TRANSCRIPT:

Brad Syslo:

Hey everybody. We're here today with Jordan. We're going to take a deeper dive into a driver fit at Club Champion. A lot of the times when we look at driver fits, most of the golfers that come into the store, they want to see more distance. And sometimes it's about distance and we can achieve that in many different ways.

            Jordan, thanks for coming in today. Really appreciate it. So tell me a little bit about kind of yourself, your background in golf wise. I mean, how many rounds a year are you playing these days?

Jordan:

I'm probably playing about five to 10 rounds a year at this point right now. Used to be more like two rounds a week where we were getting in 30 to 50 times, but just haven't had the time to be able to do that consistently.

Brad Syslo:

Sure. I'm with you. I want to play more golf too.

Jordan:

Absolutely.

Brad Syslo:

But when you do play golf, you want to play better golf, right, and enjoy it more?

Jordan:

Yes.

Brad Syslo:

And I think that's something that when people are getting fit, let's hit the ball farther, let's hit more fairways, and it definitely sets the tone of the hole and the round is getting off the tee. Tell me a little bit about the driver you have there. I mean, how did that one ended up in the bag?

Jordan:

So I was swinging something that was definitely way older technology and it had a different shaft in it. So that kind of helped me with the control anyways, but it just felt dead at the time every time I hit it well, so I've been swinging this for the last five, six rounds so it's pretty new, but feels great. Distance is definitely a lot better and I definitely feel like I have a lot more control.

Brad Syslo:

Now, when you say the old driver, did it have a steel shaft and a wood head or... I'm just kidding.

Jordan:

Yeah, not that old, but-

Brad Syslo:

Yeah, I know. I mean, definitely new technology. I mean, that is a really... It's a recent driver. I mean, that was last year's model and from year to year, I think every golfer out there wants to know, "How does the next model get that much better?" And there's times where we see it get better just because maybe the fitting itself, right?

Jordan:

Yep.

Brad Syslo:

And sometimes I always say self diagnosis is a little scary, what you think and what's really going on, and we're going to have our partner in crime today, TrackMan, kind of help us out here and direct us. Do you feel like there's a lot of distance still being left on the table? I know you just mentioned you picked up some distance since changing to this, but do you think there's even more out there?

Jordan:

I think there is. I mean, I used to hit the ball a lot further than I hit it right now and I don't know if that's just something with swing mechanics or just the fact that I've never been fitted for anything. So it doesn't play necessarily to... I'm sure my strengths could come out a little bit more depending on how I get fitted for something else. But I definitely feel like there's more there.

Brad Syslo:

What do you like about that driver?

Jordan:

It doesn't miss by much. I mean, that was my big thing is losing balls off the tee because when I would miss-hit, whether it was off the heel or off the toe, it would spray and not just spray right, it would go right on top of that. So I've noticed that even when I miss-hit this driver that I have now, it's not missing by that much anymore. It may push or pull, but it's not hooking or slicing, so it's allowed me to be a lot more consistent with getting off the tee and not losing shots.

Brad Syslo:

Yeah. I mean, you get off the tee more, you're going to hopefully hit more greens, get more greens, get the ball closer to the hole, you make a few more putts. You can kind of see the domino effect of what can happen, right?

Jordan:

Absolutely.

Brad Syslo:

What does the next driver have to do better than that one, though? What are we looking for today? What do you want to see?

Jordan:

I mean, outside of just getting distance, would be just being able to know I can play it to a certain spot and not have to worry about it moving differently or coming off differently. Contact wise, I feel like I've been making pretty decent striking contact with the one I have right now. Just sometimes it'll go dead straight, sometimes it has a little bit of a draw or a pull. Sometimes it gets a little bit of a push or a cut.

            So to be able to eliminate one side where I don't have to constantly worry, "Well, if I set up here, is it going to go here?" That would be huge for me right now. I know I used to hit the ball a mile in the air and I know I was losing a lot of distance and having a lot more spin where it was going to go even further to one direction. So I know with this one, this has kind of cut that down and brought the ball lower, which I like. So that's kind of what I'm looking for now.

Brad Syslo:

What side of the course do you want to eliminate? I mean, do you feel like the left side is the one you want to take out of play and you don't mind seeing the ball work a little bit more to the right? Or is that... Which side is it for you?

Jordan:

I think that's what it would be is that I've never really been a draw hitter and I don't pull very often. I more push if I'm going to, or cut and fade or slice if I'm going to miss. So to be able to eliminate the left side and not have to worry that if I was to play it that way, that it's going to go the opposite direction that I want, would be big.

Brad Syslo:

Yeah. I mean, I think when you look at a hole, right, and if there is, let's say, water left, being able to maybe take it on the left side of the fair and make sure it works away from the water, no matter what. It's like a tour pro would say, "This is going to go right." Whether it's going to go 10, 20 or 30 yards, it's definitely going to go right. And without manipulating your golf swing too much, right? And feeling comfortable about that and having that kind of one miss.

            I've met a lot of players, in one course in particular in Chicago I can think of, where out of bounds is left on the entire golf course. It's kind of like a reverse track and left is out of bounds all day. So they don't want to... All the members are like, "We don't want to hit it left." So that's what they need to feel and comfortable.

            You made a comment that you used to hit the ball pretty high and it's come down a little bit or more considerable. How's the trajectory right now? Do you feel like you're getting some more roll out of this driver than the previous one?

Jordan:

Absolutely. I feel the trajectory, it's not too low or it's not cutting too much distance by being just a low bullet but it's definitely not getting up there as much as it was. And the big thing for me is I've never liked playing when it's windy, because everything I hit seems to go way up. So to have a driver-

Brad Syslo:

Unless it's downwind.

Jordan:

Unless it's downwind, then yeah, that's fine once it gets up like that. It's just, I've had so many times where that cross wind, as soon as I hit a ball, that thing's going 100 feet to the right because of where it's going, how high it went. So I definitely like the trajectory that I'm getting right now from this. But again, I haven't experienced a ton with different ones, so there could be one out there that, "Okay, all of a sudden this is a new trajectory that I'd like to hit it at, so."

Brad Syslo:

Any brands on the top of your mind today, or any brands you'd be like, "I'll never play that driver"?

Jordan:

Oh, no. I've never been picky or anything. It's kind of just been all feel and I haven't had a lot of experience for different ones. I've obviously had ones where, whether it was through Jake or other friends I've had, where I've just kind of, "Hey, can I see how that feels hitting that?" I mean, really outside of that old Diablo I had, that's about the only one that didn't feel great coming off the face, but I think that had a lot to do with age and wear and tear on that thing, so.

Brad Syslo:

Okay. Well, good. Let's do this. Let's gather some data from this driver. Let's see what's going on a little bit. You told me some things and some history which I think is great, but we got to see it here. And that's whether we're doing a fitting indoors or outdoors, we're going to utilize TrackMan to gather some of that data and get down to the nitty gritty of it and the details to have this as a comparison. Quite honestly, I would say the hardest fitting for me to do is the one that you don't bring your driver, so I have nothing in the compare it to, and I got to fit you in a little bit of a box.

            And so we have a great comparison here today. And yeah, the goal is to beat this driver. The goal is to get you more distance, to take a side out of play, and we're going to help you do that here today.

Jordan:

Okay.

Brad Syslo:

So let's do this. Let's hit a few, let's gather some data, and then we'll kind of go over that data a little bit with you. Help you understand what the numbers mean and how we're going to get there.

Jordan:

Okay.

Brad Syslo:

So Jordan, let's go ahead and hit a few. Let's gather some data. We'll dive into that data and get in the nitty gritty of how we can help you achieve your goals through that data and understand it a little bit better after we get some of that, okay?

Jordan:

Okay.

Brad Syslo:

Now on the first tee.

Jordan:

On the first tee.

Brad Syslo:

And if you want, Jordan, you can buy a mulligan at any point. No, I'm just kidding. So if you hit one really good, just let me know. And if you say, "Brad, that was very freak. That never happens." Then let me know too as well.

Jordan:

Okay.

Brad Syslo:

Fitting's not about one, it's about your average. So we want to kind of see what you do. I'm not just going to watch you on the first tee box and say, "This is the driver for you."

Jordan:

Absolutely.

Brad Syslo:

I'd love to play a round of golf with you and really get to know you more but we do the best we can here.

Jordan:

Pretty consistent.

Brad Syslo:

Yeah. And those two, I mean, like you said, it's kind of what you see, right? You see the ball work to the right. It's just a matter of how much. Okay.

Jordan:

Yep and usually at that point, I'm probably aiming just a hair to that left and letting it play like that.

Brad Syslo:

Sure.

Jordan:

It's just when it decides it's not going to take that flight, that it winds up in trouble. That one felt good. Yeah, that seems to be usually... When I feel like I've struck it pretty well, that's usually about the height and ball flight that I'm getting on it.

Brad Syslo:

Okay.

Jordan:

That one definitely felt the best out of any of the ones I've hit so far.

Brad Syslo:

Okay. Let's do a couple more. That sounded like one of the hardest hit ones today.

Jordan:

Yeah, that one felt like good contact as well.

Brad Syslo:

Good.

Jordan:

And again, a little bit more of the height. Still about that little bit of that fade cut to the right side. That one felt good too.

Brad Syslo:

Very nice. A lot of people, Jordan, indoors, the one thing that kind of happens here is we limit any of the variables, right? So the mats aim straight, it's not like it's a tee box where you can kind of do your thing and aim anywhere. So a lot of times players come in and the true colors start to come out really quick, where the ball likes to go. Because, let's be honest, on the course, you might be aiming a little left.

Jordan:

Yeah.

Brad Syslo:

And when you're on that mat, aiming a little left is goofy. You feel out of place. So we kind of set you up straight, straight, straight, and then all of a sudden, the true colors start to come out. And whether you believe it or not, that's what happens. I think one of the most interesting things ever is if someone were to stand behind you, like you're on NBC, CBS on Sunday and film every shot, you'd be amazed is watch your mannerisms, how you aim, and why that shot actually happened. It's kind of subliminal a little bit too.

            But let's take a look at what we're seeing here on the screen. We definitely see that right miss. There's no doubt about it. But there's no doubt you could pick up some ball speed. When we look at where we're going with ball speed, we want to see that ball. If you're swinging 100 miles an hour, the max that ball is going to go is 150 miles an hour, okay? The relationship between those two is smash factor. So your smash factor is really low right now. And even the ones that you said you caught, there's still a lot of speed to gain from there.

            And when we look at those three numbers, we're really going to look at that golf shaft and to find the profile and the weight that really suits you and kind of jives with you, rather than fights you a little bit. And what you're using right now is a pretty heavy stiff shaft and I know you made some comments earlier about you're kind of battling back for some injuries and things like that. I mean, how do you feel... Where are you at on the percentage level? Are you 80%, 90%? How you feeling?

Jordan:

So I used to always be just big swing with everything and that's why my iron play and wedge play has always not been a consistent part of my game. And just recently, probably over the last year or so, I hurt my back lifting. I thought it would just kind of ease out on its own and fix itself. Started to get a little bit better but then I noticed every time I went out to play, it would seize up on me whether it was in the back swing or right as I was going into the down swing. And it got to the point, I mean, Jake knows because I was playing with him as much as I could at that point, where I just stopped playing after six, seven holes. I was done. Couldn't swing anymore.

Brad Syslo:

Gotcha.

Jordan:

So I started going to a chiropractor, figured out that my spine was kind of out of line. Pelvis has shifted. All this kind of stuff. So I've been doing a lot of the PT stuff and keep going to the chiropractor and the back's felt a lot better every time I played the last five or six rounds. I don't have the pain. I get sore when I get done, but I'm not having the pain throughout the round. So I know when I was swinging before, it was always I was swinging so violently that I kind of just tried to take it down to, even with my driver, an 85, 90% swing instead of going 110.

Brad Syslo:

Okay. So there's a little bit of reserve in the tank a little bit. So you're maybe not going all out here today, but there's probably a little bit more speed there. But this is comfortable.

Jordan:

Yes.

Brad Syslo:

I call it a driving range driver, right? Okay, it's not like we're trying to hit a short par four on the green.

Jordan:

Yeah.

Brad Syslo:

Okay, cool. Yeah, so, I mean, we're going to look at different shaft flexes, profiles, weights, and we're going to kind of find out which one helps us connect the bat on the ball, create great ball speed for you today. Ultimately in the end, you're going to tell me it feels the best, but I'm going to also probably see a peak in the ball speed here today. And if we see a peak in ball speed, that's a really good way to get you some more distance. There's no doubt about that.

            And there's other things we'll look at. I don't see your club head speed changing too much today, unless you tell me you're going to go at one. But that's where we're going to look at first and when we start looking at shafts, so, we will find a head to start with and then we're going to test several shafts and kind of find out which one's work and which one's not. You might realize that a heavier shaft does give you a little bit more speed and energy transfer into the golf ball. You might find a lighter one does. We're going to see how you react to these things. And I don't assume anything. That's the reason why we're going to go through this process here in depth.

Jordan:

Okay.