Deep Dive | Women's Fitting Event at Gleneagles

The benefits of custom fitting are immeasurable. You’d never wear shoes that are too small or buy a new a new car without trying it. Golf equipment is the same; there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Every swing is different, and your clubs should match your swing.

We’re at Gleneagles Golf Club at one of our Women’s fitting events where we’ve seen a variety of golfers. Spanning from beginners, weekend warriors, to an 18-handicap who plays just for the love of the game.

For many, package sets are the ideal purchase when you’re looking to get into the game. In August 2021, Kerry and her friend went to their local pro shop and returned with a package set ready to hit the course. After a few lessons, it was clear she wasn’t getting the most out of her game.

Fast forward a couple of months to a sunny day at Gleneagles, Experiential Technician Frank Geary went through her bag and found that the main area to focus on was off the tee. Coming into golf from a sporting background, Kerry certainly wasn’t afraid to give it a good whack and immediately, there was a visible difference in ball flight with Stealth Driver. Gaining more distance and better accuracy she noticed the tempo of her swing feel more relaxed and easy to launch the ball. “I can feel the difference, my old driver to this is very different, in a great way”.

Fun Fact: Industry data published by GOLF suggests that 87 percent of golfers who are custom fit lower their handicap by at least 10 percent. That means a 20 handicap can knock two strokes off just by having the proper equipment. For new golfers or those seeking improvement, things like shaft weight, material and length can make an immediate difference.

A question that we hear on a regular basis is “Do you think I should go for a custom fit?” There’s a myth out there that custom fitting only benefits good players. Like most myths, it’s just not true. Progressing quickly in her game, 16 year old Kirstin came firing out of the gates wanting to improve her iron game. Currently gaming a set of Kalea, her shots were good but showing wide dispersion. Moving her into a slightly heavier shaft and preferring the neutral shot shape of P790, Experiential Technician Duncan McNeill looked at both her swing and data and the results were instant. Not only did the numbers not lie, another factor in the fitting was her local golf course - Gullane Golf Club. With the thick sole of the Kalea Irons, she was struggling with turf interaction . With the sharper leading edge on P790 she was able to get the desired turf interaction she was looking for.

There wasn’t one fitting where high lofted fairway woods didn’t make an appearance. Speaking to Experiential Technician Kirstin Scott she said ‘With women in particular loft tends to be their friend. As fitters, the more loft we can give, to a certain extent, means the golf ball is going to travel further and who wouldn’t want that! If you take me as an example, I play Stealth Driver and go straight into 5-wood. I miss out 3-wood because I’m not getting my desired carry distance.”

Hands up, who remembers RSI irons! It didn’t take long for the technological benefits of Stealth to appear when comparing data. Moving a 10-handicapper into the all-new Stealth Irons immediately delivered a more powerful and forgiving strike with a 10-yard gain! Speaking Duncan after the fitting he noted “Looking down at the clubs, the main difference was head shape. We kept the shaft pretty much the same and she could feel the difference straight away which was great to see.”

Being comfortable off the tee is important and once set it can be difficult to be open to change; especially if it’s been in your bag for a while! Speaking Kirstin on one of her favourite fits of the day she said “We began with her 10.5 gamer and after assessing the first round of data, we concluded that her spin numbers were a little too low. Launch and spin are key factors, as launch dictates how the ball gets airborne and spin keeps the ball in the air to extend carry distance. Switching into a heavier stiffer flex shaft and a 9 degree Stealth Driver, spin rate dropped from 2500 to 2100 which equated to a better ball flight and an extra 10-yards!”

If you plan to get custom fit for your next set of clubs, here’s a list of 10 things you need to know heading into the experience.