GPJ

Adjusting your stance for the length of the club is a compromise, it should be done the other way around, adjust the club for your stance providing your stance is correct.

You are basically saying you need to alter the angle of tilt at your waist/hips which might not feel that natural. ie if you are extremely tall and you want to be tilted a long way by all means play short clubs

Club fitters would be out of business!

GPJ

Adjusting your stance for the length of the club is a compromise, it should be done the other way around, adjust the club for your stance providing your stance is correct.

Play it as it lies, get on with it, its not life or death, its just a game!

Chicken or the egg?

Surely we adjust our stance depending on whether we hit an 8i or a 5i? How does one determine what a correct width is in the first place? Are we talking a Moe Norman stance or a Greg Norman stance?

I certainly am beginning to see that a club fitter should have a very good idea of what your coach is working on with you, or even be your coach!

Width has nothing to do with it Stink, it is the tilt at the hips that has to be altered if the clubs are longer shorter to allow the sole of the club to lie flat.

I tilt the same for my 5i and 8i, don’t you?

I certainly am beginning to see that a club fitter should have a very good idea of what your coach is working on with you, or even be your coach!

Stink,
You hit the nail on the head mate, so many factors need to be considered when fitting people. If some one is making swing changes their lie angle and shaft lengths can change. I have seen golfers lie angles change 2 degrees either more flat or more up right.
Just say a guy had excessive forward flexion with his upper body so he’s bent over 25 degrees in back swing or at address and is 35 degrees bent over at impact. This fault will cause him to need flat lie angles and shorter length. As he improves his swing and turns better around his spine and is 25 degrees bent over his lie angle change to be more upright and will require more length.

What a good coach/fitter would do is for starters, fit them in between so the player stops making compensations and start to make changes. As the golfer improves the fitter/coach can add length and adjust the lie angle, so as the golfer is improving he can progressively adjust to the changes of his euipment.

Vice versa for some who has extension of the upper body in back swing or at address they are 25 degrees and at impact on 15 degrees bent over. They would need more length and more upright clubs. Again as they improve and turn around their spine better and not extend as much you would reduce their length and flatten out their lie angle as they improve.

These are only examples and every golfer is different of course, these are just examples of some impacts movement patterns can have on how people are fitted.

In a nut shell Stink movement patterns, swing mechanics have a significant impact on how you are fitted. As my swing keeps on improving I have to tweak my equipment to match my movement patterns and swing mechanics. If I don’t the equipment stops me from improving, i revert to my old swing faults and not improve. I have had to change my lie angles and shaft 4 times so far. Now my patterns are more stable and now it’s a matter of fine tuning my equipment is now stable and won’t change all that much now.

People are better off having a coach/fitter because he understands their swing and tweak there gear as they go. Also a good coach will fit out doors because they know people react to ball flight. As he is fitting someone he can fit them towards the future changes and the golfer can see the differences in ball flight of what happens with the improve swing vs the old so when they are playing and see ball flight, they can tell the differences of outcomes with the improved swing and old swing mechanics or patterns.

Width has nothing to do with it Stink, it is the tilt at the hips that has to be altered if the clubs are longer shorter to allow the sole of the club to lie flat.

I tilt the same for my 5i and 8i, don’t you?

Play it as it lies, get on with it, its not life or death, its just a game!

Beef hooked if I know!

So if by stance you mean tilt, and if you don’t adjust your tilt from a 9i to a 5i, why do longer shaft make any difference to stance? Just adjust the lie angle not length.

Stink you should have the same tilt (some call it angle) and arm position for all clubs. I have arms hanging from shoulders approximately 1.5 hand spans from thigh for all clubs..

All that happens is that the ball is further from your body as the club gets longer.

Yeah that’s all well and good Shanks, i get that stuff, but that has nothing to do with my point of choosing length of shaft.

If distance is your thing choose the longest clubs you can and have the lies adjusted so you can take your normal stance.

One proviso to this you need to be able to swing it at the same speed and make the same contact which is not easy to do.

You hit a wedge straighter than a 4 iron because the club is shorter.

I prefer accuracy and distance control rather than distance and went from 1 inch over standard and upright to standard off the rack clubs.

If your clubs are 1 inch longer than standard and you are not tall you will either have to bend them flatter or reduce the tilt from your hips to have the sole flat which I consider compromise. ie stand taller

Do we agree?

I’m not disagreeing with anything, I have no opinion about it, I’m just trying to understand why someone chooses 1 or 2 inches over, or what factors a fitter uses to decide on length of shaft other than just a measurement from hand to ground.

I’m here to increase my knowledge not tout it!

I think the three little bears fable rings true, too hard, too soft, just right.

Most buy off the rack and they may not be just right therefore they make compromise from their natural stance and swing.

Thus there is an entire fitting industry to fit clubs to your correct natural stance and swing pattern.

As you would know most elite pros playing nothing like off the rack clubs. Amazing that amateurs with a passion for the game don’t do the same unless they are going through swing/stance changes.

If you have clubs that are longer than normal with lies adjusted you will swing flatter and vice versa.

Fair enough.

Interesting you went back down an inch btw. Sound reasons it seems too.

Fair enough.

Interesting you went back down an inch btw. Sound reasons it seems too.

What is this golf game you talk of?

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

Have gained a lot more control and higher ball flight because I now swing more upright. I always had a low ball flight and found it hard to stop longer clubs on firm greens, now I don’t.

Stink you should have the same tilt (some call it angle) and arm position for all clubs. I have arms hanging from shoulders approximately 1.5 hand spans from thigh for all clubs..

All that happens is that the ball is further from your body as the club gets longer.

Play it as it lies, get on with it, its not life or death, its just a game!

What happens to the all golfers who don’t use this type of setup and don’t adjust their stance instead they change the ball location further back in their stance for mid irons and wedges?
What about the guys who move the ball back and forward in their stance to hit draws and fades as well?

With hip tilt this also causes the shoulders to right lateral bend which leads the back issues and also causes break down in their swing patterns. The spine kinks it causes the upper body to slow down too early and causes the arms to accelerate too early, which cause the club to release to early. Why would you recommend hip tilt for?

Zen

Tilt is the wrong semantic, angle may be better.

ie. The bend at the hips and the angle formed between lower body and upper body.

eg Wie was bent over when putting so her upper body was parallel to the ground (almost 90 degrees) whereas somebody anchored at the chin putting is virtually upright (almost 180 degrees)

In my opinion this angle is almost constant for all clubs no matter where the ball is in your stance re back/forward.

Tilt is also automatic as your right hand is below your left and therefore there will be a tilt with left shoulder higher than right and the hips follow unless you are into contortion.

Zen

Tilt is the wrong semantic, angle may be better.

ie. The bend at the hips and the angle formed between lower body and upper body.

eg Wie was bent over when putting so her upper body was parallel to the ground (almost 90 degrees) whereas somebody anchored at the chin putting is virtually upright (almost 180 degrees)

In my opinion this angle is almost constant for all clubs no matter where the ball is in your stance re back/forward.

Tilt is also automatic as your right hand is below your left and therefore there will be a tilt with left shoulder higher than right and the hips follow unless you are into contortion.

Play it as it lies, get on with it, its not life or death, its just a game!

Nice one Shanks,
The hips and shoulders are perpendicular to spine and what you refer to in your words as tilt, the shoulders and hips are on the same tilt axis to the spine.

Although this is where we have to consider as well, if a club is too short for some one this causes excessive right lateral bending to try and get to the low point of their swing to strike the ball. This can be another reason why some people need longer clubs to reduce the right lateral bending so the shoulders can turn perpendicular to the spine as much as possible. The shoulders and hips are perpendicular to the spine or same tilt axis to the spine.

Haha, I still love ya Weets, in a manly way, not as in Manly in Sydney, not that there’s anything wr,,,,,,etc etc

What is this golf game you talk of?

http://www.golflink.com.au/...

1 inch equals 6 swing weight points, Kunti.

Stink you should have the same tilt (some call it angle) and arm position for all clubs. I have arms hanging from shoulders approximately 1.5 hand spans from thigh for all clubs..

All that happens is that the ball is further from your body as the club gets longer.

Play it as it lies, get on with it, its not life or death, its just a game!

This is my set up

but if hitting into the wind (which is half my course I set the ball back in the stance)

I even hit PW and SW from same position as the ones pictured

driver slightly more forward than the one pictured

whatever works I reckon