Staff photo/Meridith Paterson
Collecting all the data. Dave Wheaton, club-fitting expert and owner of County Custom Club-fitting and Repair, demonstrates how the launch monitor measures a golfer’s swing.
Staff Writer
MAPLETON – Equipment is essential. From the shoes to the tools, athletes playing in the world-class arenas to weekend hobbyists know the importance of choosing the right gear to stay at the top of their game. Aroostook County golfers now have the opportunity to improve their scores on the greens and improve their game at County Custom Club-fitting and Repair in Mapleton.
Using launch monitoring technology, Dave Wheaton can analyze each golfer’s swing to adjust their own clubs or build custom clubs to suit the individual.
Wheaton’s club building interest sprang from piecing together his own clubs. “The more I experimented, the better I realized I could fit myself,” said Wheaton.
Each athlete has a unique swing based on factors such as how they swing – inside, outside and when they release, how quickly they swing, their strength and size.
Customers wishing to have Wheaton fit clubs to their swing will first come in to have a full swing analysis taken. Based on measurements including launch angle, angle of attack, clubface angle, ball spin, power transfer ratio and angle of descent Wheaton will choose the best club heads and shafts to achieve the greatest distance and accuracy for the golfer.
Wheaton handles heads from seven to 14.5 degrees of loft and shafts from 215 to 275 CPMs (the flex of the shaft). “It’s not how fast you swing the club, it’s if you’re casting early or holding the angle as long as you can to determine how much flex you need in the shaft.”
With the different combinations of heads and shafts Wheaton can make 100 combinations of both the seven iron and driver for the customer. “The nice thing with my equipment is that all of the heads and shafts can be interchanged with a simple turn of a wrench using Faz Fit connectors,” explained Wheaton. “This is revolutionary in the world of club fitting.”
Wheaton likens the process to other purchases people make. “It’s like when you want to buy a new suit,” said Wheaton. “You wouldn’t just pull one off the rack and buy it; you’d try on a few different styles until you found the right fit.”
Every club Wheaton custom builds must match the customer in at least one of three areas: swing weight, frequency and moment of inertia.
Components for the clubs come from SMT Golf, Tom Wishon and Ralph Maltby, and have a 100 percent lifetime warranty. “All of the components that I will be using to fit golfers are made from premium golf club components,” explained Wheaton. “Most people associate club components as ‘clones’ or ‘knockoffs’, clubs that look like Original Equipment Manufacturer but are made using inferior materials. Although such companies exist, there are some very high quality component companies that design their own heads and shafts using the very same materials as OEMs, and are built in the same factories.”
Wheaton also offers swing analysis for golfers who want to check out their own equipment. The swing analysis records the swing speed, ball speed, overall distance, shot deviation and yardages between each club. The customer can than decide if they would like their clubs tweaked to improve their performance.
Adjustments include aligning the spine of the shaft so it runs down the target line, and adjusting the loft and lie of the head for a more precise and accurate game.
County Custom Club-fitting and Repair also offers regripping with a rubber material made in the USA, which, according to Wheaton, lasts two to three times longer than most other grips.
Wheaton can also recommend the best ball for the particular golfer. “Golf balls all have different compression ratings, and how fast you swing determines the right ball for you,” explained Wheaton. “If you’re playing with a ball that’s too hard and doesn’t compress you need to change your ball.”
County Custom Club-fitting and Repair is located at 26 Pleasant Hill Drive in Mapleton. For more information, contact Wheaton at 227-2050.
