Anderson makes loft and lie adjustments right on the range as he conducts his precision fitting sessions.
Modern clubfitting—including knowledge of how equipment affects swing motion and ball flight—flows from the pioneering work of Ralph Maltby, Randy Henry, Tom Wishon and a few others. These days, clubfitters like Brian Anderson, of Brian’s Precision Golf in Stuart, Florida, carry that work on. We caught up with Anderson between fitting sessions on his end of the range at The Florida Club and asked him about the modern science of clubfitting, and how golfers respond to it.
GearEffectGolf: You’ve got a good reputation in your area—how long have you been out there clubfitting?
Anderson: I’ve been fitting for about 20 years, but for some of that time I only worked indoors, at a retail store down in Jupiter. I’ve been fitting exclusively outdoors and using a launch monitor full-time since 2005.
GEG: You find that seeing the full flight of the ball is necessary—where before you didn’t?
Anderson: That’s right. The indoor fitting, with a monitor, seemed very productive back when I was doing it, but eventually I realized the monitor could be fooled, and 10 feet of ball flight really didn’t give the fitter or the customer what they need in terms of data. Also, although I never did it, launch monitors can be tricked up in the calibration—you can give misleading before-and-after readouts if you want to.
GEG: What’s the difference between golfers’ reactions to a fitting session with a monitor now and when you first were doing it, on the range?
Anderson: They’re much more aware of the launch monitor data now than when I started. Many of them expect to get the readout data—launch angle, spin rates, carry distance.
GEG: Is that ever problematic? In other words, do golfers get overly focused on one or more of the readouts?
Anderson: What I point out to people so often is that clubhead speed shouldn’t be the focus—certainly not compared to initial ball speed. In other words, the so-called smash factor, which is a ratio that tells you how efficiently you’re using clubhead speed to drive the ball. They have to understand that, for a variety of reasons, balls fly off the clubhead faster than the clubhead is traveling. So, on any given shot, you look at ball speed and divide it by your clubhead speed. A real good target ratio is 1.5, a poor one would be 1.1 or 1.2.
GEG: I guess you could swing it 150 miles per hour and whiff. Then you’d get zero ball speed, right?
Anderson: Well, sure. But the more realistic version of that is an off-center hit, which hurts your transfer of energy. Club manufacturers, the major companies, are moving everyone up in driver length. They’re going to 46.5, or even 46.75 inches. The theory is that a longer club making a longer arc will build up to higher swing speeds. Well, Tom Wishon, who knows this subject as well or better than anyone, will show you that adding swing speed only gives you a one-to-three payout in yardage, while adding ball speed gives you a one-to-one payout.
GEG: You’re talking about miles per hour and how that translates to yards, right?
Anderson: Correct. So, all things being equal, you improve ball speed by one mph and your carry distance will increase by one yard. To get that one yard strictly from clubhead speed, you have to add three mph of clubhead speed.
GEG: So when I lengthen my driver in the hopes of building up swing speed, I may be creating problems for myself in terms of the smash factor, due to off-center impact.
Anderson: Yes, you very well could be making it harder for yourself to catch the ball on the sweet spot, instead of on the toe or heel or maybe too high or low on the face. That one out of 10 or one out of five that you hit flush will really travel, but is that how you want to design your driving game? I’d rather go down a bit in length, hit it on the center of the face consistently and pick up distance by boosting ball speed.
GEG: When you have all the information you need, and you’ve communicated all these factors and causes to the golfer, what sort of recommendation for new clubs do you present them with?
Anderson: When my fittings are complete, I make recommendations from either the TaylorMade line or from the Tom Wishon Golf Technology line. With TaylorMade, you can do quite a bit in the way of customization, especially for a major manufacturers. Some people want that brand name, which is fine, and it’s a very good product. With the Tom Wishon Golf Technology product line, I can do more in the way of customization—I can go all the way. And in terms of product quality and all the design factors, the Wishon product is outstanding—it is really loaded with options.
GEG: Which choice do your fitted golfers tend to go with?
Anderson: At this point, the majority of people I fit who then order clubs go with the Wishon option. And they get really excited by the results—initially and over the long term, as well. Distribution is very select. You can only get the Wishon club through a limited network of accomplished clubfitters who fit at facilities where they can evaluate the full flight of the ball.
Wishon… 3 to 1 potential… 3 mph = 1 yard… toe, heel…
I focus on ball speed… 1 to 1 relationship between ball speed and yardage…
Decrease clubhead speed and increase ball speed… you can go down in length… Tour players don’t play long drivers….. their 300 yards has to be controlled… they’re shortening their clubs to gain accuracy…
“I want 20 yards further”…. I say I can’t help you… 80 percent of all amateurs hit their 3-wood further than their driver 80 percent of the time… more centered hits, better launch….
100 mph… 9 degrees… 9 degrees requires 100 mph…. most amateurs are playing with too strong a loft in their driver… 10 mph per degree of loft….
The ratio between your ball speed and your club head speed is what is referred to as “smash factor”. If you take your ball speed and divide that by your club head speed, the resulting value is what is known as your smash factor. As we’ve mentioned thus far, there are a number of things that will determine smash factor:
o How close to the sweet spot on the club face the golf ball is struck
o How well your shaft flex is matched to your swing speed
o Material in which the club face is made of (steel, titanium, tungsten, etc.)
o Type of ball you use
Brian Anderson… Brian’s Precision Golf, Stuart Florida….
Range… outdoor… not PGA professional… single-digit… Pro Club Makers Society… 20 years… amateur tournaments… been at The Florida Club … 18 holes… daily fee….
Had Achiever monitor at retail store in Jupiter… Zelocity Launch monitor… lot of good stuff… best is the Trackman… $30,000… under $5,000 for Zelocity…
Had a following… let’s try this…. We could analyze their current equipment… Not …
Big difference… you can show them the numbers… sidespin being created… not just “visually”… = ball flight… You have to be fit outdoors… I wrestled with that indoors… great numbers in the net, seeing 10 feet of ball flight… have to see that visual… some launch monitors… you can play the numbers…
They didn’t know that could be done…
Carry distance… defective head… falling out of the air… crack in the face… not detected at impact… launch monitor wasn’t picking that up… didn’t quite notice the sound… crack… how many customers have I misfitted… circumstances like this… put myself in the environment… where it won’t happen….
Fine line when you go from fitting to teaching… coaching people, your swing plane is like your fingerprint… it’s inherent… adjustment in the lie angle will affect the ball flight… subtle changes in peoples’ swings … can be coming over the top, now not so much over the top after fixing lie angle…
Significant changes are tough to make…
Five years ago… 2005…. Got the Zelocity…
They’re becoming more educated on launch angle and spin rate…
I emphasize diff between clubhead speed and ball speed… longer club, faster head speed, more distance… does that equate to more distance… tough connection…
Wishon… 3 to 1 potential… 3 mph = 1 yard… toe, heel…
I focus on ball speed… 1 to 1 relationship between ball speed and yardage…
Decrease clubhead speed and increase ball speed… you can go down in length… Tour players don’t play long drivers….. their 300 yards has to be controlled… they’re shortening their clubs to gain accuracy…
“I want 20 yards further”…. I say I can’t help you… 80 percent of all amateurs hit their 3-wood further than their driver 80 percent of the time… more centered hits, better launch….
100 mph… 9 degrees… 9 degrees requires 100 mph…. most amateurs are playing with too strong a loft in their driver… 10 mph per degree of loft….
We look at his swing… get to balance… majority are people over 50 years old… partly a Florida thing… the older golfer … maybe I should skip out of Edwin Watts and Sports Authority…
Driver swing and tempo… letting the club do the work… swing the club… let the club hit the ball… that mindset… much more comfortable moves… better centeredness of hit… a few smiles on their faces on the impact decal… shaft is releasing through the hitting area….
Good ball speed…. 90 mph club… 140 ball speed… 1.5 smash factor … 100 mph head speed, 150 mph ball speed… smash factor 1.5… 1.2 and 1.3 smash factor is awful… huge room for improvement… 1.35 to 1.4… you go to 1.45 to 1.50… ball off clubface… don’t feel it…
One number I try to have them take away is IT’S NOT clubhead speed… 80 to 90 mph getting the new Burner Superfast… your swing is short, compact… overmarketing ultra-lightweight shafts…
Nobody on tour plays under 70 grams on tour… the Nick Price tempo…
Yes it does work… ball speed and centeredness of hit… and catch it on the middle a lot more…
TaylorMade and Wishon custom…. Custom fit and custom order… I check out what comes… try to steer them down the past toward the Wishon … over 300 clubhead designs…
Tom W. … has to be fitted and assembled correctly… Eight Wishon to two TaylorMades… weight ports in the clubhead… irons and bendability…
Wishon 919 with a quality shaft…
I’ve lowered my handicap… enjoy playing better golf… arrow or the indian…
Eliminated that half of the equation… that’s what it’s about… first hole in one…
Smash Factor
The ratio between your ball speed and your club head speed is what is referred to as “smash factor”. If you take your ball speed and divide that by your club head speed, the resulting value is what is known as your smash factor. As we’ve mentioned thus far, there are a number of things that will determine smash factor:
- How close to the sweet spot on the club face the golf ball is struck
- How well your shaft flex is matched to your swing speed
- Material in which the club face is made of (steel, titanium, tungsten, etc.)
- Type of ball you use
Club head speed plays no factor in smash factor, because the smash factor is only the ratio between the club head speed and ball speed. For example, I could have a swing speed of 75 mph, and a ball speed of 112 mph, and my smash factor would be 1.5 (if you do the math, 112/75). At the same time, I could have a swing speed of 115 and a ball speed of 172 mph, and would achieve the same smash factor of 1.5. In the example, the swing speeds were different by 40 mph, but the smash factor was the same.
The key in swing speed is to also look at your smash factor, because a swing speed of 115 mph with a smash factor of 1.3 will only result in a ball speed of 150 mph. While a swing speed of 10 mph less at 105 mph and a smash factor of 1.55 will result in a ball speed of 163 mph. It’s not always the harder swings that euate to the most distance. It’s a mix of both power and precision, matched with the correct equipment that will maximize your ball speed, and ultimately your distance.
Off center hits on the club face can result in losing between 10 and 20% of your ball speed than if you hit the ball on the sweet spot.
