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Do Fitted Clubs = Better Scores / Lower Handicap

Just_Brad

Just_Brad

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Do fitted clubs = Better Scores / Lower Handicap

Does going for a fitting, and actually buying those clubs you were fitted to, actually translate to lower scores? Or is it more of a piece of mind thing, in that it takes away the "are these the best clubs for me" question?

Would be interested to hear results from people who have had professional fittings, and how their game has evolved afterwards. Is the result always better?
 
I cant speak for the better scores YET... but I just received my fitted clubs last week. I can tell you whats seems to be the difference is consistency. My miss-hits are "better", but according to trackman, I am much more consistent in my ball striking.
 
I had had positive results in the fitting/adjusting for my clubs. Now, I am also taking lessons, so that will affect the results as well. Before I started my lessons, I had my irons bent upright a couple of degrees, and it seemed to help me.
 
For me, absolutely did.

Played OTS irons for years with basic tweaks, and finally took the plunge. Properly fit irons (which were the weakest part of my game) made all the difference for me.
 
I will be following this thread closely. Getting fit is really high on my list.
My friends who have been fit are very happy with the decision. They also feel consistency is much better.
I was planning to take advantage of the club champion half off but was having some arm pain and couldn’t swing properly during that time period.
 
Mad_Brad said:
Do fitted clubs = Better Scores / Lower Handicap

Does going for a fitting, and actually buying those clubs you were fitted to, actually translate to lower scores? Or is it more of a piece of mind thing, in that it takes away the "are these the best clubs for me" question?

Would be interested to hear results from people who have had professional fittings, and how their game has evolved afterwards. Is the result always better?
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I think that if a player is swinging OEM stock specification clubs made within the past 20 years he/she is 98% fine.
Fitting to a particular lie angle, length, head design etc.... may benefit him/her 2%.
Good shot making I think is 90% swing technique and 10% equipment.
 
Hard to say really, you still have to execute a good swing to hit a good shot. Having gear that fits properly has to help a little bit for sure I would think
 
I would think striking pure is still the key no matter the club. I see guys hit some of the worse clubs ever and rock the ball straight and long simply because they strike well. I got fitted a while back and bought new clubs and it has helped me some because the clubs are a bit more forgiving on my mishits. Is there a huge amount of improvement? No, not really. Other than that my striking has to improve before I will see the greatest results.
 
If the golfer has a repeatable, playable swing, and the fitting correctly generates the right swing specs for that golfer's swing, clubs built to those specs will allow the golfer to play consisently better golf. Playing with the correct clubs will also help with further ball striking improvement down the road. .
 
Depends honestly. Lie angle can help be more accurate and have better turf interaction. Clubs that go further can always help too if that is an issue. But in the end, it's still on the person swinging them, but yes it can help.
 
WLG1952 said:
If the golfer has a repeatable, playable swing, and the fitting correctly generates the right swing specs for that golfer's swing, clubs built to those specs will allow the golfer to play consisently better golf. Playing with the correct clubs will also help with further ball striking improvement down the road. .
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I think sometimes a player is fit to his/her swing faults, which may mean that the new club specs promote swing faults.
For this reason I prefer static fitting (based on a player's physique measurements) more so than dynamic fitting (based on a player's shots).
 
I've been fitted twice for irons. Once for driver. Never for wedges, fairways, rescues, or putter. I think there are some potential scoring benefits but in my admittedly limited experience expect those would mostly be for a golfer who was also working meaningfully and consistently on the game. For someone who simply wants to occasionally hit the links with some friends, pound a few beers, and swing hard in case they hit the ball, I don't know that there would benefits. I can think of other reasons where fitting could be helpful for the person beyond scoring: very big or small people, limited body motion due to injury/age, etc.
 
I guess I'll find the answer to that question when I finally get outside and play some golf. Everything in my bag for the coming season will be new in some form or other this year. :cool:
 
I have never had a true fitting, I did just have the head golf coach of our university watch me hit a few balls on the sim with my current off the rack clubs & told me what shaft & flex he recommended & to have them 1/4" length & 1* up. So that is how I just ordered my irons & am waiting for them to come in, so when they get here we will see.
 
As a big advocate for fitting, for me, no they didn’t. I hit my irons so much better now I’ve been fit, but it hasn’t made much difference to my scores. Has made a lot of difference to my enjoyment of the round though.
 
Having never been fit for even the most basic of parameters ie: lie angle or length, I feel it might benefit me. Even on my best struck shots I've noticed my divots to be deeper in the toe section. I don't believe this is a swing issue since my instructor says my setup and ball position are good but, it could be a sign of the issue I have of early extension sometimes. He is planning on putting me on a lie board once I get back into taking lessons this spring and checking. If that's off I will schedule a weekend trip to Mass. and get on a GC Quad to see if tweaking my current clubs will help.
 
I truly believe a good fitter will be able to help all levels of golfers produce at a more consistent level when fitted. However, for those that have higher handicaps and not a consistent swing the fitter can only do so much. If you change your plane of attack, hit fat, thin, or any of the other reasons why your handicap is higher than I am not sure the fitting will be the end-all.

I have been fitted for my putter and my irons. I am much more consistent with my putter than I was with my irons. I expected and have seen that my fitted putter has performed great and the feeling is my putts have decreased per round. On my irons, I have seen improvement and more consistency. However, my score is not vastly different than prior.
 
fuffle master said:
I truly believe a good fitter will be able to help all levels of golfers produce at a more consistent level when fitted. However, for those that have higher handicaps and not a consistent swing the fitter can only do so much. If you change your plane of attack, hit fat, thin, or any of the other reasons why your handicap is higher than I am not sure the fitting will be the end-all....
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^ This.

I think how close a person fits off-the-shelf clubs factors into it also. The further outside of the "average" anthropometric measurements clubs are built for (i.e., much taller or shorter), the more likely that the length and lie of OTS clubs isn't going to be a good fit for you. At the minimum, a fitting should get you into the right length, lie and shaft stiffness for your build and golf swing.

I was static fitted for my last set of clubs ten years ago. Last month I bought new clubs and had a thorough dynamic fitting. While I'm confident that I have the right clubs for me, they can only atone for so much in my game. They can't help when I lay the sod over the ball, top it, shank it, etc.

So I guess my tl;dr opinion would be that if you can put a decent, reasonably consistent swing on the ball, having clubs that are properly fitted to you can potentially help you shoot better scores/lower your handicap - but if you struggle with inconsistency, they're not going to be a magic wand that suddenly turns you into a single-digit 'capper.
 
Just got my fitted irons last week and played 2X this week at our 9 hole course. The difference from my old clubs is night and day and I can see my Hcp going down 2-3 in the 1st month of the season if the snow ever leaves.
 
ddstanford said:
Just got my fitted irons last week and played 2X this week at our 9 hole course. The difference from my old clubs is night and day and I can see my Hcp going down 2-3 in the 1st month of the season if the snow ever leaves.
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That really made a nice difference for you and glad it did. I think it helped me but no where near that much.
 
Luchnia said:
That really made a nice difference for you and glad it did. I think it helped me but no where near that much.
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I must embarrassingly admit, my old clubs were from the last century and practically grooveless. I should have done this sooner.
 
I know my length / lie angle correlations and my preferred kick point on shafts from previous fittings..
There are many more things addressed in full fittings, but launch monitors and I aren't compatible for a long enough time to get a full fitting.
That being the case, I'm not sure if going through it would show up on my scorecard or not,
I guess that I just don't care enough to find out, but I certainly wouldn't discourage somebody else from doing it.
 
New to the forum
Started playing ~3 years ago (had taken lessons when I was a kid and then didn’t pick up a club for 15 years), and game wasn’t really going anywhere (high handicapper ~25) even despite fairly frequent / regular play. I started started taking lessons maybe 2 months ago and have had total breakthrough on swing and I’m really excited about it. I hit my wedges I’d say really well, driver and mid irons I still have a lot of work.

Had few questions -

1) Am I supposed to wait until late winter after I’ve taken another few months of consistent weekly lessons to get fitted
2) Am I supposed to wait until I get a few rounds in on actual course next spring to try progress out on the course to see what issues I have when I actually get out on the grass vs being indoor
3) Do I wait until I drop to 15 or 20 handicap vs current 25
4) I’m taking lessons at golftec- I’ve read that truespec is amazing, but is it more valuable to do my fitting with my pro who’s working with me on my swing than going to get fitted at a place that’s ‘better’

Thanks!
 
I with the it depends crowd. If you have a consistent swing or you are just playing something that is way wrong for you then yes it can have an immediate and noticeable impact. If your swing is inconsistent and full of faults it may work one day and not work the next based on how you are swing the club that day.
 
I think fitting is helpful for consistent impact and maximizing distance. There is no debate there. Whether the longest most consistent clubs can help you get the ball in the hole faster is where it depends comes in. In my experience Driver fittings are the very most beneficial because every single swing you take is a full swing with very little variation. The shorter the clubs gets and the more different ways you use that club (punching, chipping, pitching, 1/2 swings, etc) the more your preferences rather than fit are going to come into play. I also like the clubs in my bag to all have a similar weight and feel in hand. So after getting fit into a driver and the correct iron shafts I kind of feel like finding FW, Hybrids, and iron heads is easy enough to do on my own.
 
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