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| What is MOI Matching? The MOI of any object is a measurement of its resistance to being placed in motion. Related to golf clubs, if each club in a set requires a different amount of force to swing the club (set it in motion), and a swingweighted set does require different amounts of force per club, it stands to reason that the golfer cannot be as consistent, swinging each club a little differently in the set. With MOI matched clubs, each club is built to require the same force to swing it. In it's most simple form, this is what sets MOI matching apart from matching clubs to the same swingweight. Swingweight matching does not make each club within a set the same in terms of the amount of force required by the golfer to make the swing and hit the shot. MOI matching does. However, because golfers can be quite different in their strength, tempo and swing mechanics, the right MOI should be identified if possible and fit for each golfer to allow the concept to properly work. If that is not possible, at least having all the clubs set up that they require the same amount of energy to move them, is a major step in the right direction. |
| How is the right MOI determined for each golfer? Virtually all golfers who play regularly have noticed they have a “longest club they hit well", have the most confidence in. This club should be defined as the club which the golfer has the ability to hit the ball solid and on-center more often than the other longer clubs in the set. I use the longest club you hit the most consistently because to MOI match to a short iron, much weight would have to be ground away from the heads of the longer irons, which is not advisable, it may affect performance, but can de-value your clubs. I can shorten the length, but I am not a fan of this. After research and testing, it is believed that a very good reason for the fact that golfers do have “favorite longer club” they hit well is that the MOI of that club(s) happens to match the strength, tempo and swing mechanics of the golfer noticeably better than the other clubs. Therefore, the concept of MOI Matching is based "initially" on asking the golfer to bring forth a “favorite long club" from any set they may own or have used. The “favorite long club” is measured for its MOI using the MOI Matching System, after which the other clubs are then built to match the MOI of that “favorite long club(s)”. From testing with many golfers, and hearing from other clubmakers who presently use the MOI Matching System in their work, I am very satisfied that the “favorite long club” procedure is successful for identifying a suitable MOI for the golfer. |
| Does MOI Matching change the fitting process? No. MOI Matching is a replacement for swingweight matching in the fitting process. Clubmakers will fit golfers for the best clubhead, shaft, grip and length based on the same fitting procedures that they have developed and with which they are confident. Once the heads, shafts, grips and the lengths are determined by the clubmaker, and then MOI Matching is brought in to guide the clubmaker in how the clubs will be assembled with regard to final headweight, and in some cases, final length adjustments. |
| Is there any aspect of the fitting or performance of the shafts that is changed by MOI Matching? Very rarely, if ever. The selection of the shaft is made on the basis of the same fitting procedures the golfer is comfortable with using. However, it is very likely that because of the final head weighting requirements of the MOI Match, the frequency progression of the shafts will be different than it would be if the clubs were only swingweight matched. Normally, the progression in butt frequency is 4 cpms between clubs in a swingweight matched set. The progression in an MOI Matched set may change in some cases, but only because of the headweight changes in the MOI set, and NOT because of any change in trimming of the shafts. I usually see a 3 cpm change as I prefer to build with 3/8" length increments. In the reports of actual MOI fittings that my fellow clubmakers are performing, I have yet to hear of one case in which the golfer required an adjustment in the tip trimming to offset the progression of frequency from shaft to shaft within the set. In short, MOI matching will not affect the golfer’s perception of the shaft fitting. I however, CAN set your clubs up with a consistent frequency progression AND MOI match them. MOI will take precedence over frequency. |
| What will a golfer notice when switching from swingweighted to MOI matched clubs? No BS, I have yet to hear from any other clubmakers using the MOI system who reported that a golfer for whom MOI matching was performed did not notice a difference in the swing feel of all of the clubs in the set, and an increase in the percentage of solid, on-center hits with the clubs. If the golfer “waggles” each MOI matched club, they may think that they detect a little different head feel. But as soon as the clubs are swung full, the golfers all report that they can close their eyes, switch clubs in the set, and not really detect any difference in the total swing feel of the clubs from each other. |
| If I take a set of MOI matched clubs and then measure each club on a swingweight scale, what will I see? Depending on the MOI of the “favorite longest club”, the swingweight of the clubs in a set will normally increase from the longest club in the set to the shortest. However, what the longest club’s swingweight is compared to the shortest, and what the progression in between can be quite different, again, depending on the MOI to which the clubs in the set are built, the lengths each club is fit to the golfer, and the weight and balance point of the shafts in the set as well. |
| Will the woods and irons all be built to have the same single MOI? No, the testing along those lines showed that because woods and irons are so different in their length ranges, better results were obtained by matching all the woods to the same MOI, and then matching all of the irons to the same MOI. |
| What about the wedges – should they be built to have the same MOI as all of the rest of the irons? What I found was that any of the wedges that are used by a golfer for less than a full swing most of the time, should not be matched to the same MOI as the rest of the irons which are almost always used for a full swing. In general, because many golfers DO use the PW and AW (gap wedge) more for full swings than they do their SW and LW, I am comfortable making the MOI of the PW and AW the same as the rest of the numbered irons, but for the SW and LW, they are better off being built to a lower MOI than the rest of the irons. |
| How about the putter – should it be MOI matched? Most definitely finding the right MOI of the putter for each golfer would improve performance on the greens. However, that is far easier said that done at this point in MOI research. In the woods and irons, because there are multiples of each type of club, it is not difficult to ask a golfer to provide a present or past wood and long iron that has been a “favorite longest club”, to which all of the other woods, and then all of the other irons would be MOI matched. But with the putter, it is not that practical to ask a golfer who is not putting all that well to bring in a “favorite putter” to act as the MOI guide – logic says if the golfer had/has a favorite putter, he would be using it at present and thus not need to change the MOI. However, if the golfer DOES presently like the feel of their putter but was interested in trying a different head model in a new putter, then the favorite putter should be MOI tested to provide the MOI benchmark for building or altering the new putter so that it had the same stroke feel the golfer likes. |
| How does the MOI Matching System work? The MOI Matching System consists of a piece of hardware called a the MOI Speed Match Machine with the MOI software. These two elements of the MOI system, along with a ruler and a gram weight scale, are used to perform all of the measurements and calculations required to determine the MOI and make the assembly adjustments for ensuring the MOI match for all clubs. Remember, MOI matching of clubs is a replacement for swingweight matching. Therefore, the clubheads, shafts, grips, and length of the clubs are to be fit in exactly the same way each clubmaker has learned to make these decisions. Then the MOI Matching System is used to guide the final assembly of the clubs to make the clubs all have the same final MOI. The MOI system allows us to MOI match clubs in two different ways – MOI Matching of Already Assembled Clubs This part of the system allows me to measure the MOI of any of the “favorite long club (s)” of any existing set, identify the MOI to which the assembled clubs are to be matched, and tells us how much weight to add to the head to achieve the MOI match through the set. Again, your most consistent long club is recommended because removing weight, though quite possible, is not advised. MOI Matching from Components Heads, shafts and grips can be MOI matched as well. I can “dummy assemble” the clubs using any head, shaft and grip, and with use of the hardware and software, they will tell me the weight addition required, if any, to the heads to achieve the MOI match. |
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