Custom Club Fitting

[cmudd]

I went to Golf Galaxy tonite to purchase and get fitted for Taylormade R7 irons. My old set of Tommy Armour 845s are just about worn out and I wanted to make the step up. I hit different clubs all winter and the R7's had the best feel when all was said and done. I went in store because I wanted the custom fit, as I am 6'3 tall w/ a wrist-to-floor of 36" or so (which, online charts say would require an +.25" adjustment). Thus, I thought for sure that I'd need longer clubs.

The custom fit manager said that was a common misconception that taller people automatically required longer clubs, and we began the fitting process. Because my ball striking was inconsistent (3 shots that hit on 3 different spots on the club face), the manager suggested a -.5" adjustment, which was a shock to me. I am about a 20 handicap, and I think my biggest problem at this point is inconsistency--I can't avoid the "disaster hole" or two everytime I go out. So, control is key objective of new the clubs. Anyway, the manager said that if I made that adjustment and offset it with a 1 degree upright lie adjustment, that would give me more control.

Does this make sense to people? It seems to make sense to me that if you shorten the club you may sacrifice distance, but for the sake of consistency.

So what's the consensus? Should I seek a "second opinion"?

Thanks for any input.

[under_par]

getting fitted in a store is a very hard thing to do because:

1. you are not warm up and you want to impress the rep so you hit the ball not at your normal speed.

2. You can really see how the ball flight and distance is. Yes they have the launch monitors but that still does not do it for me.

3. You are hitting off the mat and not on grass so that is also a major issue.

My recommendation to you is take the set you have right now and play 3 rounds. Notice and write down what you see is happening with each iron. If your data is consisten then go back to the pro and share with them what you found out.

Unless you have a pro standing by your side this is the best thing to get fitted.

Good luck!!

[noxnasdaq]

I've had the same thing happen lately. Got fitted for Titleist 755 last year and rep had me at +0.5" and 2* flat. Went to golf galaxy last week and they fitted me at +1" and 1* upright.

[larlev]

What is their "standard" length they are adjusting you from?

I'm 6'1" with a 37.5" wrist to floor, so my 5 iron is 38.5"

I would think that having a shorter length club would be fine, you would just have to bend over more. I personally prefer a more upright position.

I have seen a Cleveland 6 iron that has a rubber o-ring in .25 increments, this way you can actually try different lengths. I would think TaylorMade would have something similar. It was really helpful when I was putting together my snake eyes.

[thumper07]

well, if you were hitting them all over the face, the reason he got you +.5 is because when you swing is correct that will be best for you. its really hard to fit someone that doesn't make the same swing everytime. thats why when you go to diferent people they recomend different things. i dont recomend anyone getting fit for irons they currently own unless they can make good swings(atleast consist ones) over and over again. But at golf galaxy they are free with any new iron purchase, so its not like you paid for it.

-matt

p.s. online fit charts are for entertainment purposes only, they mean absolutey nothing. please dont confuse a static fit w/a dynamic one. they ususally do not match up.

[under_par]

  thumper07 said:

well, if you were hitting them all over the face, the reason he got you +.5 is because when you swing is correct that will be best for you. its really hard to fit someone that doesn't make the same swing everytime. thats why when you go to diferent people they recomend different things. i dont recomend anyone getting fit for irons they currently own unless they can make good swings(atleast consist ones) over and over again. But at golf galaxy they are free with any new iron purchase, so its not like you paid for it.

Couldn't say say it better Matt. Good Job!!!

P.S. try not to get wrap up in your head about the offset too much as your game will faulter and you will blame it on the modification. What done is done and now go out there and see what it does for ya.

[cmudd]

Thanks for all of the input. After reading around a bit and listening in here, I think I should be in fine shape w/ the suggested fitting. The shorter shaft should promote consistency, so we'll see.

Just need to get my wife to let me play more...that'll help too!

[DaveLeeNC]

  cmudd said:

I went to Golf Galaxy tonite to purchase and get fitted for Taylormade R7 irons. My old set of Tommy Armour 845s are just about worn out and I wanted to make the step up. I hit different clubs all winter and the R7's had the best feel when all was said and done. I went in store because I wanted the custom fit, as I am 6'3 tall w/ a wrist-to-floor of 36" or so (which, online charts say would require an +.25" adjustment). Thus, I thought for sure that I'd need longer clubs.

Regarding the "right length" - this just isn't a height or wrist-to-floor issue. What matters is the length vs. lie angle - that really needs to be right.

You might well get better control going 0.5" short (keep in mind that 0.5" short on brand XYZ might be different than for brand ABC. You'll have a tough time detecting a difference in distance on well-struck shots just by going 0.5" shorter. dave

[lordnazgul]

As has been said, it is not the direct wrist to floor measurement that is deciding. I am 6.2" and have quite an upright stance, my wrist to floor was 37". When i had my fitting (about 4 weeks ago) with taylormade irons i was +.75" and 1* up, however on my mizunos i was fitted as +.5" and 2* up, when we tried +.75" on the mizunos the striking went to close to the heel for my liking. It is a realtion of many different factors.

The moral of this is that if the fitting means that the ball is hitting the centre of the club face more often then this is more than likely the correct setup for you

[TourSpoon]

*Warning-you may not want to read this*

I do not have a lot of faith in the big box custom fitting that is currently being done by people that may not be qualified to do so. There is nothing more unnatural to me than hitting balls inside a store off of a synthetic material. There may be many reasons why you are hitting the ball all over the face, the most likely being that you are a 20 handicapper trying to hit a golf ball into a net inside of a store off a mat with someone watching your every move. Three shots on three different parts of the club face tells me nothing at this point.

What I recommend that you do is to find someone reputable (i.e. knows their stuff) to take a look at you. Maybe this guy you saw is correct and he may be right on but I would get another opinion from someone that you can trust. I have a guy that I have known for 20 years that has a club repair business that does all this for me. The process is not as complicated as some would lead you to believe, but if you get put into the wrong set-up you will pay the price.

For the average 20 handicapper, you need at the minimum, the correct shaft, lie, grip size and length. If the length is +/- .25", I wouldn't bother modifying or special ordering because the difference is neglible. For .5" shortening I would make sure that this is what I really needed, less so with .5" long because cutting is easier than extending or reshafting.

Keep us posted and good luck.

[dozer1013]

My understanding is that club length is based on you height and distance from you wrist to the ground in the standing position. This promotes better contact which in turn means better distance and accuracy.