Club Fitting - what does it entail?

S70B wrote:

mervyntan wrote:

chill s70B... we all know you are a moderator with a bright yellow nick... but that doesn't mean you need to use bright yellow words to make your point...

you know what you will get if you wear a bright yellow shirt on that day, JESICCA

Eh Baldy, can learn how to spell or not? Grad from LSE so yaya but simple things also get it wrong.


Me never study or attend summer school (dun give a F about the diff btw) in LSE also can spell better.

who cares whether it is JESSSSSSSSica or JESSICCCCCCCCCCCCCCCA? KNN! lah

grad from LSE BIG F ah u? this kind of LanJiao school of ejaculation also want to grad.. KNN! u lah

.....and we're back to the topic of clubfitting.

Find a swing you can repeat, then get fitted.

Amen.

S70B wrote:

Find a swing you can repeat, then get fitted.

Easier said than done, but I definitely agree. There's little point in getting fitted when your swing is inconsistent. While consistency is the goal of all golfers, it's not easy to achieve. That said, when you have some consistency which comes from learning and regular playing, then opt for fitting. Doing so before may only mean that you're getting yourself fitted for a swing which is more likely (than not) to change.

DGman wrote:

Dear All,

Mr Mark Higgs just called me and wish to clarify that his son Ben who is back home for the school holidays has without his dad's knowledge begin posting his views on club fitting.

i am sure we can all understand that young Ben (AXIV) is an enthusiastic young man who is trying to express what he have learn from the manuals, books and watching from the sidelines. please excuse him for his posting and do not take it to heart as it is not coming from Mark's view on club fitting versus swing coaching.

we hope to hear from Ben about how he plays to a low single handicap and about his engineering course in Australia. who knows, he might be able to bring some of us out when we visit down-under.

I hope this will end all the controversy surrounding this post and we hope Ben will have a safe journey back to Australia soon.

Have a great day everyone...

DGman

After re-reading this thread, I guess we have all been a little emo with young Ben.

Nevertheless, I am sure he will have a very bright future if he decides to follow his dad's footsteps in becoming a pro or partaking in the golfing business.

He already has the utmost support of a couple of clubfitters here in Singapore already. One who agrees wholeheartedly with his points despite the rest of us arguing with him.

I hope that we will have more fruitful postings from AXIV in future. He can also relate to us what studying and golfing is like in Canberra when he returns.

I hope to read more of AXIV's posts and contributions too. And I kinda agree with most of his opinions on this topic.

Same here. That said, it's fair to say that a properly fitted club will benefit a better player more. But for a beginner, it does not hurt to play something that isn't too heavy or too stiff to handle and have the proper grip size on their clubs. At least the basic requirements would be helpful.

AXIV wrote:

DGman wrote:

proper club fitting can only come about after the golfer have developed a more definite swing. it is therefore correct to say that the swing must be in order before the club can be fitted.

what does club fitting entail? if a golfer is fairly competent in his or her swing but find that there is a lack of confidence in his or her equipment or that the result in their good strike is falling short of expectations, they should talk to a club fitter - have a swing analysis and their equipment evaluated.

if they are hitting straight one third of the time and left and right the other 60% of the time, they should see a qualified teaching pro not a club fitter.

this message is a constant reminder that a club fitter cannot solve a problem thats inherited in a swing. if we do, its only a temporary fix and not a permanent cure.

DGman

The golf club creates the motion the player makes. If a player is not swinging well it comes back to the equipment he is using. A good fitter who has good teaching abilities will give the golfer a club or clubs that reward him when he makes a good swing in to balance. It is the fitters job to help the player to evaluate their own balnce during a fitting and after they receive their new clubs. The player must walk away from the fitting knowing that he or she can maintain balance during each golf swing.
therefore it takes:
1.precision fitting method
2. a fitting professional schooled in swing analysis, club science and precision fitting
3. quality clubs individually constucted.

good teaching professionals know that the equipment students play with either hinder or make it possible to learn a good motion into balance.

Wow...this post is pure gold.

Most of the fitters that I know do not understand the concept of shaft flex and as a result recommend stiffer shafts to make up for a high launch angle caused by a forward flexing shaft.

Most of them also do not realise that swingers and hitters need to be fitted differently. Swingers have to have their shaft flex precisely fixed as they are trying to unload the shaft flex into the ball whereas Hitters who hold it throught impact can basically use anything.

yeah it's great he actually has an opinion you know? if he's just blindly accepting whatever people say is the 'gospel truth', then he wouldn't be very different would he? in fact i'm sure every one that was ever determined to succeed in life had an opinion that he swore by and stuck to. so kudos to him for that.

hmmm did i make sense? hahaha

True. AXIV made good points. He's also confident enough to present them here. All of us have an opinion and personally, I don't think there is anything to be sorry about. Plus, whether he is back in SG or going back to Canberra, I sure hope he continues to present his take on club fitting or golf in general.

I like this part the best "equipment students play with either hinder or make it possible to learn a good motion into balance."

Most brands offer some kind of custom fitting to varying degrees. So if one is buying a set, might as well have them fitted by a professional.

actually when Mark callled me, he said Ben wasn't making a lot of sense cos he was quoting from manuals.

so the point was get fitted and the golfer will find the swing or find the swing then get fitted....that was the question.

2 wrongs don't make a right.

DGman

my 2 cents.... i dont think once the golfer is fitted he or she will find the swing.. even if one is fitted properly, the swing can be lost... look at some PGA Touring Pros.

my humble take is this, knowing the correct length and flex helps but once your swing has stabilized, then go for proper fitting, the works... please don't shoot me, i'm only a humble golfer...

Just like golf instruction, club fitting should be tiered.
I do believe that beginners ought to be fitted to a certain extent.
Advanced players ought to be fitted for an optimized game.
If the clubfitter you are seeing is a 'bush' clubfitter who
fits by *shudder* 'feel', time to ditch him.
You won't ever convince that your eyes can see what a 115mph
swing does to a shaft.

I also not convince that we can see people swing at 115mph day in day out. SO if anybody can swing at that speed, please let me know and I would like to experienced it. But nevertheless, I just feel that there are two groups with different school of thoughts here. One thing i also remembered is the ability of the beginner to adapt to the club he or she is using. I remember when I was being taught the game of golf, I was using my dads club. I do not know the lie or the specs of the shaft so at that time, its justs adapt to the club you being provided. Its was difficult at first but i learn to get accustom to it, and when I got a more consistent swing, it became easier.

So my word as a social golfer to those who wants to learn, practise your swing first and get fitted later on to make your game easier.

True shotah, but beginners playing with too heavy/ light clubs
are a problem. I should edit my post and change 115 to 90.

The Golfing Machine wrote:

Just like golf instruction, club fitting should be tiered.
I do believe that beginners ought to be fitted to a certain extent.
Advanced players ought to be fitted for an optimized game.
If the clubfitter you are seeing is a 'bush' clubfitter who
fits by *shudder* 'feel', time to ditch him.
You won't ever convince that your eyes can see what a 115mph
swing does to a shaft.

Bro Shotah...TGM observation is correct.

there are beginners who do need to get fitted. i have fitted irons that are 1 3/4 longer for beginners and even extend a children club for a female golfer. if there is a physical contraint, they do need to be fitted to help them get started.

i also think that the 115 mph is to illustrate a superlative. it really funny in my business to note that the guys swinging at 105 mph wants to get to 120 mph and the guys swing at 120 mph wants to come down to 110 mph for a more sustainable swing to last several days of competitive golf.

there is also the question of Bang Factor and most who have gotten analysed on a launch monitor will realise that a higher Bang Factor will result in a better distance and accuracy. so club head speed is not all that matters.

and having a launch monitor is key to getting the right reading versus using the eyes to evaluate.

DGman

World class post DGMan...