The relationship between equipment and coaching

Amongst playing, coaching and club fitting a lot of people have asked me “Am I using the right equipment?” I guess that begs the question “How do we know what equipment will actually help us?”

Now, as a club fitter and golf coach, I understand the relationship between having the correct equipment in someone’s hands and actually improving someone’s golf game.

I’ve seen it time and time again: people getting frustrated with their game, their practice session or even during a lesson when simply they don’t have a golf club that is even close to suitable for them to use. I always hear the classic case of “I tried my mate’s driver on the weekend and it went great so I’ll go out and get one.” All you’re doing here is taking an uneducated punt and ultimately wasting your time and money. Why not spend the time to get properly fitted by a professional who actually knows what they are talking about?

Here is the question you’re now asking yourself: “Why should I pay to get fitted by a professional when I’ve already hit the latest driver and it seems to go so great?” You have to realise that with club fitting it is actually a combination of what type of shaft works best for you, then what club head is the best combination and also fitting with the actual type of golf ball you use on the golf course.

“But isn’t a golf shaft just a shaft with a certain stiffness?” you ask.  When you get a fitting from a golf retail store, for example, they generally only look at club speed to determine which shaft you need. When determining a shaft for someone, however, there are a number of variables that need to be looked at to determine which will actually perform well for the person. These are shaft weight, type of shaft (Steel, graphite, composite), torque and kick point. In regards to shaft flex, the way a fitting should be done is to fit to a specific CPM (Cycles Per Minute) number rather than just a general flex. The goal for me as a fitter and golf coach is to improve someone’s golf game and their enjoyment of the game.

Now, by getting a fitting with an expert you’re taking the guess work and time wasting out of the equation. Think about a period of a year: if you chop and change clubs trying to search for the right one, you would have spent possibly double if not triple the amount of money you would if you had just booked and paid for a proper fitting with an expert. It will also allow you to use the correct equipment sooner and also enjoy the great game of golf more often. The last thing I ever want to see is someone give away this amazing game over not being happy.

If you want to stop “guessing” about clubfitting and your golf swing in general, drop in to the Tempe Golf Range and see our expert team of golf coaches and club fitters.