Lotus Golf

The Custom Club Divison of Perfected Golf Group

A ProGolf Fitting Center

Now an Offical PowerBilt "Air Force One" Fitting Center

                                             "Adams Golf" Fitting Center

                                            "Fujikura Shaft" Fitting Center

"We Make Every Club Your Favorite Club"

ABOUT US, LOTUS, SUTTIE

Lotus Golf

Lloyd Hackman,
Aeronautical Engineer, Inventor
How FitChip came about

Prior to starting his own business, Ribbon Technology Corporation, Lloyd Hackman was a structural engineer for North American Aviation/Rockwell Corporation. In l968 as Group Leader of the Structural Development Group he was responsible for developing the structural applications for glass, graphite and boron fiber in aircraft structures. It was at this time that Lloyd first became interested in using these advanced materials in golf shafts. Lloyd built his first graphite golf shaft in l968 using a filament winding process. Lloyd built golf shafts for himself and friends over the next five to six years before quality golf shafts began to appear in the marketplace. The fabrication of the golf shafts is what developed Lloyd's interest in custom club making and then to the concept of frequency tuning. In seeking a patent on his frequency-tuning process, he found that the concept had been patented already in England. He built his own frequency meter in 1973.
Since that time Lloyd has played with frequency tuned golf clubs. He also built frequency tuned clubs for many of his friends using a trial and error method to establish the best frequencies. Knowing that the trial and error method was difficult and could cost a great deal of money Lloyd began to think about the process of determining what shaft stiffness or club frequency a player would need to match his swing timing. The swing frequency concept was then born when Lloyd decided the use of accelerometers attached to the club could determine the acceleration pattern throughout the swing. With this pattern he could provide, through computer analysis, a swing release timing which could be matched by fabrication of a golf club to a natural frequency that would match that timing. If you analyze the swing, as Lloyd has, the critical point in determining the natural frequency of the club is the time when the shaft starts to release or unload during the swing. That time subtracted from the time at which you impact the ball is representative of one quarter cycle of the natural frequency of the golf club. Corrections are made through mathematical relations to the frequency dependent upon the golf club head speed and resulting centrifugal force that occurs between release and ball impact. The computer easily makes such corrections. Thus, the unit provides the ultimate in golf club fitting. It identifies the exact time for the release of the golf club and ball impact and matches the response time between golf club release and ball impact to a natural frequency of a club which will come back to straight and square during that period. Such a club will provide the player with maximum performance through club head speed and club head square. The instrument that has resulted in the "SFA" system was initially conceived in the 80's and finally developed in l993 when all the required components came together in computer analysis and sensor miniaturization. The "SFA" system was first introduced at the Professional Club Makers Association meeting in Louisville in September of l994. The manufacturing phase began in late October, l994.  Perfected Golf Group, Ltd was formed in 1994 to develop and market the "SFA" system which eventually became FitChip.

Dr. Suttie's

Custom Club Fitting and Teaching Program

How Will Lotus Golf's, FitChip, Golf Club Fitting Technology be Used?

      The golf industry has tried to use simple non-technology based golf club fitting systems for years with less then great success. The club head speed system they primarily use will satisfy the ego for the big hitters but leaves many of them fighting hooks and slices. The FitChip Swing Frequency Analysis "SFA" system introduced a new pure technological approach to golf club fitting based on the players swing timing.

      The "SFA" concept  born when Lloyd Hackman decided to use an accelerometer attached to the golf club shaft that would determine the acceleration pattern throughout the swing and could provide, through computer analysis, a swing release timing that could be matched by fabricating a club to the natural frequency that would match that timing.  Thus, the unit identifies the exact time for the release of the club and matches the response time between club release and ball impact to a natural frequency of a club which will come back to straight and square during that period. You can find a more detailed explanation of this process at the Link "Specifications" on the Home Page. This is the only golf club fitting system which has the basic purpose of selecting the golf shaft that will return to straight and square at ball impact.

 

As shown the original Swing Frequency  Analyzer's accelerometer was located at the end of a small cable that ran up the shaft of the club over the players shoulder to the hand held calculator That analyzed and displayed the data.

The TrackMan Launch Monitor also plays a big roll in this fitting process. During the shaft pre-fitting or fitting session the launch monitor will be used to record the performance of the current clubs launch angle, ball flight, dispersion and distance. 

Once the shaft fitting session is completed a test club with the recommended frequency will be provided for testing and gathering another set of launch monitor data for comparison with the player current club. This initial comparison will show the value of the new shaft frequency especially by reduced dispersion. The comparison of actual launch angle and optimum launch angle will be evaluated and any change in face loft can be tested with interchangeable heads.

       Such a golf club fitting will provide the player with maximum performance through club head speed and a club head that is square at impact. Where off the shelf or custom clubs based on the A, L, R, S and X stiffness ranges have wide variation of frequencies in each of these ranges (15 CPM). Clubs built with our system are guaranteed to be built within 2 CPM of the player's recommended frequency. The manufactures stiffness ranges are 15 CPM wide where the most that can be tolerated to maintain the desired performance is 4 CPM. Knowing the exact frequency of each of your clubs allows us to duplicate its exact perfomance if it is lost or broken.

Where is the Club fitting done?

The primary location for this service is the Dr. Suttie Golf Academy at Twin Eagles Golf Club, Naples, Florida. The Fitting session can be a stand alone session or part of a Instructional Package.

Dr. Suttie also offers the basic shaft fitting remotely by having a FitChip shaft fitting device mailed to you with instructions on gathering the data. The FitChip is returned and the data analyzed. A test Driver and Six Iron can be built to your recommended specifications and mailed to you for approval. This can also be combined with the remote video lessons offered by Dr. Suttie.

What is a Remote Video Lesson?

You can take a video of yourself and send it to Dr. Suttie for analysis. Dr. Suttie will personally watch your video on the V1 Swing Analysis System and make a Voice Over Analysis of your swing, recommending those changes or adjustments that are needed to improve your swing. This Voice Over Analysis will be recorded on a disc and sent to you. He will also provide you with a link that will enable you to download free of charge the V1 software you will need to play this disc on your computer.

Sign-up:

www.jimsuttie.com/Internet_Lessons_7debd14750d894a.html