Should A 45-Handicap Golfer Be Custom Fitted? | Golf Monthly
In this video, Genelle Aldred - a 45-index handicap golfer - goes for a fitting with PXG... But does it make a difference?
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00:00 I'm Janelle Aldred and I'm a relatively new golfer.
00:02 I've been playing for about 15 months and I'm already on my second driver and second set of irons.
00:08 Now, I've been wondering lately, is it my kit that's holding me back?
00:13 Now, of course, a new golfer would say it's their kit that's holding them back,
00:17 but a chat with master PXG fitter Jack Venn the other day actually convinced me.
00:23 What he said was, you wouldn't expect someone to run a marathon in a pair of trainers that are a size too small.
00:29 So, PXG have kindly agreed to custom fit me here at the Drift Golf Club in Leatherhead
00:35 to see if it is my kit that's holding me back and if I could make some gains if I changed my clubs to custom fits.
00:42 PXG doesn't make golf clubs for men or for ladies.
00:46 We make golf clubs that I can fit into anybody because we can offer different lengths, different weights, different flexes.
00:54 So, I'm going to build you up something that's very, very similar or as similar as I can get to your iron
01:00 to not throw you off too much to start with from a length and weight perspective.
01:05 One thing I will say about these, and you probably know it already, these are incredibly light.
01:12 So, this is the lightest golf club I've ever put on this machine.
01:15 No!
01:16 Yes.
01:16 Yeah.
01:17 So, we'll build something up.
01:18 I'm going to build something up as close to that as I can get and we'll kind of go from there.
01:23 Oh, come on.
01:26 Okay.
01:27 Give me one more and I'm just going to keep changing it up until we find what's right.
01:32 Better?
01:36 Yes.
01:39 Awesome.
01:40 Still feel a bit too light?
01:43 It still does feel a little bit light because I feel like when I'm hitting the ball,
01:46 it's like I can really feel it.
01:49 So, feedback for me is so essential.
01:51 So, if at any point something feels too light, too heavy, just let me know
01:58 because I don't want to work with something for you if it doesn't feel right.
02:01 Yeah, feedback is massively important for me
02:05 and it just means we don't have to persevere with something that doesn't feel right for you.
02:08 That doesn't feel good.
02:09 Yeah.
02:10 Oh, yeah. I can feel this feels a bit heavier.
02:12 Feel a bit better?
02:13 Yeah.
02:14 Okay, good.
02:15 So, just since that tiny bump up in weight,
02:18 we're now starting to see better results, aren't we?
02:20 And you called it before you even swung the golf club, it feels better.
02:23 The reason I'm changing the lie angle is I can see that the golf ball is wanting to start right
02:28 and stay right.
02:29 So, what I'm going to do is I'm going to change the overall lie angle of the golf club
02:32 to try and get it starting a bit more on target.
02:34 So, the best way to describe it is if we've got a golf...
02:40 and everybody's different,
02:41 but if we've got a golf club that's too upright for you,
02:45 the face is pointing left.
02:46 Yeah.
02:47 If we've got a golf club that's too flat, the face is pointing right.
02:50 So, we kind of want to get that ball starting at target.
02:52 So, I'm going to change this now to try and do that
02:55 because you've hit some great shots, but they're just starting a little bit right.
02:58 So, I'm going to move it a fraction more upright.
03:01 No, brilliant.
03:01 To try and bring that ball back round to the left.
03:04 Because before, my natural shot, a bit more of a draw.
03:08 Okay.
03:08 But since I've had these irons, my miss has been right.
03:11 And before, my miss was never right.
03:13 It was always left.
03:14 It would be a draw or a hook.
03:15 There it is.
03:19 So, look at that for a ball flight.
03:21 You know, that's not gone right.
03:23 It's not started right.
03:25 Before, you know, you struck some really nice golf shots,
03:27 but they're starting right, they're staying right.
03:30 That assures me that that lie angle now is spot on.
03:32 You've just stood up and hit two golf shots.
03:34 Firstly, look at your dispersion.
03:35 Yeah.
03:36 Those two are on top of each other.
03:37 Yeah.
03:38 Secondly, the ball flight.
03:39 Thirdly, the strike.
03:40 That's really impressive.
03:41 That's really good.
03:43 That's really good.
03:43 So, I'm really happy with where these are.
03:47 Okay.
03:48 So, yeah, you've got quite a lot of pressure from your fingers in there.
03:52 If you do that for me now with that one.
03:54 So, grip that.
03:56 Okay.
03:56 And now, remove.
03:57 Yeah.
03:58 So, this is too small.
03:59 I would put you in this one.
04:00 Brilliant.
04:01 Yeah.
04:01 Because this does feel better.
04:03 Feels more comfortable.
04:04 Feels more comfortable.
04:04 Yeah.
04:05 I think that's kind of spot on.
04:06 It's kind of spot on.
04:07 Yeah.
04:08 Because what we could do, like,
04:09 if you're happy with the thickness of that,
04:12 but, you know, perhaps going up to a mid-size is too big,
04:16 the way that we can kind of play around with that is,
04:17 well, we can make that a tiny bit thicker without going to a thicker grip.
04:21 Okay.
04:21 Just by adding a couple of layers of tape underneath.
04:23 Yeah.
04:24 So, on my worst days, this can't even get me off the tee.
04:30 On my worst days.
04:39 So, the first thing I'm going to do, Janelle,
04:41 just from what I can see,
04:43 is we need to get the golf ball in the air quicker.
04:46 We can get you launching the golf ball higher.
04:50 The ball will stay in the air for longer and it will go further.
04:51 So, that's the first thing I'm going to do,
04:53 is I'm going to look at the loft of your golf club.
04:54 So, you're a 10.5 degree loft,
04:56 and you've lofted it up to 11.5.
04:59 I'm going to give you a 12 degree head start.
05:01 Okay.
05:01 Okay.
05:03 Good strike.
05:07 My initial thoughts are this is too long.
05:10 So, I'm going to go a tiny bit shorter.
05:11 Okay.
05:13 So, and this is a great point as well,
05:15 when, you know, at the start,
05:17 where I was telling you we don't make golf clubs for men or ladies.
05:21 We make golf clubs.
05:22 So, this is a perfect example, right?
05:24 So, I'm putting you in a shaft now,
05:26 which is cast as an A-flex.
05:28 So, you're not in what would be known as a ladies flex or anything like that.
05:32 So, this is where we really just tailor golf clubs into your speed, your strike.
05:38 Have a go with this one.
05:39 It's going to feel a little bit shorter.
05:41 Feel a bit more comfortable?
05:42 Yes, because I can actually do the...
05:44 You don't feel like you stood too far away?
05:46 No, and I can do the...
05:49 So, that strike was like brilliant.
05:55 Golf shot.
05:57 That's awesome.
06:00 That was decent.
06:00 That was awesome.
06:02 So, I see you, I mean, your club head speed,
06:04 I saw you top out at 79, which is quite some speed.
06:09 Yeah.
06:11 I see this being a bit further up for you personally.
06:15 At the moment, you're just hitting it a little bit out to the right.
06:18 I'll make one more change and then we'll go from there.
06:21 If anything, I would say you're launching it a fraction too high.
06:24 Okay, yeah.
06:25 So, I'm going to drop it back down again,
06:28 but I'm going to have it playing at 12 degrees in a 10.5 head.
06:34 So, what I'm doing there is when you loft the driver up,
06:37 it closes the face.
06:39 Yeah.
06:39 So, the reason I'm closing the face is because I don't want you to hit it right.
06:42 Yeah.
06:42 If that's your bad shot, I want to try and take that away from you a little bit.
06:47 Yeah, this does feel better.
06:55 Massive difference.
06:59 Oh, that's nice.
07:02 So, it's quite a common thing that I see,
07:04 and it's probably amongst 90% of amateur golfers are better with more loft than less loft.
07:09 Yeah.
07:10 So, if I give you a wood like this that's 21 degrees,
07:13 you're probably going to hit that further than the wood that's got 15 degrees
07:17 because there's more loft, the ball's up in the air quicker,
07:20 it's in the air for longer, so therefore it's going a bit further.
07:27 Nice.
07:29 Little draw.
07:33 Maybe it's all in my head that I need this,
07:35 but on par fives, I think I struggle a bit because if I don't get off the tee well,
07:41 I'll just take irons all round for safety.
07:43 Right.
07:44 Because I might be panicking.
07:45 Okay.
07:46 But I could do with...
07:48 Yes.
07:49 Awesome.
07:50 Great golf swing.
07:52 How good was that?
07:53 That was nice.
07:55 Oh my gosh.
07:55 That's real pretty.
07:57 That is.
08:00 Yeah, take a photo of that one.
08:04 Best shot of the day.
08:06 I really enjoyed that fitting session with Brandon today,
08:08 and it wasn't just the fact that I love data,
08:12 so anything like track man or the lie angle or looking at,
08:16 are you hitting up, are you hitting down?
08:17 I love all of that anyway.
08:18 I've got the watch, all of that kind of stuff.
08:21 But actually what was really good for me today was to know I'm not flattering myself
08:24 when I think that my kit is beginning to hold me back.
08:27 My swing's improved, I'm a bit faster,
08:30 and actually the kit I've got, whilst it's great, it's not a great fit for me.
08:34 And so a few things that I take away from this custom fitting is that one,
08:38 you're probably not ever too soon in your beginner journey to get custom fitted,
08:42 because actually in terms of replacing a kit already in my 15 month journey,
08:48 getting things cut down and all of those different things,
08:51 I've probably spent a decent amount of money that if I got fitted,
08:54 I would have been more comfortable.
08:56 Because actually once he adjusted the lie angle and the weight of the shaft
09:01 and the length of it, immediately my swing just felt so much easier.
09:04 I didn't feel like I was having to put all the effort
09:07 that I feel like I'm putting into my swing sometimes to really get into it.
09:10 So I would definitely get fitted sooner.
09:12 Second of all, as a new golfer, it's so easy to feel like a bit of an imposter
09:16 and, you know, even the thought of saying to someone,
09:18 I'm going to get fitted for clubs is kind of, well, who do you think you are?
09:21 Because of course you would think it's the clubs and not you.
09:25 But just getting fitted today and beginning to understand a bit more
09:28 about how my body works well with a club
09:31 actually makes me feel like a bit more of a golfer.
09:34 And that imposter stuff kind of begins to go away
09:37 because actually I can play golf, I can hit the ball,
09:40 and I'm at the stage where I also need to have the right kit to fit with me.
09:44 And so it was nice to hear from Brandon that actually I'm not making it all up in my head,
09:48 that actually my kit was beginning to hold me back.
09:51 And today I felt like a golfer.
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