There is something exciting about buying new golf equipment.
Maybe it’s time to replace an old faithful. Maybe it’s a very new but unfaithful club that never quite delivered. Or maybe you simply like having the latest equipment in your bag.
For many of us, when the time comes to make a purchase, it means a trip to our local retailer to check out what they have in stock.
When we enter, the temptation is hard to resist. Rack upon rack of drivers, fairways, hybrids, irons, and wedges draw us like a moth to the light.
The great thing about golf retailer outlets is their ability to bring together newcomers and experienced golfers through their doors. Everybody has their own purpose of being there, and they hope that if they make a purchase, it will lead to the promised land of lower scores and happier golf.
At times, the reality doesn’t live up to the expectation.
The new driver isn’t longer or more accurate. The new irons aren’t hunting down flags, and the new wedges aren’t generating the type of short-game control we were hoping for.
With expectations dashed, the new shiny club or clubs can be quickly banished to the garage/storage facility or a secondhand club specialist.
It feels like money has been wasted.
Are stock clubs bad? Are they inferior to custom-built clubs? What is the difference between stock clubs and their custom-fit counterparts? It’s time to take a closer look.
To give you the most in-depth analysis, we’ll break this down into five areas:
-
What “Stock” Really Means
-
What “Custom-Fitting” Actually Means
-
Where Custom-Fitted Clubs Make the Biggest Difference
-
Three Common Myths About Custom Golf Fitting
-
What It Means for Your Game
What “Stock” Really Means
For starters, stock clubs come in standard lie and standard lengths for each club.
When we isolate this down to something like the driver, the majority of stock options come between 45.5 and 46 inches. The average driver shaft length on the PGA Tour is 44.5 to 45.25 inches.
Why the difference? Longer shafts help deliver more clubhead speed, which sounds like music to the ears of most of us who are always on the search for more distance. The problem is that longer shafts can lead to less consistent ball striking, so the difference between a middled shot and a heel or a toe strike is more varied.
On the subject of shafts, stock clubs come with a limited selection of shafts to choose from. Again, starting with the driver, most OEMs will provide some options which they will have collaborated on with manufacturers like Fujikura and Mitsubishi Chemical. TaylorMade has gone one step further and created their own shaft matrix system for the Qi4D range, the REAX shaft system, to help give a more tailored approach.
With irons, you’ll generally have a couple of steel shafts to choose from and a graphite shaft, so the choice isn’t great when you consider the number of steel shaft options that are out there in the marketplace.
While we have become accustomed to adjustability options in drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids, the off-the-shelf variants all come in neutral settings, which means the manufacturer is trusting you to find exactly what you need by playing around with adjustable weights and hosels, but how do you measure if any changes you make are effective?
In summary, off-the-shelf stock clubs aren’t bad; they are a great entry point for new golfers, and they do offer that instantaneous adrenaline hit of walking out of the retailer with a new club or clubs under your arm.
So, what’s the problem? Stock clubs are designed to meet the needs of the “average golfer”, but what is the average golfer? How do they swing the club? How much speed do they generate, what are their launch and spin numbers, and is the average golfer all the same height and build?
What “Custom-Fitting” Actually Means
Custom-fitting dispels the myth of the average golfer by focusing on the individual characteristics of each player and maximising the club setup to help each player get more consistent results. It’s that simple.
Custom-fitting doesn’t look at one area such as the clubhead. It takes into consideration what the correct shaft should be, how long the club needs to be and the correct lie angle because the average golfer doesn’t all come in at the same height.
Custom-fitting helps a player who consciously or unconsciously makes compensations in their address or swing to accommodate a club or clubs that aren’t built for their needs.
The custom-fitting process utilises technology in the form of highly advanced launch monitor technology like GC Quad, because it picks up the detail the naked eye can’t. An experienced fitter is on hand to work with you on what feels and looks good to you, what you struggle with on the course, and what you want out of any equipment change you want to make.
Think of it like a consultation process, but the human aspect is equally as important as the launch monitor data.
So, if you go down the custom-fitting route, what should you expect as a suitable result?
Where Custom-Fitted Clubs Make the Biggest Difference
Predictability doesn’t always mean excitement, but in golf, it often does. Predictability in the form of tighter shot dispersions or more centred strikes is achievable from a good custom-fitting session.
That might mean fewer drives lost to the big miss, irons that finish closer to the intended number, wedges that gap properly, or a long-game setup that gives you a more reliable option from the tee and fairway.
Detail is key. If the fitting session is focused towards irons, a key measure is to create consistent distance gaps between each iron, but the fitter will also look to ensure the fitting gap remains consistent with your hybrid or lofted fairway wood at the top end of your bag and your wedges at the bottom end.
The fitting process is designed to instil confidence in knowing how your equipment will perform when you are out on the course, which off-the-shelf clubs can’t guarantee.
More golfers are leaving improved performance on the table because of three common myths about custom fitting, which we’ll look at next.
Three Common Myths About Custom Golf Fitting
Now that we understand the differences between stock and custom-fitting, we can start to understand the arguments for and against both options. But to be more specific, we often come up against three misconceptions that hamper golfers in improving through their golf clubs, which are:
-
Custom Fitting Is For Good Players Only
-
Custom Fitting Means More Expensive Purchases
-
You Need To Be Swinging Well On The Day
Custom Fitting Is For Good Players Only
This is the most common myth associated with custom fitting. It stems from the fact that better players have a better understanding of their swings and can articulate more clearly what they are looking for in their equipment.
The reality is that custom fitting is particularly useful for higher handicap players because they are less consistent with their swings, their ball striking, and shot direction.
Custom fitting pinpoints where the player needs the most help, and the focus of the session is creating a setup which will be more reliable and help keep the ball in play more.
Custom Fitting Means More Expensive Purchases
When you buy off the shelf, you know exactly what you’ll pay. Completely true. Fitters are programmed to upsell higher-spec components like shafts because they make more money out of it. Completely untrue.
The key thing to understand is that the fitting process is completely results-driven. The launch monitor data should show a clear improvement over your existing equipment. Just as importantly, the recommended setup should feel comfortable, look right behind the ball and give you confidence in the results it is producing.
A fitting session doesn’t put the emphasis on selecting the correct head to solve the issues. The shaft is equally important to delivering more consistent results for all levels of players. Even grip selection is given careful consideration since it is your only point of contact with the golf club. Fitting will also pay attention to the lie of the club and the length of the club to deliver your best results.
The process is also transparent. Some options, such as shafts, are more expensive than others, and that forms part of the conversation with the fitter. You’re perfectly entitled to walk away if you feel the cost is too much.
You Need To Be Swinging Well On The Day
We often hear golfers make the excuse early in the session that they are not swinging it well or hitting it well. Great.
It helps the fitting be even more detailed and accurate to what you need.
Not even the best players in the world swing it well or hit it well every single day they put a golf club in their hands.
They still look for some level of assistance from their equipment setup that will make their mishits more manageable when they are under real pressure in tournament conditions.
The same should apply to all levels of handicap players. Your equipment should still reward the good shots, but narrow the gap when you don’t quite hit it out of the middle.
When you are booked in for a fitting session, you will hit good shots, but don’t worry about the bad shots. Let the fitter know what the shot feels like and if that’s what you commonly see out on the course, because that’s ultimately what the fitter will be focusing on: how your game performs on the course.
What It Means for Your Game
We are very lucky that we live in an era where the standard of golf equipment being produced is exceptional.
Off-the-shelf clubs are packed full of an OEM’s research and development, providing clubs designed to make the game more enjoyable through the materials used and the technology built into the club.
We’ve seen how TaylorMade, Callaway, and Titleist offer more extensive shaft options to give a more tailored feel as standard, while Ping offers its in-house shaft options along with a selection of external choices.
These clubs can offer a great entry point for a player who is new to the game and just wants a set of clubs so they can go and practice or play.
The fundamental argument for the off-the-shelf club is that they are built to what the OEM’s believe to be the average golfer, but the average golfer doesn’t exist.
We are all different, and that’s what custom fitting taps into. An elite amateur can be fitted for a new Titleist GTS driver in the same way a 16-handicapper can be, but the head choice and shaft spec are likely to be completely different because of each player’s swing characteristics.
Custom-fitting produces results that lead to improved consistency and confidence where it matters most: on the course.
If you haven’t considered custom-fitting before, book yourself in for a tailored session with our expert fitter in the Nine By Nine Golf fitting studio and let us help you find where gains can be made from having your own custom-built set of golf clubs.