Advice after confusing custom fitting

[dcleal]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice after some confusing custom fitting experiences.

After many years playing ten rounds a year, I retired and started playing much more regularly. I just reached a 12 handicap, decided I "deserved" new irons, and went for custom fitting as this seems recommended. As a 64 year old who's still improving took up the game seriously a few years ago I hope to get more consistent, but not stronger or faster. Three fittings later I'm just confused with what seem to me three quite different recommendations...

 

1. At the first fitting, I hit the ball way better than I normally do, swing speed averaging 85mph with 7 iron, settled on Cobra King forged Tec heads with stiff flex $taper chrome shafts. It all seemed great.

 

2. Second fitting: off day, just couldn't get consistent. Swing at 78mph. A lengthy process led to Titleist T200 heads, Nippon 950GH Reg shafts. This fitter was amazed at the outcome of the first fitting.

 

3. Third time around: performed at an in-between level at a PXG-only facility. They suggested their XP heads with DG95 shafts.

 

A bit of reading (and I am a novice with all this!) suggests that these are really quite distinct setups. I am pretty inconsistent, but I don't see how to decide which way to jump!

 

Are these recommendations actually at all similar? And how do I decide which to choose? 

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

- Dave

[Ty_Guy]

The iron heads are all in the same broad category. Players distance with some hollow tech for launch. You can throw in some Ping i59 & Mizuno JPX 925 and I'm sure they would both also perform well for you.

 

Outside of different profiles, I see two shafts at around 95g and one at 120g (or 115g if it was the Lite). My first impulse is to fit to the miss, so err towards lighter. But more importantly, I would want to know what you feel made day two and three perform worse than day one. 7 MPH difference is quite a bit. I'm sure some external factor like sleep, the fitting environment, or even an "indoor swing syndrome" kicked in.

 

Either way, the takeaway is a hollow body players distance iron and a ~100g shaft will play well on off days.

 

If you can discern what made the first fitting so different, it can be worth it to give it one more go. Otherwise, you certainly have a narrowed down look on the category of shaft weight and club head to look at. If you do go for a fourth fitting, try to do it outside, limiting your options to a couple very close to what you already see here.

Edited June 20 by Ty_Guy

[WristySwing]

13 hours ago, dcleal said:

Hi, I'm looking for some advice after some confusing custom fitting experiences.

After many years playing ten rounds a year, I retired and started playing much more regularly. I just reached a 12 handicap, decided I "deserved" new irons, and went for custom fitting as this seems recommended. As a 64 year old who's still improving took up the game seriously a few years ago I hope to get more consistent, but not stronger or faster. Three fittings later I'm just confused with what seem to me three quite different recommendations...

 

1. At the first fitting, I hit the ball way better than I normally do, swing speed averaging 85mph with 7 iron, settled on Cobra King forged Tec heads with stiff flex $taper chrome shafts. It all seemed great.

 

2. Second fitting: off day, just couldn't get consistent. Swing at 78mph. A lengthy process led to Titleist T200 heads, Nippon 950GH Reg shafts. This fitter was amazed at the outcome of the first fitting.

 

3. Third time around: performed at an in-between level at a PXG-only facility. They suggested their XP heads with DG95 shafts.

 

A bit of reading (and I am a novice with all this!) suggests that these are really quite distinct setups. I am pretty inconsistent, but I don't see how to decide which way to jump!

 

Are these recommendations actually at all similar? And how do I decide which to choose? 

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

- Dave

 

The difference in speed could be attributed at least a little bit by monitor used. If you used a GCQuad/GCHawk on the first fitting it will clock head times a bit faster than a Trackman (if that was used on fitting #2). The difference is Quad/Hawk measures speed based on the moment of impact and is determined by the speed at which the toe markers pass through the camera sensors, while Trackman (forgive me it has been years since I did the training) is measured by I think the speed at the low point of the swing arc at the centre of mass of the head. Feasibly, the low point is not the fastest point in the swing IF the shaft has some sort of built up energy that may contribute to a slight bit of acceleration once it does release.

 

Nonetheless, 7-8mph different seems excessive and likely a lot more going on than just differences in launch monitor calculations. This is also why it is generally a pretty bad idea to do multiple fittings. It introduces way too many variables, the largest of which is the individual's flux in their swing. The more inconsistent you are, the larger the delta between the fitted clubs, especially if you have a drastic difference in the ability of the fitters. A bad fitter will not ask you questions about your usual tendencies and will seem to spend forever trying to have you hit every combination because they don't know what they are doing. They don't understand, outside of the 2-3 sentence blurbs on the websites, what heads and shafts do or who they are designed for, and why, so they just take a throw it against the wall and see what sticks approach. A good fitter will obviously let the numbers do the talking and put a lot of emphasis on what the player is feeling but they will generally have a pretty narrow list of options ready to go out of the gate because they know that most players with this swing tendency, speed, and delivery have worked best with XYZ combination. That combination is never set in stone but it is usually not that far off from the ideal.

 

I would suggest you take a week off to let your mind stop spinning and then reach back out to the fitter you thought did the best job and say you want to come back in for a re-test just to confirm the fitting before purchase. I agree with the poster above me that there is a general theme here with hollow-bodied, stronger lofted irons. However, these heads couldn't be anymore different in face length, sole width, or offset if they tried, which makes me think 2 of these guys are WAY off base. But only you know which one of them you trust most, so stick with them.

Edited June 20 by WristySwing

[Drivingrangehero]

I’d verify the KBS shaft a was in fact a  $-Taper and not an $-Taper lite, because now weight should be considered since the $Taper is 120g vs the $taper lite at 100g

 

The $-Taper lite seems more likely since the other 2 are around 95g, but if not and it is the $taper, maybe you do better in the 120g weight range

 

Apart from numbers, which one felt best when struck purely? 
 

[rsballer10]

The big problem with a lot of custom fittings is that if you aren't clear on what you are looking for, you are going to get a different result each time. Do you want more distance? Tighter dispersion? Do you want to hit it higher, or lower? Is your ball ballooning in the wind, or can you not hold greens?

 

Like someone else said, the takeaway is you probably want a hollow body iron with a shaft ~100g. I wouldn't pay an upcharge for a particular shaft unless there is one that you REALLY like, and there are no other no upcharge alternatives.

 

 

[shaolingolfer]

If I am you, I will go with the Cobra Iron.  I guess weight and stiffness of shaft help you to feel and swing better.

 

You definitely need more forgiveness from your iron and T200 is not forgiving enough for you.

[RogerinNewZealand]

The Cobra and T200 are popular products so good resale value.

T200 is a brand new model? This is good. The Cobra have many fans on wrx

 

Can you revisit the eg did same shop do Cobra and T200?

Then its just a shaft play off in the 95.. 100...105ish gram range

Nippon Steel nspro and modus 3 are a great product.

Dg range is easy to match

The Kbs you tried you need to clarify the weight and model.

 

Go in fresh, with chocolate and energy drink, 

 

Ps swing at 60 to 80% !!

Cheers, Roger

 

[dcleal]

Wow, that's a lot of feedback! Thanks to everyone that took the time, I really appreciate it.

 

The $ taper was definitely 120g and stiff, so quite different to the other shafts. That fitting was the only one outdoor. Ty_Guy mentioned "indoor swing syndrome" - I hadn't head this phrase before but it really struck a chord - I definitely have this! In answer to another question, the $ taper and Cobra combo felt best, but again, was outdoors!

 

 

I'll take the advice from WristySwing and go back outdoors for a final retest.

 

Thanks again all

 

- Dave

 

 

Edited June 20 by dcleal

[Drivingrangehero]

Now you know what weight range is best……Lots of good options in that 115g-120g range to test

 

 

[hammergolf]

22 hours ago, dcleal said:

Hi, I'm looking for some advice after some confusing custom fitting experiences.

After many years playing ten rounds a year, I retired and started playing much more regularly. I just reached a 12 handicap, decided I "deserved" new irons, and went for custom fitting as this seems recommended. As a 64 year old who's still improving took up the game seriously a few years ago I hope to get more consistent, but not stronger or faster. Three fittings later I'm just confused with what seem to me three quite different recommendations...

 

1. At the first fitting, I hit the ball way better than I normally do, swing speed averaging 85mph with 7 iron, settled on Cobra King forged Tec heads with stiff flex $taper chrome shafts. It all seemed great.

 

2. Second fitting: off day, just couldn't get consistent. Swing at 78mph. A lengthy process led to Titleist T200 heads, Nippon 950GH Reg shafts. This fitter was amazed at the outcome of the first fitting.

 

3. Third time around: performed at an in-between level at a PXG-only facility. They suggested their XP heads with DG95 shafts.

 

A bit of reading (and I am a novice with all this!) suggests that these are really quite distinct setups. I am pretty inconsistent, but I don't see how to decide which way to jump!

 

Are these recommendations actually at all similar? And how do I decide which to choose? 

 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts

 

- Dave

All of us vary day today with our swing. The short answer to your dilemma is that there isn’t a perfect solution. In addition the more fittings you go to the more confused you will get. Based on the limited info it looks like regular shafts would be a good fit. As far as the heads go, they are all good. Go to a brand agnostic fitter and try 2 to 3 different heads and make your decision on the best dispersion pattern and NOT distance. From there, just continue to play and improve. Don’t overthink it.

[dcleal]

I thought I'd just complete this tale... I went back to the outdoor fitters, indoor really doesn't work for me. I've ended up with the cobra forged tec heads and $taper 110g shafts.

 

I felt really good about this session - unlike earlier sessions, I went in with some knowledge of a smallish range of options that I was choosing between, so I felt somewhat in control and not swamped by options. 

 

I guess the more knowledgeable people on this forum are in this position at their first fitting, but for me, it took two rounds to get certainty.

 

Thanks again for the advice - very happy now! 

 

- Dave

[ShortGolfer]

I don't want to know numbers while I'm being fitted as that will throw off my swing by chasing numbers.

But my swing is very consistent due to my learning  to turn a tree stump into tiny little wood chips.  If I missed I didn't get my wood chip!

It takes a lot of swings to turn a 22" maple stump into little wood chips. 

 

Great to hear that you got a fitting you liked.

Edited July 16 by ShortGolfer

[RogerinNewZealand]

Cobra make lots of great clubs, glad you went 110 gram.

Lots of us Over Swing@ testing, or 

Get fitted for the Stiffer Shaft that only works say on the 4th hole after fully warmed up.....

Best regards,Roger