My club fitting experience

Basically I've been in the market for a driver, but not like desperately. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and hit on their swing monitor. Today I went to a local golf shop that's affiliated with the driving range. Basically you give them your lisense and you can demo what ever you'd like free of charge (you pay for the golf balls). I already knew my swing speed and told him that it's a very raw swing. He gave me a Ping G10 stiff shaft in a 10.5 loft, a Nike SQ (I think it was 2) in a stiff, 11 degrees, a Cobra ls 4v in a stiff, and he threw in a Cleveland XLS stiff shaft, 11.5. Right away I knew nike wasn't for me. The cobra didn't get it done. I hit a bomb with the Ping, but I had a lot of miss hits. When I took the XLS in my hands it felt good, it felt like I was going to hit a good shot. And as it turned out I hit it extremly well. Shot after shot, out performing the other drivers including my own. I'm glad I didn't just grab something off the shelf, because this has really helped. I liked it a lot. I think I'm going to buy it later this week. Just thought I'd encourage all of you who may be a bit shy, to try out a lot of clubs. What works for Tiger Woods, what works for your neighbor, and what works for you are all totally different.

I feel that it is always better to get at least some sort of fitting for clubs. Doesn't have to be a full on fitting but something like what you did.

I build my own clubs and the only downside to that is that I don't know what I'm going to get until I build it. Sure, you have a decent idea going in depending on your specs, but you never really know until you hit it.

I built a Golfsmith Long Jon driver back when 350cc clubs were the biggest thing going, and I hit it fine. But it had 10.5 degrees of loft, and I was really knocking some balls high but not necessarily long. I also had a left-to-right fade at the top that I didn't like (because it sometimes turned into a slice).

So I bought the components to do a Cermet 2000 driver with 9 degrees of loft. The club was also draw-weighted a bit.

Well, my slice and fade were gone (I could now hit a drive dead straight), and I developed a piercing, low trajectory that allowed me to add around 20 yards to my drives.

But my mishits went up. The Cermet is only a 290cc club and has a smaller sweet spot. The shaft was stiffer (my swing speed was pushing 100 at the time and is probably in the low 90s still) and I didn't feel like I had the best control anymore.

But I was out about $100, so I figured the best thing to do was learn to hit the club, and for the most part, that's what I've done. It's also one of the big reasons I'm eyeing a couple of the Snake Eyes high-MOI drivers, because I'd like some forgiveness back off the tee.

Jess

KCII, you described my favorite way to get fitted....and that is to get some green grass experiences with the clubs.

It's sort of hard for me because I need longer sticks but hitting the "off the rack" versions first certainly will tell a lot and helps to rule out certain clubs.

Good luck with the new driver. You'll have confidence knowing that worked your way through to that decision and that it is right for you, which is really all that matters.