GG26
Challenge Tour Pro
I as lucky enough to be one of the two chosen for the opportunity to be fitted for the new G700 irons in the game improvement category.
Headed off to Gainsborugh this morning to the Ping Fitting Centre at Gainsborough Golf Club in Lincolnshire. Fair play to Jake and Chris from Golf Monthly who headed up from Kent for a 9.00 start.
Was given a some balls to hit on the driving range before the fitting and met up with Roland the other one being fitted.
I was looked after by Ed from Ping and we started by choosing the club lie from Ping's colour chart. This is done by plotting height and height of wrist from the ground against the chart. This put me in the red zone (1 degree flat), which is normal for those who are vertically challenged like me. I hit a couple of balls off of a plastic surface and tape on the bottom of the club showed whether the club was flat at the bottom of the swing. In my case these were a bit off of the toe end so we tried black (standard lie). These were also a bit on the toe end and so we tried blue (1 degree upright) and these were spot on.
We also agreed that due to my height the shafts would be 1/2 inch less than standard.
I then hit half a dozen shots with my existing 7 iron (Cleveland 588 CB with stiff graphite shafts - very distinctive bright blue shafts as some of you will have seen in the past). We looked at the stats from the launch monitor which showed an average of 117 yards carry and 129 yards total (was pleased with my guesstimate of 130 yards which I appreciate is not standard forum distance). Ed pointed out that I was launching them much too high with low spin and losing distance as a result. In order to gain optimal distance we would need to concentrate on lowering the launch angle significantly, increase ball speed off of the club and increase spin for a more penetrating flight.
We then went on to try the 7 iron G700. I hit half a dozen balls with five different regular shafts. We started with a graphite shaft, moved on to a light steel shaft, the stock steel shaft, a slightly heavier one and a heavy steel shaft.
There was some improvement with the graphite shaft with a lower launch angle (although still high), and a 5mph increase in ball speed (91 mph from memory) and a 5 yard increase in distance. The lightest steel shaft caused a loss in distance. The stock shaft went well with an additional 5 yards of carry against the graphite shaft (127 yards) and good dispersion. The results with the slightly heavier shaft were not bad. With the heaviest shaft the distance with good, but I had less control and pulled two badly left.
We went back to the stock steel shaft and the slightly heavier one and I was asked simply to hit a few balls with each and see which I was more comfortable with. It soon became apparent that I was much more confident with the stock shaft and the distribution with this one was excellent.
I was still launching the ball a little too high, however, and in order to get the maximum distance Ed suggested that we changed the lofts on the clubs to their power spec which is de-lofting each by two degrees.
My hand was then measured in order to determine the optimal grip size and as my hands are small we went for one size less than standard.
Having agreed on the lie, shaft, lofting and grip it was time to decide on which clubs would complement my current set up. I explained that currently I am playing using driver and then irons (down to 3 iron in the Clevelands), having ditched my hybrids as I am more confident with the long irons. The longest available in the G700 range is the 4-iron, which Ed advised can be hard for some high handicappers to get airborne. However, he agreed that this wouldn't be a problem for me. At the other end of the clubs there is a utility wedge at 49 degrees (gap wedge) and sand wedge. I am happy with my Cleveland Rotex 2.0 wedges currently (50, 54 & 58) and didn't see the need for a sand wedge, but felt there would be too much of gap between the PW and my 50 degree (I only hit this 75 to 80 yards) and so we agreed that the Utility Wedge would be needed to fill the gap (especially as the power spec would make it 47 degree).
After that it was time for Chris from GM to take some pics of me and Roland for the magazine and for Jake to interview each of us presumably for the GM youtube channel.
The experience was very interesting having never been fitted before, although was a little surprised that it is all done from one club (7-iron). I do like the look of my Clevelands, although aimed at a better ball striker than me. The feedback from the launch monitor showed that I am not getting the maximum performance from graphite shafts and that a mid-weight steel shaft suits me better. I hit a number of further shots with the G700 with the shaft we chose whilst Chris took some photos and I had a sense of confidence with the club that I have not had before. The proof of course will come when the clubs arrive and I take them onto the golf course.
The clubs should arrive within the week and in time for the Old Farts meet, so please feel free to come and have a look at the clubs. They are on the large size with some offset, but are also good looking.
Finally, a thank you to Ed and the team at Ping who were great hosts and for Jake and Chris from GM for making the experience an enjoyable one.
Headed off to Gainsborugh this morning to the Ping Fitting Centre at Gainsborough Golf Club in Lincolnshire. Fair play to Jake and Chris from Golf Monthly who headed up from Kent for a 9.00 start.
Was given a some balls to hit on the driving range before the fitting and met up with Roland the other one being fitted.
I was looked after by Ed from Ping and we started by choosing the club lie from Ping's colour chart. This is done by plotting height and height of wrist from the ground against the chart. This put me in the red zone (1 degree flat), which is normal for those who are vertically challenged like me. I hit a couple of balls off of a plastic surface and tape on the bottom of the club showed whether the club was flat at the bottom of the swing. In my case these were a bit off of the toe end so we tried black (standard lie). These were also a bit on the toe end and so we tried blue (1 degree upright) and these were spot on.
We also agreed that due to my height the shafts would be 1/2 inch less than standard.
I then hit half a dozen shots with my existing 7 iron (Cleveland 588 CB with stiff graphite shafts - very distinctive bright blue shafts as some of you will have seen in the past). We looked at the stats from the launch monitor which showed an average of 117 yards carry and 129 yards total (was pleased with my guesstimate of 130 yards which I appreciate is not standard forum distance). Ed pointed out that I was launching them much too high with low spin and losing distance as a result. In order to gain optimal distance we would need to concentrate on lowering the launch angle significantly, increase ball speed off of the club and increase spin for a more penetrating flight.
We then went on to try the 7 iron G700. I hit half a dozen balls with five different regular shafts. We started with a graphite shaft, moved on to a light steel shaft, the stock steel shaft, a slightly heavier one and a heavy steel shaft.
There was some improvement with the graphite shaft with a lower launch angle (although still high), and a 5mph increase in ball speed (91 mph from memory) and a 5 yard increase in distance. The lightest steel shaft caused a loss in distance. The stock shaft went well with an additional 5 yards of carry against the graphite shaft (127 yards) and good dispersion. The results with the slightly heavier shaft were not bad. With the heaviest shaft the distance with good, but I had less control and pulled two badly left.
We went back to the stock steel shaft and the slightly heavier one and I was asked simply to hit a few balls with each and see which I was more comfortable with. It soon became apparent that I was much more confident with the stock shaft and the distribution with this one was excellent.
I was still launching the ball a little too high, however, and in order to get the maximum distance Ed suggested that we changed the lofts on the clubs to their power spec which is de-lofting each by two degrees.
My hand was then measured in order to determine the optimal grip size and as my hands are small we went for one size less than standard.
Having agreed on the lie, shaft, lofting and grip it was time to decide on which clubs would complement my current set up. I explained that currently I am playing using driver and then irons (down to 3 iron in the Clevelands), having ditched my hybrids as I am more confident with the long irons. The longest available in the G700 range is the 4-iron, which Ed advised can be hard for some high handicappers to get airborne. However, he agreed that this wouldn't be a problem for me. At the other end of the clubs there is a utility wedge at 49 degrees (gap wedge) and sand wedge. I am happy with my Cleveland Rotex 2.0 wedges currently (50, 54 & 58) and didn't see the need for a sand wedge, but felt there would be too much of gap between the PW and my 50 degree (I only hit this 75 to 80 yards) and so we agreed that the Utility Wedge would be needed to fill the gap (especially as the power spec would make it 47 degree).
After that it was time for Chris from GM to take some pics of me and Roland for the magazine and for Jake to interview each of us presumably for the GM youtube channel.
The experience was very interesting having never been fitted before, although was a little surprised that it is all done from one club (7-iron). I do like the look of my Clevelands, although aimed at a better ball striker than me. The feedback from the launch monitor showed that I am not getting the maximum performance from graphite shafts and that a mid-weight steel shaft suits me better. I hit a number of further shots with the G700 with the shaft we chose whilst Chris took some photos and I had a sense of confidence with the club that I have not had before. The proof of course will come when the clubs arrive and I take them onto the golf course.
The clubs should arrive within the week and in time for the Old Farts meet, so please feel free to come and have a look at the clubs. They are on the large size with some offset, but are also good looking.
Finally, a thank you to Ed and the team at Ping who were great hosts and for Jake and Chris from GM for making the experience an enjoyable one.
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