The Importance of Club Fitting

It is very common for golfers to have equipment that is inadequate for them. Clubs come in a wide variety of characteristics. With current technology, clubs can be lighter and more adjustable than ever before. They are built with light and strong graphite in the shaft, and titanium heads to lower the overall weight of the clubs. In comparison to clubs in the 70’s and 80’s, clubs today are nearly 50% lighter and can generate nearly 25% more distance. However, not all clubs are built the same.

I don’t think I would surprise anyone to say that not all people are the same. In fact we all are different in many ways. When looking at are physical attributes, we vary in height, weight, arm length, leg length, strength, flexibility, hand size, foot size and so on and so on. So it would make it extremely difficult for a golf club manufacturer to produce enough clubs with an extremely large variety of club specifications to fit everyone. So they don’t, they use statistics to group people into demographics. Men, women, seniors and juniors are the standard demographics to design clubs for. They then produce a few options for each and market them. The Problem then becomes not all of us fit perfectly into each of those demographics, and even if we do, the clubs will still need to be adjusted for our characteristics. For instance Length, Lie angle and Grip or Hand Size are three things I find vary from person to person.

Most golfers believe that getting clubs fit for them is something only golf professionals or good players need. However that is quite far from the truth. Most accomplished golfers have swings that the can be repeated vary easily without much changing. If we give them a short or longer club with a heavier weight and more flexible shaft they can make adjustments to their swing easily to make contact. Vice Versa, a new golfer does not have the same repeatable golf swing, so if you give them a golf club with characteristics that make it difficult to swing, the new golfer will have a very difficult time producing a good golf shot. New golfers need clubs that will help them, not make it harder. It is Very common when I see a new golfer for them to have clubs that actually hinder their chances of making contact than make it easier. The most common is for new golfers to receive a set of golf clubs from a relative that are old and heavy, with smaller club heads and stiff steel shafts. Everything about the golf clubs makes it more difficult to make impact.

The two most important features of a golf club when helping a golfer make proper impact are Length of the golf club and lie angle of the club head. Length of the club is important because if a golfer uses to long of a golf club they are more likely to struggle making contact in the center of the clubface, as the club gets shorter it becomes easier to control during the swing. Lie of the clubface is also very important because as the club comes into impact it is important that the clubface sits with the sole or footprint of the club flat on the ground. That way the clubface is in perfect position for impact and strikes the golf ball in the correct direction to go to its target.

In summary, club fitting has a large impact on a golfers’ ability to make impact with a golf ball. The newer the golfer is to the game the more important the role of the clubs become. Golf Clubs are available in many makes and models. Choosing the right ones can be a difficult and confusing task. Your best option is to contact a golf club fitter / club maker. They are trained to help golfers in the decision making process, much like a tailor helping to find a suit that fits.

http://www.heatherglengolf.com

Cam Latimer

CPGA Assistant Golf Professional

HeatherGlen Golf Course

  HeatherGlen's original 18 is made up of the Grove 9 and a mix of the best Creek and Hills holes. We have made it HeatherGlen 2.0 by completing the addition of a great Par 3 in the middle of the property as well as adding some more tee boxes to update a few holes you already love. It's a fun and challenging 18 playing through the most mature trees on the property.

A couple of changes you will see are the new tees further back on Grove 6 that now becomes a longer Par 4 #2.  Grove 9 tees move up and become a Par 4.  The biggest change being the new little Par 3 #14.  This hole was there previously when HeatherGlen was 18 holes.  We removed this hole and now put it back in with a fun green framed by some beautiful trees.  Check out the layout below.

 

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HeatherGlen Golf Course

234024 Range Road 285, Rocky View, AB T1X 0J8
phone. 403.236.4653
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