Lowpost42 - Any input re a fitting appreciated!

Lowpost

I hope you can offer an opinion on this before I decinde whether to make a fuss.

I purchased an expensive set of Mizuno MP60s recently from a well known American golf retailer...bet you can't guess who!

The reason being that they offered the custom fit session. A summary of which is as follows

9.45am - Turned up and was taken to the range
9.50am - I hit two balls with a taped 6i
9.55am - A few words to the effect the shafts are correct
10.00am - I had hit a futher two balls - he looked at the tape and said all was fine.
10.02am - I was on my way home

Now, having some experience working for my club professional as a junior I was under the impression you should check all clubs for loft and lie. Or have things moved on so much in golf club manufacturing that if one club in your bag fits then all the others are fitted correctly as well!?

This was a real disappointment and it will be the last purchase I make from this big American golf retailer. I live about 10 mins from the Mizuno custom fit centre in Surrey and plan to contact them to try and get a decent fitting.

Before I do so I just want to make sure I am not completely mad thinking this was a pretty poor standard of fitting!

I did aquire some lie tapes during the fitting and planned to go through my clubs as I understand how to interpret the marks made but I really think the "fitter" should have done this on the day.

Any input would be gratefully received.

Cheers

JCBDB

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JCBDB

hi jcbdb
before lowpost chimes in i can tell you that your "fitting" session was totally inadequate!
i was fitted earlier this year and the fitter had me hit half a dozen 6 irons to determine shaft length then when we had one that was the correct length he had me hit of a lie board to check the lie and asked what trajectory i preferered.
finally he checked my swing speed out
this took the best part of an hour and a bucket of 50 balls the nett result being i have a perfect set of irons which have improved my game no end

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cheers slats
"Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle"

hi
i agree with slater. my first set of pings i got fitted for took over 2 hrs and i tried diffrent grips and diffrent shafts and thats after i got the loft and lie right. he used tape and then a board like slater said, then i hit about 50 balls and he did a little more tweeking and i hit another 25 balls or so to make sure i was hitting the shape of shot i wanted. they had about 10 6 irons set up with diffrent lies and it did not take long to find the lie but took a bit of time to get the right shaft to match my ball speed and flight.
took about 3 to 4 hrs in all but i enjoyed it as i had a good look round the place too and it did not cost me for the fitting as i got a full set of irons.
bill

Slats, Brian; well said, lads, well said.

JC, you didn't have a fitting - you had a 4 ball demo of one club.

Did you go in thinking you were going to buy MP60's, and decide to have them fit for you? Or did you go in with the mindset that you're going to try things, and see what works best, regardless of brand?

Either way, hitting two balls to 'see if the shaft is OK' is junk. Now, hitting 2 or 3 balls with different flexes of shafts is much better - who's to say that you wouldn't have done better with a different flex shaft - or a different make of shaft altogether?

Also, I'd like to point out that just because two clubs have Winn G8 grips, True Temper DG R300 shafts, and Mizuno MP32 6 iron heads does NOT mean they are the same clubs.

As for lie adjustment, every club should be lie tested before taking them home.

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Thanks all.

Lowpost - in answer to your question, yes I did go in with an open mind, well sort of. I was just about set on the Srixon i-506 irons after trying them several times in both reg and stiff flex.

I had my credit card out three times and managed to walk away without them. I then went into another store and tried a range of clubs but all forged irons ranging from the cheapest to the move expensive and short listed five sets.

I took them out on the range and dropped two sets based on performance - one with long irons and one with the short irons, one set due to the high ball flight and one set for lack of feel.

So some research was done as this set has to last a long time and I walked away with a set I had not even considered before!

The fitting session was to confirm, in my view, the right shaft, grips, loft and lie (for each club).

Thanks again for the input. It's good to know I was right and technology/club making has not moved on that much since my junior days!

JCBDB

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JCBDB

The best fitting will not be done in a net. It will be done outside. That is the only place you can see the true flight of the golf ball. No computer can accurately predict that every time. Go to Henry-Griffits.com. They are the best in the industry by far at custom fitting. I was a scratch for years and am now finally down to a plus handicap because of getting perfectly fitted clubs. Like Hogan said, "You're only as good as your clubs allow you to be."

I agree that ball flight is king. I really don't care what your divots look like or what your lie angles are if your ball is on target. However, I'm always nervous about 'big box' stores and their fitting methods. That said, it looks like HG has some great pros on hand that have some education. However, I'd recommend www.proclubmakers.org to find a PCS certified fitter.

Hi Ben

You've posted something similar before and I meant to ask you then.

Does this mean that each club should be tested to check it is 1 degree flat (or whatever) or that the correct lie for someone might vary between clubs.

The reason I ask is that, and the UK guys on here might be interested in this, is that I've been sent a flyer with a link to this offer for a winter service for the clubs.

http://www.mailermailer.com:80/x?fun...8111j-dee3237c

Club Heads and shafts washed cleaned and polished, grips "re-tackied", lofts and lies checked.

Getting the lofts checked seems a good idea anyway but what should I expect from the lie check?

I'm off for a date with some Thai food and a very nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc now so before I go may I wish a Happy New Year to anyone who reads this.

All the best

Robin

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I firmly believe that we should try to experience all that life affords, except, perhaps, bestiality and of course Morris Dancing.

great link
i have a store local to me!
enjoy your night mate
im having tiger chilli prawns and filleto fegato washed down with a nice chilean merlot
best wishes to eveyone for 2007

This means that every club should be hit against a lie board, and have them bent until the strike mark is lined up with the center of gravity on the clubface (most often the middle of the face for modern irons, closer to the heel for older irons). Having them all 1° flat would be a good starting point, but each one needs to be dynamically tested to make sure.

I've thought about offering the same 'preseason' service myself (save the re-tackying - I'm quite interested in how they do this (unless they're just washing them! )

At any rate, what you'll expect is basically a report to go with clean clubs. They'll put each club in the machine, record the lie and loft, and then you'll get a sheet identifying their findings. Your lies may progress nicely, or they may be off.

Worthwhile, IMO. Especially if you combine it with a little lie fitting that you can do at home (or at the range), then take numbers to a local clubmaker/fitter for bending (if necessary).

I had a chat with a salesman at the clothing store the other day who had just received a completely brand new, top of the line TaylorMade bag (bag, clubs, everything TM). I asked if he had them fit, he replied no. I asked if he'd like to come by and have them fit and bent. He asked why in the world he would bend his brand new clubs. I said buying clubs off the rack (as has been done for him) is like coming into a clothing store, where all the pants are 34x34. The only way their going to fit you is a) if you wear a 34x34, or b) if you take them to a tailor. I explained that I'm a 'tailor'.

He's coming by in the spring.

Happy New Year, all!

__________________
True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I was fitted with Henry Griffitts 3 years ago and am still using these clubs today with great effect. My session took just under two hours in which i learned more about shaft flex than i had in ten years of playing golf. I hit 5 balls off a bounce board and then the dispersion tape was checked to make sure the ball mark was starting above the first groove and in the middle of the club on the face and the oval mark on the base of the club was in the centre as well. In my session a 5 iron was used and then a sand wedge. One week later i was then fitted for my driver and three wood. I was extremely hapy with my fitting session as i mentioned i learnt more about shaft flex lie angles and launch angles than i ever new and i also received a free lesson in the process. I also was given the option that after three months if i was not happy with the results i was achieving i could have the entire fitting done again at no charge. My irons are six degrees up and i hit my 10 degree driver a lot further than i hit my old Callaway 9 degree driver.

What heads are you playing?

Henry Griffitts GL2