What is Golf Club Fitting?
Golf club fitting is a process where a professional fitter will select the best golf clubs for an individual golfer. The best size, weight, length and loft of each club will be chosen to match the golfers playing style, with the end goal to minimise the nymber of strokes the golfer makes while playing.
Some of the reasons that golfers choose to get their golf clubs fitted are:
- Universal size clubs may hamper the player’s level of comfort.
- Professional players customize their golf clubs to enhance their performance in the game.
- Different styles of play adopted by players may warrant changes in the club’s structure.
- Club fitting can result in the correction of some of the faults in a player’s game.
One-Size-Fits-All Doesn’t Work
Golf club manufacturers make a wide range of clubs. The drivers, wood, and irons come in different sizes and with diverse features. For the golfers, the course and the ball are common and the only difference between the various players is their physical size.
Some golfers are short while others are tall. Some have strong shoulders while others may not be so endowed. If the golf club’s size is the same, the person with a better physique will have the advantage. This is why it’s very important to go in for club fitting.
Professional Players Seek Improvements
A good golfer would have reached a particular level of skill with the standard clubs. He or she may then feel that if the club was a little shorter or longer, they could strike the ball better and improve their handicap. A fitted golf club can make the difference from finishing close to the bottom of the leaderboard to reaching higher positions in important tournaments.
That is how champions are made. The field is highly competitive and even such tiny adjustments can be very helpful in getting better results on the golf course.
Personal Style can Call for Fitting
The experts at golf club fitting claim that a majority of their customers get their clubs fitted to suit their style of swinging the club. This is understandable since accuracy in playing golf is to get the ball to the correct spot on every shot. This is dependent on the way the player swings the club.
The style generally gets established very early in a player’s career and it may be difficult to alter the style drastically after some time. By making changes to their golf clubs, these players find the shots landing the ball better. This is why they prefer to get their clubs fitted.
When Should You Get a Club Fitting?
You can choose to get your golf clubs fitted at any point. There’s really no hard and fast rule that you must go for fitting only at a certain point in time. One suggestion is that even beginners should start playing with fitted clubs. This is because if they used clubs with longer shafts or heavier clubheads and later went in for a fitting, it may be a little late.
Golfers who have been playing for some time can also visit a professional fitter. There are Launch Monitors to assess the different parameters of your game. These give the inputs needed by the fitter to undertake the fitting job for you.
One advice is to go in for a fitting exercise once every 3 years or at least once in 5 years. There could have been many changes during this period and fitting the club may help to make the required corrections.
Is it Worth Getting your Golf Clubs Fitted?
Yes, the majority of golfers feel that golf club fitting is worth it. Using unfitted golf clubs can cause issues such as the shaft being too long or heavy to use efficiently. These issues can be resolved by fitting your golf clubs using a professional fitter.
If you try to change your playing styles such as swing or stance, it can spoil your game further. In many sports, the best ones out there make changes to their playing tools to give them the best advantage. They know their limitations which could be due to their height (tall or short), the power to hit the ball, or other such factors.
The standard specs in the golf clubs may not fully suit you. If you visit a fitter and get the clubs fitted, only then will you know how well the changes work for you.
How Much Does It Cost to Fit Your Golf Clubs?
The cost of fitting golf clubs ranges between $350 and $400. Many golf club stores perform the fitting for free if you are buying the club from them.
If you go to the PGA Tour Superstore, for example, you get a free fitting service. They use the Launch Monitor technology and fit the full bag -drivers, iron fitting, wedge fitting, putter fitting, and even golf ball fitting.
These stores have tie-ups with almost all top brands of golf club manufacturers and would request you to carry your existing set of clubs to demonstrate the difference between the original set and the fitted ones.
The Club Fix outlet in Phoenix, Arizona will charge you $100 per club and also have a full bag discounted offer of $275.
How Much is a True Spec Golf Club Fitting?
True Spec Golf, in San Diego, California (and other locations over North America)offer a full bag fitting for $350. They use the Launch Monitor technology to find out your precise needs in terms of the lie, loft and shaft length, etc. while recommending the fitting.
True Spec has rates for fitting individual clubs which varies from $125 to $200. They also undertake the fitting of clubs that have been purchased from other stores. They sell fitted clubs too.
The only condition that they have is they will stand by the results of the analysis done on your swing and other factors before fitting if the clubs are ordered through them. Incidentally, even if you order the clubs through them, you will have to pay the fitting charges.
How Much is Golf Club Fitting at Golf Galaxy?
The Golf Galaxy has a standard rate of $149.99 per club. There is no bulk or lump sum offer for the whole bag. The choice of the number of clubs you want to get fitted is left to you. The only bonus they offer you is a 30-minute session with a PGA professional (LPGA for the ladies) on improving your game.
Golf Galaxy claims that it assures you of fitted golf clubs which will help you move from the tee to the green with the least number of shots. This they do through a 360° analysis of your style of play. This includes the swing and the angle of your shots, etc.
How Much is a Golf Club Fitting at Golftec?
Golftec has built a formidable reputation as one of the best out there in the business of fitting golf clubs. There may be minor variations in the rates they charge for fitting at their different locations, but the average cost for fitting a full bag comes to around $315. They charge $99 for an individual component fitting.
Golftec also follows a system of having golf instructors guide their buyers on the various aspects of the golf clubs They also offer golf lessons to their customers that help to improve their game by making adjustments. Golftec is reportedly the leader in providing golf lessons in the United States.
Can You Get Used Golf Clubs Fitted?
Absolutely yes! You can get your existing golf clubs fitted. The concept of fitting golf clubs is to make them suitable for your style of play. If you have been using stock golf clubs that manufacturers churn out for the average golf player, you are compromising somewhere.
A golf club could be long or short depending on how tall or short you are. A standard golf club, with a standard shaft length, cannot yield the same comfort to a player of 6-feet plus and someone who is 5½ -feet in height. This is one reason for fitting.
Similarly, your style of taking a swing may be different from another player and the standard golf club can only be adjusted to a limited extent to suit your swing.
Professional golf club fitters use the latest technology to study your game and make alterations to your clubs.
Apart from doing the fitting, most golf club fitters have ranked professional players who offer advice or lessons on how to play the game better.
So, why not go ahead and get your used golf clubs also fitted?
What Happens During a Club Fitting?
The golf club fitting process followed by different fitters may wary, but a general description is given below.
- The club fitting process would usually start with the fitters wanting to know your precise requirements.
- They may have a standard questionnaire or an interaction to understand first-hand what your problem is and what you are looking for.
- You will then have to seek an appointment to visit the fitter’s facility.
- You should carry your bag of golf clubs when you go there.
- You will then be put through their analysis mode that is built on technology.
- You will be required to use your existing clubs; so that the gaps in the requirements can be measured.
- By the end of this analysis, the fitter would have the exact details of the clubs to suit your requirements.
- The top club fitters normally hold inventory of the complete range of golf club components.
- The fitting process using the appropriate clubhead, shaft, etc. will then be carried out; this may include reshaping the shaft a little bit and then fixing the shaft on one end and the grip on the other end.
- Once it is done, you will be asked to try out the fitted clubs.
- The best fitters record the results from the newly fitted clubs and compare these with the results of your old clubs.
It is the same process detailed above, for fitting your used golf clubs. Depending on the condition of the club, some components may have to be replaced while others may be altered to the desired specifications.
What do I need to take for a Golf Club Fitting?
You must carry your golf bag with all the clubs that you use. It is only after observing closely how you use your golf clubs that the fitting company will know where the gap lies. The bag must include all, whether it is the drivers, the fairway clubs, the wedges, or putters.
Some fitters promise that they will deliver the complete package from the tee to the green. They also claim that they will ensure you reach the green with a lesser number of shots with the clubs fitted by them. So, carrying your entire set of existing golf clubs for a fitting exercise is a must.
How Long Does Golf Club Fitting Take?
The full process can last up to three hours. This is if you are getting your complete set of clubs fitted. If it is only one or two clubs, you may be able to finish the business much faster.
The complete process involves analysis, putting together and comparing all old and new information to arrive at the correct specs for fitting your golf clubs.
Should High Handicappers Get Fitted Golf Clubs?
Yes, studies indicate that high handicappers indeed benefit from getting their clubs fitted.
There is this particular test carried out by Club Champion, one of the well-known club fitters on behalf of Golf Digest. They assembled a group of golfers with a high handicap and asked them to take shots using three different kinds of clubs. These were categorized as ’Players’, ’Game improvement’, and ’Super game improvement (SGI)’. All were irons.
The result was that these players could hit the balls much better with the third category clubs, categorized as the ’Super game improvement’. This test proves beyond doubt that given the right kind of clubs, even the high handicappers can bring improvements to their game.
The reason many of them prefer not to go for club fitting is that they feel there is no way their game can improve by making changes to the golf club. This is a misconception that golfer should take an attempt to overcome.
Should Beginners Get their Golf Clubs Fitted?
There is no harm in beginners getting their golf clubs fitted. There may be purists who hold the opinion that beginners must first use the standard clubs and get to a level before thinking of having their golf clubs fitted. However, there is nothing wrong with starting on a good footing with suitable golf clubs.
The club fitters may not be able to assess the swings etc. in a new player. The other aspects like the beginner’s height, their hold of the club, and swing can all be factored in and used to have the clubs fitted.
This can help with the player hitting better shots and gaining confidence much faster than if he or she were to go through the conventional method of hitting the shots with the standard clubs before getting them fitted.