New toys under the tree… Tis the season. My new toys under the tree for the purposes of this post are new shafts, shiny new heads, and a whole new arsenal of things to talk about. If you read the product place, you’ll have a good idea of where I’m headed here.

Elevate Iron shafts are retired. Wait, WHAT?? That has literally been our staple for almost as long as I can remember. It replaced Dynalyte. Dynalyte hasn’t been around for a good 10 years. Heck, I remember when Dynalite came out. No, the first one. Haha. How do we handle it when the security blanket – old faithful – is now not an option anymore? Simple. You learn the new one and start using it. Fortunately, they are very similar, but… they are not the same. This means that YOU need to spend some time like I did last week. HIT some shots with the new stuff when you get it and learn what it does. Yes, you read that correctly – YOU need to actually hit some golf balls. Painful, I know…

I use a “Test” player when I look at new equipment. Yep. Who do I use??? I use myself. I’m a constant. I know my numbers. I know what things do for me, and I can compare new to old. If I know how it responds for me, I can know how it will respond for someone else. I remember saying “No more Dynalite? What the heck am I going to do??” I remember putting Elevate in and saying it feels lighter, but good. Processing. Learning. It flies higher. Good. I learned HOW it was different for me. Then I could start to explain it to players. In a couple weeks, it became an easy transition. That is what is ahead of you as the new sticks come out for 2025.

Part of what you have to look forward to is the fun of going through this process. If you love new clubs like I do, you embrace the time you get to spend testing new clubs and the combinations of heads and shafts.

My team and I fit a LOT of players to the Ventus Blue non-velocore shaft for drivers and FW Woods over the last few years. Guess what? It’s gone, and we have to find a new favorite. Also Guess what?? This list of the greatest combinations and options will change. As we stumble on new combinations, we’ll try and try and see how they hold up. As we learn the player types that combinations work for, we’ll make those our new go-to’s.

I mentioned in the Product Place that the Tensei 1K Black was a great match for the new Elyte Driver Head. Is that then new Ventus Blue non-velocore for our team? Probably not, but maybe. But, it is a great option for a stronger player. We’ll have to keep searching to find that new Ventus Blue NVC. Last week was as much fitter training as it was staff professionals trying new gear. The guys got new toys under the tree to fit with. They need to learn HOW the stuff works, and what works well together. THEY need to form their own opinions, and then we compare notes. And not just with heads OR shafts. It’s with heads AND shafts!! We have to learn how they work independently and together.

How do we learn what works well together? There is no cheat sheet. No list of combinations. You have to put stuff together, try it and see how it performs. We start NOW so we are ready for fitting events in February. When are you going to start? You want the cheat sheet? Ask me what I know and I’ll tell you, but ultimately, if you’re the one putting your stamp of approval on a fitting, you need to know what combinations work best by trying them. Don’t take my word for it. Tinker. Have fun!!

Do you remember Christmas morning as a kid? Presents under the tree. You open one up and you can’t wait to play with it. Then you get another one and you want to play with that one too? Then another. And another… Overload. THIS is your Christmas morning. New toys under the tree?? Go play with ALL of them!! Enjoy the season. New club season, that is…

Happy Fitting!!!