Best Online Clubs

In a word? No, the price of the shaft does not ensure that anything about the shaft will be better, whether you are talking about the fit, the performance or the quality. Sad, but it is true.

Over the past several years, a number of shaft companies have chosen to develop and market graphite shafts for woods which are VERY expensive. From the early 1980s when graphite shafts were first introduced until the mid 2000s, the most expensive graphite shafts sold for around $50 to $60.

In almost every case, the higher cost shafts were those which were manufactured to be very light in weight and with a much lower torque. Making a graphite shaft that weighs 65 grams or less and with less than 3 degrees of torque costs more money because more expensive higher strength/higher modulus graphite fiber materials are required to achieve the much lighter weight and lower torque.

But since the late 2000s, there are many shafts selling for $100, $200, $300 and even more which are of “normal weight” with a torque measurement in excess of 3 or 4 degrees. Why are many shafts being sold for such high prices? If you pay hundreds of dollars for a shaft, does that mean you will hit the ball farther, straighter or more consistently?

There are FIVE elements in the design of a golf shaft which ordain every aspect of its performance. Those elements are the, 1) Flex or overall stiffness of the shaft, 2) Bend Profile, otherwise known as how the stiffness is distributed over the length of the shaft, 3) Weight, which is important because the shaft’s weight controls the total weight of the whole club, 4) Torque, also known as the shaft’s resistance to twisting during the swing, and 5) the Weight Distribution, which is also referred to as the balance point of the shaft.

At Wishon Golf, they maintain a data base of shaft measurements for thousands of different shafts. This data base served as the core of our TWGT Shaft Bend Profile Software, a program which allowed custom clubmakers to be able to make quantitative comparisons of shafts for the purpose of making better shaft fitting decisions for golfers. With this software program, it was possible to compare the design and production specifications of any shaft in the data base to any other shaft.

In a nutshell, it is completely possible to find shafts which cost hundreds of dollars for which all of the performance elements are either identical or so close to be considered identical to shafts which cost less than $50. In all of our shaft research we simply cannot find any performance justification for the very high price charged for some shafts.

What makes a GOOD shaft is whether that shaft’s flex, bend profile, weight, torque and balance point are well matched to the golfer’s swing speed, swing tempo, downswing transition force and point of wrist-cock release before impact. There really is no such thing as a “bad shaft”; there are only poorly fit shafts and properly fit shafts. A properly fit shaft has no price guidelines or cost requirements attached to it.

• I’ve heard that only really good golfers need custom fitted golf clubs, is that true?
  No, nothing could be farther from the truth. Consider that the average golfer after getting a fitting will improve their handicap by about 10% you can say that up to a point the higher your handicap the more improvement you will see.
• What kind of improvements can I expect to see with my new clubs?
  Everyone is different and everyone experiences different degrees of improvement in different areas. Most who ask this are first concerned with distance. So let’s start with distance… Over the years I’ve seen as much as a 30 yard increase in distance in various clubs. We a few golfers whose clubs were badly fitting I’ve seen nearly that much increase in the length of their 5 iron. Almost everyone does get a noticeable increase in distance on nearly all of their clubs. But more importantly you will see improvement in consistency, and in accuracy. With fitted clubs you will make more solid impact more often. You will improve on the direction and accuracy of your shots and keep the ball in play most of the time and get rid of those shots that go wildly off line. You consistency in distance for how far you hit each clubs will improve also. Generally you will hit more fairways, you will hit more greens in regulation and closer to the pin when you hit the green.

• Are your clubs knock offs or clones?
  No, definitely not. All of the heads I build for custom sets are designer brands made by designers who have Professionals playing their designs on Professional Tours around the world. Some of their products often find their way onto the Golf Digest Hot List. Tom Wishon alone has over 100 design firsts that many might think originated by the major brands. Most them were copied by the major brands. The components I use are of the highest quality and will stand up against any heads being made today for design, quality and more importantly performance.
• Why do you have only Wishon and Alpha brands and not others I am familiar with?
  Over the years when I had my retail shop I tested with many of the brands you are familiar with and in 15 years of fitting and testing 95% of my customers performed better with either a Wishon or Alpha head design. Now that I closed my shop I still have access to almost any brand on the market but I cherry picked those that work best to sell from my website. Because I know they will perform as well as any.
• I see a lot of advertising about famous brands and how they go farther. Are these clubs better than yours?
  The best way to answer that is to point out that pure physics will dictate how far you will hit the ball. The club you have will not change physics enough to make a significant difference if you make a good swing and hit it solid. A 44 inch club with 10° when hit in the center of the clubface at the correct angle of attack when going 100 miles per hour will carry approximately 250 yards. If all is equal with all clubs this will be true regardless of the head or shaft you use. The key part of that statement is “if you make a good swing and hit it solid”. That is where the fitting part comes in. If your cubs is too heavy, too light, too stiff or too flexible or the balance point is too hight or too low you cannot consistently make a good swing and hit it solid. The purpose of the fitting is to find those variables for your swing and build a set so you can consistently make a good swing and consistently hit solid shots with every club. Then we determine how far you can hit your longest club and how far you hit your shortest full swing club and make sure you have a club that covers the gaps between lofts for every distance between your longest and shortest club. If really doesn’t matter what number is on the bottom of that club as long as you hit them consistently solid and straight.
• How do I know if I’m hitting the ball as far as I possibly can with my swing?
  Physics. We know from physics that there is a finite amount of distance per each mile per hour of swing speed for each degree of loft on the club. I have to find the club that allows you to swing as fast as possible while always hitting the sweet spot on each swing. With the USGA limiting COR to .830 there is a limit to how far you can hit any driver. New technology cannot change this regardless of how much advertising anyone does. The distance you get will be determined by your swing speed, angle of attack, loft on the club, spin and how precisely you hit the ball on the center or desired part of the club face. For a rough approximation use 2.5 yards per 1 mph of ball speed (2.5 x 100 mph = 250 yards) for maximum potential carry distance. Roll up will be determined by trajectory and angle of decent and how wet or dry the fairway is.
• Can I get more hybrids than irons? Do I need more fairways or hybrids? etc.
  Set Make up is possibly the most important thing we will achieve in your fitting. Just exactly what clubs do you need in your bag? First, I do not have a “standard set of clubs” that I build for anyone. There is no standard set just as there is no best wife. Everybody is different and everybody needs something different. No two golfers are just alike. If you hit hybrids better than irons I would say you will have more hybrids. If you hit irons better then you will have more irons. Same for fairways and hybrids. Depending on which one you hit better how many of each you might have in your bag. Again, I cannot over emphasize how important it is to have each distance between your longest shot and your shortest full swing shot covered. With that in mind it doesn’t matter if those clubs are fairways, hybrids, or irons as long at they are the ones you hit best.
• How many wedges do I need?
  Much like the question above, it depends on your game. If you miss a lot of greens and have to pitch, chip and one putt for pars it might make sense to give you as many scoring tools as possible for around the green. This we will determine during the course of the fitting based on your game and your golf course.
• I hear people talking about bounce, what does this mean and how does it alter what clubs I need?
  Bounce it that angle on the bottom of the sole of each club that keeps it from digging into the ground too deeply. Look at your sand wedge versus your 9 iron and you can see it easily. From front to back of the face how much does it angle down? A golfer playing on a lush course with deep rich grass under the ball can use more bounce than the golfer playing on a desert course with very thing grass and hard compact soil where the club bounces off the turf at impact. Also the type sand in your traps will determine how much bounce you need on your sand wedge too.
• How do I know which grip I should choose?
  This again will be determined during your fitting. The size of your hands and the way you grip the club will determine the best grip for your game. I use primarily Pure grips on my clubs because of the quality of pure latex, and because over the years my customers love them.
• How long will it take to get my clubs after my fitting?
  Generally allow about 2 – 4 weeks for them to ship depending on where I have to order your heads, shafts and grips from. If anything comes from California it takes a week to get them here so add a week and make it about 5 weeks. Recently we are seeing more instances of companies being out of stock and having to wait for heads. This is beyond my control but we try and find heads when this happens in the club making community.
• Do I have to pay for the clubs in advance?
  Yes, when you place your order. But if you need a shaft upgrade you may have to place a supplemental order for the shafts before work can begin.

In addition to the above, plan on coming in to pick up your clubs if you are local. You can pick them up in Columbus at On Time Printing – 5045 Milgen Court – Unit 13. They are open Monday through Friday, you might want to call before you come by – 706-324-6862.

I have been a huge fan of Coach Paul W. (Bear) Bryant since I was in high school. I followed his career, I and know some of his players and I’ve tried to live up to his standards. This video of Jack Rutledge pretty well sums up, better than anything I can type, how I try to live my life and the standards I try to adhere to on a daily basis.