Larry Bobka calls himself a “golf guy,” but that moniker scarcely describes his club making and fitting career, nor his contributions to the game. Currently working at 2nd Swing in Minnetonka, the road Bobka—a self-proclaimed club jockey—took is circuitous, star-studded and remarkable.
The former college golfer from Chicago has been tinkering with golf clubs since he was 15 years old and rebuilding old persimmon drivers in his father’s garage. He worked as a golf teaching pro, a clubmaker for Wilson and Titleist, helped start UST graphite shafts, spent time as a golf course owner and built custom putters for ARGolf. He and his wife then moved to Minnesota, where he is now a clubfitter, mentor to 2nd Swing’s younger fitters and an advisor to its owner. Plus, he still has time to work with Lucas Glover and Tim Herron on their putting.
If there is such a thing as a golf club guru, Bobka is it—and in our midst, ready to find the right club to help improve your game. We asked him a few other questions about his storied career and what it’s like creating clubs for Tiger Woods.
Q: How different is club fitting now than when you started out?
A: Back in the ’80s and ’90s, if you worked on tour you were considered a “club jockey.” Now, you’re a technical tour representative—things change so much. The first time I stepped onto a tour event, there were barely any tour vans there. Now you go to the 3M Open and there are 20 trucks and all this high-tech stuff.
Back in the day of persimmon woods, guys would be out there [banging them on concrete] to change the loft and lie. I remember standing on the range, and Andy Bean was hitting his driver a little too high. He put it over his knee right above the whipping and bent the shaft a little bit to make the loft a little stronger. Now they adjust the driver lofts by giving a wrench a couple turns.
Q: How did you get into club making?
A: I was a pretty decent junior golfer in Illinois and had a minor temper. My dad said, “You’ve either got to stop throwing clubs, or you better learn how to fix them.” So I chose to learn how to fix them.
From the barrels in golf shops filled with old persimmon clubs, I would buy the ones in the worst shape and practice on them. I would spend two or three dollars on a club and try to bring it back to life. I would take the sole plates off, take the inserts out, re-shaft them and refinish them. I learned by doing.
Q: You started out as golf teacher—where did that lead?
A: Some of my students were getting better, but they were tending to plateau. You would work on fundamentals and on their ball striking, and they would make better contact, but there still was something missing. Through my own playing, I would find a club here or there and figured out what worked, so I decided to build my students a bag of clubs and see if that would help them play better. I found that loft of the driver, flex of the shaft and club length really mattered. They were playing better; this “club fitting” was enhancing my lessons.
Q: Which other “golf hats” have you worn?
A: My wife and I bought a small nine-hole golf course in Wisconsin. I have been a golf course owner, too, which, if you have on your bucket list—do yourself a favor and scratch it off. But if you want to work 80 hours a week and not make any money, go right ahead.
Q: As the Senior VP of golf club promotion at Titleist, you built clubs for David Duval, Davis Love III and Tiger Woods—how was that experience?
A: Tiger was great to work with. The thing about working with pros is that it’s really not as much teaching as it is leading them in the right direction. They’re talented players. You’re not rebuilding a golf swing. You’re augmenting what they do.
Tiger was a kid with tremendous talent. So, talking about his set of clubs I said, “what would be better? What’s in your set of irons that you don’t have? What shot bothers you?” I tried to take the things that he felt were a little bit of weaknesses in his clubs and build him a set around that. He needed irons with a higher center of gravity and a better sole on them. And we did if for him.
Q: What is your most memorable creation?
A: Back in the ’80s (when metal woods were coming out) Joe Phillips, Bob Mandrella and I designed the Wilson Whale as the first oversized wood driver. At the time, Wilson had signed Payne Stewart, so we showed him these prototype Whale drivers and he starts laughing at it, going, “you’re not serious for me to play this, are you?”
I told Payne, “let’s build you a few and see how you do.” And he wins the 1989 PGA with it. So, taking something from scratch that was never made before and turning it into a viable product that won a major—that was the most challenging and fun project I’ve worked on.
Q: What differences are there between fitting amateurs and pros?
A: Tour players are very willing to listen to their club helpers, to their tour reps, to their golf instructors. Sometimes the amateurs don’t listen as well—you know, “I don’t want that; I want something else.” Some amateurs think they’re being sold a more expensive product. But the 2nd Swing model is great because we consider your budget. You can go in there and get fit for a golf club, but don’t have to walk out with a $500 driver. You can leave with a $100 driver that is better than the driver you walked in with.
Q: Do you fit the swing or fix the swing?
A: It depends. There are a few major things in a golf swing that people need to do to hit good golf shots. A lot of it has to do with impact. I don’t care if you take the club outside, inside or on plane, but if you can return it squarely, you’re going to hit some pretty good shots. If you can’t, we need to do some swing evaluation first before you can do the fit.
Q: Do you still like to golf with your old clubs?
A: I turned 60 in May, so on my birthday I played with a 1960 Wilson Dyno-Power sand wedge and a 1960 MacGregor persimmon driver because I wanted to play with two clubs that were born in the same year I was.
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