January 2010 TW Standard E-Tech Report

In the January issue of the TW Standard eTECHreport:

NOTE: the complete January TW Standard eTECHreport pdf version is available by clicking here - 3MB (requires Adobe Acrobat 5 or newer )

2010 TWGT Catalog On the Way

It’s finished, it’s in the hands of the US Postal System and it is on schedule to arrive in your mailbox by early February. “It” is Tom Wishon Golf Technology’s new 2010 full line custom clubmaking catalog, and once again demonstrates that Wishon Golf is the unchallenged leader in custom clubmaking design and clubfitting technology.

A pdf file of the 2010 TWGT catalog is available for viewing or download on our Clubmaker web site and can be accessed through the following link: http://www.wishongolf.com/downloads/TWGT2010catalog.pdf

New for 2010 is an assortment of new clubhead, new shaft and new clubfitting technology products which join our existing original model designs to offer custom clubmakers the very best performance in truly original custom clubfitting and clubmaking design.

Spearheading the new developments for 2010 are the new 959LS drivers, the 979SS milled face investment cast irons, the incredible number of new S2S Shaft Fitting System shaft designs and the incredible new Spiralock shaft to head fitting connection system. In addition, add on models to the current 870Ti irons and 331H hybrid clubheads are new for 2010. TWGT is also sure clubmakers are really going to like our brand new S2S Shaft Fitting System software – a free program which will accurately choose the best S2S shaft fitting recommendation based on 5 different inputs for the golfer’s clubhead speeds and ratings for the golfer’s swing transition, downswing tempo, release and golf strength.

Discontinued from the TWGT design line are the 969W irons, CX Micro wedges, 585F hybrid heads, 550C and 550M forged irons, 705W2 irons and all previous TWGT graphite shaft models.

The 2010 TWGT catalog has been mailed to all clubmakers who have bought one or more times from Wishon Golf since 2008. Individuals who have not done any business with TWGT since 2007 were dropped from our mailing list. People who have not done business with TWGT since 2007 and who wish to have a copy of our 2010 catalog will be charged a catalog handling fee of $5, which will be credited against their first purchase of items in 2010.

We hope you like what you see from TWGT in 2010. We are confident that no other company can serve your full clubmaking and clubfitting needs as well as Tom Wishon Golf Technology.

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One of the most exciting new clubfitting technology products from TWGT for 2010 is the unique Spiralock Universal Fitting System.

TWGT has previously never offered a shaft to head connection system because other connectors are too heavy, do not allow the shaft to play at its designed flex/performance, and require epoxy to secure the connector to the shaft
and clubhead.

Spiralock is the only shaft to clubhead connection system that perfectly replicates the assembly and performance of a conventionally built golf club to finally allow clubmakers to offer golfers a truly accurate means to “try before they buy”
to experience the full benefits of custom fitting with TWGT clubhead and shaft designs.

• Spiralock weighs only 4 grams. Designed for shafts and for RH clubheads in 0.335” and 0.370” sizes.
  
• Spiralock is the only shaft to head connector to allow all shafts to be installed fully to the bottom of the clubhead hosel bore to achieve proper flex playability.
  
• Spiralock is the only connector that requires no epoxy to instantly secure the shaft to the clubhead.
  
• Spiralock is the only connector to allow clubmakers to rotate the shaft into any position for spine alignment.

Other shaft to head connectors require a purchase of one connector for every single shaft and clubhead you wish to connect for test hitting. Not so with Spiralock, so clubmakers can save a lot of money when setting up a shaft to head connector system for their fitting services to golfers. Spiralock not only perfectly replicates an assembled golf club, it allows clubmakers to offer a full “try before you buy” clubfitting system for the most reasonable, cost effective investment.

Using Spiralock is so easy!

Screw the Spiralock into the threaded bore of a clubhead.

Slide the metal threaded ferrule over the tip of the shaft.
Insert the shaft all the way to the bottom of the hosel bore.

Tighten the Spiralock into the bore, then tighten the metal ferrule
over the top of the Spiralock connector to lock the shaft in place
with no epoxy required. Hit test the club.

TWGT is offering an array of custom fitting packages with our TWGT S2S Fitting System Shaft Designs and TWGT Original Clubhead Models to allow clubmakers to incorporate a Spiralock fitting system in their clubfitting sessions. TWGT Spiralock Fitting Packages range from 1 driver head and 3 shafts up to numerous clubheads and shafts – all for a significant discount of up to 40% below normal TWGT clubhead and shaft pricing.

Call TWGT today (800-470-0072) to let us customize your TWGT/Spiralock Fitting Package!!

If clubmakers request TWGT Spiralock threaded clubheads other than these listed above, there will be an extra fee of $10 per head and allow 2 weeks for delivery. Such single heads outside our normal offerings have to be singly threaded which takes more time and costs more to do.

TWGT will also perform threading on non-TWGT clubhead models to help clubmakers who already have demo heads be able to incorporate the Spiralock Fitting System in their work. Such threading of non-TWGT clubheads will require 2 weeks to do and will incur a charge of $20/head plus shipping costs. We’re sorry but such non TWGT heads require special fixturing and more time to machine the special Spiralock threads in the hosel bore and cannot be done on a production type basis – hence the cost and time required are more.

Call TWGT today (800-470-0072 or email matt@wishongolf.com) to let us customize your TWGT/Spiralock Fitting Package!!

TWGT is the exclusive distributor of the Spiralock Universal Fitting System. Spiralock 0.335 connectors available Feb 1, 2010. Spiralock 0.370 connectors available April 1, 2010. All TWGT Spiralock threaded clubheads and Spiralock fitting packages for use with the 0.335 connectors will be available Feb 1, 2010.

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Updated 12 Myths Booklets Available

For 2010, TWGT has updated our booklet for promoting custom fitting to golfers, 12 Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game. Originally published in January 2007, our inexpensive 12 Myths booklets have become a superb way to market your clubfitting service and to educate golfers about the true facts about professional custom fitting.

For 2010, we have updated the 12 Myths booklets to reflect recent changes in the golf equipment industry since 2007. In addition, we have changed the cover design to reflect the updated changes we have made in the copy of the booklet. 12 Myths is still the most effective, and most affordable way for clubmakers to educate golfers about the benefits of professional clubfitting.

Clubmakers who are committed to giving away as many copies of 12 Myths as they can to as many consumer golfers as possible do see an increase in the number of fitting sessions they book, and custom fit clubs they sell.

As always, TWGT has set the price of the 12 Myths booklets as low as possible so clubmakers can give away copies without incurring much expense. 12 Myths sells for a regular price of $1.00 per copy - $0.75 cents each for TW Gold clubmakers. Please make it a point in 2010 to stock copies of 12 Myths, and to find as many ways as you can to give copies to golfers to educate them about what you do and what professional custom fitting can do for each golfer.

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S2S Shaft Fitting System Software program coming… FREE!

We’ve already told clubmakers about our all new family of S2S original TWGT graphite shaft designs. S2S stands for ‘Shaft to Swing’ and heralds an all new shaft design technology in which TWGT has created shafts to fit golfers by a more precise process that sets up a specific set of bend profile design measurements to correspond to specific golfer swing characteristics.

To help clubmakers choose the best S2S shaft design for their golfers, TWGT is in the final stages of completing an all new software program that will allow clubmakers to input the golfer’s swing speed along with a 1, 2, 3, rating for the golfer’s downswing transition, downswing tempo, release and golfer strength to come up with the best S2S shaft design to fit the golfer.

What’s even better news for clubmakers who are always looking for better ways to fit shafts to their golfers is the fact the new S2S Shaft Fitting System software program will be made available to all Clubmakers for no charge! That’s right, free! When completed, TWGT’s new S2S Shaft Fitting System software program will live on our wishongolf.com web site with open access to enable clubmakers to use the program to select the best shaft for golfers, free!

The software program represents many hours of work in which TWGT studied every possible combination of golfer swing speed with every combination of a 1, 2, 3 rating for the transition, tempo, release and golfer strength to determine which S2S shaft and what specific tip trimming would end up providing the very best performing shaft for each golfer. That’s right, TWGT’s new S2S Shaft Fitting System software program even will tell you the exact tip trim the best S2S shaft design for each different golfer!

TWGT has really put a tremendous amount of time and effort into this complete re-design of our shafts and the fitting technology for ensuring the very best shaft design to fit each golfer by swing speed and swing characteristics. We are certain after all this work when you choose a TWGT S2S shaft design to match with one of our original TWGT clubhead models, there is no better fitting combination for any golfer.

We’ll inform all clubmakers through a separate email when the new S2S Shaft Fitting System software program is all ready to use to make your shaft fitting so much more accurate and so much easier too!

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The “How-To” of Fitting – Part 3 – Face Angle

In a series that began in the August ETECHreport with the How To for custom fitting club length and continued to the How To for fitting Loft in the Sept/Oct ETECHreport,, this month TWGT will offer the key elements and procedures for the actual How-To of Face Angle fitting.

The How To of Fitting Face Angle

Driver and fairway wood face angle is one of the most effective, if not THE most effective way to reduce a golfer’s misdirection problems with the woods. It is very important that clubmakers tell golfers that a face angle change is done to REDUCE a misdirection tendency and rarely would ever ELIMINATE or REVERSE that misdirection tendency. In other words, the golfer who slices the ball on average 30 yards of curving sideways ball movement will have to understand that after a proper face angle change, he still will see a slicing action to the ball, but it will be less than the 30 yards previous to the face angle change.

In TWGT’s book, Common Sense Clubfitting, Face Angle is evaluated as having a major ‘A’ effect on Accuracy and Shot Consistency. There are two other specifications, Lie and Length, which also have an ‘A’ effect on Accuracy. In addition, specifications including Offset, Head Center of Gravity, MOI about the Shaft Axis, Shaft Weight/Total Weight, Shaft Torque, Grip Size, Swingweight and Set Makeup can also have moderate to minor ‘B’ effects, singly or in combination with each other, on Accuracy.

But at the end of the day, Face Angle stands as the most effective means in clubfitting to reduce a golfer’s misdirection tendency with the woods because it acts as a direct ‘degree for degree’ correction for the swing path and/or face delivery problems that cause the golfer’s predominant misdirection shot tendency in the first place.

The ‘How-To’ of fitting face angle in the woods is best described as a combination of common sense guided by a simple ‘cause and effect’ relationship between the degree change in face angle and the golfer’s potential for distance.

From the standpoint of common sense, for a face angle change to result in a reduction of the golfer’s shot misdirection tendency, the Clubmaker has to:

1) make a judgment of the golfer’s most typical direction for, and amount of, misdirection tendency,
2) recommend a new face angle that is more corrective than the golfer’s present face angle,
3) evaluate all of the other fitting factors which also have an effect on accuracy and determine these specifications for the golfer so the face angle can lead the way in gaining the maximum accuracy improvement for the golfer.

Number 1 can be difficult because golfers do not slice or hook the ball the same amount each time. In addition, some golfers do both, so this can make it difficult to determine a predominant misdirection tendency. Number 2 requires the Clubmaker to be able to accurately measure the face angle of any wood. And number 3 requires the Clubmaker to have a full knowledge of fitting to be able to determine in addition to the best face angle for the golfer, the best Lie, Length, Offset, Head Center of Gravity, MOI about the Shaft Axis, Shaft Weight/Total Weight, Shaft Torque, Grip Size, Swingweight and Set Makeup to end up with the maximum amount of accuracy improvement.

Some clubmakers like to think in terms of using a launch monitor to record the golfer’s average swing path and face angle position at impact in degrees, and then try to pick a face angle specification in degrees which would offset the degrees of the path and face angle delivery problems. Sounds good on paper, but this is not realistic in the real world of clubfitting because the interaction of the swing path with the golfer’s delivery of the face to impact is a very complex relationship.

Common sense wise, it is much easier to evaluate the golfer’s average number of yards of misdirection and then consult the simple ‘cause and effect’ relationship between the degree change in face angle and the golfer’s potential for distance.

• A 1° change in face angle will result in a 4-5 yard sideways movement of the ball at a carry distance of 200 yards, based on all other factors for the swing and the club being the same.

Hence the real common sense approach of face angle fitting basically says if the golfer on average carries the driver 200 yards, has an average slice of 30 yards and is presently playing with a driver with a 0* face angle, a change to a face angle of 3* closed should reduce the slice from 30 yards to about 15 to 18 yards. Determining the best specifications for the golfer for the other fitting factors that affect accuracy may be able to reduce the slice more.

Of the other A and B effect fitting specifications which have an effect on Accuracy, from our experience over many years, for the woods, the most important to stack on top of a proper Face Angle change to have the most positive overall effect on the golfer’s Accuracy would be Length, Offset, Shaft Weight/Total Weight, Grip Size, Swingweight and Set Makeup.

Key Points for Fitting Face Angle

• A 1° change in face angle will result in a 4-5 yard sideways movement of the ball at a carry distance of 200 yards, based on all other factors for the swing and the club being the same.
• An offset hosel design on the wood has the potential for some golfers to add to the slice correction of a hook face angle.
• Face Angle fitting changes will only work if the golfer does not push their hands forward in the address position and allows the wood to sit flat on its sole in the address position to assume its designed face angle position relative to the ball. Some golfers who are not used to seeing a woodhead sitting in the playing position with a different face angle may have a tendency to push the hands forward or move them back to force the face to look as they are more used to seeing it, relative to the target line of the shot.
• There is no need to worry about the principle of “effective loft” in face angle fitting as long as the golfer has also been fit properly for the best driver loft for their swing speed and angle of attack to achieve their best combination of launch angle, spin rate, carry distance and angle of descent of the shot.
• Face Angle and Offset together represent the clubmaker’s number one most effective accuracy improvement factor in clubfitting.
• Because some golfers can experience misdirection problems in opposite directions, face angle has to be fit to correspond to the golfer’s predominant, most seen misdirection tendency. Other fitting factors such as length, lie, total weight, swingweight (moi) have to be addressed to try to get rid of any existing opposite misdirection tendency in the opposite direction to that addressed by the face angle change.

(In the next edition of TWGT’s ETECHreport, we will continue the series with the ’How-To’ of Fitting Set Make-Up)

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New Scoreline Versions of TWGT Forged Irons Ruled Conforming

The week of December 21, TWGT received official notification from the USGA that all head numbers in the new scoreline versions of our 560MC, 555C and 555M forged carbon steel irons were ruled to be conforming to all USGA rules, including the new USGA scoreline rule. Official conformity verification of the ruling can be viewed on the USGA’s new web listing of clubheads which conform to the new scoreline rule. http://www.usga.org/InfoClubsDB/intro.html

Please remember that in 2010, only golfers who play in tournaments which are conducted under the USGA’s condition of competition for the new scoreline rule are compelled to use clubheads of 25° and higher with the new conforming scoreline configuration. This chiefly pertains to players on the various world professional tours and professional mini-tours. Golfers who compete in high level amateur competition (US Amateur, British Amateur, US Junior, US Publinks, NCAA, etc) will not have to make the change to the new scorelines
until 2014.

All current irons and wedges with pre-2010 scorelines will remain conforming for normal tournament and handicap posting play until 2024.

TWGT will have sets of our 560MC, 555C and 555M forged carbon steel irons with the new conforming scorelines in stock for such use by February 20, 2010. These models will be able to be distinguished from the 560MC, 555C and 555M forged carbon steel irons with the pre 2010 scorelines by the engraved letters ‘NS’ on the side of the hosel.

TWGT will fill all orders for the 560MC, 555C and 555M irons with the pre-2010 scoreline versions while our inventory in these versions will last. We will only ship new scoreline versions of the 560MC, 555C and 555M irons when clubmakers specifically order the new scoreline versions. However, when our inventory of the 560MC, 555C and 555M irons with the pre-2010 scoreline versions runs out, which we expect to be around April, we will stock and sell only the new scoreline versions of these three iron models.

The new 979SS irons which debut in March are being made only with the new scorelines, as per the requirement of the USGA for all brand new iron models introduced after January 1, 2010 to be made with the new scorelines.

All other TWGT irons and wedges remain with pre-2010 scorelines through 2010. The USGA clearly states that all existing models of irons and wedges of 25° loft and higher do not have to be changed to the new scoreline version until January 1, 2011.

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2010 Bend Profile Software Upgrade #1

TWGT plans to have a new update for our Bend Profile software with new shafts ready to email to all present owners of the program by February 2010. This first 2010 new Bend Profile software upgrade will include all of TWGT’s new S2S Shaft Fitting System models as well as the new 2010 UST graphite shaft models and the steel shafts from FST.

Once the upgrade is finished and sent to all current owners of the TWGT Shaft Bend Profile software, all sales of the program to new buyers will contain the new 2010 upgrade. Through the months of February and March 2010, TWGT will work on acquiring as many of the other shaft companies’ new shaft models to test and include in a second Bend Profile software upgrade that we hope to complete by April.

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