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What Customers Say
Teresa Williamson: "...These 'Magic Sticks' are amazing..." [more]
Marshall Ward: "...I have a very smart looking set that I'd
stand up against anyone else's for quality. [more]
Ron Blanchard: "...excellent craftsmanship..." [more]
Brad Greer: "...my golf clubmaker of choice..." [more]
Gregg Little "I got bored hitting shot after shot straight as a string" [more]
Don Ward "The club is absolutely amazing..." [more]
Jason Hopkins "It's the first driver in years that I have just absolute faith in." [more]
Paul Purington: "I love the new clubs!" [more]
Jay Lensgraf: "I hit my drives farther than I ever have..." [more]
Ever wonder what you could do if you had sticks you could believe in?
I did, and this made me go for a fitting of my clubs.
Lo and behold, my clubs didn't fit. They were way too short (about
2 1/2" per club) and the lie angle was too flat.
I spent 2 weeks picking out what items I wanted in my clubs, and
looking if an original equipment manufacturer could fulfill what I was
looking for. None of them could do what I wanted, for the price I was
expecting. I didn't want to pay $2000 for Macgregor blades in shafts that I
didn't want.
I contacted Dr. Mike to inquire about getting my new set of clubs made.
I knew the quality of his work from others. I knew his customer service was
what I expected.
We discussed what I wanted (this wasn't so much discussion as me saying
what I wanted for my clubs) and he quoted a price I thought was quite
reasonable. I didn't say cheap; I didn't say quick. I said reasonable.
His prices were in line with the component company we ordered from. But they
wouldn't take the extra care I expected for my money.
I knew MD would make certain the heads were the loft I wanted, as well as
the lie angles what I specified. I also knew that the shafts I picked out
would be the proper flex, and spine aligned for the shaft
to work to my greatest advantage. Finally, he would install the grips I
wanted, which would fit my smallish hands perfectly.
When he was finished, they were exactly like I expected. I expected no less
from such a professional clubmaker.
How many OEM companies would take the care, and spend the extra few minutes
to make certain the clubs were to specification? Not unless you
are a professional. Dr. Mike made me feel like a professional.
After I received my clubs, I took them out for a tour of the courses I play.
These "Magic Sticks" are amazing!
When you compare my ill_fitting set to my fitted set, the change was
incredible. 10 yards for my 7 iron; 20 for my 4 iron; 25 for my 3 iron.
Hitting the little white ball with the club I choose and hitting it too far
was so much fun. This made the required practice learning about them
fun again.
Will I ever purchase OEM products again? Only in an aftermarket environment.
Will I send them to Dr. Mike for tweaking to fit me?
Absolutely!
Teresa (Mother T) Williamson
Memphis, Tennessee
The club is absolutely amazing. It setups up perfectly. The sound this
puppy makes it wonderful as well. The ball just seems to rocket off the
face of this club. I am now armed and dangerous for the upcoming season!
Don Ward (RSG Regular)
Thanks again for your excellent craftsmanship on my new set of satin KZG Forged Evolution irons! With the break in the weather I recently had the opportunity to play them for the first time and was thrilled by the results. The combination of precise MOI-matching and frequency-matching (to my personal specs) makes all the clubs feel and play great.
I'm currently using one of your KZG Milled putters and a KZG SP700 driver along with the new Evolutions. KZG manufactures an outstanding product, one made even better by your precision clubmaking and attention to detail.
--
Ron (9-handicap, Indiana)
I love the new clubs! They feel great and swing
extremely nice. There were a number of shots that I expected to fade
but the ball flew very true. I have much more confidence in my swing
because my irons don't feel so light and don't feel that I need to
overswing to get the ball the needed distance.
You gave extremely detailed answers to all of my questions and demonstrated to me that you not only knew how to build
quality clubs but also had a passion for doing it right.
Paul Purington
Shakopee, MN
I've never really met Mike Dalecki, but he's my golf clubmaker of choice.
And I tell all my friends about what Mike can do as a club builder.
I'm a single digit handicap golfer. I love the game and want my clubs
to perform for my swing. I've always believed I needed to be fit
properly but Mike takes this issue to a higher level, and at a very
reasonable price.
I first came in contact with Mike in a golf discussion group
over the Internet. He was describing the new technique of
`spine alignment' of graphite golf shafts. I was skeptical.
But Mike offered me a challenge. He would build 3 identical drivers
and ship them to me to hit. It was a blind test-I had no way of
knowing which club was built with his new technique. One was to be
properly `spine aligned', and the other two were to be not aligned properly.
The difference in playability of these three clubs was dramatic!
The two improperly aligned clubs did not perform nearly as well as
the correct club.
I've come to understand that store purchased clubs
from even the big name companies do not go through the laborious
process of `spine alignment'. Buyers beware-that club you just can't seem
to hit right might simply be a poorly aligned shaft.
I'm not a technician myself, but spine alignment ensures
that you will not fight the shaft's characteristics when you play
with it. Mike ensures that the bending of the shaft will be
on the golfer's swing plane, instead of wanting to bend off
the swing plane. The feel of this performance is fantastic.
I am 20 yards longer now with Mike's driver
(a KZG PFT/300 with
UST Proforce 65 shaft) than I was with a
very famous Major Brand club.
B Greer (glfnaz on r.s.g.)
Scottsdale AZ
When I went out researching clubs on the Internet I started reading many
sites such as www.golfclubreview.com , www.hameggs.org and many others. I
also started researching club design and shaft design looking for the right
combo that would give a great feel and be forgiving on my spine. Since I
have hit a Hogan Forged Cavity back since the early 80's I was looking for
something similar.
That led me to the Golfsmith
Tour Cavity and
Forged Blades. Since my dad
was an amateur club builder I asked him to make me 3 different 6 irons. The
Golfsmith Forged Blade, Golfsmith's Forged Cavity and the Golfsmith cast
component Tour Cavity Pro. All three we fitted with a True Temper S300
shaft. I practiced with these for a couple of weeks then bought a set of
the Tour Cavity Pro Cast components and had my dad fit them with a seniscore
S300 shaft. These were a nice set of irons but in comparison to the Forged
heads they weren't as forgiving and after hitting range balls I would always
have problems with my back.
So I decided to look at UST graphite shafts and Golfsmith's Forged
Blades/Forged Cavities combination. The same combination that Scott
Verplank plays on tour. It was about this time I started reading
rec.sport.golf and the various discussions of building clubs and shaft
characteristics. Although many of the discussion were very technical and
beyond my ability to understand I started to realize the importance of shaft
designs and M.O.I.(moment of inertia) club making. From what I gathered is
shafts have spines that when aligned right will give the proper flex at
impact while striking the ball. This becomes more important with graphite
shafts.
As I read many of these technical discussions I found a set with the exact
shafts I wanted on ebay. I bought them for a cheaper price than if I had
pieced them all together. When I got them and took them to the range I
noticed they were all over the place. There was no consistency in any of
the clubs. The weights were off and I just couldn't hit them. I went back
to the cast Tour Cavity's my dad had made and had no problems. So I knew
something was up.
So after reading some more I decided to contact Mike Dalecki, a big
contributor on rec.sport.golf and very knowledgeable club builder. I asked
him if he would check these clubs with his testing equipment and I needed 3
other clubs built. I asked him if he could M.O.I.-match the clubs and finish
the set.
Not only was Mike helpful in every part of this process, immediately
returning emails, posting charts to his website and giving me excellent
advice along the way, but he always went out of his way to make sure I was
in the loop on the progress of the clubs.
Just as I expected, as well as Mike, the weights were all over the place and
the graphite shaft spines (some had 2 spines) inconsistent. The person who
built the clubs just aligned the shaft label thinking that this was the
spine. But in fact the spines were all over the place. In fact some of the
shafts were so bad that Mike advised me to replace them. So I shipped up
more shafts and Mike tested each of these extra shafts taking diligent care
in finding the best possible combinations of shafts. He then would post a
chart of the shaft characteristics and why he chose the specific shafts.
Never have I had such wonderful customer service and support. When the
clubs were finished he immediately sent them out priority mail. I must also
add that all of this was done quickly due to me wanting to have the irons
for a tournament in 2 weeks.
When I started swinging these clubs I just started smiling. I have never
felt a softer club/shaft combination. As I worked out the clubs and getting
to the longer irons I was hoping that they would be as smooth and soft.
Indeed they were. Now I wasn't hitting the golf ball extremely well but
even my mishits seemed to keep me out of too much trouble. Over the next
2 months I practiced with these clubs a lot. I hit a lot of balls. I
never once had the soreness in my back or neck that I previously
experienced.
Last Friday, while on the range my swing finally met the
design of the club. I had both working perfectly. I hit 5 irons and 3
irons one right after the other. I have never hit some many clean iron
shots in my life. In fact I almost just walked off the range. I got bored
hitting shot after shot straight as a string.
Now I have never met Mike Dalecki but I found him through our correspondence
to be honest, intelligent and not only excellent club builder and craftsman
but a fine student of golf and the golf swing. I can tell that passion for
the game has led him to this hobby that now is a profession. Mike helped
me build the clubs I wanted, to my specs but also added his professional
opinion along the way to help me make the right decisions. If you are
looking for a club builder who takes pride in all of these things then I
suggest you contact Mike.
Gregg Little (ghoststep on r.s.g.)
Fort Worth, TX
Mike,
I wanted to follow up with an e-mail to you about the recently acquired
KZG PFT/300.
Anyway...I have a handful of range visits and 2 rounds on her so far. I have to
say I am tickled pink. The 4th ball I hit with her bounced off the
250yrd marker at the range =). On course performance has been
stellar - 12 of 14 fairways on day one 13 of 14 on day two (shot a 74 - 78
respectively).
I am finding that I can work the ball either direction at will. And as I had
hoped I can take a cut at the ball as hard as I please (well pretty much).
The trajectory is beautiful...a climbing shot that just seems to go on
forever. I am averaging about 310 on course...and I have put a fair few into the
trees on the range (about 350). It's plenty long.
I am so happy with it Mike...I cant even begin to tell ya.
It's the first driver in years that I have just
absolute faith in.
The ONLY thing I would knock is the sound at impact. This sucker is LOUD!
I am getting a bit of ribbing...that is till these guys see my ball 75
yards further up in the middle of the fairway on their approach shots.
I give it a couple months and at least two of my playing partners are gonna
cave =). I like it so much...and I am so satisfied with your service...I am
half kicking myself that I didn't buy irons from you (only half kicking as I am
really happy with the TM 300's as well - but what the hey!).
Thanks again for this club Mike...its just what the Doctor ordered (pun intended).
Jason Hopkins
Tulsa, OK
Mike,
Things continue to go well with the driver you built for me. Yesterday,
I broke 90 for the first time. On at least three of the holes, I hit
my drives farther than I ever have and was overall closer to the fairway
than before. I know that the driver doesn't swing itself but I believe
it has been an element of my improvement. since it is more "forgiving",
I have been better able to come up with a swing which works better.
Hmm, how can I explain that better. With drivers I have used before, I
really had almost no chance of hitting a decent shot. Good shots were
the result of lucky mistakes and bad shots seemed to come out of
nowhere, so I couldn't evolve my swing. The
AR400 seems to have opened
up the gray zone between good and bad, giving me a chance to better
understand how my swing relates to the resulting ball flight. The ratio
of good hits to bad hits is steadily increasing.
Jay Lensgraf (Jay Lensgraf on r.s.g.)
Oklahoma City, OK
Late last year I decided to look into a new set of irons. After much research
and asking questions on this forum, I decided on the Tour Cavity Pro from
Golfsmith.
Then I needed someone to build them. I searched online and I searched the
local area (North San Francisco Bay Area, Santa Rosa) for a club builder. I
couldn't really come up with a good solution and I didn't want to learn how
to do it myself. Believe me, I have enough projects/hobbies. ;-) I decided to
contact the resident Club Doctor from RSG, Mike Dalecki. Sure, he's in
Wisconsin, but what the hell. Mike quoted me a fair price and I decided to
go for it.
Mike explained the process to me and I boxed up my 5I from my old set and
sent it off to Cheeseland. I also sent Mike an email with my height, weight,
swingspeed, etc. My biggest concern was the fact that my measured swing speed
seemed to indicate I should hit a Stiff flex shaft while the set I had been
playing for years had Regular flex. Upon measuring the stiffness of my 5I,
Mike informed me that they were indeed Stiff regardless of what the sticker
said. That was the first surprise. The next one was finding out that the
5I measured 3 degrees flat (57 degrees) compared to a "standard" 5I lie angle.
This was another surprise since I'm 6 ft tall and all of the online fitting
programs as well as the local golf shop suggested that I should have clubs
that are 2-3 degrees upright from standard. I have been able to hit the old
clubs just fine over the years, but, I did have to hunch down a little more
and let my hands hang a little lower than normal to get the sole of the club
level to the ground. I guess it's true, we can (and do) make adjustments to
get improperly fit clubs to work for us.
Taking all of this into account, Mike made a new 5I and sent it to me. I took
it out to the driving range and just decided to set up in what I felt was a
natural stance and swing away. The first 6 balls were high and straight.
This was TOO easy! Of course, it didn't last. I ended up putting some draw
on several shots as well as hooking a few. Not one to the right. I made three
trips to the range to make sure of my findings. I also hit it off a board with
tape to check the lie. I sent the club back to Mike and he reshafted it a bit
stiffer and adjusted the lie up 2 degrees.
The second 5I was sweet. I took it out and was still hitting them high and
straight for the most part but now I was hitting the occaisional fade along
with the occaisional draw. It felt like the average was down the middle.
I called Mike and told him to build the rest of the set because he wasn't
getting this 5I back. 8-)
The new set arrived and looked as pretty and professionally built as any I
had ever seen in a golf shop.
I have now used the clubs in 6 rounds. The first two were at significantly
tougher courses than I usually play. While I hit some good shots, I also hit
some bad ones. I had to break some of my setup habits I had learned from the
old set. The last 4 rounds were at courses I play regularly. The first round
was unspectacular as well. I was tracking my shots and my problems that day
were really with my driver and woods, the irons weren't too bad but it was
obvious I was still adjusting. With three rounds with not so great results
and 3 trips to the driving range under my belt, I was getting worried that I
wasn't going to adjust to my new toys. 8-( It turns out that my worries were
for naught.
My latest 3 rounds have been back on track. My GIRs are up, my Pars are up.
My Triple Bogs and worse are down. I've had more birdie opps, but haven't
converted them. The reason hasn't been the new irons, though. Unfortunately,
my putting hasn't been as good as it has been. I average 34/35 putts per round
and my last three rounds have been averaging over 38. With more average
putting the last three rounds would have been within a couple of strokes of
career rounds. I'm hitting the irons really well. Having 4 wedges is really
kind of fun. It gives me some choices and shot resolution inside of 125
yards that I never had before. I can see that they are going to help me
fine tune my short game as I get them really dialed in.
The mid and short irons are really easy to hit. I just set up and swing. The
biggest problem is for me to just swing smooth and let the "club do the work".
If I do that, the results are very predictable. Somehow, my brain still wants
to knock the hell out of the ball once in awile. I'm still working on that.
The 3 and 4 irons are much more consistant than in my old set. These clubs
still require a little polish. I haven't touched my 7W since getting the set,
though. I really want to use the 3I.
I am really happy with the clubs. I have a very smart looking set that I'd
stand up against anyone elses for quality. Thanks, Mike. You did good.
By the way, my confidence is building quickly. All of those last three rounds
lowered my HI. I am planning on going back to those first two courses later
in the year to see how I do.
Anyway, I just wanted to post a note to say that I agree with all of the
good reviews I have seen for the GS Tour Cavity Pro. These irons have hardly
any offset and are a progressive cavity back design. The 3/4I have full cavity
backs, the 5/6/7 have less, the 8/9 have just a little and the wedges are
blades. They are meant for low to mid handicappers. I am currently a 20 HI.
There is a pretty comprehensive review on these clubs at www.golfclubreview.com.
In addition, the quality of construction and customer service provided to me
by Mike Dalecki was exceptional. I am very happy with my purchase and would
buy from Mike again.
Marshall Ward
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Document Last Modified: March 29, 2007
Copyright c 2007
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