Before Buying Golf Clubs, Have them Properly Fitted for You

Having correctly fitted irons for your swing is the best option when buying golf clubs. The days are gone buying irons off the shelf.

From my teaching experience I have found that most golfers are using equipment ill suited to their game. Not only does this make teaching more challenging, the student has no idea of the benefits of custom fitted golf clubs.

Having the right grip thickness, shaft flex and length, and the lie angle, of the club will help you play much better golf than you thought possible.

Before buying golf clubs, first have these areas checked.

Grip Thickness

Take your left hand grip on a club. Check to see if the middle 2 fingers are barely touching the pad of your thumb. If so, then your thickness is correct.This will give you maximum control of the club.

If your middle fingers are touching the pad, the grip may be too thin for you. You could lose control when swinging, or the grip will turn in your hand. You may also experience hitting your shots left.

Should your, gap between your thumb pad and the middle fingers be too wide then the grip is too thick for you. This could prevent your clubface to square up at impact causing shots to go right.

While buying golf clubs this is an area grossly overlooked by most golfers.

Have your grip thickness checked with a club fitter/golf professional if you are unsure.

When buying golf clubs make sure the shaft flex and length suit you.


Shaft Flex and length

Because it determines your accuracy, trajectory, and distance you hit.

Something we all want, what do you think?

You control the amount of flex you impart to the shaft, but how do you know what flex will suit you.?

A good, but general rule is if you carry the ball 250 yards with a driver then a stiff shaft is the best choice. Less than 250 would be a regular shaft, less than 230, a senior shaft, and less than 200, a ladies shaft.

Tiger Woods carries the ball well over 280 yards, and uses an extra stiff shaft.

A shaft that is too stiff could give you a lower ball fight and less distance. Your shots may go right or fade, with fewer solid strikes.

The reverse is true if the shaft is too flexible, giving you a higher ball flight, less distance, and your shots can draw or go left. You should have more solid hits though.

Bottom line here is to rather select a shaft that is more flexible than too stiff.

Good club fitters take into consideration the following criteria when you buy golf clubs.

Your swing speed

Swing tempo

The transition movement from the top of your swing starting the downswing, and where you release your wrist cock in the downswing.

Smooth swingers will be differently assessed compared to fast or slow swingers.

An interesting point to note is that shafts are available that flex at different points along the shaft. Low flex, mid and high flex point positions. The higher it flexes the better it suits a stronger player.

The length of the shaft plays an important role according to your height. Measurements are taken from the wrist to the floor. If you are over 6 foot tall you will most likely have your shafts lengthened by at least half an inch or more.

The correct shaft length allows you to take a consistent posture each time and the weight of the shaft then becomes a critical factor when lengthening them. Your club fitter will be able to advise you. This very overlooked area when buying golf clubs.


Lie Angle of the clubhead

Here is an easy way to determine if your lie angle on your irons are correct for your height.

Next time you play, check your divot taken with your irons. If it is an even depth across the width of the divot then your lie angle is correct. Should the divot be toe deep, the lie angle is too flat for you. Too deep in the heel will reveal a lie angle that is too upright.

These problems can have an effect on your direction of the ball.

It is important to have your lie angle corrected as this can affect your posture position over the ball, vital for swing consistency.

As a rule of thumb, when you have the correct lie angle you should be able to slide a business card from the toe end of the clubhead up to about half way under the club.

Which clubhead should I choose?

There are a multitude of branded and non branded irons on the market today for you to choose from. Most of them offer club fitting. Among the first being the Ping Company. Since then most of the competing brands have their own club fitting systems.

There are two different kinds of heads available, blade, and cavity back irons. Most golfers use cavity back irons because the sweet spot is larger, making them easier to hit.

Some pro’s use cavity back irons in their long irons and the whole set.

Which ones you choose are immaterial as long as the club fits your swing and you like the look and feel of them.

I have benefitted enormously from buying golf clubs that are fitted to my build, and one that I was very impressed with was the Callaway Big Bertha irons. I still have them today. They must be the most forgiving irons ever made.

My next set was the callaway X16 pro series which I enjoyed just as much.