Clubfitting Questions, Answered --- Part II

Where things get really tricky in clubfitting is with the lie angle and shaft length.

The lie angle helps determine where on the clubface you hit the golf ball. Too flat of a lie angle will result in more hits off the toe. Too upright will result in more hits off the heel.

The shaft length plays into this as well. The longer the shaft, the less upright the lie angle needs to be. Let's say you have lofts that are 2* upright with a standard length shaft. Now, you add a shaft that is +3/4" longer. That effectively makes the club more upright.

Here are the 'standard' length and lie angles of irons with steel shafts:

Club.............Length................Lie Angle

2-iron....................39.0"..................57.0*
3-iron....................38.5"..................58.0*
4-iron....................38.0"..................59.0*
5-iron....................37.5"..................60.0*
6-iron....................37.0"..................61.0*
7-iron....................36.5"..................62.0*
8-iron....................36.0"..................62.5*
9-iron....................35.5"..................63.0*
PW........................35.0"..................63.5*

What you should expect from a clubfitter is both 'static' and 'dynamic' fitting. Static fitting is fitting a golfer by measuring their own dimensions (Height, Arm Length, Hand Size, etc). Here's a sample static fitting.



'Dynamic' fitting has the clubfitter measure the golfer from swinging the club and actually hitting a golf ball. The issue with dynamic fitting is that if a golfer has a serious swing flaw(s), then fitting the golfer for equipment based on that swing flaw will only enhance the issue instead of working to eliminate the issue.
For example, swinging too far inside-to-out can cause hits more towards the toe of the club and hooks. By getting dynamically fitted for your clubs, that would call for more upright clubs to take care of the hits off the toe and probably a stiffer shaft to curb the hook spin.

Furthemore, I read somewhere on the net (I have looked and looked for it again, but can't find it...if anybody has it, please post the link in the comments section) that lie boards are a faulty way of checking lie angles. The article on the web posted that lie boards tend to promote more upright lie angles than actually needed. There also has been reports of golfers hitting the ball much further off a lie board than on grass, probably due to the lack of friction from board compared to the turf.

My feeling is that:

Posture At Address = Shaft Length

Where on the Face the Ball is Struck = Lie Angle

I feel that clubfitting the shaft length should be determined *first*, then you start looking at lie angle. I would also suggest getting a clubfitter that uses impact tape as well as the lie board.

Grip size I find to be very important and pretty simple for the clubfitter to determine. The only suggestion I have that if you use a Ten Finger grip (hey, Bob Estes and Moe Norman used a 10 finger grip) that you should probably look into larger grips to offset the hands releasing too hard.








3JACK