The Golf Lab
December 4, 2008 
 Golf Lab Members Only Newsletter
 Balance Your Clubs - Last Chance Free Fitting
  Plus, emerging technology update
In This Issue


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Greetings!

I'm thumping the drums for good reason. Balancing your clubs just plain works to grab a little more distance and smooth out your swing. In the last few months, over 300 Golf Lab customers have taken advantage of our "free fitting" offer - a calm and collected hour to analyze your swing and your golf clubs and improve the performance of your golf clubs by adding counterweights to change the balance.

This may sound like voodoo, but the results are easy to measure and compare. We do a "before and after" test so you can see the results. Ball speed almost always increases by 2-4 MPH. Swing path, face angle at impact and the consistency of launch angle also improve - most of the time.

There is no downside. If your results don't improve immediately, you pay nothing. If you decide to go ahead and balance your clubs, the cost is reasonable - just $20 for irons and $55 for your driver.

Call the Golf Lab to book your appointment. 650-493- 1770. For your convenience, we are reserving times straight through the holiday season, right up to January 1 so you can come any time during the holiday season.

 New Findings
 

When we started this project, we assumed that it would only work for graphite shafted golf clubs. Our reasoning assumed that the ratio between counterweight and shaft weight needed to be rather high. A new idea has proven to work with steel shafted irons. By inserting a 15 to 25 gram weight in a position 8" from the butt we have seen remarkable results. Several players who have a hard time "releasing" at the moment of impact have found that additional weight under their hands helps them make a more powerful swing. Balancing your clubs can help you make a better swing.

Even more interesting, some players who installed counterweights in the butt of their irons have returned to the Golf Lab and tested additional weight down the shaft. All players who have tried that new idea reported better feel and consistency and have added the in-shaft weights.

If you have already installed butt weights in your irons and would like to return for an update - we'll do that for free as well. Just call the Golf Lab for an appointment.

 


 True Length Technology
 

I attended the Association of Golf Clubmaking Professionals (AGCP) meeting in Georgia at the beginning of November. One element of that meeting was a "certification" course in True Length Technology (TLT). TLT is a new system for determining the length of golf clubs throughout a set.

The idea behind TLT is that with a "mathematical model" - and clubs cut to fit the new model - a golfer can set up to the ball in a consistent "athletic position" from club to club. Rather than taking a different stance with each club, TLT aims to standardize the setup position.

I covered the meeting and the technology in depth in my monthly article for Golf Today Magazine. Here's a link to that article: December Golf Today Article.

I think that TLT is a good and possibly a breakthrough idea that will be appropriate for all levels of golfers. As usual, I plan to prove the concept with Golf Lab customers. If you would like to "volunteer" to be in the first ten players to try TLT for yourself, we will do the extensive fitting free of charge. If you decide to go ahead and reshaft your irons to fit the TLT model, we will do that job at a reduced rate.

We will to make sure that TLT produces the desired results by testing the theories with Golf Lab customers.

 


 Moment of Inertia Matching
 

The next "bleeding edge" idea that's finally coming of age is matching golf clubs by "moment of inertia" (MOI).

Today, most golf clubs are matched by swingweight. The concept of swingweight and a means to measure it was invented in 1922. When we say that things are slow to change in the golf industry - this should be a convincing argument. It's been almost 90 years since we've changed the way we match golf clubs.

The essence of MOI matching is that it measures golf clubs in motion - versus swing weighting which measures clubs while they're still.

A rapidly increasing percentage of the club fitting and clubmaking community is adopting MOI matching - convinced that golf clubs feel and perform better if assembled that way. I covered the subject years ago - before the technology was ready for prime time. I think that prime time has come. The most important reason is the recent availability of an electronic gizmo that makes measuring and matching MOI much easier and quicker than in times past.

Here's another of our "free fitting offers". If you'd like to participate in a fitting experiment with MOI - at no charge - we're looking for 10 "volunteers". The testing and analysis will all be free. You will be able to find out if MOI matched irons will work for you.

This will not be a "first come, first served" offer as are most of our Golf Lab projects. For this project, we're going to require a brief interview - fifteen or twenty minutes - together with a brief swing analysis to make sure that we won't waste each other's time.

 


 On the Radar Screen
 

Next Saturday, the 13th, we're holding another Sidewalk Sale. If you get there early, you will be able to buy a dozen brand new Titleist Pro V's or Bridgestone B330's for $29. Limit one dozen per person.

The last Sidewalk Sale was a huge success. Alas, this time there will be no free lunch. Barbeque Joe may return next month but this month you're on your own for lunch. Hours: we'll open at 9 - no early sales - and close up about 3 or after everyone leaves. Stay tuned for a complete listing early next week.

The recession is on. We're doing our best to give you a reason to come by, have some fun and improve your golf game. You can do us a favor by forwarding this email to your golf buddies. It's easy for them to register to get their own. All they have to do is log into www.calgolftech.co m.

If you are a member of a golf club and can help us make contact with your membership, we will be eternally grateful. This business requires a constant stream of new customers because good golf clubs stay in the bag too long. We will be happy to work out a great incentive offer to motivate your members and friends to come into the shop.

 


You get the Gist: We're adjusting to the times to try to coax our loyal customers to help us keep our business going by tightening our own belt and offering some good deals. We hope you'll find time to stop by during the Thanksgiving season.

Special bonus: If you're an old customer and want to update your fitting, give us a call and we'll make sure you know just the right specifications for any club you plan to buy.

Best Regards,


Leith Anderson, Bob Huff, Clint Smith and Michael Quagletti
The Golf Lab

phone: 650-493-1770
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