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Mizuno Match & The Shaft Optimizer Advertorial

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After reading the information about Mizuno’s new Shaft Optimizer that has been added to their fitting system we were very interested to see how it would differ from past fitting experiences that we have had.  Fittings that we have gone to in the past have been both outdoor and indoor using different data collection methodologies including trackman, flightscope, and other top launch monitors and software sytems. 

Mizuno Match and the Shaft Optimizer is the latest technology in advanced fitting.  By simply visiting the www.mizunomatch.com microsite and clicking on the “Find Your Perfect Match” bubble one can enter their zip code and find a fitter (or fitters) in their local area.  In addition to the locator feature, the microsite also contains testimonials, accolades, and a video explanation of the Shaft Optimizer tool.  We conveniently found our local fitter at Culver City Golf, just about a mile from our location and set up a date to try this system out.


The microsite most definitely has a sense of humor in addition to providing an amicable user experience.  The bubble entitled “It’s Not You, It’s Me” is named “Breakup Videos” at the top of the menu.  In addition, catchy phrases like “We’re Flattered”, “Hear From Some Perfect Matches”, and “Find Your Perfect Match” aptly plays on the “relationship” that many golfers have with their clubs.

The actual Shaft Optimizer piece of the fitting process is based on what Mizuno calls a player’s Swing DNA, or blueprint of your swing.  According to this system, your swing DNA is based on:

•    Clubhead Speed: This is how fast the clubhead and shaft are moving during your swing.
•    Tempo: How quickly a player transitions from the backswing to the downswing.
•    Shaft Toe Down: A measure of the bowing of the shaft in a downward direction during the downswing.
•    Shaft Kick Angle: The amount of shaft forward bending during the downswing motion.
•    Release Factor: How and when the clubhead and shaft are releasing during the downswing.

For those who have been on a launch monitor you’ve probably noticed that most of the information generated is largely based on swing speed, ball speed, smash factor, and distance. Mizuno is collecting the factors relating to the shaft and what is happening during the swing.   The test club that collects the data is an actual club that is equipped with strain gauges and a microprocessor so that the feel is on par with a finished product.  All one has to do is take three swings and the data is recorded by the system software to generate a player’s swing DNA. The numbers are represented on a chart that computes the player’s ideal shaft with two other options.

The higher swing speed golfer between us was the test subject for this system.  In the past we have found that reading launch monitor information can be a bit confusing.  Trying to comprehend all of the factors like spin and smash factor can cause one’s head to spin when they are trying to interpret the results even with a fitter’s explanation.  To our surprise (and delight), the results were consistent with fittings that we have seen for this player from other, more involved fittings but in a more easily digestible format.  The system recommended the Dynamic Gold x-100-130 gram, Project X 6.5-125 gram (the player in question’s current iron shaft gamers), and the KBS x-flex-130gram.  According to Mizuno there are more than fifty shaft offerings that the system compares before matching the data. 

Other than swing speed, which is calculated in MPH; tempo, toe down, kick angle, and release factor are each based on a scale from 1-10.  The latter pieces that are measured on that 1-10 scale are indicative of a player’s Swing DNA.  For example, a particular kick angle and release factor would perhaps be indicative of a shaft that needed to decrease launch. An identical swing speed could have different shaft suggestions based on thesae and the remaining factors of a swing’s blueprint. Once a player has their shaft recommendations they can try each of the products in Mizuno’s iron lines and continue through the remainder of the fitting process which includes familiar elements such as the lie board and individual length measurements.

We left this experience feeling quite excited that the player measured already had the optimal shaft in his gamers.  The new Shaft Optimizer part of the fitting process takes under 30 minutes and gives a player a wealth of information about their swing and well on their way to a custom set of Mizuno clubs that has been fit especially for them.

 

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. dman

    Feb 6, 2014 at 10:45 pm

    why is it that everyone on this site swings hard enough to hit an X flex? where are you guys at courses??!?! i never see anyone hit it that far!

  2. Aidemu Forum d'émulation Dofus

    Jul 3, 2013 at 6:35 pm

    That is certainly worth it to read, You happen to be a great excessively specialist blog writer. We have become a member of the feast and also sit up with regard to from the track down even more of your own wonderful publish. Additionally, I have shared your web site at my internet sites

  3. Reed Mathias

    Mar 25, 2013 at 9:49 pm

    I was recommended the KBS Tour stiff soft stepped. It feels solid, but I can’t get my long irons up in the air now! I’m returning them and going to redo the fitting. Thus far I’m frustrated after spending $700.

  4. makaveli

    Jul 15, 2010 at 1:05 am

    i just used the optimizer at a local golfsmith and i was suprised what shafts were recommended.  my swingspeeds were in the high 70's to low 80's and I wanted the optimizer to pick a lighter shaft like the GS 95 or NS Pro 950 but it actually picked the Dynalite Gold XP, PX and KBS Tour.  Thats odd considering they all have different kick points.  I like the GS 95 and theres no upcharge so thats what I am gonna get, sorry Mr. Optimizer.

  5. undermined

    Jul 12, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    I tried this system at a local golf galaxy figuring it would be interesting to see if the shaft suggested was similar to what I play only to be told by the salesperson to hit the shots off a Driver height rubber tee.
    Now as if that was anything like the type of way I'd even try to hit a golf shot fine, but I normally don't even tee my driver as high as this tee was and I tend to really de-loft at impact and trap shots at impact so I had to make a really different swing just to not totally miss the ball and pop it up.
    The salesperson said it was to get a idea of the shaft flex needed and said I needed a graphite shaft. Needless to say I wasn't impressed since I current play Rifle Flighted 6.0 shafts in my irons and get plenty of distance.
    This is a great idea for getting swing data to find a baseline shaft to look at but I have a feeling that there has to be training done with the people that use this system to make sales because if I was just the average guy looking to get help finding the right shaft and like the mizuno's I'd be given the worst possible options if I went by what the sales person told me.

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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