Clubfitting Or Not?!

My nephew came to visit this weekend and we had a plan for me to fit him for a set of clubs. He has not played a lot of golf and I worked with him some today on his Swing Fundamentals - grip, posture, alignment, and ball position.


He was having some success hitting some short irons - but not close to this level of success with hitting a driver. And I could see he was getting frustrated.


So - should I build him a set of clubs, knowing that he was likely to still have some problems hitting woods and a driver? And he DID come to see me largely with the expectation of getting some new clubs.


I felt good about the final decision. That was - make a few clubs that are easy to hit, get him in the right length clubs, BUT also get his dad to give him a present of some lessons so that he can get started on the right foot.


Do you think if he went to a Big Box Store he would have had this kind of advice......I wonder. I felt good about the outcome for HIM.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony Wright

A Key Element Of Successful Custom Clubfitting - YOU!!

The more I work with a variety of golfers to do custom fittings, the more I am totally convinced that there is more to True Success than the knowledge that I personally have about golf clubs and club performance.


At every point in a successful fitting, the player provides feedback and information that is critical to making the right decisions that lead to success. One of MY critical areas of expertise needs to be getting the right information from players at the right times. Some of the areas where this clearly happens include:

1. PRE FITTING INTERVIEW - obtaining data on what a player's typical misses are, where he/she wants to improve the most, what clubs work well and what clubs can provide the most game improvement for the player. Also, what physical issues the player might have - back problems, wrist problems, etc.


2. DURING THE FITTING - obtaining feedback during the entire fitting on questions like - does the club feel stiff, too long or short, too heavy or too light, can the player feel the clubhead, etc. Feel is a key element of getting the right club into a player's hands. Sometimes in fact a player will swing a club and say immediately that that club has a tremendous feel, and often the results from launch monitor measurements confirm this sense that the player has.

Another important element a player has during a fitting is to make small swing changes as a result of what the player and fitter see from video taken of the player's swing. The player being able to make these changes during a fitting can make the difference between a successful fitting and one that may not produce optimal results.


3. AFTER THE FITTING, CLUB FEEDBACK - In the best fittings the clubs perform perfectly when delivered to the golfer. But sometimes there can be a need to make some small modifications to them to get the final performance results desired. No one but the player can provide this final club evaluation, and his/her honest feedback is critical.


So - My View - There Is No True Successful Fitting Without Face To Face Player / Fitter Collaboration!!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Yo Keith - A Passion for Compassion!

Keith Chatham is one of those truly great clubfitters - he does his stuff in Kerryville, Texas. He has won many honors, and when he speaks we all listen.


Recently I found a post he did on the Tom Wishon clubmaker forum that was inspiring and I think something many of us clubfitters aspire to. He talked about his Passion for clubfitting, but more about his Compassion for helping golfers to play the right golf clubs for them. Compassion for golfers who have never had the experience of playing clubs that truly fit them, compassion for disabled golfers who have in the past only been able to get off-the-rack clubs, compassion for lady golfers who have never had someone fully attend to their club needs.


His words are wonderfully inspiring, and something that I hope I get closer and closer to each day as I work to help golfers. Recently, one of my clients said that he no longer waits for golf catalogs to come to his house, because he knows that the clubs in those catalogs are not for him.


Thanks Keith.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony