How much do fitting specs change

[Farmergolf]

My son was fit his freshman year of high school. His clubs are +1 length and 2 up. He was fit for Cobra radspeed which he has liked but as with all of us he wants a cleaner look and thinking about more of a players distance iron now that he is entering his final year of high school. He hasnt really grown but he has worked on his swing alot and improved quite a bit. My question is would his specs still be the same or good chance his lie angle has changed with swing improvement? I want him to have clubs that give him best chance for success but obviously getting fit and new clubs are not cheap. My thinking if could find clubs that he likes with the +1 and 2 up specs used to save some money we could do that.

 

[OldandStiff]

If he's done a lot of work they may have changed. To respect the work he put in it's worth checking on it before buying him new ones.

 

[leftshot]

Impossible for any of us to tell for sure. Too many unknowns and variables.

Having said that there is a good chance that his fitting requirements have changed. Even if he's the same height he was as a freshman, his setup has probably improved and he may have filled out some. Both can change the fitted length and lie requirements. Now add in changes to his dynamic swing and a lot *could* have changed.

There is also the possibility that very little has changed. Jman has coached a lot of high schoolers and I'd wager he's seen both scenarios.

If I were in your shoes, I'd consider the following.

1. What does your son's coach say? Does he think your son would benefit much from a new fitting and clubs? Is he seeing indications that these clubs are now ill-fitted for your son?

2. If you had a good experience with the fitter that fit your son when he was a freshman and you and his coach have confidence in this fitter, ask the fitter if s/he can do a quick evaluation of whether his clubs still fit him or not. Offer to pay the fitter for this evaluation, which with a good fitter shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. Why pay for this quick evaluation? You lessen the incentive for the fitter to bias their answer in order to get something out of their efforts.

3. If you didn't have a great experience with the original fitter, they are no longer there, or the coach doesn't have confidence in that fitter, find one the coach and you can agree should do a good job and make the same offer outlined in the item above.

Personally, I would NOT get refit and buy new clubs for my son just because he would like a cleaner look and thinks he'd like players' clubs. He can do that with his own money. To me, this question is all about will his current clubs perform for him, or not.

 

[PuffChippy]

This assumes fitting specs are some sort of irrefutable scientific fact. You can go to 3 different fitters and come away with 3 different specs so who knows. As mentioned above, if you're going used the first question would be whether there's any evidence his current clubs are not a good fit. Getting fit is about more than just loft and lie but if those seem good you're probably OK. Just as important are swing weight and total weight, so you'd want to pay attention to those as well. If you get a set of clubs with the same loft and lie but the swing weight/total weight is off he could really struggle to hit them.

 

[Parrot]

Just as all stiff shafts are not the same, neither are all clubs with +1 and 2 up specs as lie angles and lofts can be different from one OEM to the next. The shaft will play a big part in how he delivers the club to the ball. Weights can be different from one set to another, or within the same set if used and the prior owner has tinkered with them. With improved swing mechanics and likely more clubhead speed, things could be considerably different now.

There are some things you can tell about both his swing and old clubs with a naked eye. Have his scores improved? Is he consistently hitting the ball with a different flight? Is he hitting it farther? Things you can't see without tech help are how he delivers the club to the ball, swing path, face to path, spin, strike efficiency, etc. If your son has played some good golf with his clubs, I'd ask the fitter to do a short comparative review. The numbers will tell whether a full fitting is needed, nothing has changed or if some change or adjustment to a shaft might benefit him.

 

[Farmergolf]

Some great replies and advice. Thank you all.