Do you recommend getting fitted?

[ryanf]

I've been playing my Titleist 822 OS irons for a couple years now (they came to me used) and in the last 1.5 years I've dropped form about a 22 to a 13-14 handicap. I've made a lot of improvements around the greens - short game and putting. I've also improved my ball striking/iron game a lot but I've always wondered if it is worth it to go in and get checked for lie angle. From what I've heard its not very complicated but I don't know what it costs. Do you think it will make a difference at my skill level? Approximate cost? I'm hoping/planning to look at getting new clubs around the first of the year, but if the cost isn't too high and its a worth while investment I'd still get current clubs adjusted. I don't notice any big toe/heal problems when I'm hitting irons, but I'm not sure I would recognize the problem anyway. I'm average height (just a touch under 6'1") so that probably helps as "stock" should be fairly close as long as my setup is also "stock". So what do you think?

[Clambake]

I did a Taylormade Performance Labs fitting, and I really like the results. I'm about the same height (a shade over 6' 1"), and ended up with clubs 1/2 inch longer and 1 degree flat. Initially I noticed that my contact seemed more pure, and I felt fewer shots were significantly offline, especially on the course where I'd have different lies (sidehill, uphill, etc.). But I've noticed another interesting effect - my swing has changed slightly and now feels more natural. Speaking with a local pro, he felt that even though the changes from my stock clubs weren't that big, I had been subconciously adapting to the club and my body was having to make more microcorrections to correct. But with the clubs, I'm now able to "feel" my natural swing better and by not having to adapt my swing is more free, not having to subconsiously adapt. While the differences are very slight when I've looked at the before and after videos, there is most certainly a better tempo and smoother flow. So I feel that I found a benefit that hadn't been really explained before - my swing has actually improved by having clubs that fit.

[tricky]

I'm 6' 0", with a 34" wrist to floor measurement. My fitting is standard length shafts, but 2.5° upright. I need a low kickpoint shaft, I also need stiff shafts, and a midsize grip. I've dropped ten shots in practice as a result of the fitting (and general working on my game without fighting the ill-fitting old clubs). It's early days, but it looks to me that all of this is more important to my game than what heads are on the end of the shafts.

I would honestly recommend anyone who wanted to enjoy the game to get fitted. If you don't the chances are you are just fighting equipment that is at least a partial hindrance.

I'm not overlooking the irony of someone my handicap advising someone your handicap. I'm just saying that from personal experience this is making the difference to me having no hope of ever being an acceptable golfer, to seeing really positive signs of improvement in all aspects of my game.

[Shindig]

I've been playing my Titleist 822 OS irons for a couple years now (they came to me used) and in the last 1.5 years I've dropped form about a 22 to a 13-14 handicap. I've made a lot of improvements around the greens - short game and putting. I've also improved my ball striking/iron game a lot but I've always wondered if it is worth it to go in and get checked for lie angle. From what I've heard its not very complicated but I don't know what it costs. Do you think it will make a difference at my skill level? Approximate cost? I'm hoping/planning to look at getting new clubs around the first of the year, but if the cost isn't too high and its a worth while investment I'd still get current clubs adjusted. I don't notice any big toe/heal problems when I'm hitting irons, but I'm not sure I would recognize the problem anyway. I'm average height (just a touch under 6'1") so that probably helps as "stock" should be fairly close as long as my setup is also "stock". So what do you think?

If you're buying new clubs, it's practically free - if not actually free - to get fit by the OEM. Mizuno, Ping, etc have fitting days regularly, and you go there, tell them which club set(s) you want, and they fit you for them. Will it make a difference? Depends on how close your existing set is. If they're pretty close to right, maybe not. A friend of mine went from a hand-me-down set that wasn't great for him to custom-fit for 13 clubs and gained some serious yardage and control. If you lucked into having the right set for you, then it might not make a difference.

[BirdIsTheWord]

Just the fact that there ARE different fits is proof that you should get fitted. Especially if you are buying new. Would you wanna spend a bunch of money on the wrong equipment? You know your shoe size, right? You should know your club size/fit. It makes a difference at all skill levels...

[shades9323]

I would just wait until you get new clubs. Some golf shops won't attempt to bend a cast club. You might have to send them back to titleist to have them adjusted. Call your golf shop and find out and see how much it is for lie fitting.

[Dub]

Do you recommend getting fitted? - 4 Hours Ago

In a word.....YES.

[ryanf]

Thanks guys! I guess I'll call up and find out how much it is and if they can do lie adjustments on my clubs!

[hamletsdead]

I've been playing my Titleist 822 OS irons for a couple years now (they came to me used) and in the last 1.5 years I've dropped form about a 22 to a 13-14 handicap. I've made a lot of improvements around the greens - short game and putting. I've also improved my ball striking/iron game a lot but I've always wondered if it is worth it to go in and get checked for lie angle. From what I've heard its not very complicated but I don't know what it costs. Do you think it will make a difference at my skill level? Approximate cost? I'm hoping/planning to look at getting new clubs around the first of the year, but if the cost isn't too high and its a worth while investment I'd still get current clubs adjusted. I don't notice any big toe/heal problems when I'm hitting irons, but I'm not sure I would recognize the problem anyway. I'm average height (just a touch under 6'1") so that probably helps as "stock" should be fairly close as long as my setup is also "stock". So what do you think?

I'm in the same boat. 6'0, and standard seems to fit me just fine. I was hitting everything straight, but thought fitting would benefit me (why not?) so I went and hit off the lie board into the net, and it turned out the toe of my irons were striking the turf first -- so I had my clubs adjusted 2° up. Took them back out the next day and it was hook city until I realized that the adjustment had rendered my extra-strong grip unnecessary. I went to neutral grip and everything became copacetic again.

As for a real fitting with a clubmaker, I've talked to a guy up here in Northern California a few times. He's well-respected, and has made clubs for some guys I know. The charge for having him fit me (e.g., watch me hit, suggest various heads and shafts combinations based on launch monitor results, get feedback at the range or course, etc., and then make the clubs) is comparable to buying a new name-brand set of Titleist or Callaway -- on the order of $75-125/club for irons, depending on head/shaft combo, and more for woods. So it's not really more expensive, just time-intensive and of course you have to trust whoever is making your clubs. That's the biggest impediment I have -- I'm comfortable with my current clubs, I like them, they feel good in my hands, and I hit them well. Since the more I play the more it seems to me that 90% of the game is in your head, I have to ask myself if having somebody build me a set of KZGs will be better for my game or not? I think I'm going to have to wait until I have an extra $1500 burning a hole in my pocket to find out. Or when I get to a 3- or 4-handicap and convince myself that new clubs made just for me will bring me down to scratch.

[bIGwIRE]

"Off the shelf" irons have a chance of fitting you perfectly, esspecially when you have an average height/body type. Chances are that they are already pretty close for you, but having a pro tell you that they are right will add to your confidence.
Mostly its just taking some measurements and hitting shots off a strike board, and gennerally getting fitted is pretty cheap, club adjustment can be spendy, but if you buy new they will ussually do it for free.