An old fart who we see playing on his own alot, went to Graham Tonge and was custom built.

It knocked so many shots off his game, and he would seriously kick ass...

giggity wrote (see)

Is it worth looking at kzg or wishon etc as opposed to regular brands that are custom fitted? Does the ability to choose headweights and styles hold any advantage over the likes of a properly fitted mizuno?

KZG, Wishon etc etc are good quality. But no better or worse than Ping, Mizuno etc.

Tom Wishon is a guy who is genuinely passionate about golf and about the values of getting fitted for your clubs. Which is important. That's why he (and other brands like KZG) only sell their products through pro-fitters.

The likes of Ping and Mizuno fitting centres do a good service in checking that you have the right flex shaft for your swing speed (how many of us just pick 'stiff' 'cos that's what our mates play....?) and getting the lie and club length right. Having switched to 2deg upright and 1 inch over standard length, I can tell you that such things make a huge difference to ball striking consistency.

Whether it's worth the extra to go to a fitting centre who do the extra bit: MOI matching etc, it's the law of diminshing returns. How many of us hackers are going to notice if one club is 3 grams off? And of course Wishon and KZG won't bring as much in resale price.

But DO get your clubs correctly fitted for flex, lie and length.

I am not sure with KZG, but Miura look the nuts, kinda Golf Porn

I rate fitting, but as TR says: "DO get your clubs correctly fitted for flex, lie and length."

I had the Lie changed on my Clubs, worked a treat, but when I renew, I will be getting the works, as feel Length could be an issue also.

Its all in the way they feel, so get booked in with Mizuno, Ping or Callaway and get fitted, if you go to the Manufacturer, you will be able to hit a few balls and be able to feel and see whether its making a difference before you buy

Duck Hook wrote (see)

NO NO No...I did this a few years ago and initially felt like a pro with my custom fitted clubs..Wizards I think they were. But after a while they get odd looks from your friends. But the reality is top of the range Mizuno irons are the answer. 

echo the sentiments with regard to getting your static fit right. Lenght and loft are going to improve your accuracy. Shafts are likely to improve your ball flight.

If you want custom fitted then the Mizuno centres are as good a choice as any. But try to pick one where you can actually see the ball flight, rather than rely on a Vector monitor. The trackman or similar doppler radar systems will give you a much more accurate indictation of flight.

15-20 years ago i bought my Ping Zing2s they were measured and fitted to me - black dot std .... My golf changed I went from 12 to 5 rapidly and was shooting low scores. So simple works now i use MP52s and my scoring is dreadful - but that's not the clubs, I love the technical stuff but honestly speaking I have not made a full benefit of it.

Truth is a simple loft lie and shaft flex works, dopplar radars are cool but reality, is it wont make you hit it better....

I think it's personal preference as regards brands etc but I would recommend getting fit. As with anything else, if it's done properly it's worth it; either go to one of the recognised brands fitting centres, e.g Callaway, Titleist or Mizuno if you have a preference for their equipment or an independent specialist like Precision golf they supply Miura as well)where you can try gear from several of the manufacturers.

If it's carried out professionaly you should notice the difference and your game will improve.

giggity wrote (see)

Thanks, I know getting fit is a good idea but I was interested in whether the component head quality was of a higher standard, I had read that kzg use the same foundry as miura but then shipped out for finishing - wouldnt this mean the kzg were half price miuras? Are the other such brands along similar lines? I am not interested in resale values if they are the right clubs as they will be in the bag for many years.

Giggity,

Getting fitted ala Mizuno is of benefit to everyone imo. But going to the next extreme of fitting would only benefit those who are playing decent in the first place.

If you are not single figures/approaching cat 1 then I guess the money would be better spent on lessons.

Resale value would be terrible though so bare that in mind

At least with Muira you get golf porn and because they are more recognised you would get a better resale.

Tonge is well respected. But I know of 2 people who went to him expecting miracles and after a honeymoon period where things where great they came to the conclusion that it was a waste of money. No surprise to hear that both of these guys where mid teen hcap golfers who didn't practice and wanted the improvement without the commitment of practice.

giggity wrote (see)

Thanks, I know getting fit is a good idea but I was interested in whether the component head quality was of a higher standard,

In what respect "better"?

It's only club amateurs on forums you hear talking about all this sort of nonsense, just take a look at the equipment used by the world's top 10, 50, 100 etc and a strange pattern will emerge:

Titleist, Ping, Taylor Made, Callaway, Mizuno, Srixon, Nike, Wilson, etc etc etc etc.  

Surely though the worlds top 10, 50, 100 etc have their clubs built to the highest standards?

I doubt your suggesting that a professional golfers clubs are built down the same productions lines as those that appear in American Golf?

I went down the road of custom , used the guys at Precision and reduced my handicap from 13 to 5 in just  over a year.

Now as for the pros, I know a number get their clubs done by the guys at Precision

Always say you get what you pay for

As someone who builds his own, just for the fun of it, it gives a easy opportunity to try different shafts grips etc. What I can say is that the shaft is the biggest factor and the correct grip size pobably rates up there as well. Shaft length/lie combination is relatively important it is possible to get away with a lie that is not perfect for you.

For reference I currently play with a Dynacraft combo set which I bought for £50 already shafted. Two changes of shaft (which were relatively cheap as the other sets were resold on ebay) and finally found a good combination.

Obviously to get the maximum benefit a full custom build is ideal where things like optimised swing sweight and lie can be achieved.

Any body used to watch the Golf Channel specials on club building and the Tour Vans knows that the pros clubs are full optimised.

Mrs C plays with a Dynacraft combo hybrid/iron set, albeit with Dynacraft graphite shafts. They are excellent (whenever I'm allowed to try them).

Not sure if Dynacraft are available in the UK nowadays.....

Thats good news C was mrs C fitted for the clubs?

Confusing to be told that custom fitting gets less important as my hcp gets lower - confused me as I would have thought that the lower the hcp the less the margin of error and so the greater the need to have something tailored to yourself.

TP - were you actually referring to a lower hcp already knowing what they need from previous experience thus getting close to what he wants without fitting?

pasty wrote (see)

In what respect "better"?

It's only club amateurs on forums you hear talking about all this sort of nonsense, just take a look at the equipment used by the world's top 10, 50, 100 etc and a strange pattern will emerge:

Titleist, Ping, Taylor Made, Callaway, Mizuno, Srixon, Nike, Wilson, etc etc etc etc.  

Yeah but the component companies cant afford to pay the touring pros big bucks to put their clubs in the bag.

The touring pros might have bags full of the mainstream gear we all see in our local AGD but thats not for any reason related to quality vs. components.