Full bag fitting — setting realistic expectations

GoldenBuff

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I have a Club Champion full bag fitting in one week. I will follow up here with my take on the experience and recommendations.

And to start I am working on setting realistic expectations. As a 100% amateur hack golfer I have better and worse swing days, and from hitting many of the new options, I think there are many clubs I would enjoy. I don’t want to go in with the idea that some magic club and shaft combo will solve anything. I want the experience and opportunity to explore a wider range of head and shaft combos and some thoughts on how to setup the full bag for gaps and function. I have to says this “out loud” because I can slip into unrealistic expectations.

I am most interested in the putter fitting. My one experience putting with gcquad was that I am so variable with my stroke and delivery that the only reasonable outcome was to work more on my putting. 🤪 I have done that, I think. Putting is far and away where I can improve the most and save strokes.

Next up, my goals for clubs in the bag.
 
Goals. Current clubs in sig.

Overarching: I don’t need new clubs. I want new clubs. And I want to go through a full bag fitting. Swing is in good shape. I am ready for this.

Driver: Can I pick up some distance by lowering launch and spin? I also want a cool shaft. :cool:

Fairway(s): I have never put much thought into my 3wood, including how it gaps in my set. I am also curious if I would add a 5w in place of a 3 hybrid. A possible goal here might be to stay more consistent with driver and shaft. My current driver and 3w are very different beasts with very different shafts.

Hybrid(s)/utility iron(s): I am simply going to keep an open mind here.

Irons: This is a primary focus for me. I want to see if I can find a little more forgiveness but still have good control over distance and shot making, esp. in the shorter irons. I also enjoy playing graphite shafts (recoil 110) and would like to explore a few options. Feel is very important to me. I want that solid, dense feel on good strikes. I have hit a lot of irons and have some initial ideas, but will let the fitter take the lead on where to go, probably. ;)

Wedges: I need to figure out shaft for wedges. Currently I play 3 different wedge shafts, 4 if I include my PW. Happy with zipcore mid bounce in SW and low bounce in LW; open to other options if I see a benefit. Also curious if I would go with a set AW/GW.

Putter: What works best for me for alignment and roll? I need a dose of putter confidence.

Ball: Some of the flight/spin characteristics I want can be helped by ball choice. I am curious if ball choice will enter the fitting discussion.
 
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Good luck with the process. Where are you going for the fitting?

Since a fitting like this is always in the back of my mind, I’m looking forward to hearing about your fitting.
 
Are you doing it over one day or two sessions? If one day, what's your fitness level like? It's a LOT of swings for the whole bag. My suggestion would be to throw wedges, or putter in between different full swing clubs to give yourself a rest.
 
interested to see your results...and yes to what @mpeterson said...that's a lot of swings...i thought my fitter was trying to kill me during my iron only fitting.
 
I'm a bit of a dissenting voice with my personal fitting experiences, but

I want the experience and opportunity to explore a wider range of head and shaft combos and some thoughts on how to setup the full bag for gaps and function.

That wasn't much of what my fitting was focused on. It's less of a demo day try a bunch of combos and more focused on taking one or two swings and trying to move forwards.
There was no talk of gapping besides, "the PW is 46*, so you should get a 50* gap wedge."
Still not sure what an indoor wedge fitting is supposed to accomplish.
And the putter fitting was the single biggest waste of money I've spent on golf ever.

I do think a lot of it is fitter dependent. Also, managing expectations like you are doing is key. I went in prior to joining THP and pretty ignorant about clubs and club fitting and I'm pretty sure I got treated that way.

hope that helps. 🤷‍♂️
 
It's less of a demo day try a bunch of combos and more focused on taking one or two swings and trying to move forwards.

I genuinely think that people do have expectations that a fitting is a demo day. Unfortunately if that is the goal, most golfers will be let down. If the goal is working with an expert to maximize performance, my believe if is it is a great tool.
 
One thing I would note is that you shouldn't order the clubs from CC. I got fitted there recently and was whacked over the head with almost a $1,000+ additional charge over another local fitter or GlobalGolf. Shaft puring is also widely considered to be a scam for the normal weekend hacker like many of us are.
 
One thing I would note is that you shouldn't order the clubs from CC. I got fitted there recently and was whacked over the head with almost a $1,000+ additional charge over another local fitter or GlobalGolf. Shaft puring is also widely considered to be a scam for the normal weekend hacker like many of us are.

Clubs can be built by Club Champion without shaft puring. Mine were.
 
Good luck with the process. Where are you going for the fitting?

Since a fitting like this is always in the back of my mind, I’m looking forward to hearing about your fitting.

Club Champion in Westminster, CO. I have had 2 modest and underwhelming irons fittings and 1 driver fitting where I swung terrible and made a poor choice. I look forward to this experience.
 
Are you doing it over one day or two sessions? If one day, what's your fitness level like? It's a LOT of swings for the whole bag. My suggestion would be to throw wedges, or putter in between different full swing clubs to give yourself a rest.

One session. I'm not a spring chicken anymore but my fitness and strength are typically good. I think I will be OK, but good to think about how getting tired could impact outcomes.
 
@GoldenBuff I'm really looking forward to this and to see the outcome. Open mind and a good swing and you will be a master this year.
 
I'm a bit of a dissenting voice with my personal fitting experiences, but



That wasn't much of what my fitting was focused on. It's less of a demo day try a bunch of combos and more focused on taking one or two swings and trying to move forwards.
There was no talk of gapping besides, "the PW is 46*, so you should get a 50* gap wedge."
Still not sure what an indoor wedge fitting is supposed to accomplish.
And the putter fitting was the single biggest waste of money I've spent on golf ever.

I do think a lot of it is fitter dependent. Also, managing expectations like you are doing is key. I went in prior to joining THP and pretty ignorant about clubs and club fitting and I'm pretty sure I got treated that way.

hope that helps. 🤷‍♂️


I have hit a bunch of clubs already and have some solid initial ideas. But these are exactly the kind of things I want to keep realistic. I appreciate this kind of honest take on fittings. (y)
 
One session. I'm not a spring chicken anymore but my fitness and strength are typically good. I think I will be OK, but good to think about how getting tired could impact outcomes.

Yeah - you should be fine. Just something to be aware of if you get some bad swings on the ball and think it might be caused by fatigue. Always worth taking a break and looking at short game, or putting or something.
 
Club Champion in Westminster, CO. I have had 2 modest and underwhelming irons fittings and 1 driver fitting where I swung terrible and made a poor choice. I look forward to this experience.

I had asked because I assumed there wasn’t a CC in Montana. I’m 130-150 miles from the nearest one. Again, I wish you the best and I’l be following along.
 
Have fun. I agree with you on the putter fitting. It has changed my game for the better because I believe in my putter and don't 2nd guess it. As someone that flipped putters A LOT, it will enter it's 3rd year in my bag.
 
I've done a couple of fittings and one thing I always have to do is 'dance with the partner I brought'. In other words I need to manage my own expectations. I'm not taking hundreds of swings everyday so the muscle memory and consistency is not there. Therefore, every swing is different, every contact is different. So, I need to know that my fitter isnt working with a top notch guy and in some senses will be guessing with the amount of variables. It helps me just go in, be loose, have fun, and enjoy the outcome wherever that might be.

Can't wait to hear the follow up!
 
If the fitter is good and experienced, you can do it in one day and shouldn't have to swing more than...

50-60 swings for an iron fitting
40-50 swings for driver
40-50 swings for fairways/hybrids
30-40 swings for wedges

I try to keep full bag fittings under 200 total swings IF we are doing it in one day. I prefer to split them up into two day, but that isn't always possible. I also like to strategically break up the golfers rhythm for two reasons, to keep endurance up and not let them get into a "fitting rhythm" that isn't realistic on the course.

Just go into it having a good meal an hour or so before your fitting. I don't know if CC provides drinks or snacks, so maybe bring some sports drinks/waters and some healthy snacks to keep energy levels high. If the fitter sees you starting to get fatigued, he/she should pull you off and let you rest and reset for a bit.
 
Still not sure what an indoor wedge fitting is supposed to accomplish.
And the putter fitting was the single biggest waste of money I've spent on golf ever.

Indoor wedge fittings can be just as good as outdoor fittings if the 1. Fitter knows what they are doing 2. The mats are high end 3. They offer different types of mats to simulate different turfs.

You also look at other sections of the bag and what you saw during those fittings. For example, if someone is fairly shallow during their iron fitting, that is taken into consideration during a wedge fitting.

I don't know where you were fit for wedges, but you should have shaft options available to swap in and out so you can dial in shaft weight and flex for the shots you hit the most.
 
One session. I'm not a spring chicken anymore but my fitness and strength are typically good. I think I will be OK, but good to think about how getting tired could impact outcomes.


I can't stress enough, to bring at a minimum, 3 Cliff bars, and at least 64oz of water. I easily went through that during mine. Go slow, don't just shotgun balls. take a nibble and a drink between setup changes. also important, If something doesn't feel right, or you don't like the setup, hand it back and move on.

People rail against buying from CC, and I understand why. I purchased my irons thru them, and since then, have been back no less than 6 times. I have had my irons tweaked for gapping, and other things. Done multiple fittings to try out new gear. And, have just gone in to test things, like different balls I had around, to see how they fit my game. And not once, was I charged. In fact, I'm heading in Sat to try the G425 hybrids.

Regardless if you buy from them, the customer service (at least at my location (Rockville, MD)) is second to none, and I've never been pressured to buy anything.

Good luck, and have fun!
 
I can't stress enough, to bring at a minimum, 3 Cliff bars, and at least 64oz of water. I easily went through that during mine. Go slow, don't just shotgun balls. take a nibble and a drink between setup changes. also important, If something doesn't feel right, or you don't like the setup, hand it back and move on.

People rail against buying from CC, and I understand why. I purchased my irons thru them, and since then, have been back no less than 6 times. I have had my irons tweaked for gapping, and other things. Done multiple fittings to try out new gear. And, have just gone in to test things, like different balls I had around, to see how they fit my game. And not once, was I charged. In fact, I'm heading in Sat to try the G425 hybrids.

Regardless if you buy from them, the customer service (at least at my location (Rockville, MD)) is second to none, and I've never been pressured to buy anything.

Good luck, and have fun!

This also highlights the importance AND benefits of having a relationship with a fitter and/or location. There are perks and benefits in the relationship for both parties and it's a good thing to have!
 
Your going to the club champion in west minister? I will be interested in hearing your review/experience!
 
Clubs can be built by Club Champion without shaft puring. Mine were.
They still over-charge even without the puring, it would have still been $700 or so more.
 
You are receiving things for that price though. They aren’t just charging you more for no reason.

Negative, I was not. This was just raw clubs shipped from the manufacturer and checking loft/lie (both shops are doing these). The invoice was exactly the same at the end of the day. They over-charged drastically for heads and shafts at CC in my experience and they explicitly said the price was the price.
 
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