No matter what level golfer you are from a complete beginner to a seasoned player everyone would benefit from a club fitting session. However it is important you bring these crucial 9 things to ensure you get the most benefit from your club fitting.
- Your current set of clubs
- Your golf gear
- Bring Your ‘A’ Game
- Study your own game and bring your numbers!
- Do Your Research
- Keep A pen Mind
- Stick To A Budget Budget
- Make sure to bring a fun mindset
- Make Sure To Speak Up
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1.Your Current Set of Golf Clubs
When going for a custom fitting the most important item to bring is your current set of clubs. I have attended many fittings over the years and the first step in the process is always hitting shots with your current clubs. This gives your fitter some base statistics to work with around distance, ball flight, and dispersion.
Warm up beforehand and hit your club as you normally would. There can be anxiety when asked to hit in front of a fitter on a launch monitor but try to stay relaxed. Discuss your usual shot patterns with your fitter and explain the type of shots you like to hit, e.g. a draw, and those you try to avoid, e.g. a slice.
Check out this Forum and read about the custom fitting experience of other golfers, so you understand what to expect.
The technology involved in your club fitting process will vary, to see if GolfTEC a company that prides itself in using only the latest and greatest golf technology to improve your game is worth it, check out my article.
2.Your Golf Gear
Treat your fitting as if you are going for a round of golf! Wear what you would usually wear to your Sunday competition or social round, you are trying to emulate the experience of playing golf. Your loose golf pants and top will help with your flow and allow you to swing naturally.
If you are having an indoor fitting and don’t want to wear your golf shoes, have footwear that offers support and grip as you swing through the ball.
If you wear a glove when golfing, wear it during your fitting, you want to emulate a game of golf as much as possible for your fitting.
It is even a good idea to wear a new golf glove as you will be hitting a lot of balls and you want your grip on the club to remain consistent, for a great pair of golf shoes and how to prevent painful foot blisters from playing golf check out my article.
Make sure you take your glove off at regular intervals, air the glove out and give your hand a breather. It is never a good idea to leave your glove on too long, the pros don’t and neither should you. Have a look at my article to see why.
3.Bring Your ‘A’ Game
Driver or iron fittings usually take 45 minutes to an hour. During this time you will hit a lot of golfballs.
I have made the mistake of spending hours on the driving range the day before or the morning of a fitting trying to perfect my swing. This has left me feeling fatigued during fitting sessions and caused my performance to drop. Have a read of my article to see how much time you should be spending on the range and how best to use it.
It is vital to go into your fitting session well rested. Avoid swinging your clubs the day before and the morning of a fitting. Have a good night’s sleep and a healthy meal before you attend and this will help you put a consistent swing on the ball throughout the fitting.
To fit a full bag of clubs can take over two and a half hours, this is a long time for a club golfer who isn’t playing everyday and inevitably performance and consistency will begin to suffer towards the end of the session. Speak to your fitter about splitting your fitting over two day to give yourself the best chance to get fit into the clubs that are right for you.
A great way to still practice before a golf fitting without getting tired tired commuting back and forth to the driving range or course is building a realistic golf simulator in your home. You can get vital practice 24/7 365 days rain or shine. Check out my article here on how to build one.
4.Study your Game and Bring your Numbers
Study your game, the more information you can give your club fitter the better.
Your typical carry yardage with your driver or 7 iron is an important piece of information. Helping the fitter understand your preferred shot shape, the miss you desperately need to avoid and the areas where you need more help or feel will make the fitting process more beneficial for your game.
If you are changing your irons or woods do a deep dive into each club and find what is working and what needs changing. Most golfers want more distance, with the help of your club fitter try to evaluate the best way to achieve this, more club head speed? Less spin? Stronger lofts? More forgiveness? There are many possibilities.
If your struggling to achieve long distances with the Driver, check out my article here on how to drive longer.
5. Do Your Research
You won’t have time to try every golf club during your fitting so take the time to look at clubs that are available from your favorite brands, pick 3-4 models you like the look of and you think will suit your game, and try them during your custom fit.
Other areas to research so you can gain an advantage for your game and bring your handicap down include grip thickness, lie angle, shaft flex/weight and shaft length. These are key aspects of your clubs that influence your swing speed, launch angle and ball flight.
Have a look at the above video for further insight on the technical aspects of club fitting.
6.Keep An Open Mind
It is crucial to approach your golf fitting with an open mind. Everytime I go for a club fitting I learn something new about my swing and find a club or setting that improves my game. I don’t always leave with the club I thought I would buy, it is often outperformed by another.
Trust the numbers, the feel and what your fitter is telling you and buy the clubs that suit you best.
A great piece of advice I received years ago was to have a lesson after buying new clubs, it’s the perfect time to create new habits. There will be a settling-in period after changing clubs when you’re maybe not hitting the ball as well as you had hoped but this will pass you need to get worse to get better sometimes!
These effects with new clubs are similar to what happens after a lesson, check out my article for more info about this, so you don’t get frustrated when it happens to you.
7. Stick To A Budget
Have a budget for your club fitting and stick to it. I see so many golfers fall down the rabbit hole of overspending when attending a custom fitting. It is important to find a professional fitter you trust and you feel has your golf games best interest at heart, not just how much money they can take from you.
For a recent driver fitting, I tried a new store, the fitting went ok but the fitter continued to lecture on how I should be buying fairway woods and hybrids from him to match. I bought nothing in the end and found a club pro who was interested in helping me improve my game, not just taking my money.
Don’t be persuaded or bullied into buying more than you need and more than your budget allows, remember in a perfect world your club fitter will be trying to help you but the reality is a lot of them are salesmen. Quality clubs are important but they don’t have to break the bank, to see if expensive clubs really make a difference to your game check out my article.
Remember you have given the time to get fit, paid your hard earned money for brand new clubs, if there is anything you are unhappy about don’t be afraid to go back and ask questions when your clubs arrive.
8. Have Fun
It’s normal to feel nervous and be intimated for a club fitting, you might be used to only playing with your pals and being put under pressure to perform is something you might not be used it.
But, if your club fitter is a professional which they should be they won’t care how good they are, only that you end up with an enjoyable experience and have a great time which results in better golf clubs.
Instead of being nervous s treat it like a growing experience to improve in the game you love, and to get the best possible equipment to help you perform.
9. Make Sure To Speak Up
Remember the average fitting costs between $250-$600 for a full bag so remember to speak up when your fitter asks you a question. You are paying a lot of money for this fitting so it’s your right to be picky!
Even if you can’t drive 200 yards it’s your right to talk about your opinions on the club fitters suggestions, inform your fitter if you don’t like the feel of a club and which ones you won’t touch again with a barge poll. If you don’t like a recommendation politely decline, keep an open wind.
Always ask questions and enquire to the reasoning of the club fitter, make them justify why they are picking the club, the loft angle or anything your curious about. Even if your not super knowledgeable about golf you will be able to tell how much your club fitter knows depending on his/her answers.
It is crucial you ask a lot of question, your paying for a club fitters expertise always enquire why they are handing you this club, why this shaft does or doesn’t work for you or anything else your curious about.
Curious if you should have inside or outside golf lessons? Check my article here to know the facts.
