Diary of a bogey golfer with his 1st custom fit clubs

12/6/15: After 5 years of playing golf, I finally decided to custom fit a complete set except putter.   My new driver is here.  From my club fitting sessions and at range today, it gave me 10 - 15 yard more distance without noticeable difference in accuracy.  I will play at least two rounds in the next two days.  All things being equal, I expect 1 - 2 stroke improvement.

The rest of clubs will be coming in 1 - 2 two weeks.  From club fitting session, they gave me 8 - 13 yard distance increase.

I expect 2 - 3 stroke improvement when everything is said and done, cross my fingers.

Looking forward to the results. We've always heard properly fitted clubs are important. If I buy another set of irons, I plan on going through Golfsmith and having them fitted as well.

Good luck.

If you are near Detroit, check out Carl's Golfland.   I was fitted for a driver a couple of years ago and the results were pretty good.

Yah, I was saving money to get some this year but then I had some unexpected expenses come up so goal is now for next year.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, I think Carl's has very good prices. Are fittings included with a purchase of irons through them?

I'm in the Northern LP, so it'll be a drive down near Detroit either way. Golfsmith really took care of me with a purchase-gone-bad through Amazon a while back. I'd like to make my next big purchase through them, but its not set in stone.

You will like them.

I was fit for my Pings set back in 2008 and they really did help me. I still need all the help I can get.

I was just fitted the other day for my Christmas presents a new G30 and Anser 6 putter.

You will notice much more comfort at address.

12/6/14 My 1st round with a fitted driver

It was a complete waste of an effort.   Here in northern CA, it rained all week and the field was muddy to soggy.  Number of my drives didn't roll much, if at all.  A few got embedded, a few rolled less than a yard.   I can't even call them a roll - it was more like a short hop, a dead cat's bounce.   Even a 5 iron shot into green got embedded.   I also had my worst round of the year.   Nothing but putting worked, 33 putts in total.  Shots were so erratic (and coupled with soft ground) that making any observation of how my new driver behaved didn't make much sense.  The only thing I can measure was number of fairway hits, 8/14 for 57%.  That is slightly below my average of 61%.   I worried about the new driver's accuracy in field and was relieved that once adrenaline of trying a new driver wore off, I was able to hit fairways - finished with 4 straight fairway hits after 2 early OBs.   Going to range tonight to hit some more drives to get used to lighter driver weight.

12/7/14 - Hit 11/14 fairways with new driver.

Had an excellent round today - 3 strokes better than average despite muddy field condition.

2nd round with new driver delivered on its promise.  In today's round, I hit 11 of 14 fairways.   The new driver has noticeably less side spin and paid immediate dividend on few drives.  One drive in particular managed to stay off of a hazard area by a yard.   My old driver would have push-sliced the ball into the hazard.   Distance wise, balls went a little longer than my previous driver but I honestly couldn't tell if it saved me any strokes.   OTOH, lack of side spin & added accuracy most likely saved me a few strokes.  The new driver is a keeper.

After two rounds with new fitted driver, there is no change to my HI.

A few notable things from today's round:

• For the 1st time in my golf career, I cracked a golf ball during play.  It didn't hit a car path or anything.  I noticed the crack after a tee shot.  Note to myself -  look up what to do when a golf ball is damaged while playing tournament.
• Other than the cracked ball mentioned above, I started and finished the round with the same ball, a rarity on the current course.  No OBs, lost balls, or ball in water.

Cool, I'm glad you liked it.

I went out today and couldn't hit a thing with my driver. This was my worst round to date. I usually do good with it but not today.

Can't wait until afterChristmas to use the new one.

Subbed. I am fortunate that my wife loves me and sent me for my fitting in November. Bag is being built now. Can hardly wait

12/10/14

Now I have my new hybrids besides driver.  They arrived yesterday and I had one practice session at range.  The new hybrids were more forgiving but couldn't really tell if they were longer than my previous ones.   My range at night is too dark too know how far a ball went after 160 yards.  No matter.  I took today off to play a round with new hybrids.  I should had more practice at range before playing a round.   I lost at least 4 strokes b/c the new hybrid went 20 yards longer than my old ones.  One ball sailed past a green resulting in lost ball.   Another went past a green to ended up in deep rough.  Some shots may have benefited my round but I only remember the 4 lost strokes.  At least I know that the new hybrids hits longer.   I have 3 new clubs that are longer than my old ones.  It should pay dividend soon but not for today's round.   I did 6 strokes worse than my average, mainly due to bad putting (37 putts), and the aforementioned 4 lost strokes.   Sad and disappointing, really.   But I have two more rounds in coming weekend with the 3 new clubs.  Knock on wood.

I don't think I saw you mention it in this thread and if you did, I apologize, but what kind of clubs did you get?

Taylormade Jetspeed driver (stock stiff flex shaft) - I have borderline swing speed for stiff or regular shaft.  Opted for stiff shaft for better accuracy.  No length adjusted.  Grip down as needed.

Taylormade Jetspeed 3W, hybrids 4 & 3 (stock regular flex shaft).  No length adjustment done.  Grip down as needed.

Taylormade Speedblade - PW - 5, 1/2 inch shorter, 2 degrees flat, stock regular flex shaft.

Not the best reviewed clubs but will do for a high end bogey golfer looking for longer, game improvement clubs.   I like them (driver, hybrids) so far.   3W & iron set arriving this week.

Thanks for posting the clubs that were fitted. I rented a set of the Jetspeed last summer when my wife and I were on vacation. I shot 78 at the Sandals Emerald Reef Golf Club where Big Break Sandals Resorts was played. I had 2 double bogies and 3 birdies with clubs I had never played before. I was happy.

I'm very interested in seeing how much your handicap changes with fitted clubs. As we all have experienced, every day you go to the course, you never know which golfer will show up.  I just wonder if that is the same for golf club fitting. Which then leads me to the the question, "Shouldn't a golfer be fitted in multiple sessions, just to see if there are differences from day to day in a golfers swing that might change the variables in fitting their club?"

Just curious, but what made and model were your old clubs?

I'm not sure where you live, but I still use my old set of clubs in the winter here in Pittsburgh and bring my newer clubs out in April when the weather is better and I play more golf. Not much difference in scores, but a lot more fun remembering all of the good shots, including a hole-in-one, in those old clubs.

My only question is what, specifically, did you get fit for? Was it length, lie, and shaft?