Editorial: Time to Focus on Your Equipment
As the season draws to a close it is time to reflect on the successes of 2006 and to look forward to even better performances in 2007. One sure way of improving your game is to ensure that you are playing with equipment which has been customized to your own particular swing requirements. So if you are planning to purchase new clubs or have yet to customize your current clubs then now is the time to start so that everything is in place and working perfectly for the start of the new season.
2006 has been a great year for some of our clients. George Murray has had one of his best seasons yet. Krystle Caithness continues to impress, winning the St Rule Trophy and the Scottish under 21 Championship with a record score, and Ritchie Ramsay's performance in winning the US Amateur was nothing short of incredible. The SGU's international teams have been very successful and the Scottish Institute of Sport squad players have also performed exceptionally well. These players have their clubs regularly checked over and fine tuned by AGT's equipment specialists.
2006 has also been a great year for Miura in Europe. The brand is fast becoming recognized for its exceptional quality and unmatched performance. Several of Scotland's best young amateurs are now using Miura clubs and Chris Kelly, one of Scotland's most talented young tour pros, just loves his new set of Miura irons.
Undoubtedly, one of the highlights for AGT in 2006 was moving our operation
from Ceres to St Andrews Links Golf Academy at the Home of Golf. The
Academy's superb facilities and the latest fitting technology will ensure
an even better level of service for our customers in 2007. We look forward
to meeting up with you there.
Product News: Miura … Premium Brand and Premium Price … Here's Why!
The Miura Philosophy
Katsuhiro Miura has been making forged irons in Japan for over 40 years.
He is a master craftsman and perfectionist whose primary aim in life
is to produce the perfect forged iron in terms of aesthetics, precision,
performance and feel. His innovative forging processes produce irons
which are recognized within the industry as the standard against which
all other forgings are judged.
The secret to his product is the fact that it is not mass produced on
computer controlled production lines, but instead, each clubhead is
hand crafted by master craftsmen under the direct supervision of the
grand master Mr Miura himself.
It is unsurprising therefore that many of today's biggest brand names
in golf use the Miura factory to produce clubheads for their top tour
players. Miura has gained his reputation by making limited edition clubs
for top players such as Tiger Woods and Retif Goosen but in recent years
Mr Miura has introduced a unique range of his own Miura branded products.
Golf Ballistix Ltd is the European distributor of Miura products and
AGT has been authorized to custom fit and sell Miura clubs here in Scotland.
For more information on the Miura philosophy and forging process, you
are advised to view the video at www.miuragolf.com.
Once you've learnt about the unique Miura forging process, the next
step is to try the clubs for yourself. Only then will you appreciate
what Mr Miura has to offer and just why his clubs are regarded so highly
in the professional ranks.
The new Miura CB301… Where elegance meets performance
In
his search for greater feel and improved performance Mr Miura has redistributed
the weight in this forged head to optimize the rate at which the head
closes at impact. The result is a head with a thin top edge, favoured
by today's top players, providing the forgiveness of a cavity with the
playability of a blade.
The set also incorporates a 52 deg. wedge so that the level of consistency
is extended beyond the PW. The satin finish adds the final touch to
a new iron head with stunning good looks and a performance to match.
The Miura LE (Limited Edition) Blade … Smaller in size …
Bigger in performance
Think of the size of a standard blade. Now imagine one 20% smaller.
Why on earth would anybody want to hit anything so small? Well quality
ball strikers will find that they can gain feel and performance by playing
a club which gets more mass behind the ball.
This is not a club for mid to high handicappers with inconsistent ball
striking. However golf pros and low handicap amateurs who regularly
achieve centre strikes will appreciate the pureness of strike on a Miura
LE Blade. They are currently available in a traditional polished finish.
Acquiring a set of these clubs is not easy as they are in limited supply.
Being a scarce commodity of such quality they command a premium price.
However if you are a lover of blades and have the ability to consistently
hit centre strikes then the Miura LE may give you the ultimate blade
experience.
The Miura driver and fairway woods are launched in Europe
first
The Miura reputation has been built upon the quality of their forged
irons and wedges. However this year sees the launch of the first Miura
driver and complementary fairway woods. We've yet to see them in this
country but one thing is for sure. We shall see them before the US.
These clubs will be launched in Europe before being released to the
US market. According to Golf Ballistix, initial testing has shown them
to have exceptional performance and feel, something that we have come
to expect from Miura products.
Please contact us for
further information on Miura products or to arrange a fitting session
at St Andrews Links Golf Academy.
Feature Article: Experience Trackman for Yourself at St Andrews
If you watched the BBC TV coverage during the recent Open Championship
and World Match Play Tournament, you will have seen some of the players
shots displayed as computer graphics giving accurate figures for yardage,
ball speed and trajectory, etc. You may have wondered how they got this
information. Well it was provided by a Danish company called ISG who
set up their Trackman ball flight monitor at strategic locations around
the course.
Trackman is a unique launch monitor, which uses the latest Doppler radar
technology to track the ball in flight. This same technology is used
by the military to track ballistic missiles. The system is expensive,
costing around US$30.000, but as a result of its accuracy and precision
it is extensively used by the major brand equipment manufacturers, the
USGA and the R&A for performance monitoring and equipment testing.
Most recently ISG has signed a deal with the US PGA Tour to monitor
the world's top players during their tournaments between now and 2010.
At St Andrews Links Golf Academy, AGT uses Trackman for equipment troubleshooting
and custom fit sessions so now you can try out this amazing technology
for yourself.
Equipment Troubleshooting
If you are having problems with a club then you can book in for an equipment
troubleshooting session where we will determine if you have an equipment-related
problem or swing-related problem. If it is club related then we will
help you resolve the problem. If it is swing related then we will refer
you to a teaching pro.
Driver Optimisation
No matter how far or how well you currently hit the golf ball with your
driver, it is nice to know if you are getting the most out of this important
club. Using Trackman we can determine your current launch conditions,
then check to see if these are optimal for your ball speed. If not them
we can advise you how this can be achieved.
We had a pro recently who gained 30 yards of carry and at least 15 yards
of run by changing his driver loft and shaft. We had another lady who
hit her 3 wood 130 yards and her driver only 110 yards. By increasing
the loft of her driver to 14 deg. she picked up 40 yards of carry. Yardage
gains of this magnitude are not guaranteed but by optimising your launch
conditions, you will at least know that you are driving to your full
potential.
Determining Your Yardages
Wouldn't it be nice to know your yardages for each club in your bag?
Well using Trackman you can do this easily in a 1 hour session. We programme
the computer with your set make up and then you hit 5 shots with each
club.
If you happen to hit a really bad shot then you can delete it and hit
another one. At the end of the hitting session you will get a print
out of the minimum, maximum and average distance for each club, together
with the yardage differentials between clubs. If there are yardage gaps
or yardage overlaps between clubs then we can adjust your lofts to correct
this.
Optimizing Your Wedges
Accuracy with wedges comes from optimising your lofts and lies and then
checking how far you hit each club for full and half shots. You may
also want to know the spin rate of one wedge in relation to another.
Trackman makes all of this relatively quick and painless.
Firstly we will give you a dynamic lie test to check out your lie angles
and then we'll adjust them if necessary. After that you will hit each
wedge on Trackman to determine your carry yardages. If need be, we will
finally adjust the lofts to give you the ideal yardage gaps between
each wedge.
Club Performance Comparisons
How many times have you tried to compare the performance of one club
versus another on the driving range? It's so hard to determine distance,
ball flight and shot dispersion without some means of measuring it.
Trackman provides all of this essential information so that the performance
of one club can easily be compared to another.
Shaft Testing
For many players, finding the ideal shaft is golf's equivalent of the
search for the Holy Grail. In the past, the only way of trying out a
new shaft was to buy a new club, which is rather an expensive option.
However, that has all changed with the introduction of Trackman and
the Htec driver and shaft fitting system from Nakashima.
By booking a 1 hour Trackman shaft testing session you can now try out
a variety of today's top performing shafts under the supervision of
one of AGT's fitting specialists. The data from Trackman allows us to
select the shaft which gives you the best results in terms of distance,
accuracy, consistency and feel. Your option then is to have your current
club re-shafted or to have a new Nakashima driver built to your specifications.
Contact us for further information on all of the above or if you wish
to make an appointment for a Trackman session at St Andrews. The price
of a 30 min. session is £30 and the price of a 60 min session
is £55.
Special Announcement: Christmas Vouchers are now available!
If you are thinking of the ideal present for a golfer this Christmas,
why not give them an AGT gift voucher which can be exchanged for Trackman
or custom fit sessions at St Andrews Links Golf Academy.
Most golfers will be delighted to get the opportunity to visit our excellent
facilities at St Andrews Links Golf Academy either to experience Trackman
or to fine tune their clubs for optimum performance. Your gift will
be much appreciated by the recipient. Contact
us for further information.
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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