Titleist technician targets perfect fit

As a kid he loved dismantling mechanical objects now PGA pro Mark O’Mahony takes great delight in using his custom fitting skills to equip golfers with the perfect clubs for their games.

The Irish pro is a custom fit technician at the Titleist National Fitting Centre at Carton House in County Kildare, which is also the venue for the Titleist & FootJoy Professional Championship Irish qualifier next Tuesday (May 31).

It's the last of the nine regional qualifiers and he will be chasing one of eight qualifying spots for the £78,000 grand final being staged at The Oxfordshire from July 26-29.

The chance to compete against his fellow pros is one that the 32 year old will relish but he’s equally passionate about his day to day job at Carton House which is also the base for the GUI Academy.

“I class myself as more of a mechanical sort of guy, through my childhood I always had a fascination for how things worked and always dismantled mechanical objects, even if I didn’t put them back together again, so I’ve always had the interest,” he said.

“I worked in a pro shop and once I gained enough experience the opportunity came up with Titleist and I haven’t looked back. They are fantastic to work for.

“The Titleist facility is for all the account holders from around the country and we fit club members with the latest equipment with the very best service.

“When a golfer comes in we have a chat while they are warming up and I find out what they want to achieve.

“We’ve got Trackman and a lot of data measurements to analyse swings but the two key things we want to achieve are ball flight and efficiency of the strike.

“With my PGA qualification I also have extra insight to offer about the swing and we also look at different shaft profiles.

“The great thing about custom fitting is that it doesn’t matter what a player’s ability is. Everybody is unique so to have clubs fitted to their style of play is a big thing.”

It will be O’Mahony’s debut in the event while he hopes familiarity with the Montgomerie Course, where he has a career best five-under-par 67 to his name, can offer an advantage.

“I missed last year because one of my best buddies was getting married so I’m very excited, particularly with Titleist and FootJoy on board,” he added.

“The Montgomerie is an inland style links course with quite a lot of bunkers. More than anything, to create a score you’ve got to be patient and strategic.

“I like to plot my away around and I feel the first five or six holes are very important, they don’t offer a lot but if you get through them the back nine is more rewarding.”

Other pros joining O’Mahony at Carton House include reigning PGA in Ireland Order of Merit No.1 Eamonn Brady (Clontarf), former Irish PGA champion David Higgins (Waterville Links), PGA Cup player Robert Giles (Greenore) and Donal Gleeson (Old Conna).