Club Fit - It Only Makes Sense

With the prices of golf equipment where they are today, it only makes good sense to be custom club fit for your new clubs. Yes, it may cost you another fee to be club fit for a set of golf clubs but, trust me; this will be less than 10% of the price of your new investment. If this still seems like to much money, find a local PGA professional who will include the cost with a purchase of a Driver or a set of golf irons. To use the phrase from Nike, Just Do It. Let me tell you why owning a set of golf clubs that is built to your specifications is so important.

All golfers are not created equal. Every single golfer is a little bit different in size, body frame as well as the shape of their golf swing. A proper custom club fit will result in a set of clubs that are specifically suited to your height, strength, club head speed and individual swing characteristics.

What most people do not realize is that off-the-shelf golf clubs are one-size-fits-few. Approximately 10% of all club fittings end up with standard specs. Actually golf manufacturers have changed their standards multiple times over the last ten years. Since custom fitting has gained popularity with the average golfer, manufacturing companies have made lie angles more upright and lofts stronger. This obviously is in an attempt to help the average to higher handicap golfer.

A club fit can be performed by a PGA Professional. How do you go about finding the right PGA Professional to fit you? Ask a lot of questions. Just like you are trying to find a doctor or a dentist, ask your friends, co-workers and call golf shops. The proper questions to ask are as follows:

Is the professional certified by a major manufacturer to fit their clubs?

Does the PGA Professional have a fitting cart or multiple fitting carts with what you are looking for (Mens, Ladies, steel, graphite, right-handed, left-handed clubs) available?

How experienced is the PGA Professional?

Will I be fit outdoors to see the entire ball flight?

Contrary to the belief of many, this does not have to be a time-consuming or expensive endeavor. A very basic clubfitting might take as little as 15 minutes, with the average being 30-45 minutes.

As for price, some clubs will give you a fitting free of charge as long as you agree to purchase your new set from them. Most charge a modest fee, perhaps $35 to $50 being typical.

Expect to hit many variations of the same type club. For instance, a well-equipped fitting center might have dozens (in some cases, hundreds) of a particular club, usually a 6-iron for men and a 7-iron for women. Each of the 6-irons will be different from the next in some way.

The idea is to find the best combination of shaft (length, flex and kickpoint), loft (standard, strong or flat), lie (strong or flat), grip and swingweight, among other factors.

By watching the ball flight produced by each variation of a club, and checking chalk marks left on adhesive strips attached to the clubface and sole, a clubfitter can quickly narrow the search and lead the student to the best fit.

The club fit procedure can be done for every club in the bag, including putters, but iron fittings are most common, with driver fittings following closely behind.

Of course, a proper club fit only works if you follow up by purchasing a set of clubs custom made to those specifications. Two things to keep in mind: If you want a set of, for example, Titleist clubs, the ones you order after a proper clubfitting will cost approximately the same as the same set bought off the shelf; and a golfer is under no obligation to purchase a set from the pro doing the measurements.

So there's little reason for anyone in the market for new clubs to avoid a proper club fit.