Spent the Afternoon at the "Barbershop."

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

Looking to have an adapter put on my new Aldila Voodoo shaft for my driver.  After one place said they'd be getting one in on Tuesday, but didn't call me back, I tried the next one down the road.  Quite an experience! There was 5 or 6 six guys sitting around shooting the breeze while the fitter was putting on grips, reshafting or whatnot for one or more of them. One guy would leave, another walked in.  Covered spiderbites, green conditions at local courses, politics, weather, whatever.  Interesting experience.  Like the old fashioned barbershop!

 

Now for the substance of my visit.  With this guy, it was immediately apparent he was not going to just put in an adapter.   Had to check the Driver with the stock shaft, had to test the 3 wood with the shaft I'm trying to match.  Through this that or the other, every single club in my bag ended up being tested, all before I had agreed to buy anything.  Ending up hitting a few shots for his swing analyzer.  But the results were extremely illuminating.

 

My stock Driver Rocketballz shaft--never been 'splined,' if that is the term.  Showed me how it was wavering all over the place.  But the CPMs were for a stiff shaft as it was supposed to be and a D4 swing weight.

 

My Frankenwood Rocketballz tour spoon with the Aldila Voodoo SVS6 shaft that I'm trying to duplicate in the Driver.  Perfectly splined, correct CPM, but only a C7 swing weight.

 

My stock shaft Rocketballz 5 wood.  Said I got lucky, got a perfectly splined, correct swing weight and CPM.

 

My Rocketballz 4 hybrid with stock shaft.  WAY too stiff, significantly stiffer than any other club in my bag.

 

So, guess what?  Consider the above with how I hit these clubs.

 

First, the 5 Wood.  My favorite club, by far the most consistent and best performing club in my bag.  Hit four great 5 woods off the deck yesterday, not a single one off from my aim line. 

Any coincidence that its seems to be a well fitted and well built club?

 

Driver--Second most consistent as far as results of good feeling hits.  But, good shots range from a bit right, down the middle and a bit left.  Consistent with a head wobbling a bit around its shaft?

 

Tour Spoon.  Well hit shots go dead straight.  But, more than any other club, seemingly good swings will be all over the club face, sometimes almost missing the clubface.  Consistent with a much too light swing weight and lack of control over the club head during the swing?

 

Hybrid.  Extremely inconsistent.  I hesitate to hit it sometimes because I never know where its going with decent swings.  Some good, some very much pushed right, some hard lefts.

Consistent with a much too stiff shaft?

 

I'm speculating here from what I believe I've learned from the forum and other reading, but  it is remarkable that the one club of the four that I hit better far more consistently that the others is the one properly fit and assembled club.

 

Now my Fuzion Golf fitted TM R9 Irons.  Consistent length and swing weights, did not vary a bit from ideal.  CPM, or stiffness, was significantly light, however.  He said I was swinging the equivalent of a women's standard shaft!  Now his CPM machine showed my 5 iron's CPM to be 275 when it should have been 290 or so for my 5.5 goal (trying to remember his numbers).  The aforementioned woods tested out to right where they should have been for my 5.5 goal.  According to the guy, a way too low CPM would result in short right shots.  That would also explain why, when I don't come over the top and pull the ball, a good percentage of my 'well struck' irons end up short and right.  Hmmmm.  In any event, that sounds like a HUGE gap between promised spec (Nippon NS stiff) and actual.  The label on my shafts do say "S." 

 

I got back home and looked at the specs for the R9s, as well as my previous Titlest DT 932s.  Must be a completely different scale.  The spec CPMs were 315 for the 4 iron going to 345 for the PW.  The analysis of my old 932s showed CPMs ranging from 314 to 353.  I had the 932 PW in my bag when I walked in the shop because of some experimenting I was doing, he measured that for reference, and it was 309.  So must be a different scale.  

 

So, not sure what they're telling me on the irons, but the woods analysis was quite interesting.  I've got a lesson at Golftec tomorrow, and I'm going to ask them to test my irons on their CPM machine.  

[RookieBlue7]

He CPM'd them with the heads on? That's why they CPM'd off. The cpm is supposed to be done with a raw shaft and a 200 gram chuck.

 

And the best way to fit for CPM is to fit based on the shaft position at impact. It should be perfectly straight. If it's bent backward the CPM is too low. If it's bent forward, it's too stiff.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

He CPM'd them with the heads on? That's why they CPM'd off. The cpm is supposed to be done with a raw shaft and a 200 gram chuck.

 

And the best way to fit for CPM is to fit based on the shaft position at impact. It should be perfectly straight. If it's bent backward the CPM is too low. If it's bent forward, it's too stiff.

But as far as the raw measurements go, am I correct in assuming that as long as you measure everything the same way and you have a reference point, measuring a too weak shaft versus a stiff shaft, both with the heads on, should have the same relative differential?

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

Oh boy, now what do I do?  Had a lesson at Golftec today, so I went in a bit early to have them look at the flex on my irons, the ones that the guy at the "Barbershop" says are actually a ladies flex.  They have a  CPM machine there.  The guy pulled out the Nippon NS Pro spec sheet, put the 5, 6 and 7 irons in there, as well as the old DCI 932 with a Dynamic Gold S300 shaft in it.  The Nippons measured to midway between Reg and Stiff and the DCI measured just a bit stiffer than the Nippons, but consistent with the S300 specs.  I watched both the Barbershop guy and the Golftec guy do the measurements.  Both machines proved out what they were saying, respectively.  The Golftec guy said that it doesn't make sense that shafts from Nippon that were fitted and are excellent shafts that still have their S label on them, would measure at such a soft flex that the Barbershop guy claimed.  Now club fitting really isn't Golftec's schtick, they'll do it, but I don't think they're any better than the retail shops at it.  So, their word isn't necessarily gospel.  However, my instructor in the lesson says it appears that my irons are set up appropriately for me, didn't see anything on the flightscope that would indicate otherwise.  Also hit a few DCI 5 iron shots, and the results were pretty much identical.  

 

Guess I'll stick with the irons for now.  

 

Picked up the woods later on from the "Barbershop."  Splined stock Driver shaft, adapter on the Voodoo shaft for the Driver, which shaft was also splined, reweighted Tour Spoon and a new Voodoo shaft for the Hybrid, also splined.  New Grips on all.  Somehow a wee bit less confident that I'll get the results that I was expecting before today's Golftec conflicting measurements on the irons.  Tomorrow's round should tell a lot.  More to come.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

He CPM'd them with the heads on? That's why they CPM'd off. The cpm is supposed to be done with a raw shaft and a 200 gram chuck.

 

And the best way to fit for CPM is to fit based on the shaft position at impact. It should be perfectly straight. If it's bent backward the CPM is too low. If it's bent forward, it's too stiff

 

I just was looking at the movies of today's lesson, and the stills of the shaft position at impact was straight on one and just a very wee bit bent forward on the other swing.  Was hitting the 5 iron.

[jaxbeachpackerfan]

Played today, after picking picking up the woods yesterday.  He was short an adapter, so he put the Rocketballz adapter on the new Voodoo driver shaft and will put one on the old stock shaft in the next day or two when he gets an adapter in.

 

Only had a chance to hit the new driver shaft once before teeing off today.  First on course shot, pulled it hard left--don't think that was the shaft's fault, but mine.  Next two driving holes were short, trouble holes, so I hit 5 wood and hybrid off the tee.  Next long part four, tried the driver again, OB left, scrambled for double bogie.  

 

Then, and here's the magic for the day, medium length par four that I usually forgoe the driver.  Definitely forgoed it today.  Hit the Tour Spoon for the first time since it was reweighed to D3 from C7 as described above.  Holy s***, it exploded off the tee!  Straight, slight draw, beautiful ball flight.  240 yds., measured by the "shot" feature on the Bushnell GPS.  10 yds beyond the drive of the 10 hdcp in our group who usually averages about the same as me off the tee.  Birdied the hole.

 

Short par 5, next hole, hit the tour spoon 220, slight popup push.  Hit the only good driver of the day on the last hole of the nine, thought I flushed it, but only 235 according to the GPS. 

 

Rest of the round, used the Tour Spoon frankenwood, measuring each one, except for one hole (Driver, water left).  237, 242, 228, 247, and 254, all fairway.  I've hit some great shots with the spoon before, but it was always inconsistent, with some peculiar bad shots.  Today, with the reweighting, much more in control.  Not one 'bad' shot, and most very good.  I love using my Driver (Tuesday's round was very good, 7 out of 10 fairways with it, and quite long (although I wasn't measuring things)), but hard to argue with the results of the Frankenwood today.   

 

Reshafted Hybrid was also pretty good today.  Felt much more in control, no bad shots. Unmodified 5 wood was perfect today, used 3 times, three very good to great shots by my standards.  

[Eagle12#]

Jax,  you were spanking the Frankenwood yesterday as you noted in your post.  Interesting stats on your drives.  Not sure what your career round is, but you could have shaved a few more strokes from the 84 by hitting the F off the tee all day.