Does it Help to Get Fitted for Clubs If I Can't Break 90?

[Breaking Bad Golf]

If you are a high handicapper you should not do club fitting to improve your game, if your swing sucks the only thing a fitting will do is make you feel better for about a week then you will hit the ball the same as before and you will have wasted your money. 

[klineka]

You asked the question in the title and then answered it yourself?

What is the point of this topic? Are you wanting to discuss if people in general should get fit for clubs if they can't break 90?

Also, what facts do you have to support this claim:

Quote

if your swing sucks the only thing a fitting will do is make you feel better for about a week then you will hit the ball the same as before and you will have wasted your money. 

(Just a sample size of one/yourself isn't sufficient, IMO)

[ChetlovesMer]

2 hours ago, Breaking Bad Golf said:

If you are a high handicapper you should not do club fitting to improve your game, if your swing sucks the only thing a fitting will do is make you feel better for about a week then you will hit the ball the same as before and you will have wasted your money. 

I might suggest that this blanket statement may be a bit too cut and dry. 

If you clubs are truly ill-fitted, you will have a hard time improving at the game. There are two gentlemen I play with one's 5'6" and the other is 6'4". Obviously, at least a dry fitting would benefit both of these gentlemen. Additionally, getting a fitting can help tame some of your less terrible misses. 

BUT to your point, a fitting isn't likely to improve your game by 7 to 10 strokes no matter what some of the major fitting companies say. If you are a high handicapper, you probably don't need $400 shaft upgrades in your driver. There's probably a stock shaft that will suit you just as well. 

However, if you are going to be buying new clubs, why wouldn't you get fit for them? No matter what your handicap, if you are shelling out the cash for new clubs; You may as well go through a fitting. Especially if you can do a fitting alongside your swing coach or the pro you are working with. Most (not all) places offer free fittings with purchase and I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't take them up on it. 

[Breaking Bad Golf]

Sorry about answering my own post, I agree that if you are getting a free fitting with your purchase then, by all means, do it. The major problem is bad golfers are being hoodwinked constantly by the golf industry into thinking it is the equipment.  

[klineka]

42 minutes ago, Breaking Bad Golf said:

Sorry about answering my own post, I agree that if you are getting a free fitting with your purchase then, by all means, do it. The major problem is bad golfers are being hoodwinked constantly by the golf industry into thinking it is the equipment.  

While I'm certainly not advocating that equipment alone can turn a 20 handicap into a scratch overnight, I do believe there are performance gains to be made (which can proven/quantified) for most golfers who haven't been professionally fit before (And even for those who have been fit too).

So to some degree, yes, it is about equipment. It's not ALL about equipment, but it's also not NOTHING about equipment either, which is what you appear to be claiming. (With zero evidence provided to back up your claims)

Can someone get really really good at golf without being custom fit? Of course. Does custom fitting help more than it hurts most golfers regardless of skill level? Almost always.

[TourSpoon]

This question came up in my office yesterday as a legit topic for a gift for a 20 handicap who plays once a month who most likely is playing a bargain starter set and is happy not keeping score.  

I said a general fitting would be enough (ie: length, lie, grip size etc). Anything beyond the basics is generally not needed and is certainly not a value until the golfer plays on a regular basis, has a repeatable swing, and cares enough to want to really get into it to spend the money and move from basic equipment to more premium components. Once a player gets to that point, then equipment can mean more, but it still has a small return over an actual improvement strategy. But hey, you got cash, you can spend it anyway you want. There is nothing wrong with having some great sticks in your bag. 

[klineka]

7 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

has a repeatable swing

FWIW, most golfers across all handicap levels have repeatable swings

 

[DaveP043]

16 hours ago, Breaking Bad Golf said:

Sorry about answering my own post, I agree that if you are getting a free fitting with your purchase then, by all means, do it. The major problem is bad golfers are being hoodwinked constantly by the golf industry into thinking it is the equipment.  

In my opinion, players are happy to be hoodwinked, they actively participate in the process.  Many (most?) people would rather spend $500 (an example) on equipment as a one-time cost, expecting a major impact on their game, as compared to spending $500 on lessons and practice, which actually CAN have a major impact.  People like the promise of instant improvement, and don't often like the reality that actual improvement takes actual work.

[TourSpoon]

12 minutes ago, klineka said:

FWIW, most golfers across all handicap levels have repeatable swings

 

Fair point, Maybe I should have said more consistent and reliable results, but I think most would understand the point I was making. 

[StuM]

20 hours ago, Breaking Bad Golf said:

If you are a high handicapper you should not do club fitting to improve your game, if your swing sucks the only thing a fitting will do is make you feel better for about a week then you will hit the ball the same as before and you will have wasted your money. 

First, Welcome to TST.

I think it really depends on the golfer and their goals.  @TourSpoonmentioned they guy happy to play & not keep score and I agree for that person a fitting is of little value.  But if the goal is to get good then starting out with a reasonably good set will help.  It does not need to be a high-cost fitting nor do they need top-of-the-line clubs but having something a little better than random bargain bin clubs will help the new player start off with a better chance at improvement.

I remember my first lesson @ 23 years ago. I had a boxed set that I picked up at a discount golf store a couple years earlier that I thought I could learn to use on my own (Clearly that failed).  The pro looked at them and said "These are junk" and grabbed a couple used clubs off the driving range rack.  They were not new, expensive and clearly were beaten up but I immediately hit them a little better.  The main difference was the length of the shaft.

Habits are hard to break and if you learn with clubs that are ill-fitted for you then you have a chance of developing habits that will need to be broken sometime in the future.  For me the shafts I had were too short and that was forcing me to stoop down just a little and once you get used to a certain set-up that is what feels right and then you may tend to fall back into the bad set-up.

[xrayvizhen]

I've heard many people in the golf industry (instructors, equipment sales people) admit, "it's not the arrow, it's the indian." But, at the same time, that doesn't mean a fitting won't benefit a high handicapper. A new golfer would do better by first getting some lessons and learn the basics; grip, stance, backswing, downswing, follow-through. Then, get a fiting. It will help. It really will, even if you have to pay for it.  Why contort yourself to fit the clubs? Get the clubs that fit you. 

[Sp4zRX]

In my unprofessional and likely unpopular opinion, a new golfer or high handicapper that is serious about the game and willing to put in the work for the long term seeking long term results, then they should just get a static fitting for length and lie on a set of players/players distance irons and just learn to hit them.

For the weekend warrior that has no interest in practicing and wants immediate results, they should get a dynamic fitting for a set of Game Improvement/Super Game Improvement irons and be done with it. 

[mdl]

3 hours ago, Sp4zRX said:

In my unprofessional and likely unpopular opinion, a new golfer or high handicapper that is serious about the game and willing to put in the work for the long term seeking long term results, then they should just get a static fitting for length and lie on a set of players/players distance irons and just learn to hit them.

For the weekend warrior that has no interest in practicing and wants immediate results, they should get a dynamic fitting for a set of Game Improvement/Super Game Improvement irons and be done with it. 

I don't think this is a crazy recommendation. I'd just add shaft flex to your list for a golfer who has the time and interest to invest in getting better. Slow swing player with a stiff shaft or ex-athlete with high swing speed but low skill playing a regular flex shaft are both going to learn bad habits trying to adjust to incorrect flex. But with that I agree that for a newer player who's excited about the game and is planning on investing in lessons and learning and practice, it makes sense to just get the cheapest used clubs you can with the right length, lie, and flex. Then invest in solidifying the pattern of your swing before getting fit and spending all that money on new clubs.

[Clemsonfan]

I am no fitter. I have monitored a few hundred fittings and found fitters could often help a 90s shooter the easiest.  
 

Many were using old hand me down clubs with heavy shafts that were overly stiff, and often thin soles. Others with money purchased Blades to emulate their more accomplished friends, but lacked their skills to find the sweet which was often higher and closer to the heel. Both could hit the ball much better with a wider sole and more shaft flex.

Others with swing flaws, like over the top, could be helped with a closed club face. These were often most helpful to the older golfer who wanted to play but was never going to take a lesson. Give them a copy of Lowest Score Wins and they might be able to make some improvement. The fitters I watched often used Maltby and Golfsmith clubs, or older versions of clubs, like the Maxfli Revolutions. This gave them plenty of options to find a club the player could hit. This was a while ago…

[mailman]

I think a fitting will help you quite a lot, especially if you have clubs that are totally ill suited to you as a golfer (they could be blades or players irons for better players etc).

Get fitted AND get lessons. Best of both worlds 🙂

[arturo28mx]

Based on my own experience, I would say even high handicappers should get fitted for shaft weight. In my opinion, the wrong weight is the single most important factor that could ruin a potentially good swing. Everything else can wait. Of course, a full fitting would always be best.

[pganapathy]

The one constant I have found is that overall a fitting benefits a high handicapper far more than a low handicapper.  Most low handicappers are talented enough that they could use different clubs and adjust to it within a round.  It isn't ideal but their score wouldn't change a great deal, unlike a higher handicapper.  On the other hand, fitting a high handicapper means they can actually get a decent result regularly.  Of course in OP's case, if the player only uses the clubs once a month and doesn't care about score, then a static fitting for an off the rack shelf is best.  Length, shaft flex and lie if possible.

[Breaking Bad Golf]

So some have posted that even high handicappers need fitted, what happens if they improve their swing through lessons or practice. So their swing changed so they need to get fitted again?