Taylor Made Test Session!
by Scott A. Sumner
If you are an avid golfer it is always fun to test out some new equipment and ask some questions from a golf professional. It was fun to do this at the Fort William Country Club Taylor Made Day with Eric Johnson, Territory Sales Manager at Taylor Made Canada from Winnipeg. He is a plus 1 handicap who played university golf at the University of Manitoba and after that at Arizona in mini tours. There he realized if you shoot 71, it's not good enough- you have to shoot 65 or better, so he came home.
“ We have been coming to this demo day for 8 years now. We sell some equipment and then play with the pro Craig. It is always an awesome day at this club.” said Eric. “ We tested out the use of the new Qi35 driver with you using the Trackman to see how the ball is coming off the clubhead. In your case it was a hair low so we take out our adjustment tool and crank up the loft. Then you started hitting the ball with your launch angle about ten yards further. It also helped your dispersion by closing the face by adding some loft.
” Eric works with the swing the person has. They try to build the club to your swing not give you a lesson, that is for Craig. The Trackman tells us all the data, club head speed, launch angle, spin rate, descent angle, all the numbers that help you confirm what you are seeing with the ball flight said Eric.
What determines the distance with your swing?
“ The length of your drive is determined by club head speed which could simply be 2.5 yards times club head speed MPH. So if your clubhead speed is 100 MPH you probably hit 250 yards. It is a easy reference guide. Top pros like Rory swing at 120 MPH which means their drive is over 300 yards of carry plus roll out.”
“ How do you get a clubhead speed of 120 MPH you might ask- lots of strength and flexibility. If your club is a little lighter that is something you can swing faster as well especially for the slower swingers. The club head today is carbon fibre say with the Taylor Made Qi35. You can also add some weights and match the shaft.”
How is the golf industry doing?
“ The golf industry is still very strong. Coming out of COVID was a boom for the industry, which added new golfers. This year is still good as people like to get out and play. The cost of clubs is high because of the complex materials and R and D that goes into every piece of equipment. They work 2 years ahead at the head office in Carlsbad, California in the lab. Some people buy new clubs each year because it is their passion. Some may go 10 years with the same equipment, if they really like it.”
