Club fitting is a key that can unlock presently untapped potential in your game. It's something that more golfers are choosing to undertake before purchasing new equipment in search of benefiting from those fine margins that can make all the difference.
But what improvements can this offer to a mid-handicap player? Tom Leach is a passionate golfer from Essex who hadn't experienced a full custom fitting before, which made him a perfect candidate for an experiment that Golfshake sought to put together with Wilson Golf.
Heading to the superb Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, 11-handicapper Tom met with our Equipment Expert Ryan Rastall (who had a fitting of his own beforehand) and Wilson's Scott Clelland, PGA Advanced Fellow Professional and Tour Technician, who oversaw the fitting to pair Tom with a new set of irons.
Favouring a fade with his ball flight, Tom's big complaint with his iron play was trajectory, which became the main objective from the fitting on the range at Dundonald.
Keen to not move to a larger, game-improvement style head for his irons, Tom described just how his ball flight had become flatter over time, particularly through the mid-irons.
Focusing on crafting a setup that would allow Tom to increase his launch, peak height and stopping power without sacrificing the look and feel that he preferred, the expertise of Scott was ready to meet the challenge with the fitting.
What Can Club Fitting For a Mid-Handicap Golfer?
Scott was determined to improve performance while still keeping a head shape Tom felt confident looking down at. That's why the Wilson Staff Model XB irons were perfect.
During the early assessment after seeing Tom hit several shots, Scott explained that although distance is quite often what golfers are looking for, the ultimate problem to solve in Tom’s game was how the ball was flying and landing on the greens.
Carry distances naturally change from club to club, but maintaining a playable trajectory throughout the set was a key focus.
Once Tom had moved into his mid-irons, Scott noticed that the flight dropped markedly.
The first equation was finding a suitable a head that could deliver more launch and forgiveness without moving too far away from Tom's favoured compact profile.
Improving Performance While Maintaining Visual Confidence
Visual confidence is hugely important, with Tom repeatedly responded best to heads that still looked relatively compact while offering slightly more help across the face.
Soon there was clear improvement with regards to launch and peak height, even on strikes that were slightly out of the heel.
Next up was a shaft discussion focused on shaft weight and shaft profile rather than simply adding more loft to the club.
Scott explained that the correct shaft profile could help Tom deliver more loft dynamically through impact, allowing the ball to launch higher while still retaining the controlled flight he desired.
Feel also became an important part of the process. Tom was thrilled when he could feel the clubhead more clearly, helping him better understand where the club was throughout his swing.
Why Wilson Staff Model XB Irons Were Perfect
Ultimately, what made the Wilson Staff Model XB the dream pairing was its ability to demonstrate several appealing characteristics:
- More launch through the mid and long irons
- Increased peak height
- Steeper descent angles
- More forgiveness on slight mishits
- Better stopping power into greens
- Improved consistency while still maintaining a compact appearance
During the final comparison, Scott highlighted that peak height had improved by approximately 16-17 feet compared to Tom's current irons.
Launch and land angle also improved significantly, helping create a flight that would hold greens more effectively, all of which was made possible without changing the head style that Tom preferred.
Before making their way to the Wilson Factory where Tom saw his new irons being assembled, his biggest takeaway from the whole experience was seeing how small changes in head design and shaft profile can create major differences in launch, feel and consistency - particularly in the mid-irons where his ball flight had started to flatten out.
That demonstrated just how transformative a club fitting can be for any golfer.
If you would like to see more about Tom's journey and what a fitting could potentially do for you, please watch our new video below.
