Thinking Out Loud

deekay729

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Hey all. I have a set (4-P) of Mizuno MP-69 in standard lie/length. Thinking about getting fitted at my local PGA Superstore. I've never gotten fitted ever and don't even know what to expect. It seems unanimously agreed that getting fitted is something everyone should do. What should I expect? What shouldn't I expect? How much time should I allot for it? Sorry for so many questions. This is a new thing for me. I'm 6'2 and I wear 34 inseam pants. Maybe (hopefully) I don't even need changes.

But as I was thinking about this, I also thought to myself, is it possible for one to "adjust" their swings to the clubs? For example, could my clubs be too flat/upright without me knowing (since I've never given club fitting a though throughout my entire golfing life), and I have adjusted my swing all these years to get the best results? And if that is the case, wouldn't it be more important to get my swing fixed prior to any adjustments in my clubs? It's just a slightly random thought. I've always been more of a "it's the Indian, not the arrow" kinda guy.
 
I've had this issue forever. I've been fit for clubs from .5 long to 2 long and everything in between as well as 1 up to 4 up and the handicap hasnt moved much in forever. I dont know if I should swear off the seemingly very subjective fitters or if its just me who tends to make whatever set up work.
 
Good players will always adjust for the club they are holding. You'll learn to find center and you'll learn to adjust swing for lie, flex, weight, etc, that's why you need a good fitter.

With that said, a good fitter will help you find the right club for your "natural" swing. A good fitter won't let you sit there and adjust to a club, he'll keep you moving, he'll let you hit long and short irons, and what he won't do is send you out the door with something that doesn't make you better than what you came in with.

My very first fitting all the guy did for my irons was adjust my lie and change my grips to a larger grip. I used him for every club change till he closed shop.
 
I've had this issue forever. I've been fit for clubs from .5 long to 2 long and everything in between as well as 1 up to 4 up and the handicap hasnt moved much in forever. I dont know if I should swear off the seemingly very subjective fitters or if its just me who tends to make whatever set up work.

Good players will always adjust for the club they are holding. You'll learn to find center and you'll learn to adjust swing for lie, flex, weight, etc, that's why you need a good fitter.

With that said, a good fitter will help you find the right club for your "natural" swing. A good fitter won't let you sit there and adjust to a club, he'll keep you moving, he'll let you hit long and short irons, and what he won't do is send you out the door with something that doesn't make you better than what you came in with.

My very first fitting all the guy did for my irons was adjust my lie and change my grips to a larger grip. I used him for every club change till he closed shop.

And that's kind of what I'm afraid of. It becomes hard for me to tell if I swung a good, "textbook" swing and it's the fit of the club that sent the ball wayward, or if I swung a "bad" swing which compensated for an ill-fit club and sent the ball where intended, or if my clubs are actually pretty fit for me and it's my swing that sent the ball wayward. What if my natural swing has "compensated" for an ill fit club and hits the ball well, even though the compensated swing may not be the "correct", textbook swing? Then shouldn't I "fix" my swing prior to getting fitted? I'm not a great golfer by any stretch. I'm pretty much, on average, a par guy with a handful of bogeys and one or two blow up holes (hence the high handicap).

I'd say I'm "average" height in the golf industry (I'm assuming) so in my mind, off the shelf clubs SHOULD, more or less, work for me. I can understand the importance of getting fitted if one is outside of the "average" height/build. Yet, whenever I'm at address, sometimes I feel the length/lie is on point, other times I feel it's off. Of course, it doesn't help that I've had so much doubt in my swing this season.

I just want to be clear that I'm not saying club fitting isn't important. I'm sure it certainly is. It's just that I was raised with the "it's the Indian, not the arrow" mentality so I'll always doubt myself before any "standard" equipment. That's how I grew up learning/playing golf in my childhood through my very early 20's till I stopped playing. Club fitting NEVER crossed my mind during that time. Now that I got back into the game this year, I guess I just want to be sure that my clubs could actually be, even partially, responsible and not entirely just me, the Indian. I will still get fitted, albeit skeptically and cautiously.

Sorry for the lengthy response, as it certainly seems like I'm babbling. I'm sure I can't be the only one thinking this way, and I'd certainly like to see this get discussed with fellow THPers. Cheers!
 
Boy, I can empathize with that angst, right down to the length of the response. I got clubs two years ago and then decided to get serious about my swing. That was the wrong order, and I may well take my clubs in and get my lie angles checked, because I'm sure my swing is different today, I;m just not sure that it makes enough of a difference to require a change.

That said, I've seen big benefits from fittings, and would not go without one. I would suggest this:

Take a lesson or two and tell the instructor what you just told us. If you're after a repeatable version of your current swing, then a fitting probably makes sense. It may make less sense to do it right away if you're looking to blow it all up and completely rebuild your swing
 
If you are between 5'7" - 6'1" then standard length should be good as per the Mizuno chart.
The exception would be if you had longer or shorter arm length.

fitting-length.jpg


You should try to get fitted for lie and shafts depending on swing speed / tempo etc.
Tech has changed the game no matter what people say - use it.

Mizuno's shaft optimizer is designed to take into consideration all factors in your swing.
https://golf.mizunoeurope.com/custom-fit/

Regards
 
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Thanks for all the replies. FWIW, yes I am in the process of making changes in my swing, as I'm sure most of us would, especially us in the northern parts of the country lol. Which brings me into another thought.

When an individual gets lessons from a golf coach, I'm assuming the coach would look at both the swing as well as the direction of the ball. And I'm assuming the direction of the ball gives a good indication as to what is wrong with a swing. So theoretically, who's to say that a coach isn't giving a student swing advice that's just compensating for a potentially ill-fitted club? Or let's say someone that's self taught (ie myself). What if that individual just adjusted their swing to match the clubs? Can, let's say, .5 or 1 degree upright/flat make that noticeable of a difference?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is, wouldn't/shouldn't one work on their swing mechanics first prior to even looking at ball flights, and then when the swing mechanics are "in form", then look at ball flights and see if one needs fitting? Again, not knocking club fitting, coaches, etc...I'm just bored since it's cold now and I can't play golf so I'm stuck with just thinking about golf lol. I'm just trying to create a discussion and maybe play the devil's advocate and look at this subject from both sides and see what others have to say as well.
 
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