Went for another lesson the other day as i am still fatting shots on a regular basis. Spoke to my teaching pro about my irons and when i brought them they were custom fitted for me i had thicker grips, Half inch longer shafts and the lie angle altered by 2 degrees. He decided to check them to see if they had been adjusted correctly the grips and shaft length were correct but the lie angle had not been altered on any of the irons at all. He remeasered me and then altered my irons for me the difference was unbelievable i hit every shot clean not fatting it once which is not like me at all i was hitting it longer with every iron and the ball actually went where i wanted it to. Lesson to be learnt here dont take for granted what your golf shop tells you i will be purchasing my golf gear from my pro in future. Really annoyed at the years i have wasted trying to use these clubs thinking it was me that was at fault when all along they hadnt been fitted correctly. Hopefully my handicap will start to drop and i will enjoy playing more again.

Hi Jason

If you don't mind me asking, what shop fitted you when you bought them.

I have just been fitted for a set of Taylor Made burners @ American Golf and thankfully they seem to be right for me.

Regards

Gary

Perhaps someone could explain to me how the lie angle, if correct, will prevent anyone hitting the shots fat.

If the lie angle is incorrect for the golfer, such that the toe of the clubhead is tilted well up in relation to the heel, the face is automatically pointing to the hook side of the target line. Conversely, if the clubhead arrives at impact tilted with the heel well up compared to the toe, the face of the clubhead is pointing to the slice side of the target line.

The greater the loft on the face of the clubhead, the more off-line the face will point when the lie angle is not correct for the golfer. Thus, the lie angle is much more important to be fit to the golfer in the irons than it is in the woods, since irons have a little to a lot more loft than do woods.

Hi Gary i brought the irons from european golf my teaching pro says most golf shops will try and sell people the clubs that have the highest mark up in price and not what club actually suits the golfer. He also told me mizuno are one of the worst manufactures for custom fitting clubs correctly as he has had lots of golfers with incorrectly or not adjusted clubs at all coming to him to be refitted. Quite shocked to hear this from a manufacturer like mizuno but can beleive it as it has happened to me .

Hi John i dont no all the technical side of it all but my irons were toeing down and the lofts of the clubs were all out as well my pro charged me £20 to alter all my irons and i have never been happier. Ok some of the problem was probably down to me and swing at impact but all i know is im hitting the ball better than i have ever been and i have stopped fatting my shots. In your experiance have you heard of clubs not being fitted correctly just wondered if it was a common thing.

Jason, I am pleased that you are happy with the way you are now hitting the ball, although I feel that is due to the lessons and not the lie angle of the club.

All this club fitting is something that I was never brought up with, as in my day, clubs were purchased straight off the rack in a pro shop. Looking at the charts for the modern day thinking in respect of club fitting I notice that I am a standard fit, so this would tell me why I never had any problems hitting any of the clubs I have ever bought in my life.

I think that with the vast range of flexes available these days that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find the shaft that exactly suits ones swing and I also feel that buying from retail shops is not the way to go as, quite honestly, the knowledge required to offer a complete service is sadly lacking.

Confidence is the key and now you are hitting the irons well your game will progress rapidly.

I think John is right-I don't see how these changes would alter a tendancy to hit it fat.  Probably just a confidence thing.

Beware of American golf-in my experience their advice and fitting service is pretty much a joke.  I had to return a club after getting some very dubious advice.

Custom fitting is worth getting if it's free-but it is definitely an over rated service.  Its not the big deal people make out-unless you are very short/tall etc

Hi John your probably right but when at address the irons felt really comfortable and hitting the ball seemed really easy. Before they got adjusted i felt uncomfortable and kept getting pains in my back after a while at the range.

Hope your right about my game progressing as it was getting to the point where i was not enjoying my golf. The plan is to get to a half decent playing level and then join a club Dont think the wife will be to happy though.

I think the main thing here is that Jason is now getting a better shot from his golf clubs.

It probably is just a combination of confidence, lessons and his clubs being altered.

Keep going Jason as now you are not hitting any (or many) fat shots you should see your scores getting better.

Russ

Matt,

Please don't take this personally but this is the 2nd time you have said that custom fitting is over rated?? Can you explain your reasons for this? Have you been custom fitted, if yes where & did you have a bad experience?

Everyone I know who has been custom fitted, including myself, have all been very pleased with the results & service.

I agree with you on the American golf comment. I went in the other day to purchase a glove & said to the chap I needed a right handed glove, he said "I think you mean a left handed glove, unless your left handed" to which I replied "I am left handed" to which he then replied "in that case you'll need a right handed glove!!!!!"

John, do you not think that with there being more shafts/flexes that it is easier to find the correct shaft for someone? Once you have got someone's basic needs, it is just a process of elimination.

Jason, I can't see how your pro can suggest that Mizuno are fitting their clubs incorrectly. Does he mean that the specification Mizuno give when they fit you at one of their centres?? Or the physical measurements of the clubs themselves?? 

Glad to hear you are having more joy now, custom fitting can help ball striking quite alot. Especially to taller/shorter people. Getting lessons at the same time is always a benefit too.

As for american golf, they are a joke. Had someone I know interested in Ping G10's, he went in and asked a few questions. He's 6 4" and has really long arms, the guy just turned aound and said, nah just take a standard set and see how they go. Also they didn't know the difference between NXT Tour's/Extreme's. Great service.

Nick, to answer your question I would have to say that in theory the greater the variations the easier it should become to get the perfect one.

Unfortunately this does not seem to work in practice for the simple reason that no one is ever offfered all the possible combinations to try. All one gets stuffed down their throat is what the fitter decides is best for you, or in some cases him.

John,

Yes I have been custom fitted. 

I have been custom fitted for a putter from Yes!, a 3 wood from American Golf, a full set of irons/woods/hybrids/wedges/putter from the Mizuno national Fitting centre and fitted for a ball from Bridgestone.

So I have been fitted for every aspect of the equipment pretty much.  I could tell you in detail exactly what, why and how the process is carried out.  And I think I am perfectly qualified to make the statement " I think the custom fitting process is over rates"  in fact, I think a lot of custom fitters can and do give potentially misleading information.

I just don't think the vast majority of amateur golfers are going to see any real noticeable difference in getting clubs fitted.

My best experience was with the putter-Yes! do a great job and this did make a difference.  Most off the shelf putters are way too big, so I'd recommend this.  Im nearly 5 11 and a 32 inch putter was fitted for me.  before I had a 34 inch putter-way too big and too flat.  Wayne (5 9) bought it off me?

I'll give you an example the bad advice I got.

 My swing speed was measured at 97mph by 3 separate sources (and 106moh from Bridgestone-Hmmm can these guys even calibrate the equipment correctly-my swing is not over 100, Id say 97 is dead right)

Anyway, both Mizuno and American Golf insisted on stiff shafts, despite my protests. They just go by a swing speed rule of thumd-not a good idea. I fight a cut sometimes and know I could benefit from stiff iron shafts BUT NOT woods.  They basically just would not listen.  So I was fitted with a stiff 3 wood from American Golf, with the promise it would be straighter and longer-of course I was right, it cut more and I had to return it for the shaft I would have selected myself in the first place.  American Golf is for golf accessories only not advice!!!!

The Mizuno MX700 woods with stiff shafts fitted at the National Fitting Centre are also too stiff.  I am working on developing a draw, so they sit there until I am confident with tthat.  See, I won them so not too bothered.  Until then I use my Cleveland Woods with Regular Shafts (although the rep said these are a little stiffer than regular-but who knows if he's right)

So to be honest the custom fitting gave me WORSE club selections than I have have made myself.  They tend to just follow black and white rules that don't always work.  And most of the rest is common sense

Everything else about the process was standard-i.e. the static fitting, grip size-you can figure all this yourself.  As it is for most people.  I think I am 1 degree upright on my lies.  This will make pretty much zero difference.  Most people I speak to agree the fitting is pretty much over rated and gives them nothing other than confirmation.

I guess if you are really tall or really short it will be a bigger deal.OK if it is free or offered, then take it.  But dont think its worth paying extra for or it will half your handicap-it wont

As for the ball fitting.  The guy gave up.  He started all confidently and told me how he would add yards to my drives.  He could not find a ball that gave a better spin reading than the ball I selected after doing a little personal research.

All in all, if you know your stuff, have the internet and do a bit of research and try a few clubs I'd say the custom fitting process is not that big a deal.  Probably the best bit with Mizuno was being able to try a whole bunch of shafts until I found the stiff Nippon shafts that were perfect for me. 

I could go into great detail-but I know Im boring you.  If you want a PM John-without insults I'm happy to do so!

Matt,

When i was custom fitted at the the Belfry By the excellent Jon Watts I was fitted with shafts mainly to suit my shot shape first then second swing speed. IE; My bad shot was a pull/left with the irons, going from a reg-s300 shafts as almost cured this apart from the odd time my grip is too firm.

I would like to add just because the fitter Say's xyz, you don't have to buy if your heart is not in it, as its you who as to use the equipment day in,day out.

Jon recommended the Taylormade XD irons to me as they gave me extra length and better dispersion stats, But i really didn't like the look so took what i wanted.

Perhaps you should give it a go.

Paul.

This is just a debate, and i'm NOT looking for a barny rubble!

Matt,

Thanks for the info.

This is where my custom fit & yours differ. I went to the Belfry where they stock different brands & they don't try & hard sell you a particular make. I also had the cost of the fitting deducted from my bill. As I am 6 foot then I suppose I got more out of than you.

I agree American Golf couldn't fit a pair of shoes let alone a set of clubs.

Hi nick when i brought the irons from my local golf shop they offered me free custom fitting so as you can imagine i took them up on the offer as i had not been playing golf long and i thought it would improve my game as i stand 6 foot 1" tall.

 After i had been fitted for the clubs all the shop did was send the details to mizuno and my clubs came from them 2 weeks later. Maybe the shop didnt measure me correctly i dont know but the spec the clubs should of been were not what i received from mizuno the lie angle had not been altered at all.

My teaching pro put my 7 iron on to his measuring equipment and i know 2 degrees upright does not sound like a lot but the amount he had to adjust my club to get it in spec was scary i thought my 7 iron was going to break.