Absolutely! Before I begin, I want to let everyone know that I'm terrible at grammar and I speak much better then I type. My apologies, and I will try my best to articulate my thoughts clearly.
First, I'd like to explain how all this came about. Like many of you, I am married to the game. My game has always, and will always be my top priority. This mentality is what I believe has brought me to this point in my fitting process. Years ago before the process was created, my studio was like most studios. Every shaft, every brand, every head you name it we had it. However, The OEM companies never seemed to offer all the tools I felt I needed to convince myself that my clubs were completely dialed in. Like any golf junkie, I began to think about how I could prove to myself that my equipment was 100 percent as dialed in as possible without anything being over looked. I soon came to realize, I would have to create my own 7 iron head so that I could test all of the variables in isolation. Sole design, lie angle, total weight, shaft profile, flex, grip size, length, CG location, offset, and swing weight or balance point. So, I needed to design a 7 iron that could accommodate all of those tests. I needed 3 different models High, Medium, and Low bounce. I needed weight ports for the Length test, which is testing 1.25 over length, std, and 1.25 under length and still achieve the same swing weight. I only set out to create a 7 iron swiss army knife type of thing to test all the variables in isolation to figure out how each one effected my swing and my ball flight. This is how the system was created and we have been perfecting it for over 3 years.
In a, fitting the first thing we do is let the player warm up. We turn the screen off so the player cannot see where there ball is going. We want them to get loose, and not try and correct shots going offline. We know a player can and will (subconsciously or not) adjust to make a club work better, but that's not the point. We want to marry a club up to your natural and repeatable motion. Once the player is warmed up we then turn the monitor back on and start to look at some data. We want to explain their swing dynamics so we can makes sense of the mission. Most people have a natural and pretty consistent club path, and AOA, and we prove that to them with data. What they often times struggle with is Strike location, and face control. Most times this is because the club and its specs are incorrect and will cause a player to compensate in attempts to hit a good shot. Compensations and consistency is like water and oil, they don't mix. If a player has a consistent path to the left for example -3 on average, they should play a fade. If a player has an in-to-out path they should naturally play a draw. Having predictability of what the ball will do before hitting it is where good golf lives and now strategy can be unleased. Good golfers don't aim hit and hope, they know what the ball should do based on there swing type. We explain what the shot shape should be, and how we need to get the face matched up to that path so that it happens. Then we need to explain the Tiger strike, which I use a slide show to explain in detail. I will try and type it out, but please bear with me.
I have a photo of Tiger's club from the year 2000, and you can clearly see where he has worn out his club. Dead center, and very low on the face. Most people will identify that strike as thin feeling, and that maybe true, but there is magic in it that, I will explain. When a player hits a 7 iron the ball will compress against the face, and the ball is stuck on the face for 1/2 inch or so. These moments in time are my points of interest. A Tiger strike will compress the ball the same way, but the key is the ball will be completely off the face before the club crashes into the earth. When this happens the pure physics of the swing dynamics will be influencing the shot unalter by the earth. Most people associate a strike location 2 grooves higher as feeling pure or perfect, because it feels the best. However you can clearly see tiger didn't become the iron player he became doing it like that. Why? Hitting 2 grooves higher allows the earth to act as a variable in the shot. If the ball isn't completely off the face before the earth is influencing the clubhead our dispersion cone and shot shape predictability is all but lost. I've watched 1000's of people hit balls looking through this lens and I truly believe this. The variables we test play a significant role in achieving a Tiger strike and matching up the face to path relationship. This is explained the same way with visual aids for every person doing our process.
So now we know what a Tiger strike it and what it looks like, so here is how the process goes... When hitting the variables there are 2 steps. Did they tiger strike??? if yes did the ball shape in the direction stated during there warm up of what should happen? Once a player achieves both the ball will fly and come straight down the chimney. Then they are incentivized to repeat there natural swing. The swing you can repeat most often is where good golf lives. Paring a club up to that is paramount. What tends to happen is the player will begin the hit the same shots over and over with consistent ball speed, launch, spin, carry and shape. They are now one with the club. Golf is still hard, but knowing we are going out there with our best chances of playing well is all we can do.
Sole deign/ bounce: High, Med, Low : which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Lie: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Weight: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Profile: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Flex: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
CG: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Offset: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Length: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Grip: which produced the most tiger strikes and provided shot shape?
Every test will have a winner. We then write a prescription based on the data for the top OEM brand on model, or a Foreward iron which is the only iron I have come across to meet the needs of every possible prescription.
We will write out all the specs and shaft that match your needs based on the data. We have a custom build shop so everyone has the option of having there clubs built to spec at Foreward golf. We have had so much success in this process thus far, we have been shipping the system across the country, allowing people to collect the data and strike locations so our trained professionals can then write a prescription. So far the results have maintained performance as our in person fittings.
I hope this all made sense, I tried my best. Just like all of you, I love golf, I want to help people get a return on there investment in equipment and coaching, because nothing is better the a new personal low round. This is all a by product of wanting to become the best golfer I can be.
What maybe the most interesting thing I've noticed about the process is how much the variables not only influence ball flight, but how a players swing responds to them. I have learned to assume nothing and test everting, because each individual will often times respond differently then the next guy. Every persons subconscious is different and making any predictions is a slippery slope.
Appreciate your time and interest,
Foreward Golf
