Quote:
Originally Posted by Enoch Root
#### you. If you have a point, make it. But you don't need to be an ####### - we both know the club fitting process. So go ahead - make a point. Or don't, I couldn't care less.
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I'm not sure we both know the club fitting process, or the intent of the club fitting process. That's the point. Club fitting is about micro adjustments to correct shot dispersion. It is not a general process that is going to benefit most players. Improper fitting can hurt just as much as proper fitting can help, so it is extremely important to rely on someone who knows what they are doing, hence the impact tape reference.
People mistake the use of technology, through the launch monitor or launch computer, as a means to fitting. While the launch monitor does provide a great deal of of useful information, it does not do a good fit. It will help a tech recommend equipment improvements, or equipment to leverage/minimize swing variations, but it is not the best way of finding those micro adjustments to correct dispersion. Shaft selection may correct wild hooks and slices, but it is not going to correct the improper takeaway that causes the shot bias to begin with. Proper sized grips may make swinging the club more comfortable for the player, but they are not going to change the shot bias created by poor grip. Adding extra length to the shaft is not going to correct poor spine alignment. You are prescribing a pill for the symptom rather than solving the underlying disease. Only lessons and work will solve these problems. Until you solve that underlying problem you're just trying to throw money and technology at a problem that will continue because of poor fundamentals. Until the fundamentals are addressed, the micro adjustments made through the fitting process are completely useless.
The equivalent here is playing hockey with a guy who is a crappy skater and can't shoot the puck. He can go and get the vacuformed skates with the custom foot beds, but that doesn't change the fact his skating technique is terrible. He can go an blow $500 on a the latest carbon fiber stick, but that doesn't change that he doesn't have the fundamentals to make that stick work. Sure, he looks good standing there in the dressing room, and he can tell all his friends that he has custom fitted equipment, but he's still the same ####ty hockey player, with the same uncorrected flaws, just with a lighter wallet.
Let's get right to the crux of the matter here. If your shot dispersion at 100 yards is currently 10 feet, a 1 degree adjustment is likely to help you (1 degree being about six feet at 100 yards). If your shot dispersion from 100 yards is 20 yards (60 feet) that means your swing variation is in the 10 degree range. Is that 1 or 2 degrees going to make a significant difference when the swing is that inconsistent? Now don't think that 20 yards is a lot, because the equivalent of that with the driver is 60 yards dispersion at 300 yards tee distance. That gives you a really good idea what variance there is an average golfer's swing. That's 30 yards off either side of target line. There are lots of players out there that are way worse than that. Only instruction and work can correct this.
If your goal is to select equipment, go to your local big box store or equipment warehouse and get on a launch monitor. Find out your basic swing characteristics and get in the right shaft and head combination. But also understand that until you have a consistent swing (it doesn't even have to be good) all the technology and "fitting" is not going to help. You are not going to address the micro adjustments that will tighten your shot dispersion like proper fitting will address. The problems in your swing are still going to be there and the problems holding your game back are still going to be lurking beneath that new tech. As soon as those old habits adapt to the new tech, the bad swing fundamentals are going to surface and you're heading back to square one.