Who Should be Custom Fit?

Often I hear the average higher handicap player tell me that they are not good enough to be custom fit. Personally, I don’t think this could be further from the truth. True, your average tour player would not ever dream of playing a golf club that is not fitted to them, BUT, the tour players are the golfers with the least need for fitting. Even the tour player that says he plays stock golf clubs has been fit, he just has more resources available to him than the average golfer. He can try anything, and through trial and error finds what suits him best. The better player has typically spent hundreds and thousands of hours practicing on the range and with an instructor. They have a finely honed sense of “feel” for their golf swing and the equipment in their hands. Even if the golf clubs aren’t perfect for them, they can make it work adequately by the adjustments they make with each swing.

The best example of this is myself. One winter I visited my parents in the desert for Christmas and did not bring along my own clubs. My father and I went out to play and I used my mothers clubs. I am a bit over 6’1” and swing the club at well over 110 mph at the time. My mother was in her late 50’s, stands about 5’7” and was using standard men’s length clubs with a senior graphite shaft. Using her clubs I shot in the mid 60’s that day. Those clubs did not fit me and I had to make a lot of adjustments in my swing to make them work, but because of all the time I had spent on the range was able to make the adjustments adequately.

What does this have to do with the average golfer? More than you think. Contrary to popular belief the average player’s swing is VERY consistent, but produces very inconsistent results. I have filmed many high handicappers while teaching and one thing remains constant, and that is their basic swing motion. The thing that changes every time is their timing, be it with their hands or the timing of the coming out of the posture. A properly fitted set of clubs will not change what they do with their swing, but will help with the consistency of contact to provide proper ball flight and direction.

A couple of years ago I did an informal study of some people who had clubs fitted and made by me. I took the 20 scores previous to the new set and then took 20 scores after their custom fitted set. The low handicapper typically improved by an average of 1⁄2 – 1 shots per round. The high handicapper, the one that shoots 90 and above benefited by 3 – 5 shots in their average score. This did not always reflect in a lower handicap, but it did 90% of the time. Again, what it did do was allow the player to be more consistent on a day in and day out basis. Because handicaps are based on the low 10 out of the last 20 scores and then a percentage of that based on the course rating and slope, there are no guarantees of a lower handicap. But, I think you will find that you are more consistent and have a little more fun playing the game that we all love.

So, the next time you hear someone saying that they are not good enough for custom clubs smile and ask, “What is your handicap?” If it is above a 5 or a 6, smile and ask “Are interested in better golf game?” Chances are if your clubs fit you and were fitted by a qualified clubfitter you will play to your handicap more often than they will.