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Properly Fit Golf Equipment
by Chuck Quinton Properly
fit golf equipment is very important to everyone's golf game, not just professionals. Much has been discussed about the
importance of properly fit shafts, but little has been done to show what happens when bad equipment happens to good golf swings.
Below, I have a pic showing the dangers of playing shafts that are too soft for your swing next
to a club that has been properly fit to my swing. Understand that tempo and how you load the shaft has a dramatic impact on
the shaft, not just swing speed, so even if you have a slower swing speed, it is still very important to have properly fit
clubs. If you load the club aggressively during the transition and early in the downswing, you
will likely need stiffer shafts. If your swing is smooth and you don't load until late in the swing, you can get a way
with softer shafts.
The game is
challenging enough without having to make compensations for poorly fit equipment. After you have
found the perfect flex and overall club weight, length, etc. for your swing, take all that money you've been
losing to your buddies every Saturday and have an entire set of irons built by a master club builder. It is important
to have someone build your clubs who understands how to keep the flex and swing weight constant throughout the entire
set of irons. It does you no good to have a 5 iron built perfectly for your swing and a 4 iron that feels like a board and
a 6 iron that feels like a noodle. This is very common in a standard off the shelf set of clubs. The difference
in flex throughout a set of clubs you buy off the shelf will absolutely amaze you. To give you an example, I bought a
set of clubs off the shelf about 6 years ago that had graphite shafts because I hit them at a demo day very well
and was so impressed by them. I bought them in what Callaway called "Regular Flex" as that was what I demo'd
and I didn't want to feel like I had to "go after" each shot. After having trouble playing with the full set, hitting
a 9 iron straight up in the air 140 yards on one hole and then hitting one 175 yards on the next, I decided to go
see a club fitter and have them checked out. At the time, I didn't know much about club building and didn't think
I needed a custom fit set. After seeing the actual specs on my new Callaway's, I was shocked, no, disgusted,
to find that they ranged from 3.7 in my 3 iron (an A or Amateur flex) to 2.7 in my wedge, a Ladies flex! Needless
to say, I was done with graphite and done with buying clubs off the shelf. I quickly realized I couldn't afford
NOT to have my clubs custom built and you can't either. On the plus side, I could hit my pitching wedge about 170
yards, I just didn't know WHEN I was going to hit it 170 yards. Save some money and get yourself fitted this
year, it will make a difference in your golf swing and your scores.
 
What does a properly fitted shaft
look like? The picture on the left shows the results of
a properly fitted shaft with the correct flex.. In the picture on the right, a shaft that is too soft will bow at impact, so much in fact that the lower part
of the shaft is actually pointing slightly backward, literally adding loft to the club.
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