Over the last decade, more and more golf retailers have been adding the option of Custom Fitting golf clubs to their portfolio. But is it an advantage to the average golfer?
And what are the benefits of having your golf clubs tailored to you and your swing?
Editor of The Social Golfer, Ian Mullins decided to invest in a new set of golf clubs, but before considering which brand of clubs he preferred, he went to see Essex-based clubmaker and custom fitting specialist, Rick Pegrum.
This is his experience of going through the custom fitting process.
Disclosure: We have not been paid for this article and we have received no concessions or discounts from Ricky regards the club purchased. My comments and review are based purely on the customer experience with Ricky and nothing else.
There are many reasons to consider getting your golf clubs custom-fitted for you.
However, first and foremost, it is about having equipment suited to your height, weight, swing, and technique.
Secondly, it addresses any quirks you may have as an individual.
Let’s face it, you wouldn’t go into a shoe shop and ask for a particular golf shoe without knowing that it fits your foot.
Yet most golfers will happily order a new golf clubs online without even knowing if the shaft length is correct for their frame?
In addition, if the grip is optimised to suit their hands?
Furthermore, how quickly they swing their club and/or what speed the golf ball travels once it leaves your club?
Lastly, at what angle does the clubface attack the ball?
Having now been through this process, my advice is to go to an experienced clubmaker, rather than a high street retailer before makinga purchase.
Why? Well, the cost is the same, but the level of detail and analysis provided to you, is stark in contrast.
The process involved in custom fitting golf clubs includes six core step:
My whole experience began when I decided to get my 3-wood refurbished with a shaft change and re-grip.
Once Ricky had looked at the set-up of bag in its entirerity (I have only ever had Mizuno irons), he quickly informed me that not only did none of the iron shafts have a uniform weight, but all my clubs were of different lengths and shaft tension.
How can that be? Ricky explained that it was quite common, even in the same set to have varying discrepancies. What? That is shocking.
Really? OK, so I now have doubts about the quality of off-the-shelf golf clubs and am questioning the quality of all the major brands. Therefore, effectively, I am adjusting my swing to accommodate EVERY club in my bag.
So it is no surprise that while I ‘scramble’ well, there is little consistency in my ball striking. OK, let’s put that to one side and look at my swing.
We started with a swing analysis on the Flightscope monitor he trusts implicitly. We used 3-wood and my Driver.
Taking 10 shots, disregarding the worst two, and then took the averages.
In addition, we discussed my personal opinion of grips – Ricky believes in listening to you rather than dictating to you what he thinks you need – which I appreciated, as I didn’t come here for a lesson.
After an hour of testing and analyis afew other clubs, I was surprised by how tired I was. As such, Ricky suggested we finish and use session two to see where and how we could make improvements.
Now, let’s recap: I was only visiting Ricky regarding my 3-wood (!) but I saw enough data in my first session to want the whole custom fitting experience.
After all, my irons were more than 14 years old, and the rest of my clubs were at least 6 or 7 years old. Maybe it was time to invest in new clubs.
We started again by reflecting on what we learned in the first session and on shaft testing, but focused on the driver, knowing that this was the hardest club to control.
After 30 minutes, we decided on the shaft that was best for me.
And then Ricky started to add ‘swing weights’ to the top and bottom of the selected shaft. Wow, what a difference this made! So now it was time to review different types of clubheads.
Ricky has no preference for which brand or range of club head you like; however, I quickly learned that the brand name was irrelevant.
As such, he offered me the option of testing the Wishon club heads, his preferred club heads.
I won’t lie, at first, I was hesitant. I like my Cobra 3-wood head and my Titleist driver, but I told myself to ‘follow the numbers’ and not the brand. Not easy for someone who has spent a lifetime in marketing.
So, let us look at the numbers…
Obviously, the first thing I saw was the drop in distance (Vanity takinng over again!). However, if the game of golf were about how far we drove a ball, Bryson and Rory would win the majority of Professional golf events.
So, quickly putting that stat to one side, OMG, based on this analysis, while I may have lost a little distance, my dispersion rate (variation in shot distribution from left to right) had reduced from 80 yards to 16 yards. WOW!
However, as Ricky pointed out, “But you have not played a round with them yet; rest assured, you’ll see the carry increase as you get more confident with the new set-up.”
Finally, we sat down to discuss the available clubhead options in the Wishon range.
The good news is there are only three or four options available in each club category, so no time for procrastination. I chose the Wishon 919 THI Driver head, the 370 3-wood and hybrids, and the 575 irons.
The latter, primarily because the optics of looking down on the clubs were closest to the Mizuno irons I was used to. E.g., a nice thin edge.
Their website describes them as follows:
Suits You Sir! (90s TV cultural reference – The Fast Show)
Ricky’s preference is Golf Pride, which I also like. As such, we settled on the Double Compound MCC Plus grip in grey. These are slightly thicker than the ones currently on my exsisting set of clubs and they are much more comfortable in my palms.
Finally, with all the testing now done, it was now time for Ricky to ask me what colour ferrules I wanted (that’s the bit of plastic at the bottom of the shaft that covers and protects the joining of the shaft to the club head). What, can I choose those too? Oh yes!
Consequently, I opted for the grey (which he ordered in specially for me) to match my grips! Wow, it is like being in Saville Row.
Alas, it was now time for me to leave Ricky alone and for him to start building my brand-new set of custom-fit golf clubs, completely unique to me.
But how long would I have to wait for my new clubs? Ricky predicted 3-4 weeks, which I felt was reasonable.
I arrived for my final session with Ricky full of excitement. There they were waiting for me, gleaming in the late afternoon sunshine.
I really am like a kid at Christmas. However, we had one last set of testing to do before he handed them over to me.
Ricky had reviewed the loft and lie options in the previous sessions, but he now wanted to make some minor adjustments to my ‘actual’ set before he waved me goodbye.
We then experimented with slight loft and lie adjustments to hone and optimize my Flightscope results. See explanation below.
When building golf clubs, loft and lie are two critical factors that influence the club’s performance:
Having had a chance to calculate how much my incumbent set of golf clubs had cost me, I quickly recalled that I had spent approximately £350 on my driver, £180 on my 3-wood, £120 on two hybrids, and £350 on a set of irons (5-SW). Allowing for inflation, I estimated in today’s money that was approx. £1700.
Given the 4 hours of swing analysis and testing, and a couple of phone calls (included in the final price), plus the cost of the shafts, grips, ferrules, and club heads, my total bill was £1300!
Broken down by club, it was roughly £220 for the Driver, £170 for the 3-wood, £150 each for the Hybrids, and £120 per iron. (I chose 6, 7, 8, 9 & PW)
I consider this to be excellent value for the expertise and personalization I received.
Firstly, it’s obvious that you will always have a sense of expectancy when you are using a new set for the first time. But I can honestly say the first drive I took at Dale Hill in Kent in April split the fairway. A good sign?
Sadly, that round was cut short after 12 holes due to horrendous weather conditions.
However, in their second outing at The Berkshire in May, I did not miss a fairway all day, and while I still needed to get to know my new iron distance, I happily finished the round with 36 pts.
With a few trips to the range too, I can declare my game is transformed.
I now stand on the tee with my driver with confidence (rather than dread).
Now, this was a surprise! As part of the service, Ricky offers everyone who purchases a club or set from him the opportunity to return to his studio after ten rounds with your new clubs.
This allows him to make some slight adjustments and/or listen to your feedback. He insists that not only does this help the golfer, but it helps him understand golfers better and improve his own service. All at no extra cost.
Obviously, I can only talk based on my own experience but if you are considering having your golf clubs custom fit, talk to Ricky, visit him at www.custom-fitgolf.co.uk or call him on 01245 922 092.
Ian is the Editor of The Social Golfer. He has been reviewing golf courses for more than ten years. Ian was the Marketing Director of the London Golf Show from 2011-2016. He has had golf articles published in Golf News Magazine, Today’s Golfer and Golf Business News. Ian is also the Communications Director for The Cairns Cup (Golf’s Premier Disability Match Play Event).
*Wishon Golf clubs, designed by Tom Wishon, are known for their customizability and high performance. Unlike mass-produced brands, Wishon clubs are fully customizable, allowing golfers to tailor their clubhead to their specific needs, including shaft length, grip size, and loft angles. Their focus on fitting and technology gives golfers an edge by providing clubs that maximize individual performance rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.
HEADER IMAGE - Mistwood GC
Courtesy of Raymond Hearn, Course Architect www.rhgd.com
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