D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
So you had to change things to fit the club - you custom fit your swing.
Why do people get 'fitted' for clubs?
- Thread starter cleanstrike
- Start date
So you had to change things to fit the club - you custom fit your swing.
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Do it all the time - change my stance and swing to suit what I want to achieve. Closest I've got to fitting club to me was recently buying my new Odyssey white hot pro #2 c/s putter as it was deemed my a mate 'who knows' to be as close to my old Acushnet bullseye as I'd find in a 'modern' putter. I took it on to the putting green for 10mins - then bought it. Didn't try any other putter. And I've kept my putting stroke and set up exactly as before - and it works a treat - marvellous
Last edited:
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
Do it all the time - change my stance and swing to suit what I want to achieve. Closest I've got to fitting club to me was recently buying my new Odyssey white hot pro #2 c/s putter as it was deemed my a mate 'who knows' to be as close to my old Acushnet bullseye as I'd find in a 'modern' putter. I took it on to the putting green for 10mins - then bought it. Didn't try any other putter. And I've kept my putting stroke and set up exactly as before - and it works a treat - marvellous
So you are doing it the opposite way round - fitting a swing to the club. That's your preference but I would argue it's a type of custom fit
The other way is to keep the same swing and fit the club to it ?
ger147
Tour Winner
Do it all the time - change my stance and swing to suit what I want to achieve. Closest I've got to fitting club to me was recently buying my new Odyssey white hot pro #2 c/s putter as it was deemed my a mate 'who knows' to be as close to my old Acushnet bullseye as I'd find in a 'modern' putter. I took it on to the putting green for 10mins - then bought it. Didn't try any other putter. And I've kept my putting stroke and set up exactly as before - and it works a treat - marvellous
So on the one hand you're not good enough to swing a club the same way twice but on the other you have multiple swings to suit various clubs, different shots and your imagination?
You'll have to excuse me if I'm a tad unconvinced.
sev112
Tour Winner
What's the matter with MOI ? A simple geometric property purely based on dimensions etc?
But we could talk about MOI of the whole club and shaft as a basis for fitting - now that would be fun.
There were various ways of "matching" clubs in a set in the 50s onwards, including at least one manufacturer who made all of the clubs in a set the same length !
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
I've bought off the shelf and been fitted. For me, my G25 fitting was very interesting. The guy was independant and showed me that the three TM woods I bought together and were showing as R flex weren't matching. I got the G25's as they were the best match based on Trackman and visually seeing the flight on the range. Have they helped? Now the swing is working then definitely. Were they the ideal clubs? Visually no but in terms of performance and forgiveness then I would say so. I was there for nearly four hours and he didn't charge full price as I was buying on the day and price matched too. I was impressed with the service and happy with the fitting.
Foxholer
Blackballed
We are talking about complete different MOIs. Precisely the reason why that's nearly Techno-Babble! Notice I say nearly, as it is another legitimate, if slightly 'unwanted' stat. Just hit the sweet spot and the club MOI isn't a factor - your Smash Factor will be 1.50.
The MOI you are talking about is the swing one. And the single length set of clubs is 'The One Iron' system. I've referenced that in an earlier post in another thread! Thanks for the reminder - I need to buy some eggs!
JCW
Journeyman Pro
More and more people are playing golf these days due to the pay and pay , golf use to be a game for the rich and still is in many countries , If you going to play the game and going to spent a lot of money on clubs you may as well get clubs that fit your swing , it don't mean you will get better ,play better or score better , it is just that you have the right equipment to do so but if your course management is poor or your mental side is suspect and you can not control your temper then you need to sort that out as I don't think they can custom fit that yet . some swing it great but cant putt , yips or nerves , others can chip or get out of bunkers and if they miss the green its a double bogey .................EYG
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
Not saying I don't swing a golf club twice the same way - but I don't really know what I do as I taught myself to play and I swing it as I imagine the shot. And yes I'm thinking that I don't set up the same way for any two shots in succession - and though I may hit the same distance more than once in a round I suspect that I play quite different shots each time. So for instance I don't have a standard 150yd approach shot - I just don't. Sometimes I'll think I feel like floating it in high cut - others maybe I feel like hitting a high draw - sometimes a low draw - sometimes a punch shot. Maybe I shouldn't and should develop a more disciplined/standardized approach to the game - but I have fun doing the way I do it.
Which kind of explains why I don;t practice on the range. Don't really know what I'd be trying to practice.
Last edited:
ger147
Tour Winner
If you can play all of those shots successfully most of the time you try to then you have a repeatable and consistent swing, not all over the place like you intimated earlier. You don't have to know what you do or understand what you do to be able to do it consistently.
Foxholer
Blackballed
This 'average handicap' stat gets trotted out for all sorts of bizarre reasons.
There's a completely different set of people playing golf that would give them a handicap.
Courses have been made a lot tougher - or the rating on unaltered courses has been lowered, so the basis for measuring handicaps has been completely altered. However, the statistical nature of handicaps is still pretty much the same - which is actually a good thing!
Btw. There are probably as many Scratch, or lower, handicap guys at certain clubs these days as there were in entire Counties 20+ years ago! That just demonstrates the immense increase in participation!
For many, it won't make a difference. For those it bothers (and I'm one) then it could well be worth doing - just to kill that dragon.
The fitting process isn't absolutely precise. It doesn't really matter what shot you are trying to play - as long as it's reasonably consistent with your 'normal' swing - as in off the tee to an open fairway. And the end result generally isn't a specific setup. There's normally a couple that work pretty well, so feel, taste and cost come into the equation.
WRT SiLH's scepticism. Homer's experience of having 3 shafts all rated the same, but actually vastly disparate, just doesn't happen. Whether that is of benefit or not (My Driver, 3-Wood and Hybrid are actually rather different flexes but I know that!) is a different issue - I know I have to wallop (and swing through) the FT3 or Baby (but swing through!) the SL290; the 3-wood is perfect!; and the hybrid just works!
HawkeyeMS
Ryder Cup Winner
My view when I changed clubs was that if I was going to spend a large amount of money on clubs, I might as well get the best setup for me. Whether it makes any real difference I don't know, but I would always do it again, partly because it takes away the doubts and partly because I enjoyed the whole CF process.
Wildrover
Tour Rookie
I find it amazing that people still buy expensive golf equipment off the shelf without being fitted for it.
Yes people managed to play well many years ago, they also managed to communicate with each other by mail or carrier pigeon, but things have moved on, technology has given us all kinds of modern advantages like computers, mobile phones and launch monitors.
People play golf because they enjoy the game, and they are more likely to enjoy it if they play well, this has to be more likely if you use custom fit clubs that actually suit you and you are not fighting or having to compensate for. Two men walking into a tailors, one 5ft 3", the other 6ft 2" are not going to walk out with the same off the peg suit so why should they walk out of the pro shop with the same golf clubs?
People on here have said that if you are CF then it maximises your distance and dispersion, this is true, but what it is also about is minimising the damage on your bad shots. If you are prone to a certain bad shot that ruins your card, this can be taken into account in the fitting to reduce the damage.
Consistency is a big factor, fitting someone for a set of irons isn't about how far they CAN hit the clubs, it's how far they hit it CONSISTENTLY. There's no point in hitting one 7i that bullets to 170yds, then the next, not quite perfect one spins up and goes 135. you want the perfect and not quite perfect strikes to go as close as possible to each other so that both will go similar distances and still be on the green.
BTW Custom Fitting is not a new thing, it was first pioneered by Karsten Solheim, founder of Ping, in 1972 so it's been with us over 40 years. Yes it has moved on with launch monitors and a lot more shaft options but the basic principle is the same. Getting a made to measure set of clubs (including putter) will increase your enjoyment of the game because it will help you to play better.
Yes people managed to play well many years ago, they also managed to communicate with each other by mail or carrier pigeon, but things have moved on, technology has given us all kinds of modern advantages like computers, mobile phones and launch monitors.
People play golf because they enjoy the game, and they are more likely to enjoy it if they play well, this has to be more likely if you use custom fit clubs that actually suit you and you are not fighting or having to compensate for. Two men walking into a tailors, one 5ft 3", the other 6ft 2" are not going to walk out with the same off the peg suit so why should they walk out of the pro shop with the same golf clubs?
People on here have said that if you are CF then it maximises your distance and dispersion, this is true, but what it is also about is minimising the damage on your bad shots. If you are prone to a certain bad shot that ruins your card, this can be taken into account in the fitting to reduce the damage.
Consistency is a big factor, fitting someone for a set of irons isn't about how far they CAN hit the clubs, it's how far they hit it CONSISTENTLY. There's no point in hitting one 7i that bullets to 170yds, then the next, not quite perfect one spins up and goes 135. you want the perfect and not quite perfect strikes to go as close as possible to each other so that both will go similar distances and still be on the green.
BTW Custom Fitting is not a new thing, it was first pioneered by Karsten Solheim, founder of Ping, in 1972 so it's been with us over 40 years. Yes it has moved on with launch monitors and a lot more shaft options but the basic principle is the same. Getting a made to measure set of clubs (including putter) will increase your enjoyment of the game because it will help you to play better.
garyinderry
Ryder Cup Winner
I am in the same boat. no lessons has made me learn the game my way. my grip wont even be the same over two shots if I am trying to play a different kind of shot. a few years ago I worked out that I was unable to hit the ball straight. what I can do is 9/10 make it move one way or the other. this means I can to a certain degree know where its going to end up or if I over cook it, ill know where it will miss. this is really important to being able to manage a score.
I despair when I hear people saying that they say my bad shots are pulls, fades, slices and hooks. if you don't know if your ball is going to finish up left or right of the target in this game it becomes very difficult. it makes it very difficult to plan your way through the course.
when I practice its usually my short game as I can get it down towards the green most times with any of the dodgy swings in my arsenal. its about getting up and down when I miss the green.
maybe one day ill attempt to learn how to swing in a textbook fashion. Ill do this we I stop progressing. No major jump this year but I have definitely improved as a golfer!
Wildrover
Tour Rookie
But you don't need to swing in a textbook way to benefit from a CF, just getting the right length and lie on your irons would be a benefit, regardless of shaft flex etc.
bluewolf
Money List Winner
So, would you suggest that a CF is useful when buying your first set of clubs. To ascertain your ideal shaft length, lie angle etc. After that, well, you have the correct specs so you can buy off the shelf and be confident that they'll fit.
NB, when I buy clubs, I get my pro to check the loft/lie angles to ensure they are as advertised.
HickoryShaft
Tour Rookie
This - for me at least. I am not particularly advocating everyone should be custom fitted but for me it really did make a difference. My first set was off the shelf and as I didn't understand the impact of that all the faults listed happened. Nearly gave up on the game.
Went to have a lesson to try and keep my interest going and the first thing the Pro said was at my height (6 '3") I was struggling to get the club back square with the regular length set.
Got a CF set and these issues were resolved (still have lots of others mind just now I know they are nothing to do with the clubs). Because the clubs are all now longer the sahfts had to be choosen to give me the right flex - not a massive change for mine as I understand it . All this was done within the cost of the set so my thought was 'why not'.
So for me not any high minded reason about CF or about feeling better about my clubs or me being a hacker with a dream of being a single figure player - its all about just being able to play and compete.
Mozza73
Assistant Pro
I don't find it amazing at all, many retailers simply have no interest or desire in fitting you. When I purchased a brand new set of irons (the only time I have every bought new) 10 or so years ago , I was told by the assistant at Wexham Park GC that with my height and build fitting wouldn't be necessary.
Many retailers don't have launch monitors, or they might let you hit a club on the range if you are lucky and ask you how you got on with it afterwards. It is very easy to buy clubs without the subject of fitting to ever be mentioned or advised. Many golfers are not members of clubs either so there is no local Pro to refer to for advice and guidance.
Just my 2p on the subject of 'fitting' which makes my teeth grind every time I hear it.
bluewolf
Money List Winner
LOL. I still remember buying a set of Mizzies 12 years ago from a large Golf Store that isn't AG, but has similar initials. The salesman took 1 look at me and said "You're a big lad, you'll want a stiff shaft". Strangely enough I'm still using the same shaft now. The guy must have been a genius...
Wildrover
Tour Rookie
If I had a shop and that assistant worked for me he would be undertaking some staff training or be out on his ear. There is a lot more to it than that, how long are your arms? (wrist to floor measurement), what does your swing look like? (eg very upright or very flat circa Kuchar), these factors alone will impact on length and lie angle. How he can say you don't need to be fitted without even seeing you hit a ball is beyond me.
Similar threads
