Regarding fitting. As you say they're free. Why don't you find some fitting events near you. Similar to how I went to a titlist fitting event you could do similar.
I reckon you'd be surprised at the results. I could see you using the T200 clubs
Would love to!
I don't think there's any events around here in Wales. At least not that often!
How one person hits a certain club makes zero correlation to how you hit it.
Someone with a slightly out to in swing is likely to have the face more open at impact and thus hit it higher, with more spin and less distance.
Next person hits down on the ball, with a in to out swing, thus club face is shut more at impact and then will have less spin/less height but more distance.
All with the same swing speed and ball speed.
Far to many variables and I wouldn't take any notice of youtube videos and what someone with the same clubs does versus your swing/clubs.
Not forgetting you have shaft length/lie angle/shaft stiffness/swing weight of the shaft etc etc - far to many variables to make any conclusions.
At the end of the day - distance in my eyes doesn't matter, ball in play, score well - that's the result i'd take EVERY time.
My mate who plays off 28 can hit a PW 140 yards. I'm around 115/120. But he can't control it, looses 4-6 balls a round.
He's 28, I'm 9 handicap. I know what I'd take every time - accuracy over distance all day.
Don't chuck the clubs out (so to speak) - due to a perceived lack of distance - Think of it more around how they feel, confident with them, accuracy etc.....
I hear this way too much, it's like a broken record
I don't meant to sound disrespectful, but this is never an issue with someone who can already hit the ball pretty far.
If I dropped your swing down to 70-75MPH average, you'll drop a good 5-6 shots per round, guaranteed. There's a clear correlation between distance and handicap.
There's only a few people who I've seen, who have a 10-15hcp with low distances like me, but I see that as a maximum in terms of how good I can get. I cannot accept that!
I have a load of confidence with my clubs, but when I play a lot of courses, I'm at such a disadvantage to those who can hit it longer.
Example 1:
Par 4: 380 yards (not a long one)
eg. dogleg right after 190 yards on a narrow fairway,
Me:
3w - right at the top end of my 3w distance, having to hit it pretty hard, hoping that my accuracy doesn't suffer. It'll roll-out to about 200 and hopefully not go out of bounds.
Alternatively: 4H, maxes around 180 and may not quite get me around the corner, if I don't quite hit it far enough.
This leaves me with another 190 yards to the hole. 170 onto the green say.
For me, that's another 4H or 5i... both not quite at a smooth swing, as it's right at the top of my distance max, so quite a tough shot.
My driver max tends to carry 200 if i'm lucky. Most of the time it's around 190-195, so cutting the corner isn't an option to keep the scorecard looking OK. Balancing risk/reward here.
Team mates:
6i/5i, with much less rollout, very little chance of going 'too far'
Driver, to cut the corner and be an extra 30-40 yards down the next part of the fairway. Leaving a 150y shot to the hole, with say 130y to the green. Easy shot even for me.
Conclusion: Having a low GIR rate is specifically down to me not being able to reach the hole 'easily' as you bigger hitters do, which means I'm effectively a bogey golfer. (which is what my handicap says (19)). Getting that 2nd shot on the green is sometimes impossible for me, whereas the bigger hitters are thinking about how close they can get it to the hole from their 2nd shot.
Example 2:
Par 3 - 180y (Regular par3 distance in numerous courses I've played, probably 170 to the front of the green)
Me:
4H - It's the only club that can get me there. (limited options for me) - hope the green isn't too quick, as i'm probably gonna end up off the back edge.
5i if I really wacked it, but less likely if I'm swinging right at the top of my speed.
I want to play good golf and always having holes that expect you to be bale to get there with your irons, is a very difficult hole for me.
Team mates:
7i - smooth swing straight onto the green. Little rollout due to it being a much more lofted club compared to my 4H.
6i - chopped down and a more lofted ball flight, for it to land gentler on the green.
It's an iron, flatter face, shots are much easier to shape and control compared to woods.
Conclusion: Reaching a par3 in 1 is what you need to be able to do consistently, to bring those handicaps down and make you a better golfer. The more chances you can make birdies the better, as sometimes your first shot is going to land next to the hole, other times it's just gonna be a 2 putt.
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For me, getting my distances longer introduces more options for different shots.
This will inevitably bring down your handicap.
I play this game to get as good as I can, same with loads of things I do. It's not just a little sport to play to pass the time, I compete with myself every time I'm out.
I sound like no fun to play with lol, but when I play, I'm in serious mode for the 30 seconds I'm over the ball when I'm taking my shot, but back to normal once the shot is off.... I do take it serious though, as I practice loads on the simulator.
My short game and my accuracy is pretty good, as you'd expect from someone who can't hit it far, since teeing off is a short-game for me
As I mention, distance is everything to me right now as it's key to the bigger jumps in my handicap dropping.
