Custom Fitting Is Now Essential - It's True!!!!

[Snelly]

Up until the 1980's, you bought a set of irons that you liked the look of and that was that. A quick swish in the club pro shop and you paid your money and took your choice. And do you know what? They were fine. All much of a muchness (until Ping Eye came along) and everyone was happy. Sure, Titleist Tour Model were the best blades and Petron Impalas were as useful as a cactus in an astronauts suit but generally, you couldn't go wrong.

Not any more though. Now, the main manufacturers offer so many options and surround their products with so much marketing rubbish, that the only real way to see which flavour of their infinite choices you need is to sign up with them so that you can try them at a custom fitting session.

It is brilliant sales and marketing and you have to take your hat off to them. They have created a situation in which if you buy off the shelf, you are not going to get what suits you best. You have to get more engaged or you could end up with something entirely unsuitable.

I know this as I have recently bought two new (to me) sets of irons and they were absolutely no good to me whatsoever. A club shorter across the set in both cases and they felt as dead as dodos.

So a great job by the big golfing brands - come to us and volunteer all the right information so that we can get all our hooks into you and optimise our chances of retaining you as a customer. Because if you don't, you will be sold something that ruins your game and damages your libido!

Brilliant strategy. Now where do I sign up?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

Now where do I sign up?

Right here...............

http://golf.mizunoeurope.com/store/fitting-centres-details.php

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Perhaps a bit of a generalisation and for many, certainly the more recreational player, off the shelf will work just fine. I guess it depends what you are looking for, whether you try before you buy and whetheryou have the option to at least try a few stock shafts without the full fitting. I do take your point though and if you do go down the C/F route you do then start to wonder "what if I don't" the next time you consider swapping clubs

 

[bluewolf]

And breathe...... Not sure exactly what the point is, unless you are saying that manufacturers are making clubs that they know will only suit a small percentage of players when bought off the shelf. Resulting in custom fitting being necessary. Oooh, nice theory.

 

[brendy]

Worm tied and dangling Snelly.

 

[Andy808]

Are you and Snelly going fishing Brendy?

 

[Minhoca]

Heads stay the same, Grips stay the same.. Shafts change but then again this is the engine of the golf club. I don't think they have deliberately engineered this, I think technology has just proven that one size no longer fits all. And to be fair to manufacturers they do offer a choice of basic shafts flex's but they have to cater for the masses. Most people don't understand the importance of the shaft within the golf club and with so many options what would you stock as an 'off the shelf shaft'? If you take your golf seriously then its worth blueprinting your tools to suit you, not trying to swing to suit the clubs- the latter being alot harder.

 

[Hobbit]

You missed the bit about planned obsolecence. TM are brilliant at it. Next year's model promises just that little bit more than last year's, and so on.

 

[Snelly]

Worm tied and dangling Snelly.

Not this time. I mean it and I genuinely believe what I have written.

Custom fit is a customer acquisition and retention strategy and if you don't do it, you could be completely knackered.

I certainly feel this applies to me and want to know what my stats are. At least I want to know before I buy new clubs although this won't be any time soon.

 

[brendy]

Do you ever buy a new pair of golf shoes without trying them on? Same thing really, they will either suit you or they wont.
It comes down to whether you believe it will make a big difference. Since Wentworth, I am hitting my driver and woods a lot more consistently with the R11s gear and factory fit obsolescence , I wont be running out to change them next year, Ive got something that works really well. It is true that they are kings of "new kit" though.

 

[USER1999]

Manufacturers make clubs that can't be hit shocker!

Silly lofts, so you need to replace the hard to hit 0 iron at the top end, and no 8 iron and down, as the pw is 42 degrees, so you need to buy multiple wedges.

Stick a poor, cheap, spaghetti like shaft in it, put on a shiny Teflon grip, and watch the money roll in as every one replaces stock with aftermarket.

Whilst trying not to take the bait (and failing miserably), my view is find a head you like, a shaft you feel comfortable hitting (ignoring the label on the shaft), and then get it loft and lie adjusted to suit your impact conditions. Loft and lie is pretty much the only important bit.

 

[Iaing]

I would say that it's really only the very low single figure players and professionals that are consistent enough ball strikers to gain any benefit from a c/f session which involves more than length/lie/shaft flex and possibly grip size.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

murph, were you custom fitted for those shoes you had on yesterday? At the Dulux factory perhaps?

 

[Snelly]

Do you ever buy a new pair of golf shoes without trying them on? Same thing really, they will either suit you or they wont.

No but the shoe shop don't charge me to try them on and I don't have to give them my contact details. Nor do I buy shoes for £1000.

I take your point though. It is well made.

 

[Crow]

Or just buy old model irons off ebay without even swinging one in a shop, that's what I do, never dream of custom fit until I win the lottery.

 

[Dave B]

I'm sure that Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar were custom fitted as their irons fit them like a glove.

For many players it's a waste of time and money especially if you are of average build and height. It may help to know your swing speed but other than that with the variety of heads, shafts and swing weights you can find a good fit off the shelf in any well stocked Pro Shop.

If you use a bit of common sense you can buy discontinued clubs or vgc second hand clubs at a very good price and if you do your homework you can often sell them with very little loss after trying them out.

 

[HughJars]

Not this time. I mean it and I genuinely believe what I have written.

Custom fit is a customer acquisition and retention strategy and if you don't do it, you could be completely knackered. .

Everyone custome fits, so how is it an acquisition or retention strategy? It would be much much cheaper for manufacturers to simply provide one stock shaft through various flexes, and provive no lie customisation. So why do they do it? TM have just brought out the Burner OS line, no cusotm fitting, but way cheaper than any other TM iron.

You may not like custom fitting, there may be valid reasons for not custom fitting, A&R are not two of them however.

 

[JustOne]

Judging by your iron shot to the 15th green I don't think you need new irons.... missing the putt and the one on the 8th (for eagle) might suggest you switch to a fitted belly putter!

Out of interest what would be your reason behind new irons? length/dispersion/feel, all of those things?

To be honest I think at your level of golf you should go get a fitting, the experts there might be able to find something that really suits your (obviously consistent) swing. Finding out things like your spin rates etc can be an eye opener.

 

[chrisd]

I've got fitted Tileist gear and obviously now play like Rory!

I just wonder if I'd like a switch and play like Luke mmmmmmmmmmm it's all so difficult!

 

[Snelly]

Hi James,

It will be a cold day in hell on the day I get a cheat length putter! My putting is okay and even quite good when I play regularly. I didn't hole much at Blackmoor but neither did anyone else in our group. The greens were subtle and not quite the right speed for me to be draining from 10 feet. That said, the two putts you mention did grate a bit when they missed. I bet there weren't many 2's on the 15th on Monday.

As for irons, I am not changing them now. It started when I tried a mates Razr tours and was a club longer with them. This led me to question the shafts in my irons and I decided to try a new set with similar shafts in them. I got a great deal from Rick on some lovely Mizunos but they were not for me as I was a club shorter and I thought they made golf more difficult. I changed these for Callaway X-22 pro irons and they were the same. Shorter than my current clubs and they felt a little dead. I have now gone back to my old irons and am hitting them really well and have no plans to change now.

I will go for a fitting I think. Not least because I am curious about it now following the two new sets I tried with poor results. I don't know anyone in my area though. I will ask around.