The Deal

• $29 for a 60-minute golf-club fitting ($70 value)

Club Fitting: Sizing Up Your Game

To learn more about what to expect during your club-fitting session, read on for an exploration of the factors golf pros consider.

Despite the many fashion statements made by golfers in golf’s colorful history, it’s fitted clubs—the sporting-goods equivalent to bespoke attire—that provide the everyday link between the fairway and the sartorial arts. Just as off-the-rack clothing is tailored to a generalized body type, clubs right from the shelf are only designed to fit the average golfer’s physique—and hence the average golfer’s swing path, level of physical strength, age, and overall skill level. To account for these traits swapping out many variants of the same club until its parameters result in the best ball flight. Such variations differ from case to case, but common factors include the length, flex, and kick point of the shaft, the loft angle of the clubface, the grip size, and the swing weight.

The added expense of club fitting, as well as its emphasis on minute details, makes some players feel they’re too “casual” about golf to invest in club fitting, but Bob VanSweden, TaylorMade’s 2009 national club fitter of the year, sees things differently. ““The higher the handicap,” he told Golf Digest, “the more necessary it is for that player to get fit.”