Frequency matching is really not understood by the average golfer. I would like to help you understand purely because the more knowledge you have in this game, the better off you are.

You'll notice the number "263" on the Frequency Meter above, this just means that the club you are measuring has 263 "cycles" or CPM (cycles per minute). Frequency measurements are taken by clamping a bare shafted club at a very specific point and "Twanging" the club to read the frequency (see diagram). This designates the "flex", so you can forget "R" "S" and "X" from now on... without having the actual "number of cycles" only means the flex of a given club is a mystery.

And this is extremely important when you want to add a new club to your set that you have your clubs analyzed properly. Without this information, how can you expect to match or build a club to fit your set? When matched properly, a new club requires no "break in" time, it should feel like it's always been in the bag.

The reason the accuracy of "frequency" or "flex" is so important is that there is a very precise "frequency number" each club must be to "feel" the same as the other ones in the set. This is commonly referred to as the "Slope" of flex. Each club must gain or lose (depending which way your going in the set) the same amount of "cycles". The slope depends on what kind of swing your dealing with, but generally falls between 0 and 5 cpm per 1/2 inch. So you can imagine (if we go back to the "263" above and assume a 3cpm slope) the next club needs to be "266". This is the number that will feel "the best" for that club and if it is "off" (even by one or two cpm!) you will feel it! And even if you don't feel it, the club will react differently than the others in the "set" (if it is too soft it will lag behind, if it is too stiff it will release early), and either of these scenarios are not going to help you hit the ball where you want.

The game of golf is hard enough... you don't need to fight your equipment at the same time!