Custom Fitting For Beginners?

By April 17, 2020Tips & Tutorials

Custom fitting is the process used to “personally tailor” a golf club to an individual’s need and swing nuances. It involves taking a series of measurements and analysing data from a launch monitor, such as spin rates, launch angles and swing speed. Some older professionals may ask you to hit some shots from a lie board with tape on the sole of the club or a sticker on the face.

But I personally believe that beginners most certainly should not be getting fitted for a set of clubs, because they are simply not consistent enough for the figures to give any club fitter the correct information to create a set of clubs that would suit that individual. With random swing results and more than likely some very “strange readings” you will be doing more harm than good, and to be honest you wouldn´t understand the majority of what the club fitter was saying.

If you are a beginner looking to purchase your first set of golf clubs, then you should take the following things into account:

  • Your budget – Expensive doesn´t always mean the best for you. Remember you are not going to know the difference between a 50$ driver or a 500$ driver. What you should do is set a budget for your whole set and stick to it.
  • Choose the club that feels the best. This is probably the best advice I can give a beginner when buying a set of clubs. They must feel comfortable in the hand, and look good to the eye. If they don´t then you are already fighting a losing battle with confidence. Buying on feel and looks is a good way to go, and don´t worry about the style of the club, if you like them then buy them.
  • Graphite or steel? If you are relatively strong then you should look for steel shafted irons and graphite shafted woods and hybrids, normally for most a regular flex is ideal. For women, juniors and the more mature gentleman I would recommend getting graphite in all of the clubs, as they will lighter and easier to swing.
  • Get a complete set; A complete set should include the following clubs: Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, hybrid, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge and a putter. You don´t need to add or remove anything to begin with.

Your first set of clubs should fill you with confidence and be pleasing to the eye, being custom fitted is a waste of your time and to be honest any self-respecting club fitter shouldn’t even offer club fitting to a beginner.