If you have a passion for golf but struggling a lot in hitting shots then the reason might be that the clubs are just not suited to you. There are a lot of people for whom the standard golf clubs are either too short or too long.
If this is the case then the best way to go about this is to do custom fitting. In order to get optimal performance, the custom golf clubs are made perfect according to your body. You can use a normal golf club but it will never be the same as a custom-made one.
Nobody has the same body and there is also a difference in weight as well. So, with a custom-fitted club, you will get better performance out of it as it has been made exactly to your body and playstyle.
Now, you will probably have a question in your mind. How much does a golf club fitting cost? The cost of a custom fitting depends on different factors like the number of clubs and the brand.
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Custom Fitting Cost:
In order to determine the price for custom fitting, you need to figure out how many you want custom-fitted and with how many modifications. There are different modifications that can be done to a golf club such as making the shaft longer or shorter. You can also choose to put custom shafts and grips on the club as well.
If you want to purchase, say like the latest driver and want it custom-fitted, then it won’t cost you any extra money. You will pay the same as the normal one. The thing that you will need to do is to order the club from the manufacturer’s site or the custom fitter. But if you want to add custom shafts on the club that you will see upcharges. These charges are only taken for the clubs that are very different from the stock ones due to the modifications.
The custom fitting becomes really expensive when you modify any old or current golf equipment. Then you will have to pay a lot of money to get it modified according to your needs. So, the custom fitting price is not standard and it varies a lot with the number of clubs and modifications.
Custom Fitting Older Model:
As the newer clubs get released by the manufacturer, they decrease the price on the old ones. The problem is that the manufacturer also stops making those golf clubs as well. If you try really hard, you might find someplace where the customizations are still offered. If you want a custom-fitted golf set, then you will not pay the cheaper price but will have to pay the full price. This is because you are custom fitting the golf set which will cost your extra money.
Another workaround can be if you buy the set without any custom fittings and then do that locally. But in reality, that also isn’t recommended as you won’t save much money. So, if you are thinking of buying a golf set, then you for the latest model. In this way, you can get free customizations without paying any extra money.
Customizing Before & After Ordering Golf Set:
There are a lot of people who simply purchase a golf set and then start to modify them. While there are others that directly buy the modified ones. If you are looking to save money and time then ordering the customized ones is a better deal overall. The thing that you need to keep in mind is that the fitting should be correct before ordering any golf club. A simple thing can do is to visit the shop and try out clubs with different shafts and lengths.
The club fitters have a launch monitor that can determine the speed, distance, and much more. Using that information, it can be easily determined that what types of clubs are the best for you. So, you can take that information into account and order the golf set accordingly. Adjusting stock clubs isn’t easy as some clubs are just difficult to adjust. This can cause you some issues on the way.
When trying to adjust a stock golf club, you can actually ruin the grip applied by the manufacturer. Golf grips can cost anywhere from $10 – $15. So, you will end up paying a lot of money just to replace the pre-applied grips.
Custom Fitting is Not Always the Main Cost:
All of the golf manufacturers have a lot of custom fitting facilities in the areas in which they operate. You can choose to put on quite a lot of different options. There are always a large number of fitting centers that have all of the latest tech available. If you don’t have these kinds of centers near your home, then you can try to go to one of the standard fitting centers as well.
There are also fitting days in which you can completely custom your golf set without any charges. These fitting days are mostly set on a particular day and happen in the daytime. So, if there is a fitting day happening near you, you can easily custom-fit your golf set. But for the people who are looking for a lot of different custom fitting options, it is necessary to check whether those fittings are present at the custom fitter or not.
Most of the large retailers will probably have all of the different custom fitting options. But you can say the same for local custom fitters. If you purchase new equipment that there is a high chance that you will get the custom fitting for free. There are certain conditions involved which you should always check in advance.
The Average Price:
We have already discussed that there is not a single price that you can consider for custom fitting. It is different for people as their requirements are not the same. But if we are only taking the average then per club it can cost you anywhere from $15 – $40. There is a lot of variation in the price with different modifications applied. So, you need to at the least have about $150 to $400 for custom fitting. $150 for the cheaper modifications and $400 for the more premium ones.
If you don’t want to custom fit and want to buy the clubs directly from a manufacturer like Callaway then it will cost you somewhere around $500 to $2000. In a lot of professional shops, you will get the custom fitting for free if you buy the clubs from them as well.
Custom Fitting Process:
You should have the know-how of the custom fitting process and all of the steps that are involved. Manufacturers use a lot of advanced technologies for custom fitting. But in general, there will be the necessary tools, a fitting station, and a trained expert. There are four steps to the process which are mentioned below:
- Interview
At first, you will give a type of interview to the trained professional. This is done to determine a person’s goal. The interview should contain questions like how far can you hit the ball? Do you want the ball higher or lower? Where do most of your bogeys go? Do you have any physical limitations that might hamper your swing? These questions will allow the expert to prepare for the fitting process and choose the clubs that meet your needs.
- Measurements
The next thing is that they will measure from head to the toe. Your height and wrist will be measured by a custom fitter. This will help them in making a starting point for the length, shaft, and lie angle. Your hand and longest finger measurements will also be taken as well. These measurements will help the experts in order to determine the grip size. If you miss a lot of shots then it is most probably due to a loose grip.
- Dynamic Fitting
The use of specific technology can set different custom fitters apart from one another. All of the data that you have just provided them will be used to determine the right swing and ball striking so that they can make the clubs specific to you. A key thing in this process is the launch monitor which tells different stats about your game. The fitter will provide you with different options in order to determine the best one. You should be ready as a lot of testing needs to be done.
- The Final Product
After the testing has been completed, then the fitter will provide you with the best option. If everything has been done properly up to this point through proper communication then that option will be perfect for you. As a result, both you and the fitter will come to an agreement on the final product.
How Much Time Does It Take?
Custom fitting usually takes quite a long while as there needs to be a lot of testing. It can take somewhere around 45 minutes to 1 hour when custom fitting a single golf club. In this way, custom fitting a whole set can even take a whole day in some cases.
If you want to make sure that everything is okay, you can ask the fitter to provide you with a printout of all the data. This will help you in comparing your gut feelings with the actual result. You will be able to make better decisions after going through the data.
Is Custom Fitting Really Worth It?
This is a really important question and needs clarification. It is because you will put a lot of money, time, and effort into custom fitting your golf clubs. So, is the end result really worth it? This is a very decisive question as it mainly depends upon how seriously do you take to golf. You will find a lot of couples that claim to have gotten better after a custom fitting. On the contrary, there will be a lot of people that totally discard the improvements made by custom fitting.
If you think on a basic level, then custom fitting makes a lot of sense. Surely some clubs will perform way better if they are made according to your exact body and playstyle. Moreover, most professional PGA players also use custom-fitted golf clubs. So, copying the professionals seems like a good thing to do, right?
In the end, a custom fitting can’t cure a fault swing. So, the above points fail to prove the necessity of a custom fitting. If you take it very seriously and want to improve your performance even by a little then you should totally go for custom fitting. Not everyone needs to spend a ton of money on custom fitting so that they can get better. There are a lot of people who are really good players but they use the standard golf clubs.
Another thing that you can do is to just custom-fit one of your clubs. In this way, you will be able to easily notice the difference that custom fitting made. If you struggle in the long game, then you can only custom fit your driver for that improved long game performance. Getting all of the clubs custom fitted isn’t really a great idea as you will spend a lot of money.
Conclusion:
Custom fitting for golf clubs is a topic where people are divided. Some seem to get the benefits while others don’t see a difference in their performance. It is a very time-consuming and expensive process. So, you should be clear in your mind whether you take golf seriously or not. How much does a golf club fitting costs mainly depends on the modifications and the number of clubs that you want to modify. There is no need to modify all of your clubs as you can only modify the ones that will help you in areas where you lack.
In the end, custom fitting is a very expensive process and isn’t something that is recommended for everyone. But if you have a love for golf and can afford the custom fitting, then it can also help them in getting better at the game.
