This is itself was very impressive, which tells me that his original golf clubs were not a good match and he probably has a grooved in golf swing ( knows where most the directional control ).
Always remember, the equipment is half the formula, at best. So his improvement of going form an index of 25 to 18 right after the fitting is amazing.
I had always believed given proper practice anyone could be a single digit index holder. Going under a 5 is somewhat much more difficult.
The guy who was fitting you should have known the facts that he was not comparing apple to apple. If he did not explain the difference in the equipment to you together with the data, then he is not a real fitter. Just a technician who produce data.
I chuckled when the young golfers telling me that they were not so impressed with the one iron shot by Nicklaus at the 1972 U.S. Open with weather condition, nor were they impressed with Ben Hoganās ( now they say it might have been a 2 iron ) at the 1950 U.S. Open at the Marion. These kids have no idea.
From this, your fitter should have measured the 7 iron you had brought to the fitting ( loft and club length) so there be a more intelligent interpretation of the data collected from the Trackman.
If all possible, you should have brought a box of the same golf balls you use on the golf course.
Yes, the golf ball will produce subtle difference, enough to influence your score.
I hope you did not have to pay for the selling event you went to disguised as a fitting session.
These are the examples of selling a miracle instead of selling golf equipment.
Golfer tend to pay attention to what the professional golfers have in their bag. For one, weāre not built the same nor have the same level of talent nor skill. For two, these guys get their stuff for free, anything under the sun from their sponsors.
Will an average golfer notice a difference between a $1,000 shaft to one $200? Some golf shafts are over 5 digits expensive. Not that long ago, this would get the whole golf bag of golf clubs. I donāt believe the inflation rate had gone out of control by that much nor the technology advancement warrant that big a gap.
I also heard stories of the fitted golf clubs not performing as well as the data shown at the fitting. Keep your eyes on the settings on the launch monitor, if there was any change in the settings during the fitting.
As in any other trades, there will be a bad apple in the barrel.
Yes we did a loft to loft comparison and I hit the M2 7iron the same as my 5iron. Matching loft to loft. The difference in shaft length was exactly 1 inch. We started with regular shafts and I sprayed the balls. When we went to a stiffer shaft the dispersion matched my expectations.
Now Iām not saying that new clubs mentally wonāt help a 25 cap improve slightly. They could. BUT, if your swing fundamentals suckā¦ you will still suck. If anyone tries to tell me that there are any irons better made than a Hogan Apex or, from the 80s or Ping EyE2s, Iāll laugh in your face. If swinging a Stealth Driver or Ping 425 is gonna produce massive more distance than my TM SLDR or my Adams 9064LS for almost $800 (Iām not seeing the advantage of like 6-10yds on 10 swing avg) Iāll say if you can afford that great go for it but unless you put in the work on your game, you are not TRULY going to be disappointed. Iād rather take that $800 and play couple higher end courses if I was going to spend it.
Itās what my personal experience is, that the older irons perform just as well as the fango dango. I can see the more forgiving features will help the higher handicapped golfers but those similar features were not exactly brand new.
My winter iron set is Callaway X14 PS, has a wider sole and more bounce for the wet and soft turf condition we have here. Apex is still my all time favorite iron set(s), The issue is to stay with the same set through the season as I am not putting in rounds of golf as I like to have in the recent years.
Yes, I do have golf clubs that are more forgiving, as I am also on the look out for the miracle stick. Have not found one save for all golf club just yet. Tried some of those informercial specials in the past, ended up returning them.
Before the pandemics, I will stop by the local brick and mortar golf stores to use their walkman L/M , testing out the new on the market stuff. Have not had a formal fitting but the guys know me will help me get the clubs I like to try. I know some of these guys when they were starting, not to take away their time too often, stopping by maybe once a month because their pay check is a hybrid combination of a low base + commission. I did get equipment from them when kids were younger before I learned to do minimum work on the golf clubs.
I went away to internet shopping when there were not sales tax. Simply because the locals could not match the internet pricing. Now with the shipping cost up and sales tax imposed on internet transactions, Iād love to shop local if the price difference is not huge.
I read your post and it truly reminded me about how fortunate I was to be taught by a Touring Pro as compared to getting a lesson(s) from a PGA pro. First things first, I was (fitted) for my clubs on the range. I learned how to add weight, tape and adjust grind and how to manipulate a gripā¦ Definitely not like it is today. So yes, personalizing your set has been going on for decades! BUT has anyone been fitted mentally about the game? The first 2 lessons I paid for with Mr. Bishop were me paying for drinks and lunch while we talked about the game, managing the game, what is the goal, how to practice, how, and he used this phrase alot how much LUCK actually plays in this game. His quote always to me was, āson, the more you practice, the luckier youāll getā. We are now so privy to discussions between caddies and players, players getting interviewed during the round (AS HOGAN SPINS IN HIS GRAVE) how they think on course and it is way different than most people I play with. Your swing can and will vary every time you play, how do you manage yourself around the challenge of the architect. where to leave a ball, Iām a decent bunker player, I can get up and down in 3 probably 95% of the time from a bunker, Iāve seen guys who couldnāt get out of a bunker with a free toss on their 3rd attempt. So why did they aim at a greenside bunker, because they saw the stick? To me more important than a club fitting is a mental fittingā¦ how to manage your game. My first 3 lessons, 2 were talking about life and what I wanted out of the sport. His question to me was, after he saw me take a few swings (no ball mind you) you have some tools I can mold, now what do you want to do, beat balls down the fairway aimlessly, Iāll send you to my asst and he can show you how to do that no problem, or, do you want to learn this game, because itās a constant mental chess game, that you will fail at more than you succeed. The best baseball players in the world fail at bat 7 out of 10 times. Think about that! Itās managing alot including your own body and yes, Iāll say it, ANGER at and with yourself. BTW, my third lesson, he said bring your clubs, and Iām sitting at the range and he yells overā¦āwhat the F do you think youāre doin son. Grab your putter and 4 balls and meet me on the practice greenā and he sat there smoking a cigar, reading the sports page and bitched at me about making putts. I proceeded to hit 1 to 5 foot putts for an hour at all kind of different angles. We started every practice and ended every practice lesson on the green doing putting drills. (the more you practice, the luckier youāll become"
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Equipment fitting is a great tool, not denying of this fact.
Now, youāve given some deep insight of āmanaging the gameā. Way more valuable than equipment fitting. Most of these were learned on the golf course.
Some of these could be taught but not learned. I had found out that some of us are just more āawareā of what they were doing on the golf course, and will learn from their mistake. Some will keep on making the same mistake over and over again.
Pay attention to detail around the golf course, the weather, the physical state of yourselfā¦
One thing I learned a few days ago, some source supposed to gather data and concluded that a 5 handicap index holder average 1.3 more birdies than an 18 index holder per round of 18. Then, where is the rest of the strokes between a 5 and an 18?
I understand the situation a little differently, as I had no way of confirming by averaging the birdies per round between the low and the high handicap index holder. There has to be thousands of rounds observed and compared to arrive at this conclusion.
Simply, by observing through the years, I know the low handicap golfer will recover better after an imperfect shot better than a high index holder.
Their ability to save pars is through the practice and learning from their past mistake. I was amazed at some of the situation they could āmanufactureā a par saved.
In golf you can make a Birdie by accident, but not consistently give yourself the opportunity. What players do is take on undue risk. Like I said, if youāre not a decent bunker player, why on earth would you take aim at a bunker and fire at a pin behind a bunker? If you do, why wouldnāt you take enough club to ensure you will carry the bunker? You just put a number into play you did not have to. For a Pro or Low Capper, bounce is your friendā¦air is your friend. If youāre a higher capper, the ground is your friend. For a Low Capper, go ahead and hit that 3W, for a high Capperā¦ break out the 5Wā¦ and so on. Thatās where the strokes are, short puttsā¦ thatās where the strokes are. Last week I hit a horrible Drive on a 410yd hole, hit a provisional because I didnāt know if I could find it. Found it, 275 out decent lie in the woods with a reasonable opening back to the FW, hit a second with a big cut 3W back into play, left myself 85 yds to pin, wedged to 12ft, missed the putt and made bogey, Partner, hit green in 2 and 3 puttedā¦ 5 is 5ā¦ how did you get there? Right. Completely different ways the hole was played. Now, my partner was amazed that I could play the shot I did, he knows he couldnāt control his trajectory like I know how to. He tried the same shot I had and hit a tree further into the woods. If it was him he put 7 into play. He would have had to play his shot chip out first but no higher than a 6 on his cardā¦managing your game and misses
I guess fitting, like all things golf, ballooned and is now at least leveling off? I know that before the pandemic it was relatively easy for me to line up time with my fitter for a fitting or lesson that same week, but later I had to book at least several weeks out. Good for him. Now I just need to look out about a week, so heās busier than pre-pandemic, but not as busy as last year. Just a sample of one though.
I believe in getting fitted, but I donāt think itās going to transform your game and it does depend on the fitter. I think it some cases it can be very helpful as there can be a lot of ālow hanging fruitā for a fitter. Some players have too little loft on their drivers, they have long irons in the bag they canāt hit, grips that are too small and uncomfortable, et al. A good fitter can take them from 14 clubs that donāt work for them to 10-11 clubs that doā¦they probably donāt even need quite that many.
I donāt think you NEED to be fitted, but I recommend it to people. If youāre on a forum like this you probably either have been fitted or your knowledgeable enough to self-fit to some extent. I know enough to fit myself, but I donāt really do that anymore. Even components are too expensive to try too many things. Too many shafts/grips/heads and Iām not buying the S flex and then buying an R to tip when I can try it all at the fitterās.
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True. You have been around this game and your feedback is valid.
Before we had the technology to tell us what we need with golf equipment. We try over time with the result on the golf course to validate as the end result. which is everyone after, a better result on the golf course, not chasing a perfect launch angle or the spin rate. A perfect launch angle for someone whose driver swing speed is over 115 MPH does not necessarily fit the game of a golfer who could only muster 95 MPH driver swing speed at best. If someone tells me that I should change to a more lofted driver, I would say let me try it on my favorite par 5 and we shall see.
I know several fitters way before this fitting craze, quite a few of them retired or semi-retired by now. They were among the first ones to utilize a launch monitor to collect data, to cut short the chase for optimal result. They had never pushed equipment without customerās initiation. Simply give us the information for the fee of a fitting session.
They are open to answer questions since no one could carry every brand of shafts and heads at hand which all will be obsolete within a year or two. Even club champion do not have every option there is for the fitting.
BTW, one fitter offered a free review of the fitting between 3-6 months after the completion of the fitting conducted by him. He was never short of a customer.
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Well. Lotta strong opinions posted above. Here are some of mineā¦
There are good golfers. And there are some, umm, not so good 
golfers. I think we all might agree on that.
Similarly, there are some good and some not so good instructors. Some who can give you something tangible that you need and ā¦ with practice ā¦ itāll help improve your game.
Soā¦ There are good fitters, who are conscientious and genuinely interested in helping your improve your game. There are even some who are knowledgeable enough ā¦ eg may have done some teaching ā¦ to offer an apropos tip to help you with your swing while youāre there.
And, yes, there are some not so good fitters ā¦ who are not experienced nor knowledgeable enough about the golf swing, and who are not knowledgeable enough nor experienced enough with the large variety of equipment available.
#1. No - a fitting will not magically fix a bad swing. No - a fitting will not magically lower your scores on the course. No - a fitting will not replace lessons and practice and dedication.
- BUTā¦
Yes - in some, not all, some cases a good fitting can both help your swing and your game.
Example: beginner gets a set of hand me downs that are totally, completely, 100% āwrongā for them. Or an intermediate player is still using an old set of clubs that they bought off the rack (were not originally fit for; they donāt know their proper club specs;
Result in either case is theyāre fighting the equipment and being forced to make compensations to deliver the club head to the ball.
If those golfers had a set of clubs more suited to them, then learning to swing and to play the game may ā¦ or I will grant for some may not ā¦ make learning easier and help them make improvement.
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Appreciate sharing your side of experience. Weāll have a bigger picture of what is happening with all level of golfers. Therefore be able to understand the golf world weāre in.
I donāt like to paraphrase. However, the invention of the GPS location is quite similar to the equipment fitting of golf clubs with the game.
The accessibility of the GPS to the common folks really helped the modern days drivers? I mean, I use the GPS often for trips and work and to exploring new places myself. It has certainly saved a lot of time instead of mapping out the route before the trip. A constant monitoring of progress will also eliminate some of the anxiety while traveling.
I learned to read the map and navigate when I started driving. Paying attention while operating a vehicle using oneās senses then processing through the predetermined route keeps one alert at the wheel.
Never could understand the hands free feature of operating a vehicle. I had encountered drivers on the roadways hands free while taking a nap or watching a video going freeway speed. They are totally trusting the artificial intelligence and put their well being in the hands of a piece of software which no one has perfected it to this date.
Have you encounter someone making a sudden lane change right before an exit on the freeway? These drivers rely on the GPS system to tell them where to go, forgotten they have a pair of eyes and a Brian.
Same as swinging a golf club. Part of the fun is the need to constantly improve, to repair our golf swing. The journey of chasing the holy grail is a huge part of this game.
Golf club fitting is a great tool, coming from a hobbyist I have never denied this fact.
What I have an issue with, is some took this tool and start selling it as a miracle fix for all the issues that comes with the game.
If someone is smart, they would fix the golfer who will swing the golf clubs before they spend the money trying to find the optimal set of golf clubs.
The optimal set of golf clubs does not exist, aside from the very moment of getting fit.
For the golfer who swings the golf clubs will go under changes each day when they step off their bed in the morning.
Hey keep it Classy.
There are children around and we are just talking Golf.
I can imagine what happens when we miss a 2foot comebacker on the 18th hole to break 80 for the first timeā¦LOL! Personally, I have taken all F words out of my on course vernacular and replaced it with: I need to go Bowling more! But I stink at that too 
Sometimes I substitute the words Darts, Shuffleboard and SEX for Bowling. I never miss the hole for one of those pastimes though
I understand the need to get away from golf, either by the need of resting your body or to give a mental break.
Jack Nicklaus packed up his golf clubs after the last regular tournament of the season to rest and to spend more time with his family each year. As an amateur golfer and a weekend warrior; we donāt want to golf so often to make it feels like going back to work.
I had several occasions which I golf every day, that were between job positions. The first week was like in heaven, sometimes 36 holes in the same day. Started to lose focus and the desire to make golf shots after a few weeks, then of course it was time to get aggressive of seeking the next job when the bank account starting to get low.
Golf every other day seems to be perfect for a golf nut like myself.
Try pickleball, itāll give you some range of motion for exercise but not as strenuous as playing tennis. One of my kid volunteer to play pickleball with the seniors at retirement facilities.
Fitting golf clubs is still a sound idea provided the golfer selects a qualified, professional club fitterāhint: they donāt work at retail golf shops. Tom Wishonās website has a list of good ones. The other essential is to maintain reasonable expectations. Properly fitted clubs only work with good swings. So plan on some lessons from professional instructors (PGA pros) and plan on putting in some practice time.
Thereās no magic way to good golf. You canāt buy a game. But you can make sound decisions and do the right things to get betterāfitted clubs, lessons, practice.
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I could not disagree with this statement more than I do. I am a player of over 30 yrs and currently a 4 hcp and I can tell you that getting the correct clubs is a big part of that. However my counterpoint is not about me.
Every time I mention fitting going forward in this post, I am referring to a high quality fitting that is not a big box store or demo day fitting.
My wife started playing about a year ago and getting her into a good set of clubs that helps her misses be better and helps accomodate for her faults is a tremendous help. In fact I would say it makes a much bigger difference for her than it does me. For me it dropped my handicap after my last very thorough fitting by 2-3 shots. For her, it helps her finish every hole and get the ball up in the air off the ground and not chunk chip shots with her wedges as often. This keeps her playing the game and having fun. That is way more than 2-3 shots.
Also, it is all relative to each individual. If you already have a well fit set, a fitting probably wonāt by itself make a difference, but it can make sure you have continuity into your fresh set of sticks. If you have improperly fit set of clubs, it can be the whole world of difference.
Your counter points have some merit. That is how you experience the event of fitting.
Dropping 2-3 shots for a low handicap index holder in my opinion is way more difficult than for the beginner to advance the golf ball to stay in the game.
At the beginnerās level, give it time and practice, they will learn to advance the golf ball, to their level of the game.
For the more advance golfer, dropping even one shot will be like climbing Mt. Everestās North peak. difference is day and night.
Giving a tricked out sports car to a novice will not help their driving. Giving that same equipment to an experienced driver might improve their experience by quite a few seconds in lap time.
Giving the best tools to an unexperienced apprentice will not yield better craftsmanship.
I am not knocking down the fitting process in general, in fact, it is like the adjustable hosel in drivers which was next to the larger size of the head instrumenting of improving the fairway hits.
I agree with you that the experienced fitting who knows the game and the player would improve the golferās ability to score better. To lower the 110 shooter to 95 or to lower an 8 index holder to a 5, which one would you say is more significant?
The 110 shooter will get down to 95 given motivation to practice and play, everyone can do that without a proper fitting. An 8 index to a 5 , now, that will take some God given gift and also practice, but the fitting ( if the original equipment is way off the properly fitted specs. ) will help in more sense than the higher index holder.
Your experience with your wife? Good for you to try to keep her in the game. Do you think the newly āfittedā golf clubs or even the color of the heads and the shafts gave her motivation to get out more?
I look at the golf clubs as a tool, if it does the job, it is beautiful. But many new golfers ( male or female gender ) look at the golf equipment as a statement as clothing or a piece of jewelry.
Personally, I know quite a few āgolfersā who will get the newest and the latest golf clubs every season. Just because they could afford it and they want to show off the shinning sticks to their fellow golfers.
Good for you that you had found a way to keep your wife on the golf course with you, that will be a time to treasure for any married couple.
Youāve got her the gift of fitted golf club, now is time to keep her motivated in the game.
Yeah when I mean fitting I donāt mean the latest and greatest necessarily. I simply mean the proper fit. and tools that she could use properly. Obviously a new golfer or slow swing speed golfer couldnāt use the same clubs that Tiger did in 2000, so the tool does matter. And getting a more suitable tool for a golferās given strength and that can help correct misses to some degree is just going to be advantageous for most golfers who are not already properly fit.
I do recognize that many OEMs use fitting as a selling tool and that is a double edged sword because it can lull golfers into thinking that they can buy a game, and that is not realistic at all. Nor is the fact that this yearās model is 20 yds further than last yearās model that just looks a little different.
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This has always been the case since day one of the game.
It keeps the hope alive for the general mass. It keeps the dream of participate the game on a higher level. And, once in awhile, everyone will have that perfect execution of a golf shot to keep us staying in the game.
The golf club manufacturers had known this, because the first generations of golf club makers were golfers, later turned professionals and then turned into a business operation.
Fitting is no different. It was a brilliant tool to help the golfers in the game. Then more saw the potential lucrative side of it.
I remembered in the 60s-80s there were golfers traveled near and far to seek out the reputable golf club makers to get something more in line of their personal preference. I had known golfers travel thousands of miles to take lessons and personal golf clubs made. This, had created a void in the supply chain. With the advancement of the technology everyone could invest in a launch monitor and send their employees to a class room to learn to explain the data from the launch monitor and some basic sales technics.
So what does one get from a run in the mill fitting session? There used to be a couple of outfit which claimed that they had captured at least 50% of the available options on club heads and shafts for fitting.
These places could not keep up with all the new shafts and heads in recent years. No one could.
On top, the indoor fitting is not quite the same as actual playing condition. The artificial turf is more forgiving than the actual playing condition. Weāll seldom find a perfect lie on the golf course and the real turf is less forgiving with imperfect turf contact.
This is the main reason why so many complained that they could never get the same result on the golf course as they were fitted indoor.
It is dangerous to sell the same dream to everyone.