Marc: Welcome back to Golf is Hard TV. The Golf show for the rest of us! The most passionate show on the Internet. We are here again with Ron Nihoff. Did I get that right?
Ron Nihoff: That’s it.
Marc: Alright, club fitting here at Tashua Knolls, and I am Marc by the way -- host of -- one of two hosts of, coach stays behind camera there. So if it's shaky, you can blame him. Talk to me about, I come walking up to you, hey, Ron I need to get club fitting and you get some clubs. Where do you start? What’s that process all about and how do understand? How do you help me get the right clubs?
Ron Nihoff: Well, first I schedule fitting with you and make sure that we have a private time in this area which was built by my father and myself this year and we bring you over here so you feel comfortable in a comfortable environment in a flat environment. We spend about a half hour to 45 minutes. So just hitting golf shots with your own club, with your set makeup and I kind of get an idea your body type, your strength and all that and observe some ball flights. After observing the ball flight what I do is I can kind of get in my minds I try to get an idea what I think you would just -- through experience you went through and I start it there.
Marc: Let me ask you. How long you have been doing this?
Ron Nihoff: About 3 years.
Marc: Okay and I am assuming you are a pretty good golfer yourself.
Ron Nihoff: I am okay.
Marc: I am okay, this is sounds good. By the way if you ever play with a golfer who says, I am okay, watch out, there is trouble.
Ron Nihoff: I just tell everybody just bring their raw, and then let's see how it works there.
Dave: What is your best score, Ron?
Ron Nihoff: My score at Tashua Knolls is a 76, believe or not. This is the greatest equalizer golf course in the -- the greens are great.
Dave: Yeah, the greens are the great.
Marc: We schedule the appointment, you are looking at my swings, you are seeing my slice and I am hitting good balls every once and a while, what happens then?
Ron Nihoff: Well, what I am going to do now is, do you mind if I show you some of the things that I use?
Marc: Please!
Ron Nihoff: What I do is I basically rate the player and you give me an idea what your handicap is. I kind of rate the player and each company -- we are just using Nike as a model, but each company has its specific make, but they are all pretty much game improvement, game enhancement, and then of course your lower handicap, I forgot. For instance, this is something that Tiger Woods would use on the bottom, this is Victory Red, this is a forged blade, very thin top line. The sole is very thin as well.
This is something that’s not for your 10 to 15 handicap. On the other hand Nike came across the board and said, well, we want to make something that feels pretty good like this, the same forging, very similar top lines, maybe little thicker. What they did is they perimeter weighted it which allows you to increase your chance of squaring the clubface which is probably called MOI, and then they kind of notched it very, very forgiving club.
Then the last level if you are maybe 15 to 20 handicap or somewhere in there, you have more of what they did the Victory Red, three version I am showing you. This is a cast club the different metal, the way they actually built the club a little thicker top line, a little more notching and obviously a larger sole to increase your chance and squaring the club face at impact.
Marc: Okay. Now talk to me about, you see these things in golf magazines or interviews and you see things like you are mentioning, this is a club for a high handicap or whatever. So there is actually some behind that and it's not just marketing?
Ron Nihoff: No, it's really not and the proof is in putting. I tell people, let’s set three these up, let's have you hit them and now what I would like to say, Marc, is pretty simple, if I had a 50 cent piece, I would say that; that’s the forgiveness in here.
Marc: Okay.
Ron Nihoff: Now the next level, if I had a quarter that would be your very variable to miss on the toe or the heal. All they do here is they perimeter weight it and put the weight as far away and low just to give you that chance.
Marc: A bit like tennis racket.
Ron Nihoff: Right. To give you that chance to hit a nice shot and the tolerance. Then over here I say this is a dime's worth. So, yeah, you got to be little better player, you are going to be more of a ball striker, but on the contrary, I also feel as if you are forced to play a blade, you are going to become better player. You are going to struggle at first, but I think you are going eventually become a better player.
Marc: Now asked you when we are doing prep for a show, why would a pro golfer not want a club that is more forgiving?
Ron Nihoff: Well, I think if you look at any pro golfers bag now, they are going towards more forgiveness. If you look at Pádraig Harrington's bag, he uses Wilson and he actually has cast this type of thing in the 5, 4, 3, and 2 iron. As matter of fact, I saw Anthony Kim the other day, he has one of these as his 2 iron, which is amazing and he uses this for the rest.
Marc: Is that because of some sort of low iron, who doesn't need as much control or --?
Ron Nihoff: Yeah, I think that’s what it is. I mean I think it's not as control as it's just as harder. When you get little flatter, it’s a little harder to get that club face square, it gives you a little more forgiveness, but workability characteristic essentially is what it is. You are going to be able to work the ball a little bit more, the pros like a little bit the ability of kind of like to get into that ball without having it stop through that grinding zone of the turf. Here, they're going to be able to work the club a little more left and right.
Marc: Now a high handicap like myself workability is not really on the list of characteristics I need, but I need to hit ball solidly and like hopefully it will go the distance I wanted to. So really these are more forgiving clubs and exactly what I should using.
Ron Nihoff: I think so. Yeah, I mean exactly with your handicap I would say so.
Marc: Now as you get better, at what point is it just kind of a feeling or do you sort of know, okay, when I get down to a 10, I need to get a different club. At what point does a golfer who is really fairly improving would go, okay, it's time for new clubs?
Ron Nihoff: That’s a great question, because I think a lot guys that come to me aren’t ready for new clubs and I often times just send them away. I say, you are ready, you really don’t need anything, you can't really improve what you are doing. Can I add a couple of yards? Can I help you a little more workability? Really, most golf courses around here Marc you don't really -- it's not Augusta, you don't really need to work the ball a lot. So I would say for the most part stay with what you have and that’s where the fitting comes in, you come to me and I will honest and just let you know what you need.
Marc: Okay good. Thanks Ron for the time, another good episode, hopefully you guys will let us know some feedback. Don’t forget you can fan on us Facebook, you can follow us on Twitter, you can send us email, anything you want. I also should mention that Ron is not unique, we are here in Tashua Knolls at Connecticut, but I hear club fitters -- is there a website or director or something?
Ron Nihoff: I don’t know on that question, but I do know there are a lot of good club fitters in the area.
Marc: I am assuming everywhere?
Ron Nihoff: I think almost every club would have it, and yeah, but a good golf professional like Bobby Brown, John Janek or David Mobley, they are also well-versed in club fittings as well.
Marc: See you next on Golf is Hard TV, for another episode with Ron on more club fitting fun.
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