Most activities you might want to take up are expensive at first. Golf certainly is. It stands to reason that given the outlay, you want to buy the best and most suitable golf equipment you can afford. The second qualification, suitability, is especially important when you make what will be your biggest purchase -- a set of irons.
Buying a set of irons is like buying a new suit. The suit might not fit perfectly off the rack, but expert tailoring will make it look like it was built with you in mind. Golf clubs that fit your physique and swing let you hit better shots. Clubs that don't fit work against you. Hitting good shots with an ill-fitting club is hard work.
Have your fitting done by someone who: (a) knows what they're doing, and (b) values your business as a return customer. That no doubt describes your local teaching professional, whose business is to make you a better golfer rather than just sell more merchandise.
When you get your fitting, you will be given perhaps six or seven different kinds of clubs to try out. You might have a particular brand and model in mind, but stay open to the possibility of a different iron feeling better when you swing it and giving you better results.
These are the variables a fitter will measure you for:
1. Shaft length. The measurement from your wrist to the ground, not your height, is what determines shaft length. Getting this feature right lets you stand up to the ball with good posture.
2. Lie angle. This is the angle the shaft makes with the bottom of the clubhead. The fitter will put a piece of impact tape on the sole of the club and have you hit balls off a hard plastic board called a lie board. The impact of the club against the board makes a mark on the tape, which should be in the center of the sole, as seen from heel to toe.
A mark closer to the heel means the lie angle is too upright, and shots you hit will tend to go left. A mark nearer the toe means the lie angle is too flat, and shots will tend right.
3. Shaft flex. Shafts come in varying degrees of flexibility that match a golfer's particular swing speed. This variable controls how easily the clubface closes on the downswing. The higher a player's swing speed, the stiffer the shaft should be. A player swinging a shaft that is too stiff will tend to hit the ball right, and for a player using a shaft that is too flexible for his or her swing speed, the ball will tend left.
4. Grip size. This is more important than you might think. Grips that are too thick can keep the hands from turning over at impact, leaving the clubface open. Likewise, grips that are too thin can encourage the hands to turn over too much, leading to hooks.
Wrap your hand around the handle of the club. If your middle and ring fingers just touch the fleshy part of your hand below the thumb, that's the right size.
5. Appearance. This might sound trivial, but it does make a difference. When you look down at the ball and see your club beside it, you want it to be pleasant to look at. This calms the mind and gives you more confidence in what you are about to do.
After you've been through all this and you get your irons that fit you like a glove, golf will get a whole lot easier.
