what to look for in a golf club fitting

• Club length is fut to optimize for accuracy, distance, and posture.
• Club head design is chosen with look, feel, and desired level of forgiveness in mind.
• Based on the characteristics of your swing, your fitter will recommend shaft material (graphite or steel), shaft weight, and shaft flex. ...
• Using an impact board and lie-angle impact tape, your fitter will match you for the proper lie angle, which will help with directional control and ball flight.
• Lofts will be addressed in this process in order to help with distance control and gapping.
• Grips will be optimized based on your feel preference and grip characteristics.

Full Answer

What is a golf club fitter and how does it work?

You'll begin by hitting your current clubs to establish a baseline, then the Fitter will provide new combinations of club heads and shafts to test and dial in to provide the most consistent and accurate wedges for your game. This is the most comprehensive golf club fitting available, and not for the faint of heart.

How do I choose the right shaft for my golf clubs?

In general, people with faster swings prefer stiff shafts on their woods and iron shafts on the irons. People with slower swings are more likely to prefer flex shafts on the woods and graphite shafts on the irons.

What can you learn at a golf fitting?

You can adjust the lie of your club from a square position to either more open or closed. One of the most amazing things you’ll learn about at a fitting is also the most obvious -- the importance of a properly fitted set.

What do I need to bring to a club fitting?

What Do I Need To Bring To A Club Fitting? Consult with your fitter for specifics, but as a rule of thumb you’ll want to bring the clubs you usually hit with, along with any additional equipment (gloves, shoes, and your preferred golf ball ). How Long Does a Club Fitting Take?

What should I look for in a club fitting?

Five Things to Know About Club FittingA personalized approach. Before going into any detail about what I might be looking for or my swing, my fitter wanted to learn about me. ... Bring your game to the shop. ... Be prepared to hit a lot of balls—or split up the days. ... Don't set expectations. ... Prepare for a big purchase decision.

What should I look for in an iron fitting?

A good custom fitting for irons starts with an interview of what you want to accomplish with your new set, i.e. distance accuracy or consistency. Then, the fitter should look at your current equipment and ask you specific questions about your distances, miss-hits, trajectory and ball flight.

Does golf club fitting really make a difference?

Is it worth getting my golf clubs fitted? Yes, it is absolutely worth getting your golf clubs fitted. A professional fitter will assess your swing speed, launch angle and lie angle at impact and then give you clubs that will produce the optimal flight numbers for your customised swing characteristics.

How much does a full club fitting cost?

On average it costs between $250 and $600 to get a full bag of golf clubs fitted. Driver only fittings typically cost from $50 to $175 as do 'irons' fittings. Wood/Hybrid and wedge custom fittings can be cheaper at $40 to $150 but golf club fitters will often 'refund' fitting costs if you buy clubs afterwards.

What club should I get fitted for first?

Beginner's do not need more than few clubs to start with – a wood, a 5, 7 and 9-iron or wedge and putter are absolutely fine to get started. But how does this precisely relate to the question of whether a custom club fit should come before golf lessons or vice versa?

Do you have to buy clubs after a fitting?

Usually, the cost of the fitting is subtracted from the cost of the clubs if you buy them. If you don't like any of the clubs you try, then don't buy anything. You will likely have to pay a moderate fee for the fitting, but the results are yours to keep.

How often should you get fitted for golf clubs?

Regular golfers should get fitted for clubs every 5 years. Wedges & forged irons need checked every 2 years due to extra wear & tear but fitted putters last a lifetime. Drivers are worth checking with fitters every 5 years for better options but gains vs. costs need to be assessed at each fitting.

How long does a golf fitting take?

A: Each appointment is an hour and a half. We will use up to that amount of time for your fitting. Examples: Driver or iron fittings usually take 45-60 minutes, wedge fittings usually take 30 minutes, woods fittings usually take 60 minutes.

Should a high handicapper get fitted?

Whether you're a high handicapper looking to hit more consistent shots, or whether you're a tour player looking to refine and build confidence, fitting is measurably beneficial.

How far should you hit a 7 iron?

Average 7 Iron Distances are following: Beginning golfers- 100 yards (men) or 60 yards (women) Intermediate golfers- 135 yards (men) and 75 yards (women) Advanced golfers- 165 yards (men) or 140 yards (women) PGA Tour Players- 185 yards (men) or 160 yards (women)

Are golf club fittings worth it?

Is it worth getting custom fit golf clubs? The simple answer is yes, it's definitely worth getting custom fit golf clubs. If you were to look at the back of a typical set of off the shelf clubs, they would usually have various markings on them as well as loft and lie angles.

How long does a driver fitting take?

A thorough driver fitting session should last around an hour, and typically takes at least 60 balls to dial in the right head and shaft combo. That's a lot of physical and mental stress packed into an hour, and it's more stress for golfers who decide to get fit for other clubs on the same day.

How important is getting fitted for irons?

Here's ten reasons why you should get fitted for new clubs: You'll hit your irons straighter. By conducting a simple lie board test, the person fitting you can identify any directional issues you may have due to your irons and hybrids. Once you have a proper lie it will make it easier to hit the ball more accurately.

How important is an iron fitting?

Without the right one, you will be losing power, accuracy, and consistency. Choosing the proper shaft is a hugely important part of the fitting process. The shaft will greatly influence the feel of your irons, not to mention the launch, spin, landing angle, and distance of your golf shots.

What does an iron fitting entail?

After the interview process, the fitting begins by analyzing the golfer's performance with their current set of clubs. For woods, drivers, and irons, a fitter will observe the player with usage of a launch monitor to quantify specific aspects of ball flight or club delivery for further analysis.

How long should an iron fitting take?

Examples: Driver or iron fittings usually take 45-60 minutes, wedge fittings usually take 30 minutes, woods fittings usually take 60 minutes.

What is club fitting?

Club fitting is a process in which a professional uses statistics to observe the particulars of your swing. They look at your height, posture, set up, and club head speed, and use that information to determine what specifications are best for you. How is this done?

How much does it cost to fit a golf club?

If you are arranging to have your clubs adjusted to new specifications, you can expect to budget for about $40 a club. If you are getting the whole bag done (as most people would do) you can expect to spend about five hundred dollars total.

What if my swing changes?

Ironically, the prospect of improving often keeps players from making the decision to get their clubs fitted. Many people rationalize that they will go in for a fitting when their swing gets good enough to warrant it.

What is the biggest part of the golf club process?

Usually, the biggest part of the process will be fitting you for your ideal shaft. While the loft and lie of clubs bought off the rack may fit most players without much of a problem, the shaft is a rather finicky aspect of the golf club.

What does it mean when a club shaft is too heavy?

That’s what everybody wants, right? The increase in distance often associated with club fitting is a product of shaft fitting. If your shaft is too heavy, too light, too stiff, or too flexible, you’re going to be losing some yards.

What is the next step in golf?

In short, getting your clubs optimized your swing is the natural next step for the golfer that takes improvement seriously. Practice is great, of course, but if you practice with clubs that aren’t best for your swing there is a limit to the success you can achieve.

Can you read reviews on golf clubs?

There are hundreds of shafts and grip combinations out there and while you can read reviews for them in a golf magazine or online you really won’t know how they will fare for you without trying them first. You can walk into any golf store and try and a wide selection of clubs, but it is only through the fitting process that you can experiment with different grip and shaft options.

How to measure for golf clubs?

To find the right size clubs for your body, use recent height measurement to determine the proper angle for your clubs. It usually helps to have another person measure, so you get the most accurate measurements possible.#N#Measure your basic height from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Stand up as straight as possible to get the measurement. You don't need to be in your swing stance.

What shafts do you use for a swing?

In general, people with faster swings prefer stiff shafts on their woods and iron shafts on the irons. People with slower swings are more likely to prefer flex shafts on the woods and graphite shafts on the irons.

What is wikihow like?

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 623,097 times.

What to do if you have a handicap?

If you're not sure of your handicap, a basic description of your skill level can go a long way in helping the fitter match you with the right kinds of clubs that will help improve your game.

What irons do ladies flex?

If a 4 or 5 iron , ladies flex.

Why do people buy off the rack golf clubs?

In fact, players with a higher handicap have a game that can be much more drastically improved with the use of custom-fit clubs that help to train the swinging motion properly .

How many yards does a senior flex?

Between 181 to 200 yards (166 to 183 meters), use senior flex. Between 200 to 235 yards (183 to 215 meters), use regular flex. Between 236 to 275 yards (216 to 251 meters), use stiff flex. More than 275 yards (251 meters), use extra-stiff flex. ...

How Much Does A Golf Club Fitting Cost?

The average club fitting for a full bag runs around $350. Individual club fittings for drivers and irons cost an average of $150, while fittings for putters and wedges will be closer to the $100 range.

What can a professional golf club fit do?

One of the most important things a professional club fitting can do for you is analyze your swing- something that’s quite difficult to do on your own, especially without the advanced technology used in the process.

What is the Club Fitting Process?

It’s important to understand the process before going in for your fitting – being prepared can give you a much better experience and ensure you’re getting the best value for your time and money.

What is a pre fitting interview?

Most professional club fitters start the process with an interview consisting of a short question and answer session between the fitter and the golfer. This allows your fitter to better understand your needs, goals, and concerns about your game.

What does a fitter do for a club?

The fitter will help select the best sole design to optimize the club’s turf interaction.

How long does it take to fit a golf club?

Fitting a player for a full set of clubs usually takes around three hours from start to finish. Most professional fitters have the option of fitting for the full set, but also provide fittings for specific club types. Refer to the table below for some common guidelines:

Why is it bad to play golf with ill fitting clubs?

Playing with ill-fitted equipment makes the game harder and less enjoyable, and can make you more prone to injury.

What is Surefit Tour Hosel?

That means that your club can be independently adjusted to precisely fit your game with the help of a special wrench. You can adjust the lie of your club from a square position to either more open or closed.

How many balls does a 52 degree wedge hit?

We quickly found the right shaft, bounce and grind for the 52-degree wedge after hitting about 10 balls. But, before the fitting was completely over, it was time to put the 56- and 60-degree wedges to the test for a ball fitting.

Does Gray make adjustments to the loft?

Gray, fantastic as she is, was so dialed in to this fitting process that when it came to the 3-wood, we didn’t need to make any adjustments to the one she put together and handed me right out of the gate.

Can PGA Professionals fit golf clubs?

For the purposes of this story, we detailed the fitting system provided by Titleist. Other big companies have their own fitting facilities and PGA Professionals nationwide can fit players for a wide variety of clubs.

What do you need to know about fitting golf clubs?

You need to know what shafts can give more height or less spin and which shafts will give a firmer or softer feel but deliver similar launch conditions.

What should I consider when choosing a clubhead?

Things that should be considered when choosing a clubhead are forgiveness, workability, launch angle, spin rate, loft, the center of gravity, and offset. Every manufacturer has unique designs in each club to address ball-striking tendencies. If you don’t match them up properly to your swing, you are making the game harder for yourself!

How to measure a lie angle?

Historically, lie angle has been measured by reading divot patterns or using sole tape and a lie board to mark strike point being centered, toe, or heel down. Determining the lie angle is now done more by tracking the strike point on the face and charting dispersion patterns. Some launch monitors like the Foresight GCQuad will show the “delivered lie angle” at impact.

What is the most important question I ask during a fitting?

One of the most important questions I ask during a fitting (usually pretty early on) is how the client likes to handle “tweener” yardages.

Why is it important to choose the right golf shaft?

Choosing the proper shaft is a hugely important part of the fitting process. The shaft will greatly influence the feel of your irons, not to mention the launch, spin, landing angle, and distance of your golf shots. Also, there are no standards in ...

What factors influence a player's need for length adjustments?

Posture, torso height, leg length, wingspan vs. height, flexibility, even age can influence a player’s need for length adjustments.

Is iron shaft better for tempo?

Obviously, we want the clubs we fit you for to be suitable for the hard or soft shots you’ll undoubtedly face, but I want to hedge the fit towards your specific tendencies. Some iron shafts are better suited for quick tempo players (usually players who like to hit it hard), and some perform better with smoother deliveries. The answer to this question can help steer us into the best bend profile for the client.

How to get fit for a club fitting?

Club fitting can be a marathon. Especially if you’re trying to get fit for a full bag in one session, you’ll be making more swings than you’re used to. Get a good night’s sleep before the fitting, have a good meal, and get hydrated. During the fitting, don’t be afraid to take breaks, get a drink of water, or eat a snack.

What to ask a golf club fitter?

Ask about why your fitter is handing you a certain type of club, why this shaft does (or doesn’t) work for you, or anything else that’s on your mind.

What to let fitter know?

Another thing to let your fitter know is whether or not you’re going to be working on your game. An accomplished fitter can take this into account when making a recommendation.

What to do during a fitting?

During the fitting, don’t be afraid to take breaks, get a drink of water, or eat a snack. Good fitters understand that it can be a long process. If you’re getting tired, communicate. A fitting can usually be broken up into two sessions is fatigue is an issue.

Why is it important to be honest with your fitter?

There are two reasons to be honest. First, just like your mother, your fitter already knows the truth. If you swing your driver at 80 MPH, your fitter knows that your drives aren’t carrying 275. More importantly, honesty is going to help you get the best results.

What is Trackman for golf clubs?

Trackman is a wonderful tool for instructors and club fitters alike . With more than 25 data parameters, it offers extensive insight into what’s really happening between the club and golf ball at impact, and why the golf ball flies how it does. That’s why Trackman is such a powerful part of fitting and instruction; it answers the question “What’s really going on?”

What factors go into creating landing angle?

There are many factors that go into creating landing angle, such as angle of attack, dynamic loft, spin rate, spin loft, launch angle, etc., and for this reason I feel that landing angle is the most important, and most telling for fitters.