OPERATION CALLAWAY! – Callaway HQ Fitting Process (PART 2)

PART 2! – An average Joe gets fit like a Pro: If you happened to miss Part-1 of the “OPERATION CALLAWAY FITTING SERIES” you can read it here.  Today you get a sneak-peek inside the Callaway Performance Center Headquarters and you will also see GolfSpy_Dave going through the entire Callaway fitting experience. I Look forward to your comments and hope you have enjoyed the “OPERATION CALLAWAY FITTING SERIES!”

Carlsbad, CA – The Silicon Valley of Golf!

(Written By: GolfSpy_Dave) As I headed north on I-5, leaving left my family behind in beautiful, although overcast, San Diego, my mind wandered through differing visions of what Carlsbad, CA would look like. Although I was visiting Callaway, I knew that other manufactures like Cleveland, Cobra, and Taylormade are headquartered there as well. Perhaps my mental state was influenced by my previous two days at Disneyland, but that is what I was expecting, a golf theme park-like city. I did see Legoland as I pulled into town, but that is really where the theme park motif of the buildings ended. The golf companies are actually housed in what I would classify as a modern industrial park, where neighboring companies are involved in non-golf things like genetic research. It did not look like a place where the wonders of golf are created. Thankfully though, upon entering the Callaway building, it became obvious that the nondescript exterior did indeed contain the magic of golf inside.

 

The Callaway Experience: Registration

Upon entering the lobby, Jeanne the receptionist directed me to a computer terminal where I read and signed a liability waiver and also a non-disclosure agreement should I see anything that was not yet ready for public consumption (no way they were letting one of the MGS staff members get by w/o signing that). So, to answer your question, no I do not have any prototype news that I am holding back from you. I was there for a fitting, not corporate espionage.   Although I did keep my eyes open for some secret stuff.

After a couple of minutes (I was early) my contact at Callaway, Tim, and my club fitter Marc Zien met me in the lobby and led me through the halls to the fitting room. Inside the building there were bits of golf memorabilia and icons of Callaway Golf. Large banners showing Phil, Annika, Ernie, Arnie, and others hung from the roof in the lobby. Walking past the Callaway Warbird robot made me believe that maybe I had indeed found a golf theme park.

 

The Callaway Experience: The Fitting

The fitting location in Carlsbad is one of the official Callaway Performance Centers. This center represents the state of the art Callaway fitting technology. Callaway has twenty-one of these Performance Centers worldwide at both corporate and retail locations (HERE). A general description of the Callaway Performance Center fitting process can be found HERE.

So once in the fitting room, Tim excused himself and Marc and I began the process of figuring out what configuration of clubs would work best for me. Marc asked me questions about my current clubs, my strengths, and weaknesses on the course, my usual misses, and etc. I told him that I putt fairly well, have an OK short game, and that I usually keep my iron shots in play, although seemingly a bit high. When discussing driving the ball, I am not sure that I used the words ‘train wreck’ or ‘like a sprinkler’ when describing ball flight, but I am sure that my description really made Marc look forward to fitting that club. After measuring my wrist to the floor distance and declaring me normal, we got to work selecting irons.

 

Fitting: The Irons

Marc thought that some of my issues with the irons that I play currently, Ping G10’s, could be a result of the sole being too wide and thus promoting a ballooning ball flight. Because of this, we skipped the Diablo Edge line of clubs and started with the Razr X (non-tour) irons. We started with a six iron shafted with a Dynamic Gold S300 shaft. After stretching and a few practice swings, we started recording my swing results.

One of the things about the Callaway fitting process that I found very unique was the way the Callaway Performance Analysis System (CPAS) displayed the data. You actually get to see images of the top of the club head at three points before impact and one after. As someone who as issues with swing path, this was a great way for me to see the cause and effect relationship between swing input and ball output. Another fun thing about the fitting room is that although you are hitting into a net, there is a huge picture of the 18th at Pebble Beach to aim into. Marc said that the computer display used to also show the 18th at Pebble, but people would frequently aim way right to avoid the ocean. Thus the computer display shows a generic green field.

“The fitting room itself is also a golf gear lover’s paradise. Take a typical fitting cart, and turn it into a fitting room. The walls are lined with clubs. The back wall has a rack with hundreds of six irons, each with different head and shaft combos. The other walls are loaded with woods and hybrids. Large computer monitors are located where the hitter can easily see the results of the shots while the fitter controls the CPAS system from a very space-age control center atop a large Callaway chevron. Targeting shots toward a hole on my bucket list was just icing on the cake.”

After a few warm-up shots/shanks, I settled down and we recorded some consistent swings with the Razr X/S300 combo. Marc then had me hit the same head with a lighter weight stiff True Temper Dynalite SL shaft that would be about the same weight as the AWT shaft in my G10’s. Marc explained that it really only makes sense to change one element in the club at a time so that you can better track the influence of that change on performance. Again I hit a few balls and then data was collected on five similar shots. During the process, I told Marc that the club felt totally different. I felt that I could feel the grip and the head, but it was almost like there was an empty space in between them. Marc said that my comment was interesting and to wait until I saw the data.

Here are the data lines for the Dynamic Gold S300 (red) and the Dynalite SL (white). Marc said that it was quite obvious that the heavier shaft was a better fit for me. Not only was my dispersal pattern better, but also the heights of the shots were more consistent. For whatever reason, my swing is more consistent with the heavier shaft. Typically, one of the benefits of using a lighter iron shaft is that it increases distance. For me, this was the exact opposite. While I don’t remember the exact numbers, I was about 10 yards longer with the heavier shaft. After figuring out that this shaft works for me, Marc had me hit a Diablo Forged six iron head with the S300 shaft. The interesting thing here was that the flight was about the same, but the dispersal was wider. Marc said that this would also be a possible iron for me, but I would have to work to get better with my hands through impact to hit it consistantly. While I love the look of the Diablo Forged, and sort of went into the fitting hoping that the Diablo Forged iron would be the one to fit me, I decided to go with the more consistent numbers from the Razr Xset.

Marc checked my fingers as I gripped a standard sized grip and determined that I should have the grips built up two wraps. He then handed me a grip that was +2 and I could see that with the extra tape the fingers on my left hand ended up touching my palm rather than pushing into it a bit. In honor of Callaway pro Phil Mickelson, I went with black and white Golf Pride New Decade grips on everything.

The last thing that Marc checked was the lie angle. I have hit off a lie board previously and have found it a bit unnerving. The board is 0.25” higher than the ground and its plastic nature makes me think that I am going to break it with the swing. While I know that I will not break it, I am sure that having that thought in my head affects my swing. What Callaway does to measure correct lie was very different from my previous experiences. Marc placed impact tape on the face of the six iron and then had me hit a ball that has a groove cut in it around the equator. That groove was lined up square to the target line and then hit. What this does is make a line in the middle of the dark circle on the impact tape and that line represents the club angle at impact. We did this twice and although you can see that I was not making great contact, the lines on the two circles were parallel. Using this as a guide, all of my irons were bent 2° up.

IRON SUMMARY – 6 Iron Swing Data:
Club Head Speed: 85.2mph
Ball Speed: 112.1mph
Launch Angle: 20.1°
Side Angle: 5.7° (left)
Back Spin: 5865 rpm
Side Spin: 200 rpm (right)
Swing Path: 6.15° (left)
Angle Attack: 7.68° (down)

IRON FITTING – RESULTS!

Irons: Razr X, 5-PW, AW, & SW, Dynamic Gold S300, 2° up

 

FITTING – Hybrid and Fairway

There are definitely times for me on the course when I wonder if I should even bag anything with a graphite shaft. Marc gave me a Razr X 3H with the stock shaft to hit. In just a couple of swings, all the confidence that I had just gained in my iron swinging went flying into the retaining plastic in the side of the fitting room. Basically I was living the fear that I had going into the fitting. I was not able to swing the club well enough to even get a reading. After piloting balls into uncharted corners of the fitting room, Marc asked if I wanted a pointer. He said that he didn’t want to step on the feet of my normal instructor, but I told him to step away, my normal instructor’s help was 400 miles away.

Marc and I had already discussed that I fight an over the top swing. I am sure that you noticed the left to right flight in the 6i graphic and data above. For the hybrid, I was swinging so hard over the top that lumberjacks were stopping by to take notes. Marc had me do two simple things. First, he told me to swing at the chair by the door behind my right shoulder on my backswing. Then I was to swing to the right of the target line through impact. Without a ball in place, I took some swings toward the door, and then toward Marc who stood to the right of the target line. After a few attempts, Marc said that I was doing it and that I should try it with a ball. I totally understand him moving out of the way though. That ball carried 204 and went from right to left. It may have been a watershed moment in my playing career to date. I can visualize that set-up and swing, even sitting here at the keyboard.

Once I could actually hit the ball, the fitting results were similar to what we found with the irons. The stock shafts were a bit too light in both the hybrids and the fairways and when we switched to the heavier green Aldila NV fairway and hybrid shafts, my swing and resulting ball flight improved. There was a limit though. I did hit the hybrid with a steel shaft and it took mere moments to know that direction was not the way to go.

HYBRID & FAIRWAY FITTING – RESULTS!

Woods: Razr Hawk Fairways 3 & 5 Aldila NV 75, Razr X Hybrids 3 & 4 Aldila NV 85

 

FITTING – The Driver

To the best of my knowledge, Marc did not put on body armor before I started hitting balls with a driver, but I wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. My handicap is around 18 because my second shot typically involves recovering from a bad tee shot. If I can hit a fairway or even close to a fairway, the rest of my game gives me a shot at par. Finding a driver that helps me find fairways would have a huge impact on my score.

Marc had me start with the Diablo Octane driver with a 9.5° head and a stock stiff shaft. After a few swings it was easy to see that I was generating too much backspin spin with it. As soon as we switched to the Razr Hawk head, my spin numbers dropped off a bunch. It is not like the swing got better in two minutes either. The Razr Hawk head definitely spun less for me. Still not happy with the spin numbers, we went through a few different shafts, and even a few different shaft lengths. He then put a Diamana Blue Board 63g shaft into the head and commented that the price of the driver just jumped a bit. Of course, the Razr Hawk head with the upgraded Blue Board shaft produced the best spin numbers of the day. At this time he also asked how I liked the draw head. Huh? Draw head? Sure enough, during one of the changes, Marc had switched the head neutral head to a 9.5° Draw. I honestly had no idea. The draw head is the exact same shape as the neutral head with the weight placed differently on the sole. I was amazed. I have always associated draw-biased drivers with funny, oblong shapes. After a few more swings, including a few where Marc told me not to be afraid to go after it a bit more, I was sold.

DRIVER SUMMARY:
– Club Head Speed: 102 mph
– Ball Speed: 145 mph
– Launch Angle: 15.5°
– Side Angle: 2.5° (right)
– Back Spin: 3234 rpm
– Side Spin: 111 rpm (left)
– Swing Path: 1.12° (right)
– Angle Attack: 1.14° (up)

Bottom line is that with this driver, I am actually getting right to left ball flight. Not always, but I am confident that this club in particular will allow me to hit fairways or miss better and definitely improve my game.

DRIVER FITTING – RESULTS!

Driver: Razr Hawk Draw, 9.5°, Diamana Blue Board (63g), 45.5”

FITTING – The Putter

After about two hours in the fitting room, Marc sent me out into another part of the studio to roll putts. As you may know from reading my posts in the forum, I love putters. Perhaps too much, and too often, but I love putters. That being said, I am not a big fan of inserts. Being that Odyssey Putters are the putters in the Callaway stable, the lack of insert narrowed the field quite a bit. I went immediately to the Ti-Hot #2. I have rolled this beauty before and I like the feel of the milled titanium. It just feels a bit different, but in a good way. After a few balls in the cup with that one, I noticed the Black Series Tour Design #1 Wide. I was not very familiar with this putter and even thought that it would be face balanced because of the neck. The #1 Wide ended up having more toe hang than I am used to, and a site line that the Edel putter fitting told me makes me aim right. Maybe the spud neck compensated for the presence of the line, but I found it very easy to line up and make putts with.

After watching me putt with both the #1 Wide and the Ti-Hot #2, Marc said that either would be a good fit for me and it would be my choice. I decided to go with the Odyssey Black Series Tour Design #1 Wide. Marc asked me what my usual putter length was and he agreed that 34.5” was correct as I was choking up about 0.5” on the 35” one I was using. He then checked the lie angle and declared that I was good to go. While I love this putter, don’t think for a second that my mind doesn’t wander back to the Ti-Hot #2. It is a pretty safe bet that one will be in the putter stable before too long.

PUTTER FITTING – RESULTS!

Putter: Odyssey Black Series Tour Design #1 Wide, 34.5”, standard loft and lie

 

Wrapping up the Fitting

Tim came back just as Marc was suggesting that I try the Tour i(z) and Diablo Tour balls. Marc gave me a few sleeves of each to try along with a folder showing the specs for the clubs, a series of photos of me with the driver, and a few swing stats. As an interesting side to the story, Tim had gone through a similar fitting not too long ago and was interested to see the comparison in the fitting results.  After a bit more casual conversation about important topics like which San Diego brewery makes the best IPA (Stone Ruination IPA, btw), I was back in the car and driving away from my day at what did in fact turn out to be a golfer’s theme park.

A Fitting Reflection

I left the Callaway fitting studio feeling like I had been genuinely custom fit for clubs that fit my swing. Waiting for them to show up at the door was the longest five business days of my life. Yep, only five business days or one week of real time for a fully custom set of clubs to arrive at my door. Unwrapping those clubs left me with a feeling of almost disbelief and absolute gratitude for the efforts of Marc and Tim the previous week.

Was my fitting at the Callaway Performance Center the same that you can get at your neighborhood fitter? Probably not. That being said, I know from experience that local fitters can assess many of the same swing characteristics that they did at Callaway and fit you with a set that matches your game and ultimately allow you to play better.  If you are interested here is a list of the Callaway Performance Centers near you.