Club Fitting and Small Sample Size

I am a big go get fit for clubs guy, but I throw in the caveat that you should have a consistent, repeatable swing to the point where your round to round variance is as minimal as possible.

What I DON’T mean by that is you need to be scratch or close. You can shoot 96 with a repeatable swing. As long as you’re bringing a consistent swing to a fitting it can be worthwhile and will almost always help lower scores.

I understand feeling like a fitter is just trying to put you in the most expensive gear because some fitters are doing that. Just like everything else there are fitters that don’t care and just want to make a sale. I’ve seen fitters raise elevation on trackman to skew distance numbers. There are bad eggs everywhere. That’s why it’s important to go to someone reputable and, if it comes to it, verify they’re not making commission on the dollar amount they sell you.

I’ve personally never felt like I’m being sold anything at Club Champion. That may be because I probably know more about equipment and the data I’m looking at than most people who walk through the door, but maybe not.

The biggest factors for getting fit are coming in prepared and not being afraid to ask questions or to hit more balls with certain combos. Most won’t care and good fitters love answering good questions. Couple that with already having a repeatable swing and you should get good results.

The biggest gripe fitters have are when people think it’s a lesson. Don’t be the guy that asks, “What am I doing wrong?”

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Mark makes some legitimate points in the video, but the “test” doesn’t really strengthen the case. He had a point he wanted to prove and is more than a proficient enough golfer to make 3 different sets of ten shots appear very different even hit with the same driver.

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Ha, interestingly Mark talked somewhat about this on their podcast today.

His basic point was he doesn’t do fittings anymore, instead he gives lessons and if he can put people into equipment that makes them play better, that’s just him being a good coach.

Of course, that’s not the reality most people live in, but it’s definitely an interesting concept.

I think a proper fitting for irons probably takes multiple sessions and some work on your part… figure out what you like, get a feel for it and then have the fitter dial in from there.

I’ve been talking with my pro about getting fit this spring, and he said it would be a multiple session affair.

More importantly to me, I broached this topic in February during a simulator lesson. He refused to do it until at least a few weeks into real golf season here, because playing more would change my swing compared to getting on a simulator every 2 weeks. That’s how I trust I’m in the right hands

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That’s awesome.

I think to a certain extent we need to take a step back and say “making an equipment change is a process”… fitting is part of that process, but walking into a store and getting fit with no idea what you like or what you want is going to be a bad time.

I want to add to this because I had a HO—LY SHIIIIIII golf moment last night.

In late January I got fit for new irons at Club Champion. I had never been fit for irons by anyone I would consider a legitimate club fitter. I was fit into Mizuno JPX 921 Forged. I FINALLY got them Wednesday afternoon. Last night I had our first league night. I almost didn’t put my new clubs in the bag because I hadn’t had a chance to hit them yet, but I figured hey worst thing that can happen is a little hdcp padding.

I had a short range session to warm up, but was going in blind with my yardages and everything.

It didn’t matter. I hit them better than any iron I’ve hit in my life. The effortlessness of trusting that they’re fit to your swing is insane. Flushed iron after flushed iron. I went 8/9 GIR. The one green I missed I was on the back fringe on a par 3. Longest birdie putt I had all night was maybe 30 feet. I shot 31, which won’t help my hdcp for league season, but I don’t care. It was the best ball striking round I’ve had in a really long time and with clubs I had never hit before.

Find a good club fitter. Get fit. You absolutely will not regret it.

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A 31! Someone painted a target on his back for the rest of league season! Hell of a round

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Hope they keep working for you! What were you coming from? How much different are the new irons?

I switched from Srixon Z765s w/Nippon Modus 120 shafts. They were standard lie/loft. They were an impulse buy because I was fed up with my previous irons. Went to a demo day and was absolutely striping the Srixons and just said heck with it I want these. Played them for 3 seasons and loved them. I just had a tendency to lose them left of left of left.
I’m a very hands low player, so my new irons are much flatter than the Srixons. Shafts are also heavier. I have KBS Tour 130 C Tapers in them.
My ball flight is a tad higher with the Mizunos, but they spin a lot less than my Srixons, so they’re still piercing in the wind - and it’s always windy here. The extra weight helps me control trajectory and the flatter lie angle has really straightened out my ball flight.
The Mizunos are also much longer than the Srixons despite only being 1° stronger across the board.
So far I’m very happy. Now I just need actual Spring to get here so I’m not playing in 43° and 15mph wind at all times.

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My experience has always been “big box” fittings. But I have a pretty repeatable swing and I know my tendencies and specs. The key for me whenever I get fit is go find the clubhead/shaft combo that gives me the most repeatable results.

I plan to do a comprehensive full bag fitting next time I buy clubs.

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I think you can find a good fitter at the big box stores, but they’re just very limited in shaft options. I may prioritize shaft more than a lot of people, so for most that’s probably ok.
The other thing about big box stores is I 100% know for a fact they push different brands more than others because different OEMs pay different commission percentages. I just don’t ever want to feel like I’m being sold something that’s benefiting the fitter more than it is me. I’ve never run into feeling sold on anything at Club Champion and they’re always knowledgeable and personable. They really listen. My only gripe is that it takes FOREVER to get your clubs. I’ve had five fittings there over the last year:

Wedges - 4 weeks
Hybrid - 6 weeks
Driver - 10 weeks
Putter - 8 weeks
Irons - 13 weeks

That part is brutal.

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Wanted to follow up, I did my fitting with my pro today and holy cow it was so much better than anything I had been through before. Essentially we boiled it down to three different heads, but the majority of the fitting was actually about finding the proper shaft which is something I had never done before.

I had bought my previous clubs off Ebay, so we deduced that I was in the wrong shaft with the wrong lie angle for my swing (fun!) This was exactly why I wanted to get fit properly. I’ve always believed in lessons over equipment to improve, but wanted to make sure that I was playing the right equipment for me as well.

He was going to review the numbers from the fitting with another pro, but I’m happy with the results so far! We’re also going to take a look at the driver soon, and either change out the shaft or potentially just build out a new one. After today I definitely feel like I wasn’t fit properly before, so I’m really curious to see if that will help tighten my game up because my swing feels like it’s in good place overall

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I think this is a key, here… make sure you are in the right fit, and then stop worrying about your clubs!

I do think it’s important to get into the right fit, and I think you should look at all aspects of it… honestly, I think grip matters too!

Pick the right grip, shaft (flex AND weight), and head… then make sure they are built to the right loft and lie… then rock and roll…

What did you end up in? I’m more interested in your shafts! Good luck on the driver front… I think the shaft can be a huge upgrade, and finding the right one is really important.

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I had an iron fitting 5-6 years ago, and really liked the clubs I got - Mizuno JPX 900 Hot Metals, -`1/2" and 1*flat (I’m 5’6"). I always felt comfortable with them, and felt any errors were due to my inconsistencies, not due to the equipment. I just had all my clubs stolen, so I had a fitting at Club Champion with similar results, but Taylomade heads this time worked better.

Since I don’t have my own clubs right now, my friend loaned me his OLD Nike VRS irons. Went out to play yesterday, had the best ball-striking round in a long time. Makes me want to cancel my order.

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I never realized the difference a shaft can really make until today! It was kinda wild seeing it between a few swings each as we eliminated some and tested others. He was down to two similar options and was going to review the numbers with our head pro before sending his final recommendation but I’ll share when he comes back with it for sure

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I’ve had a putter fitting and a driver fitting, but am really wanting to check my iron shafts to see if they are right for me. I play Mizuno 850jpx forged…will club fitters do a shaft fitting with/for my current clubs even though they are older?

I’ve got my lie angles all at +1…but just have the stock shafts and am very curious if they are even right for me.

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Hard to do a shaft fitting without trying the new heads… there is some interplay between the two…

That said, I’ve heard really good things about the mizuno shaft optimizer which most stores have… you hit it a couple of times and it will spit out your top three shafts.

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So we ended up going with TaylorMade P790s in a TrueTemper Elevate shaft. 1 degree flat. Excited to game something that will fit my swing better than the set I got blindly off Ebay.

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Oh those babies gonna fly and land soft!! Enjoy!

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I have a pretty flat swing that’s been nicely called “smooth” and or less nicely “deliberate” so I need a little help getting it up in the air, really excited for it

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