Should A 45-Handicap Golfer Consider Custom Fitting?

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In this video, Genelle Aldred - a 45-index handicap golfer - goes for a fitting with PXG... But does it make a difference?
Transcript
00:00I'm Janelle Aldred and I'm a relatively new golfer.
00:02I've been playing for about 15 months and I'm already on my second driver and second
00:07set of irons.
00:09Now I've been wondering lately, is it my kit that's holding me back?
00:13Now of course a new golfer would say it's their kit that's holding them back, but a
00:18chap with Master PXG Fitter, Jack Venn, the other day actually convinced me.
00:23What he said was, you wouldn't expect someone to run a marathon in a pair of trainers that
00:28are a size too small, so PXG have kindly agreed to custom fit me here at the Drift
00:34Golf Club in Leatherhead to see if it is my kit that's holding me back and if I could
00:39make some gains if I changed my clubs to custom fits.
00:43PXG doesn't make golf clubs for men or for ladies, we make golf clubs that I can fit
00:49into anybody because we can offer different lengths, different weights, different flexes.
00:54So I'm going to build you up something that's very, very similar, or as similar as I can
00:59get to your iron to not throw you off too much to start with, from like a length and
01:03weight perspective.
01:05One thing I will say about these, and you probably know it already, these are incredibly
01:11light.
01:12So this is the lightest golf club I've ever put on this machine.
01:15No!
01:16Yes.
01:17So we'll build something up, I'm going to build something up as close to that as I can
01:20get, and we'll kind of go from there.
01:24Oh, come on.
01:26Okay, give me one more, and I'm just going to keep changing it up until we find what's
01:31right.
01:32Better?
01:33Yes.
01:34Awesome.
01:35Better.
01:36Does it still feel a bit too light?
01:43It still does feel a little bit light because I feel like when I'm hitting the ball, it's
01:46like I can really, it's like I can really feel it.
01:49So feedback for me is so essential.
01:51So if at any point something feels too light, too heavy, just let me know, because I don't
01:58want to work with something for you if it doesn't feel right.
02:02Yeah, feedback is massively important for me, and it just means we don't have to persevere
02:07with something that doesn't feel right for you.
02:08That doesn't feel good.
02:09Yeah.
02:10Oh yeah, I can feel this feels a bit heavier.
02:12Feel a bit better?
02:13Yeah.
02:14Okay.
02:15Good.
02:16So once that tiny bump up in weight, we're now starting to see better results, aren't
02:20we?
02:21And you called it before you even swung the golf club, it feels better.
02:23The reason I'm changing the lie angle is I can see that the golf ball is wanting to start
02:27right and stay right.
02:29So what I'm going to do is I'm going to change the overall lie angle of the golf club to
02:32try and get it starting a bit more on target.
02:35So the best way to describe it is if we've got a golf, and everybody's different, but
02:41if we've got a golf club that's too upright for you, the face is pointing left.
02:46Yeah.
02:47If we've got a golf club that's too flat, the face is pointing right.
02:50So we kind of want to get that ball starting at target.
02:53So I'm going to change this now to try and do that because you've hit some great shots,
02:57but they're just starting a little bit right.
02:59So I'm going to move it a fraction more upright to try and bring that ball back round to the
03:04left.
03:05Before, my natural shot, a bit more of a draw, but since I've had these irons, my miss has
03:10been right.
03:12So my performed by miss was never right.
03:13It was always left.
03:14It would be a draw or a hook.
03:17There it is.
03:20So look at that for a ball flight, you know, that's not gone right.
03:23It's not started right before, you know, you, you, you struck some really nice golf shots,
03:27but they're starting right.
03:28They're staying right.
03:30That assures me that that lie angle now is spot on.
03:32You just stood up and hit two golf shots.
03:34Firstly, look at your dispersion.
03:35Yeah.
03:36Those two are on top of each other.
03:37Yeah.
03:38Secondly, the ball flight.
03:39Thirdly, the strike.
03:40That's really impressive.
03:42That's really good.
03:43That's really good.
03:44So I'm really happy with where these are.
03:47Okay.
03:48So you, yeah, you've got quite a lot of pressure from your fingers in there.
03:52If you do that for me now with that one, so grip that.
03:56Okay.
03:57And now remove.
03:58Yeah.
03:59So this is too small.
04:00I would put you in this one.
04:01Brilliant.
04:02Yeah.
04:03Cause this does feel better.
04:04Feels more comfortable.
04:05Feels more comfortable.
04:06Yeah.
04:07I think that's kind of spot on.
04:08It's kind of spot on.
04:09Yeah.
04:10So if this is, if you're happy with the thickness and that, but you know, perhaps going up to
04:14a mid-size is too big.
04:16The way that we can kind of play around with that as well, we can make that a tiny bit
04:19thicker without going to a thicker grip.
04:21Okay.
04:22Just by adding a couple of layers of tape underneath.
04:24Yeah.
04:25So, um, on my worst days, this can't even get me off the tee.
04:30On my worst days.
04:39So the first thing I'm going to do, you know, just from what I can see is we need to get
04:44the golf ball in the air quicker.
04:46We can, we can get you launching the golf ball higher.
04:50The ball will stay in the air for longer and it'll go further.
04:52So that's the first thing I'm going to do is I'm going to look at the loft of your golf
04:54club.
04:55So you're a 10 and a half degree loft and you've lofted it up to 11 and a half.
04:59I'm going to give you a 12 degree head to start off with.
05:04Okay.
05:05Okay.
05:06Good strike.
05:07My initial thoughts are this is too long, so I'm going to go a tiny bit shorter.
05:12Okay.
05:14So, and this is a great point as well when, uh, you know, at the start where I'm telling
05:18you we don't make golf clubs for men or ladies, we make golf clubs.
05:23So this is a perfect example, right?
05:24So I'm putting you in a shaft now, which is cast as an A flex.
05:28So you're not in a, you're not in what would be known as a lady's flex or anything like
05:32that.
05:33So this is where we really just tailor golf clubs into your speed, your strike.
05:37Have a go with this one.
05:39It's going to feel a little bit shorter, feel a bit more comfortable.
05:42Yes.
05:43Cause I can actually do the, you don't feel like you stood too far away and I can do the,
05:50so that strike was like brilliant golf shot.
05:57That's awesome.
06:00That was decent.
06:01That was awesome.
06:02So I see you, I mean, you're, you're clever to be, I saw you top out at 79, which is quite
06:09some speed.
06:10Yeah.
06:11Um, I see this being a bit further up for you personally.
06:14Um, at the moment you're just hitting it a little bit out to the right.
06:18I'll make one more change and then we'll go from there.
06:21If anything, I would say you're launching at a fraction too high.
06:24Okay.
06:25Yeah.
06:26So I'm going to drop it back down again, but I'm going to have it playing at 12 at, um,
06:3112 degrees in a 10 and a half head.
06:34So what, what I'm doing there is when you loft the driver up, it closes the face.
06:38Yeah.
06:39So the reason I'm closing the face is cause I don't want you to hit it, right?
06:42Yeah.
06:43If that's your bad shot, I want to try and take that away from you a little bit.
06:47Yeah.
06:48This does feel better.
06:55Massive difference.
06:56Oh, that's nice.
07:02So it's, it's quite a common thing that I see and it's probably amongst 90% of amateur
07:06golfers are better with more loft than less loft.
07:10Yeah.
07:11So if I give you a wood like this, that's 21 degrees, you're probably going to hit that
07:14further than the wood that's got 15 degrees because there's more, there's more loft.
07:19The ball's up in the air quicker.
07:21It's in the air for longer.
07:22So therefore it's going a bit further.
07:26Nice.
07:29Good draw.
07:33Maybe it's all in my head that I need this, but on par fives, I think I struggle a bit
07:37because if I don't get off the tee well, I'll just take irons all round for safety.
07:43Right.
07:44Cause I might be panicking, but I could do with.
07:48Yes.
07:49Awesome.
07:50Great golf swing.
07:51How good was that?
07:52That was nice.
07:53Oh my God.
07:54That's real pretty.
07:56Best shot of the day.
08:06I really enjoyed that fitting session with Brandon today.
08:08And it wasn't just the fact that I love data.
08:12So anything like track man or the lie angle or looking at, are you hitting up or hitting
08:17down?
08:18I love all of that anyway.
08:19I've got the watch, all of that kind of stuff.
08:21But actually what was really good for me today was to know I'm not flattering myself when
08:25I think that my kit is beginning to hold me back.
08:28My swings improved.
08:29I'm a bit faster and actually the kit I've got, whilst it's great, it's not a great fit
08:33for me.
08:34And so a few things that I take away from this custom fitting is that one, you're probably
08:38not ever too soon in your beginner journey to get custom fitted because actually in terms
08:44of replacing a kit already in my 15 month journey, getting things cut down and all of
08:49those different things, I've probably spent a decent amount of money that if I got fitted,
08:54I would have been more comfortable because actually once he adjusted the lie angle and
09:00the weight of the shaft and the length of it, immediately my swing just felt so much
09:04easier.
09:05I didn't feel like I was having to put all the effort that I feel like I'm putting into
09:08my swing sometimes to really get into it.
09:10So I would definitely get fitted sooner.
09:13Second of all, as a new golfer, it's so easy to feel like a bit of an imposter.
09:16And you know, even the thought of saying to someone, I'm going to get fitted for clubs
09:19is kind of, well, who do you think you are?
09:22Because of course you would think it's the clubs and not, and not you, but just getting
09:25fitted today and beginning to understand a bit more about how my body works well with
09:30a club actually makes me feel like a bit more of a golfer.
09:34And that imposter stuff kind of begins to go away because actually I can play golf,
09:39I can hit the ball and I'm at the stage where I also need to have the right kit to fit with
09:44me.
09:45And so it was nice to hear from Brandon that actually I'm not making it all up in my head,
09:48but actually my kit was beginning to hold me back.
09:51And today I felt like a golfer.