Custom Golf Club Fitting: How to Choose the Perfect Clubs for Your Game
A golf club is not like a baseball bat. Or a pickleball paddle. In this day and age, the equipment designed to hit a golf ball is way more sophisticated than these rudimentary items.
According to industry experts—club-fitters and swing instructors alike–learning the game or trying to get better using poorly fit equipment is an uphill battle. Using clubs that don’t match your physique and skill level can negatively influence your swing and lead to bad habits. It can make an already difficult game more frustrating.
Without even realizing it, golfers tend to develop their swings around the equipment they use. If your clubs are too long, too short, too heavy or too light, if the lie angle is off, if the grips are too fat or too thin, you’ll reflexively try to adapt or compensate. Which can lead to poor swing development. In the end, improperly fit equipment can set you on a downward path to failure. You may quit the game entirely. And take up pickleball.
While beginners tend to shy away from getting fit for clubs, they need all the help they can get. Novices stand to benefit from a more lofted driver; lighter, more flexible shafts; and game-improvement irons that are forgiving to off-center hits.
Most teaching pros recommend that beginners start with a few properly fit clubs. A novice can get into golf with just a driver, a 7-iron, a sand wedge, a pitching wedge and a putter.
The ABC’s of Getting Custom-Fit for Golf Clubs
Established golfers should get a baseline evaluation of their equipment from a club-fitter or a trusted pro. Maybe a few tweaks will make a positive difference. Or maybe you’ll need to replace your sticks with a different set better suited to your swing and ability.
Ultimately, a full club fitting should be in every golfer’s future.
For starters, ask your local pro or swing instructor where to go to get fitted for clubs. Alternatively, check with your regional or state golf association for a listing of reputable club-fitters in your area.
Stuck for a good option? Check out Club Champion, which has 125 fitting studios worldwide. “Anyone looking to find more distance, more consistency, and better golf performance overall…should consider a comprehensive custom club fitting,” the company stated. Club Champion is brand agnostic. It offers 65,000+ head, shaft and grip combos, with a goal of producing the best possible set of clubs for every level of golfer.
If you’re already a fan of a specific brand, most of the leading club manufacturers offer custom fitting. Assuming you’re willing to travel, this might be a good way to avoid dealing with too many choices. Callaway, Cobra, Mizuno, Ping, PXG, TaylorMade, Titleist, Wilson and other equipment companies offer custom club fitting services.
In essence, a custom golf club fitting analyzes a golfer’s swing and uses that data to create a set of clubs optimized for each player’s game. The analysis is very technical. Among the key factors: club length, club weight, swing weight, shaft flex, face angle, spin bias, head design, launch angle, and spin rate.
Here’s how the process works:
· Discussion: The golfer discusses his / her game, current clubs and performance goals with the fitter.
· Shot analysis: The golfer hits shots while a launch monitor measures clubhead speed and other factors.
· Data analysis: The fitter uses the data to determine the golfer’s ideal club specifications.
· Club selection: The fitter chooses the best club head and shaft combinations from his inventory.
· Trial: The golfer tries out the new clubs to see how they perform
Custom-Fit Clubs + A Good Swing Instructor = Better Golf
Once you acquire a few clubs or a full set that fits your skill level, physique and budget, you can start improving your swing with an instructor.
According to Golf Digest, “The perception that only good players can benefit from a fitting isn’t correct. A new Golf Datatech study on fitting confirms that everybody loves their game after a fitting.”
The report noted that an estimated 55% of all irons and drivers currently sold to serious golfers have been custom fit. Nearly eight in 10 respondents in its survey of serious golfers (16 or more rounds per year) have been fit for clubs. Of those, 94% said they were at least “satisfied” with their most recent fitting.
“We’ve been doing this report every two or three years, and what we’ve seen is a lot like what people say about a Disney World vacation,” said John Krzynowek, a partner at Golf Datatech. “The costs have gone up, sure, but the satisfaction levels have gone up substantially.”
Despite these positive numbers, the perception that “I’m not good enough to get fit” remains. If close to a third of serious golfers aren’t getting fit, that means the numbers for casual golfers are even higher. The objection that “I’m not good enough to get fit” is nonsensical. Properly fit equipment matters regardless of handicap.
The Golf Datatech report concluded that when it comes to equipment, golf is a changed game. “Golf club fitting became the norm for most serious golfers when the reality of data driven swing analysis intersected with manufacturers and retailers recognizing that golf clubs could perform in a superior manner when the primary components were fine-tuned to perform optimally for the individual golfer. The club business hasn’t looked the same since.”
Don’t get left behind. Make a New Year’s resolution to schedule a custom club fitting this year. Your performances on a challenging course like TPC Danzante Bay are bound to improve.
