Is Ping’s Fitting Process Relavent?

[Cactus Jack]

My local driving range gave me a free Trackman Ping iron fitting. They did the wrist to floor and height measurements which put me squarely into +1/2” and 3* upright (white dot). Also, I hit a few shots off a lie board, which confirmed the need for an upright setting.  
 

Is this a sufficient fitting in today’s world? I know Ping is famous for their fitting process, but it did feel pretty underwhelming. We did hit several balls, tried a few different shafts, but overall it wasn’t some magical experience. Can the Ping results be trusted if you’re not looking at strike and all the fancy stuff the YouTube guys get into? 
 

just curious and would appreciate your insight. Thanks and I hope all is well. 

[RogerinNewZealand]

They are the Only Company with the Color Dot System,it just helps you Play Your Best.Thats all...

[dmbrill719]

Sounds like this was kind of a basic fitting, but it was free.  And most likely more than sufficient to get you into clubs that set you up to make a proper swing.  Were you hitting the clubs good?  Feel comfortable with the specs?  There's no need to over-complicate it.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is your height and wrist-to-floor?  I'm just asking b/c those specs are the same as me.  I'm 6'1", but don't remember my w-to-f off the top of my head.

[Cactus Jack]

1 hour ago, dmbrill719 said:

Sounds like this was kind of a basic fitting, but it was free.  And most likely more than sufficient to get you into clubs that set you up to make a proper swing.  Were you hitting the clubs good?  Feel comfortable with the specs?  There's no need to over-complicate it.

 

Just out of curiosity, what is your height and wrist-to-floor?  I'm just asking b/c those specs are the same as me.  I'm 6'1", but don't remember my w-to-f off the top of my head.

I hit the I210s an really enjoyed them. I hit them well for me, and hit them better than others I tried. 
 

I’m 6’1” with a 37” wrist to floor. 

[Stuart_G]

7 hours ago, Cactus Jack said:

My local driving range gave me a free Trackman Ping iron fitting. They did the wrist to floor and height measurements which put me squarely into +1/2” and 3* upright (white dot). Also, I hit a few shots off a lie board, which confirmed the need for an upright setting.  
 

Is this a sufficient fitting in today’s world? I know Ping is famous for their fitting process, but it did feel pretty underwhelming. We did hit several balls, tried a few different shafts, but overall it wasn’t some magical experience. Can the Ping results be trusted if you’re not looking at strike and all the fancy stuff the YouTube guys get into? 
 

just curious and would appreciate your insight. Thanks and I hope all is well. 

 

It's not horrible if you're just interested for getting fit for just length and lie but there is much more to a full proper fitting than that.  It's really no more than a starting point for the fitting process and not even close to being a sure thing.

 

How much a fitting might effect the results is largely dependent on how poor a fit you have been in or end up with.  Some people can end up with good fitting clubs completely randomly. 

 

The biggest deficiency would be that shaft weight is one thing that can be very important. And you need to be able to see the results to judge the fit.  Although you don't need to get overly fixated on specific numbers.  It's really the consistency and dispersion that's important.    Proper head weight or swing weight is equally important yet few self proclaimed 'fitters' even try to address it as a fitting parameter.

 

For most, as long as the shaft doesn't feel too soft or too stiff, the stiffness isn't as big a deal as many make it out to be.

 

Lie boards are not a good tool to verify lie angle specs since they tell you what happened after impact, not at impact.  They frequently can give the impression of needing a more upright lie angle because of the way the head can be turning over after impact.   Unfortunately it's still widely used, especially at retail fittings.   But lie angle isn't really as critical as many make it out to be.  The lie angles being off 1* only translates to a 2-3 yard offline miss.   And it's a consistent one at that so most players can adapt if the lie angle is a little off.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Stuart_G

[mgoblue83]

1 hour ago, Stuart_G said:

 

It's not horrible if you're just interested for getting fit for just length and lie but there is much more to a full proper fitting than that.  It's really no more than a starting point for the fitting process and not even close to being a sure thing.

 

How much a fitting might effect the results is largely dependent on how poor a fit you have been in or end up with.  Some people can end up with good fitting clubs completely randomly. 

 

The biggest deficiency would be that shaft weight is one thing that can be very important. And you need to be able to see the results to judge the fit.  Although you don't need to get overly fixated on specific numbers.  It's really the consistency and dispersion that's important.    Proper head weight or swing weight is equally important yet few self proclaimed 'fitters' even try to address it as a fitting parameter.

 

For most, as long as the shaft doesn't feel too soft or too stiff, the stiffness isn't as big a deal as many make it out to be.

 

Lie boards are not a good tool to verify lie angle specs since they tell you what happened after impact, not at impact.  They frequently can give the impression of needing a more upright lie angle because of the way the head can be turning over after impact.   Unfortunately it's still widely used, especially at retail fittings.   But lie angle isn't really as critical as many make it out to be.  The lie angles being off 1* only translates to a 2-3 yard offline miss.   And it's a consistent one at that so most players can adapt if the lie angle is a little off.

 

In my experience lie angles being off has a drastic effect on wedges and short irons. Even 1* off changes the result significantly with a wedge (it's not simply a 1 degree change in start line because the loft of the club being tilted will also change the spin axis) and it's not uncommon for a perfectly struck wedge to miss the green from 80-100yards entirely because of the lie angle. 

 

Agreed that it doesn't make as much of a difference in longer clubs. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by mgoblue83

[MattM97]

I think if you're someone who likes to tinker with irons and test a lot this kinda fit is great since you can proper length and lie then do whatever testing you want. Now if you went did this and the fitter handed you an iron and said "this is the one for you" without doing anything else I'd start asking questions. 

[Stuart_G]

46 minutes ago, mgoblue83 said:

 

In my experience lie angles being off has a drastic effect on wedges and short irons. Even 1* off changes the result significantly with a wedge (it's not simply a 1 degree change in start line because the loft of the club being tilted will also change the spin axis) and it's not uncommon for a perfectly struck wedge to miss the green from 80-100yards entirely because of the lie angle. 

 

Agreed that it doesn't make as much of a difference in longer clubs. 

 

The number I gave included both offline direction plus curvature from the change in side spin.   Calculations for estimating the numbers are pretty good.   It's actually worse for the mid-irons and gets smaller for both shorter and longer clubs.   The wedges are the clubs that have the smallest offline value.   The much larger backspin limits the amount the spin axis is tilted from the lie angle being off.

 

The place bigger problems can potentially show up (and the math can't help out with) is for those who are sensitive to the turf interaction and alter their swing because of the change in feel of that interaction.  That's more likely to happen with the wedges due to the bigger soles but it's far from a universal effect.  Only some people will see those types of problems.

 

https://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/lie1.php

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by Stuart_G

[llewol007]

Better than the contact tape on the bottom of your club and hitting off of the plastic contact board to see what dot color you fit into. Then you grab the rack of different colored grips to see which one fits your hand best. Short answer yes. If you can get a fitting, do it. Most times, new players pick up clubs and they end up being the wrong setup. 

Edited January 21, 2021 by llewol007

[nitram]

It establishes a great starting point and at least gets you pointed in the right direction. Sure there's more technology now but we played pretty well for decades with only the PING FIT.

[NRJyzr]

I didn't realize Mrs Foley's baby boy played golf....

 

[BlkNGld]

It's relevant, but the static measurements are things you can do yourself or with a friends help.   Lie board a little less so, and didn't hear anything about the TrackMan.

 

The thing is that launch monitors and high speed cameras have helped the fitting process go beyond what Ping pioneered.   There is more than can be explored but it takes extra time and equipment, which almost always means more money.

 

What you got is what is to be expected considering the price.