Custom Fitting
There are two different ways of fitting golf clubs, Static and Dynamic fitting, Static fitting is what most retail shops offer. This includes basic measurements of the body and applying these to the measurements of the golf club. Although this is better than nothing, it is very basic and not worth paying money for. I fit a player dynamically, this means the golfer actually hits balls outside, hits different types of equipment and is fit for their clubs by feel and what he/she likes and is comfortable hitting. Fitting this way I believe is the best way to achieve optimal results, as golf is primarily a feel game, a fitting session should be conducted in the same way. If a golfer isn’t comfortable with the golf club they are looking down at, nine times out of ten they will hit a poor shot. As a result of my dynamic fitting process all fitting sessions are conduct on an out door driving range as I feel it is imperative to be able to see the balls trajectory, also at Chorley Driving Range there is the ability to hit balls from a grass tee area so the golfer can get a true feeling of hitting the golf clubs off turf like you would out on the course.
The Fitting Session
The fitting session will start with an interview; this is done in order to assess handicap, your goals for golf game, your current golf clubs, consistent problems that occur in your game and your strengths and weaknesses. This initial part of the fitting process is essential as I want to build a relationship with the golfer and it allows me to focus on the immediate areas that require attention. Next the golfer will warm up and hit some balls with their own clubs while I assess their swing, tempo, ball striking, ball trajectory and curvature. During the next stage I start to introduce some different clubs, using different technology and explaining to the golfer what the club and the technology used can and will do to provide more consistency and distance. All aspects of a golf club have to be analysed in order to make a fully custom fitted golf club. I begin looking at the grip, one of the most essential and overlooked parts of the golf club, next I look at head design and then shafts including flex, weight and the different profiles of shafts currently available.
I will also look at club length, the swing weight and dead weight of the golf club then you will be able to see for your self which works best for you and produces the best results. There are many different new technologies that I believe can have a very positive effect on a golfer’s performance. These include Back Weighting, Frequency Matching, Moment of Inertia Matching and many others all of which will be explained and you will be able to try during the fitting session. These technologies are not offered by any big name club manufacturer and are another reason why having custom fitted clubs is essential if you are to perform at your optimal level.
Beyond the Standard fit
While custom Fitting is becoming more widely offered, there are certain clubs which no player gets custom fitted for. Yet they are the two most important clubs used in order to produce low scores, these are the wedges and the putter. These clubs are maybe the most important in the bag, yet 99% of golfers just buy these clubs straight off the shelf. This is an area of custom fitting I am offering to you which could have an enormously positive effect on your performance. Short game custom fitting sessions will follow the same plan as the regular fitting session.
During the session we will look at your current short game set up, what shots you struggle with, your putter and its specifications and your putting performance. Then we will proceed to look at some different wedge head designs, different shaft weights, and technologies such as back weighting, different grips and many other aspects. Then with Putter fitting we will look at different putter heads, different lengths, different types of weighting and you will be able to see which has the best effect on performance. I believe this is a huge area of custom fitting that is over looked and it can have a tremendous effect or your performance and help you produce lower scores.