Whole Bag vs Segmented Fitting

[Sorg67]

I want to treat myself to a whole new set from putter to driver.  I am not sure how to proceed.  Get fitted all at once or piecemeal the process.  My biggest challenge is getting off the tee consistently in play.  Start with driver?  Or begin with irons and build from that foundation?  Or maybe I need to work on my game a bit before getting fitted.  All thoughts welcome.

[cnosil]

It doesn’t really matter where you start.  Some do single fitting but that can be tiring and some divide it up over a couple of days or week or months.   We know nothing about your game but most benefit from a fitting unless you were already fit into something up to a few years old.  Maybe look at the strengths and weaknesses of game to decide where to start.  

[Tom the Golf Nut]

A full bag fitting all at once will wear you out. Different heads, different  shafts hitting enough balls with each combination to get a bench mark. That’s a lot of work. I did a full bag for the Cobra Challenge and they already knew what heads I had to use. I was sore for days.

I would break it up a bit. Some places give you a discount for a full bag fitting. I would call them and say you want a full bag fitting but can you do it over the course of a week or something like that.

[Leftout]

I would break it up. I've done both and got more out of the separate fittings. A full bag fitting is a lot of work. 

[Siamese Moose]

My fitter always breaks up full bag fittings over three sessions. Irons first (usually), then woods/hybrids, and finally wedges. He prefers to hold the wedge fitting until after the irons have come in, so he can get accurate distances for them, and gap the wedges properly.

[Sorg67]

Thanks for the helpful comments.  Getting off the tee is my biggest limitation at the moment.  I mostly like my current setup and believe getting off the tee more consistently is mostly practice and alignment.  I do not believe a club fitting will drastically change my game.  But I am recently retired and trying to get to about a 5 handicap.  I was about a 10 when I was playing alot 20 years ago.

I am embracing the regular tees and planning to play some tournaments that play short tees for my age.  Don't need to hit it far.  Need to stay in play and dial in my game from 150 yards in. 

[Hacker60521]

@Sorg67 I did a full bag fitting at TrueSpec. Started with the irons, and really got the design dialed in. Then we went to driver. Interestingly, the fitter couldn’t come up with a head/shaft combo that was better than I had. So he didn’t offer up anything, but asked that I come back later in the season to try again. Finished with wedges. The entire process took abut half a day, but we took breaks, there were snacks to keep my energy up.  Honestly, it was probably harder to stay mentally focused than anything else.

In terms of when to get fit, I see that you’re in Florida, so I’m guessing you play year round. I would think that you can get fit most anytime. Here in the Midwest, I went in June when I had a good number of reps and rounds behind me.

[Shrek74]

I agree that a full bag fitting needs to be broken down into multiple sessions, and hopefully multiple days. If nothing else, maybe something like long game + putter and then irons + wedges, depending on what the fitter wants to do. But it's not something that can be properly done in under 2 hours and in a single sessions. By stroke 80 or so, you're body is done and all data after that point usually becomes worthless. So talk to the fitter and see how they suggest doing the fitting, but at least push for a 2 session fitting on different days.

[RyanGi]

Definitely multiple fittings. Most places seem to be willing to let you pay for it all and break it up into a couple fittings. It doesn’t do them any good for you to be worn out when you finish fitting irons, then have a crappy swing trying to fit woods or whatever. They want you to get good data and be happy (and buy from them), so it’s in their best interest to have you fresh for each section of the bag. If that’s not their outlook on it, I’d look elsewhere.

From what I’ve read (and it makes sense to me), you fit irons first, then the woods to pick up where the irons left you off distance wise, then the wedges to catch up to the irons for gapping, then putter and ball. That’s the way I did it earlier this year and it keeps you from getting big gaps in the bag. 

[EnderinAZ]

On 8/19/2024 at 8:17 AM, Tom the Golf Nut said:

A full bag fitting all at once will wear you out. Different heads, different  shafts hitting enough balls with each combination to get a bench mark. That’s a lot of work. I did a full bag for the Cobra Challenge and they already knew what heads I had to use. I was sore for days.

I would break it up a bit. Some places give you a discount for a full bag fitting. I would call them and say you want a full bag fitting but can you do it over the course of a week or something like that.

Boy do I hear that! A driver at Club Champions can take 2 hours if you give them an open check book to explore options. And, that can get REALLY expensive. A new AI Smoke will be 600+ for just the head. Add a high quality shaft and you will push 900 for the one club!