Meet Phil Dimmock: Titleist
38-year-old Phil Dimmock is a Tour fitter with Titleist and the man tasked with introducing the latest Titleist 913 equipment to the stars of the European Tour.
Talking exclusively to Golfmagic, he tells us about his role and how, from humble beginnings, he is now helping some of the world’s best golfers get to grips with changing technology.
So how did you get this plum job?
I’m a golf professional by trade. I qualifed as a PGA pro aged 21 and have worked in the industry for 15 years, starting as an assistant at Ramsey in Cambridgeshire, then at Hemingford Golf Centre near Huntingdon. I played on the EuroPro Tour but decided I wasn’t good enough so went down the teaching route.
After a while I wanted a change and as I’d always been well into my equipment, was pretty clued up and lived within hitting distance of the Titleist factory in St Ives, to join the company was a perfect opprtunity. I started doing some regional fitting and within six month was lucky enough to be offered a job on Tour.
Do you travel around on the Tour truck?
No, Ian Martin drives the Tour truck to upto 24 Tour events in mainland Europe. I go to about 35 events a year, some as far afield as the Middle East and Australia. I fly in on the Sunday night or Monday morning before a tournament and set up ready for the players.
What do you remember of your first event?
It was the Volvo Masters at Valderrama at the end of 2009. It was a bit surreal having always been on the other side of the ropes, then suddenly I’m on the range with some of the best players in the world and they’re asking me for information and advice.
It took a few weeks to get used to but when you break it down they’re just ordinary people like the rest of us - just very good at what they do. It’s easy to put them up on that pedestal but they’re just ordinary guys.
At that time Rory was just making his way and Robert Karlsson and Ross Fisher were among the guys I was dealing with. They were interesting times.
Not all players are equipment savvy, they just know what they like. What’s your experience?
Some players are more into their equipment than others. Some guys don’t really care. It’s my job to know what they’ve maybe lost in length and lie by regularly checking the numbers on the launch monitor we set up on the range. Other guys are really keen to learn and to have all the information to enable them to get the most from their equipment.
Do you get positive feedback from players on Tour?
Sometimes you get praise but we don’t do the job for that. We just want to make sure they’ve got the equipment they need. It’s always nice when you do some work with a player and he plays particularly well that week. Also there may be a guy who has really struggled and you’ve done some work with him and turned it round with some figures and changed lofts and lies. That’s rewarding in itself.
Article continues. Click here for more Tour secrets from Dimmock.
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