05-09-07
Probably the most important question is often the least asked. Even veteran custom clubfitters will fail to ask this very important question at the right time - if at all. A few days ago I was speaking with a potential customer about what clubheads, golf shaft, length, etc. he should use. He had a long list of golf components he was inquiring about and I had an equally long list of questions I had for him to see what might be the most compatible components for his game. The conversation was going well as we had just about pinpointed what golf components he should have. All of the sudden after 15 minutes into the conversation, he says "Oh yeah, did I tell
you I am left handed?" Well, I think you know the answer to that question - of course not. To make matters worse, the particular clubhead I had touted was one of the few we did not offer in left hand, so we had to backtrack to another model.
In another situation, I was visiting my local golf pro shop. The proprietor, who is a good friend and extremely competent clubfitter, was telling me a story about one of his last customers. This customer came in requesting a partial set of Ping irons with custom lies to match an older set he had before. Of course he did not bring in his clubs rather he knew that he was standard length and what color code was on the iron for the lie angle. About two weeks later, he calls the customer to tell him that his golf clubs came in. When the customer came to pick of his clubs, he thanked the owner for getting the clubs so quickly but said "one little problem here, I can’t hit these clubs". Befuddled, the proprietor asked why. The customer responded "I'm left handed." Now he has a partial set of right handed Ping irons for sale!
by Jeff
Summitt
Hireko Technical Director
jsummitt@hirekogolf.com
05-09-07