Tom Wishon Input On “Levels Of Clubfitting”
Tom Wishon agreed to provide his thought on updating the "Levels of Club Fitting" from his book!
After I did my Monday blog post, I emailed Tom Wishon, owner of Tom Wishon Golf, about the blog post and asked him his thoughts on updating this. I was excited that he agreed to provide the input on this that is noted below….
"If I were to re-think this 5 levels of fitting concept, at first thought I would say it would be logical to reduce the number of fittings because 5 seems too many and would challenge a regular golfer’s attention span.
But if you want to include a Payne Stewart “design the whole set from scratch so it is a one of a kind” fitting as the ultimate top end #5 fitting, and then if you want #1 to be an OEM fitting or adjustable club fitting, then I suppose you would have to allow for 2 fitting types to be in between. So the total might get down to 4.
Level 1 fitting. The fittings offered by any pro shop or retail golf store in which only a couple of the 13 key fitting specs are included and each one only for a limited range in fitting options – and this would be only for one or a handful of the clubs in the set, not for all 14 clubs. An adjustable driver with the adjustable hosel piece that only offers a +/- 1.5* change in the lie and face angle + a selection of R or S within one shaft model. This might be considered to be better than no fitting at all where the clubs are strictly bought off the rack, but in no way does it constitute a fitting for maximum game improvement. Not even close. AKA the “phantom fitting” as I would call it – you think you got fit but it was chiefly smoke and mirrors.
Level 2 fitting. The golfer answers a series of questions about his swing and how he plays. No one actually sees the golfer swing and does not actually see him hit balls to assess his fitting requirements. But if there are enough questions to get proper swing and game improvement needs assessed, and if the clubfitter has a good deal of experience, this is a far better fitting than #1. The goal of a level 2 fitting is still to customize all 13 fitting specs for each of the 13 woods and irons and wedges, but it falls a little short of a Level 3 fitting because the fitter is not working face to face with the golfer.
Level 3 fitting. The golfer goes to the clubfitter’s hitting studio to go through a full swing analysis and face to face interview to assess the golfer’s fitting requirements and game improvement needs. Launch monitor is used for sure, previous club specs are measured and analyzed as cause and effect for the golfer’s game improvement problems. The golfer hits various test clubs offered by the clubfitter on the basis of the fitter’s analysis of the golfer. All 13 key fitting specs for each one of the 13 woods, irons, wedges is custom fit and custom built for the golfer. Usually takes at least two separate fitting sessions – one to analyze and do test club hitting to obtain feedback, then a second one to finalize the fitting specs.
Level 4 fitting. The tour pro fitting in which the Level 3 fitting analysis determines each of the player’s 13 key fitting specs for every one of the clubs, but in addition, each clubhead is specifically designed from scratch for the player’s wants and needs. This is a fitting that only a STAR tour player, not even a regular tour player, can get from a golf company that is paying him/her 6 figures and higher to endorse their products.
That’s kinda where I am at on this,
TOM"
Thank you Tom for updating this, your thinking as always is sound. Hopefully it gives you readers an idea of what does and does not constitute a real custom club fitting.
Have you had a Level 2, 3, or 4 custom club fitting, and what were the results – looking forward to your comments!
