Golf Season is Almost Here!
Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about buying new golf clubs. The advice and recommendations were fantastic. The one take away that has stuck with me: it is time to invest in being properly fitted for a golf club. Thanks everyone for setting me straight!
So, being my normal self, I started researching how to be fitted for a golf club. After a fair bit time, this is what I came up with: the only consistent aspect about club fitting is that it is inconsistent! Depending on who you ask, which video you watch or which company’s website you visit, there are many aspects of club fitting that amateurs should focus upon….or should they?
Not to be deterred, here is what I think I should focus on when I go for my club fitting:
- Length of the club. I am about 5′ 11″ (182 cm) with golf shoes on. Depending on how low my arms hang will help find my club length.
- Next is where my arms drop during my swing. This will help find my lie of my golf club. This is the angle of the shaft into the head of a golf club.
- Launch angle. Given my swing speed (around 95 mph) my optimum launch angle is 11 degrees. This angle will provide the best carry and roll of the ball during my swing.
- Ball speed. Apparently swing speed is not really that important, but ball speed is; I guess this makes sense considering the other factors of a golf swing that could cut your ball speed such as poor contact, swing plane and swing angle.
- Spin rate. I actually have never considered spin rate, but given my current numbers, a spin rate between 2-3 thousand rpm is ideal.
As I sift through the mountain of data, I will not be deterred. I will continue doing research in the hopes that my understanding about being custom fitted will grow and fog will clear.
However, I am not fully comfortable about the entire process. If anyone can recommend a good website or video the will help explain golf club fitting, I would be very grateful!
The only thing I am confident about is that it is time to be custom fitted for a driver. This should happen in the near future.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
Jim, go somewhere reputable (duh), that has testimonials from customers and utilizes technology and expertise to fit.
Are there any places that use FlightScope or TrackMan? I don’t like guessing with numbers that matter, so this (for me) is essential.
Good luck, the process should be fun! Can’t wait to hear what you get and what you discovered.
Yes, you will be amazed at the difference 🙂
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Rick
Thanks for the advice. I will have to look for the best place in my area. I should have lots of options. I am looking forward to see what the results are and how it impacts my game.
Cheers
Jim
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Hi Jim I wish you well in your fitting project. Reading your article discussing ball flight etc, makes me wonder. I play with a guy who rarely get the ball in the air at all, but his tee shot is always alongside mine, which always looks great in the air.
Pete
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Pete
Like most things in life, your friends ball flight is unique to him. I am not suggesting he changes, but in wet conditions, does his ball still have the same travel? I think your higher ball flight is better most of the time. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Cheers
Jim
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Jim,
A good buddy got fitted to new clubs last year and I think the biggest immediate difference was a brimming new confidence in his clubs. It was really convincing- he was lights out for the next few rounds and hitting a new personal best this last season.
Looking forward to follow you through this club selection process and hoping to get some more insight on the club fitting process if you do it.
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Crunchy
Thanks, you know I will be sharing the entire experience. I think it is important to remove the veil of confusion surrounding this entire process.
Cheers
Jim
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Jim, not saying this will work for you but it did for me in my iron fitting. I found the most trustworthy fitter I could, and placed full trust in his expertise without getting too far into the weeds trying to understand the components of a fitting. In essence, I let the expert do his job. I am a little like you and feel compelled to do extensive research and he asked me going in if I had any preconceived notions about brands or specs. I did but told him “no” and asked him to simply make his best recommendations based on the ball striking tests he took me through. I told him I was open to all manufacturers and would tell him if something felt good/bad or fit my eye correctly and at the end of the day, this was a good thing. You gotta trust in him first to do this and I was lucky because my guy had tons of experience and had fit some tour players as well as top level amateurs. I also ate the cost of the fitting ($200). It was not built into the cost of the set that he had made for me, as will probably be if you get fit at a standard retailer like Dicks or Golf Galaxy. The extra cost was worth it in my judgment. Here’s the post I wrote detailing how my fitting went. Good luck!
Brian
https://brianpenn.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/game-improvement-next-step-big-step/
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Brian
Thanks. Your advice will help me try not to control the whole experience. Time to enjoy it!
Cheers
Jim
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Jim
Bought my irons 1 year ago and had them fitted to my swing. After lessons and improvement in game over the past year, I went back for FREE fitting check-up (January) and found out that I was 1 degree off my original angle. New adjustments have been an incredible change in ball flight, positive club face on ball at impact and more importantly it has produced lower scores. Fitting is required, however a “Check-up” is also necessary on a periodic basis as our swing may see changes, our body may not produce same swing sequence and (as we grow older) our ability to get the club face squarely on the ball at impact may have changed.
Looking forward to seeing you in UK and trying a few more British courses.
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Kirk
I remember you telling me about our fitting. How it really helped. I guess I was not ready to take the plunge. But, now I am….by the way, the duck keeps calling your name out at night! I am looking forward to playing a couple courses as well.
Cheers
Jim
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