There are a total of 23 different design specifications which can be altered and customized to come up with the right custom fit clubs for any golfer. That’s a lot. We focus on the golf club specifications which will result in the greatest amount of positive game improvement in Distance, Accuracy, Consistency, Trajectory and Feel for each individual golfer and find the golf club specifications which will make that happen.
There are two types of golf club specifications the clubmaker needs to know.
"A" Effect Fitting Specification: An “A” effect golf club specification will create the most visible and noticeable change in Distance, Accuracy, Consistency, Trajectory or Feel. When an "A" effect specification is changed, even by a moderate amount, the golfer should experience a visible change in that game improvement factor the first time they hit shots with the club.
"B" Effect Fitting Specification: This is a golf club specification that will create a performance change which typically will be less than an “A” effect specification for Distance, Accuracy, Consistency, Trajectory and Feel. A “B” effect specification will typically display its effect visibly ONLY if that specification was poorly matched in the golfer’s previous golf club(s).
In short, the more "A" and "B" specifications which are addressed in the fitting, and the more those specifications are different from the golfer’s previous club(s), the more visible and dramatic the game improvement change for the golfer will be. That’s how real custom fitting is better than buying standard golf clubs off the rack.
A competent professional clubmaker will approach the custom fitting session by first determining which of the areas of game improvement are most important for each golfer – Distance, Accuracy, Consistency, Trajectory or Feel. Then by measuring the “A” and “B” effect specifications on the golfer’s existing set, the clubmaker can reference these “A” and “B” effect specs for the desired game improvement areas above, and know how much improvement IS possible for the golfer to achieve in an accurately fit set of custom made clubs. The clubmaker then proceeds to guide the golfer through a series of measurements and tests which combine with the clubmaker’s assessment of the “A” and “B” design specifications, to determine the exact specs for the new custom fit set.
That’s real custom fitting, and that is a major reason why custom fit is better than standard off the rack clubs every day of the week, and for every single golfer.
No matter the fact that the big retail golf super stores carry a plethora of different brand names among the clubs displayed on the racks, all the men’s drivers are 45” or 45.5” long, all of the graphite shaft irons are the same length and lie angle and all the steel shaft irons are the same length and lie as well. Drop one inch and the same goes for the ladies clubs too. Grip sizes are all the same for men as they are among the women’s clubs. Driver and woodhead face angles are all the same. The head to rest of the club weight balance we call swingweight is all the same for the clubs too.
Yes, you do get a choice of loft in the driver. Most golf stores stock drivers for men between 8.5 and 11 degrees, with maybe one model here or there with a little higher loft. Unfortunately there are a lot of golfers who need more than 11 degrees to maximize their driver distance and accuracy. And yes, you also get a choice between shaft flexes from L to X, but only in one model of shaft weight and bend profile design. Golf clubs are offered in much more of a “one size fits all” approach than the equipment in any other sport.
In case you haven’t been reminded of the fact lately, golf is a tough game to master to the point that you can hit the majority of your shots solid, on the center of the face, high enough to ensure full distance for your swing, and with enough accuracy to keep the ball in play. Clubs that fit your size, strength and the way you swing make the task a little easier. Clubs built to some pre-determined set of “standards” definite make it a lot more difficult.
Because the big golf club companies have always built and sold their clubs to some “national average” of golfer size, strength and swing ability, whenever golfers cannot hit the ball reasonably well the majority of the time, they blame themselves for the problem. After all, the game is difficult to master and it can’t possibly be the fault of the clubs, right? I mean, many of the clubs golfers buy are used by the pros on the PGA Tour, so if they work well for them, it has to be the golfer’s fault that he or she can’t hit more than 50% of their shots decently. Right?
Wrong. Yes, the game is difficult to master. But anyone who was reasonably good in sports when they were in school should be able to hit golf shots with more than a 50% success rate. The problem is that ALL golfers need to be custom fit for many more aspects of their clubs than a different driver loft or different shaft flex to be able to get the most from their size, strength and swing ability.
During a television interview aired on The Golf Channel in 2005, Tiger Woods was asked what he noticed the most about the amateurs he plays with in the pro-am events conducted the say before each week’s PGA Tour event. His response was that all golfers need to be custom fit with clubs that could accent the positive things they do in their swings and offset the chronic mistakes they make.
Are YOU still playing with standard made clubs bought off the rack? If you are, you are definitely not going to be able to play to the best of your ability.
