You may recall my angst living in No. Alabama for finding a good fitter with all the toys at his disposal.  I toyed with driving to ATL to the superstore but most everyone said to go outdoors and recommended Sea Island.  Call me crazy but I left home at 4 a.m. yesterday to drive to Nashville, catch a plane to JAX, drive to Sea island, get fit and return home the same day.  Total 19 hrs. and worth every minute!

I met Craig and he took me on the magical journey.  Man, is he the best or what?

BOTTOM LINE:  Craig is a true professional.  Honest, patient and able to impart his knowledge to me in a way I understood.

We found my off-the shelf irons were too flat, my wedges had too much bounce, my fairways and hybrid were about right and my Driver was good.  Craig got me dialed on the right irons with the right lie/loft, he spent extra, free time with me to dial in wedges and although my Driver was good, he found ways to improve upon it.  The net result is this:

- added 10 yards on the Driver by switching to a different one with the correct shaft

- added 9 yards to the irons by getting me into the right head, shaft and lie

- reduced the bounce on my wedges for crisper contact

The net effect is the added length and accuracy means I could be hitting 2 clubs less into greens on par 4s and a club less on par 3s.  Who would not want that?  But, it was my decision to order or not.  I ordered the Driver, irons and wedges faster than Larry the Cable Guy going back for seconds at the Golden Corral!  Even better, the new clubs will be here before Christmas.

The moral of the story is this:  If you want to optimize your game and you want your playing partners to "fold like lawn chairs: earlier in the round, then you need to get fit and get fit outdoors.  If you asked for my recommendation, and you did not, it is to do whatever it takes to go see Craig and get fit the right way by the right professional.

I send you all a big thank  you for guiding me to Craig.  Have a wonderful holiday season, I sure will.