Club Fitting: What You Need to Know

By Joe Charles, Treetops Resort Director of Golf Academy and Instruction

This is the time of year that many club manufacturers release new equipment. The PGA Tour season has begun and for some parts of the country, spring is around the corner. Most importantly the Masters tournament is quickly approaching, which I refer to as the unofficial beginning of the golf season! While attending the PGA Show last week in Orlando , Florida, I was able to try out new equipment and I was inspired to put on my fitter hat and share what you need to do to get your bag ready for the season.

I took advantage of the training opportunities to further my expertise in the world of club fitting. One of the certifications I completed was the Callaway certified club fitter. Callaway has some exciting new clubs coming out with their line of Maverick woods and irons. One of the things we talked about in the seminars was how golfers know they should be fitted for clubs, but most golfers lack a complete understanding of what happens in a good club fitting. A few things that I would recommend asking when scheduling your fitting.

• What are your credentials?
• Are you a PGA Member?
• How many fittings have you performed each year?
• What club manufacturers do you use?
• What type of technology to you use?

At Treetops, we utilize launch monitor technology which helps us show the differences in ball speed, smash factor, side spin, launch angle, total distance and more. We also take our time to ensure that golfers have the correct length of club, lie angle, shaft flex, grip size, and gapping between your clubs.

Another item to consider when fitting is to check every club in your bag is fit, not just the irons and driver. Wedge fitting as well as putter fitting can also be very beneficial to your game. During the PGA Show I attended a seminar hosted by Roger Cleveland. He is widely regarded as being one of the best wedge designers in history. During his talk, Roger emphasized the importance of having the correct bounce and grind on your wedges. These attributes on the wedge significantly affect the way the club interacts with the ground and the way divots, or lack thereof, are produced. At Treetops Golf Academy, I do a wedge fitting session with many of my students where we cover these areas as well as yardage gapping for your wedges. This can really help lower those scores!

Not only should adults be fitted for clubs during the off season, it is also a great idea to for juniors to get dialed in as well! I am happy to announce that I am also a US Kids Golf Certified Coach. At Treetops Resort, we will not only be running new programing for juniors throughout the season, we will also be offering USKG clubs that will be custom fit for every junior. Research suggests that clubs that are too heavy or too long can be detrimental to kids while they are still developing their motor patterns especially as it pertains to speed. If a child tries to learn how to play golf with a heavy club, they can develop a swing that is slow. They never create the fast twitch muscle movements that are essential for hitting the ball a long way. This is a big problem because the time to train for speed is during growth spurts for children. It becomes very tough to develop more speed later in life. By placing your junior in a program that not only trains them for speed as they develop, it also provides the equipment essential for this, you will give them the best opportunity to become great golfers.

So, as you can see, whether you are a man, woman, senior or junior, a fitting can definitely help your game. Start 2020 off strong with good equipment that will help you maximize your talents!