Do I really need clubs 'fit'?

I have seen clubs by reputable manufacturers be out of specification by 2 degrees of the stated loft angle. I tested one of my clients 4 iron that was 2 degrees weak, and his 5 iron was 2 degrees strong. This meant that aside from the slightly longer shaft length of the 4 iron, both of these clubs were the same, a 4 1/2 iron.. Obviously the better golfer he becomes, the more apparent in his golf game will be the distance gap as a result.

I have also seen clubs just incorrectly fit for the player. For example I had a tour player that was missing his short irons to the right. His swing looked good, but the ball flight was going right with the short irons. I then checked the lie angle of these clubs and it turned out that they were 3 degrees flat. He had them bent to the correct angle, and he called me from his next tour stop and said that he was now hitting those clubs dead straight.

I think that even as important or even more important than fitting irons, is fitting for drivers, wedges and putters. During a round of golf, you will usually use a driver on 14 out of 18 holes, which is probably 3 to 5 times more than you will use any single iron. A professional will use the driver for more than 20% of his shots. The only clubs that you will use more than the driver are your wedges and putter. The flex and weight of the shaft, and the lie and loft of the club can greatly affect the flight and trajectory the ball. The object with the driver is to get a 13 to 14 degree launch angle with less than 3000 RPM of spin, with a straight, penetrating ball flight.

Fitting putters is also important as it is the club you will use the most, and also has the potential to cost you 1 or more strokes per hole if you aren't putting well. I had a client who had an offset putter and would aim it 4 to 5 inches to the right of his target (hole) from 10 feet, he had to close the face at impact to make putts. As he moved closer to the hole his aim got better and he missed all the short putts to the left. I fit him in a putter with no offset, explained to him that now he could aim better that he would have to keep the face square through impact. He now has better distance control and has the ball starting more on his target, I made a friend for life.

Wedges also have the chance to either save you several strokes a round, or cost you several strokes a round. Wedge fitting is a factor of loft and bounce. Having the correct wedges in the bag is a product of the players ability to add loft or de-loft a wedge. If a player tends to hit the ball high, I might prefer to put the in a 52 degree gap wedge and a 56 degree sand wedge. A player that hits the ball low, I might put them in a 54 degree gap wedge and a 60 degree sand wedge. The bounce of the wedges affects the dig factor in a sand bunker. Generally speaking, most people need more bounce on the sand wedge, 12 degrees or so, and less on the gap wedge.