If you’ve never splurged for a professional club fitting, whether it be for a full-bag, or just a new driver or a set of irons, you should.
Why you ask?
Because unless you’re a trained professional with an understanding of the top equipment on the market and the newest-of-the-new, or you’re the crazy guy who “shops” at Roger Dunn 3-days a week, you have no idea of even where to start when it comes to models and shafts and flexes and grips and lofts and lies and MOI and angle of this and descending angle of that.
Here you go, our Top-5 Reasons…
Reason #1 – Access to a vast selection of equipment available in one place to test
The GolfTecs, Club Champions and Cool Clubs of the world stock over a million combinations of heads, shafts, grips and the like, in each of their locations.
“You want something a little more forgiving, let’s try these three heads.”
“Want a stiffer shaft that will lower your ball flight and spin numbers, let’s hit the new XXX shafts that just came out. The tour guys are loving ’em.”
You get it, right? COMBOS! OPTIONS! SUCCESS!
Reason #2 – The expertise of the fitter
Now, we get that all fitters aren’t cut from the same cloth, but a well-trained fitter with 6+ mos. of solid experience with access to the top tech and know-all, can fit you 1,000,000 times better than you can fit yourself, or even worse, how your 10-handicap buddy would fit you.
Reason #3 – Feel + data leads to a confident purchase
I’m old enough and experienced enough to know how a well-hit shot feels, even if I’m hitting into a net 10 feet in front of me. But coupled with GC Quad-level data and a dispersion chart, I can see with my own eyes what I should be fit into. GolfTec really has this dialed in. (Here). CONFIDENCE!
Reason #4 – The company/fitter will check your clubs once they come in
About 10-12 years ago I bought a new set of irons from Nike. I wasn’t professionally fit for them at the time, but I did order the clubs with the same specs I had used since college (2 degrees up, 1/2 inch over, X100s, one extra wrap, etc.). To a club, they were all off. Not even close. Some were even bent flat. Crazy talk. Thanks to a buddy at Cool Clubs, I was able to get them bent correctly. (Here). I’m shocked that Nike doesn’t make golf clubs anymore. SHOCKED!
Reason #5 – A lot of professional fitters are also Class A PGA Golf Coaches…so ask for a tip or three after your fitting session has ended
This might be pushing it, but just a little. A coach loves to coach, and one who just watched you hit 100+ balls surely picked out a few things you could work on. So go ahead and ask. If the fitter is smart, he/she will take 5-10 minutes to share their thoughts on how you can improve your swing, ball flight, spin numbers, etc.
Return the favor. Tip her after you get your clubs. Write a nice Yelp review. Refer-a-friend.
Don’t be shy. Getting fit ain’t cheap. SO ASK AND YOU WILL RECEIVE!
When I got fit by a good friend, Gavin Witzer, PGA, he provided me with a couple of drills/feels to help me with my follow-through position. Thanks Gavin! (A free Gavin tip for you here.)
In the past decade, I have been fit by Cool Clubs, Gavin Witzer with Gavin Witzer Golf, and most recently, GolfTec. All three experiences were very solid and consistent in many ways: 1) the level of professionalism; 2) the pro/fitters desire to fit me with the correct gear; 3) the glee that I felt when my order was placed.
When my new set from GolfTec comes in (I got fit today in Mission Viejo, SoCal – thanks Cody Lissner!), I’ll come back and rank my three fitting experiences from Good to Great.
A handful of tips for anyone about to go get fit for the first time:
- Take two Aleve and stretch before you arrive. You’re about to hit a bunch of balls. And by a bunch, I’m talking 125-200 balls depending on how dialed in you want to get and whether you are being fit for a driver vs a full bag.
- Drink a bunch of water. Hitting a 100+ balls in an hour or two is a workout no matter how much grief you spouse gives you. You don’t need to be wearing a Whoop to know you are sweating and need some hydration.
- Take at least a min. 2-minute break every 15 minutes or so. I don’t care if you’re 18 or 80, take a break, walk away, and then reset. Golf is played on a course over 4-5 hours — not in a hitting bay or a range slot in the time it takes to watch an episode of Stranger Things Season 4. And take a practice swing or two. Stay loose. Don’t just grip, rip, rip, rip and grip.
- Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean you should buy it. Don’t be that guy and walk out with the most expensive set, unless you’re about to tip out your fitter $250. Golf clubs can help you improve your game, but there is NO CORRELATION BETWEEN WHAT YOU SPEND AND HOW MUCH YOU MAY IMPROVE with your new clubs. Grab that new set of clubs and go play/practice golf 3-5 days a week for a year and take a series of lessons (Gavin is great if you live in South Orange County). New clubs, a lessons package and a ton of golf will lead to lower scores — probably, maybe. We hope.
