Everyone who plays golf has heard of club fitting and how important it is. However, most people have not known much about ball fitting. This is just as important as using the proper clubs.

Tour players have been fit correctly for balls the last 15 years. Now, thanks to Bridgestone, everyone can be fit for the proper ball.

You need one that you can flatten or deform off of the driver, fairway metal and long irons. This means less spin and longer carries to maximize distance.

Off of the short irons and wedges the ball is not greatly deformed so the softness and the material of the cover largely determines the amount of spin.

Urethane covered balls usually generate more spin off of the short irons than a Surlyn covered ball.

At Bellevue Golf Course on Wednesday, May 14 we will have free ball fitting for all. This is from 3 – 7 p.m. and the professional ball fitters from Bridgestone will be here with all of there scientific equipment to show you which ball to use to maximize the enjoyment of your game.

Just bring the ball and driver you are using now and they will have you hit about five to 10 shots. Then they will have you hit some with the correct compression and characteristics for your particular club and ball speed.

An astonishing 70 percent of the golfers who have taken the Bridgestone Challenge increase their driving distance by an average of 13 yards.

Not bad for free.

Steve Wozeniak is PGA Director of Instruction Bellevue/Lake Spanaway Golf Courses. He has taught more than 50 tour players and over 100 PGA and LPGA teaching professionals, including Jim Colbert, Rocco Mediate, Emily Klein, Jim Dent, Marco Dawson, Jim Mclean and Leonard Thompson. With his easy-to-understand, rid-yourself-of-the-nonsense approach to the golf swing, he is one of the top instructors in the country. Readers can contact him at swayne@premiergc.com or www.bellevuepgc.com.