Can Golf Clubs be Fitted After Purchase?

If you’ve determined to take your interest in golf seriously, you’ll want to do everything possible to take your playing ability to the next level. That includes buying new equipment, joining a club, and dedicating more time to practice. However, one question that keeps popping up among golfers is whether fitting a golf club is possible or even advisable. If you are like many other golfers, you probably have this question in your mind.

So, can golf clubs be fitted after purchase? It’s possible to custom-fit any kind of golf club after purchase. You can change or readjust different parts of the club during the process, including grip, loft, and lie. However, you must note that the cost of retrofitting a club after purchase would increase as you make changes to the club.

It’s pretty simple.

Many people consider golf clubs as part of their identity, and that’s why they’ll prefer holding on to their clubs over buying new ones. If you don’t want to give up on your current set of golf clubs, then it makes sense to adjust your current clubs to suit your personality and playing style. The rest of this article will explain everything you should know about fitting your golf club after purchase.

What Does Custom Club Fitting Mean?

Simply put, custom golf club fitting is identifying a golfer’s swing characteristics and using them to build a perfect set of personalized golf clubs that would match the golfer’s playing style.

The golf club fitting process involves trained fitters working on your clubs to create a set that will enhance your game and suit your playing style.

Even the most elite golfers around the world are constantly searching for opportunities to improve their games, and custom-fit golf clubs offer you this opportunity.

Without adequately fitting your clubs, you’ll realize that your swing and mechanical changes will fail to reach your desired outcomes. It translated to playing with misfit equipment, which can undermine even the most talented athletes in any sport.

The majority of today’s golfers do not pay attention to properly fitting their clubs, so it’s not surprising to see that they often struggle to reach their full capacity on the playing course.

The best way to illustrate custom club fitting is by comparing it to tailored clothing. Tailored clothing is typically made to fit compared to clothes bought off the rack. In the same way, a custom fit set of clubs would be made to your specifications. The designs would also help you play to your strength while compensating for your weaknesses.

How To Custom Fit Your Golf Club (4 Most Common Customizations)

Different people adopt different strategies to custom-fit golf clubs. However, irrespective of your school of thought, there are four areas you’ll want to address when fitting a golf club: shaft length, shaft flex, drip angle, and lie angle.

1. Shaft Flex

The best way to determine the right shaft flex is by looking at your swing speed. Golfers whose average swing speed is between 70mph-90mph would need a regular flex driver. On the other hand, golfers with an average swing of between 90 – 105 mph would need a still flex. Anything above 105 mph, and you’ll be needing an extra stiff.

2. Shaft Length

With the issue of shaft flex clear, another area to look at when fitting a golf club is determining the right shaft length for the club. Trained fitters understand that you don’t just have to look at a golfer’s height to determine the right shaft length. There’s more to it. Of course, we often see taller people with shorter arms and shorter people with taller arms.

So determining shaft length solely by height won’t necessarily be correct. Instead, get into an athletic stance like you are set to play a golf ball, and measure the distance between your wrist and the floor to get the best shaft length for your golf club. It’s also possible to adjust the shaft length to fit your golf swing. So, golfers who have a habit of hitting the ball thin can add length to the shaft, so it helps them stay down into the shot.

3. Lie Angle

If you’ve made up your mind to custom fit your club, one area you’ll want to consider seriously is lie angle. The lie angle represents the relationship between the bottom of your clubhead and the shaft of your golf club. If a trained fitter does your fitting, you’ll see them put a piece of tape on the sole of the golf club, then have you hit golf balls on a blackboard called a lie board.

The mark that this action would leave on the tape would help them determine the area of your clubhead that comes through on impact. If the marking is found in your club’s toe or towards its heel, then changing your club’s lie angle may help counteract your tendency while putting you square for better contact. For instance, golfers that always come through impacts with their club’s heel can have the toe, or their clubs pulled down by some degrees to square up impact.

4. Grip Size

Finally, you’ll need to determine the best grip size. Most golfers prefer to keep this simple. To know whether your grip size is the perfect fit for you, set up with a golf club like you want to play. With your grip on the club, check your left hand to see the positioning of your middle and ring fingers. If both fingers can barely touch your left palm, then it’s the right grip size for you. The fingers do not have to be too bunched close to your palm, neither should there be an excess gap.

These four custom fitting steps listed above are the first places to look at when custom fitting your golf club. However, beyond them, there are several other areas that you can look at when customizing your golf clubs to suit your game. For example, some people think of changing the lofts on their woods to hit the ball lower or higher. You can also mix up the clubs in your bag by switching a low iron for a hybrid golf club. Just combine different golf clubs, as long as the total doesn’t exceed 14 clubs.

Reasons You Should Get your Golf Club Fitted

We’ve talked so much about golf club fitting and how to go about it. Perhaps, you are wondering why you should fit your golf club; here are some fascinating reasons why golf club fitting may be right for you.

You’ll Hit Your Irons Straighter

This is perhaps the most popular reason people fit their golf clubs apart from customizing the club’s look. Most times, the person fitting you will conduct a simple lie board test to identify any directional issues you are facing due to your iron and hybrids. The process will help you get a proper lie, allowing you to hit the ball more accurately.

To Improve Your Distance Control

There’s also the case for being able to control your distance. Every golfer knows the importance of dictating how far or how close their shots should propel their golf balls too. Lofts that are consistently gapped only help to ensure that you hit each iron at a consistent distance. For example, it’s possible to hit two different clubs at the same distance because your lofts are off. However, once this is corrected, you’ll be able to control your club better. Additionally, having the right head and shaft combination to complement your driver’s swing will help you drive your call longer and straighter.

It improves Your Wedge Game

If you are a consistent golfer, you’ll know the importance of improving your wedge game, especially as it helps to lower your score. Fortunately, you don’t need to buy a new club to improve your wedge game. At least, not when you can custom fit your present club to make the loft gaps on your wedge consistent. We all know how important it is to fit the bounce of your wedge into your environment if you want to improve your game.

Change Your Club’s Look

Beyond improved performance, it’s worth acknowledging that another reason custom fitting your club is to enhance its look. Sometimes, especially with a putter, you’ll just want to give your club a fresh look. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially if you fancy trying something new. You also know how fun new clubs can be. Since custom fitting makes your club look new and different, I’ll say it’s worth the stress. You can try anything, from playing different drivers in a month to switching from SGI irons to blade.

Staying With Trends Without Spending Much

Certainly, there has been an evolution of golf clubs, and as expected, this evolution has caused an evolution of golf swings. One thing that custom fitting does is provide you with modern club looks that would suit your current swing. Besides, you won’t need to spend so much money buying new clubs to achieve this feat. After all, you’ll just need to buy what’s suitable for your swing and not the latest clubs from the biggest companies out there.

Recap: Can Golf Clubs be Fitted After Buying Them?

The answer to whether it’s worth fitting your golf club after purchase is one that would help many golfers. As explained above, it enhances the looks of your golf club. But more than that, it enables you to play to your strength.

Of course, not many people know the right steps to fit their clubs, and that’s why there are trained fitters for the job today. These fitters will properly analyze what’s right for you while allowing you to choose what you want.