Miles of Golf, my local pro shop was offering a free club evaluation this week, so I went in to have them take a look at how well my driver fits my game.

The test confirmed what I already knew: that I am a short driver, who really should be using a club with a regular shaft. My current driver is a TaylorMade 425 with a stiff Fujikura shaft. I think I need to get into a Burner, or a Cleveland XLS with a regular shaft.

Miles tests equipment with a system called the Trackman, which incorporates Doppler radar to measure club speed, attack angle, club path, vertical swing plane, dynamic loft, face angle, ball speed, verticle and horizonal angle, spin rate, spin axis, maximum height, carry, flight time and landing angle. It’s the same technology used in recent golf broadcasts such as the Masters and the Players. As with those broadcasts, the system not only collects numbers, but also shows a graphical representation of your ball’s flight.

My swing and driver were tested by Shawn Zawodni, who was terrific at explaining the system and walking me through the process. First, he entered my current club’s model and specifications into the computer, and then had me hit a series of balls. After each swing, the machine showed the stats for my swing and the ball flight.

After six swings—all of which I hit pretty consistently—the machine averaged the results. Shawn then used the computer to “normalize” the results, compensating for the weather: temperature, altitude, pressure, humidity and ground type. I don’t think, however, that it compensated for the fact that I was hitting with range balls. I’m absolutely convinced that I’m ten yards shorter with range balls.

The results of the test showed that I hit the ball fairly short, with a high spin rate. My clubhead speed is right around 90 mph. I may be slightly faster in actual practice—those enclosed bays with the roofs make me nervous and I consciously slow down my swing. My launch angle was 14 degrees—the club is 9.5.

My accuracy is dead on, however. A print of the shot dispersal shows that all of them fell to within a couple of yards to the left of center. That much was good.

Shawn also put a strip of impact tape on the clubface. That also showed that I was very consistent. I hit one ball right after another on the same spot. Unfortunately, it was on the hosel side of the face. That, Shawn said, is costing me yards, and giving my ball flight its characteristic looping fade. Getting the impact further out on the face likely would add more than a couple of yards.

I also was able to try out a couple of other clubs while I was there. I had some moderate success with the Callaway FT-i, and with a Cobra, but once again, the Cleveland XLS was spot-on. I’m going to have to give the Cleveland some more serious thought.

In all, the club check took about 20 minutes. I came away with several print-outs of the data and the confirmation of my suspicions.

Miles of Golf also has an extended fitting program which costs $150. For that, they’ll run you through a battery of tests and find the club set that fits you best. Twenty five percent of the fee can be applied to a new club set that you buy. I think if you’re in the market for a new set of irons or driver, getting fit is a good buy.

Golf gearheads should set their Tivos for CBS at 2 pm this Saturday, when the network will broadcast an hour long special on technolgy and golf. The show will feature the Shotlink system, broadcast advancements and the Trackman system.

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GigaGolf’s second generation square driver has been designed with a high moment of inertia (resistance to twisting) for accuracy, and a cup face design for distance. The draw model features an internal weighting system that will promote a left to right ball flight.

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When I first saw the announcement, I thought it was a joke. But it’s true: Annika Sorenstam is retiring from tournament golf at the end of this year. The New York Times reports:

At a news conference at the Upper Montclair Country Club, where she will play Thursday through Sunday in the L.P.G.A.’s Sybase Classic, she calmly revealed her plans. There were no tears, no deep breaths and, she said, no regrets.

“I have other priorities in my life,” she said, and she listed them: a golf academy, a foundation, golf-course design projects (she is working on her fifth course, with two more planned), corporate relationships, clothing lines and hosting golf tournaments. She said there were more, including starting a family.

“I enjoy playing golf at the top level,” she said. “I made this decision far back. I know what it’s like to be at the top.”

As of this writing, Sorenstam has won 72 tournaments, including ten majors. She ranks third on the career list. Only Kathy Whitworth, with 88 victories and Mickey Wright with 82 are ahead of her.

Sorenstam has clocked 8 L.P.G.A. Player of the Year awards, 8 money-winning titles and 6 Vare Trophies for lowest scoring average.

For years, she was the Tiger Woods of the LPGA. She’ll be missed.

PS Mrs. GolfBlogger, the labor and delivery nurse says she wouldn’t be surprised if Annika’s pregnant. I pointed out that Laura Diaz and others had played through similar conditions, but she’s sticking to her prediction ...

A very interesting story from the AFP:

US President George W. Bush said in an interview out Tuesday that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of US soldiers killed in the conflict in Iraq, now in its sixth year.

“I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,” he said in an interview for Internet hub Yahoo! and Politico magazine.

“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf,” he said. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them.”

The US president traced his decision to the August 19, 2003 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, which killed the world body’s top official in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

“I remember when de Mello, who was at the UN, got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man’s life. And I was playing golf—I think I was in central Texas—and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it’s just not worth it anymore to do,” said Bush.

Bush’s last round of golf as president dates back to October 13, 2003, according to meticulous records kept by CBS news.

On the day of the bombing two months earlier, he had cut short his golf game at the 12th hole and returned to his ranch in tiny Crawford, Texas.