Club Champion part deux

[CarlH]

I was fitted for irons and had my driver reshafted last March at Club Champion, Portland.   Due to knee issues, I didn't get to play much with them and didn't play at all from the end of April until June.  

So, I'm absolutely loving the irons that I was fitted for (see signature for specs) and I'm hitting them better than I've hit irons in a long time.  But the driver...oh my.  The fitter put me into a stiff (albeit, he called it a lighter stiff shaft) Paderson Launch shaft.  I'm really struggling with it.  I'm thinking it's too stiff for this old man's swing and I'm unable to find the center of the face and often not able to square the clubface.  My shots are weak fades, typically lower flighted, and s.h.o.r.t.   

Heading back to Club Champion to see the fitter again on Friday to see what's going on.

I'll report back on my experience on the return visit to them.  I had commented on my initial experience with them in a prior posting.  To date, I've been very pleased with the experience with Club Champion.

[PlaidJacket]

31 minutes ago, CarlH said:

But the driver...oh my.  The fitter put me into a stiff (albeit, he called it a lighter stiff shaft) Paderson Launch shaft.

Question. Was that shaft expensive? Here's why I ask.

I have never been fit at CC. The only time I visited one (you might have heard this story before) I asked about a driver fitting. I selected a head off the wall and asked how much this driver might cost me. The fitter grabbed a shaft and said this combo would probably run $600+ I recall. Ouch! I asked about the shaft and he said it cost XXX. I forget... $300+ or something like that. I then asked wouldn't it be possible to be fit into a great shaft for way less. Of course he said.

Recently I purchased Tour Edge EXS. Yes... right off the Rack!! LOL Initially I didn't like the driver. I was all over the place. Then I decided to replace it with the same shaft I had in my fairway machine SLDR. Fujikura Speeder 57-S. This shaft is not an expensive shaft. You guessed it. The EXS changed completely. It's now my new fairway machine.

I definitely think you should revisit CC and get a new shaft of some flavor. Hopefully your CC store is close by in case you need to try a few to get it right. Indoor fitting vs outdoor fitting is usually like night and day IMO. Good luck.

[CarlH]

Yes, it was expensive in comparison to say an Aldila NVS shaft.  It was a reshaft into my existing driver (Taylor Made M4), so it was cheaper than replacing the entire driver, of course.

IMO, the shaft is the heart and soul of the driver.  Yes, some heads are better than others, but the right shaft will bring out the best of the head.  Of course, newer technology far exceeds older technology with regards to a faster ball speed off the face, but even an older tech head combined with a shaft that fits the player can be a huge benefit.

And, it would help if my swing were a bit more consistent day to day

PXG was at our club a week ago or so and I had him fit me with one of his drivers.  With a regular shaft in the head, I was able to hit nice draws with it (but, full disclosure, he did set it for a draw bias).  Just felt that I could get the club head through better.  Could be that when I was getting fit at CC that I was swinging the club better that day....could be a change in my swing following knee replacement....could be a head case, too  ... We'll find out.

[CarlH]

Just got back from my Club Champion appointment.  I arrived an hour early and Connor took me right in and we spent 2 hours together working through things.  After warming up, I began swinging the driver.  Interestingly, my clubhead speed was 3-4 mph faster than when we initially tested in March.  But, the launch angle was low and I wasn't getting good efficiency with the ball striking.  Smash factor was down around 1.32, launch angle was around 10.  Still, my average drives were longer than my original gamer drives done in March.  We tried a different clubhead (happened to be a Ping, but I didn't pay attention to which one) that was lighter than my driver using the same shaft.  This was a swing weight difference of about 4 points.  My driver came in with a D6 swing weight, as built.  With better results with the lighter head, Connor pulled the shaft and removed the added tungsten from the shaft tip, and cut a 1/4 inch off the length, then reassembled the club.  The changes to the driver (swing weight 3 pits lower now) and a slight change in my address gave me much better results, raising the smash factor to avg of 1.45-1.47 and got the launch angle up to 13.  I have a slight out to in path and the fitter told me to quit fighting that path and go ahead and play the cut. End result was much better contact and ball flight.  

Be taking the club back to the course soon to see if I can transfer my swing to the course better than I was doing before the changes.

Of course, there was no charge for this service and Connor will be contacting me in 2 weeks to check on the progress.  If things aren't working, we're not sure what direction we'll take another look at other options.

All in all....very pleased with the service that I'm receiving from Club Champion.  Not cheap, but the service from Connor has been nothing short of professional and what one would expect.

[CarlH]

A couple of shots I took of the Portland Club Champion

[chershey]

Carl, that's awesome to hear. I know my fitter has checked in with my a couple of times to make sure everything's still working well. I just recently started a 15 lesson plan with a new Golftec in my area and they are making some serious changes to my swing. I'm concerned that my fitted equipment may need some tweaks after I get through these lessons, but it's good to know that Club Champion may give me a quick refit if needed and possibly just tweak the equipment I already purchased from them.

[CarlH]

Follow up on the tweaks --- they definitely made a big improvement.  It's much easier to square the club face now that the head is significantly lighter and the added loft is giving me much better trajectory.  Only problem now is that I can't really blame the driver for my woes....it's all me!