Equipment
Titleist FittingWorks Access to True Tour Fitting
Imagine traveling 180-200 days a year, working at close to 180 different events for almost 22 years. Meet Glenn Mahler, Titleist Advanced Fitting Specialist.
Once a teaching professional he has done fittings for Cobra before his current position fitting on the Titleist FittingWorks Van in
How many vans are there out there now? Is it just you and Pete Bezuk?
How does FittingWorks fit in with the Titleist Perfromance Institute experience? Is there a charge?
"TPI is the next step up but FittingWorks is still a rare opportunity for individuals to experience Tour level fitting. "We believe that the golf professionals should charge for their time for a fitting just like they charge for their time for a lesson. We do charge the facilities to bring our trailer on site, but it’s up to each facility to allocate these charges however appropriately they see fit and to dictate the pricing. We certainly don’t tell them how to price our services and we need to charge because of the level of expertise and all the technology we’re bringing plus our Mobile Workshop. It would also be a disservice, to the Golf Professional, if we came to their facility with everything we bring, and you saw how expansive that is, and did that for no charge. It would be very difficult for a golf professional to charge for their time if we didn’t even charge for ours."
"The availability, technology, and resources available on the van is unbelievable. All we’re trying to do is add a level of service. Just like you mentioned TPI, that’s something Titleist accounts can avail themselves to. This is another level of service we add above their own fitting carts and own local fitting experiences that we bring to their membership or customers. It’s not for everybody, but certainly our schedule is quite full and it seems to be the players we fit keep demanding it. So we’ve got to think we’re hitting up on the right chord. The need is there and the expertise is being appreciated."
The Titleist Approach to Fitting
How much do you depend on Technology and Cameras?
Glenn points out that mere accumulation of a launch monitor data, "does not a fitter make". One must interpret that data and use it to formulate the best plans in order to improve those numbers. In fact, he’s seen so many players and shots that he usually knows what the launch monitor will say before the data is even gathered. Basically, the monitor is there for the player and not the fitter since a fitter that has seen thousands of shots and will already know what the monitor will say.
"Regardless of a player’s handicap, I think fitters can blend technology and experience and can observe flight, record flight on launch monitors, cameras, and things like that, can use that information to then formulate a plan for the player.
Is it any easier to fit a Tour player vs a Weekend Warrior?
I don’t know that it’s any easier to fit a Tour player. I think any fitter can improve any player at any level" says Glenn. When someone goes for a fitting they should not expect to be taught anything about their swing. Glenn points out that,
"We’re not there to be their instructors. Most typically we’re at a facility that one day so we’re not really able to teach them and we’re not there as their instructor. What we can tell them is what the golf club is doing or what the golf ball is doing in flight or in the dynamics of when they swing. We can tell them what we believe to be these windows or ranges of what we like to see the golf club or golf ball do, for example in launch angle, spin rate, or dispersion, or path. The first thing that happens is an assessment of what is currently in the player’s bag."
"I like to see what a golfer does with their golf clubs. A lot of times you’ll see players are misfitted for length for example. I like to see what they do when they address the ball with their posture in their current set. Our philosophy is dynamic fitting – players swings and ball flights as opposed to static fitting where you take certain measurements and by these measurements you decide you need certain lie, or certain loft, or certain length. What dynamic fitting does is it takes into account what players do with their posture and their swing. I like to see what players do with their current set because if I do start making alterations I also want to see how much their swing is changing not by me asking them to make a change but by changing a specification in a golf club."
How do you go about fitting Players into Products?
"We have these four new iron models that have just been released this march – the ZM, ZB, AP1, and AP2. What I’ll do is I’ll go through that family and describe in detail the benefits and features of each model and what the engineers designed that model to do and also to tell them what we didn’t engineer that golf club to do. At that point we’ll allow the player to hit any and all of the models. We certainly do not direct players into a model. We let the player choose the model because looks and feel are certainly very important. But, we do want to make sure the player understands what the model was designed for because you’ll have your best opportunity as a player to succeed when you have this partnership or marriage with engineering. If you try to reverse-engineer you typically will fail because the engineers are better at design than you and I might be at reversing it. What I mean by that is let’s say a player hits all over the map on the face – they don’t hit on a consistent part of the club face. Yet they may like the ZM model. That ZM model we do not design to be forgiving, that’s not its purpose." The ZM is actually a traditional-type blade for those who want that sort of club. As opposed to like an AP2 or an AP1."
"They may like it, but I want to make sure they understand when they mishit that center of percussion, that ball speed is going to reduce pretty substantially. I just make sure they understand what the models are for. At the end of the day we’re in the people pleasing business. We want to make sure we please players. Part of pleasing players certainly is giving recommendations and specifications on golf equipment that allows them to be better.
Glenn, you mentioned the most common fault you have found is club length? We had heard from some of our members that Pros fitted by Titleist were going shorter in terms of shaft length?
"It’s amazing then when you start testing players and you start shortening the lengths for players how their ball-turf impacts improve. The strike locations move higher in the face where the ball speed increases, the launch angles go up, and the spin rates become appropriate for that particular loft golf club. They’re able to do it on a more repetitive basis and that is the key to a good, accomplished player. Whether it is a Touring Professional or an Amateur, when I see their ball speeds, for whatever club they’re hitting, it generally doesn’t vary more than 2 miles per hour from swing to swing. That makes for a repetitive carry distance and then players know how far they will carry a golf ball."
Is it a fair statement that the 6 iron is the "Benchmark" for irons for FittingWorks?
How does that compare from the swing instruction side where most people are taught to groove a 7 iron? Do people start to really struggle now once they get past a 6 iron? What is the set makeup you are starting to see more of now considering today’s common swing faults?
Since you are shortening the shaft and taking into account loft adjustments, how do you factor in the lie angle when fitting? You are known for your saying the the "lie board can lie."
"Well, I think other than ourselves, Callaway, and TaylorMade have similar standards on lies. As you know there’s no industry standard on lies.
"The demands come mostly from the consumer side, when we see most of the orders coming in at 62.5 it makes sense for us to make that our standard as opposed to 60.5. When a club has a shorter lie angle it is generally flatter. When you talk about a standard length club, whatever that length is, you’re usually going plus or minus on lie. When you go shorter you will typically stay standard or go flat. When you go long you will generally stay standard or go up. It’s a rare case that I will fit somebody long and flat and it’s a rare case I will fit somebody short and upright. It happens this way but it doesn’t happen very often. Just like I’m sure if you went through my personal specifications on irons, I probably fit a little bit more longer than standard than shorter but not much. Most of the irons I fit are probably at standard. So I go both ways. I’m not reluctant to go short just as I’m not reluctant to go long. I just let the evidence direct me where to go. I’m always directed by the evidence at impact and the ball flight."
What about indoor fittings? How much of a difference is an Outdoor vs an Indoor Fitting?
"Personally this is where I believe experience comes in the most. The technology is very helpful too, but, I believe I could be and excellent fitter indoor or outdoors. There are some things you’re going to have to be a little bit more aware of indoors because you can’t see the ball flight. I would spend much more time interviewing the Player in a couple of areas as that would be the most important part in terms of the indoor fitting. Currently there are three areas I accumulate information. I accumulate information from a player interview where I ask them, like I did you, their handicap, the strength of their game, the weakness of their game. "
"You have the player do a little self assessment for you. I like some history of where players tend to miss, what clubs they struggle with, what clubs they’re successful with, do they do better with fairways or hybrids or vice versa. So player interviews are important. Looking at their current set of clubs is equally important because that current set of golf clubs they own is like a crime scene."
"There are clues and evidence in those clubs. What I mean is I will look at strike locations on the face. I will take measurements of length and lie, start putting them in, and developing a synopsis of their game. Players tell me they tend to miss the ball left for example. And then I start seeing how those specifications work into that. Then finally ball flight, player swings ball flies. So ultimately all three areas, player interview, current set, and ball flight should tell you the same thing."
Let’s start drilling down on the products a bit. Specifically FittingWorks and irons.
How do you approach people concerning length when shortening their Irons?
"That’s a factor – everyone always talks about length, length, length but everyone’s irons are for scoring. A 5 iron usually plays into the longest par 4 you can get into. Also when you refer to length, another way we describe it is it’s not how far it goes, "it’s more important how far it goes once it hits the green because that’s going to determine where you putt from." Not many players can control their spin off of irons. Or if they have the right spin, maybe they don’t have the correct launch rate. So it’s being able to get these blends of both spin and launch for that speed and also for the type of greens you play. Here in Northern California where you play traditionally push up greens that are poa anna from back to front, the greens here in
Do you ever get any requests for Grinds on irons because of these different playing conditions? Also any feedback from players concerning the bounce on the AP 1 or AP 2?
"It doesn’t have too much bounce – it has a little bit more sole width. So it has a little bit more camber down there than the 695s and 704s. But I don’t think its bounce has increased over either of those models. I believe the bounce is the same; it just has a little more sole width. But that tungsten nickel down there low back toward the trailing edge has really helped increase the launch and definitely helped increase the forgiveness."
FittingWorks and Drivers
We read a lot of forum topics related to which irons are best for me but, we also get a fair amount of questions in regards to which is the hottest driver and which is the best shaft for it?
"I would say in the last couple of years out of our fitting trailer we do primarily irons and wedges. It’s not that we don’t do drivers, but most players come to us for irons and wedges. That’s not something we dictate, that’s something they choose. One reason I think this is because most golf clubs, most golf shops have a lot of different demo clubs to try out. And players take them out and check them out and take them out on the course. Each player knows how far they hit the ball on their course and they’ve tried different manufacturers, different lofts, and different shafts. Over time they’ve figured out this driver doesn’t go any further than mine."
"I’ll give you an example, we were down in
What has been your experience with D1 and D2 Titleist Drivers so far? What are some factors you are looking for in optimal player performance? Have you ever seen it where numbers seen completely out of tune?
"Again, it’s a range. I’m not going to give you one number because it’s so variable. For better players who have ball speed of anywhere between 145 and 160 mph, we’re going to see launch rates in a window from 10-14 degrees and spin rates might be anywhere from 2200 – 2700."
For a time there, everyone was going lower loft. Now it seems that people have started to go higher because of spin rates and launch angles. Have you noticed this?
How has increasing the CC’s over the years effected fitting?
How does working with the Cobra Brand help you with FittingWorks?
"They make several products that are designed for better ball flights. But most of their products are designed to get the ball up and more draw bias. So it’s certainly the bulk of majority of players in golf need that type of flight. Their products are engineered to enhance those flights and that’s why they create them and why they’re so successful."
FittingWorks and Wedges
"Maybe
How would you assess the availability of different wedge grinds today and what FittingWorks offers?
Are you seeing grinds on 52*, 54* and 56* Wedges too?
Typically not as much because those generally aren’t clubs you open up as much. You might do a little more in a 54 or 56, but 52 is mainly a club that’s played from neutral to if anything you’re taking it down a little bit, taking the loft off at times. What I mean by taking the loft off, you’re trying to hit lower shots in and so you probably don’t do near as much in 54s and 56s as you do in 58s."
Since this is a FittingWorks Tour Van, do you do any grinding of wedges?
FittingWorks and Putters
"With our fitting trailer, we do all 13, what I call "air assault" clubs. So everything that’s up in the air, we fit. We don’t fit any putters, but we do repairs or alterations, adjust the lie and the loft of the putter should a player need to. And we’ll do things like re-grip. So we’ll re-grip their putters with a wide stock of grips from what’s available from the factory. But we can re-grip a putter, things like that."
Finally Glenn, What’s in the Bag???
I’ve got an F4, 15.5, and F4 18.5 and both those just have a YS-6 stiff and they’re both a half inch short. Actually the 3-wood is an inch short and the five wood is a half inch short.
I play AP-2 3-PW with Dynalite Gold S300, -.25
I play a Vokey 52.08, and a Vokey 56.14. I just carry three wedges. I’m old school. I don’t play very much. I don’t practice very much. I didn’t grow up playing a 60, I never really learned to hit a 60 so I’m quite accustomed to hitting high shots with a 56. I could probably do it a lot better with a 60, but I don’t have the opportunity to practice.
And I have a
*Special Thanks to Apryl DeLancey for helping me put this piece together.
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Whats in the Bag
Richy Werenski WITB 2024 (May)
- Richy Werenski what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Houston Open.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana PD 60 TX
3-wood: Titleist TSR2 (15 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 8 X
Hybrid: Titleist TSR3 (19 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White Hybrid 90 TX
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 105 S
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM9 (46-10F, 50-12F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (54-M, 58-L @60)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 Onyx (46-50), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 Onyx (54-60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron prototype
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash
Grips: Golf Pride ZGrip Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Richy Werenski’s clubs in the forums.
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Equipment
Adam Scott testing green “Masters Use Only” putter + 6 interesting equipment photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
Welcome to the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson event at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, which, for your geographical reference, is about 25 minutes from Dallas.
In early-week equipment news, we saw some interesting putter testing from Adam Scott, a Maxfli golf ball signing on the PGA Tour, a 16-year-old’s WITB, a PGA Tour player using another PGA Tour player’s backup putter, and Jordan Spieth weighed in on why he recently switched out just his 7-iron (and then made a hole-in-one with it).
With so much to report and so little time to waste on the intro, let’s get right into this week’s equipment rundown from the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
See all of our photo galleries from the week here
Adam Scott’s new L.A.B. putters
Before we get into a couple of the new prototypes Scott has been testing, above is a photo of the L.A.B. Golf Mezz.1 Max prototype putter that he’s been using, and will likely continue to use this week in Texas.
That being said, following the Masters, Scott was looking to try a couple putters with a slightly lighter weight to help with his feel on fast greens.
One of the new prototypes we spotted on Tuesday was a L.A.B. Golf DF3 “Proto 2.1”, custom-built with Scott’s preferred blue colorway, and an Australia-inspired Kangaroo laser engraving…
We also spotted him with a green-colored “For Masters Use Only” Mezz.1 Max prototype…
While it’s unlikely Scott will make a switch this week, it’s certainly something to keep an eye on going forward, especially on courses with faster greens.
We also got a peek into Scott’s full WITB this week, which consists of a super-mixed set of Srixon irons, including a ZX Utility 3-iron, a ZX-5 MkII 4-iron, ZX-7 MkII mid-irons (5-7) and Z Forged II short irons (8-9).
See Scott’s full WITB from the CJ Cup here
An update on Daniel Berger’s Odyssey Jailbird
Last week in New Orleans, we highlighted Daniel Berger’s Ai-One Jailbird Mini putter because of its unique sightlines.
Well, we have an update.
According to Callaway Tour Manager Joe Toulon, who spoke with GolfWRX.com this week, Berger’s Jailbird Mini is actually from fellow Tour player Tom Kim’s stash. Kim is a prolific putter tester, and the exact putter Berger is currently using was actually originally made for and tested by Kim. The putter didn’t make it into Kim’s starting lineup, however, so he gave the putter back to Odyssey, and it eventually made it’s way onto Berger’s gamer roster.
Jordan Spieth’s new 7-iron
As the story goes, Jordan Spieth changed out his Titleist T100 7-iron on Wednesday before the 2024 Valero Texas Open, and then on Thursday, he used the 7-iron to make a hole-in-one from 199 yards on the 16th hole.
Good timing on that switch, Jordan.
On Tuesday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, GoflWRX.com caught up with Spieth to get the full story on why he switched just the 7-iron.
Our full story is over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, but here’s a snippet of what Spieth had to say:
“I hit my 7-iron a lot, especially on my own. The spin rates, relative to my 6-iron and my 8-iron, were lower, so it was going too far. I was trying to figure out why, if it was something in the makeup of the iron. I got the lies and the lofts checked, and everything was fine. So finally I was like, ‘Can I just get a new one and see if it fixes it?’
“Maybe there was one other time throughout my career where I changed just one iron, so it’s very unusual. I think it’s just because the grooves were worn down from hitting it too much.”
Ben Griffin signs with Maxfli to play the golf ball
At the beginning of the year, LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson signed a deal with Maxfli to play the company’s golf ball, and now, Griffin has officially joined team Maxfli, as well, thus expanding the company’s Tour presence.
GolfWRX.com caught up with Griffin on Wednesday in Texas for a video interview about his new golf ball of choice, and how he marks it…
View this post on Instagram
A 16-year-old is playing on the PGA Tour this week, using a 2-iron!
Amateur golfer Kris Kim, at just 16 years of age, is making his PGA Tour debut this week after receiving a sponsors exemption into the event. In 2023, Kim won both the R&A Boys’ Amateur Championship and the European Boys’ International Championship.
On Tuesday in Texas, we got a look into Kim’s bag, which revealed that he’s currently playing a TaylorMade P-770 2-iron, and a bag full of TaylorMade clubs.
Check out Kim’s full WITB here
A smart golf ball stamping
I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be a big math guy, because I’m not. However, I do recognize David Nyfjall’s purple ball marking as a square root symbol.
While I don’t know the particular significance of the square root symbol for Nyfjall, I do know you have to be fairly intelligent to even consider using a marking like that. Pretty cool stuff from the Northwestern alum, and 2023 Byron Nelson Award winner.
And, with that, we say goodbye to Texas and TPC Craig Ranch. We’ll see you next week at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte for more insider equipment news and storylines.
For now, don’t forget to check out all of our photos from the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson
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Whats in the Bag
Wesley Bryan WITB 2024 (May)
- Wesley Bryan what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond Max (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 50 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth Plus (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana GT 60 X
Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Rescue (19.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus HB Blue 8 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (4), Takomo 101U (4), Takomo 101T (5), Takomo 301 CB (6-9)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46-10F, 52-08F, 56-14F), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks Proto (58-A)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: L.A.B. Golf DF3
Grips: SuperStroke, Golf Pride Tour Velvet
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
More photos of Wesley Bryan’s WITB in the forums.
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Mike B
May 22, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Great article, is there a UK fitter as well qualified to work with a (6) H’Cap golfer?
I would prefer independent of any one manufacturer
mike
Mark
Jan 3, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Love the article. I wish he was in Nor Calif. Does any know where I can get a set of 909 surefit weights?
Deschi
Oct 14, 2008 at 1:59 am
It’s not a common result, but it might very well be what you need … generally that kind of result tends to appear with shorter than average people with rather short arms AND a out to in swingplane. If that is the case and you do not want to work on your swing and change it – that specc is probably correct for you
ot – dynamic fitting is the way to go if you have a student who has a settled swing and is not about to change that in the near future. less skilled golfers are very often better off with clubs that are closer to their static results since every golfer tends to adapt to his clubs … and if the clubs are the right speccs – the adaption makes your swing better 😉
Walter
Sep 30, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Great article! I was fitted for the AP1 but will put off the purchase until Jan. My worry is I was fitted for 1/2 short & 2*up and in the article, Glenn says almost all the time he sees shorter length, go negative lie and longer shaft length, go more upright, which is just opposite of my setup… But I have used the lie board and impact tape and the readings seem correct.
Any input on this?
T Porter
Sep 27, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Very interesting article..shame he doesn’t work in England
R Kohli
Sep 11, 2008 at 7:45 am
Very knowledgeable article
Gene K
Sep 4, 2008 at 3:35 am
I have been fitted by Glenn twice, once for my dirver and twice for 2 different sets of irons. I really value his input and his recs re: my clubs. Class act.
chuckd
Aug 26, 2008 at 3:50 am
Awesome read! If only they had a van close to me 🙁