# Why the Middle and High Handicap Golfers Need to be Custom Fit



## Butz (Nov 17, 2006)

Hey guys,

I just wanna share this info...

Why the Middle and High Handicap Golfers Need to be Custom Fit
by Mr. Tom Wishon Why the Middle and High Handicap Golfers Need to be Custom Fit <br>by Mr. Tom Wishon
One of the most common misconceptions about custom fitting of golf clubs is that middle and high handicap golfers are convinced they are “not good enough to be custom fit.” Actually, the reason average to less skilled players seem to cling to this myth is because they feel they are not consistent enough in their swing to be able to gain benefit from custom fitting. What’s interesting about that mistaken belief is that one of the reasons they are inconsistent is because the standard made golf clubs they bought and use are built to specifications that is making it much more difficult for them to become more consistent!

Here’s the absolute truth about custom fitting – the better the golfer, the LESS they need custom fit specifications in their golf clubs, and the less skilled the golfer, the MORE they need to be accurately fit to play to the best of their ability.

Low handicap golfers achieved their better playing ability because of two reasons – one, they were taught proper swing fundamentals and put in the time to practice and ingrain those swing skills, and two, they are good athletes blessed with good hand eye coordination and good control over their kinetic body motions so they could train their body to develop the proper swing fundamentals. Because of their superior athletic and kinetic skills, low handicap golfers could play almost as well with quite a wide variety of different golf club specifications.

On the other hand, most middle and high handicap golfers do not have the same level of athletic coordination or control over their body motions. Certainly with enough monitored practice many of these golfers could improve their swing skills. But the vast majority will not achieve the same level of athletic swing control and repeatability because they simply are not blessed with those attributes. Because of that, if this type of player ends up with lengths that are too long, a face angle that is not matched to their swing path, swingweight and total weight not matched to their tempo and rhythm, and several other custom fitting parameters, they cannot hope to play to the best of their skills.

Thus it is much more important for middle to high handicap golfers to be accurately custom fit so that the clubs can be made to help overcome and offset many of their inherent swing faults. Following is a list of the custom fitting parameters that are extremely important for middle to high handicap players to investigate to get the most out of their games:

1. Club Length
While good players most definitely may have a preference for a specific length, they do have the athletic skills to hit the ball reasonably well with clubs that are longer. Less skilled players do not, because for them, the longer the club the more difficult it is to control and swing consistently to hit the ball on center the highest percentage of the time. Hitting the ball more consistently on center is a key to playing better golf. And length is one of the most critical fitting parameters that can change the success or failure rate of hitting the ball solid and on center. Unfortunately the “standard lengths” of drivers and woods that most golfers buy and use are too long to allow middle and higher handicap golfers to achieve their highest on-center hit percentage. Thus it is CRITICAL that middle and high handicap players be properly fit to the length of their clubs.

2. Iron Lie Angles
No golfer, regardless of handicap or athletic ability, can hit the ball straight with the lie angle of each iron improperly fit to their swing. Fitting the lie angle of the irons to each individual golf swing so every iron arrives at impact with the sole parallel to the ground is the only way the clubhead can come into impact and assure a straight hit. If all golfers were the same height, had the same arm length and swung the club through impact the same exact way, then the standard lie angles designed on the clubs bought “off the rack” would be fine. But that is definitely not the case so if golfers want to eliminate the inevitability of an improperly fit lie angle causing errant shots, every golfer must be custom fit for the lie angle of the irons. Every golfer.

3. Woodhead Face Angle
Good players have trained their swing to deliver the clubface square to the ball a very high percentage of the time. Thus, the square face angle of the standard made woods sold today is a perfect fit for the better golfer. Middle and high handicap golfers cannot deliver the clubface square to the ball nearly as often. Thus hooks and more often, slices are a frequent or constant companion of these golfers when they play. Most golfers with a mis-direction problem with the woods do tend to hit the ball more often to one side of the fairway than the other. Custom fitting the face angle of the woods will offset this mis-direction tendency and most definitely allow the middle to high handicap golfer to keep the ball in play a much higher percentage of the time.

4. Swingweight and Total Weight
If all golfers were of the same physical strength and swung with the same tempo, rhythm and sense of swing timing, then all golfers could play with one standard swingweight and total weight. But again, this is definitely not the case as there are almost as many variations of strength/tempo/swing timing among golfers as there are golfers who play the game. No middle or high handicap golfer can hope to develop even a shred of consistency in their swing unless the total weight and the swingweight of their clubs is properly matched to their individual strength and swing rhythm tendencies. While good golfers have the athletic skills to be able to adjust to a range of swingweight and total weight, middle and high handicap golfers do not. Thus it is more important for middle and high handicap golfers to be properly fit to the right swingweight and total weight for their own swing characteristics to be able to being to develop more consistency.

5. Shaft Flex and Bend Profile
If there is one area in which the better player can gain a little more advantage in a fitting than the middle to higher handicap player, it is in the selection of the right shaft flex and shaft bending profile (distribution of stiffness over the length of the shaft). This is because better players usually have a more refined sense of feel for the bending action of the shaft during the swing than do middle to higher handicap golfers. However, it is true that if any golfer uses a shaft that is too stiff for their swing speed and swing mechanics, they will suffer from a lower launch angle, loss of distance, and a poor feeling of impact.

6. Grip Size
No golfer can hope to swing with any sense of repeatability unless their hands and forearms are relaxed and not in tension when they begin the swing. The grip size is a key element in allowing all golfers to be able to feel as comfortable as possible holding on to the club, and from that, to be able to keep the tension in the hands and the forearms at a bare minimum from the address position to the execution of the swing. Because middle to high handicap golfers all too often grip the club too tight, fitting these players with a grip size that is more comfortable is a very important way for them to learn that grip tension is a very destructive factor in making consistent swings.

7. Vertical Roll Radius
The vertical roll radius that is put on all woodheads today except mine has the effect of making the loft angle different at the bottom, center and top of the face. Loft angle is a hugely important factor for controlling the launch angle of the shot. And the launch angle of the shot is THE most important factor for ensuring that any golfer hits the ball as far as their swing speed and athletic ability will allow. Middle to high handicap golfers will have much more of a tendency to miss hit the ball high and low on the face of the driver and fairway woods. Thus if they are using woodheads with conventional roll radius, they will experience far more inconsistency in the launch angle of their shots than if they are fit into woodheads that have no roll radius, and thus have the same loft from the bottom to the top of the face.

8. Clubhead Center of Gravity
Middle and higher handicap golfers will always be more consistent in their shotmaking if they use clubheads in which the center of gravity is located as far back from the face as possible. Most less skilled golfers think only of choosing clubheads with a low center of gravity. However, it is the rear location of the CG that has more influence over how high you hit the ball for any given loft on the face. In addition, woodheads with a more rear located CG are more forgiving for off center hits because the head tends to twist less when the CG is much farther back from the face.

BarryGolf


----------



## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

Good Posting Butz keep em coming.....

Del


----------



## cesc (Mar 3, 2007)

Quite an informative post, this should be stickied...anyone else who agrees?


----------

