Fit Fit Hooray!

Getting Clubs That Actually Fit Me

If you haven’t met me in person, you may not know that I am of below average height (but above average awesome). While the impact of my lack of height on my daily life is mostly constrained to an inability to reach the top shelf and a stream of short jokes coming from my 6’1′ brother, there was a rather clear discrepancy between my height and the the length of my golf clubs. Watching my swing you could tell that I choke up quite a bit, and several comments were left on Instagram posts asking what types and how tall were the clubs I was using. The clubs that I have played with since 2015 were inherited from my mom (who was 5’8″), and my putter is actually longer than my fiancé, Shane’s. Maybe it was time for an adjustment.

So to the golf store we go! Shane’s birthday gift to me was a club fitting and new clubs that were more height appropriate. I had never been fitted for clubs, and outside of the 52 degree that we purchased last year, I had never really gone shopping for clubs. We headed to Miles of Golf in Ann Arbor and met with Jon. Now as I have mentioned in past posts, I sometimes have a little bit of stage fright when it comes to my golf swing. Playing with new people will bring it on, and having an expert intensely watching your swing and tracking your ball with a Trackman definitely has an intimidation factor. We started with my 7 iron, and after a few shots that went very far to the right, I was able to calm the nerves and get a couple good swings in. I tried out a few different irons, but none really quite clicked. Jon did mention that if I was able to straighten out my swing I would be golden, which is nice to hear from someone who knows the game (even if he is trying to sell you clubs). Next we moved on to my driver. Also going right, but not quite as bad.

When all was said and done, I walked away with three new clubs, all Wilson LaunchPad’s with a men’s senior shaft; a driver, a 3 wood, and a 5 wood. Based on my plans to take lessons and actively improve my game, Jon’s recommendation was to wait on the irons. Once my swing improves my options for irons and different types of shafts opens up exponentially. There is equipment that can be purchased that accounts for the flaws in my swing, and uses physics to improve the ball’s trajectory; but I am not looking to fix my game with equipment, I am looking to actively improve my game through practice.

For those who are curious, the shafts on my new clubs were cut down about an inch and a half. All of my new clubs will have the senior men’s shaft, which is a little stiffer than women’s clubs, but is more forgiving than men’s standards. I tried them out on the course the next day, and other than one or two drives where my worries escaped my head and took a ride on my club head, I was happy with my performance. I am excited to continue to improve, and once my swing is on point I will be heading back to miles to swap out those irons.

Until next time,

Fore!

Katherine

This post originally appeared on https://thebirdsandthetees.wordpress.com