custom fitting is it worth it??

[bees1987]

hi i have been playing golf now for a year and have bean gettin my handicap down quite quickly... i think i am at the stage to get some clubs custom fitteed for me and was just wondering how much it would cost to get a full set made for me from putter to driver and also which are the best places to go to get custom fitted??

 

[bluetoon]

Q. Is it worth it?
A. depends.

Plenty of cat 1 golfers have never been fitted.
Plenty of golfers been fitted and handicap is still the same.

 

[Tab373]

well i have never been fitted for any clubs up til yesterday and have be a cat 1 and cat 2player in my time currently off 6 have been playing this game for 20 odd years and custom fitting isnt a new idea Ping have been doing it for years but alot more manufacture are doing it now. and i think most people would recommend it. the benefits are that if you get custom fit you then know that the clubs you are using are the best for your swing and if you have a bad round you only have your self to blame.After my fitting experience for a driver yesterday i would recommend getting fitted.i went to American golf in Bristol and could not fault them. As for price depend on your budget really and make you want some places charge for fitting but i would push to get that cost removed from the final bill especially if you are buying a full bag.

 

[Ethan]

Q. Is it worth it?
A. depends.

Plenty of cat 1 golfers have never been fitted.
Plenty of golfers been fitted and handicap is still the same.

That is true, but it neither proves that it is always necessary nor that it is always successful, although a handicap staying the same could be a good result for some players. Also, how do you know those Cat 1 golfers could not get better? Most Tour pros are fitted carefully for their clubs.

Custom fitting seems to make sense on a basic level. Do you think clubs which suit your swing and build would be a better bet than those which don't? Seems kinda obvious. It is certainly true that a lot of players use equipment which is unsuitable for them - wrong lie, too stiff/soft etc.

Now, whether you want to go the full hog and get measured from every angle with lasers, hit hundreds of balls and have every aspect analysed so you can get a set of clubs fitted with exotic shafts and treated with pixie dust is another question. The answer is almost certainly 'probably not if you have to pay'.

I would say that it makes sense to find a set of clubs which suit your ability and/or potential, have a lie, length and grip size which suit your posture and frame, and have shafts which are neither too soft nor too stiff for you. After that, a lot depends on what you like the look of, and other esoteric factors. That should not add to the cost of the clubs and can be done with one bucket of range balls and a few minutes of a sensible pro's time.

 

[birdieman]

It seems to be the mid handicappers who go for it, possibly as they are half decent already but want to get to single figures no matter what so will try anything. The cynic might say it's simply a new way for manufacturers to sell clubs to punters, but a lot of golf is in the head so if you believe it will help you get better then maybe it will due to a confidence thing.

 

[bluetoon]

That is true, but it neither proves that it is always necessary nor that it is always successful, although a handicap staying the same could be a good result for some players. Also, how do you know those Cat 1 golfers could not get better? Most Tour pros are fitted carefully for their clubs.

Custom fitting seems to make sense on a basic level. Do you think clubs which suit your swing and build would be a better bet than those which don't? Seems kinda obvious. It is certainly true that a lot of players use equipment which is unsuitable for them - wrong lie, too stiff/soft etc.

Now, whether you want to go the full hog and get measured from every angle with lasers, hit hundreds of balls and have every aspect analysed so you can get a set of clubs fitted with exotic shafts and treated with pixie dust is another question. The answer is almost certainly 'probably not if you have to pay'.

I would say that it makes sense to find a set of clubs which suit your ability and/or potential, have a lie, length and grip size which suit your posture and frame, and have shafts which are neither too soft nor too stiff for you. After that, a lot depends on what you like the look of, and other esoteric factors. That should not add to the cost of the clubs and can be done with one bucket of range balls and a few minutes of a sensible pro's time.

Very well put Ethan and i completely agree with you.

We (forum peeps) love to talk golf and get very excitable and dizzy when the talk of custom fitting gets aired. I think this excitability tends to unrealistically raise the expectations of what custom fitting brings to our scores.

Custom fitting is being put on a pedestal and seen as the cure to all our problems and the answer to lower scores. Sure, there is a place for custom fitting and some people will have bigger gains than others.

Of all the things that can help improve your game and assist you to shoot lower scores. Custom fittings is lower on the list than a lot of other things i can think of. But the other things take, time, dedication and effort.

I would say that custom fitting is about as beneficial as a GPS and worth a couple of shots only, i.e it is a quick fix and requires little effort for a little gain. Each individual has there own price for that quick hit.

I love the idea of the Ping Play you Best where the other coaching, psychology and fitness all have an impact and should put a little perspective into the custom fit process.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Yes, get fitted. It's pointless buying a set of clubs that are the wrong spec for you when for the same money you can get ones that are spot on for your swing. I was fully fitted for my irons, 2 hours on the range going through every club in my bag. Guy made 2 demo clubs for me to try which I had for a couple of weeks before deciding on the final spec. He then made up my set and I had them within 10 days. I went for Orka PS9 forged blades, 3-PW with KBS tour shafts.

Total cost for fitting, demo clubs and then the set of 8 irons was £535. Cheaper than off the shelf mass produced clubs.

 

[Threeoffthetee]

As far as I can see there is an undeniable truth in golf. A good golfer could pull any club out of anyone's bag and hit a good shot with it. An average golfer will hit bad shots even if they have clubs tuned like a F1 racing car. I have no doubt that a low handicap golfer could benefit from finding the perfect club for them but I don't know that it would help me.

I like the idea of being fitted for clubs but if I can't make ten identical swings then how can this possibly work? My game is different from one week to the next, does this mean that I need to be fitted for new clubs each week before heading out to the course?

I see so many golfers with thousands of pounds of golf equipment hacking from tee to trees to rough to water to green, did fitting help them? that last provisional drive was great.....jealous? - of course I am - doesn't make me wrong though.

 

[nufc86]

maybe for one or two clubs i'd say yeah, driver putter etc. but when you look through the lists on here for example it's rarely 14 clubs of the same make people own. i'd go to golf shop and find irons that are suited to you then maybe fitting for the rest.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I like the idea of being fitted for clubs but if I can't make ten identical swings then how can this possibly work? My game is different from one week to the next, does this mean that I need to be fitted for new clubs each week before heading out to the course?

Although your swing may change from one shot to the next there are certain aspects that will remain pretty much constant give or take some small margins. Your swing speed won't change very much from one day to the next nor will other factors like how you transition from backswing to downswing which affects how you load the shaft. So it is worth getting fitted once you get past the beginner stage.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

maybe for one or two clubs i'd say yeah, driver putter etc. but when you look through the lists on here for example it's rarely 14 clubs of the same make people own. i'd go to golf shop and find irons that are suited to you then maybe fitting for the rest.

Club fitting isn't about having all the same brand in your bag. I've been fitted for every club in my bag apart from my putter(s) but they are all different brands.