Finally tried this whole custom fitting malarky.

[Lump]

Finally broke my custom fit cherry today.

Spent a couple of hours at Titleist down at St Ives GC being fit for a new set of irons.
First thing to say is… my hands hurt :mmm:. Haven't hit that many balls in a while.
Secondly, even off 6 I didn't realise just how much a shaft can alter the result.

We started off hitting my clubs and seeing how I hit them. Was striking the ball okay but not brilliant (Real hater of range mats). We assessed my lie angle, wether I needed longer clubs and my SS. Turns out, even though the pings are 2.75* upright, I'm still hitting off the toe of the club. I also need 1/2" longer. So all clubs we will hit will be 2* upright (the most titleist can offer) and 1/2" longer (which should make then a bit more upright) 6 iron SS was average of 93mph and very consistent (0.3 mph either way).

Had a club shaft combo in mind before I went but that changed after hitting every type of iron.

First up was the Ap2, just not for me. Not so different to my S57's but had a totally different feel and shorter than my current setup. These where ticked off the list after only a few hits.

Next was the CB, very nice mid irons. Ball zipped off the deck very nicely with a nice high flat flight. Tried a few different shafts with this head, S300, X100, KBS S, KBS C- tapers, PX 6.5 and finally the PX 6.0.
X100's are brutal, again anything from Dynamic gold just doesn't work well for me. The S300's where short for some reason, by a good 10yrds. The KBS shaft felt horrid, couldn't feel anything with them, didn't hit a single good shot. The C -Tapers is what I went in hoping to be fit for, that idea went out the window 2 shots later. Awful shaft.
Then the fitter finally fitted the PX 6.0 into the head. Instant change, great flight, great launch, good numbers and even better 10+ yards longer on my current set.
Had a quick swing with the PX 6.5 to eliminate any doubt about stiffness, could hit them fine but needed to chase them to get the best results. Was pretty settled on the PX 6.0 now.

Finally onto the head I was here for, the MB, pure unadulterated sexyness. (Nearly had a crisis after the first 5 shots clean out the sweet spot). The MB head combined with the PX 6.0 gave the best results so far. Worked through the key irons in the set to make sure all was okay. All perfect and flying well. :thup: 6 iron distance was up to 178yrds from 165yrds

We did briefly go through my wedges but this isn't something I'm looking at atm. (Plus I'm not deciding which wedges I want hitting off range mats)

The hour went all too quick (In fact he pushed it to 1.5 hours as it was quiet), I was dying to hit more balls but I had my spec and was happy to stop hitting balls as my hands were getting sore.

Happy to say that my little custom fit session was a great experience. I have never hit balls with trackman and it's a real eye opener knowing just how badly your swinging the club

My spec and the order I will be placing once I get the price through: 3-PW MB Project X 6.0 1/2" longer 2* upright.

A very happy choppy I am, now I want them here ASAP!

 

[chrisd]

Great story Lump and I hope you'll be very happy when you get them!

 

[pbrown7582]

Sounds a great expierience enjoy the new shineys soon.

 

[CMAC]

nice write up Lump- Titleist is calling me back even in my sleep. I think you've hit one of the best companies for CS in your first session :thup:
Are you buying from them directly?
Did he measure grip size as well?
Did he let you try other clubs i.e 3 iron, 8 iron etc in the same set (these are 2 clubs I judge a set on)

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hawkeye went there for his C/F and no surprise in the fact he is a lot more consistent. I know he fancies the blades...he fancies the blades....he fancies the blades (just planting that seed again!)

 

[Odvan]

A nice little 'feel-good factor' read was that, Lump.

Pleased you've had a good and memorable experience.

 

[Kellfire]

Another plus one for the custom fit route, Titleist do tempt me a lot when I go down that route. Promised myself a custom fit set last year and didn't get around to it. Maybe this season...

 

[pbrown7582]

Hawkeye went there for his C/F and no surprise in the fact he is a lot more consistent. I know he fancies the blades...he fancies the blades....he fancies the blades (just planting that seed again!)

Didn't they fit the wrong shaft on his CF?

 

[Lump]

nice write up Lump- Titleist is calling me back even in my sleep. I think you've hit one of the best companies for CS in your first session :thup:
Are you buying from them directly?
Did he measure grip size as well?
Did he let you try other clubs i.e 3 iron, 8 iron etc in the same set (these are 2 clubs I judge a set on)

Yep, I hit 3 iron and pitching wedge in the MB's to make sure I was happy.
He did measure my grips but I had already mentioned the grips felt "thick" in my hands (something to do with PX shaft butt being thicker). I didn't want to bore people but I have gone for 1/64" thinner (they stretch the grip apparently to make it thinner?)
Buying through a club pro, you cannot buy direct from Titeist.

Didn't they fit the wrong shaft on his CF?

I can see how this could happen. You're trying so many different shafts and flipping between options it can get confusing.

 

[Alex1975]

I had you pegged for S55 but I remember you eyeing up those MB. They are going to be beautiful!

Nice write up and some huge gains there in the shaft/head combo! When you going back for the woods?

 

[CMAC]

Yep, I hit 3 iron and pitching wedge in the MB's to make sure I was happy.
He did measure my grips but I had already mentioned the grips felt "thick" in my hands (something to do with PX shaft butt being thicker). I didn't want to bore people but I have gone for 1/64" thinner (they stretch the grip apparently to make it thinner?)
Buying through a club pro, you cannot buy direct from Titeist.


.

Yes I thought that, but you said you were waiting on ordering when you got the price through, as you didnt mention a pro I assumed (wrongly) it was thru them. I regret selling my MP69's now as I'm a blade man thru and thru and Titleist has always been my equipment of choice since I started Golf 169 years ago

 

[williamalex1]

What was the cost of your fitting , and did the price vary depending on the make clubs you bought or didn't buy at all.?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I'm surprised at some of your descriptions for different shafts. Just because they don't work for your swing doesn't mean they are horrible.

 

[Lump]

What was the cost of your fitting , and did the price vary depending on the make clubs you bought or didn't buy at all.?

Its £40 per single item fitting, or £80 for a full bag fitting.
Price changes due to the shaft, the Project X shaft is an upload option. (About £18 extra per shaft)

I'm surprised at some of your descriptions for different shafts. Just because they don't work for your swing doesn't mean they are horrible.

They are only my opinions. Somebody might and will feel differently about the shafts I disliked.
As I said, I went in wanting the C-tapers are reading lots of reviews about them. They where not as expected. (But look really cool in satin finish)

 

[Ethan]

Glad to hear the CF worked out, and it shows how individual and variable players are. The most important thing is you have found a shaft that works for you. At 93 mph 6 iron, PX 6.0 sounds just right. Those stats are similar to some of the more modest hitters on Tour but are pretty good for a club player.

The other shafts tried may work better in different heads, but I tend to agree with not liking TT DG so much. It remains the number 1 shaft on Tour, so can't be bad. A lot of Tour players use Tour Spec, which have a longer shaftband than retail. Those are just QC'd to a much tighter tolerance. TT DG are tip stiff and tend to have a lowish launch but moderate spin.

I like KBS. They were designed by Kim Braly (KB) who also designed Project X. Originally PX were not intended to be a retail line, just a prototype for Phil Mick who wanted a boardy shaft without much give, but they caught on and the rest is history. The KBS, though, is reputedly the shaft Kin Braly wanted to make. It tends to be described as having a similar flight but with better feel and feedback. Both PX and KBS tend to be a bit softer in the tip and give a medium launch with lowish spin, for that modern flat flight.

C-taper is a different beast. I have these at present. They are supposed to be rather stiff and have a super low flight and spin. They also feel rather light and tend to come out at a lower swingweight. That takes a bit of getting used to, but now I love them and in the X Hot Pros, are the longest straightest shafts I have ever used. I wondered if they would feel different in another head, so demoed some Mizuno MP-54s. At first the pro wasn't convinced I should try them, but after trying a number of shafts, they won for distance and consistency.

 

[IanG]

I similarly had a titleist iron fitting 10 days ago at Kings Acre near Edinburgh. I had tried a few different brands with the local proshop and had more or less settled on the AP1s as the irons for me so getting fitted seemed like a fun thing to do. At my handicap level I am grateful for any help I can get and more importantly I was genuinely interested in whether I would notice any difference between shafts etc.

So on arrival I was given some balls and invited to warm up for 20mins or so with my own clubs. Before getting into the nitty gritty Graeme discussed what I wanted out of any new clubs I was looking to buy and what I had tried out already. He also asked where I played most of my golf and what my typical less-than-perfect shot looked like.

That done I hit some 6-iron shots with my own clubs on trackman producing a fairly typical dispersion for me. Switching to stock steel AP1s and hitting few more balls showed the forgiveness of the newer clubs (my existing clubs are 20 years old no-name irons) with a slightly increased distance ( ~7 yards extra) and a somewhat tighter dispersion in both length and line. 6 iron swing speed was a consistent 83mph all day. Throughout all this Graeme was encouraging, which helped me to relax during what could have been a stressful session being 'judged' for an hour.

Taping the club face up suggested 1/2" shorter would be better (funnily enough reducing to exactly the same length as my existing clubs). and taping the sole suggested 1 degree upright would be better for my swing. With these adjustments made the dispersion tightened up again and the whole club unit felt much better controlled.

Next up came a switch to a heavier TT shaft which didn't suit me and the dispersion went worse again, but switching to a TT super light shaft (reg flex,) was a revaluation. I hit 5 pure strikes in a row all arrow straight at the target! For me that is almost witchcraft, I don't think I've ever hit 5 such good shots in succession. The scientist in me was screaming "fluke". The dispersion of only a few yards was fantastic and the distance variation was also tight.

After discussing this for a while. I hits some more and while not quite so wonderful, the dispersion remained nicely tight in both length and line. I also tried the AP2s which are nicer looking that the AP1, but proved not quite so forgiving of the vagaries of my swing so I reluctantly put them back. CBs and MBs were not entertained, actually the hour long session went remarkably fast and so there was not really time to try everything one would have liked to.

Finally I quickly tried out a 21 913 hybrid as I had never tried one and to my delight found this rather easy to hit ( off the mat) so one of those will go in the bag as well the 4-PW AP1s.

Overall I really enjoyed the experience of doing the fitting, it was interesting and informative. My new shineys are sitting in the pro shop waiting for me to pick them up - but work and a weekend away means that I will have to wait another 10 days before I can swing them in anger.

Ian

 

[Spear-Chucker]

There's some really cool info in this thread...

Another shout out for Titleist St. Ives from me. Their patience, expertise and easy manner was a joy to work with. Seeing the names and pictures of the tour guys who use the facility is both inspiring and scary but the team really put you at ease.

I went for a driver and three wood fitting and was astonished at the options they have; kid, toy shop scenario... Was really taken aback at one custom option, turns out for my somewhat idiosynchratic swing a 17 degree 3/4 wood with a cut down driver shaft was best based on ball flight and the Trackman numbers. Would never have thought of that - guess that's why they are the pro's though?

I'm a Titleist fanboy for sure but I've heard great things about other big manufacturers too - really pays to custom fit.

 

[vkurup]

Titelist or TaylorMade C/F is on the bucket list.. so we shall see. For some reason, i thought Titelist did all their fitting in Scotland, so good to see St Ives closer home..