What clubs are best for me? Does a fitter really know? questions inside

[Paz]

I really couldn't think of a title for this thread but I had a few questions here.

First, I am going to get fit for everything pretty soon because all of my clubs apart from my iron set are a few years old. I need a driver, a strong 3 wood, a hybrid 17 degree or so as well as a couple wedges.

Now I know that a fitter or pro is qualified to figure out my shaft flex, lie angle, length etc which is great and all but how do they know what BRAND and MODEL of clubs are best for me? How can I trust them to not recommend me the most expensive thing and say "well if you want the best performance, these are the best we got" (you know the routine). That doesn't really help me.

Basically, I don't really know what model driver is best for me or any clubs for that matter. I was also thinking of getting a new iron set because I heard that having new shafts put into your existing clubs is about 75 dollars per club.

Golf Galaxy offers free fitting for irons if you buy a set while you are there (i'm assuming that means you buy it after you get fit and then they custom make your fitted clubs) so I am really thinking about getting new fitted irons as well since replacing the shafts on my current set would be about the same price as getting a whole new set that is fit for me.

Does a fitter know what model of clubs fit my game best? Or just the stuff the launch monitor tells them

edit: anyone have any recommendations on where to get fit? best customer service/prices? Dick's sporting goods, golf galaxy?

[CrazyXGolfer]

I really couldn't think of a title for this thread but I had a few questions here.

I can't recomend anybody for you, me and my coach fit my gear with a launch moniter and also testing them on the course and range.

But yes, Fitters/pro's do know what clubs are working best for you. If you are fitted on a launch moniter, they should Bring up (say the fitting is for a driver) about 7 or 8 different clubs for you to try out. Launch moniters don't lie, they are a great club fitting tool! The only thing, most golf stores, won't fit you for a aftermarket golf shaft. For that you would either have to go to a pro shop, that has there own fitting wagon or to a fitting night put on buy the brands themselfs. But trust the fitters! They know what they are doing.... Also if you go to a fitter and they tell you that your launch stats are comming out really good with the stock shaft. Don't go and try out all these expensive aftermarket shafts if the stock is giving you great launch sastistics. Any questions PM me.

[Paz]

anyone else have any info they can share?

[WUTiger]

Some fitters know their stuff, others don't. Golf Galaxy and other golf chains

Skilled fitters generally take a look at the current driver - or irons - you are using to get a baseline. For drivers, the fitter put me on the launch monitor and got data on my old driver, the driver I thought I wanted, and other comparable drivers.

The driver I currently play was even on LM data with a Cleveland HiBore XLS Red, but I liked the setup and feel of the HyperX Tour better.

If the fitter only offers you irons or woods from one brand, be skeptical. And, use your own judgment. You're evidently a much better player than I am.

[Shindig]

Well, professional club fitter is like professional auto mechanic: professional just means they're getting paid to do a job. Like any other profession, there are good ones and there are bad ones. There's one fitter that used to be a few miles from me that eventually gained a pretty notorious reputation in So Cal for always suggesting the same thing to every player. In fact, when you'd see a particular set of iron shafts in someone's bag, it was almost customary to ask them if they went to this particular place.

Assuming they don't monkey with the test data, a good fitter can help you immensely. Let's discuss just drivers for the moment: a good fitter can have you hit a variety of club head / shaft / loft combinations, can look at the launch monitor result, suggest other ones to try, and eventually find you a good one. A bad fitter can have you hit a variety and tell you that your result with each is proportional to the price. I would start a good sign with knowing, at least in passing, a few people who used a particular fitter and got different recommendations .

I'd say the first thing to check is if your local shop will allow you to try a few demo clubs on the launch monitor and see for yourself.

Another possibility is to decide which set you want (e.g., which irons you like the best), and then get those fit for you. Most OEMs will give you the specifications of the best of their particular club for your swing, usually for free. Ping was famous for doing this for a while, and they still do it. Mizuno said a few months ago that some surprisingly high percentage of iron sets they expect to sell this year will be custom-fit for their new owners. One of their representatives recently suggested to me, when I told him I was considering a new purchase in the next few months, a combination of clubs that would cost me less but that he thinks I'd get more out of (clearly, he doesn't work on commission).

As for building a bag from scratch, with their suggestions? I have no idea; do you have an educated guess of your specs for any particular club? If so, try a few different OEM's versions of that club on a launch monitor, if you can get access to one. It can definitely tell you where distance gaps are, once you've decided on some clubs -- used properly, it can put a stop to the age-old question of what loft hybrid takes your 2-iron spot.

I hope this was more towards helpful than towards a rehashing of what you already knew.


As an aside, I'm a little skeptical of the $75/club that you're listing for replacing an iron shaft, unless you're putting super-premium graphite in. But as someone who will likely have to re-shaft my irons soon, it's a minor cause for concern for me if it's close to accurate.

[delav]

Golf galaxy, or dicks will not build you a set of clubs. They can look at grip size, flex length and lie and either order sets of make adjustments to existing ones. If you are truly after being fit for spin rates, trajectory, kick points and various weights within a certain flex, you'll need to go to a custom clubfitter. I am certain you can find someone in the state of washington.

A good club fitter should have several recommendations for you to try in the shaft alone for your irons and longer clubs. If your body is the engine, think of the shaft as the transmission... the right club head will do little for you without the right shaft, if you are serious about how your clubs perform. Flex, length and lie is the easy stuff.