Custom-fit golf clubs can bring you lower scores and more confidence on the course by addressing your physical needs as well as your swing tendencies. In order to custom fit golf clubs to your needs, you or a club fitter must use several fitting tools to acquire exact measurements that correspond with different club features. A lie board, a launch monitor and impact tape are three golf club-fitting tools necessary to making most golf club-fitting decisions.
Lie Board
A lie board is a tool that measures the angle in which your club lies when you impact the golf ball. Based on the mark the lie board makes on the sole of the club head, your club fitter can determine the lie angle at which your clubs can be adjusted in order to best suit your game. The lie angle of a golf club is the angle between the sole of the club and the club shaft. If you slice the ball, the toe of the club will get a mark from the lie board. In this case, the club fitter can give you a more upright lie angle, which will close the club face at impact. If you have a hook, the lie board will indicate that you need a more flat lie angle, which will cause you to hit the ball with a more open club face. Once your lie angle has been suited to fit your needs, the club head will strike the lie board evenly.
Impact Tape
You can use impact tape during fitting for all clubs in your bag. This fitting tool is a thin, adhesive paper that you or a club fitter sticks onto the face of the club in order to monitor where you contact the ball during impact. Once the tape is on the club face, you take a swing and your point of impact with the ball will leave a dimpled impression on the tape. After several swings, you will be able to see if you have a a tendency to hit the ball toward the toe of the club, toward the heel, high or low on the face, or right in the sweet spot. If you are consistently hitting a particular club in the sweet spot, chances are the club is properly fitted for your needs. Due to your patterns of impact, your club fitter may recommend a change in lie angle or an adjustment in the length of your club shaft. This club fitting tool is also a useful training tool during a session with an instructor. You may be able to make swing changes that allow you to hit the middle of the club face with more consistency.
Launch Monitor
Launch monitors are golf club-fitting tools that measure characteristics your ball flight shortly after impact. Launch monitors monitor ball speed, launch angle, side spin and back spin during the first few feet of ball flight. Depending on the capabilities of the launch monitor, it may be able to also read your club head speed, path and impact angle. Launch monitors serve the purposes of impact tape and lie boards, but do so with maximum accuracy. Launch monitors may use camera-based systems or radar-based systems to obtain their information. The information provided by launch monitors will help you and your club fitter make decisions on nearly all club-fitting facets, such as shaft flex, lie angle and club selection. These devices will also indicate how far you will hit different clubs and may isolate a certain manufacturer's clubs as the best fit for your game.
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