Top-of-the-line launch monitors provide an incredible wealth of information for coaches and fitters to get students dialed in. But where many studios fall short is what happens next: A too-narrow selection of demo clubs to try means many players have great data about their swing, but nothing to actually hit and evaluate.
PGA of America Golf Professional Joe Charles has spent seven seasons at Boyne Golf Academy trying to fix that. As the Director of Instruction at the facility, located at the Highlands, Boyne’s resort in Harbor Springs, Michigan, he runs a fitting and instruction program built on a principle he describes without any fanfare: “If we can get students closer to their goals quicker through improving their equipment, I call that low-hanging fruit.”
The operation at Boyne is instruction-led, with Charles overseeing four full-time coaches. Clubfitting is woven into the intake process from the first conversation. Every new student interview includes multiple questions about current equipment. Budget matters. So do physical limitations, frequency of play, and goals. “We never try to pressure anybody into investing in their golf game to the point where they don’t feel comfortable,” he says.
This season, Charles added something new at the academy: a full lineup of complete bag sets in a wide variety of length, flex, head and loft profiles stocked inside the fitting studio.
“You get students who schedule a fitting and there’s this pressure to buy a custom set of golf clubs,” he says. “Now we’re giving them the opportunity – if their budget doesn’t suit that, or they don’t even need it – to demo complete sets that we can fit them into.” The goal is to make fitting feel like service, not sales.
Charles is especially sensitive to diverse player populations like women, seniors and juniors. Boyne’s three-day ladies’ programs draw women from across the Midwest and beyond, and they are a proving ground for this philosophy. At the bunker station, he makes sure to have wedges with a range of bounce options and lightweight graphite shafts instead of heavier stiffer standard ones.
The most satisfying outcomes tend to happen organically during a regular lesson. Charles describes a student who was perpetually stymied by a 100-yard carry over water on a par 3. Her technique improved, but not enough to solve the problem on its own. Then Charles handed her an ultra-high-lofted fairway wood.
“It usually only takes one or two good shots for their eyes to brighten up,” he says. “And it’s a pretty easy conversation from that point.” High-lofted fairways became one of his best-selling categories last season, mostly through moments exactly like that one.
Data closes the loop. Boyne runs Trackman on most lessons, and Charles also operates a Trackman Range outdoor area where students can practice with real numbers. SportsBox AI adds three-dimensional body-movement analysis. They help Charles and his staff pinpoint gaps that players might not think to ask about.
Recently, a 16-handicap student completed a Trackman Combine for the first time. “We pulled up the report and it showed exactly where he was losing shots,” Charles says. “Great with all his full-swing shots, terrible at 60, 70 and 80 yards. So, we looked at his wedges. Maybe we need to change the bounce. Maybe there are gapping issues. And then we’re going to work on technique for those shots, as well.” The equipment conversation and the instruction conversation had become the same conversation.
Boyne Golf Academy stocks virtually every brand appropriate for its clientele. XXIO and Cleveland are go-tos for super-light clubs and lower-speed swings. Miura irons are on the coming-soon list for high-end ball strikers. The curation happens every off-season, guided by the relationships coaches build year-round.
“If you build personal relationships with your clientele,” Charles says, “identifying what they need becomes easy.”
The business case takes care of itself. Players who get the right equipment improve faster, enjoy the game more, and keep coming back – and they tell people. Word of mouth draws students from across Northern Michigan and beyond. On a recent day, a player came from Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, across the Upper Peninsula and down to Boyne for a lesson. “It’s a snowball effect,” Charles says. “Selling more equipment and taking more lessons is just a by-product of people enjoying golf more. That’s really what it’s all about.”
