Wonder if custom club fitting is for you?

Professional golfers playing on tour, both men and women, are sponsored by golf club manufacturers, with their clubs custom fitted and frequently adjusted. For recreational golfers, custom club fitting has had a booming rise in popularity during the past 15 years. If you have never had your clubs custom fitted to your specific needs, there are some things you should be aware of before venturing into the unknown.

First, club fitters come in all sizes and varieties, from big box stores, like PGA Tour Super Stores and Golf Galaxy, to small, private local studios, like Cruces Total Golf at 170 W. Picacho Ave. in Las Cruces (575-449-4762), owned by PGA professional T. J. McMullan.

With any big city market, the availability and characteristics of club fitters may be overwhelming, so it is important to check the experience and reviews, among other things, to choose a suitable match with your needs. The most common question for those contemplating club fitting would be, Is it worth it?

My answer is, if you are a serious golfer, and serious about improving your game with maximizing your distance and overall performance on the course, a resounding “yes.” However, about the only individuals to whom club fitting would be a waste of time and money would be stark beginners and wannabe golfers who cannot yet get the golf ball airborne. Another group who probably won’t benefit is those who aren’t willing to practice.

A typical club fitting session for a full bag fitting – woods and irons – will last about an average of 1-1/2 hours. The fitter first has to know about your skill level, golfing background, personal objectives, and desires for seeking new fitted clubs, and physical characteristics, like stature, strength and so on. It would be a little like a first visit to a doctor.

Whether you visit a national club fitting outfit, like GolfTec, or a smaller “mom-and-pop” shop, you will find that fittings which are done indoors use state-of-the-art simulators and launch monitors that generate a plethora of data for each swing you make at the golf ball. Among the data points generated are the following: ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis (left or right), carry distance, club head speed, attack angle (i.e. angle of the club face as it contacts the ball), face angle and path (i.e. the direction your club is traveling at impact), and “smash factor” (power).

When it comes to the main factors which the club fitter considers in selecting certain specific clubs are as follows: total club weight, shaft weight, swing weight, shaft bend profile, loft, lie, grip size and more.

A few weeks ago, I had a full-bag club fitting in Dallas at Stripe Show Club Fitters with Jake Medlen, PGA, owner. [In the interest of full disclosure, my son, Neal Blanchard, is the store “mechanic” at Stripe Show, handling club building, tweaking, repairs and much more.]

The session lasted about 90 minutes, during which time I hit some 130 golf balls into the simulator screen. I have been using my current clubs for more than seven years, and while they are decent, I realized it was time for a change. Due to injuries and aging, I have lost some distance and flexibility, despite religious gym workouts.

Jake had me hit several high-end drivers, woods, hybrids and irons, while interchanging different shafts for each club. That was more balls I hit at the practice range, but I held up. I didn’t need a putter fitting; I’m a pretty good putter.

If you’re inclined to buy a set of clubs off the shelf, be aware that you have to dig deep to be sure they are not fakes of knockoffs. The fitting fee may average few hundred dollars, but it is worth it. The cost of high-end clubs today will be considerable, so be sure you can afford it.