Dramatic Improvement from Custom Fitting?

Par72

I'm toying with the idea of getting my clubs (or maybe just a driver to start with) custom fitted and I'd love to get a bit of feedback from you guys.

For those of you who have had your clubs custom fit, did you notice much of an improvement with the new clubs and if so, in what areas? (e.g accuracy, distance etc.)

Did you get your previous set modified or did you have to buy a whole new set?

What were the differences in the set you had and the new set (or modifications made to existing set)?

Any recommendations in the Dublin area for custom fitting?

Thanks.

PhilipMarlowe

Haven't done a full 'custom fit' yet but the last time I changed my irons I got them 1 degree flat which I suppose is a minor change...

I do have an appointment with www.foregolf.ie in less than 2 weeks to get the whole analysis thing done which I am looking forward to.

Par72

Wow! I'm very surprised that none of you have any experience of custom fitting (or if you do, that you don't want to share).

Maybe it's not something people are interested in.

ShriekingSheet

I've had my whole set custom made. I wouldn't have gotten an existing set adjusted. Personally I don't like the idea of tinkering too much with a club. But having it built and sent out by the manufacturer in the spec you want is worth doing in my opinion. Especially if you're spending a lot of money on the club in the first place.

I think the type of shaft and flex is most important to get right.

Length and lie are also important but unless you're very tall or very short they're unlikely to move from standard. In my own opinion many custom guys give people 1 degree upright or flat just to make a tweak for the sake of it.

I'm 6ft 4 and have standard length clubs with 3 degrees upright so I wouldn't listen to people who say you need x adjustment cos you're x height. Ernie Els is the same height and has the same club set up I think.

I played with 1/2 inch longer irons for a year and they were/I was muck. So there's an example of getting it wrong.

Rathsallagh has a computer programme that links up to their clubs and shows you a read out of kick point and flex when you hit a few baclls to the clubes wired up. It tells you what shaft you need.

You don't need that kinda detail but it's up to you. All i'll say is if you're in any doubt, go with the softer shaft that you think. I see too many (especially young) golfers who want the stiffest shafts they can hit just to impress people. You can see it here on boards when people post up the specs of their clubs - Rifle 7.5s etc. It's just not worth making that mistake because too stiff shafts will have a huge nagative impact compared to more regular ones.

As for drivers - I don't put much stock into custom made drivers. They're so big and easy to hit these days there's really no need once you get the right shaft. I gotta say, TRY a few shafts before you buy to make sure you get the right one. After that, just get a 9 or 10 degree depending on your h'cap and away you go.

My verdict - if you're getting new clubs then yes, get fitted for the irons. Drivers are more a case of researching yourself and trying different ones. If you've a decent set now, and you're not freakishly tall or short, then don't bother getting fitted. Your money would be better spent on lessons.

C

PhilipMarlowe

Ok, I went for my 'check-up' at www.foregolf.ie today... currently playing off 4 handicap.
It's just outside Naas so was a simple enough spin up for me from Kilkenny.

After warming up in the driving range, they take you over to the (impressive) Volvo truck full of goodies! Both Derek and David were there and I couldn't recommend them high enough.

They started with my irons - I have a set of Titleist 735.CM (i'm a leftie at golf). I had ordered them 1 degree flat based on a previous 'recommendation' from the pro who I bought them from. From talking to me about my game and watching me hit shots, they could tell the clubs weren't flat enough for me. They had a similar demo iron there with the same shaft and he bent it to the angle that he thought I'd need and it straightened out my ball flight incredibly.... Now I'm an average build guy, about 5'11 and 12 stone and I need my clubs 4 degrees flat from titleist spec?
At least my irons can be easily adjusted and I don't need to shell out for a new set (an advantage of buying a good set to start with?).

Moving on to my 3 wood, he had a particularly nice Taylor Made TP version and with a custom grafalloy blue shaft should equal happy days.

They have a great system with Taylor Made driver heads that allows them to 'screw on' different shafts really quickly. So you can have a burner head or whatever and hit a few shots with a particular shaft then in about 1 minute they will switch the shaft so you can select the right one for you.
I settled on the Taylor Made Superquad 9.5 degree with a grafalloy red shaft.

For a hybrid it looks like a 22 degree TM Burner with a custom fujikura shaft.

They talked about tipping some of the shafts too - searching online about this brought me to this post on golfwrx.com

It means that the shaft has been trimmed at the tip (i.e. the clubhead end) to make it play to a desired flex. Most shafts are tip-trimmed to some degree to get them to play to a desired flex, depending upon the clubhead they are being fitted to, but it is possible (and quite common) to adjust the flex by varying the amount that is trimmed.

'Tipping' a shaft generally refers to the act of removing more tip material than is generally specified in order to make the shaft play stiffer than the expected flex. If a shaft is described as 'tipped' it generally is a reference to the extra amount of tip material removed over that which would be considered 'normal.'

They gave me a sheet with their recommendations and prices for the same. I won't say they are cheap or anything but I would highly recommend that any serious golfer gets the treatment and it will certainly help you avoid shelling out for a club that you have to move on shortly after because it doesn't suit...
You pay for the consultation initially so what you do after that is up to you...

madds

Care to share the cost with us Licksy? I'm currently working on my swing plane with a pro in Carton, but may look into this once I'm happy with my swing again.

Will be interesting to see how you hit the ball over the next few weeks & months.

PhilipMarlowe

€200 for the consultation.
It will cost €100 to calibrate all my irons and wedges for loft and lie. I left them with him and that will take a couple of days.
Any new stuff is probably pretty close to rrp taking into account the custom work needed to be done on it too (shafts, grips etc).

My misses tend to be to the right (over drawing as a leftie) and also my ball flight was a little too low so I could instantly see an improvement with his demo club (a 6 iron, bent to suit me).
He told me that I don't like playing on heavy ground (which is true) because I tended to make contact with the heel of the club first, because of the incorrect lie angle.
Of course, I had some great rounds with the old equipment as it was so I was obviously able to adapt.... but hopefully consistency will improve now. He did say I would notice a marked improvement in my wedges - my long irons were pretty good. Actually I hit some super 3-5 irons on saturday, right on the flag Hope the new clubs don't take too much getting used to...

I would presume if you are working an a new swing then you might be better off waiting until you have something more repeatable before you go get clubs built to suit?

Par72

Thanks for the info Licksy. How long were you there for altogether?

Be sure to report back and let us know how you get on with the new sticks.

PhilipMarlowe

Appointment is for an hour to 1:15.... I was probably there for slightly longer than that, just under 1:30 I think. (They also give you a basket of balls to warm up with in the range before your appointment starts).
Adjustment of my irons will take a couple of days (depends how busy they are I suppose). New stuff takes about 7 days.

keepherlit

Got a set of clevelands custom fit. It was done in premier golf in santry, they dont charge for the custom fitting on some brands, mine was free. very helpful and as it turns out im pretty standard across the board. but at least i cant blame the clubs anymore!! it took me 2 weeks to get the clubs(leftie) but think it was worth the wait. when i was getting it done you could feel the difference in the lie angles with the variable screw on heads. neutral just felt right for me.

madds

Licksy wrote: »

I would presume if you are working an a new swing then you might be better off waiting until you have something more repeatable before you go get clubs built to suit?

Yes, that's the plan alright.

PhilipMarlowe

I collected my adjusted irons tonight and can't wait to try them out. I'm not much of a practicer though so straight in to a monthly medal tomorrow morning with them

They gave me a list of what lofts/lies clubs usually are, what mine were, and what they now are set to.

LIE
Club No. | Industry Avg | Were | Now
3 | 58• | 61• | 54•
4 | 59• | 61• | 55•
5 | 60• | 62• | 56•
6 | 61• | 62• | 57•
7 | 62• | 62• | 58•
8 | 63• | 63• | 59•
9 | 64• | 63• | 60•
PW | 64• | 63• | 61•
GW | 65• | 65• | 61•
LW | 65• | 65• | 62•


Bearing in mind that mine were ordered 1• flat, most of them were pretty upright.
My longer irons have been moved a lot so that should be interesting
The lofts were more consistent and haven't been adjusted as much but they did put about 1• more loft than average on nearly everything because i do (did) have a low flight.

The new woods will be ready next week.

PhilipMarlowe

72 nett, mid-short irons feel fantastic (5,6,7 & 8).
Didn't play the 4 - hit a few 3 irons and not quite sure about them... the feel is very different, will take getting used to.
Wedges are going to take some practice (damn), I was in good position a few times but hit (relatively) weak shots with them.
Also, the fact that the clubs have been altered plays on my mind when I am over a shot so the only way out of that is practice and develop some consistent shots with the way they are now...
Positive start anyway.