Have you ever had this experience

wernerfe · February 1, 2020

So I went to a fitting yesterday for a full bag at Club Champion. The person that helped me out said that he could not fit me for a driver because I was hitting down at the ball with my angle of attack being around -1.5. Is this normal? I have seen beginners getting fit for a driver so how does this guy tell me that I need more practice in order to be able to get fit for a driver particularly because of my angle of attack.

btw I am a handicap 15 shooting in the low 80s

jvincent · February 1, 2020

You can most certainly be fit for a driver with a negative angle of attack. Generically speaking, you'll need something lower lofted and a lower spin head.

From a swing mechanics point of view negative AoA isn't ideal for a driver, but it certainly doesn't make you unfittable.

rizz2 · February 3, 2020

I agree with jvincent. It sounds like this fitter does not know what he is doing. There is a youtube video by TXG Golf called "Driver Fitting for Negative Angle of Attack"....I would post a link but it will not allow me to yet.

I watch all of these videos from these guys at TXG Golf. He is a master fitter and Ian and Matt are great together....it is entertaining if you are a gear head.

They fit a driver assuming a -1.7 attack angle. Pretty much goes into trying to get high launch but low spin to counteract the negative attack angle. BTW I have a 0 to -0.5 angle of attack with driver (depending on my swing that day) not ideal but also not un-fittable.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

rizz2 · February 3, 2020

What Club Champion did you go to? I was thinking about going to the one near me in the Chicago suburbs. Now I am having 2nd thoughts.

Golf64 · February 4, 2020

You can fit any swing, any handicap. Sounds like this guy was lazy or doesn't know what he is doing!? Scary!! If this is how he works, might want to get a second opinion on the rest of the bag fit?!

azone · February 4, 2020

sounds like your fitting was conducted by someone with an "opinion" and not "knowledge." Driver negative AOA is definitely not uncommon

bladehunter · February 5, 2020

Go find a real fitter. 1.5 down isn’t extreme. The tour average was around 1 down for years. What you found was a launch monitor jockey.

rizz2 · February 6, 2020

Any fitter recommendations in the Chicagoland area? I was going to try Club Champion but now I am scared!!

Z1ggy16 · February 6, 2020

Your fitter was a clown and I would never go back there. You can 100% be fit with a negative AoA with driver. Is it optimal? No... but it's totallyyyyy fine... Some of the best on planet earth hit slightly down with driver.

3.1k · February 17, 2020

I'm trying to understand why he could be saying that..

Could it be that, he doesn't want to fit someone with a bad swing that needs to be adjusted?

Better money spent fixing the swing to hit the ball upward instead of trying to band-aid a bad swing?

I'm sure he had a reason.. Maybe he was lazy..

j.a. · February 17, 2020

Undoubtedly the fitter at that club is not a champion. Negative AoA might sound like me and I got fitted without a problem, not that I need a super special shaft.

HateTheHighDraw · February 18, 2020

Sounds like when he said he couldn’t fit you he literally meant it, he didn’t know how to fit you

steeletaylor · February 18, 2020

Having recently done some time on a Trackman with this same issue (negative AoA), the issue may be that you're hitting it so low that the Trackman isn't picking up the ball and club data. This happened to me a lot as I was hitting the bay.

What is your typical driver flight? I had an off day at the fitting and was just hitting low bullets that barely carried 220 but would run out 50+ yards. This was only seen when the Trackman picked up the ball.

Long story short, yes they can fit a negative AoA. Many tour pros actually have a negative AoA, such as Brooks Koepka.

Howard_Jones · February 18, 2020

i know its 18 days since the tread was started, but as info, PGA average for the driver is minus 1.3 as AOA, but i guess they dont go to that place for fitting.

The only difference between a positive and a negative AOA from a fitting perspective is that a player with a negative AOA would need a higher loft to get up to the same launch angle as the one with a positive AOA, everything else is the same. And just for the record, if you swing is stable, there is no reason to change it, just get the needed loft.