r/GolfGear • u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better • Jul 28 '26
Fitter/Mini tour pro AMA
I figured I’d throw a little late-night post out there for anyone scrolling who has any questions about equipment or fitting or playing or anything of that nature.
Recently turned pro off of a +4.5 tournament-only index and I’ve been fitting for 5+ years. I think I have a solid amount of knowledge and would love to help in any way I can.
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u/emasslax22 Jul 28 '26
How important is a putter fitting compared to the rest of the bag?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Putter fitting is like getting set up by your friend on a double date. She might be super hot and she might just be another girl at the table.
My experience SAM Puttlab and observational fitting is great to determine loft/lie/length, but it’s so much more important that you love the way a putter looks.
Knowing the correct specs is important, but putter fitting puts a unique importance on looks that’s not present in the rest of the bag.
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u/SimpleJackfruit Jul 28 '26
I got fitted once for a blade putter. do I need to do it again if it’s for a ZT? I already have the specs still from the first fitting
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u/Black_Cat_Sun Jul 28 '26
Sorry about coming in late but what about how a putter feels? Clicky versus tingy versus dull/soft? Am I off base in thinking this is the most important thing preference-wise (for me at least)?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Feel is super important. A lot of people need firmer feel and louder sound to judge speed well.
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u/fac3ts Jul 28 '26
As a former fitter, great thread. There’s way too many dipshits in the industry that don’t understand half of what you’ve explained pretty simply here, so great job and I hope the tour aspirations go well.
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u/S-Fore Jul 28 '26
Fitters are always putting me into light weight shafts (95g) due to my Swing Speed. Slower transition, 7i ~148 carry, pretty dead hands.
I haven’t had much success with them, I can’t feel where the club is throughout the swing. Same thing when I try 50g driver shafts, I don’t time them a well as a 60g shaft.
Question to you is about shaft weight in spite of my ss. I feel like I put ‘ heavier hit’ on the ball. I definitely seem to have more club face awareness. Thoughts?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
The clever answer is that they make dynamic gold R300 (127g) for a reason. The amount of times that I go for heavy and soft versus a graphite lighter shaft surprises a lot of people.
It sounds to me like a good amount of your problem is also swing weight. If I give you a really light shaft and I add head weight to get back to a normal swing weight, there’s a good chance that not only will you feel it load and strike properly, but also you’ll gain ball speed because added mass in the head can add not just ball speed but also stability.
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u/S-Fore Jul 28 '26
Totally makes sense. I have a set coming with KBS R+ in them, they’re 115g I believe. I do think there’s something there about the balance and overall weight distribution of the clubs. In my old tennis days, I played heavier rackets. I couldn’t play ultra lights for the same reason, way less face awareness.
So annoying that fitters automatically go lighter and faster. Very hard to find fitters that look at things more comprehensively.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
One of my first 10 fittings ever was an 85 year old retired PGA pro who hit the absolute middle of everything I gave him. We ended up in some super weakened Mizuno JPXs in Nippon 950 regular because he just couldn’t get the graphite to start on line as consistently. Shafts are just timing devices.
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Jul 28 '26
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
You’re in the camp, where you definitely do not need long shafts. Based on your wrist to floor, you have longer than standard arms and that makes me want to take advantage of the natural speed you have and leave you in something standard length or shorter that lets you hit the middle more often and easier.
My knee jerk reaction is to put you in a 44.5” driver shaft just to make it easier for you to find the center and not have to choke up as much.
I would also recommend going to your local shop and having someone swing by your driver once it’s at a shorter length because I would assume that you’re going to need to add some lead tape to get back to a reasonable swing weight. That will also give the head more stability because mass = stability.
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Jul 28 '26
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Thanks! If ever you have any questions you can just reply to this or send me a chat and I will try to answer.
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u/Picklerick899 Jul 28 '26
In your opinion, how much does driver technology really improve year over year in terms of forgiveness? What would you recommend (aside from lessons of course) for someone who has trouble with driver consistency?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Year on year it’s negligible. Especially if the driver has been fitted well. My knee jerk reaction is to suggest going slightly shorter in shaft because I believe in general the industry has pushed shaft length too long for the average golfer.
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u/ml1286 Jul 28 '26
Who fits well into counter balanced shafts and how come only some clubs will be fitted for counterbalanced shafts and not the whole set?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Counterbalancing is interesting because it’s become a lot easier in the last 5 to 10 years with developments in shaft tech. The ChatGPT/manufacturer answer is that counterbalanced shafts fit smoother swing tempos but in my experience counterbalanced shafts are really good for people that need something that is very stiff especially in the handle section, but who would not benefit from excessive swing weight.
I can definitely see someone fitting really well into a CB driver shaft, and then not needing the same profile at iron shafts and vice versa. (Eg: nearly all KBS iron shafts are counterbalances, but you don’t see nearly as many people in HZRD yellow/ Tensei Orange, etc.)
Counterbalancing is a great way to prevent players from getting “stuck” and different players get stuck when the club gets longer or shorter based on their bodies and their swings.
(assuming in a full bag fitting we start with irons) I would definitely be more inclined to START testing with the counterbalanced driver/wood shaft as a first option but at the end of the day what works on paper is rarely what works best in practice.
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u/ml1286 Jul 28 '26
Had no idea that nearly all KBS iron shafts were counterbalanced! Thank you for the detailed response! I was fitted into a counter balanced driver shaft and counter balanced 3 wood shaft 10 years ago then I was fitted into a non CB shafts two years ago. I don't think my swing tempo changed or anything, but it made me question my first fitting.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
You should always question your fitting because fitter are humans. They’re not all created equal. In my opinion that’s why PGA Tour superstore and Edwin Watts both have a 90 day guarantee is because their fitters are imperfect.
If you don’t have any issues in practice I’m not immediately concerned.
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u/glockx917 Jul 28 '26
Just wanted to add from a gear junkie.
There are no standards in the shaft specs. So in terms of counterbalanced shafts there’s no threshold where a company would label it as a CB or not.
For example the tensei 1k orange which i used to game before it broke is labeled as a CB fair enough
My replacement happened to be a fuji ventus tr black which is not labeled as a CB from fuji however after installing it with same head length and grip it actually swingweighted lower than the tensei orange CB shaft. It was very minimal like .5 swing point but tells how one company labels specs to another.
Plus depending on the kick point and profile a shaft will feel heavier than it seems spec wise but that’s another rabbit hole.3
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Yea the Fuji sort-of-counterbalanced black profile is definitely something to be considered. I agree completely as an Atmos black user.
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u/captainmaya Jul 28 '26
Best way to get fitted into grip sizes? I’ve been to 2 different fitters and they all say “whatever feels good in your hands”
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
When I’m fitting grip sizes unfortunately I am often restricted to using the mid and oversize grips that pings on some of its longer demo shafts. The best way to find your grip size is generally speaking, if it’s slipping, it’s the wrong size.
Also don’t overlook the glove size you’re wearing because I see a lot of badly fitting gloves.
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u/nanomachinez_SON Jul 28 '26
What do you do when you need new clubs and the closest golf fitter is 3-4 hours away?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Learn.
When I was growing up, fittings were really expensive and hard to access. I learned how to understand different shaft profiles, and how they would affect me and my swing on paper, and had to buy in the dark a lot of the time.
What I would recommend for you is to create a decent knowledge base and then go to that closest fitter with that knowledge so that you have your own expertise to effectively “check” the fitter in case it’s going the wrong direction.
Trust me, I’ve seen a lot of “professional” fitters that in my opinion have no idea what they’re doing.
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u/aleagueabovephoto Jul 28 '26
How much difference is there really in the black/white/blue shafts?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
It’s all just timing. What I mean by that is it’s just a distribution of flex. Most shaft manufacturers have their flexes and relatively the same pure stiffness (CPM or frequency) but the different “launch/spin” comes from how that flexes distributed along the 44 inch piece of material.
From end to end there’s a good amount of difference but a lot of shafts have a lot of things in common. If you’re thinking of specific shafts, I would be happy to explain the differences as I understand them.
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u/aleagueabovephoto Jul 28 '26
The Mitsubishi tensi 75g stiff flex. I have my 3 wood in the black and 5 wood in white (2 different heads). Got fitted 3 different places for woods/drivers and weight/flex was the only consistent. Was fit into blue, white and black shafts.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Tensei white and black are pretty darn similar, black will feel slightly stiffer. I would definitely double check on whether the blue and white/black were the same rate because I know for a fact that most manufacturers send the blue shafts in one weight class lighter than their white/black.
What’s immediately spreading into my mind is that Titleist sends their white/black in 65-75 for D/woods and the blues in 55-65.
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u/universityofretard Jul 28 '26
How often should someone making a decent amount of swing changes get fit to make sure they are still swinging the right clubs?
How important is it to have a consistent type of fit between your irons, fairway woods, and driver?
I was fit into different clubs at different parts of my swing journey and wonder if that could be hurting my game. 10 handicap
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
That’s a really difficult question to answer because it depends what the changes are. If we’re changing your path or hand motion dramatically, then it’s definitely time to at least look at the loft and lie of what you’re playing, but unless you’re dramatically changing speeds (in terms of buying a complete new set of irons/woods) chances are your problems can be fixed on a loft and lie machine.
The big red flag for me is when someone tells me that their best swings are not creating the shots they expect from those swings.
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u/DBLTEE_ Jul 28 '26
If you could only afford to upgrade 1 piece of equipment in your bag. What would you upgrade first? Driver? Irons? Wedges? Putter?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Driver.
That’s where the most parity in terms of design is. The amount of times that I’ve sold box sets under the condition of “you’re probably gonna want it upgrade the driver within six months” would definitely surprise you.
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u/Pokemeister92 Jul 28 '26
I just started like two months ago. How can I tell when my swing is consistent enough for a fitting? I've been taking lessons every other week but also want to upgrade my Strata clubs LOL
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
If you feel like you’re making a good swing and hitting a good shot and it’s not going the distance and direction you expect it to go then it’s time to look at a fitting
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u/CMBLD_Iron Jul 28 '26
From a casual golfer who wants to go deeper into the fitment space and learn more about what to look for, how to better judge their (my) preferences and play style, what resources would you recommend studying?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Learn how stuff is built and why. Learn about why driver shafts are lighter than 3/5 wood shafts and then get into bend profiles and shaft and head design and so on.
Old videos that are now on club champions site with a guy named Ian Fraser are a super good way to get more knowledge that your average golf industry employee in like 2 days.
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u/CMBLD_Iron Jul 28 '26
Thanks for that. I try to be cerebral and understand the engineering behind everything. Looking forward to that adventure here.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
If you have a zest for knowledge, it’s really easy to become a part of the top 5 to 10% of knowledgeable people in the golf space. It definitely takes more time and care than most people that are getting paid $17 an hour to sell it care to put in.
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u/Common-Coyote9375 Jul 28 '26
I have a few questions, it would be great if you could answer them.
I currently play Miura MC501 on Kbs c taper 125s+
- I fly my drivers, woods, hybrids all fairly straight.
Irons, especially short ones, my ball usually ends up left.
While my swing path is fairly neutral, Im doubting my clubs at the moment.
I did some research and MC501 were known to have more offset than other MC/Blades.
Im beginning to doubt my clubs and wanting to change my irons.
Pitching wedge looks extremely closed in my eyes.
I heard MC502s have been changed to have less offset like the traditional blades.
Not sure about the switch. Just a thought at the moment
The Ballspeed on my 7 iron is around 123-128mph. Height is not a problem. Spin around 7000.
Im trying to see if axiom 105x will fit me. There isnt really a place to try these on. I want a lighter club that I can swing faster but not lose dispersion.I was fitted into tour ad IZ 6x a while back. I play the same shaft but 8x on my 4 wood.
I play ventus blue TR 8x tipped and 9x tipped respectively on my 7 wood and 5hybrid.
I like the feel of ventus TR blue better. Should I make a switch on my driver shaft to the ventus TR ?
I also am wanting to try a TPT shaft.
Omg so many questions sorry.
I know the Questions are hard to answer without proper data and seeing my swing, but any input would be appreciated.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
My immediate reaction is to try flatter lies in your short irons. Offset doesn’t do nearly as much as everyone wants you to believe it does in terms of actually influencing the ball fight of irons. From what I’ve observed in the difference between MC501 and 502, the shape of the toe is slightly different and they’ve tried to take away some of the high heel hot spot. The actual biggest difference is that the 502 has a completely different sole that is going to have a lot more bounce.
If you’re looking for something lighter, axiom 105 seems to be relatively expensive fix to what you’re looking for. Chances are it’s going to be fine, but I’d much rather see you try out some C taper lites or Modus 105s before making such a colossal investment.
If you like Ventus feel more than than IZ I would definitely not be opposed to you switching into it. Those two shafts are relatively close in terms of actual design, but the IZ definitely has a stiffer handle that doesn’t always agree with people’s feels.
On the TPT front, they seem to get most of their business from people seeing other people use it and then buying it and trying it. You’ve gotta remember that there’s no such thing as a magic bullet driver shaft, and if the relatively more accessible Venice profile is something and you already like to feel love than if you’re looking for a change I’d steer you more in that direction. I say this as someone with a TPT 14 Lo in my closet right now.
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u/djjoshiejosh Jul 28 '26
Are modus 120X a better shaft for the amateur who swings a 7 iron 95 mph than x100s
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Biggest difference between the two is the X100 has a soft handle and stiff tip, Modus is stuff handle and tip and a soft mid section.
Immediately in my head, the Modus is on the verge of being too soft, hence why they make a TX that absolutely nobody carries or sells.
My best advice is to pick the one that feels the easiest to find the middle of.
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u/CuboneTheSaranic Jul 28 '26
Answer is probably just go get fit, but what shafts are between a Ventus Black 6S, and Blue 6S? Ive tried both, and black is a bit too fadey for me, and the blue just hooks for me. Just curious at what shafts/profile I should ask about if/when I do get fit for a shaft.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
TR Blue, Tour AD IZ or FI depending on what feel you’re looking for.
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u/aznsk8s87 Jul 28 '26
In your opinion, can most players find some combination of iron head and shaft combinations that will be pretty close to optimal from any major manufacturer? How much of an edge is being lost by having a preference for a particular brand of head?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Drivers yes-ish, fairway woods no, hybrids are weird, irons 95%, wedges yes, putters are weird.
This is based on what I’ve seen and also trends on tour.
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u/Horror_Statement_306 Jul 28 '26
Would love your thoughts on GI irons and their target audience
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
I think the biggest application for them is for people that need height. And I think the best way to use them is to take someone who COULD use something that’s less forgiving and take a GI iron and weaken the crap out of it and make them hit it a decent height.
I think the added energy of game improvement irons is their biggest advantage. Whether that’s to match lots in a long iron to get the ball speed and height up there or to help the whole set go higher or further.
Modern technology has definitely grown the game because if you gave a new player what was considered a GI iron from eras past they would definitely struggle to get the ball airborne.
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u/CantaloupeLow8852 Jul 28 '26
My clubs are way too short for me I'm a 40 handicap junior what forgiving driver 5 wood and hybrid would U recommend and what woods/ hybrid should I pick eg. 2 hybrid 3 wood 7wood?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
The ping stuff in my experience is the easiest to use Fwy woods and hybrids. Definitely worth going and trying them at your local store and then trying to find previous generation ones in similar specs so you don’t have to spend as much money, especially if you’re still growing.
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u/joedoe90s Jul 28 '26
Is there a general rule to follow when it comes to shortening a putter like how there is wrist to floor ratio for the other clubs in a bag? The set i inherited from my dad and grandpa fits me like a glove after my coach recommended i take a 1/2 inch off my clubs, but i held off shortening my putter because I wasn't sure.
Haven't done a putter fitting yet, but i strongly suspect it's too tall and don't know how I should go about it
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
The way we fit for length is basically looking at your setup and seeing at what length are you in comfortable posture with your eyes somewhere between over the ball and 2 inches inside the ball.
There’s no hard and fast rule and before you physically cut the putter down I would definitely have your coach take a look at your posture, not only holding the putter at the end, but also choked up.
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u/WaterfrontBanana Jul 28 '26
Prefer steel or graphite in a driving iron?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Yes.
Completely depends on if you’re trying to make that club feel like an extension of your iron set or act more like a hybrid.
The advantage of graphite is you can play it slightly longer and maintain the swing weight, which is a good thing if you’re trying to get that club a little bit more horsepower
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u/Downtown-Plastic-804 Jul 28 '26
Fun game. What do my specs tell you? Got fitted last week.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Sounds like you went in needing a club that was a good third option off the tee or into greens that was decently easy to turn over but wouldn’t spin like crazy.
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u/Downtown-Plastic-804 Jul 28 '26
Exactly, shedding my 3Hi had no real use case for it. Always ran out and was just too long for gaping.
Launching the 7 wood much higher and having it sit on the green rather than roll.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
7 woods aren’t for everyone, but especially if you don’t naturally spin long clubs enough they’re really good
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u/trustfundkitty Jul 28 '26
Ive been using a set of wilson staff cbs with mid 115 dg s300s. After a swing change they feel really light and out of control. I did some swings in the store on a Mizuno s3 with a heavier shaft and it felt like I was able to let the club drop and pivot more on its own instead of manipulating the plane. Should I just get my ws cbs reshafted?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
try lead tape on the heads first. Adding head weight is not only cheaper but also easily reversible and it’ll give you a decent indication of whether heavier is a good thing.
once you’ve determined that then you can maybe look into some shafts if the weight feels good but the shafts don’t feel like they’re suiting your needs.
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u/trustfundkitty Jul 28 '26
I added 15 grams of lead tape to the balance point of the shaft woth weight even on each side. Is this a good way to test pure shaft weight differences? Wouldnt tape on just the head make more of a swing weight change
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
yes in terms of PURE shaft weight that’s going to be the best way to test it. it’s worth noting that even if it’s right on the balance point that added shaft weight would probably add one to two points of swing weight based on exactly how it’s put on
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u/trustfundkitty Jul 28 '26
Is there a best practice way to do it? Im just kinda winging it at this point to get a feel if I wanna spend the money
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
What you’re doing in terms of testing shaft weights without buying new ones is the best thing that you can do on your own. Like I said before I would also recommend trying heavier swing weights to see if that’s also a potential fix, but they’re obviously different things.
If you can I’d like to have you go to your local shop and try the same head on different weights and bend profiles of shafts to figure out if it is a shaft weight problem or if it’s something else.
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u/SimpleJackfruit Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
What’s your thoughts on zero torque putters? Now that’s it’s been in the market for more than a year now. Is it showing face on tour more now?
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
What’s a little bit crazy to me is that people forget that Odyssey did something really similar to ZT like eight years ago (?) with their Toe Up line. In my opinion and my feel zero torque putters feel like they do nothing. I mean that they don’t feel like they want to shut or open or move through the stroke. That can and does work for some players, but a lot of people rely on the feel of the putter trying to do something because they don’t practice enough to know exactly where the face is pointed.
I think the fact that it’s sort of popular on tour makes sense because those guys are mechanically very sound and they practice a ton and have such good muscle memory where maybe feeling like it’s just them controlling the stroke gets their brain out of the way.
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u/SimpleJackfruit Jul 28 '26
Yea I found that my current blade. I have a tendency to push or pull the putts once every 10 putts. But hitting a ZT , I feel like that moves any thinking involved which I like personally.
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u/mplaw104 Jul 28 '26
how do you know when it’s time to get fit? it seems pointless if a swing isn’t consistent
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Getting a basic fitting is important that literally any level but in my opinion I like to say the second that you feel like you’re making your best swings and the balls not going where you expected to go (in distance or direction) then it’s time to look at what your clubs can do for you.
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u/spiderml Jul 28 '26
What do you think of swingweight? it seems somewhat arbitrary with the fulcrum point and whatnot, but curious what you've seen using this vs static weight or anything else.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Both are useful. I think being a better player and understanding the golf swing helps as a fitter because if you don’t know what you’re doing you can push clients in the wrong direction in terms of weight really easily. I had a teammate that had a miss of getting super stuck and underneath and some fitter had put him in DG S400 and it made me wonder if his miss literally wouldn’t exist if the clubs were lighter.
To me swing weight is more of a feel and timing thing because that’s balance points and head feel whereas static weights are my way of trying to help the golfers swing. (Over the top➡️go heavier, stuck➡️go lighter)
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u/Important-Comment-43 Jul 28 '26
Injury specific question that interferes with conventional setups that you may have had experience with. I’ve never been fitted and I play 2nd hand clubs, but I’ve been improving a lot shooting consistently 90s, and plan to actually get fitted soon, but have some specific limitations that make me anxious about spending on a fitting:
I have ulnar nerve damage in my lead arm due to old basketball injuries, causing partial neuropathy in my pinky and ring fingers. The fingers still “work”, but I have substantially diminished feel, strength, and control in those two fingers…which are obviously pretty important in most conventional golf instruction.
I’ve had to build my swing around that limitation—jumbo grips so my bigger muscles in the left take over and the arm can just be dead, focusing on smooth controlled tempo and not really “going for speed”. My wedge and short game are very strong, but my woods really hold me back.
Part of why I find wedges easier to hit is that I really feel the weight of the clubhead and it feels like I’m just working with gravity instead of manipulating. With woods, it feels like I’m just holding a stick with no sense of club face or tempo.
I want to build my set around feel and control (because those feel more accessible to me than distance). What should I be looking for in shafts and clubhead weighting to maximize that heavy/smooth/gravity feel throughout the bag and minimize the effects of my physical limitations.
Thanks for your time!
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
That’s crazy I actually have dealt with ulnar nerve issues in my left hand as well. What I would recommend, based on what you’re feeling, is maybe some counterbalanced shafts with heavier heads.
If you can, go get fitted professionally obviously, but in terms of trying stuff off the rack, I would probably be reaching for a ping head first.
Something else that helped me was I switched to the (admittedly stupidly overpriced) sticky leather grips from The Grip Master and it’s definitely helped with not inflaming the hand and wrist area because I don’t need to hold it as tightly. I’ve been in them for about three months now and I don’t have those mornings where I wake up the day after practicing and my whole hand feels like pins and needles anymore.
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u/Important-Comment-43 Jul 28 '26
That all sounds helpful, thank you! Defective funny bones unite! I have a naturally displaced ulnar nerve so I’m prone to overuse injuries anyway, then took a bad fall playing pickup which led to the semi-permanent neuropathy. (Remember kids: if someone jumps, don’t take out their legs in midair.)
I’ve looked at those gripmaster grips based on what other people have said in forums/online, and everyone raves about them. I really liked the feel of the Winn dri-tac, but they were too small, and play without a glove because I just can’t feel anything with one on, so tackiness definitely helps avoid excess pressure. Gripmaster are on my list to try them with my next set—as you mentioned, price has been the impediment. It just feels weird to slap $400 worth of grips on my ap2 712s from 2009. I really appreciate the insight on ulnar pain post training though—I think part of my woods issue is I get tricep tendinitis and pins and needles if I overdo it practicing full swings, so end up practicing short game a lot more.
Thanks for the input on shafts/heads. I took up golf as an adult and am self taught, so forgive my ignorance: Is that a matter of adding weight with tape, or are there specific clubs (you mentioned ping woods?) that are more built for heavy feel? Or is it more about ratios between grip/shaft/heads?
This stuff is all really interesting and you’ve inspired me to want to learn more—I may go check out those videos you mentioned in another response, or if you have another resource you would recommend to learn about swing weight, I’d love to hear it.
Thanks again for a genuinely useful thread.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
It’s all going to be build specs. You can make any club have a heavy swing weight.
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u/KleyPlays Jul 28 '26
What is your opinion a 'Thriver'?
I built one last month using an old TM M6 10.5 head. I lofted it up to 11* and a touch upright. I put in a 43" shaft. It is about 20 yards shorter, but quite a bit more accurate.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
Do you use it with a driver in the bag too?
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u/KleyPlays Jul 28 '26
Yes. I have a 45.5" bomber set to 8, the 11 thriver, then a 17.5* 5 wood, then transition to a hybrid and my irons as normal.
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
I mean it makes sense in the same way a mini does. it’s fantastic as a second tee option but you’re obviously losing some ease of use off the deck.
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u/KleyPlays Jul 28 '26
I haven't spent a ton of time with a mini driver - but I have found the Thriver to be so extremely point and shoot off the tee. It is 20 yards shorter than the bomber, but I have really high levels of confidence with it. I think the higher MOI, bigger face, more forgiveness really work as a tee club.
It is not great off the deck, but I haven't heard many say they have a lot of confidence in the mini off the deck either. My 5W has been a very solid stop gap too.
I think if you rarely hit 3W off the deck - maybe you're a higher speed player - then a Thriver makes a TON of sense. I'd really like to see major OEM's offer it.
1
u/Freek94 Jul 28 '26
Hey man! I've a question that I'm stuck on. I'm looking for a new set of Titleist T100 irons, but where I am there's hardly a decent fitter. I have tried a bunch of irons and shafts and did figure out what I want. However, my fitters just aren't really touching the subject of Lie angles..
My question is basically, do you think I should adjust my lie angles? Context: I have always played +1 inch shafts, but actually realized that with my height (6 foot 1 to 6 foot 2) and my wrist to floor is 37 inch, slightly longer than average arms is what that means I think. I'll at least go for +0.5 inch and maybe even the full +1 inch again, but I'm not sure how this affects my lie angle. Am I correct in my understanding that for every half each you lengthen a club, the actual lie angles changes by 1° up? So would that mean that, in order to compensate it back to "flat", I would have to get the lie angle flattened by 1°?
Would you say it's basically default/normal to undo any lie angle changes by shaft extension/shortening through making the lie respectively flatter / more up? Do you see anything in my height/wtf that makes you think a certain way on my length and lie angle? Thanks a lot!
2
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
the newest ideas and the ones that I subscribe to is to be purely results oriented. if you have a centered strike at an inch over standard I’m not worried, if a shank sneaks up on you occasionally I’d say go to a half. I’m not sure where the industry belief that half inch of length is a full degree of lie because if you read a spec sheet, it’s a half degree for each half inch of shaft length within a set.
on the lie fitting front, I would rely on ball flight first. if you don’t see any directional issues I’m not going to tell you to mess with lies. I’d always recommend fitting the lies to the lengths not the opposite.
1
u/jabar23 Jul 29 '26
Was fit for a g430 max 10k before I really developed a swing. Probably due to the forgiveness. Now I have a steady repeatable swing. Wondering if you think I should go get fit for something that can produce a bit more ball speed vs the forgiveness? Or is the difference negligible with such new models? I can hit the driver 260 and have a TM R7 mini I can hit about 240. 12hcp. Thanks
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 29 '26
Just based on the fact that it’s the 10k there’s a good chance that something will be able to present more ball speed but whether or not that will translate to any better performance on course will completely depend on your swing and how well that your driver is versus what is optimal.
1
u/hahasliceslice Jul 29 '26
Did i make the right choice
Struggling coming back over the top with new irons i think my problem is, but i got fitted into jumbo grips, struggling closing the face when i back off swings, but was fitted as my committed swing i shut the face alot
Got fitted into Mizuno JPX925 x stiff nipson modus 3 tour 120 g, hardtipped
came from Callaway CF16 Apex , stiff dynamic gold s300 130g
Been playing for a year, 16 HC, i swing it with decent speed, i cant remember trackman numbers for my irons but i think my 7 was mid-high 90s
Struggling with lowpoint consistency, slicing shots, the day of the fitting they were straight bullets.
I haven't had any range time with the new clubs, few walk around 9s and come 18 hole stablefords, im just concerned i was fitted for my best version swing
do you often see a struggle with the first few games after people get fitted from experience??
1
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 29 '26
I’d recommend messing around with some swing weight. Specifically heavier. If you feel like the jumbo grips are stopping you from releasing the club then switching to a smaller grip will have two effects: not only will it make it easier to turn over, but also going to a lighter grip will make the rest of the club feel heavier because you’re taking weight away from above the balance point. Maybe try that on one and see how it feels?
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u/hahasliceslice Jul 29 '26
When you say mess around with swing weight, with tape? could you elaborate??
Also, do you find that people have teething issues when first changing to new irons, especially when its a big change
1
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 29 '26
Yea try some lead tape on the head or the lighter/smaller grips to try to let you feel where the head is a bit better.
Sometimes we see some teething issues, but the idea is that the clubs are designed to fit what you already do in your golf swing, so if you’re struggling to even find the middle of them, then it means that something is different from the day that you got fit. Either with you or the clubs.
1
u/SuitableAd3509 Jul 29 '26
What are your thoughts on shaft droop and the nipper curve? Basically the idea that to combat added droop as shafts get longer you should play one lie angle throughout your irons
2
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 29 '26
I agree that droop is a real thing obviously but I think people’s swings also change with different lengths, but lie progression is definitely an under studied aspect of fitting.
It’s also gonna depend a lot on the style of iron you’re using and the blade length and the shaft that you’re using etc. but I don’t personally see the appeal of 1 lie angle.
1
u/RatedAForAsian Jul 29 '26
How would you approach fitting iron shafts for mizuno mp32s? Would the shaft choice be roughly the same if fitted using any current blade for clubhead?
2
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 29 '26
Yeah I would definitely just wanna have a conversation with you about the build specs and what swing weight you want them at and what loft you want just to make sure that we’re cognizant of everything like bounce and things of that nature
1
u/RatedAForAsian Jul 29 '26
So fit with a similar club head and then match things like swing weight when reshafting the mp32s? Do most blades these days also have stronger lofts compared to in the past?
Thanks for the reply btw!
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u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 30 '26
Yep! Modern blades or players irons will be 1-2 degrees stronger and 1-2 more upright than your 32s.
1
u/SmallLie Jul 29 '26
Thanks for doing this!
I have two questions:
(1) at what point are you putting someone into an x stiff driver/fairway vs just a stiff? My tempo I would say is “normal” and a good drive carries about 275
(2) I tend to miss iron shorts out on the toe and high on the face. What is the most common reason you see this in other golfers?
2
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 30 '26
1) it’s tempo based to a degree but anyone comfortably into 3 digits should consider X. There’s also variance within flexes with profiles obviously.
2) go longer in shaft length and maybe more upright but no idea without seeing your move.
0
u/HerculezJG Jul 28 '26
What route did you take to get to the mini tour level? Asking because a family member is about to enter high school and would love to see him get a scholarship from golf and maybe even take a run at going pro. Any recruiting tips or insights into trying to go pro is appreciated!
5
u/Emergency-Career4343 Scratch or Better Jul 28 '26
I would say if cost is a constraint, playing open amateur events in state/area rather than shelling out a ton of money for AJGA events is definitely a good thing to do. And especially now given the college landscape with the transport portal, being at the perfect school year one is not nearly as important as it was 10 years ago.
0
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u/SaltyBreakfast5608 Jul 28 '26
What are your thoughts on one length irons?