the basics on club fitting

bagger05 · August 30, 2010

Here's my story. I got my first set of cheapo Wal-Mart clubs maybe five or six years ago, but only really started playing consistently the last couple of years (once per weekend when there's not snow on the ground). This year I also have gotten some lessons and on the advice of my instructor, I'm in a continuing education class he does (about 12 people in each session) for now and will probably do another set of lessons next spring. I have since "upgraded" my set to some Nike VR full cavity backs I found for cheap on Craigslist and other clubs that I have found good deals on since then (Adams a7os 3H, Cleveland CG-14 56* and 60* wedges, TM Burner driver either 08 or 09 not sure which).

As far as my game goes, I'm stuck in the 90s. I've started tracking my "handicap" on oobgolf, so with limited data I'm currently a 20.5 but have never broken 90 before. All parts of my game are hit and miss (short game will be on but ball striking will be off or vice versa).

I really want to improve and start shooting better scores. I know new equipment isn't the final answer and I'm not blaming my clubs for bad swings and scores, but I've heard a lot of people say that it helps to get fitted. So enough back-story, here's the questions:

1. Am I a good enough golfer to warrant a fitted set of clubs?
Is this something that won't really pay dividends unless I'm a 15 handicap or something?

2. How do I find out if my current set even needs to be changed?
It is very possible that my current sticks are just fine for my swing. They're all regular shafts and I consider myself to be a regular guy... so maybe there's no need for a change and I just need to put in more time on the range and get better. Can I go to a Golfsmith or something and say that I'm interested in new clubs and see what they recommend before I invest real money in a more thorough fitting? Are there any quick checks I can do to know if at least my shaft flex and lie is correct? I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a club fitting only to have them recommend a set of Nike VR full cavity back irons with regular shafts.

3. If I do need new sticks, how much can I expect to pay for a fitting and equipment?
If I go somewhere to get fitted, do I have to buy from them or can I shop around? Just to get an idea, I checked the Callaway website for a set of X-22s (5-PW) and with custom shafts and grips it's about $600. Is this the ballpark I can expect to stay in? Will I get a discount if I end up buying a set there?

4. What else do I need to know? What questions am I too ignorant to not think to ask?

So there you have it... thanks in advance for the advice! I know I'll get some good input from this group!

**Shanks A Million** · August 30, 2010

1. Am I a good enough golfer to warrant a fitted set of clubs?

Let me ask you something, if you went to buy a baby new shoes, would you just buy a standard size, say, size 10 mens, and wait until the baby could walk well to get "fitted" shoes? Probably not. Don't you think having a shoe that fit properly would even make it easier to learn to walk? The truth is, fitting is important for everyone. A basic static fit is best for beginners, with a dynamic fit being better for players with a somewhat regular swing.

2. How do I find out if my current set even needs to be changed? It is very possible that my current sticks are just fine for my swing. They're all regular shafts and I consider myself to be a regular guy... so maybe there's no need for a change and I just need to put in more time on the range and get better. Can I go to a Golfsmith or something and say that I'm interested in new clubs and see what they recommend before I invest real money in a more thorough fitting? Are there any quick checks I can do to know if at least my shaft flex and lie is correct? I don't want to spend a bunch of money on a club fitting only to have them recommend a set of Nike VR full cavity back irons with regular shafts.

You can go to nearly any golf shop and hit your clubs off of a lie board. It's usually free, and they will only charge you to bend clubs. Your Nikes can certainly be bent by capable clubmakers. Lie angle is the most important thing for someone who's fairly new. A bad lie angle will cause you to have to manipulate shots. Flex, don't worry so much. As long as lie and length are proper, flex can be within a pretty wide tolarence, unless you're into extremes.

3. If I do need new sticks, how much can I expect to pay for a fitting and equipment? If I go somewhere to get fitted, do I have to buy from them or can I shop around? Just to get an idea, I checked the Callaway website for a set of X-22s (5-PW) and with custom shafts and grips it's about $600. Is this the ballpark I can expect to stay in? Will I get a discount if I end up buying a set there?

If your current clubs can be bent (I know they can, but I don't know who will), you can expect to pay maybe $5 a club, maybe more, maybe less. If you can't find anyone who can bend them, well, that may be an issue. If you have to buy a new set, getting lie angles on a new set is pretty much always free. You can even order them from the manufacturer. I wouldn't even buy from anyone who charged more than a pittance to bend clubs they sold you. Bottom line, VR full cavities can be bent a few degrees with little issue.

**double_j** · August 30, 2010

Fitting is well-worth it at any level if money isn't an issue. Since it sounds like you've been playing well and consistently enough to groove a swing so you'll definitely benefit.

Re: the benefits you'll see - think about your most regular contact error. Club fitting should make this virtually disappear.

**etlreams** · August 30, 2010

Just my personal opinion......fitting for higher handicaps is over rated. Will it help? To a very limited degree. If you are out of the ordinary on any or all of the these three, then yes, it will help:

Swing Speed - if you have an extremely fast or slow swing, than you might want to check out a shaft outside of the "regular flex" area
Swing Plane - if you have an extremely steep or flat swing, than a lie angle adjustment will help
Height - if you are "in general" taller or shorter than average, than your shaft height can be affecting your ball striking.

I'm going to make a generalization that I will probably get flamed for...... I think all high handicap or beginner golfers would do just fine with a standard (standard lie, standard height, regular flex shafts) unless one of the one of the things identified above is in the equation.

Time, money and energy would be far better spent on lessons, or even at the driving range, than getting "fitted" for a set of clubs. As a high handicap, your swing will be changing and evolving. Whatever you get fitted for now, may not be your ideal set up in two months.

**Shanks A Million** · August 30, 2010

Just my personal opinion......fitting for higher handicaps is over rated. Will it help? To a very limited degree. If you are out of the ordinary on any or all of the these three, then yes, it will help:

See, that's just nuts. I'm only about 5' 10", and the clubs I had were 4° too flat. The fitter told me there was just no way to even come close to being consistent. I played like that for like 20 years, barely broke 100. Got fitted, and suddenly, the game was easy again. With a good soft X/hard S shaft, I needed clubs about 2° upright. The blades in my set now are easier to hit than the R flex 4° too flat super GI clubs I had before.

Fitting is under rated. The only golfers who could possibly say standard is fine are ones who fit somewhere near the standard. Again, think of it like shoes. Some people will be fine with a size 10. I'm a size 11 1/2. My cousin is the same height as me, he's an 8. What if all shoes came in size 10? Neither of us would fit. But people who wore size 10s would tell us, of course, that standard is just fine.

**tristanhilton85** · August 30, 2010

Fitting is something that will definitely benefit your game. The first thing I would do if I was you is go to a golf store and hit your clubs off of a lie board to see if they need to be adjusted, if they don't, then you should be all set. If you are somewhat taller or shorter than an "average" person, then you may want to look into the lengths of the shafts as well. I would assume that a regular flex would be just fine, but you can always jump on a launch monitor while you are there and see what your swing speed is. If your clubs do need to be adjusted for lie, its usually about $5 a club as stated above and you should be able to find somebody who will do it.

Trust me though, fitting is important... and this is coming from somebody who uses "off the rack" equipment. I have had a few different sets of irons going back to when I started and I've made steady progress improving at this game for the most part. A few sets ago I was playing a standard set of Adams TightLies GT clubs, when a friend gave me a set of MacGregor VIP V-Foils. So I make the switch and my game actually starts to go downhill; I realize that these clubs are harder to hit but I had played the Titleist 990s before the Adams and they weren't this hard. Anyways I just figured I sucked and went along with it. So a little over a year ago I bought my new clubs, Ben Hogan Apex Plus, and all of a sudden I can hit the ball a bit better, so I compare them to my MacGregors and find out that the MacGregors are an inch long and are upright compared to my Hogans. This was the first time that I had ever even thought of length and lie of clubs, so I took my new clubs back to Golfsmith to hit off of a lie board and turns out that the standard lie is right for me.

Since I have got my new clubs I've been improving a little at a time; and its nice to know that the club isn't hurting me. Golf is a game of variables and eliminating some of these variables will make the game easier. In other words go get fitted. You may find out that there is no need for a change and at least you'll know that isn't a reason for whatever swing problems you have, or you may find out your clubs need to be bent and may all of a sudden start hitting with much more consistency.

bagger05 · August 31, 2010

Thanks for the advice from everyone!

So for someone of my ability, is getting my clubs bent going to be good for now, or is it worthwhile to get a set that's fitted just right for me? If I'm going to make a big club purchase, I'll probably wait until Christmas. But if getting the clubs bent is going to do the trick, I can drop that money right now and maybe knock that out next week. I suppose my point is that I don't see the need to spend $50 or so on my current set if I'm just going to get rid of them in a few months.

Also, what's a good place to do the launch monitor? Is Golfsmith a place I can do that? And what about getting the clubs bent? Would my local golf superstore do it, or is this something that should be left to a specialty shop?

Thanks again for the advice!

**Shanks A Million** · August 31, 2010

Thanks for the advice from everyone!

It depends who

will do it. If the superstore does it, then that's fine. If not, try a local shop. The clubs you have now are fine, they will last you as long as you want them to. There are multiple tour pros playing VR full cavities.

**etlreams** · August 31, 2010

Thanks for the advice from everyone!

Golfsmith, Golf Galaxy, most major golf stores - --- and many of the larger general sports stores (such as Dicks Sporting Goods, etc.) have launch monitors. Although...I'd recommend staying to a golf specific store.

It shouldn't cost you anything to get some stats off the launch monitor (mostly swing speed) and to set you up on a lie board to check the lie angle of your iron(s). It would be good information for you to have. What you do with it is up to you. My guess is, if anything, you may want to get your lie angle adjusted if it is way off. That is a pretty cheap correction. I think I recently paid $5 to have a wedge bent at Golfsmith

**tristanhilton85** · August 31, 2010

In my opinion, the VR Full Cavities are really good clubs so if you do end up needing a change in lie and they'll bend them for you, I'd do that. The only way I'd really consider changing the iron sets is if you need a dramatic change in lie angle and they won't do it for you. Most places will charge right around $5/club, which is pretty cheap. I'd use the money you saved getting them bent over new irons on a lesson or two or some range time.

**timastyle** · August 31, 2010

Hi Guys. I don't mean to thread jack, but I figure eats better to post on a similar topic rather than start a new one and my question may help out the OP as well. I am wanting to get fitted for my irons. My question is this...I've seen people getting fitted at Golfsmith before (including myself) and they only have you hitting one iron (6i for most manufacturers as that's what they have on their demo and 7i for ping). Well when I was getting fitted over a year ago, I was told that the Callaway X-22 Tour irons in standard L/L/L would be for me and when I tried Ping S57 irons, they were to be a degree or two upright (can't remember exactly and this was before I found out that the lie from manufacturers vary). So with that long winded backstory, my question is this...how does hitting one iron in a set of 6-8 irons (depending on the number of irons you're using vs hybrid), justify all of the irons needing the same lie? Is there a chance that they can vary throughout your set (i.e. PW needing to be 1* flat while your 5i would be standard lie)?

**Shanks A Million** · August 31, 2010

Hi Guys. I don't mean to thread jack, but I figure eats better to post on a similar topic rather than start a new one and my question may help out the OP as well. I am wanting to get fitted for my irons. My question is this...I've seen people getting fitted at Golfsmith before (including myself) and they only have you hitting one iron (6i for most manufacturers as that's what they have on their demo and 7i for ping). Well when I was getting fitted over a year ago, I was told that the Callaway X-22 Tour irons in standard L/L/L would be for me and when I tried Ping S57 irons, they were to be a degree or two upright (can't remember exactly and this was before I found out that the lie from manufacturers vary). So with that long winded backstory, my question is this...how does hitting one iron in a set of 6-8 irons (depending on the number of irons you're using vs hybrid), justify all of the irons needing the same lie? Is there a chance that they can vary throughout your set (i.e. PW needing to be 1* flat while your 5i would be standard lie)?

No, it doesn't work like that. The lie angle is relative to the length of the club, so a longer club lies flatter. You only need to hit one club to get the lie angle, unless you have X shafts in your irons and R in your woods or something, you may have so much toe down that it would change, but that's about it. And the reason your Pings were supposed to be bent upright is because Ping's standard lie is flatter than most.

**timastyle** · August 31, 2010

No, it doesn't work like that. The lie angle is relative to the length of the club, so a longer club lies flatter. You only need to hit one club to get the lie angle, unless you have X shafts in your irons and R in your woods or something, you may have so much toe down that it would change, but that's about it. And the reason your Pings were supposed to be bent upright is because Ping's standard lie is flatter than most.

Thanks for the clarification!!!

**timastyle** · August 31, 2010

No, it doesn't work like that. The lie angle is relative to the length of the club, so a longer club lies flatter. You only need to hit one club to get the lie angle, unless you have X shafts in your irons and R in your woods or something, you may have so much toe down that it would change, but that's about it. And the reason your Pings were supposed to be bent upright is because Ping's standard lie is flatter than most.

So I decided to do a little more research after you posted this and I was looking at the specs for the Precept Tour Premium CB irons I'm gaming right now and here they are:

Iron 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PW Loft(°) 18 20 23 27 31 35 36 43 47 Lie(°) 59.9 60.5 61.5 62.5 63 63.5 64 64.5 64.5 Length(")1 39.25 38.75 38.25 37.75 37.25 36.75 36.25 35.75 35.5 Offset(mm) 5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4 4 4 Swingweight D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 D3 There is a full degree difference between the 3, 4 and 5 irons in this set while other club manufacturers have only half a degree. Wouldn't that change things or it is still a relationship between the length and lie?

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