Big D 88
Q-School Graduate
Having asked for the Forum's opinion on the best place to get custom fitted in the North East, the resounding response was Nicky Hall (MGL), who is based at Sharpley Golf Course.
I emailed Nicky asking for his availability and we could both make the 25th of April, 12pm. I received a call a few days before the fitting asking for the low down on my golf game. As a relatively newcomer to the sport (took it up last July) , i explained that the beginners package set i initially bought was to see if i was serious, before spending a lot of money. I also explained that although i knew the custom fitting wasn't the magic cure to a drastic lowering of scores, the peace of mind and confidence knowing the clubs fit me and my swing was enough to make me want to invest.
A few other questions from Nicky included my average distances with various clubs, and what confidence i had in certain irons/woods in my current set. I also gave Nicky my budget and what i would like with that. He was confident we could work to that budget.
And so on to the day itself; i arrived with my chauffeur (nicky's words not mine!) at around 11.30am, had a quick drink in the clubhouse and headed down to the range with my current set of clubs. The first part of the session was Nicky showing me what heads of different brands he felt would suit my game & which came in on the budget (for some reason no muira??)
I then proceeded to hit some balls with my set. The initial findings were clear; my swing speed was quick, from take away to contact with the ball was very fast (i think Nicky said around 1 sec was average, mine was around 0.75s), the shafts were also a tad too long.
Onto the fun part - trying out new clubs! The first i hit were the GS5 OS. I could feel the difference between my shoddy package set and these clubs straight away. Impact felt cleaner and the clubs instantly felt like gold to me! I tried out a few other heads, but if im honest none felt better to me than the first set i tried. I then let Nicky do his thing, and he chopped and changed the shafts and i continued to hit some balls. The shafts that best suited my swing were the Rifle 5.5 Stepless shafts. So the Irons i ended up with were Orka GS5 OS, 4 to PW, with Rifle 5.5 Stepless Shafts
I then did likewise with the Driver, and again it was apparent straight away the difference from the set ive played from the beginning of my 'career' and the clubs Nicky had at his disposal. I ended up with - Driver: Orka GS5 10.5* with Wishon White S Flex shaft, a Fairway wood: Orka GS5 15* with Wishon White S Flex shaft and also a Hybrid: Orka GS5 19* with Wishon White Hybrid S Flex shaft.
We then went onto the Putter. I had explained to Nicky in the telephone call a few nights before the fitting that of all my game, putting was probably my most comfortable part. However, when he asked me to take my stance over a putt, i was unaware that the putter was too long, and that on my usually stance, the toe was slightly up on the putter. Having measured up where i should be holding the grounded putter, it was decided i needed 33" putter. The putter i bought was a Matlby CER, the same make as some wedges, which all in all make up a pretty decent set of clubs in my eyes.
Nicky was fantastic throughout the day, and gave me some useful information on numerous occasions, such as pre shot set up, grip and club positioning.
I left a very happy customer, and was even happier when Nicky knocked at my door with all my clubs this morning (hows that for customer service!).
I say all...the PW is missing but i will be picking that up on Monday, as the head did not arrive with rest of the order. Basically gives me a reason to head back to Sharpley on Monday, and can try out these clubs for the first time.
So to sum up, if anyone fancies getting customer fitted, i would thoroughly recommend Nicky ( MyGolf Ltd)
I emailed Nicky asking for his availability and we could both make the 25th of April, 12pm. I received a call a few days before the fitting asking for the low down on my golf game. As a relatively newcomer to the sport (took it up last July) , i explained that the beginners package set i initially bought was to see if i was serious, before spending a lot of money. I also explained that although i knew the custom fitting wasn't the magic cure to a drastic lowering of scores, the peace of mind and confidence knowing the clubs fit me and my swing was enough to make me want to invest.
A few other questions from Nicky included my average distances with various clubs, and what confidence i had in certain irons/woods in my current set. I also gave Nicky my budget and what i would like with that. He was confident we could work to that budget.
And so on to the day itself; i arrived with my chauffeur (nicky's words not mine!) at around 11.30am, had a quick drink in the clubhouse and headed down to the range with my current set of clubs. The first part of the session was Nicky showing me what heads of different brands he felt would suit my game & which came in on the budget (for some reason no muira??)
I then proceeded to hit some balls with my set. The initial findings were clear; my swing speed was quick, from take away to contact with the ball was very fast (i think Nicky said around 1 sec was average, mine was around 0.75s), the shafts were also a tad too long.
Onto the fun part - trying out new clubs! The first i hit were the GS5 OS. I could feel the difference between my shoddy package set and these clubs straight away. Impact felt cleaner and the clubs instantly felt like gold to me! I tried out a few other heads, but if im honest none felt better to me than the first set i tried. I then let Nicky do his thing, and he chopped and changed the shafts and i continued to hit some balls. The shafts that best suited my swing were the Rifle 5.5 Stepless shafts. So the Irons i ended up with were Orka GS5 OS, 4 to PW, with Rifle 5.5 Stepless Shafts
I then did likewise with the Driver, and again it was apparent straight away the difference from the set ive played from the beginning of my 'career' and the clubs Nicky had at his disposal. I ended up with - Driver: Orka GS5 10.5* with Wishon White S Flex shaft, a Fairway wood: Orka GS5 15* with Wishon White S Flex shaft and also a Hybrid: Orka GS5 19* with Wishon White Hybrid S Flex shaft.
We then went onto the Putter. I had explained to Nicky in the telephone call a few nights before the fitting that of all my game, putting was probably my most comfortable part. However, when he asked me to take my stance over a putt, i was unaware that the putter was too long, and that on my usually stance, the toe was slightly up on the putter. Having measured up where i should be holding the grounded putter, it was decided i needed 33" putter. The putter i bought was a Matlby CER, the same make as some wedges, which all in all make up a pretty decent set of clubs in my eyes.
Nicky was fantastic throughout the day, and gave me some useful information on numerous occasions, such as pre shot set up, grip and club positioning.
I left a very happy customer, and was even happier when Nicky knocked at my door with all my clubs this morning (hows that for customer service!).
I say all...the PW is missing but i will be picking that up on Monday, as the head did not arrive with rest of the order. Basically gives me a reason to head back to Sharpley on Monday, and can try out these clubs for the first time.
So to sum up, if anyone fancies getting customer fitted, i would thoroughly recommend Nicky ( MyGolf Ltd)
nice clubs
