Benefits of custom fitting clubs

Brewster

Folks, bought a new set of TM burner irons in Florida during summer while on hols (paid duty of course!!) and I am wondering about custom fitting?

I played a bit of golf over the years without taking it seriously. I am now getting lessons and I am progressing well enough. In peoples' opinion should I get my irons custom fitted at this stage or should I wait till I get more consistency in my swing? Or is it worth the money at all? Is custom fitting another way of extracting money out of the poor golfer?!

Opinions appreciated.

PhilipMarlowe

I got mine fitted after I bought them because I was dealing with a pretty consistent low draw, particularly with my short irons. My lie angles needed to be flattened a lot and we also put a touch more loft on them to get a bit more height into my shots.
That said, I was down to 3 with them the way they were so it obviously wasn't that much of a hindrance. I got them adjusted early this year but haven't had much of a run at it this year with a new family arrival and a difficult time leading up to that. But it was at the stage if there was a tight flag on the green I found it difficult to 'see' the shot because of my shape. Now I miss them on both sides!

I would say to hold off until you have a consistent(ish) swing and at that stage you may learn more what your common flaws are and whether any of them are down to the wrong shaft or the wrong lies etc...

My consultation cost 200 with probably another 100 I think to adjust my full set of irons and wedges for loft and lie (there have been a couple of threads on here about this). Well worth it in my case to get my clubs right for me, particularly as I don't change my irons too often - the last set of forged Ram fx's I had for probably 12 years or more. If I was changing again, I'd buy directly from the fitter after first getting checked out.

Sionnachster

Like Licksy, I looked into this myself recently and got some good advice here too. I did manage to get an appointment with Foregolf a couple of weeks back after debating whether to go for it for a few months now. Basically, the €200 fee was a stumbling block but I decided the recession was some place in France and went ahead.

Like you, I have existing irons and don't want to change them so I wanted to see if they were fitted correctly. I had an inkling my yardage had been short and I was hitting a high ball which was brutal in windy conditions. After measuring, my irons were 3 degrees outside the normal tolerance loft - my 6 iron was basically a 7 iron and so on down the set. Again, this is fine if you know it and if they are all that way then simply club down.

I had them all adressed and are now 1 degree strong for a lower controlled flight which is what I wanted. Thankfully the lie angles were pretty good. It turns out my wood shafts suited my swing speed and he didn't think upgrades were necessary so there was no feeling of change being suggested for the sake of it. My grips were changed and I also had an extra wrap of tape applied which feels much better as my original grips were pencil thin.

I've been to the range only once since this was done and am happier with the hit and trajectory but it's very early days so don't take anything from that yet. I think I'm happier mentally as you know your clubs are spot on and any screw up is down to my swing. Basically, one less thing to blame.

Overall, I'm glad I did it. As was said above, your records are stored and you can then order clubs through them to your exact personal spec. It's obviously a move for serious golfers who expect a financial outlay. I'd also say that the boys there are top drawer and can't do enough for you.

I had at least 3 lessons, a clinic and 2 visits to the range per week for the last couple of months so I was happy my swing wouldn't be changing too much. I wouldn't have gone if I knew my swing was way off. It would be like getting fitted for an Armani suit the day before starting work in a brewery as a taster (or some other witty analogy that can be bettered by a fellow poster)

Hope this helps... I bought clubs in Florida once too. For $129 in Walmart. Dynarods or something. They had the sweetspot of a rusty shovel. You get what you pay for in golf.

waterville72

Did they charge you for adjusting the lofts too/And if so can I ask how much on top of the 200 it was/Thinking about getting this done.

PhilipMarlowe

Like I posted above and before, the 200 was for a consultation. In my case, They went through my entire set from Driver down to putter.
After 'interviewing' me, we started with my irons which was where my premier concern lay. I wanted to stick with my s300 shafts because I've played them for lots of years.
They had a titleist 735cm 6 iron in lefty with an s300 shaft there as a demo - they bent the lie angle until I got the straight flight and an even marking on the tape they put on the sole... turns out I needed my irons very flat, and after adjusting them (some were off what they should have been to start with) some changed by 6 degrees!
They discussed putting one degree more loft across the board because I hit the ball low. They gave me a list with recommended lie angles and lofts which were evenly spread and it was then up to me if I wanted to have them adjusted, walk away, whatever. I think my irons and wedges cost 90-100 more to have adjusted (which of course i was going to have done after seeing the results during the consultation!).
They also went into the driver, 3 wood, rescue and recommended shafts and heads which again I could have decided to purchase or walk away...
They also dealt with issues I was having with my putting.

The consultation was very thorough and well worth it IMO.
Some people buy new drivers every year (or more than 1, lol)... I would consider a custom fitting much better 'investment' and would be more inclined to get checked out, particularly if you are going to purchase...
When I had bought my clubs initially (elsewhere), I was recommended to get them 1 degree flat which was after a 2 minute check... obviously not nearly thorough enough and plain wrong in my case.
€10/club to adjust lofts and lies was ok too. When I went to collect my clubs (2 days later) I brought along a 53 degree wedge I had around the house for mucking about in the garden and they adjusted it for the same loft and lie as my 'proper' gap wedge and re-gripped it on the spot (no charge).

stockdam

Although I've never had this done I think it's probably worth it (that's just my opinion though).

Why don't I get it done? Well I just don't play enough and there are other more important things to spend my money on.

I've used a plastic mat that marks the sole of the club - the marks on the bottom of the club are towards the toe which would indicate that my irons are a bit flat. However I don't really have a problem hitting the ball to the right but this could be because I've compensated in my swing.

Sionnachster

Same as what Licksy said above. I reckon €100 had all my irons and wedges recalibrated so to speak. The grips were my own decision as I was looking to have it done anyway, they were about €15 each so after that they are friendly enough to knock a few quid off I imagine.

I opted against getting my putter done. Reason being it is a 35" and I actually need a 33" for my stance. They could have cut 2" down but would have had to add a lead strip to the bottom to redistribute the weight balance required. Anyway, as it's a nice Odyssey putter in excellent condition I reckon I'd be better off trading it in in it's existing condition and investing in a putter I've had my eye on for a while now.

When you see how far off Licksy's lie angles were you can totally see why it benefitted his performance. I'm happier I've my lofts adjusted and only 2-3 lie angles reset and found the trip worth while. They have the best kit used on tour and have serious top drawer client base so you are getting a professional service but paying for it.

My biggest annoyance about the whole thing was the standard of range ball used was poor. Not a major issue though...

SEORG

Does anyone know of somewhere in Limerick or near to Limerick where I can get this done. Thanks in advance