When can I justify getting custom-fitted clubs?

[Astraeus]

Not a question to enquire as to whether it is worthwhile but rather at what stage do you think it is appropriate to have your clubs 'shaped' to you as a player? Is it as you are starting out, or when you are an intermediate, or once you have established yourself and know your style of playing?

 

[philly169]

Depends, if your a beginner and average height a regular set off the shelf would be fine. When you get better custom fit will improve to no end.

 

[pendodave]

How about never ? Or 'when you have nothing better to do with £500' ?

There lots of ways to get better at golf. I reckon custom fitting must be the least cost effective out there. In fact, I can't think of any worse ones apart from buying about 100 of those funny bracelets...

 

[chris661]

How about never ? Or 'when you have nothing better to do with £500' ?

There lots of ways to get better at golf. I reckon custom fitting must be the least cost effective out there. In fact, I can't think of any worse ones apart from buying about 100 of those funny bracelets...

What a frankly bizarre argument. Normally it doesn't cost anything let alone £500 quid to get a fitting, so my answer is whenever you like.

 

[ScienceBoy]

There is a difference between checking your loft and lie and custom fitting.

Custom fitting in my mind is a whole shafts, heads, lofts, lies day swinging on trackman with a fitter.

Things like Mizuno DNA are a cheaper way to get the right gear

A full custom fitting will be an expensive deal and a whole day out, going into a golf store and spending 20 or 30 getting some time on a trackman etc is a good cheaper way to do it that means you can compare lots of clubs quickly and easily.

For the former you probably need a damn good reason or a heck of a lot of money, the latter makes sense for any decent serious golfer.

Right at the bottom end of the cost scale is just getting your loft and lies checked, a good thing to do every few years if you have forged clubs as they can go "out".

 

[GreiginFife]

I wonder if there is perhaps a misconception that getting custom fitted is a real bank breaker.
If you are in the market for a set of irons anyway then it's whether you want to spend the extra on a "better" set (note: I'm in no way implying cost = better).
My MP52's were £499 just over 3 years ago, £50 for the Mizuno fitting doe £549 total. I had already committed to a five hundred quid spend so it wasn't massively expensive to get the fitting - but absolutely worth it.
To answer the OP's question (sorry for the ramble) whenever you a) feel ready or b) want to take your game to the next level.

 

[Andy]

How about never ? Or 'when you have nothing better to do with £500' ?

There lots of ways to get better at golf. I reckon custom fitting must be the least cost effective out there. In fact, I can't think of any worse ones apart from buying about 100 of those funny bracelets...

Why would anyone pay 500 bangers?

What benefit is to be had playing with shafts that are 2 inches too short for you?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I guess it depends. If you are an absolute beginner, or perhaps recently taken the game up and having lessons my take is you should wait. It makes life a lot easier for the fitter and gives you the best choices if you have a swing that is repeatable to a large degree.

As for it costing £500 ignore the loon. The irons may cost that but then you will pay that even if you buy off the shelf and most big firms like Ping, Callaway or Titleist will normally only charge around £50 for the actual fitting itself

 

[Astraeus]

Is it well worth the trip to Ping HQ at Gainsborough or one of the other custom fit centres? My pro was discussing it with me today and he'll size me up for Ping G20s or Wilson Staff DFYs for no more than the price of the clubs. Am I likely to be disappointed in the 'measurements' he makes? £299 for the Wilson Staff DFYs including fitting or £450 for the G20s doesn't sound too painful.

I'm 6' 3" and just need clubs with a stiff shaft and a little more length on them. I'm not needing anything spectacularly unusual.

 

[joer422]

whenever you like maybe the better you get and are not making many more improvements to your game then get an indept fitting but for example i am 17 still working on my game and im getting fitted on thurs just for a simple fitting so grip size, shaft flex and other things but not changing face angles etc. as that will probably change over the coming months

 

[HughJars]

How about never ? Or 'when you have nothing better to do with £500' ?

There lots of ways to get better at golf. I reckon custom fitting must be the least cost effective out there. In fact, I can't think of any worse ones apart from buying about 100 of those funny bracelets...

At a normal cost of £0 and 0 pence, custom fitting has to be one of the best options for improving at golf.

Most decent shops and ranges will have a range of heads and shafts to try, and be able to adjust for length and lie. In 99% of cases that is all you will ever need.

 

[Astraeus]

And, for a relative beginner to the sport, is there any advantage to going 'all-out' or will a pro shop's lengthening be adequate to suit your game better?

 

[Slicer30]

Not a question to enquire as to whether it is worthwhile but rather at what stage do you think it is appropriate to have your clubs 'shaped' to you as a player? Is it as you are starting out, or when you are an intermediate, or once you have established yourself and know your style of playing?

I remember when I was learning to drive, I kept stalling the car the first few lessons. turns out the seat was too far forward and because I was over 6ft I needed it back all the way. Instantly - easing out the clutch was more easy and I was more comfortable.

Thats how I felt after I got custom fitted for my clubs.

I had used off the shelf wilsons for 12 months. They were a decent starter set which allowed me to go out and find out if I'd enjoy playing every week. Once I knew I wanted to get serious and started trying to get the right stance, posture etc. They became unusable. By getting my body into the right shape to hit a nice shot, then sticking the wrong club in my hands my golf got worse and worse.

Regular shaft, regular grip, 2 degrees upright and 1/2 inch longer shafts and I was a different golfer. I could stand tall and hit.

I went to the LEaderboard golf centre in Reading - they have all the major brands and for £25 quid they give you swing DNA session also. You dont have to buy, but I was counting the money out before I had finished my basket of balls.

 

[Astraeus]

Slicer30, thank you for an enlightening analogy. I was fearful that this would be the case - that I would 'learn' how to play golf with shorter clubs and create a makeshift swing which wasn't conducive to me being the best player I can be, only to have to re-learn once I had properly fitted clubs.

 

[Imurg]

There's Custom Fit and there's Custom Fit......

One end of the spectrum just involves picking a head, trying different shafts and then making sure the grip, length and lie are fine. Most Professionals should be able to do that to some degree of accuracy - it ain't really rocket science. The Mizuno DNA Gizmo provides the shaft data and the rest is straight-forward.

The other end comprises all of the above but adds things like optimising spin rates, lofts, launch angles and a few other bits besides.
This needs to be done, probably, by an experienced fitter with a decent launch monitor and the knowledge to interpret the figures.

If you don't have a stable, repeatable swing - one that doesn't really change from week to week then you need option 2. Ultimately, you need to be a pretty darn good player to benefit from that. You;ll be fitted for the swing you provide on the day - if it's different tomorrow then those clubs will not work as well.

If you're an ordinary handicap golfer with a swing that changes a bit throughout a round then option 1 would suffice.

Option 1 probably wont cost much if anything
Option 2 may cost £50 which may or may not be taken off your bill should you buy clubs.

Option 3 is to try different clubs yourself at a range and buy the one that seems to work best for you - many do this and play to a decent standard.

 

[Astraeus]

Imurg, that is my thinking on the matter. My swing is inconsistent, for sure, and so I don't want to be sized-up on account of one afternoon's swinging as, like you said, it is entirely likely to be entirely different the following week.

In the first instance then I suspect I'll opt for the Wilson Staff's, lengthened and altered by my local pro to suit my taller figure. Then, in a few years if it all goes well with the sport, I can look at getting some pricier clubs professionally fitted up to me. £300 is enough to lay down on a sport at this stage!

 

[Dreamer2]

hi,,the more i play golf & get better with the clubs that i have started with a 300 pound set( BB callaway)

i have tinkered & tryed other clubs thinking the better the club the better my game will be

no no no,,,now I'm used to what my clubs can do ,I'm more interested in getting better scores not better clubs

i do want new clubs but the target Ive gave myself is wait till i reach single figger H/C then I'm going to get fitted for a full set ,,then & only then i will have a very good understanding of the game of golf to appreciate the quality of golf clubs i buy

so for me stick to the clubs you have & set yourself a target to earn a better set of clubs

 

[pendodave]

Ho hum, I seem to have attracted some rather unsporting abuse here, and being less thick skinned than timgolfy, feel that some justification is called for.

The reason I plucked £500 from the air was that a casual perusal of this site suggests that a 'free' custom fit session is often followed by the purchase of a set of lovely new, pretty much full rrp, irons (average price £500 btw, but other values are available). I suspect that the major manufacturers for noticed this too. No, really. Obviously this isn't always the case, but often enough to mention it in a 'do i need fitting' thread as a point of view that isn't entirely unreasonable....

As it happens, I agree with Hughars and Imurg (neither of whom are insulted). A static check of grip size (and lovely new grips), plus a half inch on or off the length or any GI irons under 10 years old will be all the custom fitting anyone above a 10 handicap who isn't Peter Crouch or Ronnie Corbett is likely to need.

The (entirely imaginary) £450 thus saved can be used for the playing lesson that (I humbly suggest) will take several more shots that the brand new set of irons off any mid to high cappers game. Hence the 'shots saved vfm' remark.

Hope that helps, and keep the 'loon' comments for when I tell you that West Ham will be in the premiership next year....

 

[HughJars]

And, for a relative beginner to the sport, is there any advantage to going 'all-out' or will a pro shop's lengthening be adequate to suit your game better?

For a beginner, no point at all going all out. In fact just getting the correct length is all you should really do, your lie will change, and no doubt the clubs that will suit best.

For me, beginners get a reasonably cheap set to get them started, and get the right length, that's all.

 

[HughJars]

Pendo, good clarification there.

fwiw I largely agree with that, the higher the handicap the less a custom fit will be of any benefit. Lets face it, a top is a top whether you've been custom fit or not.

The better you get, and the nearer scratch you get, then is the time for all the fancy analysis, where anything outwith a basis stiff/regular/seniors flex steel shaft verdict becomes more important.