Back in the days before steel shafts and matched sets, Bobby Jones put together a set of clubs one by one over the course of his career based solely on feel. Toward the end of his time as a competitor – once swing weighting was invented – someone measured them and found them all identical, save one iron. Jones’ response? He’d never trusted that club.
Today it’s a whole other ball game. Club manufacturers, teaching professionals, and independent clubmakers and fitters all recognize the importance of fitting clubs to players to help them make the most of their abilities.
In some ways, there are almost too many choices in equipment specifications; especially given the explosion in shaft types and the introduction of launch monitors. In this week’s Bag Drop we’ll begin a two-part look at some of the factors you can check on your own and those that will require the help of experienced professionals and club fitters.
Before we begin I should note that many of these individual factors are quite inter-related. Club length impacts lie angle and swing weight, and even grip size can materially change the feel of a club. But it’s important that each element we cover be right for you, your swing and your abilities.
Matching Clubs to Your Body
Grip Size
Why it’s important: Too big a grip and you’ll have trouble releasing the clubface through impact losing distance and leaving shots out to the right. Too small and you’re likely to over-rotate the clubface and pull the ball.
How to check it: Grip the club in your left hand. Your longest middle finger should just barely touch the pad under your thumb. Make sure you’re gripping the club in your fingers as you’re supposed to. If the fingers are digging into the palm, you need a bigger grip.
Club Length
Why it’s important: Too long a club and you’ll have a tendency to hit it toward the heel. Too short and you’ll be more likely to consistently hit it out on the toe. And too long a driver, as Frank Thomas, the former USGA Technical Director and Golf Channel equipment expert, points out, could cost you a lot of accuracy.
How to check it: Your height has less to do with this factor than the distance of your hand to the ground. Tall players with short arms may need longer clubs; short players with long arms shorter ones.
One easy way to check if this may be a problem is to sprinkle some talcum powder on the face of a mid iron and hit some shots. You’ll see a pattern emerge (hopefully) that will give you an indication. You can also use impact decals or the On Mark Contact Spray. But this method gets a little tricky if your swing path is not on plane.
Thus, perhaps the best way to figure this out is to have the help of a PGA pro or experienced club fitter. Longer shafts promote a flatter swing, shorter ones a more upright plane. Unless your action requires a major overhaul, you’ll want to match your clubs to your swing and not vice versa.
Matching Clubs to Your Swing
Lie Angle
Why it’s important: If your clubs are too flat as you strike the ball, the toe will be down and you’ll likely leave shots out to the right. Too upright a lie angle and the reverse is true. The more loft on the club, the more critical this factor. That’s why there’s little need to vary lie angle on drivers and fairway metals.
How to check it: This is a dynamic measurement that has nothing to do with the way the club sits at address and everything to do with the clubhead’s position at impact. Put a strip of black electrical tape on the sole of a six iron and hit some balls off a hard plastic sheet. The scuffmarks will give you the answer… scuffing toward the toe means too flat, toward the heel means too upright.
Another way is to rely on various schemes to measure the distance from your hand or your wrist to the ground. Ping and some others use this method to match club length to lie angle. However, I don’t think this is anywhere near as accurate as actually hitting shots off a lie board.
Shaft Flex
Why it’s important: Since shaft flex is about the only standard variation you can choose from off the rack, most players are aware of how important it is to match flex to their swing. It’s also well known that there’s some sort of macho factor in play as most amateurs clearly swing too stiff a shaft.
How to check it: Without professional observation, there remain some subjective things you can look for. If the club feels heavy as you swing it (especially on the downswing), if you have trouble getting the ball into the air, if your shots start right or fade right, then the shaft could be too stiff for you. Conversely, if you are spraying shots, hitting the ball too high or feel the “whip” in the shaft, it’s probably not stiff enough.
In the End…
Those are the basic elements of club fitting. Next week we’ll take a look at some of the finer points… factors that require a launch monitor and experienced fitter to discern. We’ll also take a look at a couple factors in matching your clubs to your course.
People often try to be fit over the internet which I feel in the majority of the cases is the wrong approach to take.
While the internet is a great place to research shafts, heads and public opinion, I don’t think there is a substitue for having someone that can physically see your ball flight, your tendancies, etc.
Nice article.
It’s hard to be fitted for iron sets especially when you first start out. Your strike zone is usually not consistent.
Static fitting is a good place to start, especially for club length. But, lie angle needs to be done by watching flight path.