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Finally getting a fitting

Nippon Shafts
kenh

kenh

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Albatross 2024 Club
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Dec 11, 2011
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Location
Middle-of, CT
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short game
I just made a reservation to have a full fitting at a GolfTEC center near me this coming Friday. I've never had a fitting before and want to make sure that I have clubs which are right for me. I've been happy with my current bag but I like the idea of a brand-agnostic fitting process as the next step.

Also, the cost is lower than I expected it to be!

I'm really looking forward to this and will post back with how it went afterwards.

Ken
 
Relax and enjoy it mate.

Don't try and do anything fancy, just play your normal swing and let the fitter do the rest for you. This is one move your not going to regret because for me this was the single best thing I did with my last 2 sets of irons and now I wouldn't even consider buying a set of irons that were not fitted for me.
 
It will be a great experience for you.
 
Just got back from my fitting. Definitely a very interesting and educational experience.

After warming up for a bit, they took measurements for grip size and club length plus testing lie angle with the tape and board procedure. Then the fun part started.

The fitting process is to hit five shots with a launch monitor using a control club, which are captured by their system. After reviewing the data, GolfTEC then suggests three current clubs that seem to suit my swing characteristics. We did the procedure twice - first for irons, then again for the driver. I went in with an open mind club-wise and asked that no preference be given to any particular brand, though you could request this if you like.

The results were captured in two very detailed reports, which GolfTEC apparently emailed to me before I had even left the parking lot!


Some interesting things I learned about me:

* Irons need to be 1" longer than standard and 1 degree upright to fit me properly because, apparently, my arms are not as long as they should be for my height (6'2"). This explains why I always feel like I'm hunched over the ball with my stock clubs! Measurements also confirmed that I need midsize grips, which I had already figured out.

* My club speed averaged 68 MPH with my current 6 iron and 92.8 with my driver. I was hoping to see better speeds here -- but it is what it is. Those numbers plus a slightly-above-average swing tempo means that I need regular flex steel shafts.


On the irons, after creating a control data set with my current 6i, GolfTEC's system recommended that I try the Adams V4 (hybrid version), the Mizuno JPX-800 Pro (which is being replaced by the the 825 and/or 800HD apparently) and a TMAG RocketBladez.

TMAG is not kidding about distance with the Rocketbladez -- my average was 19 yards longer than with my current clubs (173 versus 154). The best with the Bladez was 179 yards, which is just crazy for me with a 6i. Wow! However, accuracy and distance control was not great. The Adams V4's were disappointing. While the data shows that they placed between the others distance and accuracy-wise, we had to throw away a few mishits to get five good ones to use for the analysis and they didn't feel right to me. The JPX-800 felt very smooth and had both good accuracy and distance control. With the Mizuno, five swings was all it took to get five good balls and I think that means a lot all by itself. I also really liked the slightly bottom-heavy feel. Winner: Mizuno pondering!


On drivers, we compared my Adams FAST 12 (which I shortened by 1.25" last year to get better control) to the Adams Speedline Tech, a Rocketballz stage 2 and a TMAG R1. All four drivers were 9.5 degree loft. The Speedline Tech was the clear winner in distance including a 272 yard bomb, which is probably a personal best. It also had a near-perfect launch angle (matching the F12) and very good accuracy. The Stage 2 was the best for accuracy in the reported results but, like the Adams V4 irons, we had to throw away 3 or 4 hits because it was hard for me to control so that's not a truly accurate result. The R1 felt too heavy and I didn't like it, though the data shows that it placed between the other two overall.

Overall, the Speedline Tech was the winner on performance with my current driver a pretty close second. Except for a distance penalty of about 10 yards or so that probably came from shortening the shaft, the FAST 12 is doing fine for me so I'm sticking with it. This might be worth revisiting later, however. Winner: The FAST 12 remains in the bag, with the Speedline Tech in 2nd.


Overall, this was a great experience. I learned a lot and really like GolfTEC's data-driven approach to finding what's best for me. The people at GolfTEC were great.

Unfortunately, there's no GolfTEC location in Connecticut (why not??) so the location I visited in Rhode Island is too far away for me to make visiting them a frequent occurrence.

Cheers,

Ken
 
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That's awesome! Sounds like a good visit! Always nice to know what you're looking for. Mizzy makes some great irons. Did you get a chance to hit the JPX-825s? Those were pretty sweet when I hit them at my fitting...
 
They selected the JPX-800 for me based on my swing and handicap so that's what I hit.

I think the 825's are targeted at people with lower handicaps than mine. It might be interesting to compare them though.

[ Edit : This is wrong - the 825's are targeted at my handicap range. I was confusing them with the 825 Pro which is for aimed at mid to low handicappers. ]
 
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Ken I like this review thanks for posting it. Sounds like you learned quite a bit about your game and your equipment. Like you, there is no golftec near me so I'd have to make a trip down to white plains to get this done. I might just do it someday though.
 
Something that I forgot to mention is that that GolfTEC also recommended balls for me to use as well, which was unexpected.

The test ball for the fitting was a TMAG Burner TP and they recommended the Top-Fiite D2 distance plus the Nike PD Long and PD High. I wonder if their ball-recommendation calculations are a bit out of date.

I'm sticking with my Q-stars, though.

Ken
 
Great review, man. The JPX-800s are pretty sweet.

I'm going in for a fitting soon. As someone who has been through the process, anything you would recommend before going in for a fitting?
 
khoover said:
Something that I forgot to mention is that that GolfTEC also recommended balls for me to use as well, which was unexpected.

The test ball for the fitting was a TMAG Burner TP and they recommended the Top-Fiite D2 distance plus the Nike PD Long and PD High. I wonder if their ball-recommendation calculations are a bit out of date.

I'm sticking with my Q-stars, though.

Ken
Click to expand...

I'm prolly gonna bring my own. I hope they don't think it is weird...
 
Jeff Spicoli said:
Great review, man. The JPX-800s are pretty sweet.

I'm going in for a fitting soon. As someone who has been through the process, anything you would recommend before going in for a fitting?
Click to expand...

JS, as someone who's done it, my only recommendation is to keep an open mind. There's a good chance you'll be surprised by a club you didn't expect at all.

Jeff Spicoli said:
I'm prolly gonna bring my own. I hope they don't think it is weird...
Click to expand...

I don't think they will. It'll be interesting to see if they recommend another ball for you though!
 
Jeff Spicoli said:
Great review, man. The JPX-800s are pretty sweet.

I'm going in for a fitting soon. As someone who has been through the process, anything you would recommend before going in for a fitting?
Click to expand...

Honestly? Bring an open mind and a bottle of Gatorade. Between warmups and testing, I hit a ton of balls in that 2+ hours and went through a full quart.

The "relax and have fun" advice that I got at the top of this thread was spot on. Let them do their magic and see what the numbers tell you.
 
khoover said:
Honestly? Bring an open mind and a bottle of Gatorade. Between warmups and testing, I hit a ton of balls in that 2+ hours and went through a full quart.

The "relax and have fun" advice that I got at the top of this thread was spot on. Let them do their magic and see what the numbers tell you.
Click to expand...

Jon D- I was going to bring in a few different ones, but maybe l will just see what they recommend.

Thanks for the advice khoover. At least you won't have to buy a new driver.

I've tried a lot of different equipment over the last year, so I have definitely learned to keep an open mind.
 
Awesome. I'm gonna have to eventually do this.
 
Only 300 miles from the closest GolfTec. Pondering!
 
Being properly fitted for a set of clubs makes a world of difference in feel and performance than trying to fit your swing into a stock "off the rack" set. I was fitted for my set of Mizuno JPX-800's and the results are amazing. I agree with the OP that I will not buy another set of clubs without a proper professional fitting session.

I was also fitted for the Titleist 910D2 driver with PX 7C3 shaft which is the most consistent driver that I have owned to date. The TM RBZ driver was about 7-10 yards longer but I could not control if the ball would go left or right.

Finally my question: I am now in looking for a new 3-fairway metal, I have never been fitted for a 3-fairway metal, has anyone been recommended to be fitted, or can you just go with the complementary club for your driver ( in my case the Titleist 910F)?
 
Closing the loop - the end result arrived today. (JPX-825 Pro fitted to my specs)

I have a good feeling about these.

WP_000182.jpg
 
Nice choice. Keep us updated with their performance.
 
Very nice! I hope you like them!
 
Can't wait myself to get fitted for new clubs... too many options now. what happened to two shaft options and three manufacturers?
Congrats on the new clubs
 
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