The Wall Street Journal and Clubfitting

Yesterday I got to play golf in Oak Ridge, TN in beautiful 37 degree weather (at least it was supposed to be that warm….). Afterward, one of my golf friends said that he read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the benefits of clubfitting. The link to that article is provided below:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031702339499956.html

There were at least a few things in that article that peaked my interest in terms of benefits to golfers (besides the obvious overall view of the article that everyone should be fitted for clubs):

1. The article suggested that to some club fitting is “daunting and incomprehensible.” I had never thought that that might be true for some golfers. But maybe that thought is worth considering. Personally I always attempt to make the fitting process as understandable and even fun as possible. But maybe it would be a good idea to keep working to identify ways to make the process more understandable.

2. “Any fitting is better than no fitting.” While I understand the intent in this statement, a fitting that for example puts a golfer in a shaft that is two flexes too stiff (I have seen this) is not really better than no fitting.

3. The part of the article that I liked the most was when he describes a recent fitting that he had done for him. As part of this the fitter actually found that his driver and 3 wood were a pretty good fit for him, and that for the most part his irons were a good fit. To me this shows the integrity of the person who did this fitting………..to say yep your clubs are actually pretty good for you. I have had some recent driver and iron fitting experiences where there were similar results, and felt good about the fact that I did not try to “create” a reason to have the person change clubs when it was not really necessary.

Hope you might take the time to read this article, it is enjoyable and informative.

Tony