Strange fitting experience, what would you do?

[McLovin]

Impending wall of text coming. But the tl;dr is my swing numbers were substantially different and now I'm second-guessing the fitting results.

I had a fitting at True Spec Golf in Orlando yesterday for irons, wedges, woods, and hybrids purchased last year when they ran a sale. I had a few goals in the fitting:
* Irons - Improve consistency of contact and front-to-back dispersion
* Wedges - Find an optimal grind for short game (ended up being a waste; my fault, not the fitter)
* Woods - Proper gapping at the top, and improve launch conditions
* Hybrids - Proper gapping between irons and fairways, and tighten up front-to-back dispersion

I have saved a few sessions from my Bushnell Launch Pro, the most recent was 11/07/2021. I also worked with my instructor the Sunday before my fitting, and I have some trackman numbers from that lesson. The numbers from the 11/7 session and recent lesson were very consistent.

Fast forward 4 days later to the fitting. I felt great that morning. Body felt good during my warmup. Everything seemed to be going pretty well. That is, until we looked at my gamer numbers.

I was shocked at how much slower my speed was registering, and how much shorter the ball was carrying. 6 miles an hour less swing speed. 700 less rpm spin. 3.2* less launch. 20' lower peak height. 10 yards less carry.

We still went through the whole fitting, and the only mention I made of the differences were when he would ask me about my normal numbers. The entire goal of the fitting morphed into improving launch and spin, but also find combos that were more consistent.

We did find irons, a hybrid and a fairway that achieved his goals: higher launch, higher peak, and more consistency. There were distance increases for the fairway and hybrid. But the fit is predicated on performance that I believe is atypical. The low launch and possibly speed could have been because the area he was set up was uneven, mostly a downhill lie (and sidehill in a couple spots). We moved the trackman around quite a bit trying to find a more level area, but truth be told we never found a flat spot.

When I compare the Trackman numbers from the fitting to my most recent session on the Launch Pro the fairway and hybrid are kind of no-brainers, with more ball speed and distance even at slower swing speeds, coupled with better launch, peak height, and dispersion.

So here I am with a build sheet that is expectedly astronomical in price (all of these places are like that). But kind of second-guessing everything because the numbers are so different. Would the recommendations had been the same if I was swinging more like myself?

What would you do?

 

[Desmond]

I'd say wait.

Keep on working on your game. Watch for 2022 introductions.

 

[McLovin]

I'd say wait.

Keep on working on your game. Watch for 2022 introductions.

i'm leaning toward the fairway (epic max 5w heavy weight forward with mca c6 60S) and hybrid (tsi2 4h c4 setting ad hb 85S) because the dispersion was really good (i'll post a couple pics below). and with more "normal" speed the results should be even better.

 

[Reframmellator]

I am less OCD about fittings than I had been, but standard procedure for me was to base a selection on TWO sessions, especially if I felt I didn't have my normal swing the first day. {In my case, "normal" is not necessarily "best.") Nowadays, if I feel good about my swing, I trust the numbers and what i see in a single session. It's worked well for me.

If I were doing a comprehensive fitting and paying the price for it, and I didn't feel good about my swing and/or the numbers, I would level with the fitter. He has a pretty decent sale pending, and time invested in you. I would ask for another 30-60 minutes to confirm what you saw in the fitting.

If all the numbers repeat, you have your answer.
If the fitted clubs repeat but your gamers are closer to historic numbers, you are probably good to go.
If the gamers repeat but the fitted clubs don't - problem.
If the gamer and fitted numbers are different - problem.

A fitter who helped me in this way would get a larger than normal tip.

 

[fuffle master]

This is such a tough situation.

You spent all that time and probably some money just to do the fitting. So, I understand the thoughts of wanting to buy something to justify the full fitting. In your comments above you stated the irons achieved "his" goals and I don't get the feeling that you are completely satisfied with the numbers provided. I think I would wait and see if you can try out/ test the same type of clubs at a later date. If you get similar numbers then you can possibly just the costs. I gotta think if I am spending the cost of a full fitting, I want to be sure of my purchase. You don't sound very sure.

 

[Canadan]

I am a bit lost on why someone would fit a golfer on an uneven lie.

Personally? I’d question everything if the lie wasn’t right, but that’s just me haha

 

[Desmond]

i'm leaning toward the fairway (epic max 5w heavy weight forward with mca c6 60S) and hybrid (tsi2 4h c4 setting ad hb 85S) because the dispersion was really good (i'll post a couple pics below). and with more "normal" speed the results should be even better.

I can see a fairway, hybrid, and it's driver that seems to offer issues on the course. So those two I can see based on your comfort with them.

 

[McLovin]

Personally? I’d question everything if the lie wasn’t right, but that’s just me haha

this is very much where i am. it’s the only explanation i can think of why the launch was so much lower. but i’ve been known to do janky things in my swing, which is why i want to go back out and see if my numbers really have changed that much, or if it was an anomaly.

kind of lending credence to the lie issue, the last spot we picked was several paces away from his tent setup. from this spot, i registered my highest swing speed and highest ball speed on the day. …after being on the tail-end of 260 full swings i had made thus far.

 

[Canadan]

this is very much where i am. it’s the only explanation i can think of why the launch was so much lower. but i’ve been known to do janky things in my swing, which is why i want to go back out and see if my numbers really have changed that much, or if it was an anomaly.

kind of lending credence to the lie issue, the last spot we picked was several paces away from his tent setup. from this spot, i registered my highest swing speed and highest ball speed on the day. …after being on the tail-end of 260 full swings i had made thus far.

Well, there’s another issue… 260 is WAY too many.

I’m curious to hear what the fitter says about the lie issues…. I don’t know why any fitter would even be willing to fit on an awkward angle.

 

[McLovin]

not really relevant to the op question, but here are comparisons of before and after. orange is 6-iron, red is hybrid, purple is fairway in before but blue in after. there’s probably some cherry-picking here.

before:


after:

 

[Desmond]

I'd wait on the irons - check out the Mizuno Pro - may be the irons of the year.

 

[Summit]

The original post is so confusing (not in your word choices or explanations, but rather why the fitting was conducted the way it was in the conditions it was).

Why would they do a fitting on an uneven lie, that makes the least amount of sense. Why would the fitter not go through your previous numbers with you and possibly determine that we may need to revisit the fitting if the swing is truly that much slower.

 

[McLovin]

The original post is so confusing (not in your word choices or explanations, but rather why the fitting was conducted the way it was in the conditions it was).

Why would they do a fitting on an uneven lie, that makes the least amount of sense. Why would the fitter not go through your previous numbers with you and possibly determine that we may need to revisit the fitting if the swing is truly that much slower.

in his defense, the lie was not like severely sloped, so he may not have even noticed until he saw me moving balls around to find something more level. i do agree it's on him to figure that out BEFORE the fitting, but also on me to be more vocal about it if i was bothered.

as far as the normal numbers, i assume every fitter hears from every customer "my average drive is 275" only to have their average actually be 215. i tried to respectfully say my numbers were from my launch pro, and also brought up that my launch pro numbers were the same as the trackman numbers my instructor and i saw just a few days earlier.

 

[ddec]

I mean you are in a spot where you know your numbers pretty well. If they seemed off to you then I would hold off on ordering and try again.

 

[Summit]

in his defense, the lie was not like severely sloped, so he may not have even noticed until he saw me moving balls around to find something more level. i do agree it's on him to figure that out BEFORE the fitting, but also on me to be more vocal about it if i was bothered.

as far as the normal numbers, i assume every fitter hears from every customer "my average drive is 275" only to have their average actually be 215. i tried to respectfully say my numbers were from my launch pro, and also brought up that my launch pro numbers were the same as the trackman numbers my instructor and i saw just a few days earlier.

If you're paying a premium, expect a premium. The fitter should have had a pristine spot for you that was ready and level, that is basic. Don't give them slack in that area. Secondly, if you are unsure about distance at any point, that is an automatic cause for concern from me as the fitter. Being uncomfortable or not 100% confident in what you're seeing from the monitor is a bad place to be and I would not continue the fitting unless we both came to an agreement on WHY we were seeing those numbers.

 

[Puttmaster]

Agree with @Canadan

Not sure I’d have a lot of confidence in the numbers based on your comments. Uneven lie? 260 swings? And you know your normal numbers really well, so …

I’d regroup and get the proverbial second opinion.

 

[McLovin]

I mean you are in a spot where you know your numbers pretty well. If they seemed off to you then I would hold off on ordering and try again.

thanks man. wife-willing, i'll head out for another gapping session on the blp this weekend and see what the numbers are. the fitter paid a lot of lip service to telling me if there's anything i wasn't happy with, i could always come back.

 

[BigMac]

If I was that unsure of the fitting, even the numbers themselves being that far off, it sure wouldn't give me the feels I'd be wanting to feel before I smoked a credit card for a bunch of new clubs. I wouldn't want that doubt to be in my head every time I pulled a club from the bag. Sounds like a second opinion might be in order, and I'd be strongly considering a different fitter for it.

 

[Parrot]

I don’t understand the distances in the after pic.

That aside, I’d tell him every concern you’ve mentioned here, supported by the data you have pre-fitting, and see what he said. That would determine whether I did anything but run away.

 

[BigMac]

I don’t understand the distances in the after pic.

That aside, I’d tell him every concern you’ve mentioned here, supported by the data you have pre-fitting, and see what he said. That would determine whether I did anything but run away.

If I'm reading it right, the x-axis is distance in yards. So from what I can see, it looks like he picked up maybe a few yards of distance in the "after", the front-to-back dispersion was better and the lateral dispersion was a bit worse.

 

[ArmyGolf]

Something sounds off.
Being fit off an uneven lie is absurd. Fastest speeds at the end of a 260 swing session? Hard to imagine.

I'd discard those results and try again.

 

[GoldenBuff]

I'm with the hold off crowd. Something was off, even if some of the outcomes were good. I think I would want to follow up before buying.

 

[Parrot]

If I'm reading it right, the x-axis is distance in yards. So from what I can see, it looks like he picked up maybe a few yards of distance in the "after", the front-to-back dispersion was better and the lateral dispersion was a bit worse.

I see it now. Thanks.

 

[Doubleb21]

I am in agreement with everyone else hold off. You use a launch monitor enough to know where you should be!

 

[etakmit]

Hold off all day long - I wouldn't even hesitate. Let the fitter know you'll be back because this was significantly different than literally everything else you know / have tracked for yourself. If the numbers are that off a second time I'd stay away.