Golf Tips

I want to talk a bit about the importance of properly fitted irons. The most important thing I can say initially is that your clubs should fit your ideal set-up. A golfer should never compromise his or her posture to fit a set of clubs. Unfortunately, I see this all the time with my students.

First, "static-fitting" is the correct way to fit a golfer. This simply means that your clubs need to fit how you are built. If you have longer legs, you need longer clubs. Shorter legs require shorter clubs. If you have longer arms, you need flatter lie angles. Shorter arms require more upright clubs. Using a lie board to fit someone is pointless if the clubs don't fit a person's build. All you do with a lie board is measure the way you are currently swinging. For many of you, your swing technically needs improvement, and by no means should you adjust your clubs to fit that swing.

The standard I use is quite simple. Using a man's pant size as an example, if the inseam is 30 inches, you are standard length...38 inches on the 5 iron. ( the 5-iron is the baseline club for fitting.) That is the "off the rack" length for most clubs. For every 1 inch longer inseam, you should add 1/4 inch of length to your irons. So if your inseam is 34 inches, your clubs should be 1 inch over standard, or 39 inches for the 5 iron.

To determine your lie angles, check your arm length. First, stand facing a mirror and let your arms hang naturally. Then, find where your knuckles fall in relation to your hip bones and kneecaps. If they hang in the middle, then you are more of a standard lie angle, which is 60 degrees. ( not all irons use 60 as a standard, though. You should have a professional clubfitter adjust them to a specific degree). If your knuckles hang closer to your hip bones, then you need more upright lie angles for your irons. Flatter lie angles are needed for longer arms.

Your final check for lie angles is pretty simple. Assuming your posture is athletic, balanced, and correct, and the length of the club is what you need, take your stance with a 5-iron on concrete and look at how the club rests on the ground. At most, 1/2 of the sole of the iron should be off the ground. If the entire club rests flat, then the lie angles are too flat. If only the hozzle area sits on the ground, then your irons are too upright.

I hope this gives everyone a basic idea of how to check your irons to ensure they fit you properly. There are some other important elements involved in fitting someone correctly, but I hope this at least gives you a starting point with your irons.