Welcome to Fairway Custom Golf Repair, the one-man club bench of Ed Lipinski, located in the workshop behind my house on Chestnut Street in Cedar Grove. I have been building and repairing golf clubs since 1987, first for myself, then for my foursome, and then for what turned out to be most of the county. I work days at the post office, so the shop is open evenings and Saturdays. Drop your clubs off on the way home from work; pick them up on the way to your weekend tee time. Two-day turnaround on regrips and most repairs, guaranteed, or the labor is free.

This is not a golf store. I don't sell balls, shirts or gadgets. I fix clubs, I fit clubs, and I build clubs, one at a time, on a real bench, with a real loft-and-lie machine, a frequency analyzer and a swingweight scale. If you want to see how it's done, come by on a Saturday; I'll put the coffee on.

Prices are for the work described and do not include parts unless stated. Cash or check. Prices good through December 31, 1999. I try not to raise them but grip prices went up on me this year.

I work at the post office during the day, so during the week the shop opens at six. If you can't make those hours, there is a drop box by the workshop door: a locked bin big enough for a full bag. Leave your clubs with a note (name, what you want done, e-mail address) and I'll e-mail you an estimate that evening. Nothing gets done until you say go.

Turnaround: regrips, loft and lie, and steel reshafts: two days. Drop off Thursday evening, pick up Saturday morning. Graphite reshafts, three days (the epoxy needs to cure properly and I will not rush it). Custom sets, usually two weeks depending on parts. During the spring rush (March and April) I ask for an extra day, and I'll tell you up front.

Off-the-rack golf clubs are built for an "average" golfer who is about 5'10", has an average swing speed, average-size hands and a neutral swing. Most of the people who walk into my shop are not that golfer, and their clubs are quietly working against them. Here is what a fitting looks at, and why:

• Lie angle. This is the angle between the shaft and the sole of the club. If the toe of your iron is up in the air at impact (too upright for you), the face points left of your target and you'll pull it. If the heel is up (too flat), you'll push it right. Most golfers who "always miss left" with their irons have never had their lie angles checked. We check it with a lie board and a strip of tape on the sole: the scuff mark tells the story in three swings. Then I bend the club to fit. That's the $3 fix that people tell me changed their game, and it's not the club, it's just that it finally points where they're aiming.
• Length. Taller or shorter than average, or long or short arms for your height, and the standard length puts you in a bad posture before you've even swung. We measure your wrist-to-floor, not just your height.
• Shaft flex. A shaft that's too stiff for your swing speed feels harsh and tends to go low and right; too soft and you lose control and tend to go high and left. I measure your swing speed and check shaft frequencies on the analyzer instead of trusting the letter printed on the shaft, which varies a lot from one maker to another.
• Grip size. Big hands on a standard grip, or the reverse, changes how your hands release through the ball. The right size is measured, not guessed. Arthritis in your hands? A bigger, softer grip may let you play without pain. I've done this for a lot of folks over sixty and it's some of the most satisfying work I do.
• Swingweight. How heavy the head feels in the swing. A set where every iron feels different is hard to play consistently. I match them.
• Loft gaps. Irons are supposed to be spaced about 4 degrees apart. When they're not (and after a few years of use, they often aren't; and some sets come from the factory wrong), you have two clubs that go the same distance and a 25-yard hole in your bag.

A fitting takes about an hour, costs $35, and you leave with a spec sheet that any club builder can work from. If you decide to have me build or reshaft a set, the $35 comes off the bill. Even if you never spend another dime, you'll know what your clubs should be, and that's worth knowing.

The honest answer is once a year if you play regularly, or every 40 rounds or so. Grips are rubber; sunlight, sweat, hand oils and the trunk of your car in August all dry them out. A hard, slick grip makes you hold the club tighter, and a tight grip is the enemy of a good swing. Signs it's time: the grip looks shiny, feels hard, has worn smooth spots where your thumbs go, or you catch yourself re-gripping the club during your swing.

For most people this is $110 to $150 for the whole bag, done in two days, and it's the cheapest thing you can do to your clubs that you'll actually feel on the first tee.

Quotes used with permission, first names only, because that's what folks asked for.

The best way to reach me is e-mail: [email protected]. I check it every evening when I get home from the route and again after I close the shop. You can also leave a message on the shop line, (555) 555-0147, and I'll call you back that evening. The workshop is behind the house on Chestnut Street in Cedar Grove, two blocks off Main; come around the side to the door with the golf-ball knocker. You can't miss it. My wife says you can't miss it and she wishes you could.

Bring your clubs by. Let me look at them. The look is free.