Can a fitting help a beginner golfer?

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By Greg P

  • 1 Like
  • 9 Replies
  1. By "beginner" I mean can't hit the ball consistently even off a tee with any club. I'm 65, just retired, out of shape, but want to take up the sport as I just retired. I need/want clubs but I'm not sure what data my "swing" could give anyone. I'm considering buying T350's, and TSR2's for hybrids and fairways off the website on my own - all in graphite. Bad idea?

    I rather buy a set of good clubs now rather than a cheap set to learn and then later a good set

  2. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    I highly recommend you don’t order clubs by yourself online. The shaft selection is far more complex than graphite or steel. Just in no upcharge graphite iron shafts, Titleist offers at least 5 lines and that doesn’t include multiple flex options.

    My suggestion is to find a local PGA pro that does fittings as well as give lessons. That person will recommend getting fit now or suggest lessons to get the most from the fitting. Generally, they want to keep you as a customer long term. A large retailer will generally prefer to make the sale first as you may not come back.

    Now that you are retired, golf fitness doesn’t require multi-hour workouts multiple days per week. Titleist offers a separate program called TPI. Titleist Performance Institute. A local TPI certified instructor can do an assessment of where you are and suggest a series of exercises to address those areas. My set more closely resembles yoga and Pilates. I only use a mat, pillow, golf club, lawn chair, and a towel. I don’t need a gym membership to do them. I stretch almost every day for 15-20 minutes and do a 30-45 minute workout 3 times a week. I also walk my high energy dog 45+ minutes a day but the program only recommends 20 minutes 3 times a week.

    Welcome to the community and I wish you much success in appreciating the game as a senior. I’m 73 now but didn’t take up golf until my 60’s. My most valuable lesson was I was not my best choice to learn golf.
  3. Dale V

    Dale V
    Surprise AZ

    I would say it depends on your budget and willingness to change. First off, I would recommend lessons to speed up the learning curve. You might find that with a good instructor, you make a lot of progress and the clubs you buy might need to be adjusted for your better play. If budget is not a problem, even a beginner can benefit from a proper fitting. You will at least get the correct length and lie for your body type and a good fitter will be able to assess your potential and fit you in clubs that will at least get you to the next level. Good luck and hope you enjoy this great sport as much as we all do.
  4. James Young

    James Young
    Costa Mesa, CA

    Yes. And as a starting point, all of us 'non-Pros' are inconsistent - don't worry about that.
    A fitting will help determine:
    - which clubhead(s) is best for you
    - which shaft(s) (weight and flex both irons and woods) is best for you
    - which lie angle is best for you
    - in driver/fairway/hybrids which club setting is best for you
    - in wedges which lofts and grinds are best for you

    This might sound like a lot, but going through the fitting process will help you feel more comfortable and confident as you start hitting balls and learning how to play on the course.

    Enjoy the journey!
  5. Jon T

    Jon T
    Iowa City / Cedar Rapids, Iowa

    Military
    Yes! Go get fitted! A good fitter will be able to put equipment in your hands that you can play well with relative to your abilities. When you're talking about a few thousand dollars for a full bag fitting, would you rather have something that you know is built to your swing or something that you think might work because you read something and then took an educated guess at it? Titleist has links to find fitters near you, check them out. I went to a Titleist fitting partner for my driver, FW, and 2i, and it was the first fitting I had ever done. I can tell you that I won't ever buy clubs again without a fitting. It might cost you a couple hundred bucks, but it is so worth it.
  6. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military
    Recommend learning the game before investing in properly fitted equipment. Go see a teaching pro and talk to him. See what he suggests because lessons would be the first step and see what starter he would recommend that you would need for about a year of learning the game. There are some great second hand clubs available that would work. Once you have learned the basics and can move the ball down the fairway and learned the distances with the various clubs, and how to hit the wedges, then might be the time to see a fitter. You might have developed proper swing speed and skill to move up to the newer equipment that you are interested in. having had the lessons and practiced, practiced, practiced. Playing golf should be fun, not a frustrating task. Will be 78 this year and wish someone had given me this advice when I started in 1984.
  7. CNelson

    CNelson
    Santa Barbara

    Yes learn the game from a PGA professional! They will help you with the swing basics and give you advice for when to get fitted. I’m a big fan of getting fitted at the right time and yes by a titleist fitter! Most importantly enjoy the game!!
  8. totally right I always recommend my customers to wait for a fitting till the pro says that you are ready for it. (you need to have a consistent swing)
  9. Definitely get fit!
  10. When I fit a totally new golfer I always suggest that they should start with a box set/beginners set before we can truly fit them. If someone walks in and is totally new to the game and we would fit him, the set would not be good after a few months because the swingspeed has increased. Yesterday I got a new golfer in my fitting, 18-20 year old man and he wanted to tru some clubs, if I needed to recommend him something that day from Titleist he would have T350's with ladies shafts in it, but I know he will be in regular flex in just 3-4 months and after playing for a while he can be in stiff or xs. Yes a fitting can be good, but if the fitter recommends a box set/beginners set you should just go with that and come back in a year or two.

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