Mizuno Iron Fitting - Not your usual story....

[Piece]

And that's what Mizuno want you to do. They took out the Scottish National Fitting Centre and rolled out these carts and their be all and end all swing DNA gizmo. The DNA thing can be manipulated as I have seen in action. The results can be so far wrong as per this thread that its incredible.

Its a dangerous tool and even more dangerous in the wrong hands. As a starting point I would even have my reservations about that as well.

On the other side of fence, which never gets the light of day, are the success stories of DNA. Many people have found the right shafts using this method, including me.

As I said earlier, Trackman or Flightscope can be just as, quote, 'dangerous' and it can be manipulated (via atmospheric inputs) or misleading (the fitting focusing on ball speed only). In the early days of going to fitters, some of the information, recommendations I got from fitters using these devices was laughable. As an example, a fitter focused on small aspects of the data, such as ball speed, saying "look, you are getting 3 mph more with this shaft/head, giving you more distance!". Great, but what about the 8000 rpm spin I'm now getting with the 6i? In fact, my distance has decreased as the ball is ballooning.

The last few years I've made a habit of going to fitters just to test their knowledge and use of technology. I can tell you, it's not pretty. Main culprits are those that use radar devices, as they are solely using ball speed to fit clients. Their ethos is higher ball speed must mean more distance and thus stiffer shaft, playing to the ego and getting the sale. Not great - what about tempo, spin, launch, dynamic loft and other defining factors?

Any fitting device, whether DNA, Trackman or GC2, can be manipulated to give any result.

 

[MashieNiblick]

Ball speed has a huge bearing on your shaft and fitting which again Mizuno fail to incorporate into the DNA machine. Swing tempo can easily be manipulated through choice or subconsciously. DNA mainly measures the shaft flex and in my opinion is a very crude short cut.

My thoughts were not specifically about the DNA thing but more generally as it's often said for example that c/f isn't worth it if your swing is "inconsistent" so my query is about what extent those inconsistencies will affect getting the right shaft (or close to it).

 

[kid2]

I cant see the point of a fitting myself unless you have a very repeatable swing ( which i think at least 95% of average club golfers do not )..
Just my opinion of course but there are a lot of factors that have to be taken into account.... Lie angle, this is gone out the window with course undulations...Hitting off a nice flat mat in a fitters enclosure gives you a dead perfect lie.....Something i rarely get on the course....
In turn also bending over too much or even standing a little taller at address contradicts this too.......

Swing speed can vary from one round to the next or even one swing to the next..So that puts shaft flex out the window....
Thicker grips.....Just because you have big or small hands doesnt necessarily mean grip size needs to change......

Most of if not all the low handicappers that i know have never been custom fit...
I have a mate who plays off 20...Never had a lesson.... around the 6ft ish mark....And was given x-stiff shafts in all his woods.....Bought irons an inch longer than standard and then ended up having to get them adjusted for lie angle by 3 degrees....
Since his iron fit i struggle to see the difference in his game before and after the fit...He has a very quick backswing and when when he does slow it down he hits the ball very well....So is he swinging that fast because he was given those shafts?
And whats the point in using those shafts if when he slows down he hits it much better.....He sprays the driver all over the place....And on 2 occasions last week i hit hybrid off the same tees as he hit driver and was only 10 yards short of him.....
It was an expensive fitting on the day...At the fitters benefit im inclined to think!

 

[Alex1975]

A fitter can only fit the swing you bring on the day of the fitting. Is that any better or worse than randomly picking clubs off the rack. Custom fitting costs no more money....

 

[CMAC]

A fitter can only fit the swing you bring on the day of the fitting. Is that any better or worse than randomly picking clubs off the rack. Custom fitting costs no more money....

how is that then, think Scott Gourlay charges around £45 plus clubs, a few give you the money back if you buy from them but short of an AG fitting I think a proper one costs

 

[kid2]

A fitter can only fit the swing you bring on the day of the fitting. Is that any better or worse than randomly picking clubs off the rack. Custom fitting costs no more money....

But thats my point Al.....Our swings change week to week day to day.....So if i had two identical sets of clubs....One custom fit to you lets say yesterday........But i never told you which were which...I handed you one to play this weekend with .....And then lets say i handed you the other set and got you to play with them next weekend....

Ill bet find it difficult to tell the difference.

 

[Alex1975]

But thats my point Al.....Our swings change week to week day to day.....So if i had two identical sets of clubs....One custom fit to you lets say yesterday........But i never told you which were which...I handed you one to play this weekend with .....And then lets say i handed you the other set and got you to play with them next weekend....

Ill bet find it difficult to tell the difference.

I have been fitted a bunch of times over the years, this time for the first time my numbers had changed but every time I have been iron fitted I have been 84 mph swing speed, your swing does not change as much as you think it would from shot to shot or week to week, you still have the same size levers and platform.

Dearth, I have never paid for a fitting, it really depends where you go.

 

[CMAC]

I have been fitted a bunch of times over the years, this time for the first time my numbers had changed but every time I have been iron fitted I have been 84 mph swing speed, your swing does not change as much as you think it would from shot to shot or week to week, you still have the same size levers and platform.

Dearth, I have never paid for a fitting, it really depends where you go.

np Alax :smirk:

 

[thecraw]

You'll have to do much better that that, Crawford.

Would you like me to cut and paste some advice on effective banter for you?

:rofl:


Please stop.

Nescafe moment.

 

[bunkered]

Some good stuff on golfwrx about custom fit, if I remember right the guys name is Tom Whishon.î

 

[patricks148]

Alex, what are the differences between the JPX 800 and the 825 pro. did you compare the two clubs against each other?

you said earlier that your current clubs needed replacing, but didn't you only get them last year, what sort of wear have the suffered that you need to change clubs aftger only a short time?

My mp62 are getting on for 5 years old and i play a lot and have no ex wear to speak of, only the club face on the 9 iron i use to chip

 

[Alex1975]

Alex, what are the differences between the JPX 800 and the 825 pro. did you compare the two clubs against each other?

you said earlier that your current clubs needed replacing, but didn't you only get them last year, what sort of wear have the suffered that you need to change clubs aftger only a short time?

My mp62 are getting on for 5 years old and i play a lot and have no ex wear to speak of, only the club face on the 9 iron i use to chip

Off the top of my head, thicker top line that looks slimmer as its rounded and ground, milled cavity et al MP 53 in the 7 iron and up that the 800 pro did not have, reinforced cavity, I think thinner face.

I hit over 1000 shots a week so the current clubs look battered, they were Ricks before they were mine and he put a file to the 9 iron face and chewed the sole of the 7 iron on a path or something. I have snapped the 5 iron getting out of a tight spot and the grips are almost through to the metal, I would guess the lofts and lies are all over the place from so much practice. Vanity is one answer, not wanting to through good money after bad is another. I shall be replacing them two or 3 irons at a time for cash flow reasons and have ordered 5 & 6, I shall get 7 & 8 next month...

I intend to keep the 800 pros for practice, but may sell for very little if I feel the need to hurry the 825 into service.

 

[Tommo21]

how is that then, think Scott Gourlay charges around £45 plus clubs, a few give you the money back if you buy from them but short of an AG fitting I think a proper one costs

Does he.........you think......charges around.

 

[jason6r]

Interesting points made here, both for and against custom fitting.

I've never been custom fitted and have no idea as to my swing speed, rpm numbers, launch angle etc but based on a few recommendations on this forum, I'm going to for a session with Lee Porter at Hylands Park tomorrow. As I have a project to spend a year off work (not entirely my decision sadly), playing golf and getting my handicap down to the lowest I can, one of my primary aims is to get some baseline data on my swing stats in order to be able to do a before and after comparison. However, I'll be very interested to see what Lee says about the lie/lofts of my irons and the shafts in my woods.

My own view is that custom fitting should offer some benefits if you're some off "average height/build/swing speed" but is perhaps not the panacea to cure all golfing ills. However, this is a totally uneducated view and I'll better informed after tomorrow afternoon.

 

[DCB]

This is turning into one of the best C/F threads since Flopshot spat the dummy.

Everyone has their own opinion of the validity of a C/F, there is no right and no wrong, it's up to an individual to make up their own mind.

Let's bear this in mind as the thread progresses.


ps....... firmly in the C/F camp

 

[CMAC]

Does he.........you think......charges around.

:rofl: :rofl:

 

[bluewolf]

Some well made points here.

Im in the "if it feels good and gives you the right results" camp. I'm not a big fan of too much detail. It gives the average player too much to think about when diagnosing a problem. Next time I change clubs, I'll be using my local pro, a selection of heads and shafts and a range. Whichever feels best goes in the bag. Not scientific but I prefer it.

 

[Alex1975]

So, the first two irons arrived today and they look beautiful. It is such a well crafted head and its really good to look down on. Now ok these are not MP clubs but they are not that far from an MP 53 head size and shape as you stand over them. I am really impressed and have been and given them a rip in the garden to good effect.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Nice :thup:

When are the other arriving?

 

[moogie]

Why just 2 irons arrived today.....??.......