Clubmaker Stuff - Moment of Inertia

MATT MOHI
TOM WISHON GOLF TECHNOLOGY
FITTING AND BUILDING MOI MATCHED GOLF CLUBS
©2009

Reprinted with Permission from TWGT

What is MOI?
• MOI is a measurement of how much force it takes to put an object into a rotational motion about a defined axis of rotation.

How does MOI relate to Golf?
• Many might be familiar with a “high MOI” driver head. This is the MOI of the head about it’s center of gravity.
• The MOI we are addressing here is the MOI of the entire golf club over its full length, as it is set in motion to rotate about the axis of the wrist cock release in the golf swing. (The shaft.)

What are we trying to achieve in an MOI Matched set?
• Consistency of the “weight to length feel” from club to club throughout the set.
• Clubs that require the same amount of force to swing resulting in a higher level of swing consistency. Good swings produce good shots.

Why is MOI Superior to Swingweight?
• MOI is a dynamic measurement of the “load” the golf club puts on the golfer. Swingweight is simply a ratio of the weight of a golf club based on a fulcrum point on a scale.
• Any weight added to a club will raise the MOI and put more load on the golfer. With swingweight measurements, any weight added to the grip side of the fulcrum point will LOWER the swingweight, but will not lower the amount of effort it takes to swing the club.

How does MOI compare to Swingweight?
• If we take an MOI matched set and measure all the clubs on a swingweight scale, as the clubs become shorter, the swingweight will increase slightly.
• For instance, if our MOI matched 6 iron is at a D1 swingweight, we will likely see a swingweight measurement of around D3 on the PW.

Is MOI a replacement for Frequency Matching?
• No, it is a replacement for swingweight matching.
• Frequency matching and MOI matching can be done side by side, just as frequency matching can also be done in a swingweight matched set.

Who benefits from MOI matching?
• Golfers of all skill levels have shown a preference for MOI matched sets – from beginners to elite golfers.
• For the less skilled golfer, the golf swing will be easier to learn and when all golf clubs in the set require the same amount of effort to swing.
• Elite golfers have noted the “sameness” of the swing feel from club to club throughout the set.

Who doesn’t benefit from MOI matching?
• The vast majority of golfers custom fit with MOI matched clubs, express a significant preference for their MOI matched clubs over traditional swingweight clubs.
• In very rare situations, golfers who have a keen sense of feel and advanced technique built around a swingweight matched set of irons prefer swingweight matching.

Can MOI matching be done on existing clubs?
• Yes, but if the set is already swingweight matched, the only option will be to match to the longest club’s MOI.
• This will require a significant amount of weight to be added to the short irons and will likely result in a MOI that is too high and does not fit.
• On an existing set of clubs, particularly if they were purchased “off the shelf”, it will probably be incorrect to assume that all the other fitting specifications are correct.

Why don’t the big, assembled club companies build their clubs MOI matched?
• MOI matching works best when a unique MOI is chosen, though custom fitting, that matches each individual golfer’s swing. Given the wide variety of swings, MOI matching can only be done when each club is built specifically for an individual golfer and not mass produced to “standard” specifications.

Reprinted with Permission from TWGT

How to Modify Golf Clubs

Part 1 of 2

How to Modify Golf Clubs

Part 2 of 2

Teaching the Teacher

Differentiating Instruction for Golf Students

This post is primarily for instructors teaching golfers with disabilities but in reality the same concepts apply to teaching able bodied golfers. Being a good instructor probably has more to do with our "human-to-human skills" than it has to do with swing knowledge only. Don't get me wrong, we have to be technically competent, when we speak we need to know what we are talking about, but if we are without "relationship skills", all of our technical expertise will just be for our own amusement.


For the Instructor, the “What to Do”

Person First
Instead of: person confined to a wheelchair. Say: a person who uses a wheelchair.
Instead of: handicapped or disabled. Say: a person with a disability. etc.

Disability - Anything that deviates from perfect. Torn rotator, slipped disc, ingrown toe nail removed, uneven leg length; decreased muscle control, strength, endurance; balance issues; CP, MS, SB, VI

Awareness of the Student’s Ability and Disability
Size, strength, athletic/physical ability, technical skills. No two golfers are identical. There are different instructional approaches for each student’s functional profile / level of performance.
What is the student’s level of performance?
What general modifications must the instructor make?
What are the students overall goals for golf?
What do they want to learn today?
How did they learn to play?
What does the student think when swinging/playing?
What is the student trying to do?

Functional Profile / Level of Performance, Inclusion Through Sports by Dr. Ron Davis, Texas Womens University, Denton, Texas
Low – multiple impairments, limited physical ability and strength
Moderate – some impairments, moderate physical ability and strength
High – few impairments, able body physical ability and strength with what they have
Any one medical condition can present from “low” to “high”.

General Modifications for Performance Levels
(Suggestions Only, ALWAYS EXPERIMENT)
Low
equipment - grip aids, adaptive gloves, club modifications, play from chair
skills – small swings, putting, chipping, use only 1 or 2 clubs
Moderate
equipment – few grip aids, some club modifications, probably play from SRGC (single rider golf cart)
skills – increase size of shots, use different clubs
High
equipment – a few club modifications, SRGC
skills – same as able body golfer

Instructing/Coaching/Teaching

Science: a system of knowledge covering general truths or general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method, i.e., if you do this, this will happen. system or method [or concept] reconciling practical ends with scientific laws (Webster) "A body persists in a state of rest or of uniform motion unless acted upon by an external force." “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Isaac Newton

Relational Coaching: the informed, conscious, common sense, practical application and communication of the science. Characterized by caring, interest, communication, empathy, listening, questions, understanding, unconditional acceptance, know no boundaries/limits. Expect different expectations, i.e., learning experience and recreation vs scoring.

According to, Relational Coaching: Journeys Towards Mastering One-to-One Learning, by Erik de Haan: “The research shows that the questions that most preoccupy professional coaches are these:
What works best for this [student….]?
Which method, which approach, […….] can I use in order to help this [student]?
What will help […] in this session, at this moment?
The main question for coaches is therefore:
‘Which, of the whole range of things I can do now, is best for my [student]?’”

Of all the things that can be done, prioritize and work on the thing with the highest priority. And it probably won’t be "Step 1" of a “6 Steps to Lower Scores” method, for example. It is not about you, the instructor, covering the grip, stance and posture, etc., it is about the student. No two golfers are identical. Preconceived notions aren’t relational. And there in lies the art of teaching and coaching.

Art: a skill acquired by study, training, observation; the conscious use of creative imagination, implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power, suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing, [The bridge between the science and coaching the student. Communicating the science effectively.] (Webster).

Ernest Jones

Describe WHAT to do (the facts, the science) vs HOW to do (the manner)
Golfers with disabilities know no boundaries:

Butch Lumpkin video
Tim Caldwell video
Amputee Golf Association video

Why tell students how? They know how…tell them what to do….tell them by asking.

Ask questions. It is more engaging and revealing for students and instructors. Asking questions is relational coaching. Studies from psychologists reveal that our learning is influenced by: 80% nonverbal ques, 17% voice (tone, pitch, timber, volume) and 7% the message.

Every student’s swing and body is uniquely theirs, like a fingerprint or signature. Instructors must be aware of “things” the way they are. Awareness is curative for the instructor and the student.

Body-focused instruction is problematic [especially for golfers with disabilities] because: no two golfers' bodies are exactly alike, it asks golfers to consciously control body motions that are by their nature unconsciously controlled, it asks the golfer to address too many things during the 2.5 seconds required for a golf swing, and demands that all body motions be correct in order to achieve the desired result.

Club-focused instruction by contrast, teaches: how the club moves for an effective swing, the club's movement is universal for every player and every club, and a lesson simple enough to accomplish during those same 2.5 seconds. Manuel de la Torre

Golf class example – What everyone is doing may be the same but how they do it is different and it will look different from student to student because no two golfers have the same size, strength, athletic/physical ability or technical skills.


For the Student, the “What to Do”

Deliberate Practice – specific activity, designed to improve performance. Students must practice and they must practice what it is they know to do. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. See also Swinging Into Golf by Ernest Jones and Innis Brown.

What Custom Fitting does for The Golfer (click for video)

Professional golf club fitting is based on the golfers’ size, strength, athletic ability and golf skills. If you look up and down the "tee line" the next time you are out hitting balls, no two golfers have identical combinations of these characteristics, i.e., no two golfers look alike. Yet, an entire industry of “off the shelf clubs” has been built on the notion that “one size club" fits all these different golfers.

Being professionally measured and buying golf clubs that are professionally fit and custom built doesn’t cost any more than buying a “good” set of “one size fits all” golf clubs.

If you own “off the rack” golf clubs or well intended “hand me downs”, you are probably not as well equipped to play to your potential as you could be. So, get fit to Play Better Golf and watch the short video as the award winning club designer and fitting guru Tom Wishon describes more about what custom fit golf clubs can do for your game, particularly if you are not a "scratch player".

RISE Adventures Single Rider Golf Cart

To the best of my knowledge...RISE Adventures is the first and only adaptive golf program, or any public or private golf course as far as that goes, in the DFW metroplex to provide a golf cart that golfers with disabilities can use from "tee to green". Check it out...all RISE programs are FREE to individuals with disabilities....

RISE Golf has added a new Model T Disability Golf Cart. SIGN UP NOW!

RISE Golf has added a new Model T Disability Golf Cart. SIGN UP NOW!

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