Custom fitting, done properly
By Rene Cleaver PhD, PCS 2005 International Clubmaker of the Year
So how does it work?………What happens?……..What goes on?…….What exactly do you do?……Golfers often ask me how the clubfitting method I use differs from what you might experience at a typical retailer or manufacturer. So, the goal of this article is to tell you how and why I fit the way I do.
Custom fitting and custom building golf clubs is a people driven, result orientated profession. Success depends heavily on the effectiveness of the clubfitting process.
The Practical Clubfitting Method used at Club Masters is the model used by most of the industry’s top clubfitting experts. It is the most comprehensive method available. Of particular importance to me is that it leads in a rational, as opposed to a trial and error, way to equipment that best fits the golfer.
A typical clubfitting session takes two to two and a half hours. A significant chunk of time, you might think. But clubfitting done properly takes time. It’s simply not possible to do a good job in the 15 minutes that some manufacturers allow each golfer.
By evaluating your current clubs, we have a baseline over which to improve. I cannot stress enough how valuable this exercise is. There are no standards in the equipment industry. So it is essential for me to have my own measurements.
For example, shaft flex is a specification that varies a lot. Your so-called “R-flex” shafts might turn out to be Extra Stiff; or they could turn out to be far more flexible than you would expect R-flex to be. It’s impossible to know unless we do the measurements. I use a frequency analyser to measure the flexes of your shafts and to frequency match your custom built clubs.
Loft is another specification that varies a lot. We might find that the loft of your 5-wood is as strong as 17o or it could be as weak as 24o. If you are planning on keeping your 5-wood and would like to add a 7-wood to your bag, I need to know the loft of your 5-wood so that I can match the 7-wood in properly.
In order to understand how you play with your clubs, I ask you to fill out a questionnaire, which examines your strengths, weaknesses and playing goals. This allows us to address your normal playing tendencies, and it avoids the pitfalls of trying to exclusively fit to “today’s swing” – a mistake that is all too commonly made.
These initial steps in the clubfitting process start us on the path towards specifications that both fit your swing and address your playing goals. At this stage it is possible to come up with a preliminary fitting recommendation. Specific recommendations for club specs are determined by dynamic fitting.
Shaft fitting is at the core of the dynamic fitting session. I go beyond simply measuring clubhead speed (a measurement of only one segment of your swing) to match a shaft to your swing.
Other considerations are: down swing acceleration, shaft loading, swing tempo, and length of backswing. By adding these to the equation, I may end up fitting players with exactly the same clubhead speed with different flex shafts, because other aspects of their swings are not the same.
Just as there is more to swing measurement than clubhead speed, there are more shaft specifications that just flex. Other considerations are weight, balance point, torsional stiffness and flex profile. Shafts measuring the same frequency, but differing in flex profile, feel and perform differently. When fitting a shaft to your swing, these other specifications are taken into consideration.
For club length, I will use your wrist to ground measurement (fingertip to ground is incorrect) as a guide. However, playing ability and swing plane are more important determinants of club length, which is therefore defined during the dynamic fitting.
Swing weight is a factor contributing to clubhead feel and is determined interactively within the limits of what other club specs will allow e.g. over-length clubs will inevitably have a higher swing weight. While playing professionals can feel the difference between one or two swing weight points, only a minority of amateur golfers can detect differences of less than four points. If a client brings me a club that measures E7, I would consider that a potential problem, whereas D2 rather than D0 is usually not.
Lie angle should also be determined dynamically, best done at the end of the process, when club length and shaft characteristics have been defined.
Grips are fitted for comfort, so that your hand and arm muscles are relaxed as you begin to take the club away. The requirements of both hands are considered in grip sizing.
Towards the end of the dynamic fitting, we will have defined a small range of club specs that fit you. This is confirmed and fine-tuned with one or two trial clubs. Up to fifteen club specifications that match your swing and playing goals will be defined.
The efficacy of the process means that there is no need to present the golfer with a “cocktail cabinet” full of trials clubs. However, the “cocktail cabinet” approach is used by many manufacturers. They take you and a cart-load of clubs to the range, and have you try multiple clubs out on a trial and error basis. Having had first hand experience of this approach, I can tell you that it’s a nightmare, both for the clubfitter and for the golfer. The more trial clubs, the more confusion. To be avoided at all costs!
Regarding clubhead designs, I will guide you to the most appropriate category, and we identify one that pleasing to your eye. Ensuring that you are comfortable with the appearance of your clubs at address, is as much custom fitting as any other part of the process.
Selecting the best set make-up for your game can contribute hugely to helping you meet your playing goals. What do I mean by set make-up? It’s simply the combination of clubs that you carry. Some examples of possibilities: fairway woods or hybrid clubs instead of long irons; using blades for feel in the short irons and cavity backs for control in the long irons; customising your wedges separately from your irons to suit your short game needs.
“Should my putter be custom fitted?” I’m often asked. Yes, it should. You use it more that any other club in the bag. Your putter fitting will take 20-30 minutes. You will be fitted for length, lie angle, loft, swing weight and grip size. A putter head design that best suits your stroke will be recommended. The process is very straight forward…. there’s no magic involved… but the results just might be!
The word counter tells me I have already rattled off more than 1000 words. If you have read this far….congratulations! Hopefully it has given you an insight into my approach to custom fitting and my fitting philosophy.
To learn about specific aspects of fitting and equipment technology, check out the other articles in the Tech Talk pages.
These articles change regularly. Visit the site again to learn more and find out what’s new in golf club technology.
Rene Cleaver is a Professional CLUBMAKERS' Society CLASS "A" Clubmaker, CLASS "A" Clubfitter and Golf Clubmakers' Association Advanced Clubmaker. Rene is owner of Club Masters, Cheltenham. If you have any questions about golf equipment contact Rene directly at rene@clubmasters.co.uk or tel. 01452-715007.