Custom Fit - Essential or Unecessary?

[Snelly]

Reading the blades thread made me ponder a wider issue around custom fitting.

In essence, it seems to me that the modern view of custom fitting clubs is basically that it is an essential aspect of buying new irons.

It would appear, especially from the golfing media and manufacturers, that every golfer should be given clubs with the right swing weight, launch angle, shaft length, correct flex, proper grip thickness, optimised kick point, ideal smash factor and so on.

Having never been fitted for any clubs that I have ever played with, I don't share this view but as I am ignorant to it, am open to persuasion that it is a necessary step to better golf.

I have personally used common sense or simple bias when selecting kit. I choose stiff shafts because I have a high clubhead speed but everything else comes down to aesthetics or price for me I reckon. For example, I have got the irons I have got because my mate gave them to me for £50. And I chose my driver because it was a Ping with the right loft and had an electric blue shaft!

I suppose what I am saying is that I have played some good golf without the benefit of technology helping me to get optimised equipment and consequently, hold the view that it can't make that much of a difference.

That said, I bet it is good fun to go on these machines to find out all the various facts about your swing and I am certainly not being critical of anyone who does this. I just wonder that aside from removing the nagging doubt that your equipment might not be perfect for you, what material difference does it make at the level of golf we generally play?

I'd argue not much but would love to read about people who have done it and seen their handicap come down markedly as a result.

I am not trying to cause an argument and as I say, can imagine that it is an enjoyable process. Just interested to hear the thoughts of others...

Cheers,


Snelly.

 

[JT77]

Been fitted for last 2 sets of irons, spent them time getting lie, loft, shaft etc sorted. sold both sets, went back to my callaways, standard off the shelf, hit them better and more consistant than the tm's I got fitted for.
May work for some, and I would maybe do it in future, but not as essential as some would have it.

 

[brendy]

I am a lifelong member of the DTFR fit brigade.
Fast swing, firm-stiff clubs. If I want the woods to go lower I change the shaft to something tried and tested. Anything after that is purely aesthetics as my swing (and 99.999% of other fellow handicap hackers) do not have a solid repeatable swing that would merit custom fitting. If someone wants to take me on a CF session and persuade me different, go for it but for now my entire set of non CF clubs are doing ok for me.

Now, If I could be custom fitted with a proper swing, that would be ace!

 

[USER1999]

Like others I have tried custom fit, and off the shelf. Not convinced by the c/f option tbh. It was done by the manufacturer, using the latest gadgets. I thought it might make a difference, but it didn't. Currently back to off the peg stuff.

I still maintain that the mark one eyeball can tell me if I am hitting a club ok.

Now this might mean that I don't max out on distance with my driver, but, maybe the back spin (too high) keeps me straighter. Lose that, and the side spin can be a killer.

Bending irons by one degree lie angle is a waste of time. I can have a 30 yard draw, or none. Lie angle has nothing to do with my dispersion. It's mainly me.

 

[bluewolf]

Its neither essential or unnecessary, in most cases it's free and useful but not necessary. The biggest handicap drop I had was 10 shots in 4 months, and that was with a set of "off the shelf" Mizzy MX23's which are now helping (I hope) another forum member. Since picking up my new set of JPX800 pro's, I have probably knocked another 5/6 shots off my handicap (unnofficial, as I haven't yet had chance to enter the necessary comps), but that is more to do with me improving, rather than the clubs helping. They do look gorgeous though, and I do like the fact that I set them up, oh, and the KBS shafts are lovely...

 

[Ethan]

But anybody who just buys 'stiff' or 'regular' is kidding themselves. They don't know what they are buying. The recommended swing speed ranges for so-called 'stiff' graphite wood shafts range from 85-92 mph for one well known brand to 105-115 for another. There are at least 2 flexes difference between those shafts. The variation between them is so great, it is like buying a car simply on the basis of whether it is 'petrol' or diesel', 'manual' or 'automatic'.

 

[NWJocko]

A very good question, and I'm sure one with very different answers depending on who you ask! I'm in the middle ground I think.

I've only ever had it done once, courtesy of GM for my driver. I thought it was useful although more of a validation type exercise in that I could see and feel which driver/shaft combo was best. The data I suppose backs it up and confirms your thoughts.

I'm currently pondering new irons and don't think I'd go down the full custom route if I'm honest.

One thing that may be useful is to have a go on the Mizuno DNA thingy to help point you in the direction of suitable shafts, that's mainly through me being super confused as to what would be a suitable project x, rifle, kbs, nippon etc from the s300 I use at the moment if I was looking for second hand clubs though. e.g is an s300 comparable to a project x 5.5 or 6.0 etc.

If I'm swinging badly though all the technology in the world isn't going to help, a 40 yard duck hook will look just as magnificent with any clubs!

 

[brendy]

But anybody who just buys 'stiff' or 'regular' is kidding themselves. They don't know what they are buying. The recommended swing speed ranges for so-called 'stiff' graphite wood shafts range from 85-92 mph for one well known brand to 105-115 for another. There are at least 2 flexes difference between those shafts. The variation between them is so great, it is like buying a car simply on the basis of whether it is 'petrol' or diesel', 'manual' or 'automatic'.

In a similar way one manufacturers wedge is another mans 9 iron. Obviously you will have a few test hits before deciding.

 

[Ethan]

But anybody who just buys 'stiff' or 'regular' is kidding themselves. They don't know what they are buying. The recommended swing speed ranges for so-called 'stiff' graphite wood shafts range from 85-92 mph for one well known brand to 105-115 for another. There are at least 2 flexes difference between those shafts. The variation between them is so great, it is like buying a car simply on the basis of whether it is 'petrol' or diesel', 'manual' or 'automatic'.

In a similar way one manufacturers wedge is another mans 9 iron. Obviously you will have a few test hits before deciding.

OK, so buying off the shelf means self custom fit? So it is better to rely on your own subjective ideas of what is happening than measure it accurately?

Custom fitting is a bit like medicine. It needs accurate diagnosis (using technology, usually), but also accurate prescribing. It isn't a panacea but it is better than self treatment.

Loft is a different question. I can hit a club with 45 degrees of loft so long as it has roughly the right set up and it will go a certain distance regardless of what it says on the sole of the club.

 

[brendy]

I never said off the shelf is custom.
When I mentioned the irons and loft I was referring (and agreeing) that every manufacturer build to their own take on the shaft/loft.

I used to do track events and not once did I ever think that I had to use a specific tyre for my driving style (finding apexes are easier to find than perfect swings!), as long as they were soft and sticky they worked, I will never get to the level in golf neither where I will have a consistent, repeatable swing that demands a very specific shaft or modification.
I might be wrong but have yet to hear many guys come on here stating CF has cut multiple shots off their handicaps without the assistance of lessons. I do stand to be corrected though.

 

[fundy]

Strongly in the custom fit camp here, but them I am 6ft 5 and have a swing speed in excess of 110mph, which makes off the shelf almost impossible.

I think for the majority of amateur golfers its somewhere in the middle between essential and unnecessary and I expect where in the middle depends on how far away from "average" you are.

Whilst I think the technical side of custom fit is great, I still like to see the shots Im hitting and assess the real ball flight with my eye in addition

 

[patricks148]

Agree with Brendy here.

Not sure its worth it for everyone unless you have a sound reapeatable swing.

As i said in another post i came down from 24 to 12 with a set of off the shelf GI irons reg shaft. got custom fitted for Mizuno MP57, that turned out were just standard anyway. could i have got down to what i was middle of last year 8.2 with the old irons? Well yes i was swinging well at the time. since then i have struggled. nothing to do wuth the clubs its a swing i need.

There seems to be this thing that custom fit cures all, it doesn't its the player not the bats. Unless you are 6ft 6 or 4ft 2

Most of the the marketing for clubs is based around what Pro's do, those guys could still play with a any old crap and still play well at the end of the day.

 

[0]

went for a custom fit and they said I've been playing the wrong shafts for 16 years got to 3 this year (back up to 4 and working hard) so will it make a huge difference or did I adapt to the clubs I bought off the shelf?

 

[chrisd]

If you have custom fit you realise that you can't blame the gear for bad shots - that takes one doubt out of the equation as far as I am concerned!


Chris

 

[G1BB0]

my irons are custom fit to my needs...

they were cheap
they look good in the bag and at address
I hit them well
I had them regripped to suit my grip size

thats custom enough for me

 

[surefire]

OK, so buying off the shelf means self custom fit? So it is better to rely on your own subjective ideas of what is happening than measure it accurately?

Custom fitting is a bit like medicine. It needs accurate diagnosis (using technology, usually), but also accurate prescribing. It isn't a panacea but it is better than self treatment.

Loft is a different question. I can hit a club with 45 degrees of loft so long as it has roughly the right set up and it will go a certain distance regardless of what it says on the sole of the club.

Sometimes your own subjective ideas may be better. A machine may tell you that one club goes 3.6 yards further and the dispersion has a radius that is 0.4 yards smaller, but if don't feel comfortable with that club and you prefer the look and feel of the other club, you will probably play better with the 'inferior' club.

I guess its a little like the placebo effect.

Sometimes even on the medicine front, self diagnosis is the way forward. If you get a one off case of acid indigestion, normally a self prescribed antacid is preferable to a trip to the GP!

 

[sona]

Custom fitting is very good, I had the undivided attention of a PGA Pro with the opportunity of trying a number of heads and approx. nine different shafts using Trackman and on the driving range at the same time. The length and lie could have been determined by myself but I could not have tried all the different combinations otherwise. The fitting took approx. two hours and then tried the chioce again after a lunch break.The fitter only made recommendations the chioces were mine.
As it happens I fitting/choice was for JPX800PRO with std length and lie with TTDG R300 that I could have picked off the shelf but it was good to have a professional opinion that I was not wasting my money.

 

[GB72]

I would see a proper custom fit as beneficial but not sure that may places offer one. You need time to find the right head then more time trying shaft options all under the watchful eye of a knowledgeable professional. How many stores have enough time to give an hour or two to one customer.

I think that at the moment the term custom fit is a bit of a misnomer. I think in most cases you get advice on what off the peg option suits you best then a little bit of adjustment for size but it general it is very much lead by selling you a pre-defined manufacturer option.

 

[kid2]

As one that has had various clubs in stiff and regular over the past 2 years i think that the CF debate will always remain....
I can completely agree with Ethans argument....Im currently using Ping i1o irons black dot(standard across the board) with stiff AWT shafts...
I hit these fine but in a custom fit session i was fit for i15 irons with the same shaft but in a red dot(.75 deg flat)...
I questioned this because of an article in a magazine about lie angles and that if you struggle with a left to right flight and deep divots then upright lie's would be better...

Iv had regular shafted ping G15 woods and have changed to stiff shafted i15 woods and im hitting these much better...

Some people say that Ping shafts play a little softer than stated so i suppose by trial and error iv found what suits me...But even though my shafts are stiff there is a huge difference in what i have now compared to a Dynamic Gold S300 shaft that i had in a set of WilsonStaff FG Tour irons that i played with...So as Ethan says there are many ways that Stiff shafts can be portrayed by manufacturers.

But i have to pose one question...For club golfers we are not the most consistent players week in week out so if we were custom fit on a particular day with a particular loft, lie, shaft length, and flex and say we go for a lesson or two and our coach decides to make us stand a little closer to the ball and maybe a little more upright and also changes our swing path surely then Custom Fitting goes out the window?

 

[RGDave]

I've had two sets of C/F irons, both Mizuno.
None of my best rounds and/or run of rounds have come using these clubs.
ergo, it's either because 1) Mizuno aren't that great of me or
2) most of my golfing life has been spent learning to hit whatever I have in front of me which is 90% off the shelf.
Then again, there's nothing in my swing or speed or build or whatever that would mark me out as anything but mr ave joe regular.
Maybe if I swung at 100 mph, I'd feel differently.

Horses for courses.

If you have a decent swing and discover (through a strike board or impact tape or human eye) that you are way off ideal, then go for it!