Ever Had a Club Fitting You Regretted?

[mikejohnchapman]

I had been struggling with ball flight with my irons this year and our pro suggested I attend a scheduled TaylorMade fitting session at the club to try our some graphite shafts as a way of increasing ball height.

I was somewhat sceptical as my irons have very light steel shafts (85gm) and hence I didn't think graphite would benefit.

I was fitted for some P790 irons and was amazed how good they were and the shot height matched the ball speed on the mid irons which was what he thought was optimal.

We tried graphite shafts but also their KBS Max Lite shafts which were very similar in terms of performance. What was more interesting was the difference between their tour lofts and "traditional" lofts which were approx. 2d higher. A compromise was the steel shafts with 1d more loft as a custom option.

So having only intended to look at whether graphite shafts were worth looking at I'm now thinking about changing my irons. Damn!

 

[Orikoru]

Regret is a bit strong for this, but something that I look back on and think maybe wasn't correct. I did a putter fitting at the end of 2016 I think it was. I hadn't been back into playing for all that long, and I ended up with a toe-hang putter, that was 'tanked' as Odyssey call it (weight in the grip I think) - nothing against the fitting, it was a decent fitting and he convinced me I need a toe-hang putter. I stuck by that putter for 4 and a half years, then when I upgraded I stuck with toe-hang again. My putting was streaky I would say, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Early this year I decided to try a face-balanced mallet just to see the difference - it was a revelation. I now have more confidence in putting than I ever had. I now really question the benefit of 'toe-hang' and consider it a bit of a myth - why would I want my putter opening and closing due to weight? Surely I should control the face myself. It does feel like I wasted 6 or 7 years putting with a strange bit of tech that didn't really help me at all, even though I'd been convinced it would.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

I can't complain about a disappointment because the fitter ends up giving me what I went in looking for anyway.

All the blame, if any, lands squarely on me.

 

[Burnsey]

I have and went through the process again, but keeping my own opinions to myself.

Second time I went with the recommendations of the fitter (and tech) in club choice, shaft, loft and even grips and my game is better for it.

 

[Imurg]

When I was at Whipsnade we had the Ping van come round to give fittings.
I tried the i210 and went into the fitting with the mindset of " fit me"
I sort of knew what I wanted but wanted the fitter to find the best setup for me...all I did was say yes that's good or no that's not.
Eventually got the i210 with a regular flex modus 105, half inch long and white dot - 3° upright...so 4° if you include the extra 1/2 inch...
I've no idea how they managed to get that setup...the furthest right I could hit them was 15 yards left.....
Got a refund after the pro measured me up and worked out I should have been in KBS Tour 120g stiff standard length with a Red dot - 1° flat....
They were close then......

 

[Neilds]

When I was at Whipsnade we had the Ping van come round to give fittings.
I tried the i210 and went into the fitting with the mindset of " fit me"
I sort of knew what I wanted but wanted the fitter to find the best setup for me...all I did was say yes that's good or no that's not.
Eventually got the i210 with a regular flex modus 105, half inch long and white dot - 3° upright...so 4° if you include the extra 1/2 inch...
I've no idea how they managed to get that setup...the furthest right I could hit them was 15 yards left.....
Got a refund after the pro measured me up and worked out I should have been in KBS Tour 120g stiff standard length with a Red dot - 1° flat....
They were close then......

But you must have been hitting them straight during the fitting, surely?


And no Shirley jokes

 

[Hobbit]

Had a couple of meh fittings from which I didn’t buy. Had a couple of fittings that saw me with irons that gave me decent scores but I never loved the irons and moved them on after a few months.

I’ve twice been for a Mizuno fitting, hoping to get some classic blade type irons. In both cases I just ballooned the ball up too. Spin rate was way too high. Loved the irons but I was faulty.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Only the ones at American Golf

 

[Imurg]

But you must have been hitting them straight during the fitting, surely?


And no Shirley jokes

I wasn't sure but the numbers...the numbers...

 

[Bdill93]

Kind of....

For my 30th I wanted some more premium irons so all of my loved ones chipped in together and I ordered some Mizunos (923's) last year, fitting went well and I absolutely love the aesthetic of the iron - however - ive lost 10-15 yards per iron on my old Wilson D9's....

Lot of length to lose when you're already not a "big hitter"

I am more accurate with them overall though, but it does pain me seeing my friends hit a 9 for my 7 iron...

 

[Springveldt]

Kind of....

For my 30th I wanted some more premium irons so all of my loved ones chipped in together and I ordered some Mizunos (923's) last year, fitting went well and I absolutely love the aesthetic of the iron - however - ive lost 10-15 yards per iron on my old Wilson D9's....

Lot of length to lose when you're already not a "big hitter"

I am more accurate with them overall though, but it does pain me seeing my friends hit a 9 for my 7 iron...

Is there a massive loft difference? Can't think of anything else that would have such a massive difference.

edit:

The D9 7 iron is only 27° while depending on the 923's it could either be 28.5° (hot metal), 30° (forged) or 34° (tour).

 

[Bdill93]

Is there a massive loft difference? Can't think of anything else that would have such a massive difference.

Some.

Shaft flex has changed and shaft weight - plus the club heads are smaller and probably lighter too.

 

[howbow88]

I have had 2 fittings (both paid for and legit fitters) which I didn't feel went too well. Both times I stupidly still purchased the clubs recommended to me, and both times those clubs were on ebay within a year.

The last fitting I had (nearly 4 years ago now) was for my irons and it was great. I also appreciated the bloke's honesty... He said other than having the lie at 1° flat, everything was a very typical stiff shaft set up, and there's no real need for me to get fitted next time unless I really wanted to. That was at Silvermere, where I've had a few fittings - all have been positive in both experience and result.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have had 2 fittings (both paid for and legit fitters) which I didn't feel went too well. Both times I stupidly still purchased the clubs recommended to me, and both times those clubs were on ebay within a year.

The last fitting I had (nearly 4 years ago now) was for my irons and it was great. I also appreciated the bloke's honesty... He said other than having the lie at 1° flat, everything was a very typical stiff shaft set up, and there's no real need for me to get fitted next time unless I really wanted to. That was at Silvermere, where I've had a few fittings - all have been positive in both experience and result.

Silvermere are good. A lot of our members go there as our pro is limited in stock

 

[Crow]

I enjoy the fact that my irons are usually 2 or 3 clubs weaker than my PPs.
I'm one of the longer hitting seniors at the club so it makes me smile when they look incredulously at me when I tell them what iron I hit.

 

[RedKing]

Only the ones at American Golf

Why?

 

[Piece]

In the early days of custom fit (15 odd years ago), I had a ropey one. It was using FlightScope, telling me I need Cleveland Black Pearls CG7s. Lovely clubs to look at, but ruined my game for 3-odd years. Far, far too spinny. Replaced with Mizunos and still have them.

 

[cliveb]

Not sure regret is the right word, because I learned a very valuable lesson.
I had been playing with old Ping G10s which I bought online, not fitted.
Then I had a set of Orka irons custom built. Everything just so - shafts, lofts, lie angles.
My performance with the Orkas is pretty much exactly the same as it was with the Pings.

Moral of the story: 99% of how you hit the ball is determined by the player's level of skill (or lack thereof), not the equipment.

 

[Orikoru]

Not sure regret is the right word, because I learned a very valuable lesson.
I had been playing with old Ping G10s which I bought online, not fitted.
Then I had a set of Orka irons custom built. Everything just so - shafts, lofts, lie angles.
My performance with the Orkas is pretty much exactly the same as it was with the Pings.

Moral of the story: 99% of how you hit the ball is determined by the player's level of skill (or lack thereof), not the equipment.

I think this depends on how far away from standard your fit ends up being. My iron fitting ended up standard lies, length, everything, so in theory I could have just bought off the shelf anyway, but it was still worth trying all the different brands and picking the ones I hit the best. But if your fit ended up being 2 inches longer and 3° flat or something then surely you would play better than you would with standard clubs.

 

[cliveb]

I think this depends on how far away from standard your fit ends up being. My iron fitting ended up standard lies, length, everything, so in theory I could have just bought off the shelf anyway, but it was still worth trying all the different brands and picking the ones I hit the best. But if your fit ended up being 2 inches longer and 3° flat or something then surely you would play better than you would with standard clubs.

Fair point. I am pretty average physically it all respects, so those black dot Pings with standard length, regular flex shafts were probably right for me.
But I have to say that getting custom built irons made me hope there would be a leap in performance - alas it was not to be.

The only significant difference the Orkas made was that the new grooves shredded balls much quicker than the Pings