Club fitting

[aaajjj7589]

Thinking of getting new clubs. Got a beginner set earlier this year in June when I took up golf (Wilson Profile XD) to see if I got the golf bug and I certainly do.

Played 2 rounds this week (93 & 95) but now I want to really drive my score down consistently. Have had 1 lesson and now want to really get that score down into the low 80’s on a consistent basis next year.

Have wondered whether getting fitted for a new set of irons and a putter will be beneficial for me and really take a few shots off. If so, any recommendations on where to go for a fitting? My local club or somewhere like American Golf?

Sadly the range where I had my lesson and where I’ll have a few more lessons doesn’t do fitting.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

A few points.

Where are you based

The XD's will do a job as you're still new to the game and also bear in mind if you are continuing to have lessons and get fitted soon (and for arguments sake need clubs 2 degrees upright) then the lessons may naturally change the swing angle and negate the need for the upright clubs and extending that a fraction could mean you end up neutral or 1 degree flat

I would always support a club pro wherever possible and from personal experience would shy as far away from AG as I can. Others have had far better experiences so that isn't to tar all of AG with the same brush but the ones local to me haven't been good

I'd continue with the lessons. Winter is a great time to make big changes and use the fact the course is wet and muddy (maybe even closed if we get snow or a lot of rain) to get to the range and really work on the drills and changes you've been given in the lesson

Finally, talk to your pro. Do you need to be fitted now or at all. A lot of good players on here have clubs bought straight off the shelf. I've also been fitted for sets and bought off the peg and at my level (12 handicap) I'm not 100% convinced fitting will make too much difference. Maybe a putter fitting (something I've considered for a while)

 

[aaajjj7589]

Thanks Homer. Waiting for lessons to resume. I need help with my driving to be more consistent and not slice off to the right or for it to be a top every now and then.

Just want next summer to be better than the last one but I need to remain patient too. Only been playing 6 months!

What typically happens at a fitting anyway? A pattern forms of the shots you play?

 

[jim8flog]

If you are in the height range of of about 5' 7" to about 5' 11" then a standard set should be fine to begin with.

One of the things is that in the early stages of playing (assuming you are having lessons) your swing will change quite a lot and my advice would not be to not consider fitting until your swing is reasonable stable.

In a full custom fit
The pro will fit for height and wrist to floor measurement to get the correct lie
Check your hand size to ensure grips are not to thick or thin
Try several different shafts, shafts vary by weight and the height they hit and to check which flex is best suited to your swing. The latter point is very important and for most players as they improve their swing gets faster but with more control.
Try different swing weights (very technical term) swing weight should be correct according to how you swing it is not the weight of the club.

Some of this you can do as a online static fit look at the ping.com website

 

[aaajjj7589]

Nice one Jim. I’ll wait a bit and take advice after be had some further lessons in that case.

 

[Dannyc]

If you are in the height range of of about 5' 7" to about 5' 11" then a standard set should be fine to begin with.

One of the things is that in the early stages of playing (assuming you are having lessons) your swing will change quite a lot and my advice would not be to not consider fitting until your swing is reasonable stable.

In a full custom fit
The pro will fit for height and wrist to floor measurement to get the correct lie
Check your hand size to ensure grips are not to thick or thin
Try several different shafts, shafts vary by weight and the height they hit and to check which flex is best suited to your swing. The latter point is very important and for most players as they improve their swing gets faster but with more control.
Try different swing weights (very technical term) swing weight should be correct according to how you swing it is not the weight of the club.

Some of this you can do as a online static fit look at the ping.com website[/QUOTE
I’m 5ft 8 and been fitted to 3 degrees flat

I’ve been fitted twice once at titlest at st Ives
Once at tour x in Wigan and I’ve never had a measurement taken from my wrist to the floor also I’m 5ft 8 and first set were 3 degrees flat 2nd set from tour x were 2 degrees flat but I had slightly changed my backswing
3 times actually first one was American golf which i try to forget they never changed my lie angle obviously everything went left I found out once the pro put the tape on the club

 

[jim8flog]

I’ve been fitted twice once at titlest at st Ives
Once at tour x in Wigan and I’ve never had a measurement taken from my wrist to the floor also I’m 5ft 8 and first set were 3 degrees flat 2nd set from tour x were 2 degrees flat but I had slightly changed my backswing
3 times actually first one was American golf which i try to forget they never changed my lie angle obviously everything went left I found out once the pro put the tape on the club

The wrist to floor is a static fit procedure.

There is probably no need for it in a dynamic fit as a good fitter should be able to assess roughly the right lie angle and get a player to try the right club to begin with and confirm with a lie board or impact tape.

I am 5'9-10" but my static fit shows a 2 degree flat lie is needed. One of the things from my last fit that the fitter did bring up was " how often do you have a truly flat lie on the course".

 

[Swinglowandslow]

There aren't roughly two views on this.
Use your local Pro or go to a dedicated fitting service , the latter meant to be more comprehensive and objective
Someone said that fitting needs to be after your swing is stable- Makes sense.
After Covid, if my old bones are still around, I'm considering a specialist fitting- as an indulgence?
I'd like to use a local Pro, but none around here has the range of shafts for makes of clubs. (And the right shaft is important.) That's not a criticism, the economics for them to carry all that gear doesn't work.Can't expect them to match the specialist fitters,really. That's why there are so few of the latter throughout the country.
Jim8flog mentioned shafts, swingweights etc and all that is important to get the best out of anyone's swing.
Question is, how far do you go to get that.

 

[SteveW86]

I’m considering a fitting in the new year at some point, but not sure it’s needed. I’m having quite a few lessons and a lot of practise at the minute, so I’m hoping my swing will be more settled come the spring.

I was fitted for my irons at AG 4/5 years ago and I believe I had a good experience, did a fitting session with the Mizuno tour truck a while after and he said I had the best shaft in my irons. Has there been a development in iron shafts in that time? I also really like the look of the new Wilson Staff CB irons due out in January, but wouldn’t get them unless they came out tops in a fitting.

Driver wise I have a Callaway Big Bertha Fusion, again fitted for when it was new out so maybe 4/5 years ago. This was fitted for me by the club pro (also qualified fitter) on trackman. This is also the pro I am having my lessons with, so the obvious answer is to ask him if there are any potential gains in this area. If he says yes then I will have the dilemma of him fitting me or going to Precision Golf.

In reality I don’t think I need new clubs, but we all know this is a choice of “wanting” them. I’m investing a lot of time into my game at the minute, so also happy to invest some money into it (on top of the lessons)

 

[Imurg]

I'm 50:50 about fitting...
I've had a few fittings down the years and, to be honest, most of them haven't been particularly successful.
Some have been downright disastrous.
Some of the best "fittings" I've had have been by me..!
I like to think more know a bit about what works for me and what doesn't but I'm by no means an expert.
But I read, I watch, I ask questions of the right people and have gained an idea of what fits me.
I've currently got a set of fitted i210s in the cupboard , replaced in the bag by an aging set of MP63s that give me much better contact, ball flight and overall results.
A punt at 100 quid from ebay....
The i210s that worked on the mat in the fitting studio don't provide the contact/turf interaction that gets the ball where I need it to go,on the tight fairways of Ellesborough.
The MP63s do.
I tried Mp20 mmc ( a relatively close comparison to the 63s) during the fitting and they didn't work as well as the i210s...but I wonder if they would on the course.
I may be about to find out....

 

[Pants]

IMO, until your swing is repeatable, then custom fitting is a waste of time in most cases. From experience, the swing you have when a Pro or fitter is watching (and might end up costing you several £100's) is likely to be nothing like the swing you have out on the course. Learn the game with what you've already got, spend your money initially on lessons and a good Pro will advise you when, and if, you need to change clubs.

 

[Neilds]

IMO, until your swing is repeatable, then custom fitting is a waste of time in most cases. From experience, the swing you have when a Pro or fitter is watching (and might end up costing you several £100's) is likely to be nothing like the swing you have out on the course. Learn the game with what you've already got, spend your money initially on lessons and a good Pro will advise you when, and if, you need to change clubs.

Most people, including me, have a totally different practice swing to the one we try and hit the ball with ???

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Bit like Imurg I have had fittings and bought off the shelf. My current I series irons were bought off Golfbidder (although barely used - assuming a demo set from somewhere) and they work fine. Any bad shots are my swing. I've also had fittings and the clubs I've come away with have also worked well and any mistake is mine. I think the biggest no-no with fitting is to get it done if you are having lessons and making big changes to the swing as what you get fitted for may not be right if the swing becomes steeper/flatter

I think there is a place for fittings, even for the average club golfer. However they aren't a silver bullet.

 

[BubbaP]

I think you might surprised how similar your "good" & "bad" swings are for the main parameters

 

[Imurg]

I think you might surprised how similar your "good" & "bad" swings are for the main parameters

This is truer than most people think.
Even the worst swings have characteristics that are there most of the time.

 

[Wellout]

Go and see an experienced independent fitter at any stage of your game or ability if you want to play better golf. FYI - Wrist to floor to determine length/lie angle is so archaic. What if you had two golfers with the same wrist to floor, but with totally different postured due to technique or physical limitation, based on a chart you'd be way off. This need to be assessed by an experienced fitter, not by a static chart. Shaft weight is what you need to get right in the first instance though, forget flex, get weight wrong by as little as 5g and it'll negatively impact on your natural timing and quality of strike. This is true for ANY ability of player.