Who Needs to Get Fit?

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Generally speaking, most golfers see fitting as being valid and helpful for low handicap players. The real debate occurs when talking about mid-to-high handicap players. Even more so--beginners. I've recently had some experiences that have compelled me to rethink my own opinions on this topic. Perhaps you have too. At any rate, I created this thread so we can revisit this topic.

Most threads on this topic are filled with yay or nay opinions as if this was an all or none proposition. But part of what I've recognized is that there are a lot of different services that come under the heading of getting fit. So, maybe we've been having the conversation at too general a level. In my first post, I'll share one of my ah ha moments. You can then tell me if you see this too, or think I've gone off the reservation.
 
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I played a round yesterday with two guys: Andy and J.R.

Andy is about 50 years old stands about 5 foot 5 inches tall and weighs probably about 190 pounds. He's been playing about 20 years and is a 20+ handicap player. Andy struggles with consistency.

J.R. is a 6-foot 4-inch tall drink of water who has been playing just a few months. J.R. can hit it a country mile--sometimes. Sometimes he hits a worm burner 50 yards. Sometimes a country mile into the next fairway.

Conventional wisdom says fitting is a waste of money for J.R. As a beginner, his swing is likely to be different hole to hole--much less day-to-day. On the other hand, some would say Andy could benefit from fitting. Others would argue against it saying he isn't good enough to benefit.

Here's what I saw.

Every time Andy set up to the ball the toe was way off the ground. Every club. Every time. I felt sorry for Andy. If there was ever any chance of hitting the ball solid his margin for error had to be close to nil. I think Andy would benefit greatly from getting fitted for lie and length of his clubs. At Andy's age, he's not going to see another growth spurt. He's not going to suddenly stand taller, if anything with age, he might slump as he ages.

When J.R. set up to the ball the toe was the only thing that ever got close to the ground, and that only happened when he bent over quite a bit. Sometimes, the toe crashed into the ground on his downswing causing the club head to twist open resulting in a big banana ball. When that happened the next swing was predictably a worm burner or a massive hook. As a beginner, J.R.'s swing is inconsistent. But how much of that inconsistency is due to the imbalance of bending over too much over the ball or trying to correct for a problem that wasn't caused by his swing, but his equipment? IMO, J.R. too could benefit from getting fit for length and lie.

Would I recommend either get their iron shafts pured? No, I wouldn't. Would I recommend they spend much time and dollars getting fitted for a premium shaft? In Andy's case, maybe. Andy's swing isn't likely to change much other than a drop in swing speed about a decade from now. J.R.? His swing is likely to change a lot, and so will the characteristics he needs in a shaft.

So what I'm beginning to realize is this idea of getting fit isn't an all or none proposition--nor should it be. Different players may benefit from different things when it comes to fitting.
 
Personally I think that everyone would benefit from a fitting of some kind

If you were to use your example above, Andy would obviously benefit from a simple length and lie fitting, but if he has a pretty consistent swing then he could also potentially benefit from a different shaft as well assuming no major changes are going to be made to it with lessons etc

As a beginner, JR wouldn't benefit from an in-depth fitting at this point in time, but again a simple length and lie fitting could help eliminate one variable from his swing

I also think that as a beginner / rapidly improving player, it could be beneficial to go through multiple fittings as the swing evolves to evaluate if the length and lie are still appropriate - however, I know this isn't really feasible due to the probable costs involved
 
Truthfully both guys could benefit from a fitting. Length and lie if nothing else.

Really though how much change is JR going to see in his swing?

Is he taking lessons?
Does he have some crazy move that he’s likely to eliminate?

I think most golfers should be getting fit assuming a few things:
No major swing changes.
They’re at a point where they’re going to spend money to get new clubs that don’t come with a bag and a putter.

Even a high capper can benefit from a fitting. If they’re taking lessons, they should probably have a conversation with their instructor about it, but if they’re not changing tempo or making a drastic change in the way they swing the club I’d think a fitting would be beneficial.
 
It's easy there isn't anyone that wouldn't benefit from a fitting
 
At the very minimum, I believe that everybody would benefit from at least a static lie angle adjustment to within a degree of ideal.
 
At the very minimum, for a mid to high handicap player whose swing is inconsistent their fitting will take on another aspect than a better player with a repeatable swing. I think the mid/high player will benefit from lie angle adjustments and gear to help with the miss and make the game more enjoyable.
 
I am hardly an expert, but how would a fitting help a high handicapper hit the ball more consistently when the swing is very erratic? This is the concept I struggle with.

Doesn't a high handicapper's swing change drastically with time as he or she begins to make better contact with the ball? If that's the case, the fitting he or she got last year would really be irrelevant, no?

I'm seriously asking. Not rhetorically.
 
I’ve always been a believer in getting fit. Since my last session and what happened to me, that belief has only solidified.
I’m a 13 at the minute, so a middle of the range golfer. My fittings have always been at golf stores in a net. Better than nothing, but not really that great. I’ve always ended up with stuff of the shelf being Mr Average.
Then earlier this year, I took advantage of my NCGA membership and visited the Taylor Made Performance Studio at Poppy Hills. That fitting was done on their grass range with trackman. The guy noticed I stood slightly through the shot, so without telling me, gave me a club half an inch long, 2 degrees upright. It literally transformed my shots. I’ve never been able to get the ball up in the air much. Also used to hit quite a few thin shots. The new clubs had me smashing the ball right out of the middle of the bat, with height. Serious height. I felt like one of the color blind people being able to see color for the first time with those funky glasses!
So yes, I’m a big believer in everyone getting custom fit. And fitted at a proper place if you can rather than your local golf box store.


#FiberLaunch
 
I am hardly an expert, but how would a fitting help a high handicapper hit the ball more consistently when the swing is very erratic? This is the concept I struggle with.

Doesn't a high handicapper's swing change drastically with time as he or she begins to make better contact with the ball? If that's the case, the fitting he or she got last year would really be irrelevant, no?

I'm seriously asking. Not rhetorically.

I agree with you here. Would benefit more from lessons and getting fit when they have a more consistent swing in my opinion.
 
I waited until I had a fairly consistent swing before I got my driver fitting. My fitting was with the same Pro that I took lessons from so he was familiar with my swing before we began the fitting. While I'm still a high handicapper, my drives have improved with my fitted club. I don't think you should have a fitting until you have a fairly consistent swing. I'm not sure how a fitter would properly assess your club needs unless they could see your same swing from different angles with different clubs.
 
I have never had a fitting as money was tight for awhile and my swing was not good. But, now that I have been practicing and golfing much more and swing is better and divorce is settled I will be doing fittings in the future.

I was under the belief that with an inconsistent swing a fitting would not yield all the benefits. I am also 5-10 and 190 so I am probably average guy size and therefore don't need to size up or down
 
If they are truly wanting to get better at golf, I'd first spend the money on lessons for both of those guys before I spent money on getting fit for clubs. Get their swing where it needs to be, and then get fit for that swing.

Getting fit when you don't have a repeatable swing is a waste of time and money in my opinion.
 
I am hardly an expert, but how would a fitting help a high handicapper hit the ball more consistently when the swing is very erratic? This is the concept I struggle with.

Doesn't a high handicapper's swing change drastically with time as he or she begins to make better contact with the ball? If that's the case, the fitting he or she got last year would really be irrelevant, no?

I'm seriously asking. Not rhetorically.

This is my mindset. I am a beginner. I am improving and working on my swing. If I get fit now, the "fit" will be for my current swing. As I continue to (hopefully) improve, the "fit" will not longer be correct.
 
I am 6'5" with relatively short arms. Getting fit made a big difference for me. In my current set, the only club not a + is the driver. My fairway woods are +0.5 inches, hybrid +1.0, and irons and wedges +2.0 inches. Lie angle is also 2º upright, and the flex is stiff in all my clubs but the driver. The loft on my putter is 4º and it is 2º flat. I asked about getting a shorter driver, as that seems to be what is recommended these days, and the fitter said that at 45.5 inches it is like 43.5 for most golfers.

The problem with this kind of set-up is I cannot purchase anything off the shelf, or online, except a driver.

I know some recommend that a high handicapper by-pass getting fit, but in some cases a fitting can offer great benefits to that golfer.
 
I agree with Mulli.
How can you really fit an inconsistent swing? You'll only fit the one you "may" have brought with you that day. And that doesn't help anything the next day (or fwiw the next hole)

I suppose if one who is not consistent does have mostly a one type of miss, that a fitting could help that miss. But now imo that in many cases may be using the fit as a band aid for a swing problem that is still going to be there.

Fwiw there are tons of people pretty decent at golf who never ever got fit and also never really try many clubs when they do buy new ones. Just naturally the game comes a bit easier for them. Get them fit imo and they don't realize how it could benefit them but they are decent off the shelf and so it doesn't really matter to them.

I think generally, fitting is about fine tuning not the swing but the club to the persons swing and not to fix the person. Before you can fine tune something you have to first have something to fine tune. A swing that has little to no inconsistency imo doesn't have anything to truly fit a club to.
 
I agree with Mulli.
How can you really fit an inconsistent swing? You'll only fit the one you "may" have brought with you that day. And that doesn't help anything the next day (or fwiw the next hole)

I suppose if one who is not consistent does have mostly a one type of miss, that a fitting could help that miss. But now imo that in many cases may be using the fit as a band aid for a swing problem that is still going to be there.

Fwiw there are tons of people pretty decent at golf who never ever got fit and also never really try many clubs when they do buy new ones. Just naturally the game comes a bit easier for them. Get them fit imo and they don't realize how it could benefit them but they are decent off the shelf and so it doesn't really matter to them.

I think generally, fitting is about fine tuning not the swing but the club to the persons swing and not to fix the person. Before you can fine tune something you have to first have something to fine tune. A swing that has little to no inconsistency imo doesn't have anything to truly fit a club to.

Often people who strike the ball inconsistently are not inconsistent in a lot of the ways that are important to fitting. Thinking in terms of iron shafts - I’ve made a lot of swing changes, including going from a very OTT swing to coming from the inside, and Mizuno’s shaft optimizer returns the same recommendations. There are some things you can fit with a pretty inconsistent swing, and some may improve consistency.
 
There are some things you can fit with a pretty inconsistent swing, and some may improve consistency.

After reading more about fittings and how I can personally benefit at this point in my journey as a high handicapper, I'm coming around to this quote.

Real question here. How much does shaft flex really matter to a high handicapper. Will it make a huge difference based on swing speed alone?
 
After reading more about fittings and how I can personally benefit at this point in my journey as a high handicapper, I'm coming around to this quote.

Real question here. How much does shaft flex really matter to a high handicapper. Will it make a huge difference based on swing speed alone?

What I’ve heard is that profile/weight are more important than flex.
 
I am 6'5" with relatively short arms. Getting fit made a big difference for me. In my current set, the only club not a + is the driver. My fairway woods are +0.5 inches, hybrid +1.0, and irons and wedges +2.0 inches. Lie angle is also 2º upright, and the flex is stiff in all my clubs but the driver. The loft on my putter is 4º and it is 2º flat. I asked about getting a shorter driver, as that seems to be what is recommended these days, and the fitter said that at 45.5 inches it is like 43.5 for most golfers.

The problem with this kind of set-up is I cannot purchase anything off the shelf, or online, except a driver.

I know some recommend that a high handicapper by-pass getting fit, but in some cases a fitting can offer great benefits to that golfer.

I was going to make a comment close to this - even though I'm 5'2", I was an athletic trainer and spent a lot of time around some REALLY tall guys. And the golf swing is hard enough on the body (reference the slew of back, shoulder, and elbow injury threads on this board alone) that I think anyone outside of the height range for a box set really would benefit from a fitting, even if the swing was inconsistent. How are you going to learn to swing if you're hunched over using clubs my size? You're going to have to unlearn a swing, relearn a swing, and then get fitted - again - because of the swing change. Best to get at least the right length and lie for your height.

I'm also a huge advocate for lessons right out of the gate too - to help prevent injury and repetitive stressors.

I'm already choking down on my women's clubs. And my putter is ridiculously small. So I'm in the same boat, just on a different part of it. :D
 
I was going to make a comment close to this - even though I'm 5'2", I was an athletic trainer and spent a lot of time around some REALLY tall guys. And the golf swing is hard enough on the body (reference the slew of back, shoulder, and elbow injury threads on this board alone) that I think anyone outside of the height range for a box set really would benefit from a fitting, even if the swing was inconsistent. How are you going to learn to swing if you're hunched over using clubs my size? You're going to have to unlearn a swing, relearn a swing, and then get fitted - again - because of the swing change. Best to get at least the right length and lie for your height.

I'm already choking down on my women's clubs. And my putter is ridiculously small. So I'm in the same boat, just on a different part of it. :D

Based on my experience trying to get my Daughter her new clubs, I truly believe that with the relative lack of Golf equipment specifically designed for women, golf fittings are much more important for them. The next set of clubs we get for my daughter will be custom made for her.
 
Based on my experience trying to get my Daughter her new clubs, I truly believe that with the relative lack of Golf equipment specifically designed for women, golf fittings are much more important for them. The next set of clubs we get for my daughter will be custom made for her.

That's my next step. I'm hoping to play another year with the fantastic set of Solaire's I have now, and sometime winter 2019-2020, pony up for a custom set. It's a matter of watching the piggy bank at this point.
 
I was going to make a comment close to this - even though I'm 5'2", I was an athletic trainer and spent a lot of time around some REALLY tall guys. And the golf swing is hard enough on the body (reference the slew of back, shoulder, and elbow injury threads on this board alone) that I think anyone outside of the height range for a box set really would benefit from a fitting, even if the swing was inconsistent. How are you going to learn to swing if you're hunched over using clubs my size? You're going to have to unlearn a swing, relearn a swing, and then get fitted - again - because of the swing change. Best to get at least the right length and lie for your height.

I'm also a huge advocate for lessons right out of the gate too - to help prevent injury and repetitive stressors.

I'm already choking down on my women's clubs. And my putter is ridiculously small. So I'm in the same boat, just on a different part of it. :D

You hit the nail on the head...I was way hunched over...getting the right size club was like a revelation. lol

I have a friend who plays on the LPGA Tour (Megan Khang), I have known the family since she was a wee lass. She is 5'1". I have a counter-balanced putter and she was messing around with it one day and she laughed because she could have used it as a belly putter. :)

But seriously, not everyone is standard length and lie, and regardless of handicap it helps to have equipment that fits. Imagine running a marathon in size 10 shoes when you are a size 12.
 
I will take the other side of the street here and say getting fit right away is better. Why learn how to swing with improper clubs? You are already making a hard game harder.

Just because you get fit does not mean you have to buy high end stuff. A cheap set of well fit clubs will be much better for your confidence and make things easier to learn.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
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