Club Fitting

 

MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE

Below is a snapshot of our clubfitting process. It just shows some of the basic steps but there are many variations depending on whether you are being fit for a whole set of clubs, a putter or wedge, or just trying to determine a suitable loft for fitting in a hybrid.

The Interview and Fitting Form

The first step is set up an appointment to meet. Next, is for you to fill out a fitting information form. Reading your responses on this form starts me on the road to learning a little something about your equipment, your golf goals, your golf tendencies, your physical abilities, and more. Then I give a tour of the shop and talk about how the fitting process works. It is also a time to be sure that I understand exactly what you are hoping to improve.

Equipment Evaluation and Measurement

This step is where I evaluate and measure some critical aspects of your current equipment – things like length, loft, lie, flex, and grip size. Just because your iron indicates it’s a 6-iron it may have the loft of a 5 iron. Knowing exactly what we are dealing with is invaluable in helping to determine the exact specifications for your new equipment. At this time I also look for anomalies and inconsistencies as well. Unfortunately, out of specification equipment is more the norm rather than the exception. This is a good time to start taking a closer look at set make-up.

Recommendations

At this stage of the fitting I have all the data I need to start selecting components. Together we start trying to find components that not only match our required specifications but also appeal aesthetically to you. The aesthetics of the club are factors not to be taken lightly. If you absolutely hate how a club sets up, success can be awfully hard to achieve. Let us not forget that a lot of this game is played between the ears and no matter how much we would like to make this a science, there is an awful lot of art involved. I always try to remember that “feel” is very individual and something I cannot measure and fit.

Assembly

At this stage I assemble the club(s) to try out. From here we tweak them if necessary. If purchasing a set of irons, usually only one iron is assembled for trial. This way it can be tried and any problems or dislikes can be corrected before a lot of time and money is spent needlessly. Then once everything is OK the rest of the clubs can be assembled.

Clubfitting and Women

Although there is an incredible amount of research and technology designed into most of today’s clubs, to date there has never been a club made that can tell if it is being swung by a junior or a senior, a scratch player or high handicapper, or a man or a woman. With that said does this mean that women and men should play the same clubs? The answer to this is a very definite “Maybe!” A golf club for a woman, as well as any golfer, should be chosen based on the same factors: clubhead speed, swing tempo, set make-up, players ability, personal fit, and clubhead design to name a few. Never should they be chosen because of gender or age, because they say “Lady Something or Other”, or because they have a feminine look (Typically “Ladies” sets have been designed for the smaller, slower swinging, high-handicap player). Every golfer has a different stance, a different swing, a different body, and a different game. That is why you want to choose a set of clubs that will fit YOU, that will allow YOU to perform to your maximum potential, and that will minimize YOUR deficiencies. It has been my experience that some women like the pastel colors and flowery bags and others hate them. Many women seem to feel their game is not taken as seriously by using these “ladies” clubs. Once again, there are no absolutes. It is my contention that first and foremost is the performance of the equipment and how well it fits your swing and your game. With all the choices available today, there is no reason that you should not be able to get equipment that appeals to you aesthetically, yet still has all the features your game and swing require. Having equipment in which you are confident and proud and that reflects your tastes is an intangible that can easily translate into fewer strokes as well as a more enjoyable golfing experience. As a final note, I have found that if you have a set of clubs which allows you to play to the utmost of your abilities, most golfers will be surprised as how good their clubs look – no matter what the color.

As Tom Wishon wrote:

What is REAL Custom Fitting?

A colleague of mine in the custom clubmaking industry once made an analogy between custom clubfitting and washing your car that I believe to be very appropriate. If your car is dirty and trashed out, you can pull it into the driveway, hook up the hose and spray off most of the surface dirt and grime. On the other hand, you can do a better job in washing your car by filling a bucket with soapy water and scrub off all of the dirt with a sponge and a little ‘elbow grease.’ Or, you can pull out all of the stops and not only scrub the outside of the car, but wash, wipe, vacuum and detail the inside as well and finish with a wax and buff job. Custom clubfitting is very much the same way. If you realize that you simply bought your golf clubs in standard form, off the rack from a golf retailer or pro shop and you are curious as to whether your game may benefit from being custom fit, there are many different options available in the golf business, all which are termed by some to be a ‘custom fitting.’ The problem is, since 98% of all golfers really don’t know what constitutes a real custom fitting, it’s easy to think you’re getting the ‘full detail job’ when you’re really ending up with only a ‘hose job.’

• Real Custom Fitting is not answering five or six questions on a web site to be ‘fit’ into a driver or a set of irons.
• Real Custom Fitting is not a cart with wheels filled with different golf clubs and sitting in a pro shop or on the practice range.
• Real Custom Fitting is not attending a Demo Day at your local driving range and hitting clubs until you find something you like.
• Real Custom Fitting is not something that can be accomplished from start to finish in 20 minutes or less, regardless if you are hitting balls on a launch monitor.
• Real Custom Fitting is not done by altering some aspects of an existing standard made set of golf clubs.
• Real Custom Fitting IS working one on one with a trained custom clubmaker over a period of at least 45 minutes or more, and frequently over the course of 2 or more visits to the clubmakers shop.
• Real Custom Fitting IS being fit from scratch, in the same manner as a tailor making a custom suit, with the right clubheads, shafts, and grips being recommended by the custom clubmaker from a wide variety of different models, designs and performance factors.
• Real Custom Fitting IS the domain of the serious, professional clubmaker who ‘lives, eats and breathes’ all of the information available which will allow him or her to accurately match each golfer’s swing to the best fit set of golf clubs.