Demystifying club fitting: A Guide To Better Performance

Having a custom fitting should be at the forefront of your mind, whether you are completely new to the game searching for new clubs or simply looking to upgrade your existing set. Making sure you are playing the correct equipment will make the game a lot easier and subsequently help lower your scores on the course.

While there is still nothing wrong with purchasing clubs straight off the shelf, you should only do so if you already have a good idea on the club specifications you need. Purchasing golf clubs and going for a fitting is no different to purchasing a pair of golf shoes or some apparel - while you may like the look of them visually, they need to fit and be suitable for you.

With 68 stores across the US, each equipped with regular hitting bays and state-of-the-art swing studio’s, PGA TOUR Superstore has you covered when it comes to a custom fitting. These fittings can be booked in advance online and vary in price depending on what part of the bag you are looking at getting fitted for. If you have never had a fitting before and are not sure what to expect, don’t worry, here are 6 things to bear in mind before going to a custom fitting, to ensure you have the best experience possible and walk away with the best equipment for you.

1) Club Fittings Are For Everyone

One of the biggest misconceptions about golf club fittings is that they are only for better golfers. Having the right clubhead as well as weight and length of shaft can make a huge difference immediately to any golfer, particularly those at the beginning of their golfing journey. At PGA TOUR Superstore, there is a huge selection of products available, not only different models from all the major manufacturers but also a huge range of men’s, women’s and junior golf equipment. So no matter your age, gender or budget you can guarantee booking a fitting at PGA TOUR is worth it.

 2) Fully Communicate During Your Fitting 

Being fully transparent with your fitter during your fitting is key to ensuring you end up in a set of clubs that not only suit your game but that you truly love. While performance undoubtedly will dictate what clubs your fitter will end up putting you in, you have to like how that club looks behind the ball and feels through impact. The same applies with shafts. Where your fitter will nail your shaft choices down to a small selection that performs well, you then may have to decide which one feels right for you. If a shaft is performing well but feels as though it makes the head feel heavy during the swing and you prefer more feel in the handle, this is something that needs to be discussed with the fitter so you can leave the fitting completely happy with your new clubs.

 3) Bring Your Current Clubs And Balls With You 

When going for a club fitting, it’s always helpful to bring your current clubs with you so the fitter can get a base understanding of what your club data currently looks like and then what can be changed to improve your game. The same should be said about your golf ball of choice. When having a fitting at a PGA TOUR Superstore, you’ll be using the latest in launch monitor technology with the help of a Trackman 4 or Foresight GCQuad Launch monitor so you can be assured you’re going to get completely accurate club and ball data.

Getting custom fitted with the ball you choose to play on the course is vital for an accurate fitting. If you play a relatively high-spin ball on the golf course and you are fitted using a low-spin ball, you will likely see two very different ball flights and patterns between the fitting and when taking your new clubs onto the golf course. If you don’t actually own any clubs coming into the fitting, fear not, the highly trained PGA TOUR Superstore fitters will gain a good understanding of what will likely suit you best.

 4) Have A Goal In Mind For The Fitting 

While one of the most detrimental things you can do going into a fitting is to be fixed on a certain model of clubhead and shaft. You should approach the fitting with a clear understanding of what you want to achieve from it and leave the rest to the fitter. Whether that be to become more accurate with your irons and fairway woods or gain more length with a new driver. Bearing in mind what you want to achieve and relaying that information to your fitter will save time during the fitting process. Using local driving ranges with Top Tracer technology and analyzing statistics of recent rounds, such as greens hit and which side the majority of your misses are on will also help the expert fitters dial you into your new equipment quicker.

 5) Swing The Same As You Do On The Course 

While it can be really tempting to swing out of your boots when put in front of a launch monitor and especially with someone else watching, this really isn’t going to benefit you within your fitting. By swinging harder and faster in the fitting than you naturally do on the course, you’re likely to struggle with those clubs when out on the golf course trying to actually score. Think about the shots you hit on the golf course and try to replicate those during the fitting. If you regularly play in the wind, you may look to flight the ball down and take some speed off the swing. This will change the spin and launch of the ball and so if this is something you do on the golf course, you’ll want to do this in the fitting so your clubs help you execute these shots in a scoring situation.

 6) Putter Fittings Are A Thing And They Are Worth It 

While picking a putter may seem like a ‘one size fits all’ situation, this is far from the truth. There are more to putters than just the looks and while looks are extremely important to provide confidence on the greens, finding a putter that matches your stroke and rolls the ball efficiently is what will see you hole more putts. Aside from the head shape, standard parameters such as length, lie and loft on the putter dramatically affect how the ball will roll. At the end of the day, around 50 percent of your shots on the golf course will be on the greens, so finding the right putter is imperative to shooting better scores. With hundreds of putters on the shop floors at PGA TOUR Superstore’s, a fitter will be able to give you expert advice as to which model will suit your game the best.