If I could impart any piece of advice to a fellow golfer who is experienced enough playing to have developed any sort of golf swing, the next step they should definitely take is to get a “dynamic fitting” – preferably an outdoor one where they can see the actual flight of their shots and not hit into a net a few yards away. Having properly fit golf clubs is paramount to continued progress even if you are investing in lessons and practice.
Could you benefit from such a fitting? Well, yes, just as everyone can benefit with an eye examination and possibly eyeglasses or contact lenses, a full-blown club-fitting will help you too regardless of your skill or experience!
Consider this. A player who chooses to learn or improve their game with an ill-fit set of clubs is dealing with additional interference that will rob their talent and provide them with improper feedback to the brain. Their progress will be stunted and yet many teachers and their students have sadly fallen prey to this situation.
So how many players have properly fit clubs? Estimates are that only about 15 percent of golfers are anywhere near adequately fit for their golf clubs. It is very likely that you aren’t, even if you bought your clubs from a so-called pro. So if you invest in new technology that is ill fit, you’ve simply prolonged your problem. I found that out myself even though I had been a teaching and playing professional once myself.
PGA Member & Honored Club-Fitter Matt Flenniken
I had my first such dynamic fitting with San Jose, California’s Matt Flenniken, a Master Club-Fitter with Henry-Griffitts Golf Clubs back in 1993. Matt was a renowned leader-pioneer in the field then being repeatedly honored by the PGA, and he is now certainly one of the world’s premier club-fitters. What happened then was pretty incredible.
I had recently moved from Philadelphia to Northern California and had heard rumblings among the Philly area club pros as to how five or six of them had improved from “75 shooters” to par-breaking tournament contenders overnight with Henry-Griffitts clubs! Working for the PGA and learning of Matt Flenniken, I decided to investigate.
Flenniken fit me and within the next five weeks I broke four course records and moved my handicap index several shots better than scratch! Having played and taught professionally, I was amazed that with the Henry-Griffitts clubs and dynamic fitting (where you actually hit off of a hitting board with spin and path monitors), Flenniken fit me differently than I would ever have fit myself! Be that as it may, I became an instant disciple for the H-G brand and their methodology.
In the 18 years since, I would try the latest and greatest clubs, but none hit the ball as far or as straight as the Henry-Griffitts, particularly the irons – and none allowed me to work the ball in both directions. While I did move to other woods, and eventually traded my 1,2,3, and 4 irons for hybrids, those Henry-Griffitts irons have stayed right there securely in my bag.
In the meantime, the fitting technology has continued to improve, as has the Henry-Griffitts line of clubs. So has my body and golf game changed. Due to very infrequent play and practice, my game has lost its consistency – sometimes to the point of embarrassment. I am far overdo for a check-up.
Looking forward to seeing Matt again, I anticipate that the session will be 1-2 hours and part lesson and part fitting for Flenniken is just as much an instructor – a factor that makes him and Henry-Griffitts clubs, and their other certified fitters stand out.
