Custom Blue Printing Procedures

Digiflex Frequency Analyzer The major golf club companies do not "blue print" the golf clubs they sell to the public. You can purchase a set of clubs with different shaft flexes, lie angles and grip sizes, but that doesn't even begin to approach what is available through a quality custom fitting and blue print assembly process. Once the "One-On-One" custom fitting interview and swing evaluation is finished comes the process of actually building the golf club or set of golf clubs.

Let me cover a few facts before I get into my specific "Blue Printing" procedure. First of all, it's simply impossible to produce golf club heads, shafts and grips with exacting precision. That's true for Titleist, Ping, Taylor Made, Callaway, Mitsubishi, Aldila, Golf Pride, Winn and likewise it's true with respect to Tom Wishon, Alpha, Maltby and Inifiniti designs.

Acceptable weight tolerances for golf club heads and shafts are + or - 2 grams. Loft and Lie tolerances for golf club heads are + or - 1°. Grip weight tolerances usually vary by 1 or 2 grams from the specification. No shaft is perfectly symmetrical or straight, nor is every shaft the precise flex rating. We simply don't live in a perfect world. Could these components be manufactured to perfect tolerances? Probably, but the associated cost of doing so would make the finished product very, very expensive, especially when it comes to shafts.

I have analyzed enough major brand name equipment to be able to tell you the major companies do not do a good job of correcting the differences in club head, shaft and grip tolerances when they assemble clubs. It's an impossible task when mass producing hundreds of golf club sets per day. A good "Blue Printing" process corrects any tolerance deficiencies. My "Blue Printing" procedure for assembling golf clubs consists of the following steps:

Weighing the Golf Club Heads: I weigh each golf club head which will be used. The heads will always require weight adjustment to properly match all the other clubs in the set. The weight must be adjusted to precisely target the desired goal of matching the set, whether it be swing weight, moment of inertia or frequency matching. I make the necessary adjustments in weight to attain the desired goals of the person I am fitting.
Shaft Weight Sorting: When building a set consisting of 8 golf clubs, the obvious goal is to start with shafts that all weigh exactly the same. Given the weight tolerance allowed in the manufacturing process, a 110 gram light weight steel shaft can actually weigh anywhere between 108 and 112 grams! I weigh shafts until I find 12 shafts that weigh exactly the same. Why 12 shafts you ask? Because the next step in the blue printing process, "Zone Profiling", will eliminate some of these shafts from being used in this particular set.
Shaft Zone Profiling: To determine the approximate flex throughout the shaft I profile the "Butt Section Frequency", "Mid Section Frequency" and the "Tip Section Frequency" of each of these 12 shafts using a Mitchell Digiflex Frequency Analyzer, pictured above left, in order to find 8 that match. This will ensure that each shaft is precisely the same overall flex at all the profile points. It is important to begin the process of building golf clubs with shafts which perfectly matched with respect to weight and frequency.

Shaft Alignment: Since no shaft is perfectly symmetrical, every shaft will have an area that is more resistant to bending than all other areas. This area is referred to as the "Spine". There is also an area of the shaft which is least resistant to bending, often referred to as the "Neutral Bend Point". In graphite shafts, the Neutral Bend Point is usually 90° away from the spine. I use a device that is designed to isolate the spine of a shaft. Once I locate the spine, I use a specially design laser tip weight which attaches to the tip of the shaft. I then lock the shaft in a clamping devise so I can oscillate the shaft back and forth. The laser attached to the tip will show a pattern on the wall, usually very erratic. I change the orientation of the shaft and repeat the process as many times as necessary to get what's known as a "Flat Line". This process verifies both spine and neutral bend points. I align the shaft into the golf club head with the "Neutral Bend Point" (Flat Line) towards the target. The procedure is known as "Flat Line Oscillation", or "FLO". This orientation places the shaft in the most stable position possible and helps to combat the effects of "Shaft Droop", which is the downward bending of the shaft which occurs during the downswing just prior to impact. The picture to the right illustrates the effect of Shaft Droop while the pictures below illustrate the "FLO" procedure.

Laser Shaft Tip Weight Attachment


Pattern Shows "Non FLO" When Shaft Is Oscillated Back & Forth		Pattern Shows Flat Line When Shaft Is Oscillated Back & Forth

Grip Fitting: The preferred grip is fitted to the actual dimensions of the hand. The grip should be sized so that it fits the size of the hand while still providing "feel" and "comfort" to the user.
Matching the Set: The set of clubs is then "dry" assembled to the actual playing length in order to make any final adjustments to match the set with respect to swing weight, moment of inertia or frequency.
Dynamic Lie Fitting: One of the most important variables in a properly fit iron is the proper lie angle that will fit the unique characteristics of the player. As the loft of the club increases, the lie angle becomes more and more important. Shot direction will be adversely affected with improperly fitted lie angles. If the Lie Angle is too upright the shot will be left of where the player aims. Likewise, if the Lie Angle is too flat, the resulting shot will be right of the intended target. I use the state of the art Mitchell Loft and Lie Machine to measure and adjust loft and lie angles. The illustration below illustrates the importance of the lie angle with respect to shot accuracy

Lie Angle Illustration

The Mitchell STEELCLUB® Loft and Lie Machine

Check Loft Angles and Adjust As Required: Since the of any given club head can vary + or - 1°, the final step in the blue printing process is to check the loft and lie angles of each golf club and adjust as necessary.