Burton Christie – the new LPGA club fitter
January 5, 2024
The Ladies Professional Golf Association has a new club fitter.
Burton Christie of San Antonio, TX replaced Paul Boehmer, the well-respected, well-loved gentleman who ran the LPGA trailer for over 20 years and retired in late 2022.
Burton Christie
I talked with Christie during a pro-am day at the 2023 ShopRite LPGA Classic presented by Acer.
“I’ve been in the golf industry about 25 years now. I started in operations on the PGA Tour and worked a little bit after that in the Player Relations Department for the Tour. From there I moved on to the equipment side of the industry and worked with Golf Pride Grips. I was their Tour rep for a while and then ended up running their worldwide tour promotions program. That position evolved into here, where I sit now,” he said.
Christie formally began his new job by “just working alongside Paul to understand things about this van that no one really knows. It’s not normal the way this van is set up, the way it’s transported,” he said. “I had to understand what’s going on there, get that under my belt.”
He is pleased with the positive reception from the LPGA players and caddies. “When I worked with Golf Pride, I had a presence out here for support. I had relationships with a lot of the LPGA players and worked alongside and knew a lot of our partners the reps. It sort of felt like home already. They were very kind.”
Unlike the branded trailers usually seen at PGA Tour events, the LPGA van must be brand neutral, handling most of what any golfer would need in the van’s inventory.
Much of Christie’s work is in two basic categories. “Out of this van, we probably do mostly grips and loft and lie checks and manipulation.”
“When you extend beyond that into new club building or fitting, you’re going to get a different answer,” he said, referring to how the season usually begins. “Callaway, Ping, PXG, they are sometimes specifically focused in certain areas with their clubs. They manufacture and carry and promote their club heads out here, then work with shafts. A lot of new builds and testing of shafts and their heads, their products, is especially in the beginning of the year. As you go along and some of the players are more comfortable it’s more maintenance and tweaking from there [in the van],” Christie said.
I asked why he does so many loft and lie checks.
“The clubs do move a lot, not just for practice and play. The one factor that comes into play is travel. When they’re put in the belly of an airplane and 600 pounds of luggage is sitting on top of those, they’re going to be affected. We always suggest checking loft and lies if they’ve been traveling pretty heavily,” he said.
As for the shaft side of the equipment, Christie said, “Not every company is represented here. However, companies will send product at our request, based on the player’s request. The reps also come.”
Christie said shaft-maker Mitsubishi keeps a regular presence. “They have a full-time rep. Other companies don’t have dedicated reps full time out here, but they do have a dedicated service, at least they can get us what we need when we need it,” Christie said.
The van’s normal routine at tournaments is unchanged. “We’re here Monday bright and early through Thursday afternoon, providing our service,” he said.
Christie said it’s not always routine, however. “I think some of the most interesting things about this are the stories. It’s always the crazy questions, or the cracks on the heads, or the glue came out of this, that we see a lot of. We see a lot of not-normal stuff. The great thing about the staff in here, they’re very experienced and knowledgeable to know how to address and handle those types of situations that are not normal.”
He said LPGA players do not follow a common replacement schedule for their wedges. “They’re like grips. It’s just whatever their perception is when they’re comfortable with making a change.”
Christie’s advice for amateurs was straightforward, and simpler to follow than I expected.
“Change your grips. [As for] lie and loft checks for amateurs, unless you’re a better amateur, not so much, because they’re all over the map when it comes to face angle. They’re not going to get that face square. I can’t manipulate lie and loft unless you give me direction. Are we seeing weak right, is the player hitting a lot of left, draws, hooks, it could the club’s too upright, is there too much of a gap between 7 and 8, usually one of those lofts are going to be a little bit weaker [than it should]. So amateur-wise it wouldn’t really matter unless you’re a really good amateur, so I would say change your grips at least once a year,” he said.
“It’s feel. You can definitely get a different performance. Grips can get slick. Even amateurs will play better with fresh grips,” Christie said.
Cape Region pro shops are not too busy in the off-season, so take advantage of the opportunity and schedule a re-gripping. You’ll be glad you did.