Shawn Humphries Golf Performance Youth Academy
Shawn Humphries Golf Performance Youth Academy has the only Mizuno Youth Fitting System in the United States. Why is that? We have been teaching, training and coaching young golfers for almost 30 years. In that time, we’ve repeatedly seen parents purchase clubs without knowing if they truly fit their growing athlete. Within a short span of time, the child is a few inches taller and their clubs that were a little too long or too heavy are now short and too light. Or, they’re a few irons short and don’t have a complete set. As a result, you as a parent spend another few hundred dollars on a deeply discounted set you found because they were a great deal and begin the cycle again: the shafts really don’t fit your child’s swing. Next thing you know a few years have passed, you are back at ground zero, and out a large amount of money.
This is the exact story I’ve seen for years, and honestly I got tired of seeing so many youth golfers show up with clubs that didn’t fit. The local golf outlet said they would be perfect for them because it was about the transaction rather than making sure the player was fit for what he or she needed at the time. To top that, there was no plan put in place for when their inevitable growth spurt hit.
So I went to Mizuno. They make the best irons in the world and have for more than 100 years. More importantly, they don’t farm out their products to manufacturing plants in other countries. Mizuno’s quality control is the best in the business and worldwide.
When fitting the youth, kids need lightweight clubs and real golf heads on the end of the clubs so they can develop feel as their games develop. Some kids need clubs as light as 35 grams, short and flexible enough so they can load the club and maximize their development. Mizuno does just that for us. With the youth data we’ve accumulated for the last 15 years, we established a true trend in what we needed to fit kids for the correct golf equipment.
When fitting young athletes, we need variation in shafts with different weights and lengths in order to accomplish the most important element – having a true fitting on the spot. We aid this by facilitating immediate results and live ball flight, as opposed to just into a simulated screen.
All of our fittings are done with the new Mizuno Shaft Optimizer. This tool provides club head speed, tempo, toe down, kick angle, and release factor with the swing of a club. This individualized DNA is then compiled into an immediate graph and break down for the student. From this data, shafts are recommended and the tailored fitting is perfected.
As an added bonus, when the student grows out of the shaft either in length or flex, Mizuno does something no other golf company does. They will replace the shafts for a nominal price for each club – it can be for one club, three, or all. As a fitter, that’s a game changer. You are getting the best heads in the industry and can play them for a long time, transitioning into different shafts if needed without sacrificing the head and expensive additional cost added.
With my experience as a veteran master club fitter, Mizuno has broken the barrier on club fitting. Never in my life have I seen a system that provides you on-the-spot full golf swing DNA and is able to adapt and grow with the client, club by club. The Mizuno Youth Fitting System is an incredible tool we utilize and maximize with our athletes, and Mizuno is a company that focuses on the transformation of an athlete, just as Shawn Humphries Golf Performance Youth Academy does.
All of our fittings are done with the new Mizuno Shaft Optimizer and with my experience as a veteran master club fitter Mizuno has broken the barrier on club fitting. Never in my life have I seen a system that provides you on the spot your full golf swing DNA.