There's Magic in the Kingdom
On any day of the week, golfers rip and chip across the six world-class courses at Reynolds. Some shots are solid. Some...don't quite go where they're supposed to go. This is why players from around the country travel to the hilltop at The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee for solutions — 14 solutions, to be exact.
"You can pound buckets of balls and tweak your swing, but the biggest problem might not be you," says PGA Tour player and Director of Player Development Blake Adams. "It's the clubs."
In his 20 years on Tour, Adams has followed the same policy that every pro player follows: His clubs are only fitted, built or adjusted at one of two places — in the trailers on the Tour or here at The Kingdom, where a second club-building trailer was welcomed earlier this year to complete the entire club-fitting and building spectrum.
"It's the exact same process here as on the Tour," says Blake. "Think about it. If custom-built clubs can save a Tour player a couple of shots, then imagine how many they'll save the everyday player."
So, if you ever wonder what happens in those mysterious trailers on the Tour, come inside. Because the same thing that happens there, happens here: a combination of science and magic.
Fit For the Pros
Hundreds of shafts, grips and heads sit in clustered attention, ready to be matched to a swing. Pro instructors peck data into tablets, as if scientists in an outdoor lab. “Everything we do here,” says Sean Cain, Director of The Kingdom at Reynolds Lake Oconee, “leads over there.” He points toward two TaylorMade trailers — the game-changers.
A player can have clubs fitted and built at a golf shop. What’s the difference?
BLAKE: If you’re not fit for clubs at a world-class facility like The Kingdom, then it’s like going to a shoe store and buying 14 boxes. You hope a few of the shoes fit. That’s exactly what happens with most clubs. It’s why you have a few favorites and a few that frustrate you. It comes down to fit — proper fit.
Why is it so difficult to get the fit right?
SEAN: There are thousands of variations. Loft angle. Shaft length. Head weight. The fitters here have all been on the Tour, so they look at each club through a very precise lens.
You’re saying the top pros go through the same process that happens here?
BLAKE: They’re in trailers like these each week trying to gain an advantage. It might be a slight change of one or two grams. We do the exact same thing here. It’s common to see a player who’s struggling with the irons gain 25 yards or more with a new set of clubs.
SEAN: It’s literally like therapy. A player says, “I had no idea what a difference the clubs would make. I thought the problem was me.” When you can trust every club in the bag, it brings a peace of mind that changes everything on the course ... maybe off it, too.
