Getting fitted: do you want to *know*?

[ChuckZ]

The two fitters that I use have over twenty five years experience and I trust them.  Both are certified and they know me rather well.  I have a pretty good idea of what I am interested in, the brand, and they take it from there.  We have worked successfully as a team for many years.     

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, Golf2Much said:

I'm with most of you on not initially knowing what is going on.   By knowing what the fitter selected and why upfront might create a little swing bias.  If I thought the shaft was too stiff or not stiff enough, I might unconsciously modify my swing to match.  By not knowing, I can give honest feedback on what I feel, and it frees me to swing normally.   In the end, let the results speak for themselves.  

However, once we've settled on the right combination, I would want to know why and all the details I could get.  Not only to better understand my swing and what club parameters that optimized the performance, but to make me comfortable that the fitter knew what they were doing!

If you tell the fitter the shaft feels to soft what do you think he’s going to do next.? It’s not going to be another soft feeling shaft. It’s going to be to give you something that feels different so you already know what’s coming next whether you want to or not because you told him/her your thoughts. Now if you don’t want him/her to tell you the specifics of the change whether it’s a heavier shaft, different model from the same family or a different profile that’s understandable but based on the feedback you are going to get the opposite of what you tell him/her. And more than likely they are going to go to the opposite extreme to see how that feels/works rather than small incremental changes. I had a titleist driver fitting. He set it to the the most loft and the most draw setting to see how it affected the push I was having. Would have made no sense to slowly work towards that. Based on the results he then brought the loft and draw setting down one and we settled  on one last change of keeping the added loft but maintain standard lie

Its nearly impossible to have a true blind fitting because the fitter can’t read minds so based on feedback there is going to be a change that differs from the feedback. Not knowing the weight, flex, brand, loft, hosed setting can be blind but that’s about it.

 

[10Hockey]

Always better to try and make the best possible swings with a club without having any pre-conceived idea on what the outcome may be because you know the shaft , the loft, the lie , etc....  You will find out after you make the good/bad swings, just be patient and let the fitter do their job based on the analytics and the ball flight . 

[Bob Pegram]

I used to work for a Top 100 rated custom fitter. Almost all of those getting fitted wanted to know the 'why' of each step in the fittings. Leith Anderson, who I worked for, had that as his usual method. We were in Silicon Valley which may be atypical. Later, when Leith moved to Indiana, I worked for PGA Superstore. There a bigger percentage were not interested in the details of the fittings. However, the vast majority still wanted to know details. Because explaining the details was my default, that may have skewed my perceptions. I still don't understand why people wouldn't want to know the 'whys' of the fittings. I would run into the same differences when fising people's computers and/or tutoring them. I would offer to show them how to do their own software maintenance and call me less frequently and a few still didn't want to know how to save themselves money by calling me less.

[Dweed]

I don't know, what I don't know. I don't believe all the intricate details are necessary for me. Just dumb it down so I get the general idea and I am learning something. What scares me the most is being pushed toward a brand that I won't want in a million years. Yes, I have biases and I don't want to go up against their profit biases if they have any.

[nike7227]

As much as I would like to know every move the fitter is doing, I have learned to just "trust the process", provide feedback to the fitter as needed and just let the results speak for themselves. As a result, my current Rogue ST Max is set to 11.5 and draw. Before this Driver, I never went above 9.5-10 and setting was usually Neutral or Fade to help with my existing draw. I was just fit at the PGA Show by Callaway directly, for a 10.5 Paradym with a Fade slider setting. I just trusted my Fitter and went along with what she said and what the results proved. 

[Striker]

I just went though another fitting and I want the club selection to be dictated by how I'm hitting the ball and the overall results. In my current fitting the fitter asked me if I had some Brands that I liked and maybe I had tried. After I had hit my current clubs then he started to to bring clubs and shafts and continue the process. I gave him feedback along the way in how the shaft felt, club feel etc. At the end I ended up with the Mizuno 923 hot Metals which I hit the best and a shaft that worked well for my swing speed and how I best load it.

I'm going to go back to him and get fitted for a driver in a few months after I break in my new irons. I  want to give input on feel etc. but don't care on brand if I get right combo.

[mackdaddy]

I have had a pure blind iron fitting down to the fitter taped over the backs of the irons.  We had it over two days about 2 hours the first and one hour the second.  I ended up with the straightest irons ever and played them until the grooves wore out.  I hit 3-5 five shots and said like or dislike.  He had all the info on his sceen I could see none of it as I hit.  If I mishit it I told him toe or heel or heavy.  We got to my top 10 the first day.  When I came in the next day we quickly dropped that number to 5.  He bent them two degrees upright to give them all the proper lie and then I got to 3 clubs and couldn't tell them apart.  He said all three had great dispersion for yardage and scatter.  He pulled the tape and two were the same club with different finishes KZG ZO and the third was the MP52.  At the time I had never heard of either brand so I took the KZG because it was there twice. 

I would highly recommend having the screen off when fitting because you will be more inclined to just make your normal stroke.  The numbers coming up on the screen often just make us over hit trying to reach numbers we like to see.  It's only natural to compete with yourself for the longest shots.  

When I went to get fit 2 years ago I had the fitter turn off the screen after just a few shot with my driver because I was overswinging and hitting it everywhere but straight and I normally hit it very straight.  All discussions were kept to my norms and what I was looking for until the end.  Then he revealed all the data and told me what he thought I would do the best with.

My driver stayed the same but the shaft changed.  I replaced that this year but kept the same shaft.  He fit me to a three and five fairway but I wasn't really hitting them at my home course so the five only goes in the trunk for longer courses.  The irons are still going strong.  The wedges have all been replaced but that was for wear.  The putter is in my friends bag and he loves it!  I went back to the custom putter I should never have changed out of in the first place, but I won a full bag fitting so full bag it was. 

Kill the screen in front of you and you will be pleased at the end.

[MacTourney]

I would want some control over process, starting with the heaviest, stiffest, mid-kick, say with irons and work backward without telling me, or having shaft markings, what the numerical differences are on the way down so I can hit the heaviest club I can manage they way I choose.   I find it better to start heavy to find light instead of starting light to find heavy.

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Mackey said:

 

I have had a pure blind iron fitting down to the fitter taped over the backs of the irons.  We had it over two days about 2 hours the first and one hour the second.  I ended up with the straightest irons ever and played them until the grooves wore out.  I hit 3-5 five shots and said like or dislike. 

 

This isn’t totally blind because you have feedback and whether or not the fitter tells you what he’s charging you know you are going to get some that is opposite of your dislike in the next thing the fitter hands you. 

[chisag]

On 2/10/2023 at 1:09 PM, Bob Pegram said:

I used to work for a Top 100 rated custom fitter. Almost all of those getting fitted wanted to know the 'why' of each step in the fittings. Leith Anderson, who I worked for, had that as his usual method. We were in Silicon Valley which may be atypical. Later, when Leith moved to Indiana, I worked for PGA Superstore. There a bigger percentage were not interested in the details of the fittings. However, the vast majority still wanted to know details. Because explaining the details was my default, that may have skewed my perceptions. I still don't understand why people wouldn't want to know the 'whys' of the fittings. I would run into the same differences when fising people's computers and/or tutoring them. I would offer to show them how to do their own software maintenance and call me less frequently and a few still didn't want to know how to save themselves money by calling me less.

 

... Just like teaching, every student is different.  I will probably be familiar with every shaft and head handed to me anyway but I am trying to make my normal swing and let the fitter adjust equipment to me. The last thing I want to know is any "why" during my fitting especially something like "This is a little stiffer tip so you should see a lower trajectory". I just want to swing the club and if the trajectory is too high or low I will know it without the help from my fitter. I don't mind that comment after he takes the shaft from me but most likely I already know it anyway. I am open to any questions and how did that feel is always welcome as that feedback obviously helps my fitter. Further I already know what heads and shafts are going to work best for me but I can always be surprised by something I might not normally consider. Otherwise I might as well just hit things on my own. 

... I am booked for a Paradym fitting next week and imagine we will dial in the head quickly then narrow down the shaft. If the Paradym turns out to be better than my Sim2 the chances are I will be moving the AD-IZ shaft from the Sim2 into the Paradym. But why not take advantage of a free demo fitting from a Callaway expert? Something may surprise me. But in only 30 minutes I want less talk and more swings. I would add I won't even bother with an indoor fitting because it would be useless. I hit shots on a golf course, not into a screen and while I admire those that can swing the same indoors as they can on the course, I am not one of them. 

[mackdaddy]

He had all the clubs pre-taped and lined up for me based on our pre-fitting interview the day before.  He gave me no feedback until we were done.  I was giving him my feedback.  We went through the clubs in the order they were on the wall he changed nothing.  I had clubs in the beginning that I liked and hated same randomly all the way through.  Each club had a number on the tape, if I liked it it went on the table by the fitter and if not it went back to the wall.  I liked some blades and cavity backs.  I had no game improvement irons in the mix.  Some were forged some were cast.  Was it a perfectly blind fitting?  I don't know, but it was just what I needed.

3 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

This isn’t totally blind because you have feedback and whether or not the fitter tells you what he’s charging you know you are going to get some that is opposite of your dislike in the next thing the fitter hands you. 

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

12 hours ago, Mackey said:

He had all the clubs pre-taped and lined up for me based on our pre-fitting interview the day before.  He gave me no feedback until we were done.  I was giving him my feedback.  We went through the clubs in the order they were on the wall he changed nothing.  I had clubs in the beginning that I liked and hated same randomly all the way through.  Each club had a number on the tape, if I liked it it went on the table by the fitter and if not it went back to the wall.  I liked some blades and cavity backs.  I had no game improvement irons in the mix.  Some were forged some were cast.  Was it a perfectly blind fitting?  I don't know, but it was just what I needed.

 

Yes that is pretty blind but again if you give the fitter a dislike he’s not going to give you something similar so there is going to be a part of you that knows if you don’t like the weight of a shaft you going to get a different weight, or if you don’t like the feel you are going to get a shaft that feels different. If you don’t like the looks of a thick topline in and iron or the amount of offset you know you are going to get a thinner topline or less offset in the next club.

So while you don’t know the specifics of what’s coming you have a general idea of what’s coming. 

[mackdaddy]

The only thing is I hit every club he taped in the order they were lined up on the wall.  

[Micah T]

I want to know: because you have to help your fitter. The relationship needs to be dynamic: I know if I’m making odd swings, and I don’t want the fitter fitting me to swings outside of my normal parameters. Everyone on this site can look up optimal launch numbers: how hard you have to work to get those numbers is why you need the fitter.

[pozzit]

So I want to know some of what they are trying to change but not how they are changing it if that makes sense.  Example i want them to identify and inform me my spin is too high they can solve that however they want.  If they switch shafts,  heads,  loft, that's where they are the experts. But im just too damn curious not to know.