DEEP DIVE | Answering All Your Questions About Custom Fitting

As we launch our new Custom Fitting page on TaylorMadeGolf.com, we wanted to provide you with a deep dive into the world of fitting and custom builds. Below we answer a series of in-depth questions that were fielded from golfers just like you.

We hope this resource helps you better understand the world of custom fitting. However, you’re always welcome to reach out to our customer service team with additional questions and we’ll do our best to answer any inquiries you may have.

Why should I get custom fit?

Your swing is like a fingerprint. No two are alike. Through the custom fitting processes, you can discover the ideal club specification for exact swing, which in turn allows you to unlock your full potential and maximize performance. Lastly, custom fitting lets you asses your current equipment. We often discover that your current clubs hinder your swing more than compliment it.

Is custom fitting for all skill levels of golfer?

No matter how good you, custom fitting can make you better. Every golfer and all skill levels can benefit from it. There’s a repetitive element to virtually every golf swing. The fitting process allows us to discover those repetitive motions and subscribe equipment that works along with the consistencies of your swing.

What can I expect from a TaylorMade Custom Fitting?

Our fittings a designed to give you a high level of trust in your equipment and deliver a club that’s optimized for your swing. Beyond trusting the club, it's also about trusting the fitter and being confident that we’re giving you the most accurate information. Our fitters consider everything, including height, physical stature and/or limitation as well as swing dynamics. We take into account what you ball flight you want to achieve. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, you will know the golf club is actually aiding your game and that we take your performance personally.

Our ultimate goal is for you to leave educated, inspired and more excited to play golf than you were yesterday.

What elements of the club can I personalize through a TaylorMade fitting?

You can personalize your custom clubs by altering:

1. Head: Loft, lie, weight settings:
2. Schaft: Length, flex, profile, tipping
3. Grip: Texture, color, size

The range of specifications can differ from product to product based on club designs, the raw shaft length and grip design. More details can be found in our Custom Booklet.

Can I personalize the look of my clubs?

Aktuell bietet das My-Programm, das auf unserer Custom-Seite gezeigt wird, MySpider X, MySpider Tour, MyMG2 und MyHi-Toe an. Dies ermöglicht Ihnen die Personalisierung einer Reihe von Eigenschaften, wie Farbe, Prägung, Loft, Lie und mehr.

Is it safe to get custom fit during COVID?

Yes, rest assured that your safety, that of our team and the golfing community at-large is our No. 1 priority. our team takes every level of precaution to ensure the health and safety of both our expert fitters and the golfers they service.

Wo kann ich ein TaylorMade-Fitting erhalten?

Sie können www.my.taylormadegolf.com besuchen, um eine Fitting-Veranstaltung oder eine zertifizierte TaylorMade-Fitting-Location in Ihrer Nähe zu finden.

Wo kann ich ein TaylorMade-Fitting erhalten?

Sie können www.my.taylormadegolf.com besuchen, um eine Fitting-Veranstaltung oder eine zertifizierte TaylorMade-Fitting-Location in Ihrer Nähe zu finden.

How do I get more distance from a driver?

There are three keys to more driver distance. Our expert fitters will focus on optimizing these areas during your fitting:

1. Clubhead Speed: This boils down to how fast the club is being swung. Different head designs and shaft (lengths, weights and profiles) combinations will influence this factor. We match these elements to your unique swing profile to aid in maximizing your clubhead speed.
2. Ball Speed: Simply, this is the speed the golf ball leaves the face of the club. The factors that influence ball speed include newer technology, strike location on face along with the correct head design and shaft characteristics.
3. Launch Conditions: There is an ideal launch angle and back spin rate needed to maximize distance for every golf swing. It is not uniform from one golfer to the next, but can be achieved through having the proper head design, loft and shaft. Click here to view our launch data chart.

How do I know if I need a Rescue/hybrid or long iron?

A fitter will recommend a Rescue over a long iron based on distance needs, consistency, height (launch conditions) and control. Your personal preference will also be considered. Are you a golfer that prefers the look of an iron at address, but still needs a little help? In this case, the fitter may even recommend a utility club/driving iron. There are multiple directions a fitter can go to find the right club for the upper end of your bag.

What is the right shaft for me?

The correct shaft can go a long way towards improving your all-around performance. Shafts influence everything from distance to accuracy and control. Finding the right shaft requires having the correct length, flex, weight and bend profile.

Furthermore, shafts also depend on personal preference. Does the shaft consistently create the ball flight the you desire? How does it feel to you? These are things that can’t be overlooked.

What does it mean to hard/soft step a shaft? Is it the same thing as tipping shafts?

This is a custom option that allows golfers to alter the flex of a shaft to obtain an in-between flex. They are essentially the same thing. Hard stepping and additional tipping of a shaft will make the club feel and play firmer than its standard profile (decreases flex). Soft steeping and reduced tipping of a shaft will make the club feel and play softer (increases flex). More details can be found in our Custom Booklet.

What is the difference between a parallel iron shaft versus a taper irons shaft?

We use [arallel iron shafts in our SIM Max and SIM Max OS irons, whereas we use taper shafts in P Series irons as well as Hi-Toe and Milled Grind 2 wedges. From a performance standpoint, there is no empirical evidence that parallel shafts perform differently than taper shafts. However, Tour professionals and traditionalists generally prefer taper tip shafts because of their constant (consistent) weighting.

What is the right grip size for me?

The correct grip size is mainly about personal preference and what you’re used to feeling. Different grips can be recommended based on hand size (larger hands = larger grips). Ultimately, it’s what feels the most comfortable to you and provides the most control. Other variables like grip texture and color are purely preference.

What is the right golf ball for me?

Before selecting the correct golf ball, consider the pros and cons of your current ball. What’s missing from its performance? Is it distance, control, spin or feel? Once you’ve identified the performance characteristics that you most need, you can narrow down the selection.

What custom shafts and grips do you offer and where do I find them?

We offer a wide range of in-demand custom shafts and grips, allowing us to cater to a variety of golfers at every level of the game. A full listing of our custom shafts and grips can be seen in our Custom Booklet.

Why are SIM irons and P Series irons different lengths?

We offer two different lengths for iron sets. One is called progressive length and the other traditional length. Each is designed to offer the best performance for a given iron design. The progressive length is most commonly offered with our performance orientated iron designs. Traditional lengths are used in all players iron offerings, such as our P-700 Series irons. In this case, we use Progressive length with SIM.

What’s the benefit of each? Progressive lengths offer improved distance and gapping, making them ideal for performance centric iron heads like SIM. Traditional length lends itself to consistent control and feel – which is why we pair it with our players-centric P-700 Series.

Did you recently change the length of your irons?

In late 2018, we changed the way we measure and list club length for our irons to match the preferred measurement system of the USGA. In the past, we measured overall club length using a method referred to as the “pin length.” Now we use a method known as “ground plane.” It is the closest method to an industry standard, with our goal being to simplify the club-length measurement process and improve build accuracy

What is swing weight?

To put it simply, swing weight is how light or heavy a club feels when being swung. Generally speaking, each club has a target swing weight with ranges between D0-D5 for men and C2-C8 for women. Factors that influence swing weight are clubhead, shaft (length, weight and profile) and grip (material, size and wraps).

We currently do not allow golfers to customize swing weight and adhere to industry standards for each individual clubs. When you customize to club in the Custom Shop, we ensure the optimal swing weight based on the custom components of your club (shaft, head and grip).

We check swing weight on every club list here: SIM drivers, SIM MAX/OS irons, all P•Series Irons, Hi-Toe Wedges, MG2 Wedges, TP Patina Putters, Spider putters and Truss putters.

What is the difference between a larger grip or adding wraps to the grip?

Grip size is a really a personal preference, although hand size can be a factor. When comparing grip size vs. adding reps, a general rule is that 4x wraps of tape is the same as a midsize grip. Therefore, 2x wraps of tape can give you a grip that is in between standard and midsize. However, different grips can be affected differently.

Another thing to consider is that midsize grip can feel softer than a grip with 4x wraps because grip has more material and isn't stretched as thin.

What is the difference between a .580 & .600 grip size?

The .580 & .600 refers to the measurement of the inner diameter of the grip. The difference is very slight and hard to feel. From a fitter’s perspective, putting a .580 grip on a .600 shaft (diameter) equates to adding a single wrap of tape.

Under normal circumstances, how long does it take to build a set of custom clubs?

Lead time is approximately 3 days. This does not include the shipping/transit time. However, the unforeseen circumstances created by COVID-19 and the global pandemic have temporarily increased both lead time and shipping times.

What exactly is the Bullseye Machine and how does it work?

The Bullseye Machine is a proprietary design that allows us to measure loft and lie within1/100^th of a degree.

The machine references the scorelines on the face of the iron to ensure precision. After which, the operator brings the shaft to a vertical position. Using advanced technology, the Bullseye determines the loft and lie angles of the club face relative to the vertical shaft. Bending the hosel changes the angle of the shaft, which the Bullseye measures using state of the art optical technology, which gets the result within 1/100 of a degree.