Senior Club Fitter Reveals The Number One Mistake Golfers Are Making With Their Equipment
There's a lot to think about with your golf gear but if you don't seek expert advice, you could make this crucial mistake that so many others make
If you’re spending money on a club fitting session to dial in the equipment best suited to your game, there is one major factor you need to keep in mind that is often overlooked.
For amateur golfers looking for a new big stick among the best drivers this summer, there is one crucial detail that Callaway’s Senior Custom Fitter, Luke Verney, has pinpointed as the biggest misconception players have when getting fit for new clubs.
In an in-depth conversation with Golf Monthly, Verney revealed that amateurs not using enough loft is the biggest mistake golfers are making with their equipment.
“The number one would be loft, by an absolute mile,” said Verney.
In terms of how this mistake can impact players, the custom fitter told us that this oversight can affect a player's game, particularly by damaging a golfer’s technique.
“That also then pairs into technique,” said Verney. “Because I find sometimes if players are fitted incorrectly into the wrong loft or they've just bought off the rack in the wrong loft, what you find is you then have to adapt your technique because that club isn't performing correctly.”
How can that lack of loft specifically impact technique? According to Verney, it can be seen in golfers “cupping” the ball (a cupped lead wrist that opens the clubface), resulting in inconsistent strikes.
“You can develop bad habits quite quickly. So sometimes in the fitting bay I can just see that someone's cupping and adding loads of loft to their golf club because it doesn't have enough loft on,” said Verney.
“They then can't compress the golf ball and create a consistent strike. So sometimes it's swing, but sometimes it is equipment. And most of the time, when it's equipment, it's more likely that the loft isn't correct on their golf clubs.”
Interestingly, the custom fitter also explained how a lack of loft isn’t the only detail players need to watch out for when they get a new club in their hands. Verney warns that overcompensating with club loft is another common mistake.
“It can go the other way as well, where I see players have too much loft on their golf clubs, and then everything they're doing is trying to take loft off the golf ball, and that just then gets you into really bad positions as well,” said Verney.
“So that's kind of like my number one thing when I'm fitting golfers for the Callaway Quantum drivers that I really look into is like, ‘Right, what loft are they using? What loft do I think they need?’ You know, dynamic loft is such a good metric to use across any golf club.”
Verney added: “If you can understand roughly what that should be, and you can then look at how players are presenting to the golf ball, you can then work out roughly what loft they should be in.”
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to dialling in the right club loft for an individual’s game, with attack angles playing a pivotal role in determining the correct loft in both woods and irons for each player.
Next time you’re investing in golf clubs without expert advice, make sure to keep loft at the forefront of your mind if you want the best results.
