Fit for a King (Part 1)

I come into some cash and go splash it on some new irons

About a decade ago, I went and got fit for clubs. It was a good experience, but it was all lost on me, I didn’t know enough about my swing, I didn’t know enough about the physics of golf, and I sucked. (It's not that I am good now; I am better, though.)

I felt like Cole Trickle in Days of Thunder. I didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to talk about the golf clubs.

I landed in player improvement clubs, the Ping G max series, that were super thick with a massive cavity back, and over the years, while my driver and putter got swapped out, I kept the same clubs that were essentially designed to make it easier for me to get the ball into the air.

Fast forward a few years, and my instructor has been giving me a hard time about my clubs, repeatedly telling me that they are hurting me. I have resisted getting new clubs because I felt like, why make that investment while improving my swing? And, I didn’t have the money to make that investment. I didn’t want to be overly budget-conscious when I got fitted, being able to buy what would work best for me. Thanks to an NCAA tournament pool, I have the money.

My instructor recommended Chris Reinhardt from Club Champion to me (use referral code Palm171281; you get a free fitting through him, and I get $200 towards clubs if you buy anything). They shared clients throughout the years, but I liked the idea that they communicated and talked about their clients' swings. I felt like that communication and relationship would be beneficial. I considered going to places like the Tour Van, but I felt that communication between Andy and Chris was an advantage, especially as I evolve as a golfer.

Chris had me answer some questions before going in, and we talked when I got there. For irons, he wanted me to hit a lot of six irons because it was at the edge where most golfers start to struggle, and you see a lot of variances with the swing's results. I hit some with my current 6 to get some Trackman data, and then we got into shafts first. Using the TaylorMade P790 head, we tested a ton of shafts.

I can unequivocally say, I have been completely screwing myself on the golf course.

My player improvement irons didn’t have me in the right shaft for my swing speed, and seeing the impact of moving to stiffer shafts broke my brain. A miss with my current clubs can be catastrophic when looking at my dispersion. With stiffer shafted clubs, misses had a tighter dispersion and kept the ball on the planet. Additionally, the stiffer shafted irons created a lower loft, which frankly is welcome to see, I don’t need to hit every iron to the moon.

Shaft Chosen: LA Golf A Series - Low - 105 Iron 5(X) Flex

I kept midsize grips on the irons, I learned by going to midsize that I don’t choke the ever living shit out of the club. I did go with the Align series because having the reminder to keep my grip where it should be is something I liked.

Grips Chosen: Golf Pride MCC Classic Align MAX - Midsize - GP0190

After narrowing down the shafts, we moved onto the iron heads and tested…. A LOT. Like I said, we used the TaylorMade P790 as the base while testing the shafts, and the performance was pretty good, better than the base level we set with my current clubs. A handful of irons performed better for me, like the Titleist P150, a PXG model I can’t remember, a Srixon (I think the Zx5), and Mizuno JPX-925 Hot Metal. We concentrated more on dispersion with a little nod to distance. The jump up to newer heads was an improvement beyond my baseline. Still, the Mizuno crushed it in the dispersion and distance department, with me hitting my six about 15-17 yards further than my current club. (I know newer clubs have altered the lofts, but the crispness it came off the club with was noticeable.)

Iron Head Chosen: Mizuno JPX-925 Hot Metal Pro Irons

Part 2 coming Friday