Why do people get 'fitted' for clubs?

[Marshy77]

Bit of advice/opinion wanted. Was thinking of going to AG tomorrow to try some new irons but have half talked myself into getting a set of Ben Ross irons for £200 and get fitted but have seen a set of mizuno jpx800's online new for £200 but there a fair drive away so would get them posted. My local AG doesn't have the flight scope or anything i dont think so not sure how they would fit me properly but for someone who plays off 25 would it make much difference in getting fitted or buying off the shelf?

 

[delc]

Now, this might sound a bit naive to many of you but bear in mind that this a genuine question from a novice that doesn't yet know too much about golf. It's something I still don't quite understand.

I've seen various mentions on here about getting 'fitted' for clubs. Why do people do that? What's the point? Why not just buy clubs and simply get used to them by means of practicing with them?

For instance, I was fortunate enough to be given a 3-PW set of Taylormade irons as a freebie. I've gone out to the range / course and practiced with them. Slowly but surely I've got used to the balance and feel of the things and I'm improving ball strike just through continuous use of the tools I've got.

Same with my driver and 3 wood. I went out and bought Taylormade Burner Superfast because they were the same make as my irons and I read they were good for beginners. Now I'm simply whacking them out there whilst making minor adjustments to the way I use it so the ball goes where I want it to go.

So, why bother getting 'fitted' instead of just getting used to using what you've already got.

Because we want to improve our golf! Standard clubs are fine if you happen to be exactly of standard size and proportions, but many of us are not. I have rather short legs and long arms relative to my height (5' 10"). For years I struggled with hooking my iron shots and hitting the occasional shank. Then a custom fitting showed that standard clubs are too upright for me, forcing me to hit off the heel of the club in order to catch the ball cleanly. I now play with 2 degree flat lie clubs and they have solved most of my problems. Handicap down from 14 to 10 in a year.