Fitting Question

I’m going for my first ever fitting next week and I just found out the fitter uses mats and not grass. My question is can I get a reliable fitting off of a mat?

I ask because I’ve noticed when I go to the range (all ranges here use mats, no grass) I’m about 1-2 clubs longer than I am on the course. After some research it seems like the distance increase comes from lower spin off the mats. I spin the ball a ton as it is and I’m afraid the numbers off the mat are going to be optimal or even low and I’m not going to be fit correctly. Any advice, comments, etc. are welcome.

If you are with a good fitter, you can easily get a reliable fitting in that situation.

LLIB said:

I’m going for my first ever fitting next week and I just found out the fitter uses mats and not grass. My question is can I get a reliable fitting off of a mat?

I ask because I’ve noticed when I go to the range (all ranges here use mats, no grass) I’m about 1-2 clubs longer than I am on the course. After some research it seems like the distance increase comes from lower spin off the mats. I spin the ball a ton as it is and I’m afraid the numbers off the mat are going to be optimal or even low and I’m not going to be fit correctly. Any advice, comments, etc. are welcome.

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Yes, you should be able to get a reliable fitting. You will be comparing your irons hit off a mat, to fitted irons off a mat so it should be fine.
To have a 1-2 club effect are you sure it is not just the different balls at different ranges? How much do you generally spin a 7i and what sort of swing speed is your driver at?

I've been fit on indoor facilities with the mats twice and it's worked out just fine both times. With a good fitter, you should have no issues...especially since you'll be comparing to numbers from your current clubs, which are going to be hit on the same surface.

alexped2393 said:

Yes, you should be able to get a reliable fitting. You will be comparing your irons hit off a mat, to fitted irons off a mat so it should be fine.
To have a 1-2 club effect are you sure it is not just the different balls at different ranges? How much do you generally spin a 7i and what sort of swing speed is your driver at?

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I’ve taken a dozen or so of the balls I play to the range several times and got the same results. 1-2 clubs longer. I have no idea on spin numbers or swing speed. I’ve never been on any kind of monitor.

LLIB said:

I’ve taken a dozen or so of the balls I play to the range several times and got the same results. 1-2 clubs longer. I have no idea on spin numbers or swing speed. I’ve never been on any kind of monitor.

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Silly silly question. How do you know how far you are hitting on the range and if it is really 1-2 clubs longer?

In all seriousness, don't worry about. Club Champion is a massive custom club fitting and building operation and they are indoors. TXG, check them out, they are indoors. I've been fit at Callaway both indoors and out. Mats will tend to give off a little lower spin, but there is so much more to a good fitting than spin.

Thanks for the responses. I didn’t even think about having my clubs to compare. I’m just anxious/excited to have it done. I feel like I’m leaving iron distance and driver accuracy on the table and I’m hoping I can gain a little of both. If not at least I’ll know it’s me and not the clubs. The fitting isn’t expensive but I don’t want to burn $ if it’s going to be a waste of time.

As has been said, don't sweat it. They know what they are talking about and won't fit you into a silly spin model that won't suit you.

For example I wouldn't suit a lower spinning set of irons as I have pretty average spin characteristics with my irons

ddec said:

Silly silly question. How do you know how far you are hitting on the range and if it is really 1-2 clubs longer?

In all seriousness, don't worry about. Club Champion is a massive custom club fitting and building operation and they are indoors. TXG, check them out, they are indoors. I've been fit at Callaway both indoors and out. Mats will tend to give off a little lower spin, but there is so much more to a good fitting than spin.

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Depends on which swing comes to the range with me. Some days it 150yd 7i, some days it’s a 9i.

I’m really trying to go into it with no expectations or biases. I just get hung up on stupid stuff like this sometimes. I really just want to make sure I get the most out of it.

A solid fitter will take the mat into consideration. Wouldn’t be worried about it at all.

A good fitter will know the difference between a mat and turf and how to fit accordingly. Additionally not all mats are poor quality.

Thanks for the replies. I won’t worry about it then. He’s a “Top 100” fitter for what it’s worth. I’ll let him do his thing and just enjoy the experience.

I find hitting off mats inspires a little extra confidence leading me to swing a little freer... I dunno. It would seem to be every swing is a "best case scenario"...

DaBuckBoys said:

I find hitting off mats inspires a little extra confidence leading me to swing a little freer... I dunno. It would seem to be every swing is a "best case scenario"...

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Could be the case. My miss is fat and I don’t have to worry about that too much on a mat.

Just got back from my fitting. I’m freaking tired. It was a full bag fitting so I hit a lot of balls. A few takeaways -

First, kudos to Tour Edge & Bridgestone. My driver and irons were spot on for loft & lie. My Vokey wedge, not so much.

We started with the putter. I kinda expected to be fit into a center shaft putter because I have a SBST stroke. I didn’t expect a longer putter to work. I’ve played 32” for years but apparently 33” is much better. I was draining everything with it.

Next was irons & wedges. This was the most eye opening part. If you haven’t been fitted I would highly recommend it. When we started my 7i was going 135 or so. By the time we found what shaft was ideal it was going 160. And it was a shaft and weight I never would have tried. He also changed a couple things in my alignment and takeaway that made a huge difference. What’s crazy about the distance gain is that I’m still playing a fade, the apex is still around 100ft, & there’s still enough spin to hold greens. The big differences are contact is consistently center of the face and it’s a stronger penetrating flight.

Next was woods. Apparently someone had tipped my driver shaft before I bought it because he said it was playing around a 6.5 flex. After I hit it he said that he didn’t want to change anything. He said never in a million years did he expect me to be able to hit it but it works. He told me he could see I was confident in it and it showed in the numbers. My 7i SS was around 84, my driver SS got up to 99. I love that driver and it just works and the numbers confirm it. Smash factor was consistently 1.46-1.48. The only thing that really surprised me was I was much more accurate at 9*. That also brought my spin and launch down so I should see some ridiculous roll this summer.

Next was fw’s & hybrids. These were surprising as well. Wilson D7 won the battle over the Epic Flash. Even with the stock lightweight shafts. 3w was going about 225 dead straight and 22* was 210* with a baby fade.

Also, I forgot to comment on dispersion. With my clubs I was all over the place. Left and right, nothing really close to the target line. After finding what fit no club, including driver, was more than 8yds off the target line.

All in all I’m extremely happy I went through with it. I tried to keep an open mind. I told him I didn’t want to know what shafts and heads I was hitting, I only cared about the numbers. I’m not going to be able to get everything for a couple months but I’m all in on what was recommended.