Opinion & Analysis
The differences between good and bad club fitters—and they’re not what you think
Club fitting is still a highly debated topic, with many golfers continuing to believe they’re just not good enough to be fit. That couldn’t be further from the truth, but it’s a topic for another day.
Once you have decided to invest in your game and equipment, however, the next step is figuring out where to get fit, and working with a fitter. You see, unlike professionals in other industries, club fitting “certification” is still a little like the wild west. While there are certification courses and lesson modules from OEMs on how to fit their specific equipment, from company to company, there is still some slight variance in philosophy.
Then there are agnostic fitting facilities that work with a curated equipment matrix from a number of manufacturers. Some have multiple locations all over the country and others might only have a few smaller centralized locations in a particular city. In some cases, you might even be able to find single-person operations.
So how do you separate the good from the bad? This is the million-dollar question for golfers looking to get fit. Unless you have experience going through a fitting before or have a base knowledge about fitting, it can feel like an intimidating process. This guide is built to help you ask the right questions and pay attention to the right things to make sure you are getting the most out of your fitting.
The signs of a great fitter
- Launch monitor experience: Having some type of launch monitor certification isn’t a requirement but being able to properly understand the interpret parameters is! A good fitter should be able to explain the parameters they are using to help get the right clubs and understand how to tweak specs to help you get optimized. The exact labeling may vary depending on the type of launch monitor but they all mostly provide the same information….Here is an example of what a fitter should be looking for in an iron fitting: “The most important parameter in an iron fitting”
- Communication skills: Being able to explain why and how changes are being made is a telltale sign your fitter is knowledgeable—it should feel like you are learning something along the way. Remember, communication is a two-way street so also being a good listener is another sign your working with a good fitter.
- Transparency: This involves things like talking about price, budgets, any brand preferences from the start. This prevents getting handed something out of your price range and wasting swings during your fit.
- A focus on better: Whether it be hitting it further and straighter with your driver or hitting more greens, the fitting should be goal-orientated. This means looking at all kinds of variables to make sure what you are getting is actually better than your current clubs. Having a driver you hit 10 yards farther isn’t helpful if you don’t know where it’s going….A great fitter that knows their stuff should quickly be able to narrow down potential options to 4-5 and then work towards optimizing from there.
- Honesty and respect: These are so obvious, I shouldn’t even have to put it on the list. I want to see these traits from anybody in a sales position when working with customers that are looking to them for knowledge and information…If you as the golfer is only seeing marginal gains from a new product or an upgrade option, you should be told that and given the proper information to make an informed decision. The great fitters, and I’ve worked with a lot of them, will be quick to tell a golfer, “I don’t think we’re going to beat (X) club today, maybe we should look at another part of your bag where you struggle.” This kind of interaction builds trust and in the end results in happy golfers and respected fitters.
The signs of a bad fitter
- Pushing an agenda: This can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Whether it be a particular affinity towards certain brands of clubs or even shafts. If you talk to players that have all been to the same fitter and their swings and skill levels vary yet the clubs or brands of shafts they end up with (from a brand agnostic facility) seem to be eerily similar it might be time to ask questions.
- Poor communications: As you are going through the fitting process and warming up you should feel like you’re being interviewed as a way to collect data and help solve problems in your game. This process helps create a baseline of information for your fitter. If you are not experiencing that, or your fitter isn’t explaining or answering your questions directly, then there is a serious communication problem, or it could show lack of knowledge depth when it comes to their ability.
- Lack of transparency: If you feel like you’re not getting answers to straightforward questions or a fitter tells you “not to worry about it” then that is a big no-no from me.
Side note: It is my opinion that golfers should pay for fittings, and in a way consider it a knowledge-gathering session. Of course, the end goal for the golfer is to find newer better fitting clubs, and for the fitter to sell you them (let’s be real here), but you should never feel the information is not being shared openly. - Pressure sales tactics: It exists in every industry, I get it, but if you pay for your fitting you are paying for information, use it to your advantage. You shouldn’t feel pressured to buy, and it’s always OK to seek out a knowledgeable second opinion (knowledgeable being a very key word in that sentence!). If you are getting the hard sell or any combination of the traits above, there is a good chance you’re not working with the right fitter for you.
Final thoughts
Great fitters with great reputations and proper knowledge have long lists, even waiting lists, of golfers waiting to see them. The biggest sign of a great fitter is a long list of repeat customers.
Golf is a game that can be played for an entire lifetime, and just like with teachers and swing coaches, the good ones are in it for the long haul to help you play better and build a rapport—not just sell you the latest and greatest (although we all like new toys—myself included) because they can make a few bucks.
Trust your gut, and ask questions!
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In my last post, I explained the basic performance dynamics of “smash factor” and “gear effect” as they apply to your wedges and your wedge play success. If you missed that post, you can read it here.
At the end of that post, I promised “part 2” of this discussion of what makes a wedge work the way it does. So, let’s dive into the other two components of any wedge – the shaft and the grip.
It’s long been said that the shaft is “the engine of the golf club.” The shaft (and grip) are your only connection to all the technologies that are packed into the head of any golf club, whether it be a driver, fairway, hybrid, iron, wedge or even putter.
And you cannot ignore those two components of your wedges if your goal is optimizing your performance.
I’ve long been an advocate of what I call a “seamless transition” from your irons into your wedges, so that the feel and performance do not disconnect when you choose a gap wedge, for example, instead of your iron-set-matching “P-club.” In today’s golf equipment marketplace, more and more golfers are making the investment of time and money to experience an iron fitting, going through trial and error and launch monitor measuring to get just the right shaft in their irons.
But then so many of those same golfers just go into a store and choose wedges off the retail display, with no similar science involved at all. And that’s why I see so many golfers with a huge disconnect between their custom-fitted irons, often with lighter and/or softer graphite or light steel shafts . . . and their off-the-rack wedges with the stock stiff steel ‘wedge flex’ shaft common to those stock offerings.
If your wedge shafts are significantly heavier and stiffer than the shafts in your irons, it is physically impossible for you to make the same swing. Period.
To quickly improve your wedge play, one of the first things you can do is have your wedges re-shafted with the same or similar shaft that is in your irons.
There’s another side of that shaft weight equation; if you don’t have the forearm and hand strength of a PGA Tour professional, you simply cannot “handle” the same weight shaft that those guys play to master the myriad of ‘touch shots’ around the greens.
Now, let’s move on to the third and other key component of your wedges – the grips. If those are not similar in shape and feel to the grips on your irons, you have another disconnect. Have your grips checked by a qualified golf club professionals to make sure you are in sync there.
The one caveat to that advice is that I am a proponent of a reduced taper in your wedge grips – putting two to four more layers of tape under the lower hand, or selecting one of the many reduced taper grips on the market. That accomplishes two goals for your scoring.
First, it helps reduce overactive hands in your full and near-full wedge swings. Quiet hands are key to good wedge shots.
And secondly, it provides a more consistent feel of the wedge in your hands as you grip down for those shorter and more delicate shots around the greens. And you should always grip down as you get into those touch shots. I call it “getting closer to your work.”
So, if you will spend as much time selecting the shafts and grips for your wedges as you do choosing the brand, model, and loft of them, your scoring range performance will get better.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: What really makes a wedge work? Part 1
- The Wedge Guy: The easiest-to-learn golf basic
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s 2024 Wells Fargo Championship betting preview: Tommy Fleetwood ready to finally land maiden PGA Tour title
The PGA Tour season ramps back up this week for another “signature event,” as golf fans look forward to the year’s second major championship next week.
After two weaker-field events in the Zurich Classic and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, most of the best players in the world will head to historic Quail Hollow for one of the best non-major tournaments of the year.
Last season, Wyndham Clark won the event by four shots.
Quail Hollow is a par-71 measuring 7,521 yards that features Bermudagrass greens. The tree-lined, parkland style course can play quite difficult and features one of the most difficult three-hole stretches in golf known as “The Green Mile,” which makes up holes 16-18: two mammoth par 4s and a 221-yard par 3. All three holes have an average score over par, and water is in play in each of the last five holes on the course.
The field is excellent this week with 68 golfers teeing it up without a cut. All of the golfers who’ve qualified are set to tee it up, with the exception of Scottie Scheffler, who is expecting the birth of his first child.
Past Winners at Quail Hollow
- 2023: Wyndham Clark (-19)
- 2022: Max Homa (-8)
- 2021: Rory McIlroy (-10)
- 2019: Max Homa (-15)
- 2018: Jason Day (-12)
- 2017: Justin Thomas (-8) (PGA Championship)
- 2016: James Hahn (-9)
- 2015: Rory McIlroy (-21)
Key Stats For Quail Hollow
Strokes Gained: Approach
Strokes gained: Approach will be extremely important this week as second shots at Quail Hollow can be very difficult.
Total SG: Approach Over Past 24 Rounds
- Akshay Bhatia (+1.16)
- Tom Hoge (+1.12)
- Corey Conners (+1.01)
- Shane Lowry (+0.93)
- Austin Eckroat (+0.82)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Quail Hollow is a long course on which it is important to play from the fairway. Both distance and accuracy are important, as shorter tee shots will result in approach shots from 200 or more yards. With most of the holes heavily tree lined, errant drives will create some real trouble for the players.
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee Past 24 Rounds:
- Ludvig Aberg (+0.73)
- Rory McIlroy (+0.69)
- Xander Schauffele (+0.62)
- Viktor Hovland (+0.58)
- Chris Kirk (+0.52)
Proximity: 175-200
The 175-200 range is key at Quail Hollow. Players who can hit their long irons well will rise to the top of the leaderboard.
Proximity: 175-200+ over past 24 rounds:
- Cameron Young (28’2″)
- Akshay Bhatia (29’6″)
- Ludvig Aberg (+30’6″)
- Sam Burns (+30’6″)
- Collin Morikawa (+30’9″)
SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs
Players who thrive on Tom Fazio designs get a bump for me at Quail Hollow this week.
SG: Total on Tom Fazio Designs over past 36 rounds:
- Patrick Cantlay (+2.10)
- Rory McIlroy (+1.95)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+1.68)
- Austin Eckroat (+1.60)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.57)
Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)
Strokes Gained: Putting has historically graded out as the most important statistic at Quail Hollow. While it isn’t always predictable, I do want to have it in the model to bump up golfers who prefer to putt on Bermudagrass.
Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass) Over Past 24 Rounds:
- Taylor Moore (+0.82)
- Nick Dunlap (+.76)
- Wyndham Clark (+.69)
- Emiliano Grillo (+.64)
- Cam Davis (+.61)
Course History
This stat will incorporate players that have played well in the past at Quail Hollow.
Course History over past 36 rounds (per round):
- Rory McIlroy (+2.50)
- Justin Thomas (+1.96)
- Jason Day (+1.92)
- Rickie Fowler (+1.83)
- Viktor Hovland (+1.78)
Wells Fargo Championship Model Rankings
Below, I’ve compiled overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed — SG: Approach (27%), SG: Off the Tee (23%), SG: Total on Fazio designs (12%), Proximity: 175-200 (12%), SG: Putting Bermuda grass (12%), and Course History (14%).
- Wyndham Clark
- Rory McIlroy
- Xander Schauffele
- Shane Lowry
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Viktor Hovland
- Cameron Young
- Austin Eckroat
- Byeong Hun An
- Justin Thomas
2024 Wells Fargo Championship Picks
Tommy Fleetwood +2500 (DraftKings)
I know many out there have Tommy fatigue when it comes to betting, which is completely understandable given his lack of ability to win on the PGA Tour thus far in his career. However, history has shown us that players with Fleetwood’s talent eventually break though, and I believe for Tommy, it’s just a matter of time.
Fleetwood has been excellent on Tom Fazio designs. Over his past 36 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on Fazio tracks. He’s also been incredibly reliable off the tee this season. He’s gained strokes in the category in eight of his past nine starts, including at The Masters, the PLAYERS and the three “signature events” of the season. Tommy is a golfer built for tougher courses and can grind it out in difficult conditions.
Last year, Fleetwood was the first-round leader at this event, firing a Thursday 65. He finished the event in a tie for 5th place.
For those worried about Fleetwood’s disappointing start his last time out at Harbour Town, he’s bounced back nicely after plenty of poor outings this season. His T7 at the Valero Texas Open was after a MC and T35 in his prior two starts and his win at the Dubai Invitational came after a T47 at the Sentry.
I expect Tommy to bounce back this week and contend at Quail Hollow.
Justin Thomas +3000 (DraftKings)
It’s been a rough couple of years for Justin Thomas, but I don’t believe things are quite as bad as they seem for JT. He got caught in the bad side of the draw at Augusta for last month’s Masters and has gained strokes on approach in seven of his nine starts in 2024.
Thomas may have found something in his most recent start at the RBC Heritage. He finished T5 at a course that he isn’t the best fit for on paper. He also finally got the putter working and ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting for the week.
The two-time PGA champion captured the first of his two major championships at Quail Hollow back in 2017, and some good vibes from the course may be enough to get JT out of his slump.
Thomas hasn’t won an event in just about two years. However, I still believe that will change soon as he’s been one of the most prolific winners throughout his PGA Tour career. Since 2015, he has 15 PGA Tour wins.
Course history is pretty sticky at Quail Hollow, with players who like the course playing well there on a regular basis. In addition to JT’s PGA Championship win in 2017, he went 4-1 at the 2022 Presidents Cup and finished T14 at the event last year despite being in poor form. Thomas can return as one of the top players on the PGA Tour with a win at a “signature event” this week.
Cameron Young +3500 (DraftKings)
For many golf bettors, it’s been frustrating backing Cam Young this season. His talent is undeniable, and one of the best and most consistent performers on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t broken through with a victory yet. Quail Hollow has been a great place for elite players to get their first victory. Rory McIlroy, Anthony Kim, Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark all notched their first PGA Tour win at Quail.
Throughout Cam Young’s career, he has thrived at tougher courses with strong fields. This season, he finished T16 at Riviera and T9 at Augusta National, demonstrating his preference of a tough test. His ability to hit the ball long and straight off the tee make him an ideal fit for Quail Hollow, despite playing pretty poorly his first time out in 2023 (T59). Young should be comfortable playing in the region as he played his college golf at Wake Forest, which is about an hour’s drive from Quail Hollow.
The 26-year-old has played well at Tom Fazio designs in the past and ranks 8th in the field in Strokes Gained: Total on those courses in his last 36 rounds. Perhaps most importantly, this season, Young is the best player on the PGA Tour in terms of proximity from 175-200 in the fairway, which is where a plurality and many crucial shots will come from this week.
Young is an elite talent and Quail Hollow has been kind to players of his ilk who’ve yet to win on Tour.
Byeong Hun An +5000 (FanDuel)
Byeong Hun An missed some opportunities last weekend at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He finished T4 and played some outstanding golf, but a couple of missed short putts prevented him from getting to the winning score of -23. Despite not getting the win, it’s hard to view An’s performance as anything other than an overwhelming success. It was An’s fourth top-ten finish of the season.
Last week, An gained 6.5 strokes ball striking, which was 7th in the field. He also ranked 12th for Strokes Gained: Approach and 13th for Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. The South Korean has been hitting the ball so well from tee to green all season long and he now heads to a golf course that should reward his precision.
An’s driver and long irons are absolute weapons. At Quail Hollow, players will see plenty of approach shots from the 175-200 range as well as some from 200+. In his past 24 rounds, Ben ranks 3rd in the field in proximity from 175-200 and 12th in proximity from 200+. Playing in an event that will not end up being a “birdie” fest should help An, who can separate from the field with his strong tee to green play. The putter may not always cooperate but getting to -15 is much easier than getting to -23 for elite ball strikers who tend to struggle on the greens.
Winning a “signature event” feels like a tall task for An this week with so many elite players in the field. However, he’s finished T16 at the Genesis Invitational, T16 at The Masters and T8 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The 32-year-old’s game has improved drastically this season and I believe he’s ready to get the biggest win of his career.
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19th Hole
Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again
After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.
Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.
Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”
Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.
“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.
Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.
“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”
“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”
As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.
In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.
“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”
Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.
Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:
Fairways Hit
1.) Louis Oosthuizen
2.) Anirban Lahiri
3.) Jon Rahm
4.) Brendan Steele
5.) Cameron Tringale
Greens in Regulation
1.) Brooks Koepka
2.) Brendan Steele
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Cameron Tringale
5.) Anirban Lahiri
Birdies Made
1.) Brendan Steele
2.) Dean Burmester
3.) Thomas Pieters
4.) Patrick Reed
5.) Carlos Ortiz
LIV Golf Individual Standings:
1.) Joaquin Niemann
2.) Jon Rahm
3.) Dean Burmester
4.) Louis Oosthuizen
5.) Abraham Ancer
LIV Golf Team Standings:
1.) Crushers
2.) Legion XIII
3.) Torque
4.) Stinger GC
5.) Ripper GC
LIV Golf Singapore Picks
Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)
Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.
This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.
Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)
Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.
This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.
It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.
Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)
Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.
Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.
Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.
Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)
Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.
Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.
If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.
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Dave Portnoy places monstrous outright bet for the 2024 Masters
Things got heated at the Houston Open between Tony Finau and Alejandro Tosti. Here’s why
Justin Thomas on the equipment choice of Scottie Scheffler that he thinks is ‘weird’
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emncaity
Feb 9, 2021 at 2:15 am
“orientated”
[giggle]
But here’s a question, and I don’t understand why it’s not asked more often: Why don’t people simply get educated about what length and lie should be for their own measurements, what kind of spin rates you’re looking for on various clubs, and what tends to produce those optimal rates (and dispersions too)? It’s not exactly rocket science. A few hours will do wonders. Why don’t people simply do that, follow a reliable fitting chart for loft and lie (and adjust from there), just buy some time on Trackman or other analyzer, and do the numbers for themselves?
phizzy
Sep 25, 2020 at 6:29 pm
I have been fit numerous times over the years starting in 2008. First fitter I went to didn’t give me the opportunity to hear my input and kept pushing certain club heads and shafts. He did play on the PGA for less than a full season as he claimed(did my research),so I thought he was credible. Boy was I wrong. He fit me into a super tri with fubuki alpha 60x and it would balloon on me with too much spin. Less than a year later I found another fitter and have been giving my business to him ever since. He was always asking for my input and never pushed products. He would give me the info from his trackman and would recommend what would best suit me. Recently, I did a driver fitting with him and walked away with a SIM Max with Ventus Black 7x tipped one inch at 45 inches. Hitting 320 total yard bombs with minimal dispersion and am very happy. A good club fitter is essential to maximizing your time out on the course.
SteveT
Sep 2, 2020 at 10:59 am
Any iron fitting I’ve experienced, either for myself or a friend, always involves using the demo 6/7 iron from any set, and this involves those often on the overrated “Top 100 Fitters List” With all this talk about proper fitting, I doubt the typical customer ever reaps the benefits of things like set gapping. I do believe a real fitting is only experienced by those privileged enough to visit an OEM performance center or similar facility.
Speedy
Aug 30, 2020 at 4:47 pm
“The biggest sign of a great fitter is a long list of repeat customers.”
I don’t think so.
BG
Aug 19, 2020 at 2:12 pm
Everyone and their dog is a fitter these days; finding a good one is indeed a challenge. What’s even more frustrating is when the custom clubs you order do not come back to the specifications for which you were fit. Frustrating when you are expecting D4, and everything comes back D2.5. I’ve struggled with OEM’s, and custom builders alike. It’s a big ball of mess out there if you ask me.
Joe Beau
Aug 18, 2020 at 10:04 am
Ok. How about providing us with a list of some qualified fitters? I haven’t heard of 1 within 100 miles of me.
Alistair Harper
Aug 17, 2020 at 3:11 pm
I’ve been fortunate to have as a best friend, one of the top fitters in the industry, Larry Bobka who has fit my clubs for decades and it makes a WORLD of difference. Over the years Larry has put people like Tiger, Phil, Adam and hundreds more pros into the best set-ups for their game. Cannot overestimate the value of a quality club fitting by a great fitter.
Peter
Aug 14, 2020 at 11:30 pm
Upgrading after 20 years, I had my heart set on some WS irons. Got measured and hit some balls. It turned out that I wasn’t up to standard for the ‘player irons’ I was hoping for. I was given 6 iclubs from different manufacturers to hit with the instruction of not looking at the names on the iron. Found my preference and walked away with a set of i200s. After 3 years, still enjoy hitting them everyday
Jack Wullkotte
Aug 14, 2020 at 3:13 pm
How come you did’t print my response to your article about club fitters?
joro
Aug 14, 2020 at 5:53 pm
That happens a lot.
joro
Aug 14, 2020 at 12:46 pm
Being a teacher and fitter myself I think about 10% of the “Fitters” are really Qualified to do a proper and good fitting. Most are guys that are given the job because they are apprentices or just a good player. As a former club maker for a Major manufacturer
and making clubs for Tour Players what they need in way of shafts, grips, lie angle, and balance, which is something that most Club Fitters overlook, the small but important stuff.
I have known my own specs for years but even so when I went to a Major Club manufaturer for a fitting as a staff member the guy who fit me who was supposed to be one of their best fitters said to me forget the past, you are over 60 so you need to go to SR. flex and lighter. I was playing stiff and heavier at the time and very well at the time. So he fit me and sent me off with 2 sets of “Expertly fitted” clubs. They were awful!!!! So I rebuilt them to my specs and they were great. That was one of the top fitters at the fitting range. Soooo, take it as you may, and never have a fitting indoors, you have see the full flight of the ball to determine what you really need.
Leftshot
Aug 14, 2020 at 11:13 am
A few things missing. How comprehensive is the fitting? Are you fit for length,lie angle, swing weigh, other shaft and head characteristics, or just offered two shafts one with an R stamped on it and one with an S. The fitting should be done with YOUR ball of choice.
Kevin Coombs, PGA
Aug 14, 2020 at 12:08 am
Properly fitted golf clubs reward and encourage the proper motion and give correct feedback for incorrect motion.
DW
Aug 13, 2020 at 6:40 pm
Can’t help but notice that the covering picture is indeed the fitting studio of the one and only TXG at Toronto…
Randy
Aug 13, 2020 at 11:19 am
FIRST TAKE SOME LESSONS!
It don’t mean a thing if you don’t have a swing.
JJ
Aug 13, 2020 at 10:09 am
Good fitter fits you for club length…bad fitter doesn’t. How many friends I have that got “fitted” but they never got fit for club length…especially in a driver fitting. I’ll just take my money and get lessons.
JThunder
Aug 13, 2020 at 1:02 am
“Experience, communication skills, transparency, a focus on better, honesty and respect”
“pushing an agenda, poor communication, lack of transparency, pressure sales tactics”
Not just a list of good/bad for golf clubfitters, is it?
Finding a good club fitter is similar to finding a good teaching pro. Some are objectively better than others; also important is finding the “right one for you”.
You may have to try a couple before you find a good fit – if you’re serious about getting fit, think of it like a test drive or a serious medical condition; you likely won’t stop at one opinion. And once you find that fitter, stick with them. Just like a good doctor, understanding your patient can be as important as understanding the medicine.
You can tinker on your own – but a really good clubfitter will gain more knowledge in a week that you will in a year, and it will be a costly year. You can also use WebMD to diagnose your own medical conditions.
Karsten's Ghost
Aug 12, 2020 at 5:47 pm
For most people, your indoor swing is not your outdoor swing. Your turf interaction is not your plastic turf interaction.
Hitting mats hide lie angle issues, promote loft, and bad balls promote spin. Cheap balls are not true flight…
If a fitter starts with bad data, they will fit you to that bad data. It doesn’t mean they’re not trying, but unless they can accurately account for variances (v unlikely), you’ll get fitting data to be a fantastic driving range king.
The worst part is you’ll go back to the range, everything will seem fine, and you’ll continue to guess at what you’re doing wrong on-course.
Doug
Aug 14, 2020 at 10:33 am
“Your indoor swing is not your outdoor swing?” Pure nonsense.
I would submit that ideally an outdoor fitting is preferable to an indoor fitting only because of visual ball flight confirmation against computer generated flight info. But an indoor fitting is completely acceptable.
juststeve
Aug 12, 2020 at 3:53 pm
I’m wondering if there is an objective standard by which to judge a fitter or the correctness of the particular fit recommended?
TacklingDummy
Aug 12, 2020 at 3:01 pm
There is a couple of metrics that I don’t think get fit well by many fitters is shaft torque and clubhead shape for drivers. A good club fitter will fit torque well based on the swing, strength/weakness, the launch numbers, etc. Well fitted torque to a swing can improve accuracy a lot without much sacrifice in distance.
Also, clubhead shape can have a substantial effect ball flight, controlling the face, and accuracy because of the different weighting. I think really good fitters know to fit a driver head shape and weighting that will fit a players swing. If a player has more/less face rotation in the swing and swing plane. Much like weighting of putters and the stroke (more face rotation-more toe hang, less face rotation-more face balanced putter).
Many golf fitters of course want to sell product. I get that. However, the not so good ones I have been to really try to keep you focusing on the the best shot you hit, rather than the best groupings. Most manufacturers do the same because they push distance more than accuracy. Personally, I want the driver that give me a tighter dispersion without too much loss in distance, not the driver I hit 15 yards longer on 1/10 and had 3/10 off the map.
While many good players can adapt to a driver, it is best to get one fit well to adapt the driver to the swing.
A. Commoner
Aug 12, 2020 at 2:25 pm
Please!! Proof reader needed.
SV
Aug 12, 2020 at 1:55 pm
Based on my experience a couple of years ago, there were a number of things missing. This was with a national fitting company. It seemed like a science experiment, try this, try that with no explanation. He kept emphasizing 1 or 2 mile per hour ball speed and better smash factor. The recommended driver didn’t carry as far and total distance was the same as my 6 year old driver. This was with a $200 upgrade shaft. Needless to say, I didn’t buy a new $800 driver.
Fitting may be recommended, but based on my experience, I can go to a big box store and experiment on my own. My preference would be to try at an outdoor range, either golf course or driving range, where you can actually see what is happening. Hopefully they would have a launch monitor, but I don’t think it is necessary.
Stephen Hodge
Aug 12, 2020 at 2:45 pm
Seeing ball flight at a driving range means nothing. You’re hitting a driving range golf ball that has probably seen thousands of hits in its lifetime. You’re also hitting outside with variables, like wind and temperature. You are subconsciously making adjustments to your swing to see the ball flight you like. The ball flight you see on the range with range balls is never the flight you see on the course with premium golf balls. Your experience with the fitting you had should not cancel out the other fitters around you or in other areas.
tom
Aug 12, 2020 at 3:05 pm
Gotta be outside.. wh said anything about range balls? A GODD fitter will use pro v1s or a comparable ball. Mats are forgiving. Turf interaction is one the most important things when getting fit for irons.
JJ
Aug 13, 2020 at 10:11 am
Goes to range and gets fitted…swings out of shoes about 40 times and gets fitted for the club that makes the fitter the most money.
DW
Aug 13, 2020 at 6:37 pm
Unfortunately the combo of outdoor and premium ball fitter is not that common. One can argue that indoor fitting while using one’s own ball may be a good “compromise”
Michele
Aug 12, 2020 at 1:54 pm
Where in Westchester ny or lower ct is a good club fitter
Eric
Aug 19, 2020 at 8:46 am
How much the player improves