give you a peek of what information is available, look at the chart below. You can compare shafts from the same or even different manufacturers that are of approximately the same overall stiffness and weight.  In this case the Aldila Serrano, Fujikura Fit-On E250, Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue 55, ProLaunch Platinum with Axis Technology, New Image Red Image Graphite and our own True Ace Death Stick are all mid-50g shafts of similar frequencies and stiffness index.  But find out what the differences are.

How Do I Use the Information?

While offering all of this data is great, being able to take this information, understand what all the numbers represent and then be able apply it into your everyday fitting is another.  This is why we established the Dynamic Shaft Fitting Index (or DSFI for short).  The DSFI takes the Completed Club Frequency, Butt Deflection, Tip Deflection, Cut Shaft Torque and Club Length and puts it into a complex algorithm to put a number on stiffness.  No longer do you need to rely solely on the generic flex designations by the manufacturers.

In Chapter 5, the addendum explains why you may want to select the Aldila Serrano over the Grafalloy ProLaunch Platinum or visa versa. You can also relate Dynamic Shaft Fitting Index to the clubhead speed or the golfer’s driver or 5-iron and be able to make appropriate shaft selections. However, swing speed is only a starting point – certain golfers will use different flexes based on their tempo and length of their swing rather just swing speed.  The 2010 Shaft Fitting Addendum can help you understand these issues.

The 187 page Shaft Fitting Addendum is broken down into 5 chapters, but you don’t have to download everything.  The first shaft provides the legends of what each of the specifications are and we would encourage you to read that carefully.  Chapters 2 and 5 are the nuts and bolts of the 2010 Shaft Fitting Addendum with Chapter 2 showing the data and Chapter 5 providing the how to use the information with the master charts in order of stiffness.

In addition, club fitters or even ordinary golfers can look for suitable replacement shafts that may not exist anymore by looking through the archived shafts (Chapters 3 and 4). These are all the shafts tested that are no longer available but may contain information on shafts you have hit well in the past. Matching shafts of similar cut weight, frequency, cut torque and tip and butt deflections will help you find that one shaft you owned previously that they liked so dearly.

So don’t be like a member of Congress and do absolutely nothing, download the 2010 Shaft Fitting Addendum today.

Download Chapter 1
Download Chapter 2
Download Chapter 3
Download Chapter 4
Download Chapter 5

Make Your Slow Season Profitable

While the golf season for many has been hampered by colder-than-normal temperatures and unusually large amounts of snow across the nation, some clubmaking shops might be feeling the pinch.  But here are some tips to help you increase your profits during an otherwise slow period of the year.

1. Now is the time to dig through your inventory of products you may have stashed away like heads, shafts and grips that are no longer “current” models.  These are items that can be perhaps discounted when you have a customer looking for a bargain.  Offer buy 7 irons, get one iron free or throw in a hybrid or wedge with the purchase of a set of irons.  Getting something for free is often considered a higher perceived value than just discounting the price even if the difference is the same.  You have made a happy customer and you were able to get rid of some old inventory which is a win-win proposition.
2. 

   Hireko Gift certificates have excellent sell through during the slow season

   You are probably getting some tire kickers walking into your shop looking to see what is new.  After all, what is there else to do?  Sell gift certificates.  Yes, that’s right! These don’t have to be just for Christmas.  Maybe your customer isn’t ready to purchase a set right now but will once the weather breaks and he or she can play.  By selling a gift certificate, they will be coming back to your shop instead of spending that money somewhere else.  Also, talk up the new stuff that you will get in or maybe just got in and make that customer excited about spending their gift certificate in your shop when the time comes.  The proceeds from the gift certificate make help pay the rent or one of those utility bills.

3. 

   Hireko Chipping Mats $44.95

   Do you have a net in your shop that is rarely getting used?  Sell time hitting balls into your net.  Just because there is 15 inches of snow on the ground doesn’t mean that customers still don’t have the desired to get in shape and knock off the rust.  After all, if there is that much snow on the ground, chances are driving ranges in your area will not be open.  Who knows, while they are in your shop, they may want to buy something new or get their clubs re-gripped.

4. Co-op with another business or maybe a local pro.  Advertise that if someone buys a set of clubs, woods, irons, or over a certain dollar amount that player might receive a free dinner, movie or certain discount at another business that is in the same boat you are.  They can reciprocate by driving business your way.  Even offering a lesson with one of the local pro is a way make that set of clubs you just sold play better with proper instruction.




5. Contact some of your old or repeat customers and offer a free bag check or tune-up before the season starts.  This might entail looking at the grips and recommending new ones or giving them a good cleaning.  Check out the shafts to see if the steel shafts are rusty or kinked or if the ferrule has ridden up on a club and offer to fix them.  Check the loft and lies on forged clubs and re-bend them if you see something out of whack.  Be creative in what services or checks you want to offer, yet honest with your customers! This is also the reason why you want to maintain an e-mail list as the cost to contact your customers is generally your own time.  It sure beats paying for post cards and postage or taking the time to call each one of those customers on the phone.

Hopefully some of these tips can help create some additional sales and generate interest when the season kicks into full gear.

I have many pet peeves, one of which is the inaccuracy of certain terms or phrases.  The release of the new Winn Lite grips has me reading posts on a few golf forums I frequent saying that these very lightweight grips are only tricking (or sometimes called fooling) the scale.  I simply cringe whenever I hear that phase, so let me set the record straight.

What these posters are referring to is that the use of a lighter weight grip will create a higher swingweight.  I will agree with that as that is absolutely true statement.  But then the poster will go on to explain it by saying these grips are only “tricking” the swingweight scale. Well, unless they have secretly placed a piece of bubble gum on the scale to alter the balance, the measurements are accurate.  After all, the swingweight scale is nothing more than a simple lever that has been calibrated.

In a recent Webinar I conducted on swingweighting, I talked about the effect of the different components on swingweighting. For years, the standard weight grip (50 grams) has been the standard from which clubs have been manufactured to.  Ladies grips would be used primarily for female golfers and their smaller size would weigh slightly less as a result of a lesser amount of material used in their construction.  Conversely, larger grips would weigh more.  Some of which could be substantial if they were the jumbo variety.  However, when we talk about standard grip sizing the weights that had been available have varied little…up until now.

Introduction of lightweight grips

The new Winn Lite grips weigh as little as 25g.  That is half the weight of a standard grip, yet the same size.  So if you were to replace your existing 50g grip with one of these, the swingweight will increase by 5 points.  That is a fact.

Did the head become heavier?  No.  Did the club become longer?  No.  Did we “trick” the scale?  No.

These reason for this is the fulcrum point on a swingweight scale is located 14 inches from the butt end and the fulcrum point is what the club pivots around.  For each 5g of grip weight equals 1 swingweight point.

The swingweight scale was created as a way to measure the relation of weight distribution of a club.  A higher swingweight will mean that a greater amount of the weight is toward the head side of the club.  It is easy to understand that the use of a lighter weight grip will help the club feel more “head heavy”.

14” Fulcrum positioning with standard weight grip

On the other hand, the swingweight scale is not exactly set up the same way as you would hold a club.  That is, you do not hold the club 14” down from the butt end unless you have to create some very unusual shot.  No, the pressure point of your hands will be located approximately 4” from the end of the club.  If you grip down on the club, that dimension may be slightly greater.

The effect of grip weight is often misunderstood.  The center of the mass of the grip lies in the hands.  So changing from a 50g grip to a 25g grip may have little or no effect on the heft or what you feel when you hold the golf club.  In the past, grip weight was influenced by the size and that is a factor that golfers can easily feel.  Not so with weight. Let’s look at this from a more detailed example.

We have a 38.25” graphite-shafted 5iron.  The head weight is 257g, cut shaft 83g and our 50g grip.  If you were to balance the club and mark the position, you would find that this point is 29.5” from the end of the grip.  The swingweight scale measures the moments about the fulcrum point which is located 14” from the butt end.  Got that so far?

This would mean that the balance point of the club is 15.5” in front of the fulcrum point.  By multiplying this amount times the overall weight of the club, it produces a torque or moment of 6045 g-in or 213.23 oz.-in.  When the sliding weight of the swingweight scale is shifted until the whole club balance out, the tick mark on sliding weight will be positioned at D1.  It is that simple.  The swingweight does all the calculations for you.

14” Fulcrum positioning with light weight grip

Now let’s see what happens when we change the grip from the standard 50g to 25g like the new Winn Lite series.

For starters, the head weight, shaft weight and length did not change, so all that occurred was the overall weight of the club was reduced by 25g.  If we were to remove the club from the scale and were to rebalance the club and mark the position, you would find that balance point is 31.35” from the end of the grip. This is how the club becomes more head heavy or a higher percentage of the overall weight is shifted closer to the head.

This would mean that the balance point of the club is now 17.35” in front of the fulcrum point.  By multiplying this amount times the overall weight of the club, it produces a moment of 6307 g-in or 222.48 oz.-in.  When the sliding weight of the swingweight scale is shifted until the whole club balance out, the tick mark on sliding weight will be positioned at D5.

Introduction of 4” Fulcrum positioning with standard weight grip

If we made a swingweight scale with a fulcrum point that pivoted 4” from the butt end rather than typical 14” to come closer to replicating the position of your hands, it would look similar to this.

Note that nothing has changed on the club. Each component and the overall weight are the same as our first example.  The balance point is the same too.  The only difference is the moments about our new pivot point.  This same club that produced a moment of 6045g-in is now 9945 g-in (350.79 oz-in) using the new calibration.  We would no longer have our standard alpha-numeric designation to fall back on like D1, so we will have to use the moment measurements instead.

4” Fulcrum positioning with light weight grip

Let’s take the 50g grip and replace it with the 25g grip and see what happens.

While we saw a large change in the moments using our swingweight scale with the 14” fulcrum point, we didn’t see the same thing with the same scale but with a 4” fulcrum point.  This same club that produced a moment of 6307g-in is now 9957 g-in (351.22 oz-in) using the new calibration.

The real effect on grip weight

Take a quick look at the following table to recap these differences.

Where there was a 262 g-in variance going from a 50g to 25g grip using the 14” fulcrum scale, it has less of a dramatic effect (12 g-in) when you use a 4” fulcrum point as our reference point. The reason is that the weight of the grip (or lack of) was closer to pivot or hinge point of what we were measuring.  When talking about golf club specifications, a 4% change is considered significant.  However a change of <0.5% is seldom noticeable.

Consider if we were to add 10g to the head in our example (267g / 257g) to achieve the same 5 swingweight increase as using a 25g lighter grip, this would represent a 4% change. Or consider a 5/6” (0.833”) increase in the assembled club length would also represent a 5 swingweight point increase (or a 2% difference).  When you look at the same 5 swingweight point effect of the grip weight, it pales in comparison.  This is what those people in-the-know are referring to when they say grip weight is only “fooling the scale.”

Consumers will need to understand why there is a need for ultra light grips (to reduce overall weight) and how to build and fit with them.  Don’t look at the lighter grips as a means of achieving a specific swingweight.  Let the swingweight naturally increase with the use of a lighter grip.  Only by experimenting yourself will you know how, or if, grip weight has any effect on your game.

Have you ever heard the term “draw bias” to describe a particular clubhead model? Well if not, then you may want to listen up. Golfers who struggle with a fade, push or even slice should be aware of this terminology and how it could very well help you to hit the ball straighter and further.  Even for those that hit the ball relatively straight may find draw biased or as I like to put it “draw enhancing” to your liking.  Contrary to common belief these will not make what would normally be a straight ball flight and turn into a hook.  But a draw flight will often provide more roll and overall more distance.

Draw Biased vs. Closed Faced

One thing I should first start out by stating is that one should not confuse the difference between a closed face angle and a draw bias clubhead.  Face angle is the direction the face points relative to the target. Yes, a closed face club can help start the ball far enough left (assuming a RH golfer) to correct for when the ball fades or slices.  This of course assumes that the player does not compensate and open up the face at address to make it look square.

Draw bias has to deal with creating a draw spin or at least encouraging the ball to produce a draw ball flight (see diagram below).  Where a golf ball ultimately lands is caused by a few factors such as how open or closed the face is at impact and the swing path of the golfer.  Normally when a golf ball impacts the center of the face a draw is created by an inside/out path. For example a 2º inside/out path with a 1º closed face angle would create draw spin (like the black line in the diagram).  But with a draw biased club it is possible to create a draw spin with a center impact and a square face angle and straight path toward the target line. The latter would normally produce a straight ball flight only.

Examining the CG Location of a Clubhead

Have you ever wondered where the center of gravity of a clubhead is? Well, take a close look at a driver, fairway wood or hybrid.  What you will find is the clubhead shape is very asymmetrical.  Upon close inspection you may find there is a little more area on the face out toward the toe or the highest point on the crown is not in the center, but also toward the toe.  Lastly, the most rear portion of the head may also be biased out toward the toe rather than the center.

In the accompanying diagram there is a top and bottom view of a clubhead that has been quartered. It is amazing the center of gravity is as close to the center of the face.  After all we have a heavy hosel to contend with and why the shape is often biased toward the toe area.

Draw Biased Explained

Most golfers assume the best place to hit the ball is in the center of the face and that is a valid assumption.  In a neutral bias clubhead, the center of gravity will be in-line with the centerline of the face (see diagram)

When discussing the phenomenon called “gear effect”, we state that a shot struck in-line with the horizontal center of gravity would not have any side spin. However any ball struck out on the toe side of the center of gravity would create draw spin. Any ball struck on the heel side; slice spin will occur.

A draw biased clubhead is where the center of gravity is shifted toward the heel.  This would true for any clubhead where the center of gravity is far enough behind the face to produce a gear effect, like in the case with drivers, fairway woods or many hybrids.

With a draw biased head, the same scenarios occur, but the reference point changes.  No longer is the centerline of the face the position where no side spin will occur.  That would be toward the heel in line with the center of gravity.  A shot struck in the center of the face now on the “toe side” of the center of gravity which will impart draw spin.  How much will draw spin will depend upon how far the center of gravity has been shifted toward the heel.

Examples of Draw Biased Clubheads

There is a good chance that any driver that has been intentionally made to be draw enhancing will also be closed face, further reducing the likelihood the ball may be pushed, faded or sliced since that is what the majority of golfers do. Offset drivers and fairways can be draw enhancing by the nature of their design.  Often times the longer hosel length and the extra weight required to form the offset hosel naturally shifts weight toward the heel.

There can be a strong argument that if impact not made in line with the center of gravity then some energy will be lost in the collision. True, especially if you just “nutted” one in the center of the face and you think you should be rewarded for that.  But if the ball is slicing and heading towards the deep rough, tree line or worse yet – OB, then that become a moot point.  This is where the aid of internal weighting and the shift in the CG is a huge benefit.  Plus remember that a draw will likely produce a lower launch angle and greater run when it hits the ground which can lead to greater distance.

Examples of draw biased clubs, or draw enhancing are the new Acer XDS Insider drivers (both standard and Thriver edition), Acer XK Draw and the 21010 Dynacraft Prophet ICT driver and fairways (remember there are open face positions on this model).

For the first time, not all the Rules of Golf will apply to all levels of golfers. This is due to stricter rules that will be in place starting Jan. 1, 2010 regarding the grooves of any club that is 25º of loft or more. Therefore we will have two icons to determine the difference of which clubs will be acceptable to play in the various situations.

After Jan 1, 2010, the Condition of Competition requiring clubs to conform will be changed only to those competitions involving expert professional players at the highest level of competition, including the professional tours plus the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open, and the U.S. Senior Open starting with the sectional qualifying.  Clubs with the icon Tournament Ready 2010 will be fine to use for these competitions.

Currently conforming clubs manufactured prior to January 1, 2010 may continue to be used in all situations wherein the Condition of Competition is not in effect until at least 2024. For the remaining 99% of golfers who don’t compete at the highest level of competition, those clubs that currently conform may continue to be used to maintain a handicap or post a score.  Clubs with the icon Tournament Ready will be fine for these competitions.

If you are looking for a magic elixir or at least the absolute answer to this question, neither exists. The problem is distance is a function of many things; some are physical and others are equipment related. Since we are club manufacturers let’s focus on the latter and review the different components to possibly achieving more distance.

#1 Solidness of contact
This might surprise you that this is the first item listed, but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Whenever you mis-hit the ball, there is a certain amount of energy loss from the clubhead from twisting. While drivers and other clubs have become more forgiving over the years to reduce the gap in distance between a perfect and less-than-perfect shot, the fact is you still lose distance.

Manufacturers know that you are looking for more distance and produce products that on occasion will deliver that promise. However they hope that you have selective amnesia and forget your bad shots or what you might do on average. They know the ego of the average golfer will remember that one tape measure shot they hit.

#2A Club Length
This should come as no surprise, after all the USGA has a limit for club length (aside from putters) of 48”. Most golfers never swing a driver anywhere near this length as most golfers would find it unwieldy to swing. But those that do make solid contact could try a club that is ½” or an 1” longer to see if the added leverage from the longer swing arc increases swing speed and distance without sacrificing accuracy. If it doesn’t there is an easy solution without harm. The grip can be removed, cut down and re-gripped. But unless you try you will never know if the added length could be the solution.

On the other hand, if you already have inconsistency in hitting the center of the face, then you could try a shorter club. But before you go lopping off part of the shaft, trying gripping down on the club first and see if that doesn’t help. In some cases you may start to loose feel in the head. This is why we offer a couple heavier heads in the Acer XDS Thriver and the Caiman Raw Power 3 wood as solutions for shorter length clubs to gain solidness of contact and added length. Believe it or not, shorter can result in longer shots too in certain circumstances.

#3 Weight
One of the other solutions is to lighten the club so it can be swung faster. To a certain degree weight goes hand-in-hand with length. Usually a lighter shaft is suggested for a longer length, but not always. Since heads don’t vary much in weight across the industry, the shaft weight is the primary determinate of the club’s overall weight. There any many new shafts now being made lighter. For instance most stock driver shafts come with shafts in the 60g range. Look for shafts in the 50g or even lighter. Some of these shafts are surprisingly stable like the True Ace Death Stick that will hold up for golfers with high swing speeds. There are several new steel iron shafts available too such as the True Temper GS-75 and Apollo Acculite series.

Weight does control your tempo, so too light can be just as bad as too heavy in producing a repeatable swing. If you have a shorter, more compact swing or a quick tempo, a lighter weight shaft may not be your solution.

#4 Weight Distribution
We mentioned earlier about heavier heads for shorter lengths to combat the lack of feel. Weight can be added via lead tape (although not the prettiest), heavier screws if the head is screw weighted like our Power Play Q2 driver or even with the use of lighter weight grips.

Weight can also be added to the butt end to lighten the swingweight or heft of the club. Counterweights are perfect for this. Yes it adds weight to the club, but it can help alleviate a head heavy feel especially in longer-than-normal clubs, most notably drivers.

#5 Direction
That “feathery fade” you like to call your slice is robbing you of all sorts of distance. This is why we offer a wide range of clubheads to help keep you on the straight and narrow. Whether is it the offset of the Acer XK Draw, the closed face angled options of the Dynacraft Prophet ICT2 or the internal weighting of the Acer XDS Insider, we can help get that “weak fade” out of here not only to find more fairways, but get more distance too.

#6 Trajectory
Don’t always assume lower loft will get you more distance. Golfers struggling getting the ball airborne are robbed of distance and aren’t even aware of it. If you fail to hit the ball as high as those you play with, consider clubs with more loft, lower center of gravity or both. This applies not to just drivers, but all clubs and that is the reason why we offer such a variety. The iBella Bellissima is a perfect example, plus we have many higher lofted drivers to choose from and irons like our Acer XK HT and Cabriolets.

There are a few of the items to look at either individually or in tandem to hopefully gain you some more distance. Don’t forget those that the longest distance is usually the straightest. So concentrate first and foremost on solidness of contact and direction. But don’t be afraid to experiment. After all you have no excuse not to try something new with Hireko’s low prices.

If you are a professional clubmaker looking for a good New Year’s resolution you can keep, this is it. Nearly as important as cutting the shaft correctly, finishing a ferrule or making sure the grip is on straight, there is one other practice that clubmakers should work on.   That would be record keeping.  No, I am not talking about book keeping for your CPA, but the DNA of the golf clubs you just built for your customer.

What might seem like a little more time on your part may prove to save you time and money in the future.  Part of being a professional clubmaker is keeping good notes of what you did.  What components did I use?  How did I trim the shafts?  Did I make any lie or loft alteration to the clubs?  What length and swingweight were the clubs built to?  Did I add any extra wraps of tape underneath the grip?  Well if you kept good records, you wouldn’t have to ask yourself those questions.

What happens if your customer left their 9-iron by the green and forgot it?  Or their clubs are stolen or if they want a back up set to take down south for the winter? By keeping good records, the customer doesn’t have to come back in with their clubs for you to measure and try to duplicate.  The only reason why they should come back in is to pick up their club or set that matches as closely as what you made for them before.  Believe me, they will appreciate that.

Make a spreadsheet on your computer with columns clearly labeled of each of the specifications with the name of the customer and the date.  Make sure to back up your files from time to time as computers do crash and you don’t want to lose all your valuable information. You might even print off a hard copy and put it in a dedicated file drawer for future reference.  Over time, this will become a normal practice of building a club as much as mixing epoxy or installing a ferrule.

Not only is record keeping important for the actual making of the clubs, but also for fitting.  Even if you take the time to fit the player and they for some reason decide not to purchase clubs at this time, does not mean you should prepare your notes.  After all, they might come back and you won’t have to go through everything once again.  Not only will the customer be thankful for your record keeping to save him or her their valuable time, but they will have the feeling that you are a professional.

In my household, New Year’s weekend also means it is time to put away the Christmas tree and decorations for yet another year.  While I was shopping this weekend, my wife was saying that she wanted to find something to protect the ornaments, some of which are quite old or fragile.  Well instead of buying something (not just because I am cheap), I suggested using those bubble bags from the golf club components I had been saving.  The ones for the large titanium drivers have ample room to protect those ornaments, not to mention they will stay out of a landfill somewhere.