Last Friday I went to Titleist's fitting facility in Acushnet, MA. I went to get fit for a whole new set basically. With the 913 driver coming out, I wanted to be sure I had one that was optimized for me. I also wanted to check the rest of my clubs. I had trouble controlling distance and getting shots to stop on the green this year. My results were eye opening to me.
The entrance to the test facility, guard tower and the entrance lane. Got me all giddy!
Here are my trackman numbers with a 6 iron. The above numbers are with my new, proper fit. The below numbers were with my old sticks. Both are 712 AP2. These numbers were pre-normalization, into about a 7mph headwind.
Theses are my numbers for the driver. The above numbers were with my 8.5 degree 910d3, below was my fit with the 913 8.5 d2.
The results for my fitting are as follows:
My current clubs' lies, lofts, and lengths were irregular. New clubs will be 1/2" short, 3 degrees flat, and 1 degree weak. This combination allows me to contact the ball more consistently, and dig less, as is my propensity on my misses. The 1/2" short makes it harder to hit it fat. The 1 degree weak helps me launch it higher with more spin, which i need. It also adds bounce, to prevent me from digging.
I was fit for Nippon Pro 105 x shafts in my irons. This is a big switch from my PX 6.5 hardstepped. They are 25 grams lighter and have a significantly different kick point. Both of these traits help me to launch higher with more spin. The lightweight shaft also allows me to feel the clubhead better and I then had greater control, missing left far less. I was told this is common, that good players come with super heavy and stiff shafts to hit it straight and not miss left, but they lose feel of the clubhead and lose control of the release. Therefore, with the heavy shafts, they can't control clubface closure.
The last bit of fitting of irons came in set makeup. The fitter "Bubba" proposed that I hit my 3 and 4 iron nearly the same distance. I didn't argue because I didn't actually know my carry distances, so I went with it. I carried 3 iron 233, and 4 iron 228. So, we dropped the 3 iron.
Next we tried 3 woods. I'll spare you the agony of this process because I was swinging so poorly and hitting bad shots. The verdict was a 15 degree 913f with a whiteboard plus shaft in 70g x flex, 1" short . We chose that clubhead to get more launch. The length helps me with consisent contact, and not get too steep.
We then needed to gap the 3 wood and 4 iron. I carried the 3 wood 255ish, and the 4 iron 225 ish, so I needed a 240 club. We started with a 21 degree 913h, but that was spinning too much and was going quite far enough. We ended up with a 19 degree 913h with a whiteboard plus shaft, lightweight but I forget exactly, extra stiff, and 1" short. Again, this gave me perfect gapping with enough launch and spin to hold greens, and it being an inch short allows me to not hit it fat.
Next we gapped wedges, which was easy. I went with 50, 54, 58 degree vokeys, all 1/2" short, 3 flat, and 2 weak. They will have the same shafts as my irons. The gaps were perfect, but the key was finding the correct bounce. I went with these lofts because once bent, they will be 52 and 14 bounce, 56 and 16 bounce, and 60 and 14 bounce. These will allow me to control my distances better with more predictable turf interaction if my attack angle gets too steep.
Finally, the driver. Nothing special here. I hit a couple of shafts, but ended up with the same one I currently play. Then I jhad to determine which clubhead was best. Different from the 910 series, the 913 drivers have identical launch conditions with the only differences being cosmetic (d2 is 460 cc, d3 440cc), and the d2 has a very slight draw bias, much less than in the 910d2. I went with the d2 because it helped me to hit it much straighter, missing right far less.
Conclusion:
I am very fortunate to have been able to get this fitting experience. Literally anything Titleist was at my disposal. If you have the means, any trackman fitting would be HUGELY beneficial to you. I highly reccomend even taking a lesson on a trackman. The numbers don't lie.
