How much difference has a custom fit driver made to your game?

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The driver has always been one club that i've had problems with (who hasn't!) and i've never really been settled with any driver i've had. I don't have a lot of spare cash kicking around so every club in my bag has been bought on a cost first criteria. The driver i've had in my bag is a Powerbilt Slugger with an Alidla VS Proto R65 shaft. I've never been really comfortable with it (too light and whippy). Last week, i managed to grab a shot of a colleagues Nike Ignite 460 with Aldila NV Protopype X80 shaft. This felt way better to hit and i played really well with it last week. Last night at the range however i couldn't hit it for toffee! I know that the shaft is too stiff for me and have realised that this club will only benefit me if i'm on top of my game for 100% of the time - not likely. In the heat of the moment i bought this from said colleague... i now realise this was a mistake. :( (thinking i had bagged a bargain!)

I have had a few hits with a lads (at the range) G10 with stiff V2 shaft and i've never felt so comfortable with a driver. It just felt spot on and pretty forgiving.

Now, my pro can custom fit me for Ping, so ideally that's what i'd like to do. But before i approach him about it (see what he can do for me), i'd like to know what kind of difference getting custom fit has made to peoples games compared to when they were just using off the shelf drivers...

I'm also going to sell my two drivers to help fund a new one so how much are those two likely to get. Both have very good condition shafts and heads.

Sorry to blabber on...
 
HUUUUUUGE difference to my game. I was struggling to get the ball airbourne with my Callaway FT-I before hand, the shaft was just dead to me (fujikura). Even when I did get the ball airbourne it only went about 210 TOTAL distance.

Now with my C/F'd FT-5 and Aldila NVS shaft I am carrying about 220-230, on good days, my ball will roll out to 250.

I have seen great results from my 3 wood which was also fit and my irons!
 
Jury still out slightly on my CF 909D2, as I'm still fading it slightly.
However, I'm certain that its me, as when I do connect with it and all is in sync, it has put me in places that my G5 hadnt done before.

So, Custom Fit cant correct swing inadequacies, but it can help with swing traits, if that makes sense ?

ie, shaft fitted for slow or fast swing etc.? Loft tweaks to help you fly the ball better depending on your natural launch angle and/or sidespin.

I wouldnt ever buy a driver off the peg again.
 
Agree that that custom fitting does make a difference. My old Orka driver was custom fit and aside from the shaft options, the clubfitter also pointed me in the direction of having a shorter shaft. Many of the recent drivers have ridiculously long shafts which may help with distance but make control a real problem. Since then have stuck with drivers with a 44 inch shaft and ignored those such as the Burner with 46 or even 47 inch shafts.
 
Huge difference.
I used to have a Nike Ignite 460 with regular shaft.
Couldn't hit a fairway to save me life - now I'm averaging over 60%.
I tried several at my fitting and came out with a beauty.
 
I don't think shaft lengh makes great difference, I think its between a yard or so an inch on the shaft, so nothing compared to the control of a fitted driver. I maybe getting the Cobra S9 Driver & Fairway in July fitted.
 
It made little or no difference to my game. I was fitted while I was still recovering from illness and was rather weak. I have since then acquired a used Cally GBB II which has found a permanent place in my bag. New clubs aren't always the answer.
 
C.F is totally the way forward and eliminates the need for luck, I will explain why.

When I bought my D1 early last year I tried it initially in a Proforce V2 shaft, I was getting no height and hooking it everywhere, no matter what I did.

I then got one with the VS-Proto and was creaming the thing.

If I had bought blind without being CF'd I would have ended up with a driver I couldnt hit.
 
Thinking of getting this done myself but i would like somehwere with a range and all the computer gadgets in Kent, preferable for Callaway drivers.

Also with the differring shafts how do you guys budget for a new club? Or don't you?
 
I've just had a custom fit driver. I went to the Belfry on Monday and I ended up with a 10.5 degree Ping Rapture V2 with a stiff Diamana Blue shaft. I previously had a 9.5 degree Titleist 909D2 with a tipped voodoo stiff shaft. I was hiiting low launching drives that spun too much with the 909. With the Rapture I increased my launch angle by 2 degrees and brought my spin rate down which resulted in an increase of 15 yards carry. I will never buy an off the shelf driver again.
 
Right... defo going to get this done. Need to have a word with the pro to see what he can do for me, but i'll need to put the old headcover on the new driver so as the other half doesn't notice ;)
 
I'm a HUGE sceptic about the whole fitting of clubs thing - you still have to put a good swing on it regardless of what's in your hand. I have shot sub par rounds with clubs that frankly would look too cheap for Tesco!

Normally when I can't hit a club it's because I'm trying to knock the cover off it.

That said it would be interesting to have a whole set specifically made for me and see if makes me better or worse! Maybe I just wouldn't be able to play with them at all?? It amazes me to think that I'd be able to get some clubs tweaked by 1 or 2 degrees and then manage to find that killer edge AND put exactly the same swing on it everytime.
 
I'm a HUGE sceptic about the whole fitting of clubs thing - you still have to put a good swing on it regardless of what's in your hand.
Click to expand...

And what if you can put a good swing on it? :D
 
I had a couple of drivers custom fit and my last one has changed my driving tenfold

i have dropped the spin rate so i dont hit into the wind, i hit through it which is nice as i struggled with that before

I also struggled with shots to the left but i am finding fairways more often and i can go 'after it' more often not in fear of losing it left

As a progressing golfer my swing changes so one driver that worked a year ago doesnt work as good now.Iam not saying i cant hit it of course i can but to get the best out of my or anyones game having a driver what is as close to spot on has got to be better
 
I was talking to my pro about this before the Goswick meet.

I wasn't getting on with the driver and tried a few hybrid's.

I found one that I hit as sweet as a nut. The pro said that I should have that particular club, not one in plastic wrap from the shelf. (It was a new club, he taped it up)

The shafts are so different, because of the manufacturing process and the presence of minute air bubbles in the resin, no two are exact.
I told him that I hit the driver really well at the C/F session.
He asked if I had bought the driver that I had hit.
When I told him that I didn't, he wasn't surprised that it didn't feel the same .

Just food for thought
 
Custom fitting certainly seems to be worth a pop, but where do you find the place to have it done? Do most Pros do it or is specialist equipment needed?

Can anyone recommend a place in or near N Devon to have it done?
 
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