Fitting where to go?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

So i had a frank discussion with my wife last night and we agreed that getting truly fit for a driver is the right option for me. As some of you may know, the current driver I have was fitted poorly to me, at least in my eyes. Any advice would be appreciated.

EDIT: I also don't know if this is tinkering fatigue or I psyched myself out not with this driver messing with it so much. Partially feels mental

When I got fit for it this is how it went down:

In 2018, I went in wanting to get my TM Aeroburner reshafted (glued in shaft). Fitter told me head was too high spin and shaft was not stout enough. Instead of recrafting, he told me to get a low spin adjustable head (EF SZ). When that head came in he threw on the first demo shaft he had and asked if I liked it, and me being naïve said yes without understanding numbers. I should state, I never tested any other heads even though he had a fitting studio. He then told me to go to the range prior to the round and adjust the driver to how i am hitting that day to make up for any misses I am having. Following that the honeymoon phase was OK and I wasn't consistent but I chalked it up to it being a new driver and I was getting used to it. Fast Forward to now and I have since tinkered with SW and length to try and gain consistency off the tee with some success, but i realize when my ball striking is bad, this head offers very little in terms of forgiveness. After reading others fitting experiences, I started to feel jaded about my experience, and it has kind of been eating at me. Hence wanting to get truly fit it to a head and shaft combo that works better for my game.

 

Now my question is, who to go with for this driver fitting.

1) My fitter that got me into PXGs. Great tour van guy, but not back until May 7. I don't know how many true shaft selections he has, i presume a lot. Also when i bought my 44.5" shaft blind to test out length he was helpful and also told me he rarely puts people in a driver over 45", which is a plus for me to try and get more consistent. He charges $125

2) Club Champion. Lots to test, terrible upcharges. Do they juice their SIMs? Would be the most thorough option now but i definitely would not but from them due to their pricing. $150 for fitting

3) Local golf center to me. They don't have pricing info and I don't know if they have a large shaft library to try from. @Kenny B has been fit there so maybe he can answer.

4) Golftec. I hear these are great but they pretty much only have stock offerings from what I gather. I think this is $100 for a fitting

5) PXG country club. Great $50 option but I don't know if I want to commit to just one brand, ditto for Titleist Thursdays

6) Local pro near me although he tried to initially tell me my new irons were too short when i was doing trackman testing for zipcores. He doesnt have a lot in stock and would need to order clubs to test out

7) Prior fitter I saw with a greater emphasis on what I need. Fitting is free if I buy from him, but my resentment (maybe I shouldn't feel this way) has me wanting to stay away.

8. TruSpec but that is 3 hours away and I don't want to drive that far just for a one club fitting.

[fixyurdivot]

36 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

EDIT: I also don't know if this is tinkering fatigue or I psyched myself out not with this driver messing with it so much. Partially feels mental

The good thing is that your current driver will serve as the baseline, so you and the fitter will see what new specs, shafts, and heads move the needle.

 

40 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

8. TruSpec but that is 3 hours away and I don't want to drive that far just for a one club fitting.

I drove nearly 3 hours both times I went to Truespec in Scottsdale.  This IMO should not dictate your choice. Of course I live in Montana and our reference for what is a "long drive" is a wee bit skewed.  For instance, I'll be driving 13 hours to the PNW Spy Meet-up (no pressure you Oregon guys )

While TS tends to cater to the higher end player, they are known for quality, competent staff.  The most important aspect of a fitting is getting the best fitting specs from someone that really knows this trade.  That said, you might want to check with them on what no upcharge and upcharge shafts they have which are offered by any favored drivers you're considering.  Also, be it TS or CC, don't plan on buying from them.  Just get the specs and shop elsewhere.  

If the more exotic shafts are not something you want to consider, then GolfTec would seem the best of your options.  Have fun with the process and bring that new boomer down to Bend .

 

[Middler]

No disrespect, but with a 30 HI lessons might be $ better spent before fitting. During the lesson, a decent pro should be able to tell you if you’re seriously misfit for your driver. If yes, by all means get fit.

But if you’re determined to get fit, go to a reputable fitter nearby (based on a personal recommendation you trust) and stipulate you want the best fit driver with a standard OEM shaft (most OEMs offer a decent selection these days). An aftermarket shaft will increase the cost dramatically with only slightly better results if any. There are more unqualified fitters out there than truly helpful and it’s very easy to draw the wrong conclusions from a launch monitor, people are easily fooled every day. Paying for a fitting probably increases the odds of success but it does not guarantee a good fitting unfortunately.

[GolfSpy_APH]

A bit of a tough call. It is too bad you didn't get the experience you were hoping for to start. That being said if you know your fitter who got you into PXG and trust him it could be worth the wait. Its not really that long off and in the mean time you can do some additional research (maybe some deals to be had soon?) May give you a chance to get on another LM to get some numbers for your own mindset, then when the fitting happens you will have those to compare? There are a ton of really good stock shaft options from a lot of brands now so I am sure you would be able to find something that suits you in them. 
From what you have wrote and my assesment of getting the best possible outcome this could be a strong way to go IMO. Little extra time to get yourself set up and (not sure what you golf season is like), but also could help you get a little more into a normal season swing that is more predictable and repeatable which should then lead to a better overall fit. 
Hope that helps!

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 hour ago, Middler said:

No disrespect, but with a 30 HI lessons might be $ better spent before fitting. During the lesson, a decent pro should be able to tell you if you’re seriously misfit for your driver. If yes, by all means get fit.

But if you’re determined to get fit, go to a reputable fitter nearby (based on a personal recommendation you trust) and stipulate you want the best fit driver with a standard OEM shaft (most OEMs offer a decent selection these days). An aftermarket shaft will increase the cost dramatically with only slightly better results if any. There are more unqualified fitters out there than truly helpful and it’s very easy to draw the wrong conclusions from a launch monitor, people are easily fooled every day. Paying for a fitting probably increases the odds of success but it does not guarantee a good fitting unfortunately.

Thanks. Appreciate the insight. I have been working hard the last 10 months on planemate work and my irons are slowly coming along. Only a matter of time until it translates to my driving game. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

1) My fitter that got me into PXGs. Great tour van guy, but not back until May 7. I don't know how many true shaft selections he has, i presume a lot. Also when i bought my 44.5" shaft blind to test out length he was helpful and also told me he rarely puts people in a driver over 45", which is a plus for me to try and get more consistent. He charges $125

2) Club Champion. Lots to test, terrible upcharges. Do they juice their SIMs? Would be the most thorough option now but i definitely would not but from them due to their pricing. $150 for fitting

These are your two best options based on what info you provided.

Since arent going to buy from club champion so their upcharge fees are irrelevant to the discussion and you can focus purely on the fitting and have it stay within any budget you state to the fitter. Bring your current drip for comparison this way whatever their monitors are set for you will know based on what your current setup knowledge is. 

If you don’t want to do club champion and are unsure of what the other options provide then waiting a month to get fit isn’t that long of a wait.

Either way be realistic with yourself on numbers and not what the one pure drive you hit one time on the course or range.

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Middler said:

No disrespect, but with a 30 HI lessons might be $ better spent before fitting.

While a lesson can be beneficial having ill fitted equipment that requires a person to manipulate their swing instead of having a piece of equipment that works with this swing will cause bad habits to develop that will take time to break out of 

[Middler]

20 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

While a lesson can be beneficial having ill fitted equipment that requires a person to manipulate their swing instead of having a piece of equipment that works with this swing will cause bad habits to develop that will take time to break out of 

You quoted me and left out the underlined. “No disrespect, but with a 30 HI lessons might be $ better spent before fitting. During the lesson, a decent pro should be able to tell you if you’re seriously misfit for your driver. If yes, by all means get fit.

He/she should know if a fitting is a high priority better than random strangers on a golf forum with completely different abilities & experience. How much difference are you suggesting the OP could expect from a fitting alone?

[fixyurdivot]

17 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

While a lesson can be beneficial having ill fitted equipment that requires a person to manipulate their swing instead of having a piece of equipment that works with this swing will cause bad habits to develop that will take time to break out of 

Agree. This is the reason I chose to do the fitting first and make as certain as possible the gear isn't an issue.  Next will be some very targeted lessons.  I will not repeat sins of the past.

[RickyBobby_PR]

 

23 minutes ago, Middler said:

You quoted me and left out the underlined. “No disrespect, but with a 30 HI lessons might be $ better spent before fitting. During the lesson, a decent pro should be able to tell you if you’re seriously misfit for your driver. If yes, by all means get fit.

He/she should know if a fitting is a high priority better than random strangers on a golf forum with completely different abilities & experience. How much difference are you suggesting the OP could expect from a fitting alone?

While the logic of a pro should know if someone is mis fit there are pros that won’t.

the ideal situation would be to do lessons and have that pro fit the golfer but many pros only teach and the ones who do both in my experience on my have one or two fitting carts and limited shafts. 
 

Based on what I’ve seen in my own experience with fittings and getting lessons along with the last 7ish years I’ve been around fittings the chances that someone who gets fit then takes lessons and has their specs completely change is low.

16 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Agree. This is the reason I chose to do the fitting first and make as certain as possible the gear isn't an issue.  Next will be some very targeted lessons.  I will not repeat sins of the past.

That’s an approach that works and how my golf life has been. 

[dlow206]

If i lived in your area, i would wait for Ben to come back in May. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

20 minutes ago, dlow206 said:

If i lived in your area, i would wait for Ben to come back in May. 

Ya that is what I am tempted to do but that’s so far away being a month away

[Kenny B]

The fitting at your local golf center, unless it's changed in the past 8 years, is basically "fit from stock shafts".  Some OEM carts may have a couple of the no upcharge shafts available.

If you are happy with your fitter, I would wait.  However, I don't see anything wrong with going to Redtail and say that you are interested in trying out some of the new drivers.  I do this at our local store.  I only try 2 or maybe 3 at a time.  I can usually tell if I like one better than the others.  Next trip I will pick a couple more and the one I liked the first time.  I will usually narrow my selection down to 2 drivers.  That's when I would consider a fitting.  By then, your fitter should be back and you will have some information for him to start your fitting.  Just my 2 cents.

If I were a better player, I would consider premium shafts, but my feeling is that I wouldn't see a lot of difference at my swing speed... certainly not enough to justify the cost.

[tony@CIC]

19 hours ago, rbsiedsc said:

Thanks. Appreciate the insight. I have been working hard the last 10 months on planemate work and my irons are slowly coming along. Only a matter of time until it translates to my driving game. 

As someone who was a 30 not that long ago, my first reaction is why are you a 30/why the focus on the driver? Have you thoroughly (honestly) analyzed your game? What are your misses? As a reflection of my journey to my current 19 (with lots of work left to get to my next target 15), my drives were initially an issue - more (wild) dispersion rather than distance. However, my fairway and short game cost me lots of strokes. I ended up getting a full bag fitting at an Indie shop (charge was $150 if you didn't buy anything), I ended up with a new (stock) driver shaft for my 410SFT, new hybrids, irons and wedges. Today the drives are better (not great), hybrids bail me out and I love my game at 75 yds in. 

Note: interspersed with the fitting, I also took lessons. Fitter and the instructor were not the same person. , the latter would be more than happy to fit me into the Pings that he carries, but no LM data, no other fitting carts, etc.  The instructor did  helped with some swing and grip changes. Today, I use 'informal' analytics that I input into my GHIN app - note the app isn't as important as the diligence in inputting all play data. Based on that data, I know my biggest issue is GIR - see pic below. How I get there will be an interesting journey. I'm currently scheduled for a long club fitting at Club Champion (driver & woods) on the 19th. And while I don't plan on buying exotic (re: expensive) shafts, I want to see what a difference they would make in distance AND dispersion. Maybe it's not the shafts or heads, maybe I need to be more diligent in working on SS, I don't know but will find out.  Again, @rbsiedsc, if you would have asked me 4 yrs ago how to improve my game, I would have said new driver and not considered anything else. Hope this helps. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

1 hour ago, tony@CIC said:

As someone who was a 30 not that long ago, my first reaction is why are you a 30/why the focus on the driver? Have you thoroughly (honestly) analyzed your game? What are your misses? As a reflection of my journey to my current 19 (with lots of work left to get to my next target 15), my drives were initially an issue - more (wild) dispersion rather than distance. However, my fairway and short game cost me lots of strokes. I ended up getting a full bag fitting at an Indie shop (charge was $150 if you didn't buy anything), I ended up with a new (stock) driver shaft for my 410SFT, new hybrids, irons and wedges. Today the drives are better (not great), hybrids bail me out and I love my game at 75 yds in. 

Note: interspersed with the fitting, I also took lessons. Fitter and the instructor were not the same person. , the latter would be more than happy to fit me into the Pings that he carries, but no LM data, no other fitting carts, etc.  The instructor did  helped with some swing and grip changes. Today, I use 'informal' analytics that I input into my GHIN app - note the app isn't as important as the diligence in inputting all play data. Based on that data, I know my biggest issue is GIR - see pic below. How I get there will be an interesting journey. I'm currently scheduled for a long club fitting at Club Champion (driver & woods) on the 19th. And while I don't plan on buying exotic (re: expensive) shafts, I want to see what a difference they would make in distance AND dispersion. Maybe it's not the shafts or heads, maybe I need to be more diligent in working on SS, I don't know but will find out.  Again, @rbsiedsc, if you would have asked me 4 yrs ago how to improve my game, I would have said new driver and not considered anything else. Hope this helps. 

Thanks! So I got for for new irons last august and have been getting used to them. Approach game is decent but My ball striking kills me, hence lots of planemate and divot board work. Wedges I wasn’t fit for but tested here and really enjoy them now. Putter I am switching to my old gamer to see if I can gain some consistency back. I haven’t had a one putt in months and I seemed to have at least 3 a round with my old gamer. Long game is a struggle. Dropped the 3w for SH and am going ok. May need a shaft change. 3H is much better now but probably could be optimized better for shaft and length. Driver has been my big killer. I don’t loose as many balls now, which is great. I have no confidence and my distance loss leaves me with too many long approaches into greens. I lost do much confidence I bought a DI and benched my driver for a month. I just had the yips or something with it. I point to driver as getting ideal loft and length could really do me some good. Playing in the moist PNW really can be a struggle for roll and I need to make sure I can carry enough yet not ballon. My old set up I could hit 280-290 on a great swing hitting the center. Otherwise the head never helped me on anything mishit. 
 

I am by far not a well rounded player but starting off the tee better I think would help me lower my scores. 
 

 

[tony@CIC]

Great info to have for improvement. Do you have an instructor you're confident in?

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

4 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Great info to have for improvement. Do you have an instructor you're confident in?

I have a pro near me that gave me some tips on iron striking that helped. I am currently not in a time space for lessons but maybe come summer. Having a demanding job and a toddler makes finding time tough and I’d rather practice in my garage and use my other time to actually get out on the course and play. 
 

I should also note, some of my pitfalls in score are from playing stupid and trying to go for greens when laying up is the better option. At my local course, there is a two hole stretch on the front nine that always psyches me out and that is when my scores plummet. So many times I have been 1-2 over through first 4 holes to only have it get destroyed, except the one foggy morning I shot a 41 on that front nine. 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

10 minutes ago, tony@CIC said:

Great info to have for improvement. Do you have an instructor you're confident in?

I guess I should also post my driver in particular and not just my driving stats (combo of drive/hybrids/irons)

 

 

[tony@CIC]

4 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

I should also note, some of my pitfalls in score are from playing stupid and trying to go for greens when laying up is the better option. At my local course, there is a two hole stretch on the front nine that always psyches me out and that is when my scores plummet. So many times I have been 1-2 over through first 4 holes to only have it get destroyed, except the one foggy morning I shot a 41 on that front nine. 

I've been in the same situation being psyched out by a hole or several bad shots so I can relate! There's a 3rd 'pillar' and that's the head game. Someone once remarked the 'toughest shot is the 6" between your ears' or something like that. You might try Marriot and Pia's books on the mental side of the game. I heard one of the announcers at the ANA Inspiration say that Patty T (the winner) had someone from Vision 54 (Marriott and Pia) out this past week coaching her before the start. It must have had an impact since she led the field all four days - pretty big accomplishment for a rookie.   

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, rbsiedsc said:

Thanks! So I got for for new irons last august and have been getting used to them. Approach game is decent but My ball striking kills me, hence lots of planemate and divot board work. Wedges I wasn’t fit for but tested here and really enjoy them now. Putter I am switching to my old gamer to see if I can gain some consistency back. I haven’t had a one putt in months and I seemed to have at least 3 a round with my old gamer. Long game is a struggle. Dropped the 3w for SH and am going ok. May need a shaft change. 3H is much better now but probably could be optimized better for shaft and length. Driver has been my big killer. I don’t loose as many balls now, which is great. I have no confidence and my distance loss leaves me with too many long approaches into greens. I lost do much confidence I bought a DI and benched my driver for a month. I just had the yips or something with it. I point to driver as getting ideal loft and length could really do me some good. Playing in the moist PNW really can be a struggle for roll and I need to make sure I can carry enough yet not ballon. My old set up I could hit 280-290 on a great swing hitting the center. Otherwise the head never helped me on anything mishit. 
 

I am by far not a well rounded player but starting off the tee better I think would help me lower my scores. 
 

 

I am assuming that you have been using something other than driver for the 69 drives for your past 8 rounds to average 192y.  I know you have been working on your swing over the winter, and it is looking much better than it did a few months ago.  Even with a 20-year old driver you should be averaging better than that.  Something seems to be keeping you from squaring the club face consistently.  Your focus should be finding out what that is.  While a new fitted driver will help, I fear that you will still not be happy with it.  

I would love to average 213 so I guess I'm worse than a 20 handicap!!  However, you are about even with a 73-year old; makes you feel worse, right?    

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

3 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

I am assuming that you have been using something other than driver for the 69 drives for your past 8 rounds to average 192y.  I know you have been working on your swing over the winter, and it is looking much better than it did a few months ago.  Even with a 20-year old driver you should be averaging better than that.  Something seems to be keeping you from squaring the club face consistently.  Your focus should be finding out what that is.  While a new fitted driver will help, I fear that you will still not be happy with it.  

I would love to average 213 so I guess I'm worse than a 20 handicap!!  However, you are about even with a 73-year old; makes you feel worse, right?    

see two posts back. Avg driver distance is 227. Definitely having issues squaring the face

[dlow206]

4 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

see two posts back. Avg driver distance is 227. Definitely having issues squaring the face

I have been having ups and downs with squaring the face with my driver as well. What I noticed is that my eyes are playing tricks on me in terms of how i am setup. Because the ball is more forward in the stance with the driver than other clubs, when I look down, the shaft looks like it is straight up and down, which tends to get the face pointing left. To get the shaft vertical with a driver at setup, i have to feel like i have forward shaft lean with the driver (there actually isn't shaft lean, but it looks that way from my POV angle).

i'm not qualified to be giving any instruction of any kind, but i do know it makes my life easier when i setup properly vs. when i do not. not sure if you have the same issue, but check out this video to make sure you have your setup correct.

 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

3 hours ago, dlow206 said:

I have been having ups and downs with squaring the face with my driver as well. What I noticed is that my eyes are playing tricks on me in terms of how i am setup. Because the ball is more forward in the stance with the driver than other clubs, when I look down, the shaft looks like it is straight up and down, which tends to get the face pointing left. To get the shaft vertical with a driver at setup, i have to feel like i have forward shaft lean with the driver (there actually isn't shaft lean, but it looks that way from my POV angle).

i'm not qualified to be giving any instruction of any kind, but i do know it makes my life easier when i setup properly vs. when i do not. not sure if you have the same issue, but check out this video to make sure you have your setup correct.

 

Going to give this a try along with a drill I saw from MrShortGame on improving contact

[dthrog00]

My suggestion is that you may want to consider:

1. Benching the driver and primarily go with your 2H or 3H off the tee.  The misses should be less wild and have fewer lost balls.  Practice the driver on the range.  Bring it back when it is working better.

2. Review your tee choice.  Judging by your WITB, shaft selection, etc... it appears you have potential for good distance and I'd guess are playing longer tees..  Consider limiting yourself to no longer than 6,000 yards while you are improving your scores.

3. Short game and putting are probably your best way to get scores improved.  Focus most of your practice time here.

If you can keep the ball in play and have a reasonable short game then playing bogey golf is reasonable even if you miss most greens.  If you miss the green, chip on, and 2-putt then that is bogey golf.

I'm a 20 handicap who plays mostly easy courses.  I keep my driver in play, but without much distance at only 210 yard average, and miss a lot of greens.  I can generally get chips on the green and 2-putt.

Lost balls, wasted strokes around the green, and 3-putting are scorecard killers. 

Dave