Flatline Oscillation -
What Your Club Builder Can Show You

FLO (flatline oscillation). Are your clubs in FLO? I bet they are not. Flatline oscillation is a term used by club builders and after spineing your clubs they will be in FLO.

A simple way to check is to take any one of your clubs and secure the grip in a clamp that holds it firmly at the grip end; I used the grip clamp (3-1/2") on my Digiflex frequency meter. SIDENOTE: Caution, whatever you use to hold your club - do not tighten it too much or you will crush the shaft. I have seen it happen many times. Clamp your club securely with the toe up - pull it horizontally (straight back) - about three or four inches and let go.

Watch closely - does it oscillate back and forth in a straight line or do you have some looping (figure eight) action going on?

This looping action is really noticeable on your longer clubs and tells you two things.

First - that your clubs are not in flatline oscillation - and most importantly

Second - that your club shafts have never been spined.

Remember this when you see the looping motion. If the club does not know in which direction it wants to go, how in the world can you have a repeatable swing with all those extra forces fighting you.

While FLO tells you that your club is spined it cannot tell you where the spine is.

Only a professional club fitter/builder can tell you where the spine is on your golf shaft. You can buy pre-spined shafts at your local big box store and yes you will get a fancy computer printout and a label on the shaft that says - install the shaft with the label at 12 o'clock. Folks that is neutral position, the whole idea of spineing your club shaft is to enhance the performance of your club.

Oh, did I mention that they charge $9.95 extra for this information. Any good club fitter/builder will spine your clubs automatically while building your custom fit set and you will have flatline oscillation - because that is what you are paying for.

Up on Flatline Oscillation - What else is involved in a Custom Fitting?

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