Club fitting

slingerz

I recently visited a club fitter who recommended a new makeup of clubs for irons, wedges and driver.

My question is really is it worth it? It’s approx a 2K outlay for everything with the irons being 1K of that.

For those that have gone that route, have you seen the benefits? And would you consider them to be real or to be psychological?

rickis tache

Went to Foregolf and only wish I had done it sooner.

Now you have to understand I didn't save for it but had a windfall about a month before and spent 2300 on my set from driver to wedge.

Dropped 4 shots in a short enough time and had best best round 3 weeks after getting them ( shot a 75 gross with a handicap of 16).

Now there's been days were no matter what, I play poor but with a good bit of concentration I can play very well.

It's an expensive thing to do to splash out what I did but I have no regrets.
Gonna be using them for at least another 5 years.
Found the wedges to be the best part of the package.

copacetic

It massively depends on what you currently play and how different the clubs are. Eg If you play recent enough forgiving irons, standard length, loft and lie and they have fitted you for the same then you will see little or no difference. Eg If you play standard blades, but have been fitted for 1 inch longer, 2 up, p790s you will see a big difference in shot results.

dan_ep82

I'm had a similar experience to Rickis.

Got a club fit voucher for christmas and had the fitting. The wedges and drivers couldn't be improved upon ( wedges were a good fit and woods were technique) but the irons I seen a noticeable difference ( lighter and 3.5° iirc difference) matched with the numbers I bought them and a utility iron.

Once I spent the money I practiced more and played more to justify them so the clubs were not the only reason I dropped shots but they did get rid of a big miss I had,now its a much smaller miss if it occurs. I have them now 3 years later ( i think) and I've come down around 10 shots. I've no plans to change the irons.

I wouldn't go in expecting them alone to change your golf game, but a good fit ( by a fitter or not i suppose) with practice is where you will see real gains.

If you have money you want to spend on shiny new stuff thats fine aswell.If you expect instant shots knocked off, unless your clubs are wildly un suited to you I would hold off. I went in with no confidence im my irons and came out with some and shiny clubs to boot so I was happy

slingerz

Thanks folks some interesting replies there.

My advice was for a shorter driver as I wasn’t getting the most of my speed and a lower lofted (9’) heavier & stiffer shaft for driver would make me more accurate getting more run on my drives. My drives are pretty decent usually so I am sceptical as to the gains I would actually see.

For irons it was recommended to get longer irons (1/2”) that lie should be +1 upright with a stiffer shaft than present. The irons selected are less forgiving than those I currently play and the belief is they would be more penetrating ball flight and a tighter dispersion on shots.

Wedges follow the same as the irons

It’s a big chunk of change and I’m struggling to see or perhaps understand the benefit I would get. I was thinking of bringing in the changes piecemeal by going driver + wedges given my home course would mean I wouldn’t be hitting irons to many greens anyway

copacetic

I’d go see someone else, shorter shafted driver and looking for ‘more run’ are out of date ideas. Your fitting should have been all about speed, launch angles etc.

chalky_ie

You could take the advice they gave on some stuff and do it yourself, buy a set of shafts online and have a local shop fit them, and bend your irons? If you're happy enough with the driver I'd leave it. I was fitted into a shorter driver by fore golf 2 years ago, have spent every day since wondering if I should get rid of it for a longer one.

plumber77

Its possible that a slightly shorter shaft may have his strikes closer to centre and therefore giving him more confidence to increase swing speed. Did you get to actually drive the recommended driver set up? Indoor or outdoor fitting?

slingerz

plumber77 wrote: »

Its possible that a slightly shorter shaft may have his strikes closer to centre and therefore giving him more confidence to increase swing speed. Did you get to actually drive the recommended driver set up? Indoor or outdoor fitting?

Yep I did drive the recommended setup and it was out doors. The flight was lower and more penetrating and apparently the dispersion was tighter. I wonder about the sample size being sufficient however

slingerz

conor-w wrote: »

You could take the advice they gave on some stuff and do it yourself, buy a set of shafts online and have a local shop fit them, and bend your irons? If you're happy enough with the driver I'd leave it. I was fitted into a shorter driver by fore golf 2 years ago, have spent every day since wondering if I should get rid of it for a longer one.

I might look into buying the shafts online but it is possible to buy the club heads as well individually?

slingerz

copacetic wrote: »

I’d go see someone else, shorter shafted driver and looking for ‘more run’ are out of date ideas. Your fitting should have been all about speed, launch angles etc.

Interesting. My swing speed was averaging 112 but the strikes were more centred with the shorter driver. I did think it was odd when the pro’s are looking at longer drivers

plumber77

I was fitted at Foregolf a couple of years back. I've massive spin on my driver, due to a Jim Furyk type swing. The recommended driver they not help at all. Since been to a pro in Cork and the difference a heavier/shorter shaft makes for me personally was eye opening.

Finlay Harp

I was an advocate of Foregolf until recently. Fitted for a wood that really wasn’t what I wanted and price was overinflated but went with it as I believed the hype. Visited a golf pro before Christmas with similar setup for iron fitting and was delighted with results and price.
I think the prices the OP is quoting are for high end gear. Better prices and advice to be had by looking at other options including a good pro in a local club.

bmay529

slingerz wrote: »

Thanks folks some interesting replies there.

My advice was for a shorter driver as I wasn’t getting the most of my speed and a lower lofted (9’) heavier & stiffer shaft for driver would make me more accurate getting more run on my drives. My drives are pretty decent usually so I am sceptical as to the gains I would actually see.

For irons it was recommended to get longer irons (1/2”) that lie should be +1 upright with a stiffer shaft than present. The irons selected are less forgiving than those I currently play and the belief is they would be more penetrating ball flight and a tighter dispersion on shots.

Wedges follow the same as the irons

It’s a big chunk of change and I’m struggling to see or perhaps understand the benefit I would get. I was thinking of bringing in the changes piecemeal by going driver + wedges given my home course would mean I wouldn’t be hitting irons to many greens anyway

For what it's worth I'm 6'2" and in a fitting a few years ago was recommended irons 1/2" longer and 2deg up than standard. They worked great for me and much improved my strike. Prior to that I often noted when using my clubs with a standard lie the divot would show the toe digging a bit into the ground which disappeared with the new setup.

I use a Ping G400 Max driver with a stiff Alta shaft which as standard is 45.75". I found I was getting more consistent contact with the sweet spot without any great loss of distance when I gripped the club about 1" down the shaft. As a result I picked up a used shaft and cut it to 45" and am very happy with the result. I did not change the head weight though I have heard this is suggested if you want to maintain the same swing weight. If I really connected with the sweet spot at 45.75" it will go further but was far more accurate at the shorter length and got me into far less trouble. I know length gives distance and is very trendy at the moment but the vast majority of Pros still use a 45" or less driver, I suspect for good reason. If you are very fit and/or your timing is spot on you will hit a longer driver further with accuracy.

For me a fitting is well worth it but I would have to have 100% confidence in the fitter before I would fork out a lot of money. I think I would get a fitting from two reputable fitters and compare results. If similar go for the one you prefer. If different one is definitely wrong and you might have saved yourself an expensive mistake.

redzerdrog

I have never gotten fitted but have often toyed with the idea.

My view is I would want to get fitted after a series of lessons and being happy with my swing. As mid hcap golf I feel like I swing the club differently on any given week. I recently got a lesson and went from an ott move to something else that I am still working on.

If I'd got fitted 3, 6, 9 months ago I would then have a set of clubs fitted to a movement or swing that I dont constantly replicate which is why I am weary of getting fitted

slingerz

Finlay Harp wrote: »

I was an advocate of Foregolf until recently. Fitted for a wood that really wasn’t what I wanted and price was overinflated but went with it as I believed the hype. Visited a golf pro before Christmas with similar setup for iron fitting and was delighted with results and price.
I think the prices the OP is quoting are for high end gear. Better prices and advice to be had by looking at other options including a good pro in a local club.

This wasn’t with foregolf. I think another poster had a similar experience with a shorter shafted driver as to what was proposed with me. My setup was for everything from driver, irons and wedges so I wouldnt consider it to be high end really

copacetic

As noted above, no-one can say for sure what is best for you. A second fitting, trying some of their ideas, etc. Personally I’ve been fitted for multiple clubs and have never found them to work much better than ‘self fit’ or trying different clubs to see which works best for you out on the course over a few rounds.

I was recommended at one stage an x flex ultra low spin head and shaft to reduce spin, went for a second opinion and was shown it could help numbers but a couple of small tweaks to setup stopped me hitting down so much and sorted it much better than trying to let the club do it. Was also given the shorter driver spiel too, but again second opinion showed I was just reducing chances of long drives and turning driver into 10 yards longer than 3 wood club. A ‘best numbers’ on the day fitting for an entire bag is pretty risky unless you have a very repeatable swing and are not planning on changing it at all.

tigerwoods

slingerz wrote: »

I recently visited a club fitter who recommended a new makeup of clubs for irons, wedges and driver.

My question is really is it worth it? It’s approx a 2K outlay for everything with the irons being 1K of that.

For those that have gone that route, have you seen the benefits? And would you consider them to be real or to be psychological?

Having been to Fore golf twice, they are very good at what they do and cannot fault them. In my opinion it all depends of what level you play the game at. A 25 handicapper dropping 2k on clubs is not going to drop 10 shots based on equipment. Best piece of advice I can give is to book a couple of lessons with your club pro and work on your game and take it from there. If you are serious about your game by all means invest in equipment in conjunction with your local club pro who won't do you wrong as he will be looking at your face every week where as F/G will only see you every couple of years.
F/G offer alot of different shaft options which you cannot get in other shops so it is hard to do a like for like comparison.

bailey99

plumber77 wrote: »

I was fitted at Foregolf a couple of years back. I've massive spin on my driver, due to a Jim Furyk type swing. The recommended driver they not help at all. Since been to a pro in Cork and the difference a heavier/shorter shaft makes for me personally was eye opening.

Might I ask the pro? I'm in cork and looking for a fitting and a recommendation for same.

plumber77

Pm sent

kennethrhcp

plumber77 wrote: »

Pm sent

could you let me know aswell please

plumber77

Went to Padraig Dooley of Drive Golf performance on the recommendation from a friend

slingerz

plumber77 wrote: »

Went to Padraig Dooley of Drive Golf performance on the recommendation from a friend

That’s where I was also.

bailey99

Was he must dearer buying a fitted club from him than buying a stock option from say mcguirks.

plumber77

The only difference in price was the additional cost of the fitting session. 100e for 1hr30mins to 2hrs.

blue note

Oh no. The wife was looking for something to get me for Christmas. I don't really need anything so suggested getting fitted for a new 3w as the one I have is a regular shaft which is probably the wrong flex for me. That said, I tend to be fairly long and straight with it, but it solves the problem of having to get me s something for Christmas.

Got chatting to the fitter and decided to book in for a full bag assessment, I just thought I'd enjoy it. I loved the driver fitting I did, so thought this would be a real treat.

I then got chatting about my current equipment. I got my irons 10 years ago on a great deal. R11s, stiff shaft, Ex demo set - 9 irons for €450. It was about half of what I'd have paid in halfpenny at the time. And I love them, love the look and feel and I can really smack them. However, it turns out my shaft is designed for high trajectory, high spin and distance. I went for a lesson a few weeks ago to try to address the problem that hitting into the wind, the high irons just don't stop climbing. 8i carries over 140m with no wind, into a stiff breeze it could start coming back to me and go 80m. And well left or right once it goes up there. From looking at those shafts now, it seems that they've secretly been conspiring against me this whole time.

So now I have two problems. Firstly, I was intending to spend a couple hundred on a wood. Now I'm looking at spending god knows what on a set of irons. And secondly, while I can see that this could lower my scores, a part of me doesn't want to change how I hit the ball. I like that I'm longer than pretty much everyone I play with with my irons. Usually much longer. I like that if I have to hit over trees it's rarely intimidating. I like that I don't have to think about my ball running much on greens. A well struck 4i into a green is probably going to run about 2m. So if I have to clear a bunker, unless I fly it over the green entirely, I'm more than likely putting if I carry the bunker.

It'll just be an adjustment to my mindset that's needed. If I decide to part with the money of course. I love the look of the Wilson cb irons. But 4i to pw you're probably looking at €1,200. That's a lot of money!

DuckSlice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118214968#Comment_118214968

If it was me i would want to be able to play all the shots with the irons i have. It sounds like you really struggle into the wind for distance so i think you need something in between. But your irons should allow you to play the high/mid/low ball as you need to. That is a skill that you should be using to dictate the height of the shot not the club dictating you can only play high shots. How do you manage on windy days?

Was there much difference in distance between the old and suggested new irons? or have you not had the fitting yet?

blue note

I want to have the option to play it lower - that's specifically why I went for the lesson. But if the clubs are set up for max spin and height, it must be harder to do with them than a more neutral set. So maybe a change could make those shots easier.

I wouldn't say it's as straightforward as I struggle for distance into the wind. A 4 or 5 iron will still travel a good distance into a wind. 6 or 7 irons aren't bad. But by the time I get to an 8 iron there's definitely a problem. All dependent on just how windy it is of course.

And the wind is a massive problem for my game now. Previously it wasn't too bad. Because on longer courses when playing into a wind you're hitting lower irons or even woods into greens. And they're not as big a problem. The problem now is that on the course I play the longer irons are too long for my approach shots, even on windy days. So I end up hitting it into the air and hoping for the best or taking a lower lofted club, ball back in my stance, gripped down, half swing. I've been trying to make this sort of shot natural to me for a long time now and I just can't get it. So the result is anything really - bladed through a green, chunked short, shank, sliced, hooked. All of these can be scratched holes. As I say on a very windy day I could throw it up into the air and it could blow miles left or right and I might be hoping it'll fly 110m and it ends up going 80m. That can also be a scratched hole.

If a different set could let me swing closer to my normal swing and not keep climbing endlessly into the wind, my life would be easier.

And I haven't been fitted yet. Maybe I won't lose all that much distance, but if I do it shouldn't bother me. It would actually be to my advantage if I could play full shots closer to the hole. If I'm further away I could just hit an extra club. I'm just being honest and admitting that I enjoy when people ask what I played into a hole and it was a 7 iron, whereas they might have a 4 in their hand. What I should enjoy more is when someone asks on the first tee what my handicap is and I can say 15 instead of 18 or something, but I have my faults.

blue note

God I love the fitting experience! I bought my irons about 10 years ago. Ex demo set, stiff shafts which was great because I've a relatively fast swing. I loved them and it never dawned on me to be honest that they were unsuitable for me.

It turns out that the shaft was very wrong for me and definitely adds to the problem of me hitting it so high. And I always enjoyed hitting it longer than others. Turns out the clubs were extra long as well! And offset just for the craic.

In particular with the shafts, they made an immediate difference. I was spinning at around 10k on the 7 iron. When I got a better angle of attack (I'm on the shallow side) I got it up to 12k. I believe it's supposed to be closer to 7k. So I've to confirm with the fitter (and club builder in fairness to him) that I'm going ahead with the purchase but I think I'll be going towards the Srixon zx7s. They really are lovely clubs. The fit is a tad aspirational, but I think that's a good thing. I've a good backswing, but then tend to cut off my actual swing. So if I don't stop cutting it off, it doesn't really matter what the fit is. But that was the thing that was mentioned to me at the lesson I went to a few months ago. So it was something I intended to address anyway.

It's bloody expensive though! I didn't intend to get anything, but then the wife was looking to get me something for Christmas so I suggested a new golf club, so I was thinking of a new 3w or something for a couple hundred. Now I can add a grand to that and it's not her that will be paying it!

DuckSlice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118238595#Comment_118238595

Sounds like you had a successful fitting. Is the fitted 7iron spinning at 10K?

Where did you get the fitting done?

blue note

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118239053#Comment_118239053

I got it done in Tramore with Peter Doyle - Precision fitting. He was excellent. The spin rate was way down on the fitted irons - 6-7 thousand.

I'm really going to miss my old irons. Hitting the ball a long way and stopping it quickly is a great trick. If I was going for a par 5 in two, I could carry my second over 180m with the 4i and holding the green wasn't a concern. Hitting it was obviously, but if I hit it I was unlikely to run off. But hitting it so high just doesn't work on a windy day. The ball goes into the clouds and hangs there. Even if it's a cross wind and not that strong it can still move my ball 20m. If you're offline to begin with you can miss by 40m without being all that far from executing the shot the way you intended. Hitting into the wind it's impossible to know how to play it.

I used to get away with this when I was a member in Tramore. I'd launch it at a green and if I blew offline I'd probably have a chip onto the green. So if I did it on three holes there's a good chance I'd be coming out with a par and two bogies or something. Whereas going that far offline in Corballis - you're relieved each time you find one. And my handicap has gone out 7 shots from what it was in Tramore. I don't believe I'm playing all that much worse. So hopefully this new set of irons will help me play a more controlled game.