Myth: I’m Not Good Enough To Benefit from Custom Clubfitting

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Yeowch, if I had a dollar for every time I have heard this statement from a golfer, I might not be able to retire to St. Andrews, but I darn well could pay for a lot of great dinners with a great bottle of accompanying wine!

Without question, this is THE BIGGEST MYTH that surrounds professional custom clubfitting.  And please, I am not saying this in any self serving, shameless commercial capacity.  The truth is that professional custom clubfitting can help average to less skilled golfers gain immediate shot improvement more than it will golfers who play off a low single digit handicap.

At times I have joked around with clubmakers and told them if I were to open up a custom clubfitting shop to offer custom fitting to golfers, I would hang up a shingle outside my shop that said, “Tom’s Custom Clubfitting – Golfers Between 12 and 25 Handicap Only”.

Why would I only offer to fit golfers who shoot somewhere between the low-80s and 100?  Because in 30 plus years of doing more clubfitting research than I can shake a stick at, I have learned these are the golfers who most definitely EXPERIENCE THE MOST SHOT IMPROVEMENT and are the EASIEST TO PROPERLY FIT than any other segment of golfers. The reason is because custom fitting, when done right, reduces the poor shot effect of swing errors.  And who makes more swing errors?  Yes, the golfers who shoot between the low-80s and 100.

Why not for the golfers who shoot under 80?  Don’t get me wrong, proper fitting can help better players as well by getting the golfer into clubs that bring about better shot consistency, a more preferable shot trajectory, a more preferred club feel, and sometimes even a little more distance.  But low handicap golfers are the way they are because they have the golf athletic ability to adjust to a very wide range of clubs that might not be the most perfect fit for their swing.

Average golfers do not.  And that right there is why professional clubfitting can and will help average golfers gain immediate shot improvement overnight – because accurately fit clubs offset, reduce and sometimes even erase certain aspects of poor shotmaking caused by less than stellar swing characteristics.  And the more less than stellar swings, the more chance for shot and score improvement from professional full specs clubfitting. 

Tom