When the subject of custom fitting comes up, the reaction invariably boils down to the fact that most golfers believe that only better golfers stand to benefit.
What rubbish.
We get fit for clothes, shoes, gloves and hats. Why should golf clubs be any different? One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to most things. Why should golf clubs be different? Would you make do with shoes that don’t fit? Of course not! Then why tolerate ill-fitting golf clubs?
The fact of the matter is that beginners stand to gain the most in a custom fitting, even if it’s just a static fitting to determine grip size and shaft flex.
Mizuno is one manufacturer that gets it. They produce, by most accounts, the best irons in the game. If touring professionals had to spend their own money to buy their golf clubs, most would have a set of Mizunos in their bag. Mizuno doesn’t just make good player clubs these days. The JPX900 Hot Metal is a great club for the highest handicap golfer.
One of the great benefits of forged irons is that they can be bent to accommodate golfers of all stature. Say you’re short and need a lie angle that’s 4-degrees flat. No problem. Or say you’re 6-foot-10 and need a club that’s 4-degrees upright. Again, not an issue.
Mizuno’s challenge was to develop a fitting system that could help a golfer, any golfer—from a touring professional to a weekend hack, fit into the best fitting irons he’s ever purchased and do it in a foolproof, science-based method that could properly put a golfer into a set of irons optimized for his abilities.
The Mizuno Performance Fitting System has been the industry’s leading fitting system at local golf club level since its introduction in 2009. The Mizuno Shaft Optimizer is a real shaft that can be attached to any of Mizuno’s demo heads—when you hit a real golf ball. Within the Optimizer is a series of strain gauges that measures the sequence of forces your swing created by your swing. In just three swings the Mizuno Shaft Optimizer can measure everything the fitter needs to know—without checking or measuring the ball flight.
The Optimizer’s screen displays five data points that create your Swing DNA. The readings are all taken from the shaft rather than the ball—so there’s no pressure to make perfect contact. Your readings for a pure strike and a mishit will be the same. The loads your “different” swings place on the shaft are incredibly consistent.
From your Mizuno DNA—a certified Mizuno fitter can shortlist three suitable shafts for you to test (from over 50 possibilities). The system can’t factor in your personal preferences for feel and sound—that’s why the fitter makes the effort to involve you in the process. The right shaft could find you 20 yards to 30 yards in wasted distance, as well as improving your consistency.
Intent on adding value to their already very capable irons, Mizuno Philippines has embarked on a mission to spread the number of fitting centers for their irons throughout the country.
To that end, they brought in Edmund Tan of Mizuno’s Golf School and Regional Fitting Center in Singapore to train their dealers in the Swing DNA System, as well as use of the Swing Optimizer at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. The session was comprehensive and attendees left excited to put their knowledge to the test.
Look for Mizuno fitting professionals making the rounds of the local driving ranges with their Swing DNA System to help you find the Mizuno irons best suited for your game.
Image credits: Gina Miranda