How did getting custom fit for clubs affect your handicap?

omanomad · 09-01-2022 2:09pm #1

Did it go up or down and by how many shots? Or did it stay the same? Whenever I hear of someone getting custom fit they always say how delighted they are with the new clubs but I never hear from them a few months later as to how it affected their handicap, which really is the whole point of it. So be interesting to hear people’s experiences on here how their handicap was affected. I’m mainly interested in hearing about people who got a new set of irons, but if you think getting custom fit for a new driver/wood/wedges/putter affected your handicap feel free to post here too.

dan_ep82 · 09-01-2022 3:51pm

I got fit for a set of irons in Foregolf and got them at the beginning of 2018.

When I was fit I was 21.6 HC under the old system and currently 13.4 under WHS with not much golf played in the last 18mths

I went from 712 AP2's 4-PW to JPX 900 Forged, dropped a 5w and added a 3i for 3-PW

The club heads are fairly similar but the lie angle had about 3-4° difference and more or less removed my snap hook and over draw. I could start a ball right of the green and draw it 10yds left of the green. This was instantly noticeable. The shafts and heads are much lighter which helped with fatigue during the round. I went from s300 to C Taper lights in stiff. They also have thicker grips which felt better for me.

The biggest difference was I had more lessons and practiced more due to spending so much on the clubs. They certainly helped knowing they were fit for me and I could trust them but they are only a piece of the reason why I dropped.

I wasn't a weekend golfer before this either, I was playing alot and practicing (albeit not as focused) before getting fit trying to drop my handicap. It's hard to say how much of an improvement they made.

blue note · 09-01-2022 5:29pm

Ah now don't be asking questions like that! Everyone who gets fitted are happy that they're much better with the new stuff, lets not ruin it on us by looking at that number!

spacecoyote · 09-01-2022 7:05pm

Still early doors for me to be honest as was fitted and got the clubs around June this year.

Started the year at 9.0, drifted out for a while, went as high as 9.7. Finished the year at 8.1

The peak was in around the time I got the new clubs, so I'll claim that the clubs were part of the improvement (alongside shaking off last winters rust)

I am 100% striking the ball better with the new clubs than I was with the old

AyeGer · 10-01-2022 1:14am

I dropped 2 shots when i got better fitting clubs, i went from a 10 to 8, back up to 10 now though for different reasons. It will make more of a difference if you were playing with badly fitted clubs to begin with. If i went for another full fitting i don't think it would have much effect on my handicap.

Neewollah · 10-01-2022 2:31am

Got fitted for a full set of new clubs in Foregolf around 18 months ago. Was off 7 exactly at the time. When WHS comes in I think I started on 5.6. Down to 4.8 now.

I gained easily 20/30 yards with driver and probably went a club even a club and a half longer with my irons which has led to me having a lot more loft in my hands more regularly and more birdie chances. I've definitely been more consistent with the fitted clubs and hoping to spend more time on course now in next few years to get to my target of 3 handicap.

Par72 · 10-01-2022 11:26am

Got fitted for new irons in 2018. Handicap was 1 at the time. Previous irons were a set of standard, steel-shafted Callaways that I bought off the shelf and had for about 10 years. New irons were Ping with graphite shafts. No difference in the distance with the new irons but ball flight was more what I wanted.

Since 2018 handicap has fluctuated up to 2 and down to as low as +1.7 last year, currently +0.3. Don't think I can give the new irons much credit for anything.

Also got fitted for a new driver last year. Had a Taylor Made M2 that I had bought off the rack with a regular flex shaft. The new driver is Titleist Tsi2 with a firm flex shaft. Haven't noticed much difference in distance, accuracy might be slightly better.

I got fitted for a putter last week so I will be interested to see if that makes much difference, won't get the putter for another few weeks though.

In my opinion, if you are unusual in terms of height, hand size, arm length, and/or swing the club unusually fast or slow then I think this is where custom fitting becomes very valuable. If you are average in terms of these things then your money is better spent on lessons (and also your pro will tell you if your equipment is detrimental to you) and your time is better spent on practice.

Mantis Toboggan · 10-01-2022 11:48am

I got fit for irons back in late 2017 in American golf.

At the time I was off 10.6 unfortunately haven't had a good few years and currently just about holding on to 16 off our whites, probably looking to 18 ish once qualifying starts up again.

I took up golf with a set of hand me down blades but they definitely seemed to work for me. Thought I could only improve when I was fitted for the Ping g400's but hasn't worked out, I did play and practice a good bit and have got lessons but haven't been able to stop the slide.

I do plan to get fitted at foregolf at some stage as I do have doubts about the initial fitting. I actually like the irons generally though and they aren't the main reason why I've drifted, I'd probably have bigger issues with the wedges.

Also at the same time as changing irons I changed golf courses and this has had a much bigger influence I think.

coillcam · 10-01-2022 1:16pm

I was a beginner joining the 2020 summer on one of the covid/new member deals. Didn't get to play many comps as it took a few months to get my HC. I ended up as 21 HC. When the season came back mid-2021 I quickly got down to 16-17 hc and started to invest in new clubs.

I got fitted for a driver around this time and first learned that I had a swing speed suitable for a stiff shaft. The lower loft and shaft brought the driver flight down (quite floaty previously). It gave me extra distance and wind was less of an issue also. I had a set of irons with stiff shafts that I bought 2nd hand and really liked them initially but I decided to fitted properly at the end of the year. What came out of it was that the iron shafts were too low-flighted for me. I still ended up on stiff shafts but the new ones had better spin/height. The irons only arrived just before xmas but at that point I was down to 14.6 already. I got new wedges (off the shelf) in October also.

I can't say how much the new clubs directly impacted my HC hugely as I am still learning the game. The driver was the most really the obvious change - the ball obviously going further and not getting dragged/held up in wind as often. Definitely more confident now to swing harder with the driver.

Most of my improvements have been down to practising and general improvement as I learned the game. Wedges, chipping and pitching are massively improved from regular short game practice. Putting improved somewhat, again also down to practice.

With that said I have the correct driver/shaft giving about 20 yards more and irons/shaft that land softer/stop better. This is definitely going to improve my performance but I couldn't give a good assessment of how many shots improvement this leads to. The extra driver distance should, in theory, mean more short irons/wedges and the new irons should mean more greens in reg, maybe this is 1-2 shots per round all told compared to the old clubs.

As a beginner/improver, the biggest factor is still 100% down to practice and lessons imo.

How did getting custom fit for clubs affect your handicap?

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