Editorial:
World famous Miura forged irons are now available in Scotland !
Applied Golf Technology is proud to announce that we can now custom-fit you for the best forged irons in the world .. bar none! The name "Miura" is synonymous with style, quality, feel and performance. For this reason, the world's leading brands use the Miura factory in Japan to make special sets of forged irons for their top tour professionals. Now you can buy these exclusive clubs, custom-fitted to your own personal swing requirements. Our KZG forgings are comparable to Mizuno quality and performance, but the Miura forgings are in a class of their own. See below for details.
Congratulations to Anne Laing and Krystle Caithness for providing us with memorable golfing performances this summer. As announced in the last issue of AGT News, Anne was selected to play for the GB & Ireland Curtis Cup Team which faced the Americans at Formby in June. Although the GB & I team narrowly failed to win the trophy, Anne's performances throughout were top class. She won 3 points out of 4, including two famous victories in the foursomes against Michelle Wie. Krystle became the first girl to win both the Scottish Under 16 and Under 18 girl's titles in the same year. She also managed to lower her handicap from 4 to scratch over the season. This wonderful achievement by a 15 year old was recognized by the international selectors when she was chosen to represent Scotland at the recent Home Internationals. We're proud to say that both Anne and Krystle play KZG clubs by choice. It's nice to know that we've played a small part in their golfing success stories this year.
Feature ArticleClub Feel - A Key Fitting Factor
Club Weight and Swingweight
These contribute greatly towards swing-timing, rhythm and general balance. A club which is too heavy will result in swing movements which are laboured and badly timed. A club which is too light can also affect timing by speeding up the transition at the top of the backswing. Since the weights of clubheads and grips are fairly standard, the key variable contributing towards club weight is the shaft. Modern graphite shafts can weigh 70 grams less than the weight of a standard steel shaft and this can make a significant difference to the overall feel of a club. Swingweight on the other hand is a measure of the balance of the club and in particular clubhead feel. Being able to sense the position of the clubhead at all times in the swing is essential for a good golf swing. Within certain limits, the swingweight of a club can be adjusted to your own personal requirements.
Having discussed the importance of the shaft in relation to total club weight, let's now focus on other shaft factors which can have an affect on feel. As discussed above, the key to a successful golf swing is proper timing, and in relation to this, shaft flex has an important role to play. A shaft which is too flexible promotes a feeling of the clubhead being disconnected from the hands through impact. This can affect control of the club. Players who swing the club smoothly, often termed "swingers", are able to cope with flexible shafts much better than the strong aggressive "hitters" of this world. "Hitters" generally prefer the feel of a shaft which is somewhat stiffer than that recommended for their swingspeed alone. The stiffer shaft will have a more one-piece feel, giving the aggressive player a sense of being more in control of the clubhead. However to the "swinger" this same shaft may feel dead and unresponsive. "Swingers" often prefer a feeling of the head kicking in at impact, providing useful feedback that the swing has been timed properly. As you can see this is a very personal thing depending on your own particular swing characteristics, and in order to experience these feelings you really need to start experimenting with various shaft flexes for yourself.
Bend point (flex point) and torque are other shaft variables which can affect overall club feel. Torque is a measure of a shaft's resistance to twisting. A twisting force is exerted on the shaft by the clubhead during the golf swing but this really only becomes a significant fitting factor for swingspeeds above 100mph. A shaft with a high bend point and low torque (3.5 degrees) will generally have a more stable tip section, contributing towards a more one-piece feel, whereas a low bend point and high torque shaft will have a more flexible tip, contributing towards a feeling of the shaft kicking in at impact.
Another little known, but equally important shaft fitting factor is proper shaft alignment. Each shaft has an optimum orientation in the clubhead that provides maximum shot performance and best feel. In its optimum aligned position the shaft will feel as if it wants to unload directly at the target with the minimum amount of unwanted post impact vibration.
Grip FeelOften overlooked in the feel of a golf club is the importance of a well-designed grip in good condition. The grip after all is your only contact with the club so it is important to get it right. Grip material, texture and size should all be given due consideration in selecting a grip for overall comfort. Grips should be checked periodically and replaced as they become worn.
In SummaryGolfers are not born with a developed sense of club feel. However it is a skill which you can acquire with practice. By experimenting with various clubs of known specification you will eventually find a combination which feels just right for you. At Applied Golf Technology we fully appreciate the need to consider club feel as a key fitting factor and our goal is to produce clubs which not only perform well but feel just right for you.
Product News :Miura Forged Irons ..... Simply the Best !
Miura forgings are recognized within the golf industry as the best in the world against which all other forged irons are judged. Katsuhiro Miura has over 40 years of experience in forging golf clubheads. Many procedures in the 14 step process are unique and proprietary. Each step of the process is under the full supervision of Miura himself. Miura's forging techniques rearrange the molecular structure of the mild steel in a pattern that is uniform throughout the clubhead. This eliminates void spots in the clubface, ensuring that every Miura club in your bag has the distance control, ball flight, spin and feel that will satisfy the most discerning golfer. This tightness in the grain structure of the metal is what gives Miura made clubs the controlled, soft feel that other manufacturers cannot achieve. Miura also uses a proprietary "spin welding" process to produce the industry's most consistent hosel. This unique procedure ensures that the bore depths and the hosel heights are identical on every Miura made head and the shaft of every club will be perfectly centred. For more information on the Miura product range you can visit Miura Golf or Golf Ballistix, the UK distributor of Muira products.
Considering the above, it is hardly surprising that many of the biggest manufacturers in golf use Miura to forge special sets of irons for their best tour players. Under a special agreement with the UK distributor, Applied Golf Technology is now in a position to offer custom-fit Miura clubs to the Scottish golfing public for the first time. So if you want to play with the best custom-fit forged irons in the world just contact us for further information or to arrange a fitting appointment.
The Gemini Success Story continues....GolfTest USA is America's leading independent golf equipment testing company. They test golf equipment from all the leading club manufacturers and publish the data on their website for golfers to make informed decisions on future equipment purchases. In August 2004 they tested 17 of the latest high performance drivers including the KZG Gemini, the Titleist 983K, the Cleveland Launcher 460, the Mizuno MP-001 and the Nike Ignite. Their in-house testing team and members the golfing public were asked to judge the clubs under the categories of Distance, Control, Accuracy, Appearance, Feel and Overall Impression.
We are delighted to announce that the KZG Gemini ended up as the #1 driver overall in the 0-12 handicap section and #1 equal in the higher handicap section. No other driver could match the Gemini for control and accuracy. You may wish to visit GolfTestUSA for more details on the test procedures and the full list of results. Exciting though they are, these findings didn't surprise us as they just confirm the results of previous independent testing carried out at Golf Laboratories USA using state-of-the-art robotic hitting equipment and launch monitors. The Gemini driver, with its patented twin-face technology, is undoubtedly the most accurate and forgiving of the high performance drivers on the market right now. Go to our products page for further information on this remarkable driver. If you haven't yet hit one, you don't know what you are missing.
If you are currently playing a non-conforming driver and are considering making a change in the near future then you should definitely consider changing to the award-winning KZG Gemini driver, offering improved accuracy and control over your current driver with no compromise in distance. The Gemini has been tested by the R&A and the USGA and is definitely conforming. So you can buy a Gemini safe in the knowledge that you will be able to play with it for as long as you choose to do so. In fact you may like it so much that it may well be the last driver you ever want to buy. Think of the money that will save you in future. For more information on the Gemini driver, check out our KZG products page or contact us in the usual way.
Footnote :Back Issues
The two previous back issues will be kept on-line for reference purposes (see links below) and, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions for future subject material, then please don't hesitate to contact us by e-mail. Reader input / feedback will always be most welcome.
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