The Perfect Darts – By Red Dragon
There are a number of factors that contribute to successful performance in sport. One of the key ingredients is having the right equipment. David Beckham for example has had boots created to aid his trademark free-kicks. Clothing and equipment companies invest substantial amounts of money to research and develop the perfect piece of kit, whether it is a tennis racket, golf club or the like. Dart players are no different and each player has their own ideas and preferences as to what makes the perfect dart.
With the knowledge of how key the right darts are to optimum performance we approached Red Dragon Darts, on behalf of Anthony, as they have the best reputation in the world for producing high quality custom made darts for the top TV players such as Simon Whitlock, Robert Thornton, Ritchie Burnett and Steve Beaton.
Red Dragon’s success in producing the perfect set of darts relies on various aspects of science and technology and they have been enthusiastic about our own scientific approach to darts performance.
Despite Anthony not being as well known (yet) as the Wizard and The Adonis, Red Dragon produced a set of darts to Anthony’s specification to see how much the science of custom fit darts actually helps the players throw.
This intensive design process involved making what had been in Anthony’s head since he first started throwing darts as a child, and delivering the perfectly balanced, weighted dart and ideal grip resistance for him.
Simon Hall head of Marketing for Red Dragon said "It’s been really interesting working with a dart player who is taking a thoroughly professional approach to the game, akin to a pro golfer. The schedule that Anthony sets himself is impressive and his commitment to constant improvement, through having the bravery to actually measure what he does week in week out. The Custom fit process we have developed involves several stages, but the first is the huge communication needed between the player and our Senior Technician. This understanding can make or break the exercise even before a dart has been designed".
At present it’s a costly affair as it takes all day and so anyone interested would need to have over £2,000 spare to be fitted.
Anthony was clearly thrilled with his new darts and soon put them to good use in a `one sided` challenge match against me, where I came off decidedly second best!!"