Why Club Fitting?
Over the last 10 years, club manufacturers have not only improved the playability of their product but have also expanded the options for a proper fit. Now, most of your top lines have fitting systems. (Some, of course, are more complete than others.) We use the Henry-Griffitts system because it has the most variables and lets us know exactly what the golfer needs. The problem is that most people still buy clubs without the advice of a qualified professional. They often select their equipment because:
- Costco had them on sale for a great price.
- Tiger Woods uses that brand.
- Their neighbor loves his set.
The problem, of course, is that people are different. A mass produced golf club will fit the "average" person but what about the rest of us? Good players are picky about their equipment because they understand that the surest way to ruin a grooved swing is to play with poorly fitted clubs. It's the same with beginners and casual players. A poorly fitted club will punish a good swing with a bad shot. As a result, people will develop compensation moves to get the ball to go towards the target. Since it's difficult to compensate the same each time inconsistency becomes the name of your game.
A junior trying to learn on Dad's cut-down clubs or a lady with her husbands cast-offs are going to struggle. Many give the game up early because it's just too hard. Properly fitted golf clubs make the learning process a lot easier for the beginner. The benefit for an experienced player is better motion and a more consistent shot pattern.
The Process
All clubs are fit to balance. This means we get you to a finish postion that is comfortable and repeatable. You want a set that rewards a good swing, not one that tries to fix a bad move.
IRONS
Lie angle is the angle between the shaft and the blade. It is critical, especially with the shorter irons. If the angle is too flat, the ball goes to the right. (Right-handed players). People respond to that by somehow closing the face down. When I see someone hanging back, flipping their hands, or strengthening their grip, I suspect the lie angle to be too flat. With the clubs being too upright, the influence is left so people react by sliding, blocking, and aiming to the right. The only effective way to check a lie angle is to have people hit off a lie board.
The shaft is the heart and soul of the golf club. If the shaft is too stiff, the shots will go to the right. Too flexible, you lose control and the ball goes too high. Either way you sacrifice distance. Other important factors are the length, deflection point, graphite versus steel, and torque. There is no substitute for hitting balls with different ones to see which feels and performs the best.
The head style can be an important factor. An offset-cavity-back design will hit the ball highier and more to the left than a non-offset-muscle-back iron. Which works better for you? Let's hit each and see what performs the best.
WOODS
The vast majority of people seeking lessons do so because they can't hit with their woods. The most common reason for that is trying to use clubs with too stiff a shaft and too little loft. Golf Digest Magazine did an article a number of years ago that stated the average player would not only be straighter off the tee with a 3-wood but would actually gain distance! Some club manufacturers have now started to make Drivers with the loft of a 3-wood. (On behalf of teaching pros everywhere, thank you!) If you don't have enough loft to comfortably get the ball in the air you'll struggle with slicing and loss of distance. We test different lofts to see what you need off of the tee and the ground for the right trajectory.
PUTTERS
90% of the people we've tested had a putter that did not allow them to aim at the hole. I myself was in that group. When tested from eight feet with a laser, I consistently aimed nine inches left of the hole.; and didn't know it! (This was with a putter that I had used for 25 years.) If you consistently aim incorrectly you will develop a compensation move in your stroke to get the desired result. As we know, this makes you inconsistent.
We use the putter fitting system developed by Chris Aoki for the Henry-Griffitts Company. 10 years of research went into this idea and it has proven to be very effective. Using a laser we will try different combinations of length, lie angle and head style to get you a putter you can aim with confidence.
