What is Custom Fitting?

Most of the large “brand name” golf club factories now offer some sort of custom fitting program, but this is typically restricted to offering a few options that can be easily applied to their one size fits all assembly line procedures.  Sometimes a few swing measurements will be monitored and sometimes you will hit sample clubs from a fitting cart, but that’s about it. These systems are little better than a trial and error process that typically pays little attention to your actual playing needs and sometimes simply results in golf club recommendations based on the sellers current inventory. 

We believe you deserve better value for your money.

For most of us, the purchase of golf clubs is a significant recreational purchase. Since we are purchasing toys rather than life necessities, the process should be enjoyable and informative. That's why we offer choices that allow you to select the designs, components, fitting detail, and assembly precision that best suits your needs and budget.

Our Golf Club Fitting Services: 

1.- Our fitting process involves an initial 1 ½ to 2 hour meeting where information on your current game and your improvement goals are reviewed.  Various computer aided dynamic swing measurements and other static measurements are taken plus we analyze your current golf club specifications.  In a second meeting 1 to 2 days later we will provide a detailed written recommendation for the golf club specifications that will be important aids in achieving your improvement goals.  With this information it will be easy to determine if your equipment is OK, if it can be retro-fitted, or if you should look at new clubs.  If retro-fit work or new clubs seems to be appropriate we will also include and review the various options with you.  Our fee for this fitting service is $125.00.  It includes your current club specifications, and two books on how golf clubs work.  That’s a $60.00 + value.  The rest of our fee covers your written recommendations plus the “take away” information you receive that will enable you to make informed golf equipment purchases anywhere you like and that’s priceless!  If it becomes your preference to have us do significant retro-fit work on your clubs or if you want us to build new clubs for you we will deduct your fitting fee from the cost of your purchase.    

2.- The five playing factors that can be addressed with golf clubs are distance, accuracy, trajectory, feel, and consistency.  There are over 20 individual specifications that can to varying degrees effect these factors.  In order to be properly fit it’s critical to determine what factors are important to you and then determine the specifications that will help you meet your playing goals.  Our fitting process makes these determinations and more importantly, it shows what specifications are important to you and why they will aid you in playing better.

3.- Much of the advertising hype we see these days concentrates on minor golf club specifications that have little real effect on actual playing factors. Purchases based on this hype will not aid most players.  The key to obtaining well fit golf clubs lies in learning which of the over 20 club specifications are important to you, your playing style, and your playing goals.  As you go through our detailed fitting process you will learn what golf club design specifications will most benefit you.  Simply learning what your equipment can and can’t do for your game will increase your confidence and playing enjoyment.

4.- The best length for your golf clubs will be determined from various measurements of your wrist to floor length, set up, swing plane, and ball striking tendencies.  Interestingly, most modern golf clubs are built to longer than ideal lengths and this is the major cause of ball striking and accuracy problems.  Golf clubs built to your ideal length will feel better and encourage better consistency and accuracy.

5.- Different swing speeds and swing styles will have an effect on the determination of your ideal club lofts.  The lofts of your clubs will be selected with a view to optimizing your shot trajectory and distance control.

6.- Dynamic measurements of the correct lie angles for your irons will be taken.. This is a critical accuracy consideration in your short irons and also important in your mid irons.

7.- A well fit set of clubs will also have a balance point (swing weight) that is appropriate for your swing speed, tempo and transition force.  This is a very important feel issue that will aid you in achieving a consistent swing tempo, but it is a specification usually overlooked by factory assemblers who build all of their clubs to the same balance.

8.- A recent advance in swing balance fitting is to have your clubs “moment of inertia” matched.  M.O.I. matching is a dynamic matching system that is much more accurate in establishing a consistent swing feel than traditional swing weighting because it is a dynamic rather than static measurement system.  This balancing procedure requires sophisticated electronic equipment and time so it is not available in factory assembled clubs.  We offer this service as an option for both new clubs and retro-fit clubs..

9.- The total weight for your individual clubs will vary depending upon the selection mainly of shafts and somewhat by grips.  No matter what the design, clubheads of the same number are virtually the same weight.  Typically, we will design the lightest club that you can control with your swing tempo and style.

10.- One of the most critical selections for your new clubs is the choice of appropriate shafts. There are perhaps more myths about golf club shafts than for any other component, but we look at facts, not myths.  When shafts are selected with the ideal weight, stiffness, flex profile, and torque they become a large factor in providing you with optimum performance and feel.  In our fitting process we measure your swing speed, swing tempo, attack angle, and shaft loading plus we make professional observations about your swing plane, downswing transition, wrist cock release, and approach angle.  With these measurements and observations we are able to select the best shafts for meeting your playing needs.  And… you will know why these selections are appropriate.

11.- The clubhead designs best suited to your game will be determined by your playing style and improvement goals.  Some key factors are loft, lie, face angle, offset, center of gravity, moment of inertia, and appearance.  Unlike golf club factories who are restricted to a few designs, we have access to hundreds of original designs and from this wide selection several choices with ideal characteristics for your needs can be selected.  Then you only need to pick the look that best suits your eye and budget.

12.- One of the most important procedures for creating a truly matched set of clubs is to have the shafts frequency matched.  This means that the shafts will be selected, sorted, trimmed, and adjusted so that they have consistent flex and feel throughout the set.    Serious clubmakers have the training and electronic equipment needed to accomplish this procedure.  Properly matching a set of shafts is a time consuming process so it is not available with factory assembled clubs because of their needs for rapid and simple assembly.  Our custom club shafts are properly matched, feel properly matched and play as properly matched clubs should.

13.- No golf shaft is perfectly round, straight, or consistently stiff throughout it’s length.  All shafts have weak and strong sides that when randomly installed can create unstable bending that sometimes results in equipment induced miss hits.  Prior to 1999 the rules of golf did not allow for anything other than random shaft installation, but it is now legal to neutrally align shafts in order to allow for neutral on line flexing.  Because of assembly line constraints, this is another benefit not available in factory assembled clubs.  We offer this option on many shaft designs and will be pleased to demonstrate the process to you.

14.- Most golfers do not have the best set makeup for their playing style and this keeps them from reaching their personal playing potential.  Typically the problem starts with the purchase of the so called standard set of three woods and eight irons.  Then a few wedges and woods are randomly added.  All of this with little regard for the actual playing specifications for any of the clubs.  This is a sure recipe for less than optimum performance.  Proper set makeup may well be the most effective way for enhancing your ability to play better and lower your scores.  Our fitting process places a great deal of importance in ensuring that you have the best possible selection of clubs.  We do this by replacing any clubs you have trouble hitting well with easier to hit designs that go the same distance.  If you eliminate the hard to hit clubs and replace them with easy to hit designs that go the same distance you will play better.  Guaranteed!

High Plains Clubmakers Inc.
521 Wood Avenue (P.O. Box 83)
Lundbreck, Alberta, Canada, T0K 1H0
Phone: (403) 628-3268    Cell: (403) 308-5167  paul@highplainsgolf.ca

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