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Indoor vs. outdoor fitting: Which one is better?
Indoor vs. outdoor club fittings are one of the most highly contested arguments among golfers. All things being equal, both should yield the same results although the experiences are vastly different.
Whichever option you choose, you can be assured that both fitting types offer the ability to confirm results and ensure a proper fit, thanks to the advancement of club and ball tracking systems like Foresight’s GC Quad and TrackMan.
We have compiled a comparison of some of the biggest differences to help you figure out which option is best for you.
A controlled environment
From a customer perspective, being able to hit shots in a controlled environment offers the best opportunity to eliminate variables and quickly get down to finding out which clubs will offer the best results. This is especially helpful in climates where being outdoors in extreme heat or cold will have a huge effect on a golfers performance. Another plus for golfers is every amenity is within reach, from bathrooms to snacks, allowing you to focus on the experience and making good swings.
On the business side of things, having an indoor facility means fitters don’t have to rely on nice weather to be able to do fittings and allows them to operate a consistent schedule to meet the needs of golfers year-round.
In my opinion, the best of both worlds is a facility that offers the ability to hit from inside a controlled environment to an outdoor range, but that requires a lot of property and isn’t a viable option, especially in urban areas.
Hitting off mats vs. grass
This is the component that creates the most discussion when comparing indoor to outdoor fittings.
Depending on the golfer and the type of mat used there can be some variance in data, especially when it comes to shots hit fat (hitting the ground before the ball). In that situation, a mat is much more forgiving than real grass, but a good fitter can still go through the process, analyze data, and help the golfer find the best club combo.
Moral of the story would be the mat CAN play a role, firm mats will cause the ball to launch lower and spin higher due to lower strike location. Softer Mats will do the opposite launch higher with less spin. Therefore with some due diligence a very similar surface can be found.
– Ian Fraser, Founder TXG
Mat quality plays a big role in this argument, but as demonstrated below by the team at TXG a great quality mat offers identical results to real grass
.
Ball flight vs. screen
When it comes to seeing ball flight vs. a representation on a screen it comes down to the individual golfer. Be rest assured that when using properly calibrated technology the differences in clubs being represented inside will be exactly the same outside since any launch monitor is simply interpreting the data it collects.
From a golfer’s perspective, it can take some getting used to if you have never gone through an indoor fitting before, and seeing ball flight can be a confidence booster. On the other side of the coin, having conducted fitting both inside and outside I will attest that when working in a situation where a golfer can see ball flight, whether hitting off a mat or not, fittings generally go a little quicker since its easier to confirm results.
What about wedges?
Beyond mats vs. grass, the next big debate topic is wedges.
There are a number of ways to conduct wedge fittings and for highly skilled players to truly figure out what will work best, I believe it is vital to conduct them outside. The difficult part is replicating the course conditions of where the golfer generally plays but through the interview and fitting process, a highly skilled fitter can make adjustments for the player.
For what I would call the vast majority of golfers, hitting shots inside using a launch monitor as well as going through the process with a skilled fitter can still result is a great wedge fitting. The most important part of this process like with any fitting is being completely honest with yourself and your fitter about your strengths and weaknesses.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Morning 9: Aberg: I want to be No. 1 | Rory’s management blasts ‘fake news’ reports
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Jay
Sep 30, 2020 at 10:35 am
As a former full-time fitter I firmly believe there is no problem with fitting indoors, but you MUST verify what you’re seeing indoors with some final testing outdoors. Players deliver the club differently and have different speed indoors vs/ out and even on-course compared to on the range. A good fitter is aware of these differences and will factor it all in (including the impact of the mat vs. grass) during the process.
joro
Sep 30, 2020 at 10:30 am
Outdoors! Sure, indoors is good but Golf is not played in a controlled environment. Outdoors on grass is the only way to see what the results are. You can hit all kinds of shots into the wind, downwind, etc and see the actual results. That is my opinion as a teacher and fitter for 30 years.
Butch Taylor
Sep 30, 2020 at 10:07 am
I am very suspicious of golf fitting results! I generally hit the driver that they want to sell me 15 – 20 yards longer during the fitting than my current gamer – that gain never materializes in the real world! I have been fitted by specialty fitters, PGA pros, big box stores, etc. I no longer trust any of them!
Richard Gula
Sep 30, 2020 at 9:53 am
NEVER get fit for forged irons solely on mats. Impossible to get true feel of the irons designed to impact turf and ball, not just the ball.