Seeing slashed prices on a 2-year-old driver on some corner of the Internet can be so tempting. The promise of new equipment is always alluring. And marked-down prices can draw a golfer like a moth to a flame.
Most any experienced golfer, though, knows that this is likely not the best way to shop for equipment … even if we sometimes ignore that face.
The truth is that most research shows that well-fit custom clubs will most often save strokes, almost instantly.
“You shouldn’t fit to your golf clubs,” says Jeff Fought, Black Butte Ranch’s director of golf. “The golf clubs should fit to you. For example, if you hit a fade and your golf clubs are flat for you, that is only going to promote an even bigger fade.
“A lot of people have to adjust their swings to fight a fade or a draw,” Fought continues. “You shouldn’t have to adjust anything if the golf club fits you. And when you hit down through the ball, it’s like a fingerprint. You can swing a million different ways, but most golfers have a distinct marker at impact.”
Indeed, most golfers with ill-fitting equipment adjust our swings to our clubs. And most do it without even noticing.
But those adjustments have a subtle, often negative impact on the way we play golf.
“Until you have somebody fit you and get the right set of clubs, you won’t understand that maybe it’s not really your golf swing that is the major problem,” Fought says. “Maybe it’s the lie of the golf club.”
Club-fitters will identify the the right length for your woods, the right lie for your irons, and the right shafts for your whole set. (The stiffer the shaft, the straighter you hit. But for slower swing speeds, stiffer cost distance. Finding the precise balance is what club-fitters do.)
So if not the Internet or a big box stores, just where should a golfer turn? Black Butte Ranch is definitely a place a golfer can turn.
“I really believe in going to your PGA professional,” Fought said. “Professionals have to have so much education in club-fitting. So why go to the Internet or grab something off the rack of some big box store, when you could go to somebody who actually has expertise?
“Typically, the service does not cost anything extra, especially if you order the clubs from the same place you get the fitting.”
But Black Butte Ranch has another solution, too. Perhaps, even, the perfect solution.
Demo days such as Black Butte Ranch’s Demo Days & Tent Sale at Big Meadow, scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, give golfers a chance to not only hit the latest and greatest equipment. They also are hosted by an expert, able to match the right equipment to the right golfer.
At Black Butte Ranch’s event, Bridgestone, Cobra, Nike, Ping, TaylorMade, and Titleist will all be on hand with representatives from each manufacturer to help a golfer find the right fit.
“I think the best suggestion is attending a demo day,” Fought said. “That’s why we have six different manufacturers. It’s a one-stop shop.
Fought adds that every golfer should make time to try out every manufacturer’s offerings. All make great clubs. It’s just a matter of finding the equipment that best fits a particular golfer’s eye.
“There is science in things like perimeter weighting,” Fought said. “And they all do a great job these days. So it all comes down to look and personal taste.”
Don’t miss a chance to check it out yourself on May 28-29. The demo days will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. The tent sale will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Everyone is welcome and admission is free.
For more information or to book a tee time, visit us online, call 855-210-5305 or the Golf Shop at 541-595-1500.