Iron Fitting: Are We Doing It Wrong?

[JB]

I definitely think fitting is beneficial and I do not want to diminish it, but it is the one beneficial thing they really benefit from which is why it's a huge part of their marketing. It's a win-win for the OEM's.

At the end of the day, all consumer goods come from companies that are setting goals to be profitable.
Im not a fan of pre-owned items because I dont know what has been done to them. I also know that counterfeiting not only exists still, but large, even from sources least expected (not out of ill intent). Buying used can save some money, but so can new, through places like Budget Golf and others.

With all of that said, fitting can work. Especially with a good fitter. To me there is no reason to not get fit, even if its in its basic form of a shaft optimizer, which works surprisingly well.
One of the most under thought aspects, at least on THP, is how important lie angle is. Lie boards are tired and so many better ways to accomplish this, but it is one area of fitting that can help so many. Taking shaft out of the equation, because it is overthought online and under thought in the real world, the manipulation of a club head is real and can have major benefits and detriments to a golfer.

 

[Tevenor]

Fittings are a service. And most shops are in it for 1 of 2 reasons:

1) To help sell clubs. Easy way to identify these places. The fitting is "free" if you by the clubs or they'll apply the cost of the fittings to the purchase of the clubs.

2) To provide the service itself and clubs as a secondary sale. These places run on the service of the fitting. The benefit here is obvious. They have no vendor allegiances and you can get big name and not so big name options.

I went through this recently when I bought my irons and again when I got my irons ( that I just bought ) double checked and then my wedges. The first fitter was about selling me a set of irons, which is why he only worked me through "stock option" shafts. Don't get me wrong. The improvement over my last set which was off the rack was tremendous. Strike consistency, distance, and dispersion all got better. The heads and shafts were definitely an improvement. The best part of the fitting? We spent more time on lie angle than anything and using dynamic lie and loft to figure out the right adjustment. By far the best piece of that fitting.

Then I went to a fitter who wasn't directly in it to sell me clubs. He charged me a hefty fee but we tried every name brand and boutique shaft that made sense. By the end of that fitting, I had yet another incremental jump in feel, performance and delivery by switching to a "non standard" shaft. This was truly more about my swing than about shaft choices. However, here was my biggest pain point. All the options and the use of the trackman, and when we went to do my lie angle, out came the lie board.

So, here I ahve 2 fitters: 1 in it to sell me clubs, 1 in it to self me service as a repeat customer with 2 very different ways to do things. I would probably venture a guess that most amateurs end up in a place like number 1 and feel satisified that they got "fitted".

Now what's really interesting ( and more on topic ) is that when I complain about only being able to hit a 6 iron, the first fitter went and got his partners personal clubs and let me use them to hit a 4 iron and a PW since he his setup ( minus the lie angle ) was very close to where I ended up for the fitting. Hell, when I said I wanted to check out the GW to see if I should order that , he went and pulled a new one off the rack, unwrapped it and had me hit 10 shots or so. The second fitter, the one most focused on giving me options, ONLY had the 6 iron. Which is great for relative comparisons but a 3 iron vs a 6 iron vs a PW all swing very differently and before I buy a full set, I really want to get a feel for how the entire range of irons works, not just one. I would love vendors to supply a 6 or 7 iron to do the fitting and then confirm with a swappable 4 iron and 9 orPW. It would provide SOOOOOO much more value than just doing a relativistic comparison.

 

[JB]

Which is great for relative comparisons but a 3 iron vs a 6 iron vs a PW all swing very differently and before I buy a full set, I really want to get a feel for how the entire range of irons works, not just one. I would love vendors to supply a 6 or 7 iron to do the fitting and then confirm with a swappable 4 iron and 9 orPW.

While this is true, the difference between 6/7 and 3 or PW shouldn't impact shaft all that much. The transition might be slightly different, but it would still be similar.

 

[mpeterson]

I don’t think any fitter I’ve worked with has optimized total distance with irons, and that includes the guys just out on the floor that have helped me dial in something for an event. They’re usually looking at dispersion.

If the ball is controllable, stops on the green, etc, why not have the same club go longer at the same length? I do appreciate when a shop has the full set for me to try, as I can see how progressive the set is, etc. But I wouldn’t say the approach is “wrong”. But I can’t think of a time where I had success with a 7i of a set and couldn’t hit a 5i or even 4 from the same set.

 

[tomcat]

We should try that with everything.
New cars.
New cell phones
New computers
New clothes

"Sir, I will not pay you for these items. I shall take them home and if I like them after a good workout, I will pay you then".

I'm surprised you guys haven't gotten a PM saying that someone would like to test out the AC, and if they like it (i.e. get into an experience), they'll gladly pay for it.

 

[JB]

I'm surprised you guys haven't gotten a PM saying that someone would like to test out the AC, and if they like it (i.e. get into an experience), they'll gladly pay for it.

I have.
Also been offered someone to signup if I will send them clubs.
It's okay, no harm, no foul. We like to keep it light here and have fun, its golf after all.

 

[Tevenor]

While this is true, the difference between 6/7 and 3 or PW shouldn't impact shaft all that much. The transition might be slightly different, but it would still be similar.

Agreed. I probably should have said more about validating how a range of irons will fit into existing bag sequence. For instance, if you are hitting the entire range 1 to 2 clubs longer, your specialist wedges may now need another one to fill the gap. Or if, like in my case, the upper irons ( 3 or 4 ) you hit just as long as your existing hybrid, then do you get a 5-PW vs a 4-PW or do you retire the hybrid or replace it to fill a higher gap? Fitting to only mid iron doesn't give you the ranging and understanding of cost across the entire bag.

 

[Tevenor]

Also been offered someone to signup if I will send them clubs.

Wait...wait....that was an option? DAMMMIT, why do I never read the fine print.

 

[Tevenor]

I don’t think any fitter I’ve worked with has optimized total distance with irons, and that includes the guys just out on the floor that have helped me dial in something for an event. They’re usually looking at dispersion.

If the ball is controllable, stops on the green, etc, why not have the same club go longer at the same length? I do appreciate when a shop has the full set for me to try, as I can see how progressive the set is, etc. But I wouldn’t say the approach is “wrong”. But I can’t think of a time where I had success with a 7i of a set and couldn’t hit a 5i or even 4 from the same set.

Yeah, but distance changes may be a bi-product of the same things that can reduce dispersion. I was originally fitted for T100's since I was going for feel and tighter dispersion. Distance between my Apex Pros and T100's wasn't much different but neither was the dispersion. I also was hitting the ball way low on the face. We jumped to T200's and even though I didn't need the distance, that head played way better with my shallow AoA. Spin was up over my Apex Pros and dispersion was significantly reduced. The bi-product was I was hitting all my irons almost 1 club longer. Not the intent.

 

[JB]

Yeah, but distance changes may be a bi-product of the same things that can reduce dispersion. I was originally fitted for T100's since I was going for feel and tighter dispersion. Distance between my Apex Pros and T100's wasn't much different but neither was the dispersion. I also was hitting the ball way low on the face. We jumped to T200's and even though I didn't need the distance, that head played way better with my shallow AoA. Spin was up over my Apex Pros and dispersion was significantly reduced. The bi-product was I was hitting all my irons almost 1 club longer. Not the intent.

Guessing you are a pretty low ball hitting in general?

 

[CBaker]

That’s really not what my iron fitting was about at all. It was about finding a combo that felt the best, and had the best spin numbers as that was really my only issue. Distance is a result of lower spin for me sure, but we went for dispersion and spin primarily.

FWIW I don’t struggle that much with distance so that may play a part. But yea distance wasnt even a variable we were working towards.

 

[Tevenor]

Guessing you are a pretty low ball hitting in general?

You got it. Always have been. Helps on the long iron distance and woods, struggled with low iron accuracy and stopping power ( low decent angles ) which is where I have been focusing my fitting/lessons/etc. Believe it or not, the metric that make me decide to buy the T200's was the change in my decent angle. For the 6 iron I was fitting against, I gained 5 degrees of decent angle and 400-500 rpm of spin. Add that to the reduced dispersion and I think it will be a game changer for hitting greens. At least that's the hope. For me the number on the club is just that, a number. Where I used to hit a 5 iron, I'll now hit a 6 iron.

 

[Sean]

Getting fit is important for me. At may last fitting I was fit for +2-inches and 2º upright. When i get new clubs i will get fit again as club lengths vary, which also affects lie angle. In addition, at +2-inches I can't just assume b/c of my swing speed I should hit a regular/senior flex shaft. My last fitting I was put in stiff shafts due to the extra 2-inches. Swing weight comes into play as well. For example, the fitter told me if he put me in a steel shaft, the SW would be in the E6-E8 range.

 

[dthrog00]

The issue I find with fitting is that people typically change day to day. How do you know the day you were fit will match subsequent days? The last fit irons I bought I had gone in for fittings twice and it still didn't work out after I received my clubs. It was an expensive mistake.

In my opinion fitting becomes more important when:

a) You have significant speed
b) You have unusual physical traits -- very tall, very short, etc...
c) You have a very unique swing and the way you deliver the club drives into non-standard setups

I'm a normal size guy with a slow-ish swing who basically fits the bell curve. Give me the typical regular flex and I'm about good to go.

That said I'd love to be fit by someone like Ian at TXG who really knows his stuff. I think I'd walk away with that fitting with so much confidence.

Dave

 

[Architex]

Most people probably do just go for the longest club. I actually got fitted to get my spin and height down on my irons. And it worked fantastically.


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