To Fit or to Teach?

The age old question… When should a fitting change to a lesson? I had a couple of fittings this week, where this was the case. 

Before we dive into that answer, consider this first… If you are a club fitter, you are looking to fit a player with the swing they brought with them that day. Facing facts, even with bad contact, many of the specs don’t change from a good swing. Lie is still the same, length is still the same, grip size is still the same. Shaft weight could change a little, but shaft flex probably won’t change. The biggest difference is that the player you are fitting will not feel good about what you are fitting him into. The absence of that good feeling will almost certainly lead to no sale. So, when should a fitting change to a lesson?

I had a player who was a 9 handicap. I asked him what was keeping him from being a 5, and he gave me 14 swing things that he felt prevented him from hitting good shots (I was looking for “I miss too many greens, too many 3 putts, etc.). I asked him what his preferred shot shape was – he said he hits a “baby fade” and he was OK with that. I asked him how much he plays. He said he shot a 79 the weekend before, but shot a 91 the day before. I asked him what the difference was, and he said he had a couple big scores. As we continued to chat, I asked him to warm up with his 7 iron. With the foresight running, I noticed his face to path was in the +3 to 4 range with a 7 iron. His shoulders were open at address, and his lower body was not very active. We started the fitting. I gave him different head to try. All curving right. Even Big Bertha. We moved to shafts. Still right. I had a whole bag to get through, so we moved to hybrids. Longer club = more open shoulders. FW woods, same thing. Driver was not good. His face to path was in the +10 to 13 degrees open. His path was 15 degrees left of target, and his face was 2 to five degrees left of target. His “baby fade” started left and was a big old fashioned slice. New clubs can fix a lot of things, but this isn’t one of them. To me, this is where instruction needs to take over.

Fortunately, the Pro was on the Range, and I showed him what I was seeing. He stepped in and showed the student what we were seeing. This turned into a small lesson. The Pro was able to get the player more square. He instantly started hitting the ball better. At this point, we could have moved back into a fitting, but he was exhausted, so we tabled it until next time. 

Herein lies the conundrum. If we teach and make that a part of the fitting, we can almost certainly get the player hitting it better. What if… What if the player doesn’t remember what we did in his mini lesson and when his club comes in, he is back to the same old habits? Essentially, we have mis-fit this player. I’ve found the best way to handle this is to have a discussion with the player. Tell him there are a few swing flaws that are causing the ball to go this way or that, or result in the mis-hits we are seeing. Let him know you can help with those things if he’s interested. Ask him if he will commit to these changes, then fit him with the changes, If not, fit him with the faults. Teaching has a place, but not with every player. Our good intentions to help a player may actually backfire in the long run. 

I think you CAN incorporate teaching into your fitting sessions (and probably should, but only if it is your student). It will most likely help you to sell equipment, but, there needs to be some responsibility on your part to ensure the player continues to do what you’ve instructed you to do. Write a lesson recap for the player so he doesn’t forget. Follow up with him “Hey, Doc, shoulders still square?” Ask him if he’ll book a lesson with you to fix it for good. Why get new sticks and not get the most out of them? Fitting and instruction have a blurry crossover. It’s not out of bounds to suggest new equipment during a lesson – the student is looking to your for guidance. Conversely, it’s not out of bounds to suggest a few swing tweaks during a fitting – the student is looking to you for guidance. YOU are the professional. Use what you know to best help your students, players and members!!



I hope this helps!! Happy Fitting.