SHOPPING FOR GOLF EQUIPMENT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PAINFUL BY MIKE STACHURA
KIM FOGEL SHOT 85 FOR NINE HOLES in her first official round, not including 40 swings that missed the ball. In the 18 years since, she has got her game down to a 7.8 Handicap Index and is on her fourth set of clubs. Her progress in the game mirrors her progress in how she has selected her clubs. All those whiffed shots ago, she purchased a packaged set labeled ‘Ladies’. Now she’s on her second set of custom-fit irons with a men’s senior-flex shaft. Getting better meant becoming her own advocate when she went shopping for clubs. It helps to work with a technician like John Pak at Golfdom, one of Golf Digest’s 100 Best Clubfitters. Says Fogel: “When I went for this last fitting, John said: ‘What do you need in your game?’ I said: ‘I’m tired of my shots hitting the green and running through. I want the ball to land and stop.’ I ended up with clubs that gave me a better trajectory and landing angle so that my shots landed on the green and stopped. That was very big for me.” Fogel’s learning curve and periodic equipment adjustments should be the
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typical process of any player. The golf industry, however, hasn’t quite figured out how to serve women golfers as well as it serves men. This would seem to be a key issue given the recent surge in female golfers. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily going well. According to a Golf Datatech report, women’s equipment sales represent nearly one-fifth of the US market (or about $1 billion annually), but only six in 10 avid female golfers say they are very comfortable entering a golf-retail store to shop for new equipment, and only three in 10 said their local golf shop was an inviting place to shop for new equipment. Said one female golfer: “It’s ridiculous to offer the same women’s club to an 80-year-old and a 30-year-old. There
should be shafts and club characteristics that fit the golfer regardless of gender. I’ve been playing golf for more than 50 years and have never had a good experience when I have walked into a golf store for clubs.” That’s an avid player. Imagine the uncertainty and frustration that awaits new female golfers. National Golf Foundation figures state that of the 25 million current golfers in the United States, almost onefourth are women, a seven per cent increase in one year. What a beginner needs to remember is the same advice male golfers have been given for years: Ask someone who knows: Your swing instructor, your club pro and an expert fitter are good starting places. The equipment market for women
ILLUSTRATION BY MADISON KETCHAM
