Wow. D’Lance Golf Performance Center has been serving the local Colorado golf community for 25 years. I cannot believe how quickly time has passed. It has not been an easy road but we have never wavered from our mission of helping golfers. The events of 9/11, the Dot Com meltdown, the financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID pandemic in 2020 have been major challenges, but with support of our customers, investors and families, we have survived and thrived!
The D’Lance Golf Performance Center Beginnings
When I made my first few clubs in my basement, I knew that custom fitting and building clubs to help golfers play better golf was what I wanted to do! The basis for our business model has always been to use the latest in technology to help golfers play better golf… faster. To do that, even early on, we focused on golf club fitting for the proper equipment, practice facilities with the best feedback, and instruction with the top instructors in the business!
Custom Golf Club Fitting the Proper Equipment
My mentors in all aspects of the golf industry have guided us to build the best custom golf clubs in the world. My first set was custom built by Stu Calder in Lake Tahoe, Nevada in 1993 — what a difference! Frequency matched, perfect length, loft and lie; it was like cheating! So when I decided to dive in, I trained with the best. Tom Wishon, at the time with Golfsmith, guided us on how to fit clubs properly. Ed Mitchell, Mitchell Golf, taught us everything we needed to know about custom club building. And, his daughter Laura built our first web site!
One of the key fitting tools we used was the True Temper Shaft Lab. This tool gave us invaluable feedback on how a golfer loaded the golf shaft during their swing. We used this tool extensively in our fittings as it gave very specific recommendations for shaft flexes. By 2004, we needed a more automated method to predict the golf club fitting recommendations for our rapidly growing customer base. In response, we developed our BGF (Better Golf… Faster) Fitting System which has been the basis for our fittings ever since. As shaft and head technology and our expertise evolved, we enhanced the BGF Fitting System.
Superior Practice Facilities for the Serious Golfer
From the very beginning, we used launch monitors/simulators to give feedback during fittings and indoor practice. The Dead Solid Golf simulators were the best and most reliable at the time. In 1997, we used 2 Dead Solid simulators, 3 hitting bays and an indoor putting and chipping green complete with sand trap!
As the Golf Achiever launch monitors were introduced, we brought this new technology to our second facility. The Golf Achiever launch monitors provided great feedback and so we integrated it with our BGF Fitting System. The result was even more specific club fitting recommendations. In addition, we decided to open our practice facility to unattended, 24-hour access. Being the first to do so, we were featured on the cover of USA Today for this unique concept and recognized on the NBC Today Show. Alongside the likes of Todd Helton and Joe Sakic, we were also voted Westword’s Best of Denver in 2001 and 2002.
In 2006, I heard about this new launch monitor, TrackMan. When I was contacted by them, I was so excited about the technology that I bought the first one available in the United States. The rest is history, as they say, as TrackMan Golf and its superior technology has become a staple of our practice, coaching and fitting offerings.
Instruction and Coaching
In the first few years, we tried to be not only great fitters, but instructors and coaches as well. I quickly learned what we did not know and decided to partner with the best instructors in Colorado. We are very fortunate to have such strong relationships with some of the best. Dana Smith worked with us at Flying Horse. Trent Werner, Tom Talbot, Mike McGetrick with McGetrick Golf, Sherry Andonian-Smith at Valley Country Club, Chris Melendez, Elena King with Experience Golf, Chris Schultz, and Kathleen Heiney. All have been key partners in helping our customers and their students play Better Golf… Faster!
D’Lance Golf Performance Center Excellence
In 2011, we were recognized by Golf Digest as one of the Top 100 Club Fitters in North America. This recognition really took D’Lance Golf Performance Center to another level. We were able to partner with Golf Etc. to take our fitting system to new club fitters — several of whom have also been key partners. Golf Etc. Netherlands, Touchet Performance Golf, and Golf Etc. Granbury are still working strongly with us today! We also launched an online club fitting business unit, TrueFitClubs, that uses features of our BGF Fitting System to provide fitting recommendations for online customers all over the globe. We’re proud to say we’re now serving golfers in more than 40 countries worldwide.
The Future of D’Lance Golf
As someone once said, we aren’t going anywhere! We remain true to our promise of helping customers achieve Better Golf… Faster by being the best golf club fitters and best golf club builders, providing superior practice facilities and connecting golfers with the best coaches and instructors in Colorado. Our vision is our reality. We embrace the renewed interest in golf – for sport and fun, and we are ready to help golfers of all abilities be their very best.
Dan Sueltz
Loading ...
