Mizuno has unveiled an upgrade to its Shaft Optimizer custom-fitting tool that will enable fittings for its range of drivers and golf balls for the first time.
The Shaft Optimizer uses a built-in Gyro and transmission via Bluetooth to the Swing DNA software to digitally recommend the correct equipment for individual requirements. And the latest version of the 3D (SO3D) software will allow for ball fitting, providing individuals with the optimum ball for their game based on shaft lean and attack angle, using data established from Swing DNA and SO3D results. Recommendations will be between the RB Tour, RB Tour X and new RB566V balls.
The capacity for driver shaft fitting will be the first of its kind, utilizing bending profiles, as per Mizuno’s renowned iron fitting, which will allow Mizuno fitting experts to establish exactly which shaft in the Mizuno ST200 driver will best suit any individual.
Since its introduction in 2010, Mizuno’s Shaft Optimizer has become the favoured iron shaft fitting tool of golf professionals worldwide. Measuring five critical dynamics within the swing (Mizuno Swing DNA), the Optimizer is able to recommend an iron shaft best matched to any golfer’s movement. Mizuno measures every shaft in-house to establish a map of EI curves to which it then matches the swing profiles. The new Bluetooth Optimizer enables Mizuno’s club fitters to capture swing data directly to the software, run from an iPad or iPhone.
A recent upgrade saw a Gyro added to the Shaft Optimizer’s existing strain gauges, which allows Mizuno’s experienced fitters to digitally recommend a far more accurate lie angle than the traditional method of lie tape and strike board. The Gyro enables the club’s swing plane to be measured in 3D space along with shaft dynamics, ignoring face rotation through impact for a more accurate lie angle reading. Using a combination of the Gyro and strain gauges which run throughout the shaft, Mizuno is now able to capture 40 data points from every swing.
The added capability of fitting for balls and drivers further enhances the fitting experience Mizuno can offer.
“This is a great step forwards for the whole fitting process,” says Bill Price, Director of Fitting at Mizuno. “In terms of the golf ball, being fitted for the correct model to suit your playing style can greatly improve performance. With regards shaft fitting for the ST200 driver, we’re ahead of the curve on this one. Using the same technologies as our iron shaft fitting enables us to precisely recommend shaft options for individual players.”
In today’s launch monitor era, Mizuno sees the optimum club-fitting scenario as the Shaft Optimizer 3D in conjunction with a launch monitor rather than as an alternative. “Look at the Optimizer as a recommendation,” Price explains, “a shortcut to taking 50 possible shaft options down to just three. The launch monitor can then measure the real world results of those three shafts. Without the Shaft Optimizer, the fitter is just guessing which shafts to test, so if the correct one is lined up 12th, you won’t have the energy left to find out!”
Mizuno’s new Shaft Optimizer with Bluetooth and digital lie angle is available to test at Mizuno Swing DNA Centres.