Birdieman Custom Clubs Blog

Don Bonrud April 17th, 2011

The lie of a golf club is measured as the angle between the shaft and the ground while in the playing position. Golf clubs that are made longer will be more upright, which means that the toe of the golf club is off the ground with the heel of the club head on the ground.  So then, a club that is shorter will be flatter, which means that the heel of the club head will be off the ground with the toe touching the ground.  Therefore, longer clubs will usually need to be bent flatter and shorter clubs will usually need to be bent more upright.  For every half-inch that a club is made longer the lie angle will become one degree more upright and for every half inch that a club is made shorter the lie angle will become one degree flatter.

Lie angle has an effect on the direction of the golf ball off of the clubface.  A lie angle that is too upright will cause the shot to be pulled left of the intended target.  A lie angle that is too flat will cause the shot to be pushed right of the intended target.

Lie angles can vary between manufacturers so a 5 iron from one company may be different then a 5 iron from another company.

Lie angles can typically be changed three degrees in either direction . 

Custom club makers have special bending machines that are used to bend club heads. 

 A word of caution, club heads can break during the bending process so it is very important to have an experienced club maker handle this task.

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Club Repair , Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud March 15th, 2011

The putter accounts for roughly 43% of the strokes in an average round of golf and is one of the most important clubs to fit.  The average player will have in excess of 30 putting strokes per 18 hole round.  Putting is the most individual part of the game with each and every player having his or her own putting style. 

 The most common type of putter is heel toe weighted with the other being face balanced.  A player with a straight back and straight through stroke would benefit from a face balanced putter while a player with an in to in stroke would benefit from a heal balanced putter.

 Blade, semi mallet and mallet putters are just a matter of personal preference.

  Ideal putter fitting has the player’s eyes directly over the ball.  If the putter is too short the eyes will be outside the putting line and if the putter is too long the eyes will be inside the putting line.

  Weight is also a key factor in the performance of a putter.  If you have a problem getting the ball to the hole, play on slow greens or have a quick putter stroke then you would benefit from a heavier putter.  If you consistently hit past the hole or play on very fast greens then a lighter putter would be best for you. 

The grip is also an important consideration.  If you have a tendency to use your wrists in your putting stroke then a larger grip would work best for you.

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud February 14th, 2011

Good question.  While there are no golf industry standards for club length, there are averages used by club makers.  Average driver lengths have increased through the years with the average length in the 1950’s being 43 inches; today it is 45 inches with ladies club lengths generally 1 inch shorter than men’s lengths. The maximum driver length allowed by the USGA is 48 inches. 

Driver heads and graphite shafts are considerably lighter today which makes swinging a longer driver a little easier.  It’s all about swing speed and control.

 The first measurement to find is your wrist to floor measurement.  This will give you your recommended club length, from there take an assessment of your swing characteristics, do you hit a straight ball or do you have a slice that you can’t control?  The idea here is to be able to control the longest club possible.  The longer the club the faster the swing speed and that translates into more distance, but uncontrollable distance is not a good thing.  A shorter club is much easier to control and its a lot more fun playing from the fairway.  So put away that ego and play a driver length that you can handle.

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Clubs , Women's Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud January 21st, 2011

Since the beginning of modern day golf clubs, swingweighting has been the method used to weight match a set of golf clubs. Swingweighting a set of golf clubs means building all of the clubs in a set to feel the same in regards to headweight during the golf swing.  The golf club is put on a swingweight scale and weighed.  The weight is recorded by giving a letter and a number.  The letter and number combinations for example could be C9 or D1. The higher the letter and number, the heavier the head feels in relation to the rest of the club.  In a swingweighted set of clubs if a 3 iron has a swingweight of D0, the rest of the clubs would also have a swingweight of D0.

Moment of Inertia  (MOI) in terms of a built golf club is a measurement of how much force it takes to swing the golf club around your body.

MOI (Moment of Inertia) adjusted clubs progress in weight as the club gets shorter requiring the same force or effort to swing a 9 iron as it does to swing a 3 iron.  The result is a more consistent swing, more consistent center hits on the clubface, and ultimately better shots that result in lower scores. 

To find out what the right MOI is for you consider your favorite club.  We all have a go-to club that we use when we absolutely have to hit a good shot. It’s the club in which we have the most confidence.  We measure that club for swingweight and total weight and then using our MOI matching scale and computer software build the other clubs in the set to the same MOI as the favorite club.  The result would hopefully be a complete set of favorite clubs.

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Club Repair , Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud January 13th, 2011

The XF stands for extra forgiveness

The Acer XF is the latest generation of game-improvement irons to replace the popular Acer XK line that was named Golf Digest’s 2009 Best Value iron.  The center of gravity is pushed even deeper and lower for improved performance. The non-glare topline has been beveled to provide a less chunky appearance at address.

The Acer XF is available in 3 models.

The XF Standard is designed to fit the broadest range of golfers with ample offset to help the player square up the face at impact enabling the player to hit both straight and solid shots as well as instill confidence.

The XF Pro has less offset for players who don’t struggle with pushing or fading the ball, but want some added forgiveness but not so much that they can’t work the ball when needed.

 The XF HT model is higher launching, and has a wider sole but with the same amount of offset and extra forgiveness as the standard model. 

The XF Standard model is available now with the Xf Pro and XF HT available in late January.

• BCC New Products , Golf Clubs , Women's Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud December 28th, 2010

The golf season has ended (if you live in the great white north like yours truly) and your favorite course is covered in a blanket of white.  You’ve wiped off the heads of your clubs, returned them to their bag, and put them in the basement where they will be safe and warm.  They are now ready for the new season to begin.  But, are they really ready?  Now is the time to have your local club repair shop tune them up for the season ahead.

Over the course of a golf season, hitting irons off of hard pan, hitting rocks and small pebbles while trying to get the ball out of sand bunkers, and repeatedly holding grips with dirty, sweaty and greasy hands, a set of clubs can become a bit knocked out of whack so to speak.  Worn grips should be replaced because slippery grips will cost you strokes.   Ever wonder why your 4 iron shots go higher than your 5 iron or you hit your 7 iron farther than your 6 iron?  Quite possibly the lofts have changed on those clubs.  Irons can be bent out of their original spec from repeated hits on the ground.  Loft and lie specifications should be checked, and if needed, bent back to the original specs.  You may have a bit of a bow to an iron or hybrid shaft due to oh, lets say maybe hitting too close to a tree or something that doesn’t give when struck.  Your local repair shop can replace a bent shaft. If you are playing forged irons or wedges, the grooves can actually become worn because the metal used is softer than that of cast irons so they may need to be re-grooved.  Maybe a rattle has developed in the head of your favorite driver, that too can be fixed.

 Bottom line, there isn’t much that a good club repair shop can’t fix. After an off-season golf club check up you can start the new season with like new clubs without the new club price tag.

• Golf Club Repair
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Don Bonrud December 15th, 2010

The grip is the only physical connection between golfer and golf club.  Many golfers don’t consider the grip as a factor in how well a golf club performs.  Roughly half of all golfers play with grips that are either the wrong size or are worn out and slippery.  When a grip is worn and slippery the club may slip in your hands during the swing causing an errant shot.  Playing with a grip that is too large or small will lead to the golfer trying to re-grip the club during the swing leading to inconsistent shots. 

There are a number of different types of grips, Rubber, Cord, Synthetic, Elastomer and Air Cushion. 

• Rubber grips are economical and will usually be mixed with cork. 
• Cord grips have a rubber base with cord added to the outside of the grip.  A benefit of cord is a superior grip but they can be harsh to the hands. 
• Synthetic grips are a blend of polymers and claim to be a longer wearing grip.
• Elastomer grips wear quicker than rubber or synthetic, but are a good choice for the golfer who likes a soft, wrap style grip.  These grips cost twice as much as most rubber grips.  Winn grips are a popular elastomer grip. 
• Air cushion grips were originally designed for golfers with arthritic hands because they absorb vibrations from the club at impact.  They wear faster than most rubber grips. 

Grips come in varying weights and will have an impact on total club weight and swing weight.  They also come in varying core diameters and can be altered during the club building process to be oversized or undersized based on the golfers needs.

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Clubs , Women's Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud December 9th, 2010

The shaft is often referred to as the engine of the golf club.  Since the 1980’s golf shaft technology has changed considerably.  Shaft manufacturers are constantly developing new products to accommodate the quickly changing technology in today’s club heads.  Because of increasingly sophisticated production techniques, we are playing the highest quality, most consistent steel and graphite golf shafts ever made.

With this new technology golfers have been left confused as to what shafts to play.  Here is just a brief list of things to consider when selecting a shaft.

Steel or Graphite   The saying goes, if you want distance play graphite, if you want to be more accurate play steel.  Steel shafts are considerably heavier than most graphite shafts and shaft weight impacts overall club weight.  The heavier the club the slower the swing speed resulting in less distance. Graphite is just the opposite, lighter shaft weight means lighter overall club weight which means higher swing speeds which translates to more distance.  Graphite shafts also experience less vibration at impact than steel.  Graphite is used in virtually all drivers today.  Steel is quite a bit cheaper than graphite.  Steel is a good choice if you have a quick motion from back swing to down swing.  A golfer with a slow or low swing speed would benefit from graphite.

Torque    Golf shafts experience torque, which is the twisting of the shaft during the golf swing.  Graphite shafts experience a higher degree of torque than steel.  A shaft with a low torque rating will have a stiffer feel while a shaft with a higher torque rating will have a softer feel to it.

Flex    Designations are: L = Ladies, A= Senior, R=Regular, S=Stiff, X=Extra Stiff.   What flex to choose is based mainly on your swing and swing speed.   Shaft flex affects trajectory and influences direction.  There are no industries standards to determine flex.  One manufacturer’s (R) flex could be another manufacturer’s (S) flex. 

Bend Point   The bend point in a shaft is the area of the shaft that has maximum bend when both ends are compressed toward each other.  Bend points are referred to as High, Mid and Low.  The actual area difference in a high bend point and a low bend point on a shaft may only amount to roughly 1½ inch.  Bend point does have a small influence on ball trajectory but it mainly affects feel.  A club with a high bend point will feel stiffer compared to a low bend point shaft.

Getting the correct length, flex, torque, weight and bend point will all help in getting the ball in the air and also how the golf club feels during your swing.

Up Next: The Grip

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud November 30th, 2010

Design factors to consider when selecting the right Driver, Fairway Wood, Hybrid and Irons.

 Driver

• Loft – Most players don’t select a head with enough loft.  The average golfer should play a driver with at least 10.5 degrees of loft.
• Offset – If you have a problem with slicing the ball it would be a good idea to choose a head with an offset hosel.  An offset hosel will give you a little extra time to square the club face before impact which helps eliminate the slice or pushed shot.
• Face Angle – If you slice or push the ball to the right you would be better served to select a driver with a closed face angle.  Conversely, if you hook or pull the ball you would want a driver with an open or square face.
• Center of Gravity – keeping the center of gravity low and to the back of the head will help in getting the ball airborne.
• Most Driver heads are now made from titanium, which makes them lighter and stronger.
• 460cc is the largest driver head size allowed by the USGA

Fairway Woods

• Most are made from steel
• Heads with a shallow face (face height) will make it seem easier to hit the ball from a fairway lie.
• Face Angle and Offset help square the face at impact

Hybrid / Utility

• Cross between irons and woods
• Easier to hit than long irons, replace hard to hit long irons
• Smaller than most typical fairway woods
• Usually have sole rails that make them easy to hit out of longer rough and help to get the ball in the air.

Irons

• Cavity back irons, will have weight distributed to the outside or perimeter (also known as perimeter weighted irons) of the back of the club head which makes them more forgiving.  Most golfers use this type of iron.
• Game Improvement irons have features integrated into the design of the club head to help beginners and novice players hit the ball straighter and longer.
• Muscle back heads, also known, as blades are best suited for accomplished players.
• Cosmetics are important for all club heads you play. You must like the look of your clubs. 

 These are just some of the basics in selecting the right golf club components.

Up Next: The Engine of the Golf Club – The Shaft

• Golf Club Fitting , Golf Clubs
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Don Bonrud November 28th, 2010

People come in various sizes and shapes. Some are tall with big hands, some are short with not so big hands, some golfers have a quick transition from back swing to down swing…well you get the idea, we’re all different.  Shouldn’t our golf clubs be different too?   There are many factors that are influenced by the golf club such as ball flight, trajectory, swing speed, and how far you hit the golf ball.  Even the correct size and weight of the grip has an effect on the golf club.

Golf clubs bought off the rack from your local sporting goods store or discount store are built for one size fits all.  Golf club manufacturers mass produce their golf clubs to one standard.  That is not a good thing for your golf game.

There are many benefits to having your golf clubs custom fit and custom made and in upcoming posts we will be exploring the benefits of custom made golf clubs one important component at a time.

 In our next post : Choosing The Right Club Head 

• Golf Club Fitting
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