Club fitting

[Jhc09]

I'm in the market for new irons as it's been 10 years since my last set.  I've been researching lots of club fitting options, but keep coming back to the same idea.  Why would my irons get adjusted to my swing problems, if I'm constantly trying to perfect my swing.  Wouldn't adjusting the loft, etc. to my swing now hamper my ability to strike it pure as I became a better iron player?  

[LeftyMatt24]

If it’s been 10 years you may be able to benefit from newer tech. What type of irons are you looking at? If you’re going to continue to improve it may be beneficial to get irons that can be adjusted easily such as forged irons like JPX forged or z585. 

[C6 Snowboarder]

yes -  look for irons that are 1025 type steel - not cast stainless,  then dont worry about it -- you adjust those as you get to your perfect swing. go for it!

[JDennis]

My first club fitting 5 or so years ago they fitted my clubs to good strikes.  When I got fitted this year, the basics for fitting were the same, even though I am much more consistent striking the ball. 

[ChipNRun]

Advice from a veteran teaching pro I worked with: "Buy clubs for the swing you have today, not the swing you hope to have next year."

 

First of all, your physical makeup has a major impact on a good golf swing for you. Your hand size, natural joint rotation angles and flexibility influence how you swing the club. Basically, a golf swing is a cyborg activity: the meshing of human and machine into a unified motion. So, fitting will help you find the clubs that fit your motion capabilities and posture.

 

17 minutes ago, Jhc09 said:

Wouldn't adjusting the loft, etc. to my swing now hamper my ability to strike it pure as I became a better iron player?  

 

Reality check: there's more than one way to strike it pure. Finding equipment mesh for a particular golfer is the goal of fitting systems, case in point the Muzuno Shaft Optimizer 3D.   This device captures data on swing factors such as tempo  - are you quick or smooth in transition from top; and release - do you unload hands early, mid or late in downswing?

 

The revised Optimizer also gives clues to how well a particular clubhead and shaft work for the golfer.

 

Given, once a fitting takes some of the noise out of your swing, you would need to practice and play to get the best cyborg mesh with your new clubs. If you skip the fitting phase - especially after a 10-year lapse - you are using hit-and-miss rather than systematic inquiry to improve your {equipment + swing.} Not a very efficient way to approach improvement.

[Myherobobhope]

Same reason I don’t buy smaller shorts at the start of a diet!!!

[bluedot]

There is a difference between "perfecting your swing", which we all try to do all the time, and your basic measurements and your setup over the golf ball.  You aren't getting taller or shorter, and your arms aren't getting longer or shorter, and assuming that you have a good setup over the ball, the shaft length and lie angle that you need won't change much, if at all, over the years regardless of what you are doing, or trying to do as you swing the club.

 

And consider the possibility that "perfecting your swing"  (even assuming that's possible?) won't ever happen if you continually react and adjust to shots that are offline because the lie angle on your irons isn't correct.  For instance, if you hook your 9 iron left of the green on the 9th hole, like I did yesterday in an interclub match, was it because you made a poor swing or because the lie angle of your clubs is too upright?  Properly fitted clubs eliminate a key variable for those of us trying to play our best golf. 

 

If you are working with a teaching pro, and making BIG changes in your swing plane or your posture at address, get his opinion about this.  But if you are doing is trying your darnedest to make better swings by working on ball position, or hip rotation, or shoulder turn, or all the other things that go into a good golf swing, then do yourself a favor and get rid of as many variables as you can.