Frequently Asked Questions

General

Q. What do you mean by "Play Better Golf....FASTER"?
A. Unfortunately, we live in a very hurried world. Golfers want to achieve improvement as fast as they can in order enjoy the game. At D'Lance Golf we believe you need three things to dramatically improve or transform your game: 1) proper swing technique, 2) practice, and 3) the right equipment for your swing and game objectives. So, to transform your game we offer lessons, a 24-hour, year-round indoor practice facility, and complete custom fitting and building of golf clubs. Whether you are a beginner or just trying to get better, we can help you play better... FASTER!

Q. How long have you been in business?
A. D'Lance Golf opened its first retail facility in Littleton, Colorado in 1997. Our mobile fitting trailer hit the road in April, 2006 and covers Colorado, Arizona and Southern California. In March, 2007 we moved to a 5,000 sq. ft. facility in Englewood, CO that is both a high-tech fitting studio and club production facility. We have helped over 8,000 golfers shave 2 to 20 strokes off their games.

Q. I am a low handicap player. How can you help me?
A. Most low handicap players can still use improvement in consistency and short game techniques. To have more consistency, each club in your bag must perform like the other in the set. We frequency match each club to your swing profile as determined by the True Temper Shaft Lab and our Performance Weighting System. Each club will be matched in terms of weight, swing weight, shaft butt flex, shaft tip profile as well as loft and lie. We can also help the better player select the right ball and club design using the TrackMan ball flight monitor. This tool shows the ball speed, launch angle, maximum ball height, ball spin (both back and side), carry distance and descent angle. Tighter shot dispersion, more consistent distances from club to club and the right ball give you more confidence and drop those last few strokes.

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Custom Clubs

Q. Aren’t custom clubs expensive?
A. When we customize brand name clubs, you will pay more than you pay at a discount golf shop. Your clubs will be built to your exact specifications by our skilled club builders. We do carry some brands that will be less expensive but have excellent quality. These brands are sold strictly through custom club builders like ourselves. Our top of the line custom irons run $125 to $249 per club and drivers will run from $399 to $1,299 with top-of-the-line shafts. Whether you by a single club or an entire set, our professional fitting technicians will spend an hour or two with you checking your swing, testing your clubs, and determining the right equipment for your game improvement objectives.

Q. I am not that good of a golfer. Will custom clubs help me improve?
A. Absolutely! I would not think of letting my grandson start playing baseball with my old wooden bat. Likewise, you should not start playing golf without the right equipment. We believe you are born with a natural golf swing and spend the rest of your life trying to find the clubs that match your swing. Purchasing a set of inexpensive clubs to just get started or using a hand-me-down set is not a good idea. We can help beginners and high-handicap golfers alike develop better swing techniques with properly fit equipment.

Q. What are the most important things to consider in choosing the right set of clubs?
A. It is very important that you have the right length of clubs, shaft flex, club weight, and grip size. When you buy clubs at a sporting goods store or discount golf shop, you will buy one "size" for ladies, seniors, and men. Our experience shows that less than 10% of ladies are properly fit in traditional ladies clubs. Most men think they need "stiff" shafts in all of their clubs when, in fact, they need softer flexes in their irons to control feel and accuracy. Our whole point in fitting you correctly is to increase accuracy, consistency and distance.

Q. Ho do you determine the correct shaft flex?
A. After years of study, we have determined that the best way to test for shaft flex is the True Temper Shaft Lab. This system measures shaft loading rather than swing speed. When you swing a golf club, the acceleration of the club head creates a load that bends the shaft in two dimensions; toe up/toe down and lag/lead. Generally, when you start your forward swing the shaft bends in a toe up position (because the club is upside down at the start of your forward swing) and lags your hands until you stop accelerating. At the point you stop accelerating, the shaft “unloads” and the club head moves to a toe-down and leading position in less than .05 seconds! If the shaft is too soft for your swing, the club head will not return to square properly and you will see a very wide shot dispersion as a result…left and right, high and low, long and short of target. If the shaft is too stiff for your swing, the shaft will never load properly and will leave shots low, short and right of target (for right-handed golfers), balloon to the right or cause a dead pull left. Since swing speed is merely a measure at a point in time, we have seen two golfers with exactly the same swing speed get completely different results when we test them on the Shaft Lab. Once we have the Shaft Lab results, we test the golfer with various demo clubs on our launch monitors and swing analyzers to see which clubs result in very tight shot dispersions while maximizing distance. Finally, we build the clubs to EXACTLY the correct flex using a frequency meter to precisely measure the flex of the finished club.

Q. What is the difference between custom fit and custom built?
A. Custom fitting by most companies involves fitting you for length of club, lie angle of irons, shaft weight, head design, and grip size. Once this is determined, your order is sent to the manufacturer for assembly. Each company like Ping, Titleist, Taylor-Made, and Callaway have their own standards for assembling the clubs, but none of them will build each club using a frequency meter to your exact specifications. Because each club design has a different head weight, hosel design and center of gravity, what you get back from the manufacturer may be completely different in terms of feel and performance than what you thought you ordered. By individually building each club to your EXACT specifications as you tested them at our facility, we can ensure that you will get the performance you expect out of your equipment.

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Lessons

Q. What is your teaching philosophy?
A. Our golf instruction staff is truly dedicated to the improvement of your golf game. We teach people, not systems. There are no two golfers exactly alike; nor is one method of golf instruction equally effective for all types of players.
We believe everyone is born with a natural golf swing. Therefore, you are taught according to your own unique physical characteristics and capabilities. You will learn to complement your strengths and concentrate on the techniques that need the most improvement. In an uncomplicated manner, we will help you understand the basic golf swing fundamentals and components of proper technique.
Using high-speed video equipment, the latest technology for ball-flight feedback, drills, and training aids, we will help you develop a more consistent golf swing that works with every club in your bag. You will be on your way to playing better golf faster and having more fun!

Q. I am just a beginning golfer. Can you help me learn the game?
A. Absolutely! We have clinics for beginning golfers and we also give private lessons. We specialize in ladies clinics and have female teaching pros on staff. Couples can learn the game together by taking our semi-private lessons.

Q. Who are your teaching professionals?
A. At D'Lance Golf, we have several PGA and LPGA teaching professionals as well as Professional Golf Advisors. Our teaching staff is versed in all aspects of helping you improve your game from equipment selection to swing techniques to practice routines. We have affiliations with some of the best teachers in the world, including Dana Smith at the Learning Center at The Club at Flying Horse in Colorado Springs, the staff at Meridian Golf Learning Center, and Tom Stickney at The Club at Cordillera in Vail, Colorado.

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Practice

Q. What is available in your practice facility?
A. D'Lance Golf has several swing analyzers to help you work on your wood and iron play. These analyzers show ball flight, swing speed, club head angle, path and rotation through the swing, tempo and distance. You can video tape your swing, compare it to several pros, and do a frame-by-frame analysis from take-away through finish. In addition, we have a chipping, pitching and putting area complete with sand trap and several hitting cages. We also have all types of workout tools including the Swing Jacket, Swing Magic, Medicus clubs, Momentus clubs, Swing fans, SAM 2000 swing plane trainer, exercise balls, stretch bands, and demo clubs. The visual feedback of our swing analyzers, launch monitors and video systems helps you improve faster. And remember, it is always 72 degrees, there is no wind, and it never rains or snows in our indoor facility!

Q. How does the 24-Hour access work?
A. D'Lance Golf offers 24-hour access to the practice facility for members only. Individuals receive an access code that entitles them to enter through a secure access door. All of the computerized swing analyzers and video equipment is available for use at your convenience. Alarm systems and web-based security cameras allow us to monitor the activity in our facilities continuously. Membership plans are available by duration (six month, annual) and number of uses for individuals, families and youth.

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Technology

Q. How far should I hit each club?
A. The distance you hit each club in your bag is based upon three things; club head speed at impact, loft of the club, and centeredness of hit on the face of the club. In general, if you have a club head speed of say 75 mph (miles per hour) at impact with a 28 degree 5-iron and hit the ball on the sweet spot, you should hit the ball 165 yards on the fly at sea level. Every mile per hour increase/decrease in club head speed at impact will increase/decrease distance by roughly 2 yards. Each club in your bag gets progressively shorter by ½” from your 3 iron to your PW. This reduces the swing arc and therefore reduces the club head speed at impact. In general each club will hit roughly 8% shorter than the previous club. For example, if you hit your five iron 165 yards, you should hit your six iron 152 yards and your four iron 178 yards. The variability in distance from club to club can be quite dramatic if your lofts and shaft flexes are not consistent. That is why some golfers will hit one iron almost the same distance as another iron. Also, if you are a beginner, your consistency may not be sufficient that you can see a great deal of difference between the distance of your 4 iron and your 6 iron, for example.

Q. How do I determine the correct loft in my driver?
A. The proper driver loft will give you the maximum carry distance for a particular ball speed. Focaltron Corporation, developer of the Golf Achiever launch monitor has developed a range of optimum launch angles and spin rates for golfers based upon their ball speed. For example, if your ball speed is 130 mph (miles per hour), your optimum launch angle should be 14-16 degrees and your optimum back spin should be 3500-3800 RPM (revolutions per minute). Launch angle for woods is generally 2-4 degrees higher than the loft of the club. In this case, we would fit the golfer with a 10.5 degree driver. We recently implemented the TrackMan ball flight monitor which tracks the complete flight of the ball in an outdoor setting. The correct driver head with the right shaft will not only have a perfect launch angle, but the right spin rate and descent angle to optimize both carry and roll. The best solution is to get tested on a launch monitor with your equipment and the ball you normally hit. Then you can compare to demo clubs that are in your shaft flex and weight to dial yourself in to the exact loft for your swing.

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