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Custom Golf Club Fitting & Building: CUSTOM FIT GOLF CLUBS – Part 1

Club Fitting
Shebylo: Author

My club fitter and I met early in 2008. At that time he was building a new custom club fitting business based here in the Bay area, CA. Don has been building and fitting clubs over 7 years now, having been taught the craft by a golf club and fitting systems designer. He has traveled all over the country fitting and building golf clubs and by his estimate has fitted and built clubs for over 10,000 golfers in 21 States.

During our outdoor fitting session, Don spent a great deal of time golf-swing-practiceasking me thoughtful questions about my golf game. The courses I played, method and how often I practiced, and not only finding out about my current ability but my goals for the game as well. We spent over 3 hours together that day analyzing my current clubs and testing new ones to find out which clubs I should be playing. Don uses the Vector Pro Launch Monitor system to collect ball flight data.

Since my experience with him, my golf game has improved by 8 strokes. I felt that other readers might be interested in the process; in particular, custom club fitting and club building. This will be a multi part series.

 

Know what questions to ask to help you make the best choices for your next golf equipment purchase

Q: Don, why is it important for golfers to be custom fit when buying new clubs?
A: Every golfer should be confident with the knowledge that their clubs fit their swing and game. Not everyone fits into the standard models offered by manufacturers. A good club fitter can work outside the parameters offered by major manufacturers to find that “right combination” for each individual. Club Fitting is also an opportunity to get educated about clubs, shafts, and grip options. A competent club fitter will spend a good amount of time educating golfers about the differences, whether subtle or drastic between different clubs and shafts.

Q: Who gets custom fit clubs?
A: Any player who wants to improve. I have never met a golfer yet that did not want to play better. All golfers that seek improvement should be custom fit for clubs. A properly fitted set can make a dramatic difference to a golfers ability to play their best depending on how ill-fitting their current set is.

Q: What can a golfer expect from properly fitted golf clubs?
A: Golfers can and should expect better performance in the form of lower scores, improved accuracy, and more distance from properly fitted golf clubs. If the clubs don’t deliver these things, the player should return to the fitter to find out why.

Thanks Don,

In our next article we will discuss the build of the club from the top down beginning with the grip….