In the past two posts, I shared my input on what to do this fall to get ready for next season. Sometimes, you need to ask yourself the main question to all this…WHY?
WHY am I doing this? What’s really to gain? Why is fitting important?
Last night, I went to the Hackers Paradise forums to help curate today’s topic, and this question from just_brad popped up. It may seem like a broad question with a fairly obvious answer (you’ll play better), but it’s not that simple. What does “playing better” with properly fit clubs look like versus the alternative?
Unreal question at the perfect time. And as the question tries to narrow it down to higher handicappers, my experience tells me it relates to everyone.
The true goal of any GREAT fitter is to RAISE YOUR FLOOR, not your ceiling. Good shots are good shots, no matter who you are. Some may look prettier and go further than others, but it’s all relative. When a 25 handicap flushes one at the stick, it has the same internal satisfaction for that player as any TOUR player. Trust me, it’s the good shots that keep us coming back, but it’s the CONSISTENCY and QUALITY of play that turns this sport from fun with friends into something that becomes an avid part of your life.
Remember, golf is HARD for everyone. But there is something about being able to tread water and or flourish in the face of that difficulty that is the true unicorn blood.
So, WHY do I need to get fit?
Here are my TOP 3 reasons for any avid golfer to get fit, and YES, what you will see.
- Why work against yourself? Every human on this planet is built differently. Builds, height, weight, RH vs. LH, etc. To add to the equation, every golf course is different, every manufacturer has a different path to make the ball go where it’s supposed to, and on top of that, YOU change/evolve/improve, etc. There is a lot to manage, so at the very least, your equipment (IE, your troops) must work with the same marching orders as you. Little more to say here: I remember being on a bus going to a summer camp, and the roads got bumpy, and some kid “put the round wheels on!” I’ll never forget that, lol. You can’t go where you want to go successfully without proper tools. It’s possible you can survive, but at what cost?
- RAISE YOUR FLOOR!!!!! Golf is not about making your BEST golf better…well, it is, but the foundation of improvement is making your WORST golf better. Mitigating a BIG MISS, building a consistent shot shape that you can rely on, gapping you can trust, wedges that don’t work against you on any turf, Irons that launch and land properly, and, of course, the king of them all, the right ball that properly conducts this fourteen piece symphony. If your bag is right, at the very least, your bad golf still looks pretty damn good.
- Eliminate Variables!!! Jon Rahm lives and dies by this. If you are an active owner of your golf game, I imagine your goal is to GET BETTER. It’s easy to sit here and say, well, “If you get fit, you’ll hit it further and straighter and blah blah blah.” It’s not about that at all; it’s about evolving and changing what good looks like and bad looks like and your understanding of both. A good set of golf clubs eliminates as many variables that work against you as humanly possible. So, in real-world terms, when the ball isn’t going where you want it to, your equipment won’t be the culprit; the ownership is on the player to get back on track, knowing that the tools are ready to go back to battle. Have you ever had a run of good play when everything clicked, and then you have a bad day out of nowhere? How many of you instantly went to “This driver is wrong,” “My irons are too flat,” and “My wedges dig too much” We have all been there. Still, if you are properly fit, the “wrong equipment” variable is eliminated, and you can address what needs to happen on the range or with your coach.
So, to wrap it up….
What you will see with a proper fit are fewer variables to manage, softer angles to your shots, a miss that doesn’t kill you, a stock shot to rely on, AND, most notably for all golfers, the opportunity to EVOLVE. Hitting it further and higher can help you. It’s a fact, but a quality miss will affect your scores WAY more. On TOUR it’s ALL about making the miss better (killing the big miss) and secondly making stock more consistent across the face.
If you are constantly at ground zero and all of the exteriors are working against you, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to grow. Think of it like this: if you are going to put your best foot forward, would you want to do it with equipment that was built to help YOU do your absolute best OR show up with clubs that were built around the average person (off the rack)…can average be good? Sometimes. If you’re lucky…but that’s another variable. See above.
Hope is not a tactic for success.
Be great. Get fit.
LFG
JDub
