Ping custom fitting review

By Dave Keywood Last updated: 27th May 2009

The Ping Fitting Centre is located at Gainsborough Golf Club in Lincolnshire. I arrived for my fitting at 12pm with Ping Fitting Expert and Professional Nick Boulton who first took me through the interview process.

First I was measured up taking my height, wrist to floor, hand and longest finger measurements. I was then asked questions about my game, such as my carry distance with Driver and 7 iron, the shape of shot I hit, the shape of shot I'd like to hit and whether I was looking for distance or accuracy with these clubs.

My answers were:

Height - 5ft 6"
Wrist to Floor - 31"
Hand measurement- 6.75"
Longest Finger measurement - 3"

Driver carry distance - 260 yards
Shape - Draw
Preferred shape - Straight

7 Iron carry distance - 155 yards
Shape - Straight
Preferred shape - Straight

I would like extra distance but to me the most important aspect of the game would be accuracy.

Before arriving at Ping I had decided that I was interested in their S57 irons and was happy when I was told that these would be the best suited club for my game. I was given a colour code of Orange which is 2.25 degrees flat with a stiff flex steel shaft.

Special tape was added to the bottom of the iron and I was asked to hit a ball off a board to see the impact of the club on the ground. After the shot we assessed the tape to find that the club was the right lie for me.

I then hit a number of shots with the S57 7iron with three different stiff flex shafts and all my results were recorded onto a computer to analyse. When looking at the computer the results from each iron were recorded - this included the distance of the shot, spin rate, swing speed and grouping of shots. I could also see my swing path and how steep or shallow I was attacking the ball. The best results for me were the True Temper S300 shafts,

This process was repeated for an 18 degree G10 Hybrid club and I was told to hit a few shots with a 50 degree wedge to find out my club gapping. This was extremely interesting to me as the system would then work out my distances for each club from Hybrid to specialist wedges.

I have always used 54 and 60 degree wedges but after looking at my gapping I noticed that between my Pitching wedge and 54 degree wedges I would have a 7 degree difference.

Therefore I would be better suited to a 52 and 58 degree wedges.

I then decided that I would get fitted for a new driver. I use an 8.5 degree Ping G2 with Grafalloy Pro Launch Blue Stiff shaft. After recording a few shots with this it was time to try the latest models.

First up was the 9 degree G10 with Grafalloy Pro Launch Red stiff shaft. Then onto a 9 degree Rapture with Diamana Blue Stiff shaft. Once all shots were recorded I found that I had more carry with the G10 but less distance. There was about a yard difference between the G2 and Rapture, so it was suggested that a new driver wouldn't be needed.

Conclusion:

I have been playing golf for 15 years and I cannot believe I have never been custom fitted for irons in the past. I would recommend a custom fitting for anyone who is looking to buy new clubs.