Fitting/New Clubs Dilemma

[mooseontheloose]

My apologies in advance if I ramble.

Ok, the basics. I started last July and have worked myself from shooting ~130 my first time it to a personal best of 93 so far this summer. Not sure I’ll get the sub 90 before winter but that’s Ok. My short game needs a lot of work.

Currently gaming Burner 2008 irons I picked up used. Everything on them seems stock (regular flex) except I regrouped them. Driver is a Cobra F6 I got for a good price (stock not fitted, stiff) and an Adams Speedline 3W (same). I’ve had some lessons and am definitely improving my swing. My instructor suggested I should get fit at this point.

Now I already understand the value of being fit so I’m not really asking about that. I’d want to do it with my wedges and putter too but I’m not happy enough with my basics there to feel it’s worth it now.

So I’m considering doing woods and metals before end of season. I’ve looked into options and honesty I’ve always been drawn to Titleist. But man buying them new is expensive. I’m looking at close to $3000 CAD if I’m fit into a TS3, AP3s and a hybrid/3W (ransom examples). That’s a big amount to dump so I’m hesitant. I think my apprehension comes from the investment side. If I knew I’d game the clubs for 5-10 years then I could stomach it but I worry that as my game improves I may need to get refit and may need new clubs again in a few years. Is that a legit concern?

I could look to play the cheaper clubs from big brands that are either older models or just lower in their product lines but have a similar concern. I wouldn’t want to get the urge to upgrade to something better despite the fit still being good in a few years. Don’t want regret cheaping out.

I thought I should avoid fitting at a big box store but in my area the pros at course generally only fit one brand or at most two, and it seems like some don't carry older heads so I could only fit into newest models.

Any thoughts?

Anyone been in a similar situation and what was your outcome? Curious how people would advise a high handicapper looking to get fit the first time.

Thanks

[jimnm]

I was in a similar situation recently so I'll tell you my experience. I started taking lessons over at golftec back in April. Prior to that, I had off the shelf clubs, never been fitted and never had a lesson. In August, after taking lessons for about 4-5 months I asked my coach about getting fitted while bringing up similar concerns that you have. He thought it was a good idea to get fitted. He explained to me that I was at a point where a fitting made sense as future swing changes would not result in a change to my club specs.

He ended up fitting me for new irons (this fitting was included in my golftec lesson plan) and since golftec offered most of the major brands I had a good selection to choose from. I was about to buy some Mizuno irons, but then got word that PXG's gen 1 irons were on sale (which I loved the look of and now fell into my budget). Since golftec didn't offer PXG's, I found another local reputable fitter that offered them and ended up ordering some. 

Both fitters found different specs for me.

Golftec, using a GC2, found that I was standard length, 1/2* to 1* upright and recommended KBS tour stiff shafts. But it seemed that I was in between stiff and extra stiff during the fitting and could have gone either way.

The other fitter, using trackman, recommended standard length, standard lie for now (they offered to tweak the lie to any iron if needed after playing a few rounds), and DG X100 shafts with a D6 swing weight. It's an extra stiff shaft. Perhaps the increase might affect the stiffness in the shaft, but I'm not sure. At the end of the day they felt great, looked great, and performed great.

It was interesting that golftec did not fit for various swing weights. So I'm glad I got the second fitting. Trying out various swing weights really seemed to make a difference for me. The increased swing weight helped with feeling the club head during my swing and resulted in centered strikes more often. 

So my advice is, if your coach thinks you are ready, then I say go get fit.

As far as what to look for in a fitter. I would find one that has a good reputation and can fully build your clubs to your specs. The fitter I found orders the club heads from the manufacturer, then builds the clubs in their shop with the exact shaft, length, lie, swing weight, grip type/grip size, and they also F.L.O. the shaft. Some may argue that F.L.O. doesn't make a difference, but after doing some research it made sense to me on why it's done. It certainly won't hurt. So I'm glad my fitter includes F.L.O. for all the clubs that he builds.

I suspect you won't get this level of detail getting fitted at a big box store.

As a side note, my old irons were standard length, lie and a stiff shaft. So these were probably still a reasonable fit for me and still play well. But I've had them for 7 years and wanted to try something new. I plan to keep these new irons for at least 5 years. I just took delivery of them yesterday, and can't wait to hit them!

Next on my list will be getting fit for a driver and 3W. And I will definitely use my same fitter.

Ok that was a very long winded post... Hopefully it helps!

 

Edited September 15, 2018 by jimnm
Edits

[boogielicious]

10 hours ago, mooseontheloose said:

My apologies in advance if I ramble.

Ok, the basics. I started last July and have worked myself from shooting ~130 my first time it to a personal best of 93 so far this summer. Not sure I’ll get the sub 90 before winter but that’s Ok. My short game needs a lot of work.

Currently gaming Burner 2008 irons I picked up used. Everything on them seems stock (regular flex) except I regrouped them. Driver is a Cobra F6 I got for a good price (stock not fitted, stiff) and an Adams Speedline 3W (same). I’ve had some lessons and am definitely improving my swing. My instructor suggested I should get fit at this point.

Now I already understand the value of being fit so I’m not really asking about that. I’d want to do it with my wedges and putter too but I’m not happy enough with my basics there to feel it’s worth it now.

So I’m considering doing woods and metals before end of season. I’ve looked into options and honesty I’ve always been drawn to Titleist. But man buying them new is expensive. I’m looking at close to $3000 CAD if I’m fit into a TS3, AP3s and a hybrid/3W (ransom examples). That’s a big amount to dump so I’m hesitant. I think my apprehension comes from the investment side. If I knew I’d game the clubs for 5-10 years then I could stomach it but I worry that as my game improves I may need to get refit and may need new clubs again in a few years. Is that a legit concern?

I could look to play the cheaper clubs from big brands that are either older models or just lower in their product lines but have a similar concern. I wouldn’t want to get the urge to upgrade to something better despite the fit still being good in a few years. Don’t want regret cheaping out.

I thought I should avoid fitting at a big box store but in my area the pros at course generally only fit one brand or at most two, and it seems like some don't carry older heads so I could only fit into newest models.

Any thoughts?

Anyone been in a similar situation and what was your outcome? Curious how people would advise a high handicapper looking to get fit the first time.

Thanks

If you have a good fitter in your area, tell them what you want to do. Tell them you want to get a sense of the type of driver and wood shafts you should be playing but are not ready to make a purchase yet on new woods. They should still be able to give you the data you want for the fitting price. 

Then, you can either budget for new woods, or look for used sets at lower prices. I play the Titleist 917 D2, that I got used. I have the 915 that I reviewed for the site and was fit for the 910 years ago. So I know what I should be playing. 

There is not much difference between the 915 and 917, except the swing weights. If you don’t need a hook or slice correction, then the 915 is fine and will cost less used.