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Synching Your Lesson With Clubfitting

And get better now!

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Fast-forward three weeks. I'm on a vacation relaxing and decide to play a few rounds of golf. So I use rentals, which happen to include the very same Rocketballz driver that the fitting session deemed inferior for my game. Identical shaft and flex. Yet this time, I pounded it far better than I could my current driver. My tee shots went farther and straighter.
Thus, it goes to show that a truly productive clubfitting session needs to be done properly—after you've eliminated wild cards such as a sore, tired body; extreme weather conditions; frustrated mind-set; or a pro who's unfamiliar with your swing or hasn't watched you hit balls for a while.

Start with a fitting session on the range, but validation comes when you hit it on the course. —Paul Loegering, Taylormade-Adidas Golf

While excluding these factors will help the quality of your lesson or clubfitting session, you might also consider undergoing those sessions on the course rather than on a driving range. Some major club manufacturers fit their Tour pros for clubs directly on the course. For that matter, many Tour pros also get their swings tweaked by their instructors on the course, too. The driving range can be too sterile of an environment for some golfers, who find that their nonpressured driving-range swing is far different than their midcompetition, on-course swing.

Paul Loegering, PGA Tour relations manager for TaylorMade-adidas Golf, fits a lot of Tour pros for clubs. "With today's technology, we adjust clubs on the driving range, and Tour pros can try different shafts in the same driver quickly," he says. "We get that initial validation at the range. But when we walk the course with the pro, we see if we need to make further adjustments. Once the golfer gets to the tee box, our clubfitters see the shot shape. For example, we might set a player up to make sure that he can't hit the ball left, by opening the clubface and putting more weight toward the toe. Then, on the course, he might swing it harder and turn the club over a little bit. I've walked many holes with both the players and their teachers. I'll ask the teacher to show me how he wants the player to swing and I'll set up his clubs to fit it. It justifies what the teacher is trying to do with the player. And that way, the player can trust the clubs, if he has to be more aggressive with his swing."

Loegering's advice to amateurs pursuing clubfitting sessions: "Start with a fitting session on the range, but validation comes when you hit it on the course." He believes on-course lessons and fittings will soon be commonplace for amateurs.

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