With all this being said, there's still those people out there who say "it's the player, not the equipment". OK, Socrates, there's a target 1000 yards away and you have to shoot it or you can never play golf again. Your choice is a revolutionary war muzzle loader or this Barret .50cal with a scope. Unless they REALLY hate golf, they're going to go with the Barret. Even if they've never shot a gun before.
So easy a child could do it!! |
Why do you think that is? Even someone who has no idea what is in store for them with the Barret, it just looks cool and damn, it has a scope and a bipod, it's gotta be more accurate right? Confidence inspires success --- and a little shoulder pain. It's the same with golf. When you have equipment that is fit for the purpose, engineered to do what it's supposed to do with little effort, and it inspires confidence in you that's a triple threat of goodness in your favor. This is where club fitting and club technology come in. If you guy a set of clubs new - the fitting should come with it. If it doesn't, shop somewhere else. There are two types of club fittings in my opinion:
Measurement Fitting
The pro or assistant will take your wrist to floor measurement. Measure your hands (or give you different grip sizes to try) and have you hit a few to see what your tendencies are with different length clubs depending on your body composition (Ratio of legs to torso, etc). This fitting is very basic and is most suitable for a beginner who hasn't grooved any swing tendencies yet. Reason being that without swing tendencies, a club that is the proper length and standard lie will prevent any compensation from creeping in and allow the player to groove a good, repeatable swing.
Custom Fitting
This is the fitting to end all fittings. Measurements taken same as above. This time, you hit balls and hit balls and hit balls in front of a launch monitor. Spin rates are taken, lie boards are used, ball and swing speeds are taken and matched up to the right head and shaft combination to create optimal feel and performance from each club. When this fitting is over, the wand in your hand is tailored just for you and your swing.
The pros do fittings on a weekly basis. I'm sure we all wish we had that kind of money, but if you're serious about playing golf, I recommend a club evaluation once every 2 years. Around these parts they're $50. A small price to pay to know you've still got the right sticks for your swing. Of course... should things change there's the cost of making the changes, but we'll get into that in another page.
Oddly enough, i'm not here to talk about club fitting. I'm here to talk about BALL fitting. If you're a serious golfer and want to play competitively then club fitting is a must. If you're a recreational golfer who just likes to buy clubs off the rack and play golf, you can get the most out of your game by doing a ball fitting. You owe it to yourself to not just play with any old ball. It's remarkable how much more fun the game is and how many strokes you can take off just by having a ball that works for you. It's very simple and a very cheap way to get more distance and accuracy out of your old equipment. I recently went for my yearly ball fitting as I've noticed my driver distances starting to come down. I was still scoring at the green but hitting 6 iron into a par 4 when i used to hit an 8 was becoming the norm. Here are the sheets:
Warm-Up - Page 1 (driver) |
page 2 (driver) |
head-to-head matchup front runners VS my current(ProV1) (Pitching Wedge) |
Try it, you might find yourself playing the round of your life because of a little white ball. Of course, if you just like to drink beer and drive the cart around you're free to play whatever equipment you want. It's a free country - just remember to yell "fore", please.
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