Clubfitting Processes

SELF ASSESSMENT

The most common method of club fitting is the do-it-yourself approach. Basically, the player judges what his or her equipment “variables” should be based on past playing experience, often as a result of trial and error.

At times, the assistance of a salesperson or golf professional can enter into this process with regard to choosing shaft type, flex and club lie. In the end, the final decision rests with the player's own assessment. However, many times the golfer's assumptions prove erroneous.

For example:

Tall players may automatically assume that they should use clubs longer than standard.

Heavyset players feel that they need a higher swing weight.

Aggressive players select stiff or x stiff shafts

The worst case is when a golfer might decide that since a friend or another good golfer they know is getting results from clubs with certain variables that they should use the same.

The self-assessment approach can work if you're a true student of your swing and of the equipment specs you require. Beware if you're not!

STATIC FITTING

Generally, this method takes into account several types of measurement of the golfer while standing or in the address position. Those measurements form a match within a range of club-specification offerings. The goal is to find the correct combination of length, lie, grip size and face angle for the particular golfer being measured.

The static fitting system narrows the selection options and has withstood the test of time for players of varying levels. Most manufacturers that employ this method have dramatically increased the opportunity among golfers of getting a set of clubs that more closely match their specifications.

DYNAMIC FITTING

This concept of custom fitting, which is gaining popularity among many serious players, involves adding dynamic aspects of the golfer's swing to the static measurements. In this method your club pro or a trained salesperson is involved in the measurement and assessment of the golfer.

Typically, this procedure will take place on the practice range or in a hitting cage. A selection of clubs, usually 5 irons and drivers of varying flexes, shaft types and lie angles, is tested by the golfer. Observations of where the club is 'soled' and of ball flight are considered by the club fitter to determine specs.

In a growing number of instances, computerized swing analysis machines are being added to this method. Areas such as clubhead speed, swing path, face angle, and tempo are combined with the static measurements and observations to produce more accurate specifications.

One significant benefit of computerized analysis is with regard to shaft choices [the horsepower of the club. Shaft type and flex vary greatly in range - particularly graphite - within brands and among manufacturers. This presents the opportunity for a golfer to get a closer fit. It should be noted, however, that there are no agreed upon industry standards for shaft flex and torque characteristics. Therefore, great care must be taken by the fitter to fully understand how each system’s design [grip, shaft and clubhead] is intended by to perform bu it's manufacturer.

PERSONALIZED FITTING

In each of the other cases, the player is being, to varying degrees, matched to the equipment. Personalized fitting, until recently only available to the Tour-level player, approaches fitting from the opposite direction: Clubs are built to fit the player rather than matching the player to the clubs. The obvious advantage to this method is the high percentage of “fit” that can occur when utilized by a Professional Clubfitter.

Personalized fitting includes identifying each golfer’s variables, using both static and dynamic fitting processes with a full evaluation of the individual statistics. The data is converted to create a set of specifications unique to the individual golfer. From these specs, the components that make up the club “system” are chosen by the golfer and fitter for assembly. The fitter [art] is now also the club builder [science].

Another benefit of the personalized approach is the range of components available to the fitter. In particular, shaft choices abound. The shaft plays a major role in the successful fitting of a club to the golfer. What's more, the fitter-builder can draw on discrete taper-tipped shafts, graded head weights and equally weighted grips that further yield the highest percentage of fit possible.

It should be noted that often times a retrofit is all that's required to dramatically improve the degree of fit. The heads of an existing set are re-built with new grips and shafts to bring the clubs to spec.

— David Eagar 2009/01/06 12:51