The truth about custom fitting - and the male ego !

[John_Findlay]

Sort of following on from the previous post about "Illegal Driver" but I thought it was worth a separate post. Please bear with me.

Have just been custom fitted for a new driver by the Titleist Fitting Works tour van and the results frankly amazed me.

With my existing non-conforming driver I thought I hit a good tee shot maybe 240 carry with a good bit of run. How wrong I was!! With the help of their launch monitor it turns out I carry the ball on average 197 yards with nearly 50 yards of run. I felt like I'd been slapped in the face by a girl. Now I don't know about you but if you said that to most guys nowadays they would say you're a short hitter. It has certainly made me realise that most amateurs probably hit the ball 40 yards shorter than they think.

The pro demonstrator told me an interesting story about a guy he fitted who had told him he hit his 3 wood 290 yards (mostly carry apparently). So he knocks his driver way past where he his 3 wood would normally be and the result (including run) was 250. Should have gone to SpecSavers ! The VERY best driving amateur he has fitted plays off +2 and carries it 270 apparently.

I'm guessing that many of us suffer from Big Hitter syndrome and think that we're bashing a good ball when really we're not. It was certainly a reality check for me.

Anyway, the upshot is that I've now ordered a new 907 D1 which gives me 20 yards extra carry and 10mph extra ball speed (from 140 up to 150). And boy can't I wait to start carrying those flaming fairway bunkers on the 14th !

 

[Teetotal]

Custom fitting sounds like a good plan, especially if it gives you more length but confucius say its not how you get there. Surely a long run means you've been able to give it a good slap because of the club speed - any instruction experts out there to advise?

 

[birdieman]

John
You are bang on about distances some players claim to hit. I am one of the longer hitters off the tee at my club and I will regularly drive it about 260-270, sometimes when it's dry and there is a tailwind I can get it out to 290+ but that is rare. That probably means I'm flying it 240-250 on our course which is softish. These hordes of club golfers claimimg they hit it 300+ regularly are deluded, look at the driving averages of the PGA tour where they have very short mown fairways and lots of roll and brilliant golfers who strength train every day are not averaging anywhere near 300 yd drives. I think another thing people do is take the yardage of the hole they're playing which is often measured on a dog leg but they're cutting off the dog leg then telling themselves they've hit the yardage on the card when they haven't. There are also a myriad of golfers playing low loft 8.5 degree etc drivers which is a throw back to 20 years ago. The modern driver creates low ball spin so you need a 10+ degree loft for most players swing speeds to get the correct trajectory for distance. Tee it high and let it fly!

 

[PaulOHagan]

Great stuff- i think more and more golfers a realising the benefits of custom fitting- I wouldn't buy a club without it any more.

 

[Trueblue]

Oh reading all this doesn't encourage me to go get measured! I always think i give it a good spank and get the ball flying a good 300 yards....obviously i am one of the seriously deluded!
Am going home to a darkened room to consider my sins...

 

[John_Findlay]

What amazed me was that I was getting more yardage from a shorter driver (inch off) and switched from a stiff shaft to regular to get more out it. Both those adjustments meant I was hitting it higher with much more spin and off the middle of the club every time.

I hit a low ball before with lots of run but much preferring the new ball flight and it means that hopefully I can carry bunkers and burns which I wouldn't have dared go for before. Can highly recommend the custom fitting process. And maybe one day I can pretend I hit the ball 280 yards again!!

 

[Lipout]

I am currently hitting a TM R5 driver and can generally hit it about 250-260 on a good day. Sometimes i can really nail one to about 280, but seldom on line. If there was a choice i would happliy hit 250 every time on the short stuff rather than 280+ and hope it found the short stuff. Custom fitting is very important so you can have ulitmate confidence in your equipment, but then so is good basic fundimentals: grip, alignment, rhythm and tempo. Without these even the best custom fitted clubs will still hook or slice the ball, if that is where your clubface points at impact.

 

[John_Findlay]

I agree. I've undoubtedly spent more money on lessons in the last two years than I have on equipment. It's the swing that really counts but having the tools that suit your swing will definitely benefit you in the long run too.

P.S. The new Titleist 907 D1 is a cracker. Seemed a big head for the first few shots but I got used to it really quickly

 

[USER1999]

I have also ended up with the 907 D1. Not sure about the feel on the club face, seems very hard, but the looks don't bother me as much as I thought. Prefer the feel of my old TM R7 quad. On the other hand, I don't block the D1 left into the trees, so it must be an improvement.

 

[USER1999]

oh, forgot to say, be careful of the zip on the head cover, it will scratch the paint on the driver very easily. annoying.

 

[Mitch]

John, I am also in the same boat in that my current Titleist 983k is soon to be illegal. It is witout doubt the best driver I have ever had and my first instinct is to go for another Titleist.

How do I go about finding out where and when the Titleist touring van will be in my area so as to get myself custom fitted?

 

[John_Findlay]

Mitch,

I had a leaflet with the Tour Van dates but managed to misplace it ... and the Titleist UK site is acting up.

Your local pro shop will no doubt have a list of dates but if not then here's a link to the club website where I got fitted. I'm sure if you phone them they will have a number for the Titleist Tour Van.

http://www.kings-acregolf.com/whats_new/course_news/article_61.html

Well worth it. I've only had my 907 D1 for 2 weeks now and already got my handicap down from 9 to 8, thanks to much better driving.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

[Mitch]

John,

Thanks for the info. I have sent an e-mail off to Titleist requesting some dates of when the Tour Van will be in my neck of the woods.

Appreciate the help.