Why do people get 'fitted' for clubs?

[Deleted member 15344]

Whats been proven?
As far a i know the average handicap has been pretty static for years, despite all manner of people getting uber excited about the latest custom fit or club technology.

That custom fit helps people strike the ball better.

Do you just buy the standard driver off the shelf ? Or do you pick the loft and shaft ?

How do people know what flex shaft to use ?

It's all fitting a club to a swing

The average handicap has stayed the same - same in the scoring on the tour - it doesn't change but golf courses have changed to balance things out

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Overrated ? Really ?

Surely if custom fit allows your to strike the ball closer to the sweet spot then how is it overrated ?

Getting clubs to fit your swing can only help !

How is custom fitting going to help me hit the sweet spot when my stance and swing are inconsistent and often all over the place - that's what I don't get. Sure if grip, stance and swing were all pretty nailed down - but for handicappers they aren't - why we are handicappers.

 

[Foxholer]

The pro at Woburn ( Luther ) did an experiment with one of the members.

He gave him a set of the shelf clubs and told him to play with them for a month and record his scores - he then fitted the set to him and his scores where on average 5 shots better. The guy played off ten.

Not exactly Scientific!

But better that direction than the other!

 

[bladeplayer]

Well ive just been custom fitted for the first time ever thanks to GM & Titleist , have the new AP2's on board ..

They are half inch longer , stiff shafts (against regular in my old one ), 2degrees flat (against standard) , thicker grips ..

I managed to get to 7 without ever been fitted or having a lesson (til Jan 13) could hit my wedge 135ish , my 3 iron 220ish, more often than not staright ...

So im wondering if i can do that with the WRONG clubs i should get lower with the newer clubs ....

I dont think this will be case if im honest , i have a different ball flight now (draw is a lot softer ) so i reckon where as my good rounds of ball striking wont improve that much , my bad rounds should be improved ..

One MEGA positive of the fitting is i now understand my swing and flight alot more , having seen my impact marks on the tape during the fitting and having it explained what was going on at impact etc was very helpful, maybe it was just Greame at The Titleist Fitting Centre was just so good .. so for that alone id recommend a fitting if possible

 

[Deleted member 15344]

How is custom fitting going to help me hit the sweet spot when my stance and swing are inconsistent and often all over the place - that's what I don't get. Sure if grip, stance and swing were all pretty nailed down - but for handicappers they aren't - why we are handicappers.

My swing is consistent enough - not perfect but hit the sweet spot consistently. Obviously CF isn't going to make someone a better golfer or suddenly make your handicap fly down. You will still swing the club the same way for most of your round ( not all ) but most. You don't swing the club different every single time - even handicap golfers can swing the club the same way a number of times during the round. Get the clubs set up to your swing will help you hit that sweet spot.

Do you believe that different shafts and loft in drivers improve your driving ?

 

[IanG]

One MEGA positive of the fitting is i now understand my swing and flight alot more , having seen my impact marks on the tape during the fitting and having it explained what was going on at impact etc was very helpful, maybe it was just Greame at The Titleist Fitting Centre was just so good .. so for that alone id recommend a fitting if possible

This is exactly why I've just booked into Kingsacre to get irons fitted in January (with Graeme as it happens). I'm simply quite interested in seeing what all the trackman etc etc can tell me. Naturally I hope it will improve my game (Lord knows there is room for it !) but if it doesn't, hopefully I've still had an interesting experience.

 

[Brian_C]

I'd love to see some balanced research comparing the benifits of CF with off the shelf clubs.

Surely a little common-sense must revail with you're buying clubs. Hi handicappers and beginners should be buying clubs aimed at their market and like wise the low 'capper buying clubs aim at their market. Same goes for common-sense of shafts, hi handicappers aren't gonna by an extra-stiff shaft, and a low 'capper won't by a Senior flex shaft (I know there's exceptions to the rule).
I'm sure a little common sense, as per the above, would be enough.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Golf courses have also got longer and harder to combat the better performance of the golf clubs etc.

The pro at Woburn ( Luther ) did an experiment with one of the members.

He gave him a set of the shelf clubs and told him to play with them for a month and record his scores - he then fitted the set to him and his scores where on average 5 shots better. The guy played off ten.

Does every single person here just pick any driver and then take it straight out in the course regardless of loft or shaft or weights etc

I'm afraid that I do. Bought my pro's G10 9deg driver with prolaunch red stiff shaft (having previously hit a Callaway Steelhead 11deg - so not so big and pretty lofty) - why? - he was selling it for £50. I tried it out - it seemed quite nice. Stuggled with it for a while but eventually worked out how to hit it - now it goes a dream.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Yesterday I spent 2 hours on the track man because I'm trying two new shafts in my driver. The results between the three shafts are remarkably different. By getting those shafts fitted using the trackman I will know which shafts give me the results I want and the best results for my swing

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I'm afraid that I do. Bought my pro's G10 9deg driver with prolaunch red stiff shaft (having previously hit a Callaway Steelhead - so not so big) - why? - he was selling it for £50. I tried it out - it seemed quite nice. Stuggled with it for a while but eventually worked out how to hit it - now it goes a dream.

So why did you struggle to start with ? Did you change your swing to fit the driver ?

 

[bladeplayer]

This is exactly why I've just booked into Kingsacre to get irons fitted in January (with Graeme as it happens). I'm simply quite interested in seeing what all the trackman etc etc can tell me. Naturally I hope it will improve my game (Lord knows there is room for it !) but if it doesn't, hopefully I've still had an interesting experience.

You are in for an absolute treat mate . the guy is a pure gent ,relaxed , patient friendly & helpful great place to be fitted (great range aswell ) look forward to hearing how you get on Ian ....

 

[BoadieBroadus]

is there a correlation in the degree to which manufacturers want to push custom fitting and the increased ease with which golfers can buy second hand equipment off ebay?

i'm sure there is an element of attempting to preserve profits by encouraging golfers to buy new fitted equipment rather than stuff of ebay.
for what its worth I am planning to get custom fitted then next time I change irons to see if I see any benefit, but I have a degree of scepticism as to why manufacturers and publishers and contracted pros push CFing so much

 

[bozza]

I don't see how people can say CF is just money making by the manufactures. If you go for a fitting pretty much everywhere deducts the price of the fitting if you end up buying the clubs.

I just recently got fitted for some new irons, I've always had a high ball flight and it kills me into the wind.

Turns out the shafts in my clubs that are off the shelf are a soft regular and with my swing speed at around 85mph the ball was spinning way too much and launching too high.

With the fitting I got shafts that lowered the launch angle, lowered the spin rate, gave me more distance and tighter dispersion.

This fitting cost me nothing I was buying the irons which cost around £600, if I hadn't of went for the fitting I would have just picked a set off the shelf in regular as that's what I thought would have been best but I would have been throwing money away.

 

[Snelly]

I don't see how people can say CF is just money making by the manufactures. If you go for a fitting pretty much everywhere deducts the price of the fitting if you end up buying the clubs.

.

I think you have answered your own question there. Custom fitting helps people to buy basically.


So with your lower launch angle and lower spin rate, how many shots will your handicap drop by? 5? 10? And by when? August? Next Christmas?


Personally, I would bet your handicap doesn't change and that you will be looking for new clubs within two years. Better ones with that last missing piece of the jigsaw included. Enhanced smash factor or orange grips.... :thup:

 

[Foxholer]

I tried it out - it seemed quite nice.

So not quite just 'picking any Driver and taking it to the course'!

I've certainly been 'guilty' of buying a Driver without trying it, but have normally done sufficient 'research' to determine that it's a reasonable fit and have taken the 'risk' into account with cost. Haven't actually had any club that wasn't 'as expected', though have to admit to paying too much for a couple.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I think you have answered your own question there. Custom fitting helps people to buy basically.


So with your lower launch angle and lower spin rate, how many shots will your handicap drop by? 5? 10? And by when? August? Next Christmas?


Personally, I would bet your handicap doesn't change and that you will be looking for new clubs within two years. Better ones with that last missing piece of the jigsaw included. Enhanced smash factor or orange grips.... :thup:

Got mine custom fit just over two years and was playing off 14 at the time. 2 years later playing of 5 and loving my irons. Felt the improvement rather quickly.

 

[bluewolf]

I'm pretty much 50/50 on custom fitting. I know by a process of trial and error what shafts suit me. I've had a custom fit that recommended a different shaft. It didn't work for me and I went back to my previous favourite.

However, there has to be some sort of placebo effect from using clubs that a pro has told you are the best for your game. If that helps some people to relax and stop thinking too much about the hardware then I can't see a problem with it. It's free after all!

 

[bozza]

I think you have answered your own question there. Custom fitting helps people to buy basically.


So with your lower launch angle and lower spin rate, how many shots will your handicap drop by? 5? 10? And by when? August? Next Christmas?


Personally, I would bet your handicap doesn't change and that you will be looking for new clubs within two years. Better ones with that last missing piece of the jigsaw included. Enhanced smash factor or orange grips.... :thup:

I was getting new irons anyway no matter what so it hasn't cost me anymore.

So you think my h/c won't come down next season? Care to put a small bet on it?

 

[Foxholer]

I think you have answered your own question there. Custom fitting helps people to buy basically.


So with your lower launch angle and lower spin rate, how many shots will your handicap drop by? 5? 10? And by when? August? Next Christmas?


Personally, I would bet your handicap doesn't change and that you will be looking for new clubs within two years. Better ones with that last missing piece of the jigsaw included. Enhanced smash factor or orange grips.... :thup:

A quite reasonable approach but, if you are going to mention techno-babble, either specify that is what it is (no problem with that) or make sure that it really is techno-babble.

Smash Factor is about quality of strike - and is a legitimate/useful stat. You would have been better off using MOI or 'increased/expanded Sweet Spot' (which really is Techno-Babble!).

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

So why did you struggle to start with ? Did you change your swing to fit the driver ?

I did. Much longer shaft as well so changed my stance and address position as well.