Is Alice Cooper better at singing, or golfing? It depends, he says.
Alice Cooper talks his two devotions — rock and golf — during a panel with Jack White and Kirk Gibson at Detroit’s Shinola Hotel on Oct. 30, 2019.
Brian McCollum, Detroit Free Press Pop Music Critic
After years of using an outdated driver, the author underwent a professional fitting.The fitting resulted in a significant improvement in driving distance and accuracy.The author offers tips for golfers considering a professional driver fitting.
Whenever I think of how important the driver is to my golf game, I think of a statement Tiger Woods made nearly a quarter century ago.
“A good drive makes all things possible,” he wrote in his 2001 book, “How I Play Golf.”
I have committed these words to memory and I have thought about them the way rabbinical students think about the Talmud or the way Yoda thinks about the Force.
Tiger also wrote that the driver was the most important club in his bag because it increased his chances of scoring, and that if his driver swing was sound, his iron swing tended to be sound. He added another key factor: A great drive also gave him an “emotional lift” and “a big edge psychologically.”
I believe every word of his thoughts on the driver and they have become central to my core as a golfer.
For a long time, I hit good drives after I had my first professional driver fitting … in 2007. I was prescribed an 11-degree, regular-flex shaft, draw-biased Callaway FT-i. It had a square head that promoted anti-twisting, when that technology was all the rage.
It was ugly and it sounded like an aluminum bat exploding, but I loved this driver like a child. The weak, low slice from my Ping G2 – a driver Steven Wingdings might say I plucked off the shelf like a thoughtless child wandering by a garden just yanking leaves along the way – was instantly transformed into a beautiful high draw that found the fairway all the time.
Then something awful happened: I got better.
My swing got faster and more consistent. My attack angle improved. Gradually, over years, that high draw became a leaky fade that ballooned in the air like a weak popup to right field, costing me a little accuracy but a lot of distance. Like the boiling frog, for years I refused to accept my beloved FT-i was hurting me.
I’ve always been a big proponent of professional fittings and that belief was underscored last year, when I was fitted for irons that rejuvenated my game. So I decided to go through a driver performance fitting in March at the Launch Pad Fitting Center at Carl’s Golfland in Bloomfield Hills.
I’ve always enjoyed my fittings, but I have to admit I anticipated the driver fitting like a kid waiting for Christmas. The driver is simply fun to hit and unlike any other piece of sports equipment because a great drive fills you with delusions of superhuman capability.
Nine drivers, 50 shots, one winner
The driver fitting at Carl’s is by appointment only. It costs $125 and lasts 50 minutes. If you order the club within 30 days, you get a $60 credit. The fitting center uses Trackman radar technology and features private bays with a large video screen that displays your shot shape and lots of data. You can choose which premium ball to hit.
Tommy Prato was my fitting specialist. He started by getting some baseline shot data off a few of my FT-i drives. The data confirmed what I thought. I was spinning the ball too much and hitting it too high. My averages were 95 mph swing speed, 135.1 mph ball speed, 18.4-degree launch angle, 3,805 rpm spin rate, 123-foot apex, 210.9 yards carry and 220.1 yards total distance. My longest drive was 233 yards.
Looking at so much data can feel like looking at the Matrix after a while. When I asked Ryan Johnson, the director of fitting for Carl’s, to oversimplify the process for me, he said three main factors determine distance: ball speed, launch angle and spin rate. But trust me, there are a lot more variables.
I hit about 50 shots with nine different drivers. We looked at data after every shot. Prato would use his club wrench to make a tweak, then hand me something different. It’s a little like an optometrist’s eye test: Is one better, or two? Two or three?
The Titleist GT2 with 10 degrees loft, a stiff shaft and draw bias was the clear winner. Averages: 96.3 mph swing speed, 143.3 mph ball speed, 14.7-degree launch angle, 2,779 rpm spin rate, 96-foot apex, 233.7 yards carry and 254.2 yards total distance. My longest drive was 268 yards. It has a beautiful sleek, black clubhead, feels solid and omits a quiet but satisfying thunk.
I played my first round with it Friday at Washtenaw Golf Club in Ypsilanti. After driving consistently shorter than my playing partners for years, I blew it past them all day by 10, 15 and sometimes 30 yards, rarely missing the fairway by much. Even on mishits, I still got away with good distance and accuracy.
Tips and parting shots
Johnson, the director of fitting for Carl’s, offered some tips to prepare for a fitting.
Bring some water. You’ll get warm and thirsty.
Make sure you’ve been playing or practicing regularly. You want to replicate your typical swing.
Be open-minded about trying different clubs, even if you prefer certain brands.
Have fun with it and don’t worry about hitting bad shots in front of an expert. “I always tell people we’re like Planet Fitness,” Johnson said. “It’s a judgment-free zone. Golf is a hard sport and we see all types of golfers, but we’re here to help them play better golf.”
Here are my personal tips. Take a break when you need it because a tired swing doesn’t help anyone. Familiarize yourself with Trackman data terms, but don’t be afraid to ask your fitter to explain something that’s unclear. It’s OK to hit a club a second or third time to confirm something you felt.
My final confirmation came Friday, when Tiger’s words rang as true as they did in 2001. My much-improved driver made all things possible again, like blowing it past my buddies and even relieving them of a few bucks.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.
