There is no greater moment of truth for club fitting than when the golfer’s club impacts the ball — as any golfer’s look of exhilaration or grimace of frustration will attest. And while we’ve all seen our share of funky swings, it’s important to remember that the clubs can have as much, if not more, effect on the shot’s outcome as the golfer does.
Most golfers aren’t looking to play professionally. A custom fitting is important to ensure the player is using the correct weight, length, shafts, grips, and loft and lie angles. If you are working with a golf instructor, they should frequently evaluate your equipment as your swing improves. A custom fitting will often result in better performance, more confidence, and a lot more enjoyment of the game.
Imagine buying a suit off the rack with no alterations. It might fit you in general, but until you tailor it to your body type and get it to the right length, you’ll probably not be using it much. In the same way, a custom club fitting tailors a golfer’s clubs to their specific specifications. Club fitting professionals utilize a launch monitor, a shaft frequency meter, angle machine, grip station, and other small measuring tools for this new fitting experience. The process is designed to improve the performance of a golfer’s existing clubs.
Launch Technology
The technology incorporated in launch monitors matches club performance (size, face angle, loft, and lie machine) to shaft performance (length, flex, weight, bend point, and frequency) and grip with a ball. The desired result is a ball impact that produces the highest ball speed launched at the optimum angle with the appropriate spin rate. In short, it’s an ideal ball flight.
Bringing all these variables together can positively and significantly impact a golfer’s swing, and it typically doesn’t require a complete overhaul. One experienced golf professional at Mitchell Golf made incremental changes to his swing by tweaking his irons to get everything time-tuned. The resulting gradual changes brought huge benefits. How small? He adjusted his lie angle by ½ of a degree.
More golfers want to be in the know
Club fitting has progressed into a new trend that is growing daily because today’s golfers are demanding the same advantage of matching club head, shaft, grip, and ball as tour pros receive from club manufacturers.
Ill-fitting clubs can negatively affect a player’s mechanics and even cause injury. And as a golfer’s body changes, so do their swing mechanics. Custom fitting corrects these shortcomings in a golfer’s clubs by matching a player’s physical attributes, swing patterns, and personal style of play.
