Should you get lessons before getting custom clubs ?

We have had a few queries asking when should you go for lessons and when should you get custom clubs ?

The truth is that the very first contact every golfer has with the game of golf is with some sort of club. It is so important that the club is matched to the size, shape,strength and natural ability of the golfer (however much that might be) right at the beginning of things.

So what happens if your equipment is not matched or fitted to you as a person?

• Say for instance the loft on your driver is too high for you, the ball goes too high, has no distance and you go for lessons with it. You could end up building a swing around the problem with the loft of the club.
• Likewise if the shafts in your irons are too soft and whippy, creating lots of dispersion then you will think it’s you that is inconsistent and look for lessons to try and solve it when it was the shaft flex all along.
• Lessons will not fix a shaft being too soft or a loft being too high.

We had a visit from a customer who saw the benefits in what we do by matching the clubs to him and his individual swing. Below is what Johnny said in an email to us about a post he made on an online golf forum

“Hi Derek, I thought this might interest you.
I posted a comment online in response to somebody saying that technology was wrong, if it gave good results from a bad swing. I gave you a little plug.

I posted a comment on here a few months ago to the effect that I believed that it was not the arrows, it was the Indian.

If I had €350 to spend on a new driver, I would put it into the pocket of my Club Pro for lessons. I had tried to buy a better game before with standard clubs and it really hadn’t worked, so for the last few years I have concentrated on sorting out my swing by having lessons”.

“This year, for my birthday, my wife bought me a gift voucher for a full bag check at ForeGolf club fitters here in Ireland and on Monday this week I went along. It was a fascinating hour spent in the company of a very knowledgeable and friendly club fitter. I told him that since having lessons I had a better swing but was fighting a hook. He showed me the offset on my clubs and said ‘well that’s not helping!’ We went through a number of manufacturer’s heads and different shaft fittings and wow it was lovely. Forged heads for a great feel off the club face, no hook, improved ability to shape the ball and more distance (although I was not really interested in distance) AND a 3 wood that I could finally get along with!

Anyway, my point is that, whether you like it or not, your clubs are set up for SOME kind of swing (like my irons were set up for a slice), so you might as well get some setup for your kind of swing. If somebody with a poor swing is out-driving you through his use of technology, so what. Let him enjoy his golf, you just play the course.

My swing wasn’t going to get any better, all the time I was trying to compensate for the clubs. Everybody told me I had a good swing, but I was extremely frustrated with my results.

I have the same swing and my new clubs are going to allow me to enjoy it more, and that’s the bottom line isn’t it”?

..

Tags: custom fitting question Customer Story Standard vs Custom