GOLFTEC CEO Joe Assell joined Shane Bacon, Brian Crowell and Michael Breed on the range at the PGA Championship this year to discuss the integration and impact of GOLFTEC’s advanced technology, OptiMotion, on professional golf instruction and club fitting. Following is the video of the interview, as well as the highlights from their conversation.
Shane Bacon: What is it like seeing OptiMotion as a part of a major championship?
Joe Assell: It’s really incredible. We’ve been working on it for years and incubated it in our GOLFTEC centers, and then to see it hit a live broadcast is really fantastic — really rewarding for the hard work of our team.
Brian Crowell: I have to charge in here and thank you, on behalf of the PGA of America — all the club professionals across the country. Your great business is very successful, but you involved PGA professionals from the very start, and we all thank you for that.
JA: Thank you. It’s super important to us, and we’re one of the largest employers of PGA professionals in the world, employing over 1,700 PGA professionals, and they’re at the heart of what we do every day, which is helping people play better golf.
SB: Let’s talk a little bit about the technology that goes into OptiMotion. How do you dive into that level of depth of a golf swing?
JA: For 29 years, we’ve believed in measuring the swing, and we used to do it with straps and cords, and now we’ve got a way to do it with cameras, and actually more accurately and with a wider breadth that we can measure. That has enabled us to put some data around and better explain really unique positions in the golf swing.
SB: I think how you weave the PGA professional and instruction into this is so critical because the average student can get overwhelmed with all the data, and to have a PGA pro there to make it simple and make it apply to each player is the most important thing.
JA: We have very extensive training for our coaches. It’s actually called GOLFTEC University, where our PGA pros go to learn all of this, and more importantly, learn how to simply explain it, so the golfer can understand, through the complex of the data, what really matters only for them. We’re very fortunate to have our lead PGA professional, Nick Clearwater, on the grounds here with you guys, helping work through what the analysis is and how we talk about it.
BC: GOLFTEC is one of the leaders when it comes to fitting clubs too. What is your perspective on the importance of that?
JA: It’s a crucial part of playing your best golf. Your swing is half of it, but your clubs can’t hold you back and you need to have the right clubs that will help you and only you play your best. And it’s not just the fit, but your set makeup — so, your gapping and everything, based on your ability and where and how you play.