Fitting - is it worth it?

[Golfnut1957]

I'm a big advocate of fitting, if you don't constantly chop and change your clubs. For people like me, unless I could find someone who fits 2nd hand it is pointless, but for anyone who is buying new and intends to keep them then why wouldn't you. There are exceptions though.

I have always changed clubs like other people change socks, and as a consequence I have tried an almost countless number of shaft, flex, head combinations and discovered over the years what I feel comfortable with and what I don't.

I am awaiting on the delivery of a brand-new set of irons as I type. I haven't shrunk, so as always they are 2 upright, 0.5 long. The same shaft as I'm currently using has been specified, and the head is one I tried for a couple of weeks late last year. I could have/ should have gone for a fitting considering how much they are costing but in the end there seemed to be no point as I knew I wasn't compromising on what I've ordered.

Watch this space.

 

[Imurg]

I'm a big advocate of fitting, if you don't constantly chop and change your clubs. For people like me, unless I could find someone who fits 2nd hand it is pointless, but for anyone who is buying new and intends to keep them then why wouldn't you. There are exceptions though.

I have always changed clubs like other people change socks, and as a consequence I have tried an almost countless number of shaft, flex, head combinations and discovered over the years what I feel comfortable with and what I don't.

I am awaiting on the delivery of a brand-new set of irons as I type. I haven't shrunk, so as always they are 2 upright, 0.5 long. The same shaft as I'm currently using has been specified, and the head is one I tried for a couple of weeks late last year. I could have/ should have gone for a fitting considering how much they are costing but in the end there seemed to be no point as I knew I wasn't compromising on what I've ordered.

Watch this space.

I'm very much the same...I've been playing long enough, had enough fittings and read/watched a lot of stuff - doing my research.
The last 2 fittings I've been for have provided what I expected to be fit for - shaft, length, lie etc etc....
The downside of changing heads but keeping the same shaft is that the weighting of the new head may deflect the shaft differently and, therefore not be a good fit.
It may not make any difference but a lot of heads are having weight moved around inside, especially toe and heel.

 

[Robster59]

I treated myself to a fitting about 6-7 years ago. I had been to the Scottish Golf Show and tried a few clubs, but the fitting advice was, shall we say, variable. The AG stand lad suggested I needed heavier shafts! When I decided to get fitted properly, I went to Callaway at St. Andrews. We tried a number of shafts, heads, lies, etc. In the end I finished up with Callaway XR with graphite shafts and a 2° flat lie. That is not anything like I would have picked up in a shop. I've been very happy with them.

 

[Deleted member 30522]

In my experience I'm not sure how much difference it makes.

It makes a ton of difference, if nothing else in at least trying different clubs to see which is best for you. But getting the correct length, shaft and lie can have a huge effect on your game.

 

[Backache]

If your current clubs are a good fit, it is unlikely that fitting will improve you.
Personally I change my clubs very infrequently, my current irons I bought last year after a fitting and they are much more consistent.
Suffice it to say I'm a believer in fitting but it won't help if your current clubs are already a decent fit.

 

[Neilds]

I think a lot depends on what people consider to be a 'fitting'. I bought a new driver last year (Ping G425) and although the Pro let me try a few makes and then fiddled with the setting to adjust the loft and the back weight to get the best ball flight (on the day) I wouldn't class that as a fitting - I was very happy with the service I got and still get on with the club so it suited me. This is the process I have had for the majority of new clubs I have had and, with my level of play and knowledge, I think this is the right level for me.

 

[Golfnut1957]

I'm very much the same...I've been playing long enough, had enough fittings and read/watched a lot of stuff - doing my research.
The last 2 fittings I've been for have provided what I expected to be fit for - shaft, length, lie etc etc....
The downside of changing heads but keeping the same shaft is that the weighting of the new head may deflect the shaft differently and, therefore not be a good fit.
It may not make any difference but a lot of heads are having weight moved around inside, especially toe and heel.

No doubt you are right. In this case I'm going from Mizuno MP20 mb to Mizuno Pro 223, Mizuno are building them so next to no difference. If I was going for something totally different, say Ping, then I would have almost certainly have had the fitting.

 

[evemccc]

I'm very much the same...I've been playing long enough, had enough fittings and read/watched a lot of stuff - doing my research.
The last 2 fittings I've been for have provided what I expected to be fit for - shaft, length, lie etc etc....
The downside of changing heads but keeping the same shaft is that the weighting of the new head may deflect the shaft differently and, therefore not be a good fit.
It may not make any difference but a lot of heads are having weight moved around inside, especially toe and heel.

I have been watching the Precision Golf YouTube live fittings and saw yesterday that iron head weights are essentially the same weight, bar 5 grams at most, across the board. It’s the shaft weight that is the significant difference in club weight…

Happy to hear other points of view, but AFAIK head weight differences aren’t significant

 

[evemccc]

If your current clubs are a good fit, it is unlikely that fitting will improve you.
Personally I change my clubs very infrequently, my current irons I bought last year after a fitting and they are much more consistent.
Suffice it to say I'm a believer in fitting but it won't help if your current clubs are already a decent fit.

I have not had any iron fittings yet having bought my irons on eBay based on nothing more than a few days reading online — albeit I was essentially throwing darts blindfolded, as I was new to golf —- Yet I think I have ‘got lucky’.

When I got fitted for my driver the fitter said he would probably have fit me for those shafts…

Still, I’m going for an iron fitting soon — I half want the existing set to be as good as it gets for me, as it will save me lots of £££…and I half want to find a perfect head, grip and shaft that will tempt me to spend more money to magically become a scratch golfer

 

[Jason.H]

I’ve had fittings and am standard length and lie, my ball flight is pretty straight and my divots cut even. In total I’ve played 8 years golf and love mizuno irons, I’ve tried others but never got on with them.
I got fitted for my TSR driver but it’s probably no better than my off the shelf Sim 2Max

 

[Jason.H]

Going to get my lofts and lies checked also. Might tweak the 6 iron 1 degree upright and the 7 half a degree.

 

[peld]

im 6'4" so fitting is important to me but ive had different outcomes

My first fitting, albeit probably 16 years ago without trackman and fewer shaft/grip options etc, fitted me in to +0.5" regular shafts, standard grips (Srixon ID403)

When i returned to golf in 2018, they fitted me in +1.5" Wilson D7 (+2" for most other manufacturers), KBS 105 Stiff, jumbo grips

I replaced them with Sub70 699s, but used similar specs - i bought +2" KBS Tour, jumbo grips.

However when I was fit for my PXGs just before Xmas, I was asked what i'd like to see improve - i said I often launch the ball too high (despite my strike being down and good compression). The fitter said my clubs are probably too long and you are presenting too much loft. We agreed to bring it back to about +1.25" (same KBS Tour, Jumbo grips). The PXGs (Gen4s) are amazing, but i still think i hit the ball a touch high!

EDIT
In that same fitting I had a hit of a Gen5 hybrid - which was a revelation with the toe weight system compared to my (then) current hybrids which can go very left. I used that experience to go and buy two PXG Proto hybrids with stiffer heavier shafts and put the heavey weights in the toe - they have been good.
Finally i should also add I went for a Driver fitting at Scott Gourlay - my off the rack M6 was the best for me, but a bit more by luck. I bought a similar shaft to that one in the M6 when i bought a new PXG Gen5 driver.

 

[timd77]

Interesting thread and it’s got me thinking…

I’ve never had a fitting, I’ve always either bought second hand or off the shelf. I’m average height and my driver swing speed is in the 90-100 bracket, so I’ve always just gone for regular shafts, standard length etc.

However, I’d love to be ‘checked over’ by a pro, ie, get in a studio, hit some balls with my current clubs and for them to confirm I’ve pretty much for the right shafts, loft and lie etc, or to tell me I need something changing. Is that a thing a pro would do as a ‘lesson’?

 

[Crow]

For the vast majority of club golfers, our swings are just not grooved enough for it to make a difference unless you're outside a pretty broad range of "average" measurements.

I play different clubs every week, none have been fitted to me, they have varying lengths, lie angles, shaft flexes, swingweights and grips. That includes drivers, fairway woods, irons, wedges and putters.
Yes, my scoring will vary from one week to the next, but that's 99% down to the vagaries of my swing rather than the clubs not fitting me and my handicap is pretty stable.

How many people can honestly say that their fitted clubs have knocked shots off a typical round and hence their handicap without factoring in general improvement and more practice?

For that extremely small degree of improvement in my score that fitted clubs MIGHT make, I'd much sooner enjoy the clubs I've chosen than those that somebody else has guided me towards.
But maybe others like that "security" of having someone else choose for them so that they don't feel they might've made a bad decision.

 

[Slab]

Another thought occurs. My course swing performance doesn't necessarily match my range performance (my handicap is probably 3-4 shots lower on the range )

And a fitting is going to be carried out in a range environment, but the club/s are obviously intended for use on the course

 

[evemccc]

Has anyone experience of using the Mizuno Shaft Optimiser?

Precision Golf don’t use it…presumably because it either 1) isn’t good enough in their opinion or 2) is v good, and sidesteps them and undermines a decent chunk of their expertise

I bet some of the other elite / expensive fitting studios don’t either, such as SGGT, Golf Principles and Tour X etc

I’m curious how after only 3 swings it can give 3 shafts that will be the best fit for you

 

[Deleted member 1147]

Has anyone experience of using the Mizuno Shaft Optimiser?

Precision Golf don’t use it…presumably because it either 1) isn’t good enough in their opinion or 2) is v good, and sidesteps them and undermines a decent chunk of their expertise

I bet some of the other elite / expensive fitting studios don’t either, such as SGGT, Golf Principles and Tour X etc

I’m curious how after only 3 swings it can give 3 shafts that will be the best fit for you

Yeah I’ve used it. Gave 3 recommendations. One of which I ended up with, having tried all 3 plus a good few others .

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

That my irons have been fitted makes no difference for me at the moment as I can’t put a decent swing on any iron shot of over 150yds. Once I‘ve learned how to hit an iron maybe I’ll then worry about tweaking lofts, shaft etc.

 

[Crow]

Stringent testing in scientific study has proven that club fitting is not worth it for the average club golfer.

 

[GG26]

Stringent testing in scientific study has proven that club fitting is not worth it for the average club golfer.

Yes, but explaining the cost of a new set of irons to the better half is easier if you explain you had to be fitted for the length, lie angle, shaft, grip etc. It makes it sound scientific and expensive and so the cost must be justified.