Women’s Custom Golf Clubs

It would be absolutely frustrating trying to prepare a meal with crude tools. Even a professional chef would have trouble cutting a fragile tomato with a dull knife. It is not so much a lack of skill, but a lack of proper equipment. The very same goes for women’s golf clubs. Manufacturers are making it easier for golfers to obtain women’s custom golf clubs without having to pay an arm and a leg.  But customizing golf clubs is no easy task. Often, fitting sessions take up to an hour and a half just for the driver. Irons, putters and wedges are fitted separately. The only clubs that do not necessarily need it’s own separate fitting session are fairway woods.

Getting fitted for a driver often involves not only a trained eye, but machines that digitally track four specific measurements. The first is the club head speed. This is the swing speed at the moment of impact (not the average, since the lowest point of the swing is also the fastest). The second measurement is the ball speed. This is the initial ball speed directly after contact. Because of wind friction, gravity, and backspin, the golf ball progressively slows down throughout its hopeful voyage to the fairway. The third measurement is the initial trajectory of the ball flight. This obviously most directly affects the overall height of the ball flight. The fourth and probably the most important measurement is the back/side spin. Too much backspin means a ballooning ball flight that seems to stall midway, and results in a serious loss of roll and overall distance. Too little backspin produces a knuckleball effect that is both inconsistent and also results in a serious loss of roll and overall distance. To be fitted for a driver means to find the right loft, shaft strength, shaft type, shaft length, and even correct grip thickness to maximize distance and control.

Getting fitted for an iron set is quite different from a driver fitting. It often does not involve heavy machinery. Rather, all it really takes is a plastic board (called a lie board) and some sole-marking tape (quite similar to carbon paper, but sticky). The most important measurement is the lie angle of the club. The lie angle determines how high from the ground, or low to the ground, the toe of the club is.  Often, iron fitters will stick some sole-marking tape on the bottom of the club and have the player hit some balls off of the lie angle board. The resulting marks on the sole will inform the fitter how many degrees upright or flat the golf club needs to be adjusted. Too often, golfers will see that when addressing the ball, prior to hitting, the toe of the club is raised off the ground and expect that their irons are too upright. But it must be understood that the shaft bends in two different directions during the golf swing causing the lie angle to both flatten at contact, and the loft of lessen slightly. So, a proper fitting should have the toe raised just a little bit at address (since it will flatten at the point of contact).

Last but certainly not least, the putter! Getting fitted for a putter requires the most expertise from the fitter. The two major measurements made, other than the obvious length, is the lie angle and the loft. At address, the putter should be flat to the ground. There should also be approximately 4 degrees of loft (since the ball rests in a tiny indentation, caused by gravity and the weight of the ball). Some golfers de-loft the putter at address, and so will need a bit more to maintain the optimal 4 degrees at impact.