As it is with any sport that requires equipment and gear to play, ensuring you have the correct gear and attire is essential and ensuring that everything fits properly. Golf is a sport that is all about precision, technique, and fine margins. The smallest adjustments can make the biggest impact.
Fitting is the number one fundamental to producing consistency in all a player’s clubs. Golf club fitting is said to maximize a player’s ability to learn correctly and quickly without developing bad habits and enhance the skill of any player.
Consistency throughout a set of golf clubs is ensured by fitting those clubs to the player. There are different ways that golfers fit their clubs. Some prefer trying different types of clubs from different sets to find what feels best, which can be very time consuming and take a lot of energy. In contrast, others get clubs made according to specific measurements and requirements.
Modern Golf Club Fitting
Modern technology has enhanced the speed and capabilities of club fitting in significant ways.
Instead of the countless hours of trying different clubs to find a specific trajectory and overall feel, there are ways to measure and calculate the size and style club for a player’s needs and to find the range of consistency required in a set of clubs.
Golfing technology now has sophisticated monitors that track the flight, speed, and trajectory of the ball while it is in the air. This enables fitters to match the right clubs for each unique player.
All the club’s measurements and unique aspects are fitted to the player and are matched to the rest of the clubs in the set.
This provides a set of personalized golf clubs that have been consistent with each other as well as to the player’s style and measurements.
More and more players are realizing the effect fitting can have on creating a uniform, consistent, and predictable distance gap between clubs in a set. This gives golfers a better understanding of their clubs and more guaranteed results based on their selections.
All shafts are accurately matched to perform in a reliable manner, which improves dispersion too.
Golf is a growing sport, and with many people jumping into the meticulous world of golf, customized golf clubs are becoming the new norm. Off-the-shelf clubs might work for a once-off golfing experience, but for a player with any longer-term golfing intentions, fitted clubs are becoming non-negotiable.
Different skill levels of golf will require different aspects of the fitting. Certain aspects are not as crucial in the beginning stages as in the more advanced stages of playing golf.
Club fitting is becoming an intricate part of golf with fewer reasons not to get fitted.
Fitting For Beginners
When starting to learn to play golf, a beginner’s motions are not consistent, but they do often have a “”baseline”” action that fitters can work with.
Beginner fittings will usually involve the following aspects:
- Length. Helps develop a repeatable swing by putting the player in an athletic posture based on their measurements.
- Lie Angle. This enables the golf club to move through the turf in the most consistent manner possible and helps enhance their ability to counter their miss tendencies.
- Head Model. Choosing a head model for the club that is the most accommodating for their tendencies.
- Shaft Flex. To maximize distance output and consistency, beginners must have the correct shaft weight and flex.
- Grip. Selecting the correct grip size based on the most common weather conditions the player will play in, and their hand size and style will enhance their growth rate and skills development.
Club fitting gives a player a set of clubs that work for their body type and beginner tendencies that provides a solid platform to begin lessons and practice improving their golfing skills.
Club Fitting For An Average Golfer
Most average golfers have not given much thought to getting their clubs fitted, and some haven’t even had the beginner fittings. Many average golfers get frustrated with the slow rate of their skill growth and do not give themselves a fair chance by getting the necessary fittings to push them to the next level.
These are the added aspects of fitting that average golfers should consider:
- Basic Fitting. Once the player starts learning how to play and outgrowing their initial fitting, the player will want to adjust their fittings for a more personalized one. This will give the necessary adjustments to start increasing their skill level and consistency with their clubs.
- Head Design Bias. Once the player has more playing experience, they will develop preferences for specific designs or styles of clubs and heads. These preferences start to define the likes and dislikes of the player that help shape the type of fittings to explore.
- Feels From The Clubs. Another aspect of defining which clubs a player enjoys more will be the “”feel”” and acoustics of different clubs. This will add to the selection process that begins to make up the right set of clubs for the player.
- Attention To Shaft Details. Analyzing the player’s overall ball-flight and shot patterns help determine whether to fit them into heavier, lighter, stiffer, or softer shafts. This is easier at this point because the player will have developed their tendencies and not just a “”baseline”” action.
- Set Make-Up. Most fitters will have a good idea based on your fitting aspects as to what clubs should be in your set; however, most average golfers will have their idea by this point as to what they prefer. The fitting process helps a player understand their tendencies and needs better which helps them make better club selections for their set.
Golf Club Fitting For Advanced Golfers
By the time a player is advanced in their skill level, the aim of considering club fitting is to personalize the tools that the player uses.
Most advanced players have a particularly good idea of how they play and what their tendencies are. Fine-tuning their tools helps them stay sharp and to continue bettering their skills and scores.
Advanced players look for ways to fill in any gaps in their game and help minimize weaknesses or poor shots. This is where fitting helps to make the necessary adjustments.
Many professional golfers are only now discovering the benefits of regular club fitting as players progress in the game. Many professionals had club fittings at beginner and intermediate levels. Still, they never realized the benefits of getting fitted at a professional level.
More advanced players are discovering the advantages of getting fitted even after many years of experience and playing time. There are always adjustments that can match the player’s growth, which helps bring more consistency to the player’s game.
Aspects of Fitting that Advanced Golfers can consider:
- More Personalized FitSpecial Touches or Adjustments
- Changing The Settings of The Driver
When Is Golf Club Fitting Not Important?
Often people enter fundraising events or social events like golf days with no intentions of taking up golf as a serious sport or pursuing it further.
Golf club fitting would not be of any benefit to someone who is playing once-off or even a few times a year. For fitting to be worthwhile, it should be to help enhance and enable a player’s growth and technique who are working towards a more advanced golfing experience.
The extra costs required to pay a fitter and purchase the fitted clubs will not be worth it for a player who is not committing to regular practice and playing time.
Beginners should spend a few sessions trying out the sport before going for club fitting to make sure they enjoy the sport and desire to be intentional in bettering their abilities.
Golf club fitting is for the committed golfers!
Conclusion
Golf club fitting is becoming an integral part of the sport at all levels of the game. Even from beginner level, teachers are partnering with fitters to develop the correct equipment and lesson strategies for students based on their beginner motions and early tendencies.
Fitters are now involved from the early stages of learning to play to the advanced professional levels, where the smallest adjustments are helping professional golfers bring more consistency and growth to their game.
There are fewer reasons and arguments as to why not to get fitted other than for casual golfers. Still, for the committed, it is proving to be a valuable and important part of the game!
