Nearly three years after the Lonnie Poole Golf Course added Master Clubfitter Daniel Spurling to its talented team of golf professionals, the public course on the NC State campus has earned a spot in Golf Magazine’s Top 25 Elite Clubfitters in the nation.
Lonnie Poole GC is one of only two fitters on the Golf Magazine list that offer an opportunity to try out the new clubs by hitting outdoors before purchasing.
“Most fitters offer an indoor hitting bay, which is fine for practicing and the initial fitting, but if you really want to verify how a new set of clubs are going to do for you, it’s best to test them out on the driving range or on our golf course,” said Chip Watson, general manager of the Lonnie Poole Golf Course.
In addition, Spurling, unlike many other fitters, builds clubs from scratch.
“Most fitters rely on club companies to supply them fitting carts with preassembled clubs and shafts they feel work best for most players,” Spurling explained. “Often a player finds a shaft they like but then discovers it’s not available in all the fitting carts, stopping them from comparing brands directly.”
Spurling solves this issue by sourcing club heads and shafts straight from the manufacturer. He uses a universal fitting system comprised of 120 steel and graphite iron shafts and more than 150 driver and fairway wood shafts.
“The system allows us to interchange any shaft with any head we need giving our customers hundreds of fitting options,” Spurling continued. “We use the same Trackman Radar trusted by the players on the PGA Tour to ensure all aspects of the players ball flight are optimized for distance without the sacrifice of accuracy.”
Word has spread quickly about Spurling’s skill. Customers come from all over to have their swing analyzed for the best set of clubs for their skill level and price range and try them out all in one place.
“It’s not only great for the golfing public, but also our NC State University golf teams, so great that we even have players coming from other local ACC schools to use our facility and services,” added Watson. “It’s truly rare to have this combination of expertise and facilities when looking for a new set of clubs and the reason why we are now on that elite list of 25 in the country.”
The Lonnie Poole Golf Course has amassed a number of awards since it opened 10 years ago. Recent acknowledgements are the WRAL Reader’s Poll : No. 1 Golf Course in Raleigh, Midtown Magazine: No. 1 Golf Course in Raleigh and Top 25 in North Carolina on Golf Advisor.
To view the entire list, visit https://www.golf.com/gear/2019/02/05/here-are-25-elite-clubfitters-across-the-united-states/