Have you been professionally fitted?

[burnabao]

I've been fitted for irons and woods and I have to say the whole process was brilliant. I'm 5' 7'' so a lot of the American-branded clubs don't fit me off the shelf, whereas my Mizuno fit is pretty much bang-on standard (for the "smaller Japanese man", as I was told!). Best thing about fitting though is to be able to feel different shaft combinations with particular clubheads.

Also, to all those who are saying that it's a waste of money, from my own research and experience pretty much all the major manufacturers will fit you for free (or apply a discount equal to the "cost" of the fitting off of the purchase price).

[Fatphil]

I feel a grass roots rebellion to the "fitting" scam..was watching a show on club fitting and this major tool from Golf Digest named (no joke) Mike Johnson...goes up to some dude and breaks his driver over his knee...yeh I know it was staged, he replaced the driver with OPM (other peoples money) but it really offended me! Many of us cannot afford $400 for a driver, nor even the same crap on ebay for $150. For a 10 hndcp to pay $400 for a club plus some goober to fit him is stupid. All these clubs are made in china for 10% of the retail price...we are the idiots for buying into the hype.

Anyone who pays retail for a golf club is supporting the communist government of China.

[montru]

No except when the salesman at Golf USA wanted to make a sale and he recomended the Cobra's , but I really would like to get a PROPER FITTING by a clubfitter that is NOT sales driven if you know what I mean.

[justincredible]

I was fitted for some Ping G5's a few weeks ago. Being 6'4" I'm a little too tall for a standard set of clubs.

[j_moo]

Going to someone with the following qualifications costs $120 for the initial 2 hour fitting. Is this worth it? Mind you, this is before him charging me probably $75/club to refit to my specs.

AGCP Member Level 9 Certified
PCS Advanced Fitting School Graduate
KBS Tour Shaft dealer
Master Wedge Fitter
Wishon Gold Plus
Certified Moment of Inertia (MOI) Club Fitter
UST Tour Shop
GCA Advanced Professional Clubmaker
Optimal Flight Certified
True Length Technology Certified

[bong_crosby]

No. But I think the next time I purchase a new set, I'll get fitted. There are several sites that if you enter your body measurements, will recommend a length and lie for your clubs. An eye-opening experience came when I took this info to my local range and hit a R9 that was my recommended setup (2 degrees upright and +1/2"). My divots went from having rounded edges because I was hitting with the toe down to nice and square. Also, my shaped shots were more controllable. When I put a swing on the ball that felt like it would send the ball too far left or right, I was surprised to look up and see the ball moving in a more mellow trajectory.

[Bullitt5339]

I was fitted for free when I bought my Clevelands, and yes it improved my swing after I got used to the difference in length. I am 5'6" and was playing with standard length clubs since I learned to play, so there was an adjustment period, but after that, I'm very happy.

[Shanks A Million]

Let me put this a different way. Imagine you walked into a store, and you looked all around at the different patterns of shoes, shirts, pants, and decided which ones you liked. Then, you grabbed those items in the "standard" size, and put them on, and were on your way.

How many of you would do this? I reckon not many. A few of us might just fit that standard size, and we'd be happy, but most of us wouldn't. When we buy clothes, we buy the right size to fit us. For some reason totally unknown to me, when we buy golf clubs, we expect that we'll all have the same fit, and we buy the "standard" size.

This makes absolutely no sense. Everyone is built different, and one of the major flaws amateur golfers develop is swinging to fit their clubs. It's almost asinine to expect to be able to play good golf without properly fitting clubs. Tour pros are meticulously fitted, and they have their lofts and lies checked twice a month. If the best players on earth need it, we need it even more.

Don't be stupid, get fitted.

[wannabe]

Why get fitted? If I did, I wouldn't be able to use the "eh, think the lie angle on this 5 iron is off" excuse anymore. :P

Truthfully, when I do get the chance to buy new clubs, I'll go through a fitting, even though I'm a normal sized person. I'm sure it can only help.

[j_moo]

Let me put this a different way. Imagine you walked into a store, and you looked all around at the different patterns of shoes, shirts, pants, and decided which ones you liked. Then, you grabbed those items in the "standard" size, and put them on, and were on your way.

Static fitting, measuring for length and lie of club are easy and takes 5 minutes. Everyone should do this.

Dynamic fitting, however, is more involved and costs $120. Not recommended for beginners, but at what point does this make sense?

[andyh]

I hope it makes a difference. i am off next month for a fitting. lie angle on my clubs is wrong. i can get my little finger under the toe of my club at address. that cant be good for ball striking. never really thought too much about it until recently. also want to match the shaft to my swing speed. not sure if i have that all correct.

anyone notice a marked improvement in ball striking by getting the lie angle fixed?

[sean_miller]

I hope it makes a difference. i am off next month for a fitting. lie angle on my clubs is wrong. i can get my little finger under the toe of my club at address. that cant be good for ball striking. never really thought too much about it until recently. also want to match the shaft to my swing speed. not sure if i have that all correct.

I was ready to shelve my Mizuno MP-11s last summer (8 iron straight to the trash).

After getting the lofts and lies done - 1* upright from standard specs - based on my 5-iron which was perfect (IMVHO). I got a degree or two loft added on the 8-PW as well (40, 45, 50). I feel like I can use a natural swing and aim at the flagstick rather than the middle of the green - I'll probably use those MP11s for another decade!!

[andyh]

I feel like my swing is in good shape. but i do have some inconsistencies with my irons. sometimes feels like although i put a good swing on it my irons are somehow getting stuck or even twisting a bit. could a lie angle with the toe significantly off the ground be a cause? i am going to get this changed and hoping that it is.

[Shanks A Million]

Static fitting, measuring for length and lie of club are easy and takes 5 minutes. Everyone should do this.

$120!??!?!?! Where did you get charged that? My local shop bends irons for free!!! That's insane. If you buy irons at standard length and lie, many places can bend, regrip, and lengthen or shorten for just a few dollars a club. I pay $5 to get a club lengthened, and just the cost of a grip to shorten it.

[montru]

Going to someone with the following qualifications costs $120 for the initial 2 hour fitting. Is this worth it? Mind you, this is before him charging me probably $75/club to refit to my specs.

I just had a 2+ hour fitting from a guy that is mobile, he charges $99 and that includes all the tweeking of your clubs for loft and lie etc. I started a thread the other day: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/threads...er-Found-in-FL He is mobile and will travel anywhere in the state of Florida. I am having some new shafts put into an old set of heads that I have, he tested my Cobra Adila shafts and found quite a few inconsistancies from shaft to shaft, when he put this new shaft on a test club I had a a lot more consistant ball flight trajectory etc, i should have the new clubs by next Monday so I will let you know how/if it improves my game!!

[j_moo]

$120!??!?!?! Where did you get charged that? My local shop bends irons for free!!! That's insane. If you buy irons at standard length and lie, many places can bend, regrip, and lengthen or shorten for just a few dollars a club. I pay $5 to get a club lengthened, and just the cost of a grip to shorten it.

I'm sorry, it was a typo. The price is $125.

"I charge $125 for the initial 2 hour fitting. This fitting uses video, launch monitors, radar and other devices to help determine exactly what clubs you need to be playing with." This from another guy: "My fittings run $75.00 for either irons or woods or $125.00 for both. The fitting includes an interview you to determine your goals, and evaluation of your current equipment, and a test session with different equipment to determine the best specifications for you." I have a friend who just went through this and feels it is completely worth it. I'm going to a Callaway demo tomorrow and have them fit me for free.

[Shanks A Million]

I'm sorry, it was a typo. The price is $125.

Wow, that's crazy. The most expensive place around here is $5 a club, and he does tour pros (I actually got referred to him by a tour pro). He was the only guy that could do my Cleveland 588, too. It includes a fit not on a monitor, but an actual range, with a PGA pro. I would never ever pay $125 for a dynamic fitting, but maybe that's just me.

[kilbyman]

As a baseball player, I wanted my bat to be a specific length and weight, to fit my swing. Why shouldn't this be important in golf too?