Club Fitting Myths

Equipment
#1

This post is to help other amateur golfers who are wondering about club fitting. Club fitting is not only for pros or good golfers.

  1. Club fitting does not mean creating custom forged clubs that cost thousands of $$$ just for you.
  2. Club fitting does mean finding clubs that match your swing type, speed, etc. Then your new clubs are assembled from standard pieces (e.g. shaft type & length, head angle, etc.) based on your fitting.
  3. Club fitting does not cost extra (at least in my experience). But it has to be done before ordering.
  4. Why would you not get a fitting and still buy a nice set of irons/woods.
  5. I owned off-the-shelf golf sets for a long time, but with my custom fit Ping irons my shots go a little further, are more consistent, and have less dispersion.

One caveat: you probably want to have a relatively consistent swing before getting fit. Not perfect, just consistent. I took a round of lessons with my pro before getting fit. This way he understood my swing better and I was more consistent.

Do I still hit bad shots and have bad dawn the course? Yep, but my bad shots are generally more straight and have more distance.

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#2

Agree - fitting is a must.

The best point on here is to have some level of a consistent swing. If you’ve played one round in the last two months, don’t go get a fitting.

If you’ve played every day for a week then not a bad time.

If you’re taking lessons, probably would be good to get to a point where the lesson has “taken hold” and you’re not still working towards some end goal with the swing.

Also - find a fitter that you trust will get you the right set up and isn’t just looking for a sale. Some guys will fit you into a more expensive club even if it’s not necessary or the best club for you.

Mentioned on another thread that I just got a new driver. My “old” driver was 3 yrs old and I bought it when I took a few lessons and had corrected my open face (hence my handle). Was playing a little draw and everything was good (~260 carry on average). I’m now back to my “natural” swing with an open face and just using my (lack of) athletic ability to square it up. I was hitting my “old” driver with this swing around 260 on the really good ones but was hitting high spinners that went nowhere a lot (and forget it if the hole was into the wind - maybe went 235).

Got fit and within a few swings the pro knew the club didn’t fit me anymore - too much loft and the shaft wasn’t right.

End up trying out a bunch of drivers and with the new driver:

  • Average 275 carry (on trackman condition neutral); on course I’ve had carries into the wind of 275
  • Spin rate down from 3500 to 2200
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#3

I think it’s also good for people coming into fittings for the first time to have reasonable expectations. A free fitting at a golf shop is a value-add to the sale. Paying for a fitting at a brand-agnostic fitter is about providing data and information about how equipment impacts your game regardless of if you wind up buying anything or not.

#4

I am a HUGE proponent of clubfitting, and have learned a lot from my close friends at Pete’s Golf (if you’re in the NY metro area go see them, they are the best)

There are tons of myths out there, and I try to tackle them in various articles. The best thing any golfer can do when they are serious about getting new equipment is to work with a reputable fitter. I know that’s a challenge because sometimes you just don’t have access to them. It’s one topic that I really didn’t understand, or even believe in before I started the site. But I’ve seen with my own eyes what the right clubs can do for a golfer. Don’t make the game harder for yourself!

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#5

I was scared of the price involved, so I went with Ping and their general fitting guidelines. I hope that is good enough for a hacker like me

#6

Another point I will make is that most fitters that are true professionals, and are actually going to do a good job will charge for their time. It’s an added investment, but when you get the right clubs they should last you for many years. Get it done right the first time, and you won’t constantly feel like you need to get newer clubs every year.

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#7

I was lucky in that the pro that I trust (he started his own golf schol in a partnership with a driving range owner). He not only fit my clubs, he gave me back some of his discount. He is on payroll with Taylor Made, but fitted me with Ping because it was more natural for me.

My best advice: ask lots of questions. I discussed all kinds of options and why these clubs and not those, the timing of new club model releases, etc.

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#8

On the charging front, my local fitters basically charge a fee unless you order from them… they are competitively priced, so it’s fair…

Going in and getting fit, then ordering the set online for less money is a good way to drive local fitters out of business… so I’ve seen them hedge by “charging”.

I think the biggest challenge is finding a good fitter who will work with you and find a great fit for you. Unfortunately, there are a ton of incentives to push towards certain brands, and no guarantee your fitter will have the right solutions for you.

I think the best practice is having knowledge of what works for your golf game, generically, and the work with someone to fine tune it. If they start pushing things that don’t work or you don’t like, it might indicate there incentives aren’t aligned with yours.

I think the first step for all golfers is lie and length. Far less technical but a great place to start the search for new equipment. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds on a fitting, so maybe start there before scheduling a full fitting and see how you and the fitter get along. Then commit to a full fitting.

I use my fitter because he’s nice to my daughter. That’s enough for me to trust him. Greg at golf headquarters in Louisville, if you are in the area!

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#9

Greg is a great guy, and contributor to the site! He knows his stuff, and working with someone like him and definitely make a difference in your game.

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#10

I have been fit for every club in my bag at one time or another. I know what I want out of a driver/shaft combo and can usually get myself pretty close within reason. As for irons, that is a different story.

Since I change my irons out about every 5 years I save up and do a fitting at Club Champion (lots of gift cards help). For my last iron fitting (2 years ago) I told the fitter that I did not want to see what was on the back of the club (name/model), just hand them to me and we’ll narrow them down. I ended up in almost the same club (from the MP-59 to the MP-18 MMC), with a slightly different shaft (KBS C-Taper S+ to DG Elevate Tour X). I don’t know if my Mizuno bias came out or if that’s just what I was used to but I thought it was strange that that’s what I ended up with.

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#11

Is he really? That’s awesome.

I was supposed to be there on Monday for a putter fitting, but had to cancel. Tony is awesome and the new four bay setup for fitting is incredible.

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#12

They have a really good reputation in the industry!

#13

They should have it… I’ll occasionally go into golf galaxy for something, get annoyed with the staff and drive over to headquarters… every member of the staff is friendly and helpful… it’s an example of a good place for club fitters. Tony wants people to be fit into the best possible clubs so they come back in five years for the next fitting. He’s got a long term view of the industry and invested heavily in that future with his new bays.

He also carries 14 4e shoes, and I love him just for that.

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#14

To this point I’ll add I’ve had wonderful experiences with Club Champion. They are not pushy. They’re not salesman. In my experience they truly want to see you get better. I’ve even seen my fitter tell a buddy of mine to come back when his swing is under control. Didn’t charge him a dime for being there an hour and struggling.
They do it right. Yes, it can get expensive, but like Jon said, you’re going to game these clubs for years.

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#15

Had my 2and ever fitting this year at Clu. Champion; the first was done when I was off 18 and was basically a sales driven experience on reflection.

This 2nd fitting was done with me playing off 8 and it’s already proven to be a game changer throughout the bag.

I believe if you set your stall early, understand what you want vs what you need you put yourself in a better position.

Secondly, when looking at needs, do the research and when have some figures in mind, both with performance and potential cost.

Too many people are too quick to jump down the throat of club fitters based purely on cost. My fitter claimed data would drive sales, and he couldn’t find data to back the sale of a 3&5 wood vs my current hybrids so didn’t push these clubs.

I have now closed my dispersion through the bag, added lengths and overall have a sense of confidence with each club I previously lacked.

If you want clubs, go custom but don’t go in blind.

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#16

My golf coach summed up clubs fitting for me perfectly…he asked me: would you go run a marathon in shoes that were the wrong size? Obvious answer was, no, and what does this have to do with golf?! He then told me just like your feet would hurt, get blisters, or you’d do something in your running gate to correct for improper shoe size, you’ll do the same whilst golfing. You’ll make accommodations to your swing mechanics to learn how to contact the ball if you’re not properly fit. It’s the only thing I’ve heard that had made sense to me thus far.

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#17

Club Champion definitely has one of the better reputations in the industry.

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#18

I think a fitting is totally worth it if you play golf regularly. If you play in a 9 hole league once a week and the summer charity scrambles then maybe you don’t really care so much.

As others have said, the cost may be the same assuming you buy a set from the fitter. A good fitter can not only fit the clubs properly, but make sure you have the right set makeup in your bag. I know it can be hard to find a good one, but I think it’s worth a bit of searching and even a drive to get to one.

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#19

My biggest problem with fittings is they are usually indoors… I got fit for mizuno hot metal pros and couldn’t get over the turf interaction… fortunately I just bought one.

A good fitter is definitely worth seeking out and working with, but it’s the start of finding the “right “ fit. There will always be improvements to make and changes and compromises… get a set you are confident with and golf is marginally easier.

I gamed a set of Taylor made oversize for 20+ years… they had 1/2 inch inserts and regular shafts (I swing in the low 110s). I adjusted my game to the way I hit the ball with them.

I enjoy playing more with my current set, Adams cmb I built with leftover shafts… but eventually I’ll get a custom built set.

Fitting makes things easier, but it doesn’t make things easy!

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#20

What about just getting length and lie checked? Is that a service most fitter would provide, or do you need to get a regular fitting for irons to get that done?

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