“MY SLICE IS KILLING MY GAME”
FIX
Trevor had a strong grip. At the top of the backswing, the clubface was closed. He had good power, but he was having to work hard with his body and hands to square the face. With a ball position too far back, the face would return to the ball open, creating a slice.
FAULT
Instead, we focused more on the fitting. Piers wanted him to be able to play a fade, so the objective for the fitter was to shift the weights so he was hitting more up on the ball. Foot spray on the face helped us monitor the strike.
DRILL
We moved the ball more forward in his stance, too. He was then able to hit it hard with his body without a fear of the ball going left. By rotating his body, he was squaring up the clubface at impact.
FITTER ANALYSIS
Trevor was using a regular-shafted driver, but it was a little soft and wasn’t quite delivering. The main thing he wanted to achieve from the session was more consistency. He’s definitely on the longer side of the spectrum for someone of his sort of age and handicap, but he wanted control – more consistent distance essentially. We experimented with a shaft that was probably too stiff, but I wanted something that would deliver that consistency for him. Then we softened it down a little bit – it’s probably a grade stiffer than the shaft he has right now.
With the ability to move the weights on M5, I was able to maximise the spin from the stiffer shaft so he’s actually using a generous loft with the weights all the way back to maintain his spin. He’s now hitting it on a better trajectory, with slightly less spin than before, and starting it much more down the target line. He’s definitely gained more control of his direction, as well as a few extra yards.
TREVOR’S FEEDBACK
The fitting went really well. I didn’t have any real expectations because the whole thing is new to me, so it was more of a case of learning about the swing and learning about the club and what would happen when I hit it. Mark spotted straight away what I needed.
I wanted to work on my consistency. My natural shot with a driver is either a fade or going towards a slice. I’m not really bothered about distance, I just needed to dial the consistency in and that’s what Mark was able to do. The slightly stiffer shaft gave me more control, but I was surprised at how increasing the loft also helped the performance as it is contrary to what I believed would work. It gave me more control and straightened the flight out. The M5 is a seriously impressive club.
TREVOR’S FITTED DRIVER
Taylormade M5, 10.5°, Project X Evnflow Blue 55 shaft, regular flex. Weights back and in draw.