Is Your Equipment Holding You Down?

Are your golf clubs holding you back from improving your golf game?  Did you know that golf equipment that is improperly fit to you would cause the ball to fly offline?

By now you have heard of the importance of having your NEW golf clubs fit to your swing.  But if you aren’t in the market for new equipment you need to make sure that your current equipment is properly fit.  Most golfers never realize that over time, simply using your clubs will cause them to bend a little bit.  This can add loft to the clubface, resulting in a loss of distance.  As well as change the lie angle of the club, the angle the shaft is entering the clubhead, which will result in shots missing left or right of your target.

You need to take care of your golf equipment.  Whether you are in the market to get new equipment or plan on playing your current set of clubs for the next 20 years, make the effort to have them properly fit you and your swing.  Take your clubs to a PGA Professional, or a certified club fitter at a repair shop.  Here is what they need to do for you:

  1. Have you hit your current clubs using a lie board and face tape?  This will provide invaluable information to the fitter with regard to how the club is impacting the ground (lie angle) and where on the clubface you are hitting the ball (overall length of the club).
  2. Take a measurement of the lofts on all of the clubs, especially your short irons and wedges.  Again, over time the repeated act of hitting golf balls will cause the metal on the clubs to bend.  The short irons and wedges get used the most and are subject to the largest discrepancy.
  3. Measure your swing speed.  This will provide you with the knowledge of the proper shaft flex you should be playing.  The faster your swing speed, the stiffer the shaft.  Players with slower swings should be playing softer flexed shafts and even consider the switch to graphite shafts.
  4. Properly get fit for the proper size grip.  Everyone has different sized hands and finger lengths.  But you only see grips offered in standard, mid or oversize options.  Did you know that you could have grip diameters changed a little by either building extra layers of tape underneath, or stretching the grip a bit further to slim it down?  The grip is your connection to the golf club; so make sure it is properly fit for you!

By following these simple steps you will know that all of your efforts aren’t being wasted by ill fit clubs, or even clubs that have had their playing characteristics changed over time.   You spend hours playing and practicing the game, make sure that the tools you are swinging are doing their job as well.