Trackman club optimization - question for Kevin

[cmow]

I have a question and wanted to see how it plays out in the real world. Let's say someone uses Trackman to optimize their driver head/shaft combo. They have an obvious swing flaw (take me for example - I'm swing too far right and have a lot of upward hit). They come to you for lessons and you move them much closer to ZERO. My question is - does the change to the swing typically change the persons optimized equipment? I understand the possibility that loft may need to change if the angle of attack changes, but just kind of wondering about the shaft. Is the way a person loads the shaft more a function of their technique (which can be changed), or kind of built in to their swing "DNA"? Just wondering what you see from experience.

 

[softconsult]

I'm not Kevin, but I do have a real world example for you. I played the last 2 years with a launch monitor fitted Titleist 907D2 10.5 Graphite Design YS6+ Stiff. This was the best combo for my swing at the time, 92 mph Driver clubhead speed and spin around 3000 rpm.

Fast forward to 6 months ago. Trackman fitting at a high end facility in Michigan. Inital results with my driver 98 mph and 4400 rpm. Obviously my swing had gotten better and this combo was no longer correct.

I have posted this before. Went through all Titleist Heads and many shafts and could not get rpms below about 3300. Ended up with Ping G15 9 degree with the shaft from the I15 shaft. Club head speed went up to 102 mph and spin dropped to around 2800. Picked up 24 yards according to Trackman. Of course, the rub is this. Hitting shot after shot for 90 minutes in a nice setting does not necessarily translate to the same results on the course. Can't wait until the season gets started. 10 inches of snow predicted here over the weekend.

During the session as I received the data feedback I was able to flatten out my angle of attack from 4 down with the D2 to 1.5 down with the Ping. Furthermore, changing the shaft for a given head affected the clubhead speed and angle of attack. Also learned that the number printed on the head really may not mean much. I would have never guessed 9 degrees, but the G15 is a high launch head.

My conclusion is that you can theorize about which head shaft combo should work for you, but there is no substitute for trying a bunch of combos.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Well, how someones loads the club obviously cant be measured on Trackman. Alot of it is in your DNA but it most certainly can be changed. Usually I would think this could mean a change in shaft weight or flex. Attack angle changes will dictate more than anything a change in loft on the driver. If you have enough speed positive attack will allow you to use less loft.

Softconsult is right, no fitting is better than representative swings made with multiple samples on a Trackman with good balls.

 

[mgranato]

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that the club head has the biggest influence on the ballistics of the shot while the shaft has the biggest influence on how you swing the club.

If you are optimized for your swing today, and six months from now your swing improves (or your dynamics change) you most likely will need a tweak. Head wise, you may need a loft change, a CofG change, or a face angle change. Shaft wise, the options are everything from bend profile to flex and weight that may need altering.

Your swing speed will ultimately determine how sensitive these changes are to your ball flight. The higher the speed the more noticeable changes in loft and spin will become. In the 85 mph – 100 mph range, your optimal windows for noticeable changes are much bigger than they are at faster speeds.