Custom fit v off the shelf

[Deleted member 18588]

Balderdash? Nice word.

Yes I do know that top players had tweaked clubs in the 80's and that if you searched around, you could sometimes find stiff shafts for clubs. However, I would have thought it relatively obvious, even to the hard of learning, that I was talking in general terms, about the vast majority of club golfers. No-one bar a tiny minority, paid any heed to any aspect of golf equipment that would be considered as standard options in the era of custom fit.

The club choice options of 1985 and today are like chalk and cheese. To say otherwise is not just balderdash, it is unquestionably hogwash, piffle, gibberish and quite possibly, twaddle.

So to whom were Ping (amongst others) selling their clubs in the 70's and 80's?

In your self absorbed world does it ever occur to you that there may be some on here with at least as much and possibly more experience of the game than yourself?

Silly question really!

 

[tsped83]

The only real drawback with custom fit i find is you get fitted for the swing you turn up with on the day, most amateur golfers are at best inconsistant

This wins it for me.

 

[Snelly]

So to whom were Ping (amongst others) selling their clubs in the 70's and 80's?

In your self absorbed world does it ever occur to you that there may be some on here with at least as much and possibly more experience of the game than yourself?

Silly question really!

Yes, very silly.

 

[One Planer]

Custom fit never used to exist before about 1995, probably later than that even. Before custom fit, golfers of all shapes and sizes used standard clubs and were far better players than any of you on this thread who feel qualified to proffer expert opinion, extolling the virtues of the process.

Being fitted for clubs is fun for many and can have tiny incremental positive effects on your golfing prowess. This is a fact. But generally, it is just a marketing strategy, designed to maximise cash extraction from gullible golfers that don't have the time available to improve through meaningful practice.

This is borne out by the fact that we all know loads of golfers who have been custom fitted for all kinds of clubs and they were wretched players before the fitting and are still absolutely hopeless. Conversely, several of the best golfers I have ever played with have never been fitted for anything and are fantastic at the game.

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

 

[guest100718]

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

ha nice....the intenet has a long memory..

As for custom. if the irons im buying include it then i'll do it. But I am just as happy with off the shelf irons.

 

[Robobum]

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

Funny, is he in the gullible or wretched group? 😂

 

[Alex1975]

Wonderful........

 

[patricks148]

I don't think anyone is claiming to be qualified, I think its a forum and a question was asked as a discussion. Should we only talk about what you want to talk about? Should we do it in the same aggressive with veiled or not so much veiled insults.

My understanding is your an excellent golfer and for sure a no nonsense person but why not let others have an opinion too without needing to be so dismissive. There are also epic golfers who have been fitted and who are technically minded, who do not need a 3 wood or whatever other rules you have put in place for yourself.

I do. People who get measured (so I will be careful with the phrase "the average golfer"), tend to present very similar numbers day in day out regardless of skill/handicap. For the most part its like swinging an axe at a block of wood, your body wants to get out the way and hit the target with the tool (club/axe). Its really just human nature. So the statement "the average golfer is so inconstant that...." is rubbish. Because they are not presenting the club in a good way does not mean they are not consistent.

have a read of your own post and as i said take a dose of your own medicine

I didn't say they were "so inconsistent " i said most didn't have a consistent or repeatable swing, hence why we have handicaps and some, slice, hook,fat, thin, shank from time to time as most of us are inconsitant

 

[richy]

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

Ha ha what an utter 🔔🔚

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Had both fitted and off the shelf. Both have given my game a shot in the arm after purchase but it's never long term. That is more use error than whether fitting or not works. However, given the choice I'll always opt for a proper fitting if possible solely because I enjoy the process, the chance to try different head/shaft options, get some feedback on my swing and what suits it and simply because I can. I don't have any views or whether fitting or off the shelf work better anymore and it's simply a matter of personal preference

 

[Alex1975]

have a read of your own post and as i said take a dose of your own medicine

I didn't say they were "so inconsistent " i said most didn't have a consistent or repeatable swing, hence why we have handicaps and some, slice, hook,fat, thin, shank from time to time as most of us are inconsitant

Nope, in the main they are consistent and repeatable ... those who slice tend to consistently slice and so on... they tend to swing the same speed and load the shaft to the same degree.

Feel free to keep saying the same thing but I don't agree.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

I remember Snelly also stating that golf clubs were merely tools,he later had his driver spayed Ferrari red 😂

 

[Region3]

I didn't say they were "so inconsistent " i said most didn't have a consistent or repeatable swing, hence why we have handicaps and some, slice, hook,fat, thin, shank from time to time as most of us are inconsitant

Without wanting to presume anything, I think the point Alex is making is that most of us regardless of handicap have swing parameters that are the same from one day to the next. This doesn't mean we hit the ball consistently though.

I've never tested this, but I'd be willing to bet that regardless of how well I'm hitting the ball or what direction it's going in, my:

Club speed
Tempo
Dynamic loft
Forces on the club at transition
Shaft angle at impact

and probably more, are pretty much the same from one day to the next. Doesn't mean the path and face angle at impact don't change, but that - for the most part - needs fixing with lessons rather than club fittings.

How many times have you or a friend been having a mare and everyone says "doesn't look any different to normal"?

 

[patricks148]

Without wanting to presume anything, I think the point Alex is making is that most of us regardless of handicap have swing parameters that are the same from one day to the next. This doesn't mean we hit the ball consistently though.

I've never tested this, but I'd be willing to bet that regardless of how well I'm hitting the ball or what direction it's going in, my:

Club speed
Tempo
Dynamic loft
Forces on the club at transition
Shaft angle at impact

and probably more, are pretty much the same from one day to the next. Doesn't mean the path and face angle at impact don't change, but that - for the most part - needs fixing with lessons rather than club fittings.

How many times have you or a friend been having a mare and everyone says "doesn't look any different to normal"?

Well i disagree, mine looks shocking from time to time and i know others that would say the same. Ive been on a trackman when my ss was well down other times it was well up. sometimes its too steep sometimes too flat. in essence, inconsistent.

 

[The Autumn Wind]

Custom fitting isn't just about shaft length and lie angle.

I find another really useful aspect is trying different shafts with different club heads, and seeing the results on a Flightscope. I settled on Nippon Pro Modus shafts in my irons only as a result of custom fitting, otherwise I'd have just stayed with my old Project X's and been blissfully unaware of the distance and dispersion gains that the Pro Modus have given me.

 

[Smiffy]

Find a club you like the look of, and then just make sure you get the right shaft.
Simples.
A couple of years ago, I made the stupid (and costly) mistake of buying a brand new set of Ping i25's "assuming" that a regular steel shaft would be okay for me.
What a mistake that was. Felt dead in my hands. I lost an awful lot of distance (not that I ever had a lot anyway) and my confidence in them totally disappeared, so much so that I was dreading going out for the next game with them.
I knew that I had to offload them quickly, which I did at a substantial loss.
I then purchased my current RS1's. I didn't get fitted for them, I just went back down the graphite route, had a "swish" with one in a pro shop and thought "I could bash these".
Two years on, I couldn't be happier.
When I hit one properly, which I do from time to time, they are, without a shadow of doubt, the best clubs I have ever owned. Distance I could only dream about before, and I don't even feel (or hear) the ball leave the clubhead. They could be forged clubs, but I know they're not.
Sure, every now and then I still hit the rank shot, the god awful rank shot. But I know it's not the clubs. It's me. It's the awful excuse for a swing that I've just put on it, and that particularly terrible swing would be exactly the same with an expensive set of custom fitted clubs costing twice as much. And it would have had the same result. No end of fitting is going to help if I am swinging like a deranged octopus.
And if I actually went for a club fitting, swinging with that same deranged swing on the day, God knows what abominations I would be expecting to turn up through the post a week or two later.
I am a firm believer that if you are of "average" size and shape, an "average" set of club will see you through. Just as long as you get the correct shaft.
I think what Snelly was alluding to, is that years ago pro shops stocked sets of clubs available with basically three types of shaft. Soft, regular and stiff. If you swung slowly you bought soft. If you swung at an average speed you bought regular. If you were a bit of a Billy Whiz you bought stiff.
Nothing much has changed. Except peoples disposable incomes maybe?????

 

[Oddsocks]

I'm with you Chris.
Been fitted plenty of times and bought off the shelf/2nd hand as many times if not more.
I don't think it makes a huge difference to me as long as the shaft is about the right flex/weight and the shaft is about the right length.
That's not say it doesn't work for others.
Especially if, like Fundy, you're a Man-Mountain or , like our esteemed Editor, slightly vertically challenged😙.
I don't think I'm going to get "fully" custom fit again. I know, mostly, what kind of shaft I need and I'm comfortable enough in my knowledge to find something that works based upon experience. I just don't feel I get an discernible difference from the custom fit over my fit.

I'm pretty much in this boat, i know my shaft specs so for me it's simply a case of a demo club on that spec from 2/3/4 manufactures and a flight scope/trackman to check length and dispersion

Once a I've made my mind up I may check a shaft either side but that's about it.

one think I am a massive believer in is correct lie angles, I had the cb'/ bent one degrees flat and the difference in strike was unreal. The swing is a little sketchy at the moment but once it stables out I will have the apex checked a no doubt they will be bent

 

[seochris]

Find a club you like the look of, and then just make sure you get the right shaft.
Simples.
A couple of years ago, I made the stupid (and costly) mistake of buying a brand new set of Ping i25's "assuming" that a regular steel shaft would be okay for me.
What a mistake that was. Felt dead in my hands. I lost an awful lot of distance (not that I ever had a lot anyway) and my confidence in them totally disappeared, so much so that I was dreading going out for the next game with them.
I knew that I had to offload them quickly, which I did at a substantial loss.
I then purchased my current RS1's. I didn't get fitted for them, I just went back down the graphite route, had a "swish" with one in a pro shop and thought "I could bash these".
Two years on, I couldn't be happier.
When I hit one properly, which I do from time to time, they are, without a shadow of doubt, the best clubs I have ever owned. Distance I could only dream about before, and I don't even feel (or hear) the ball leave the clubhead. They could be forged clubs, but I know they're not.
Sure, every now and then I still hit the rank shot, the god awful rank shot. But I know it's not the clubs. It's me. It's the awful excuse for a swing that I've just put on it, and that particularly terrible swing would be exactly the same with an expensive set of custom fitted clubs costing twice as much. And it would have had the same result. No end of fitting is going to help if I am swinging like a deranged octopus.
And if I actually went for a club fitting, swinging with that same deranged swing on the day, God knows what abominations I would be expecting to turn up through the post a week or two later.
I am a firm believer that if you are of "average" size and shape, an "average" set of club will see you through. Just as long as you get the correct shaft.
I think what Snelly was alluding to, is that years ago pro shops stocked sets of clubs available with basically three types of shaft. Soft, regular and stiff. If you swung slowly you bought soft. If you swung at an average speed you bought regular. If you were a bit of a Billy Whiz you bought stiff.
Nothing much has changed. Except peoples disposable incomes maybe?????

Completely agree with this...I made the same mistake with some new Ping i e.....my old i20s had KBS Tour 90s and the Ping i had the CFS distance....both in regular. Huge mistake. I thought the Ping would be fine as they were only 10g or so heavier than the KBS...big, expensive mistake.

Chopped them out after 3 months and bought the Mizunos...XP 115. Slightly heavier again but they just worked. So the shaft is all important in my view...even more so than the heads.

 

[Snelly]

Now, now Snelly. You had a different opinion a while back upon receipt of your i25 irons

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/sh...-s-after-being-fitted-courtesy-of-GM-amp-Ping

Specifically the last line.

As for me? I'm as neutral, average Joe as they get, as evidenced through various fittings.

Off the shelf for me.

Yes, I am perfectly aware of what I wrote post fitting. I thought it was good - my handicap / level of play has doubled / worsened since!

 

[Robobum]

Yes, I am perfectly aware of what I wrote post fitting. I thought it was good - my handicap / level of play has doubled / worsened since!

An interesting golfing year for me. I have joined a club again for the first time in 13 years. I have to say I absolutely love the place. The course is wonderful but really tough and the members I have met have made me feel very welcome, It is a privilege to be a member.

My golf has been mixed. Some good stuff mixed with some utter tripe and I am yet to put a really good round together at my new club. I have managed a couple of 2 over par rounds including a polished -3 back 9 but have never really had a decent front 9 holes.

My handicap is not where I feel it should be at 5.7 but I cannot complain really as I am just not playing enough to get much better, primarily because I have a new job which is very time consuming. Additionally, the difficulty of the course is also a factor in my handicap. I think I am hitting the ball well enough but feel my home course is 2-3 shots harder than most.

Onward and upward though. I do plan to play much more now and will improve, I am certain of that. Just need a modicum of consistency.

More stories than Homer! Make up your mind why your hcap is going up! 😂😂