At Golfland we use outdoor Trackman fitting exclusively. There is no substitute for seeing ball flight during fitting - and with Trackman ball flight is quantified as to what caused what with the flight of the ball. Trackman can also be used in lessons and practice to precisely determine why the ball is doing what it does. Here are a just a few key parameters that we feel are most important when fitting/teaching/practicing with Trackman...

1. Distance: Trackman uses Doppler radar when tracking ball flight. There is no question as to how far the ball is flying. As most players are wanting more distance, Trackman's radar specifically tells them if they are getting it or not. Outdoors, the radar tracks the ball to the ground which is 100% the best way to determine accurate distance.

2. Launch/Spin: The combination of launch and spin determine not only how far a ball travels, but how straight as well. Launch is the initial path of the ball, as it leaves the club; spin is how much the ball is turning relative to that launch. Depending on how fast a player swings and how he or she delivers the club to the ball determines the best launch/spin for a given player. For example, for a player who delivers the club to the target at @100mph at an attack angle slightly upward, good launch/spin numbers are 12.5 degrees/2500rpm's. For slower swinging player, we typically need higher launch/more spin in order to maximize distance. There is no one launch/spin combination that fits all players - that's a key reason custom fitting is so important when choosing clubs!

3. Attack Angle: Attack Angle is the upward or downward position of the club when it hits the ball. A downward (negative) attack angle, while good for an iron, creates excess spin for a drivers and hinders distance. The opposite is true for an upward (positive) attack angle. As the ball is on a tee when using a driver, a positive attack angles launches the ball higher initially (usually with less spin) yielding more distance.

4. Path/Face: Club path is the direction that the club is moving relative to the target during the swing. A negative path moves left of target while positive path moves right. Negative paths are often called outside-in, while positive paths are labeled as inside-out. Club face at impact is defined as where the face is pointed in relation to the target at impact. If the path is moving squarely toward the target at impact and the face is in the same position, the balls goes straight. Various combinations of face and path relative to target produce all sorts of different ball flights - draws, fade, pushes and pulls. During a fitting and/or lesson we use equipment or swing corrections to make the path/face combination more efficient for the player.

5. Height/Land Angle: Trackman measures the apex or every shot and also tells us what the angle of descent the balls has as it falls toward the ground. For a driver, we want the land angle to be less than on a #9 iron for example since we want driver to roll out and we want #9 iron to stop quickly on the green. We use different lofts and shafts as well as different club heads to maximize height and land angle to best suit the player.

These are just a few of the key parameters that Trackman measures. During a fitting or Trackman lesson, we look at these swing characteristics, as well as some others in a effort to best improve the players game as quickly and efficiently as possible. For more details about Trackman, fittings or lessons, emial us at jeffjackson@granvillegolfland.com or call 740-587-4147.

Trackman Fitting: A Brief Tour of Why It's the Best Fitting Method