Wilson Innovation Center Fitting - Review

[Matt Saternus]

Wilson Innovation Center Fitting Review

or

"Why Did I Wait So Long to Get Fit?"

 

 

 

Anyone who reads beyond a third grade level understands that one of our major goals here at MyGolfSpy.com is to make sure everyone gets fit for their equipment. To try to show the importance of fitting, we have suffered through fittings with various OEMs, shaft companies, and high-end fitters and done numerous MyGolfSpy Labs articles. We've shown you that the right shaft can get you 25 more yards. We've shown you how the right length club can lead to more distance AND accuracy. And yet some of you still aren't getting fit.

 

I can understand why you might think that these stories don't apply to you. You're sitting at your computer thinking, “Matt, you have a tour-caliber golf swing, and you make Adam Scott look like Don Rickles. Fitting may be great for you, but it's not for me.” Well, thank you, but you're wrong…at least about fitting. Fitting is for everyone!

 

 

To prove that fitting will benefit players of all ability levels, I recruited my dad to go through an iron fitting at Wilson's new and improved Innovation Center. Some background on my dad:

 

*Over 60 years old

 

*Lifelong golfer

 

*Has broken 100 once

 

*Playing irons that are roughly ten years old

 

*Has lost some distance throughout the set, looking to get some of it back

 

Sound familiar to anyone out there? If this sounds like you, or even if it doesn't, read on to see what a well-fit set of clubs can do for someone who isn't playing on TV on Sunday:

 

 

When my dad and I arrived at Wilson, Steve Junkroski, Wilson Golf's Master Club Fitter and the Manager of Wilson Golf's Special Orders Department, had my dad hit a few balls with his old irons to warm up. Wilson has both Trackman and Foresight launch monitors in their fitting studio; for this fitting we used Foresight (much easier to use indoor with limited flight). After a few shots, Steve had established a baseline against which he and my dad could evaluate the new clubs.

 

 

The fitting began with Steve taking a static measurement of my dad's wrist-to-floor length. According to Steve's measurement, my dad should be playing clubs at Wilson's standard length. This would mean a club that is ½ inch shorter than what he's currently playing. As Steve explained, the measurement is a starting point, but it's not the final word. My dad hit some shots with the standard length club, and made very poor contact. When Steve switched him back into a shaft length that was similar to his old club, good contact returned.

 

 

A quick note for everyone at home: please take note of the fact that Steve, being an excellent fitter, was not bound by what the measurement told him. Steve understands, as all good fitters do, that the goal is to get the player to hit the ball better. If that means ignoring the measurement, so be it. If you run across a fitter who tells you that you should play __ length clubs because the ruler says so, run away. Back to the story:

 

 

After the proper length had been established, Steve wanted to see what shaft my dad would most benefit from. My dad has always played a steel shaft in his iron, so Steve started with the True Temper SL85, the stock steel option in the new D100 iron. The results were good, but Steve thought they could be improved with a graphite shaft, the Matrix Studio 6.1. Weighing in at 65 grams, these shafts are roughly half the weight of the shafts that my dad was using previously. The results clearly showed that this was a good change: more club head speed, more ball speed, and more distance.

 

 

The next step was to fit the correct lie angle. My dad hit three balls off of a lie board with the standard lie club. All three shots marked the lie tape on the toe: an indication that the club should be made more upright. Here again, Steve would prove to be an invaluable guide, as he explained to my dad that, despite the tape marks, going more upright would be a mistake. My dad was already hitting the ball to the left, and a more upright club would only make the ball go further left. Instead, Steve recommended a club that was 2* flat, and, again, the results proved Steve's recommendation to be sound.

 

 

 

What did an average weekend golfer gain from a fitting?

 

+4 MPH of club head speed

 

+6 MPH of ball speed

 

+13 yards of carry

 

Greater accuracy: shots averaged 15 yards closer to the center line

 

Higher launch and increased descent angle: the shots ended up closer to where they landed

 

 

 

All of this brings us back to our familiar conclusion: if you're playing clubs that were not fit for you, it is a near-certainty that you are leaving yards (and strokes) on the table.

 

This particular story also drives home a second point: a truly excellent fitter is worth his weight in gold. Lots of people hesitate to pay for a fitting “because I can get one at (insert name of big box store) for free.” That's fine, but have you ever heard the old cliché: “You get what you pay for”? While it's certainly possible that you can find great people at big box stores, the reality is that you're much more likely to find someone who doesn't know loft from lie. If you're going to spend $400 on a driver or $600+ on irons, why would you skimp on the $50-100 for a great fitting? As you saw here, in one fitting there were two separate instances where the conventional advice would have proved disastrous for the golfer. All fittings are not created equal. Do your homework and get fit by the best available fitter. Your game will thank you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tony Covey MGS]

I assume we'll have a follow up letting us know how the custom clubs translate to the golf course?

[furu]

Great article. Totally agree - there´s fitting and then there´s the real fitting. I understand that people hesitate to do this when they often have no idea how good the person doing the fitting is at his/her job. You have no idea what you´re really paying for.

 

Nice pictures of the D100 irons. I actually like them a lot. Looks like an iron that fits in the RBZ/AMP category.

[Ice]

I love seeing first hand accounts of how fitting benefits golfers. If OEMs would stop advertising "longer!" and start advertising "Properly fit for best results and most distance!" people might get a clue and get fit.

[Matt Saternus]

Great article! Like the others, I'm curious as to what his on-cours performance is like.

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

 

Through 2 rounds: BIG improvement.

 

He said, "I'm not tired at the end of the round anymore" and the performance on the later holes shows that. It's funny because he never would have admitted to being tired before, but now, in contrast, he realizes how tired he was.

 

That "one club longer" that we saw on the monitor has definitely carried over to the course, and the long irons are MUCH easier for him to hit.

[Matt Saternus]

That's great! I'm sure for you as an instructor, a lot of the pleasure in your "successes" is not only a visibly improved swing, longer &/or straighter shots or lower scores, but also the intangible measure of the joy and smiles that replace the anger, dissapointment, frowns & scowls that a lot of your students feel when they hit the course after your assistance. Does that make any sense?..lol..

 

It sounded better in my head than it looked on the screen..lol..

 

Anyway, great job Dude, another goes out into the world better off than when they walked through your door!

 

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever

 

I appreciate the kudos, but I didn't do any of the fitting here, this was all Steve at Wilson. He's a great fitter, a great builder, and a really nice guy. My only role was telling my dad, "Do whatever Steve says."

 

I definitely agree with the first part, which sounded plenty good on the screen. Ultimately, everyone needs to decide why they play and what they want from the game. Figure out what will make you happy, then go get it. True in golf and life.