The first Mitchell Golf Performance School held at the Mitchell Golf’s studio in downtown Albion Michigan was a big success. The weather outside was frightful (think way below zero record temperatures in January) but inside things were heating up with a lively and insightful class taught by Larry Baldridge.
This comprehensive 4-day class offered a broad spectrum in Club Building, Club Repair, and Club Alteration utilizing Mitchell Golf Equipment and the Foresight GCQuad launch monitor and simulator. It certainly wasn’t a class where you shoot the breeze! Every student had their own workbench for intense hands-on learning and constructive feedback. It was a place to gain some serious bench skills and get prepped to build at the next level.
Everybody’s game is different.
The class had a wide variety of experience levels and motivations. One student was an Assistant Pro looking to become even better at his profession. Another participant has a trailer outfitted with tools with the ambition to go to country clubs to offer his club building and fitting services. Another worked with a large retailer out west who wanted to take his experience and abilities to the next level to give him greater opportunities for advancement.
Throughout the four-day session, a lot of time was spent on the details. For example, one area covered the removing and attaching of heads, grips, and weights. In this area, one of the most misunderstood club fitting steps is sizing grips for the golfer. A properly fit grip ensures better clubhead control at impact with maximum clubhead speed. But a lot of club repair and do-it-yourself technicians don’t emphasize sizing grips, an important part of the process.
Other areas covered at the Mitchell Golf Performance School included how to measure and adjust the club’s swing weight throughout the club assembly process, and how to measure club frequency (flex) and build a set of clubs with matching specs.
Getting on the same frequency
All shaft manufacturers design their shafts to produce certain ball flight results and to a specific “flex feel.” The problem for golfers is that one manufacturer’s flex designation can be different from another’s. Frequency can be used to compare these different designations for the actual “feel” best suited for individual golfers. Larry demonstrated how frequency is used to produce a “matched set of clubs” of the same flex feel.
Understanding how to use launch monitor data to adjust clubs for ideal ball flight was also covered. Using the Performance Studio’s GCQuad Launch Monitor ensured superior accuracy and realism of ball flight and provided the most detailed picture of ball and club head performance. Not to mention, a whole lot of fun.
More classes are scheduled, and all are taught by Larry Baldridge, a graduate of the Golf Academy of America and a certified Mitchell Golf Master. For more information on classes, call 800-437-1314 or email patrick@mitchellgolf.com.