Iron Custom Specs

Why Custom Golf Clubs can take the guesswork out of your golf

We all have our preferred shot shape. For the majority of club golfers, myself included it’s a fade. For a right handed golfer, a fade starts left of the target line and gradually curves back to the target.

A fade is considered a more consistent and safer shot to play. Many of the great names in the game like Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Tiger have favoured the fade. Good golf is consistent golf and a reliable fade is a great way to consistent golf.

Fades launch high and land soft, making a faded shot more accurate as the ball gets less roll on landing. The greater degree of accuracy is why the fade is considered the safer shot to play.

Modern golf clubs are designed to launch high and on a left-to-right trajectory, a fade. Aim left and play a fade, great. Aim left and hit one straight and the result could well be dropped shots.

The slider can happen to anybody who’s ever played the game. Even top pros. Tiger hit a bunch of sliders at the British Open at Turnberry this year and the end result was a rare missed cut.

Playing a consistent and repeatable shot shape is one of the key elements to developing a consistent golf game.

For most of us, the inconsistency of our trajectories comes from inconsistencies in our equipment. This inconsistency has little to do with the price we paid for our clubs.

You may well be far more consistent with certain clubs and not so good with others. There may well be irons in your set you hit that much better.

Even for the top of the range irons, some have variations in the specifications, meaning some will be a better fit for your game than others in the same set.

The surest way to develop a consistent ball flight and overall game is to play custom golf clubs, built to your exact requirements and specifications.

Here’s a quick checklist on the key fitting points of custom golf clubs

Club Head Design
Are you matching your ability to your clubs? Are you a consistent striker who would do well with smaller profiles and minimal offset for example or does your skill level call for wider soled cavity backed irons and clubs with larger profiles and higher MOI?

Shaft Specs
Would a softer, higher torque shaft give you those few extra yards you need for your lower swing speed or would you get better control for your faster swing from a stiffer, lower torque shaft? Is your tip-stiff shaft causing a lot of worm burners or are you hitting the ball to the heavens with a soft tip shaft?

Is your swing speed too low for the shafts on your clubs? This will usually result in a slice for a right handed golfer, as the shaft isn’t loading and un-loading properly during the swing.

Lie Angles
Are the lie angles on your clubs correct for your build or are you losing shots left and right because the club lies are out?

Grip Sizes
Are you seeing a lot of hooks? That could be down to using grips that are too small. This causes excessive wrist rotation and a hook flight (for right handed players). Is the slice plaguing your game? Are you reducing your wrist action with grips that are too big?

About the Author

An experienced club maker and golfer for over 50 years, Paul Bailey brings some common sense and simplicity to the process of fitting Custom Golf Clubs and how to choose the best Clone Golf Clubs for your game.

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