To Fit Or Not To Fit, That is the Question
Whether it is nobler to pay for professional advice and testing Or to buy blindly the most gleaming and alluring clubs off the rack. This is the question we must ask ourselves as we consider buying new clubs. My personal belief is that if you are starting off, start with anything…. Almost. If you have a friend that is thinking of getting into golf, why spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on a set of clubs when they might not end up liking the game. So for the new comer, I would say buy used, or take the hand me downs. You don’t even need a full set of clubs to try the game out. But here’s the key to this. Women should avoid taking their Dad’s clubs out if possible, or using their brother’s set. The reason for this is the stiffness of the shafts. Men swing the club significantly harder/faster than the average woman. The “Kick Point” of the club will be different. No better way to sour on playing than if you can’t get the ball lifted into the air and you feel a shiver up your arms. In this case, it may be better to buy used women’s clubs OR for as little as $400 get a beginner women’s set. That’s exactly what I did to get started. I still have my Nancy Lopez starter set from 1995! I think I spent $250 at the time for P-Wedge to 3iron, Driver, 3 and 5 wood (metals). I filled it out with a used Sand Wedge and bought the cheapest putter at Sport Chalet I could find on sale. I quickly realized the driver and woods were crap and that Christmas bought on sale (at Balboa Golf Course Pro Shop) a used set of Callaway Women’s Driver, 3 and 5 woods that I absolutely loved for about $150. Vwhala, Fun times for several years as I played about once a month or less. If you have a friend who wants to test out the game and have their own clubs, Costco online has very decent clubs to get started. (Their balls aren’t bad either). However, they don’t have all their clubs in the warehouse. Go online to look for the beginner set and believe it or not, yes Nancy Lopez still offers an entry line set. Or take your friend to a used dealer and look for women’s clubs.
So why get a club fitting? Well, once you decide you like the game and are willing to sink a little more money into it, a proper fitting matches your swing and speed to the shaft and the club head, assesses the proper lie angle and loft angle for the club head and allows you to try different combinations with different manufacturers and models. It also helps you decide on the best combination of clubs. Better clubs and better ability to lift the ball into the air means better shots, consistency and FUN! The professional fitting should cost in the range of $250 for 1 hour. But if you buy your clubs through the same store, they often credit that to your clubs…. So free. But if you want to take the data elsewhere to buy clubs, you’ll pay for the fitting.
Any golf store now has the ability to do this in store with computer tracking. Technology does wonders. They’ll set up the gizmos behind and to your side and with laser accuracy and computer algorithms, you’ll see on the screen you hit the ball into a golf course with your animated ball flight soaring through the fairway or onto the green. Personally, I prefer this to be done at a real driving range so I can see the real flight, but the computers do a great job. You will feel the difference in your own hands of a Taylor Made vs Callaway vs Titleist vs Cobra vs Ping etc. You should be able to try at least 3 manufacturers. You might not try every range of club. Typically, you’ll hit a 9 iron and a 7 iron and just from those clubs they can fit the rest of the irons to you. Then comes the driver. Once they have the driver you now discuss what woods and hybrids you might want and this is based on the gapping and your swing speed. For instance, you probably don’t need a 3 iron if you are getting a 3 hybrid. And if you have a 3 hybrid, you may want a 3 wood, but not a 5 wood. These are decisions you make in discussion with the pro.
Go to the fitting prepared with questions and info for the fitter. They may want to know what you’ve been hitting, what you like and dislike about your clubs, what’s your distances and what’s your price range. Have you played a hybrid, do you hit your long irons well? You may need to decide between graphite or steel shafts. (Hint, graphite is sooo much lighter and easier to hit, but more $$) Do you want to only look at drivers, woods, hybrids or only irons or a complete set? Don’t get locked into only the big brands. Wilson has come out with a set of irons that are earning high praise and their driver is also quite nice. Be open to suggestions. Finally, ask what is the return policy.
Here’s a few places to check into for fittings: Golf Galaxy and Golf Mart both use the indoor tracking method. Stadium Golf is outside with their tracking system. Your local golf course may also offer fittings through their pro shops.
On Course Hint
You’ve just spent a lot of $$$ on new clubs, let’s not lose them on the course! If you take multiple clubs from the cart out to your ball to decide what’s the right club to hit, put the extra clubs directly between you and the cart you have to return to so you don’t forget them in your excitement about the awesome shot you just hit. You literally should have to walk over your clubs on your return to the cart. On the green, you may have taken a couple wedges as well as your putter with you. Once on the green, place your clubs partially lying on the green/fringe area directly in line with your walk back to the cart while you putt. (They won’t be lost in the taller grass.) If you remove the flag to putt, put the extra clubs next to the flag. Always look back at the green as you walk away and check for clubs, your’s and your playing partners!
Whether it is nobler to pay for professional advice and testing Or to buy blindly the most gleaming and alluring clubs off the rack. This is the question we must ask ourselves as we consider buying new clubs. My personal belief is that if you are starting off, start with anything…. Almost. If you have a friend that is thinking of getting into golf, why spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on a set of clubs when they might not end up liking the game. So for the new comer, I would say buy used, or take the hand me downs. You don’t even need a full set of clubs to try the game out. But here’s the key to this. Women should avoid taking their Dad’s clubs out if possible, or using their brother’s set. The reason for this is the stiffness of the shafts. Men swing the club significantly harder/faster than the average woman. The “Kick Point” of the club will be different. No better way to sour on playing than if you can’t get the ball lifted into the air and you feel a shiver up your arms. In this case, it may be better to buy used women’s clubs OR for as little as $400 get a beginner women’s set. That’s exactly what I did to get started. I still have my Nancy Lopez starter set from 1995! I think I spent $250 at the time for P-Wedge to 3iron, Driver, 3 and 5 wood (metals). I filled it out with a used Sand Wedge and bought the cheapest putter at Sport Chalet I could find on sale. I quickly realized the driver and woods were crap and that Christmas bought on sale (at Balboa Golf Course Pro Shop) a used set of Callaway Women’s Driver, 3 and 5 woods that I absolutely loved for about $150. Vwhala, Fun times for several years as I played about once a month or less. If you have a friend who wants to test out the game and have their own clubs, Costco online has very decent clubs to get started. (Their balls aren’t bad either). However, they don’t have all their clubs in the warehouse. Go online to look for the beginner set and believe it or not, yes Nancy Lopez still offers an entry line set. Or take your friend to a used dealer and look for women’s clubs.
So why get a club fitting? Well, once you decide you like the game and are willing to sink a little more money into it, a proper fitting matches your swing and speed to the shaft and the club head, assesses the proper lie angle and loft angle for the club head and allows you to try different combinations with different manufacturers and models. It also helps you decide on the best combination of clubs. Better clubs and better ability to lift the ball into the air means better shots, consistency and FUN! The professional fitting should cost in the range of $250 for 1 hour. But if you buy your clubs through the same store, they often credit that to your clubs…. So free. But if you want to take the data elsewhere to buy clubs, you’ll pay for the fitting.
Any golf store now has the ability to do this in store with computer tracking. Technology does wonders. They’ll set up the gizmos behind and to your side and with laser accuracy and computer algorithms, you’ll see on the screen you hit the ball into a golf course with your animated ball flight soaring through the fairway or onto the green. Personally, I prefer this to be done at a real driving range so I can see the real flight, but the computers do a great job. You will feel the difference in your own hands of a Taylor Made vs Callaway vs Titleist vs Cobra vs Ping etc. You should be able to try at least 3 manufacturers. You might not try every range of club. Typically, you’ll hit a 9 iron and a 7 iron and just from those clubs they can fit the rest of the irons to you. Then comes the driver. Once they have the driver you now discuss what woods and hybrids you might want and this is based on the gapping and your swing speed. For instance, you probably don’t need a 3 iron if you are getting a 3 hybrid. And if you have a 3 hybrid, you may want a 3 wood, but not a 5 wood. These are decisions you make in discussion with the pro.
Go to the fitting prepared with questions and info for the fitter. They may want to know what you’ve been hitting, what you like and dislike about your clubs, what’s your distances and what’s your price range. Have you played a hybrid, do you hit your long irons well? You may need to decide between graphite or steel shafts. (Hint, graphite is sooo much lighter and easier to hit, but more $$) Do you want to only look at drivers, woods, hybrids or only irons or a complete set? Don’t get locked into only the big brands. Wilson has come out with a set of irons that are earning high praise and their driver is also quite nice. Be open to suggestions. Finally, ask what is the return policy.
Here’s a few places to check into for fittings: Golf Galaxy and Golf Mart both use the indoor tracking method. Stadium Golf is outside with their tracking system. Your local golf course may also offer fittings through their pro shops.
On Course Hint
You’ve just spent a lot of $$$ on new clubs, let’s not lose them on the course! If you take multiple clubs from the cart out to your ball to decide what’s the right club to hit, put the extra clubs directly between you and the cart you have to return to so you don’t forget them in your excitement about the awesome shot you just hit. You literally should have to walk over your clubs on your return to the cart. On the green, you may have taken a couple wedges as well as your putter with you. Once on the green, place your clubs partially lying on the green/fringe area directly in line with your walk back to the cart while you putt. (They won’t be lost in the taller grass.) If you remove the flag to putt, put the extra clubs next to the flag. Always look back at the green as you walk away and check for clubs, your’s and your playing partners!
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