custom fitting

[NiftyNiblick]

My shafts usually follow me to new club  heads.  (The shaft model, not the actual shafts.)

I had Aldila NV Pro 105s on three consecutive sets of irons.

Tough to be fitted for the latest shafts if you're unwilling to try them.

Finally agreed to try lighter UST shafts with the Hogans and barely noticed the difference in feel. The only difference I noticed was that the shiny chromed club heads tried to intimidate me. Gray stainless heads simply have a friendlier look.

I think that flexible players with big backswings notice shafts more than us guys who ring the bell hard from just past vertical.

[mbrodeur86]

I kinda fit myself for my irons with my 8 years of taking the game seriously lol. I did the Ping online fitting which recommended I be fitted in the yellow dot clubs. Secondly, since my long irons would be the worst part of my game, I considered all the sets I played over the years and remember that the Burner 2.0 5 iron was the best and easiest 5 iron for me to hit. I looked up it's stock length which was 38" and looked up the stock I20's stock length and it was 37.75". I hunted on ebay and found yellow dot I20's with a quarter inch extension and bought them. It definitely makes a difference and I was a big proponent of not having to be fit for irons. 

 

My wife asked me what the difference was. I tried to explain it this way. For those of you who play or have played ice hockey. You can go to the store and buy a hockey stick, tape it up and hit the ice and you could play with it BUT you will have more trouble. If you go and buy a stick, get home put on your skates and measure the stick to anywhere between your nose and chin and cut it - you will have much better control with your stick-handling and shooting. So, long story short, you can play with clubs that aren't fit but you will play better with ones that are. 

[superduper]

Isn't one of the great benefits of a good fitting the finding of the right shaft(s)?  You can know your loft, lie, swing weight and flex specs, but have dramatically different results with different shafts.  

 

not really.   Some people only need to change their grip and shorten the clubs and it would affect their shot dispersion greatly. 

 

Regarding shaft, there is no magic shaft.  A good club is a combo of the head and the aftermarket shaft and so many other factors such as weight and length. 

[apprenti23]

not really. Some people only need to change their grip and shorten the clubs and it would affect their shot dispersion greatly.

 

Regarding shaft, there is no magic shaft. A good club is a combo of the head and the aftermarket shaft and so many other factors such as weight and length.

I beg to differ. Find the most efficient shaft through smash factor, spin, and launch numbers. Then look at heads. Sole width and attack angle is a big one.

[KB McCool]

I was fit for an Edel putter................... this made me a believer.. 

Then I was fit for Edel wedges and this also applies to their irons.. this also made me a total believer.. 

I crossed over from Miura CB57 which I do love... but the Edel system for fitting is great and fit me perfectly.. The putter I bought from this has helped me a bunch and even though it was a bit salty.. I will never buy another putter (unless I want one of their fancier ones)  Note: if you buy their putter.. it is well worth it to get the adders of the pixels and wt changing head.. as I now change out wts. depending upon how fast the greens are.. and the pixel hd is much more forgiving.. 

Their wedges made me a believer in BOUNCE as I now use the driver head.. for my specific swing the added bounce helps me and is more forgiving .. and the irons are ground such that it really helps my steep swing a lot.. It is well worth the time for the fitting.. 

[NiftyNiblick]

I think that there may be a correlation between bounce and fairway wood skill. I'm considered one of the better fairway wood hitters in my little clique of geriatric players and I'm a low bounce guy on wedges. Another good fairway wood hitter in the group also likes low bounce.

I play with one guy who carries Wedgewood hybrids, which have iron like faces with no bulge and roll, these instead of fairway woods which he can barely get off the ground. This guy has wedges with protruding trailing edges that I would consider unplayable.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

Been lucky enough to have a few fittings over the past year - this one at 2nd Swing Minneapolis Tour Van Fitting Center was a real eye opener, as was this one on a hybrid fitting.

 

Thomas - the fitter at 2nd Swing, also did an iron fitting for me and suggested KBS C-Taper shafts and a 2# flat lie angle.  He said if I was in my early 40's he'd recommend X-stiff there, as well, but since I was 54 at the time, and would eventually be 55 and then later on, God willing, 56, Stiff would be better for the long term.

 

Thomas' fitting was verified a couple of months later at Wilson Staff's fitting center in Chicago.  Junk - one of their tour fitters - set me up with FG Tour V4 irons with C-Tapers in stiff.  He said basically the same thing- could play an X or an S+, but at "your age" you'd feel it at the end of a round. Most interesting was face impact tape showing three different shafts --- DG Gold, C-Taper and PX 6.0 -- was all over the club face with the DG and PX, but was dead center with the C-Taper with by far the best ball speeds.  

 

Ironically, the FG Tour F5's I've been demoing have C-Tapers and I'm finding a difficult time hitting the sweet spot consistently - so that shaft may not be right for that particular head.  

 

Or it could be me! 

 

Bottom line for me -- played my best golf ever this past summer playing a full bag of properly fit equipment, including putter.  I'm sure properly fit equipment was part of the equation. 

[NiftyNiblick]

There's no question that custom ordering is significantly preferable to off-the-rack shopping, even though it comes at a premium price. With judiciously chosen custom-fit equipment, I can configure an eminently playable bag with just twelve clubs.

Just an example:

TaylorMade AeroBurner TP___________________14º driver
Henry-Griffitts Praxis________________________18.5º spoon
Henry-Griffitts Purist________________________23º baffy

Epon AF-901 ______________________________19º driving cleek
Ben Hogan FW-15 __________________________28º mid iron
Ben Hogan FW-15 __________________________33º mashie
Ben Hogan FW-15 __________________________38º mashie-niblick
Ben Hogan FW-15 __________________________43º niblick
Ben Hogan TK-15___________________________48º pitching wedge
Ben Hogan TK-15___________________________53º gap wedge
Vokey SM5 L-grind _________________________58º short wedge

Frankly Frog________________________________3º putter

To get similar coverage with off-the-rack clubs, complete with their arbitrary club numbering system and tight increment gaps, I would need fifteen or sixteen of them, plus the lie angles on all of the clubs and the face angles on the metalwoods would be wrong.

I'm not sure how there's any question about the benefit of custom fitting. The real question is whether or not to start that way before one's swing is what it's going to be.

[GolfSpy Barbajo]

I'm not sure how there's any question about the benefit of custom fitting. The real question is whether or not to start that way before one's swing is what it's going to be.

 

Always a good question -- I guess there are certain consistencies that a good fitter can find, but maybe the best one can hope for is the best fit for that day.  I was lucky -- both the 2nd Swing and Wilson fittings confirmed 2*, as has an additional mini-session with third fitter.  

 

Here's another unanswerable question -- is it better to be fit into clubs you can grow into as you improve, or is it better to be fit for as much forgiveness as you can stand to look at?  I've done it both ways...no definitive answer as both were right at the time.

[Kenny B]

Here's another unanswerable question -- is it better to be fit into clubs you can grow into as you improve, or is it better to be fit for as much forgiveness as you can stand to look at?  I've done it both ways...no definitive answer as both were right at the time.

 

IMO, speaking from my experience only, it is imperative to get the length and lie correct.  Swing speed will get you in a reasonable shaft flex range, but if the length and lie angle are not correct, then compensations must be made in the swing to adjust.  This only leads to problems trying to fix the swing down the road.

 

If someone needs "as much forgiveness as you can stand to look at", then they have no business saying they "can't stand to look at the club".  Fix the swing or learn to live with the look.

[superduper]

I beg to differ. Find the most efficient shaft through smash factor, spin, and launch numbers. Then look at heads. Sole width and attack angle is a big one.

 

 it's the opposite... find the head you want, try different shafts.... isn't that what clubfitter does? 

[PlaidJacket]

I firmly believe if you're going to a custom club fitting you'd better have an open mind. Let the fitting determine the clubs. I didn't end up with the irons I'd initially hoped I'd get fit for. We tried them over and over along with some others. However, in the end I got a different set due to the fitting process. And... I couldn't be happier.

[apprenti23]

it's the opposite... find the head you want, try different shafts.... isn't that what clubfitter does?

How do you know which head is best if you're using the wrong shaft?

 

Finding the right shaft is the hard part, heads are easy. Grab a control head and Find the most efficient shaft that will do the most work for you. Then find the head with best aesthetics and characteristics to benefit your game through launch, spin, etc. Then dial in lie, loft, and other settings to get it fully optimal. That's the method used by most all top 100 fitters and the method I've used in my over a dozen years experience fitting clubs.

[NiftyNiblick]

"Dial in" loft and lie?

 

You've got a few degrees leeway with lie on irons, but bend lofts and you change both the bounce and the center of gravity on the face. 

 

Put me in the "prioritize club head" column.   I've yet to find an A- or R- flex graphite shaft that doesn't work fine.  I'm actually fussier about grips as I insist on a wrap style. I find the S- and X- flex folks to be far fussier with shafts than I am.  If they're between 65 and 105 grams and the flex point is lower than directly under the grip, and they cushion the hit better than steel does, well, that's a good shaft.

 

Launch monitors?  I'm keeping my mouth shut about them because I'm viewed as a curmudgeon / dinosaur already.

 

Now what about metalwood heads? How much can you adjust them?  You won't find any fakakta adjustable gadgets on my hosels.  I want it made with the loft, lie, and face angle that I need.

 

For me, at least, the club head is the club and the shaft is an accessory, just like the grip.  I can put any .335 shaft that I want on my Titleist PT set.  It's got 13, 17, 20, and 23º MATCHING clubs with open faces and flat lies, and that's just not being offered today.  My only dissatisfaction is that I can't get the 17 and the 20 to morph into a single 18.5 which is what I could really use.  If I'm willing to go with non-matching clubs, the 14º TaylorMade TP mini-driver and the Callaway XR Pro 18º metal have actually useful fit metrics. (Just the TP and Pro versions.)  In this age of the hybrid, though, try to find a 23º full size metalwood in anybody's lineup.  And when you do find one, the face will be closed and the lie will be upright because the maker assumes that only an unskilled over-the-top caster wants a 23º fairway wood.  Henry-Griffitts can give me what I want, but I'd have to use the non-matching Praxis and Purist models at once. The Zeider forge could do it, but they don't seem to do golf anymore.

 

On top of all this, my PTs don't have club numbers on them. I like that.  A lot. Which OEMs offer custom stamping options on their metals....or even irons?

 

I can find a shaft that I like in two minutes, and don't come near me with a launch monitor.  If you want to fit me, find me a club head that's as playable as the ones that I already have in my basement. 

 

But really, Chicago and East Coast  Italians do things differently, right Ap?  Look at the pizza.

 

 

Rant over.  Can somebody forfeit being Dude of the Month? I hope not!

[MattF]

"Dial in" loft and lie?

 

You've got a few degrees leeway with lie on irons, but bend lofts and you change both the bounce and the center of gravity on the face. 

 

Put me in the "prioritize club head" column.   I've yet to find an A- or R- flex graphite shaft that doesn't work fine.  I'm actually fussier about grips as I insist on a wrap style. I find the S- and X- flex folks to be far fussier with shafts than I am.  If they're between 65 and 105 grams and the flex point is lower than directly under the grip, and they cushion the hit better than steel does, well, that's a good shaft.

 

Launch monitors?  I'm keeping my mouth shut about them because I'm viewed as a curmudgeon / dinosaur already.

 

Now what about metalwood heads? How much can you adjust them?  You won't find any fakakta adjustable gadgets on my hosels.  I want it made with the loft, lie, and face angle that I need.

 

For me, at least, the club head is the club and the shaft is an accessory, just like the grip.  I can put any .335 shaft that I want on my Titleist PT set.  It's got 13, 17, 20, and 23º MATCHING clubs with open faces and flat lies, and that's just not being offered today.  My only dissatisfaction is that I can't get the 17 and the 20 to morph into a single 18.5 which is what I could really use.  If I'm willing to go with non-matching clubs, the 14º TaylorMade TP mini-driver and the Callaway XR Pro 18º metal have actually useful fit metrics. (Just the TP and Pro versions.)  In this age of the hybrid, though, try to find a 23º full size metalwood in aCan somebody forfeit being Dude of the Month? I hope not!

 

I suspect this post is why you're dude of the month. You incite riot sorry, discussion.

[silver & black]

Nifty is a breath of fresh air around here. I started playing 16 years ago so, I find it very entertaining to read about how it used to before I took up the game.

[apprenti23]

Nifty you're hilarious.

 

The benefit of a TrackMan is that you aren't guessing as to what your numbers are, the data is the data and nobody can argue that.

 

Someone who thinks as a shaft as a mere accessory is probably playing completely wrong equipment. You know what you like, but you think what you like is what's best for you. Sure you could be right but I'm guessing you're leaving a TON on the table.

 

I had a fitting with a very accomplished senior player yesterday, has even played in a PGA tour event in the past. His last fitting was three years ago and "loved his clubs" but wanted to see if there was any more distance he could get without losing feel or the low trajectory he likes. Well, we picked up 20+ yards carry and 30 yards total... On his IRONS!

 

It really is funny when you find better shafts (picked up a full club in carry and a club and a half total just through shaft) and then when they think there's nothing left to gain really wow them when you get a better head, too.

[NiftyNiblick]

Here's the thing, Ap.  If I'm not very informative, at least I'm entertaining!

[NiftyNiblick]

I can't find the delete post button, but the text that used to be here was longer than it was interesting.