QuickGrip

I myself studied at university and looked into the custom fitting sector of the golf industry and found that the problem with this service is that the vast majority of consumers are uneducated in this area, or not educated enough. So allow me to shed some clear light on the subject...

The main thing we all forget is that the clubs 'on the shelf' are not designed to suit us individually, but a range of people based on the average measurements of a golfer, and lets be honest, nobody is the same. If you have spent a lot of money on golf clubs without any form of fitting, you may potentially be hindering your game,

There are a number of areas in club fitting, the following of which I would class as the key areas that all should address ESPECIALLY when buying new equipment.

Club Head Type

This will be the type of club itself, so the brand and model. Blades, muscle backs and cavity backs are the most common designs in clubs heads, with bladed irons being the most workable in relation to the control of your ball flight and trajectory but least forgiving, and the cavity back irons being the most forgiving and stable but more difficult to control the ball flight, trajectory and spin rate.

Shaft type and Flex

There are many different shaft types available, all with different attributes which can alter ball flights, spin rates and distances. The flex of the shaft is usually determined by swing speed, but trajectory and ball flight characteristics such as a draw or fade can also contribute to determining the optimal shaft for you.

Length, Loft and Lie

The length of a club IS NOT based on just your height, but is a combination of your height AND your wrist to floor distance from a relaxed standing position. These factors will also determine the lie angle of the club itself, so the angle the shaft travels up and towards you when the club sits flat on the ground. A common relationship in this is the taller you are, the more upright the lie angle of your clubs will be, however these 'static' measurements will adjust with 'dynamic' measurements, dynamic meaning when you actually use the clubs themselves during the fitting. This characteristic is important as clubs that are to flat will start the ball right of the target with gravity doing its best to force it further right, and clubs that are too upright will do the opposite. Loft angles will be adjusted dynamically, but this is something only worth worrying about if you're a scratch/4 or less handicap player with either very high or very low spin rates and trajectory angles.

Grip type and size

This is the most commonly forgotten factor when being fitted for golf clubs. Grip size can strongly effect your overall shot library. Grips too big make it harder for a player to release the club, and grips too thin increase hand and wrist action. It is common to find a thicker grip to be more accurate at the surrender of distance. This principal has been huge talk when it comes to putter's nowadays. However with putting the bigger the grip the more accurate and consistent your dispersion may be, at the surrender of feel and distance control, mainly on longer putts. Also the material of the grip you use should be determined by the skin type of your palms. Some may find they have 'clammy' hands and in warmer climates and struggle to maintain their grip, losing control and overall consistency, where as some may have very dry hands and find their hands appear soar after a round of golf.