Custom Golf Clubs

In this post, I will try to give you a foundation for the importance and variables that go into building a set of custom golf clubs. For the purpose of this post, we will deal with building your iron set and look at custom fitting your woods in a future post.

I`m sure that you agree that consistently hitting a golf shot, both solid and at your target, is a very difficult thing to do. Careers and businesses have been built just concentrating on helping golfers hit good golf shots. Well, here`s the problem, you have a great, repeating golf swing but you are still not getting the results you want. The problem exists with your clubs. If your clubs don`t fit you and your swing, you are going to hit shots that are pushed, pulled, fat and who know what else you might be doing.

That`s where custom golf clubs come in. It is very important that you are playing with golf clubs that suit you! I am going to review the different variables that come into play when building a custom golf club set.

Here are the components that make up the custom golf club.

1. GRIP SIZE
2. SHAFT FLEX
3. SHAFT TYPE
4. LENGTH
5. LIE

1. GRIP SIZE:

Here, we are going to measure from your wrist to top of your middle finger and from the top of your thumb to the top of your middle finger. As a general rule, let`s say that if your first measurement, wrist to top of middle finger, is 6 inches or less you need a small grip, 6 to 8 inches a standard grip and 8 inches plus a midsize grip.

The grip is important because the right grip allows you to swing the golf club freely. A grip that is too small won`t allow you to grip the club securely and a grip that is too large won`t allow you to release the golf club through the hitting area. Also, it is recommended that you use the same grip type through your whole set.

2. SHAFT FLEX:

There are two different measurements that are used, one for your irons and, secondly, for your woods. We will address the irons.

Here`s the iron range ( how far you carry your 5 iron ):

180 yards plus = S Flex

170 to 179 yards = Firm Flex

160 to 169 yards = R Flex

130 to 159 yards = A Flex

129 and under = L Flex


The benefits of swing the correct flex are obvious. If you are swinging the correct flex you are going to max out your distance/accuracy quotient and as can imagine the wrong shaft flex can lead to all kinds of problems.

3. SHAFT TYPE:

Here we are talking about steel or graphite. I would say this mostly personal preference. The graphite shaft may give you a little more distance with less vibration back into your hands but less accuracy. The steel shaft will be more consistent and, also, there are steel shafts specifically made to lessen the vibration. So, I guess the choice here is all about personal preference. For what it`s worth, you see very few graphite shafted iron sets on the professional tours.

4. LENGTH:

This mainly deals with how tall or short you are. Without getting into the specifics, let`s just say that if you under 5 feet 7 inches you should be looking at shorter clubs and if you are 6 feet 1 inch and over, longer clubs. These adjustments are made in small increments, starting at quarter inches.

5. LIE:

This is the angle that the clubs lays at address. Again, depending on your height your lie angle may need to be adjusted, plus or minus. This adjustment is very important because this lie angle may be what is causing you to push or pull your shots. The lie angle needs to be adjusted depending upon a combination of your height and a measurement of your wrist to the floor.

Those are the components that go into a custom golf club set. As you can see, there are many ways that your clubs can throw your game off and with a few adjustments you can turn those negatives into positives.

The best and easiest fitting system that I have seen is GigaGolf`s eFit System. The system is super easy to use and, as a bonus, GigaGolf has extremely high quality golf clubs at manufacturer direct ( that`s a good thing ) prices. Take a look, I think you will like it. Building and buying custom golf clubs has never been easier!