ArnaudBy Arnaud Maurin
Independent Clubfitter & Clubmaker
Bordeaux, FRANCE
August 2020
During my career (10 years already), I’ve had a few « AH AH » moments by experimenting on the change of one or two parameters of a golf club.
It could have been the length, the loft angle, lie angle, face angle, the stiffness distribution of a shaft …
But I never experienced such a more enthusistic moment than when I decided to dig into the mysteries and intricacies of the gobal weight of a golf club paired with a specific swingweight, for one golfer in particular.
As I don’t want to go into details here but keep it short and simple, here are what I think the 4 basic profiles of golfers :
1 the golfers who like a heavy club with a heavy headweight
2 the golfers who like a heavy club with a light headweight
3 the golfers who like a light club with a light headweight
4 the golfers who like a light club with a heavy headweight
The 1st profile (heavy, heavy) is very familiar to us because it concerns the pros on Tour, who are notorious to play heavy shafts and grips, with heavy heads. Search GWRX and you will see it is very common for these players to add lead tape on their clubs. Search Moe Norman and you will be amazed at how many layers of tape he used to put on his irons. Same for Ben Hogan.
This 1st profile also concerns many young and athletic amateur players. I used to be in that category … not anymore (I’m 48).
The 2nd profile (heavy, light) is quite rare but I’ve seen it on more than one occasion during a fitting. Here we mostly have players above 40 years old with good athleticism and strength but just don’t like the head to feel heavy.
The 3rd profile is very common among junior golfers and ladies, but there are many exceptions.
And finally the 4th profile is very common in fitting among men (and some women) who are 45 years old and older.
I personnaly fit in this profile and experienced 2 months ago this « AH AH moment » when I tried randomly a 7 iron with a light graphite shaft paired with a very heavy head (D8). I was amazed at seeing that I was able to carry my 7 iron 165 yards when I could barely hit my previous 7 iron 155 yards 6 months ago. I not only gained swing speed but also accuracy, and a lot less fatigue.
In a nutshell, finding what profile you fit in is CRUCIAL if you want to improve your performance.
And bear in mind that your current profile will most undoubtedly change overtime.
And that, my friends, will not be done using a TRACKMAN ! It should be done with a good eye clubfitter who will constantly ask you questions about « how do you feel ? » using the correct amount of lead tape, one layer at a time, until you reach your « AH AH » moment.
It is crucial because weight and swingweight will affect a golfer’s TEMPO, which is to me the number one criteria as far as performing on a golf course is concerned.
Ask the best golfers worldwide what they think about when they are under pressure and they will answer 9 times out of 10 : « my tempo ».
Sam Snead, known as one of the best ball strikers ever, used to say « I want my swing to be oily ».
But it is more intricate than that.
You may belong (like me) to the 4th profile for your wedges and irons, YET you MAY belong to another profile as far as your putter, your driver and woods are concerned.
For instance, I discovered I like a light overall driver with a light head.
And a heavy putter with a light head.
This is where a true and complete fitting comes in, but it will take TIME and PATIENCE : find out your profile for each of your clubs in your bag and I promis you will have spend your best money for your clubs.
For any question on this matter please send me an email :
arnaud@33golflab.com