How do you get past the "fitting yips?"

[Shrek74]

I've found the last couple of times I've gone for one type of fitting or another, that I didn't seem to hit it very well. I was chunking a ton of shots at the wedge fitting. My iron swing was a disaster at those ittings. I felt like I was wasting the fitters time, it was so bad.

How do you go for a fitting and keep your swing on point?

[Tilley79]

44 minutes ago, Shrek74 said:

I've found the last couple of times I've gone for one type of fitting or another, that I didn't seem to hit it very well. I was chunking a ton of shots at the wedge fitting. My iron swing was a disaster at those ittings. I felt like I was wasting the fitters time, it was so bad.

How do you go for a fitting and keep your swing on point?

This is a question I am very interested in the answer of as well.  I am going to a Mizuno fitting this coming Friday.  I am pretty excited about it but also thinking I will be nervous getting going so was personally thinking about spending a half hour warming up with my own clubs and some practise balls before starting.  I can only imagine that "fitters" have some interesting stories and have seen it all.

[mynerds]

All of my iron fittings started with the 7-iron and all of them started with the yips. On one occasion, I asked to switch to my pitching wedge and hit 5 shots each working back up to the 7-iron. That ended up helping, and I was able to find a groove for the fitting.

Good luck on your fitting!

[Josh Parker]

1 hour ago, Shrek74 said:

I've found the last couple of times I've gone for one type of fitting or another, that I didn't seem to hit it very well. I was chunking a ton of shots at the wedge fitting. My iron swing was a disaster at those ittings. I felt like I was wasting the fitters time, it was so bad.

How do you go for a fitting and keep your swing on point?

Honestly, you just have to go in and not care. The more you think about it, the worse it tends to be. Warm up and don't think about where the ball is going. 

[cnosil]

36 minutes ago, Josh Parker said:

Honestly, you just have to go in and not care. The more you think about it, the worse it tends to be. Warm up and don't think about where the ball is going. 

I have to agree with this approach.  I have never had the "fitting yips" but I go into any fitting or lesson with more of the I don't care attitude.   My swing and shots are what they are;  I am not there to impress anyone  and I am there to see if I can get some help.

Edited September 29 by cnosil

[chisag]

1 hour ago, Josh Parker said:

Honestly, you just have to go in and not care. The more you think about it, the worse it tends to be. Warm up and don't think about where the ball is going. 

 

... The first thing I told a new student was "If you can do me a favor and use your very worst swings, it makes my job so much easier. Obviously if you hit the ball really well I will have a difficult time helping you. Save those good shots for the course and please give me your worst". It usually put them at least a little more at ease. 

... The truth is a good instructor and a good fitter can recognize what you need whether you are making good contact or not. Your swing doesn't change much at all from your best to your worst. The only thing that changes is the quality f you shots. So if you are swinging a driver at 90mph with an early release, you will be fit into the correct shaft regardless of how well you hit the ball. Granted it is tough to impossible to have a fitting for proper gapping if your contact is all over the place, but few book a fitting just for gapping. There are a few other examples of hitting poor shots that won't help your fitting but they are the exception. 

... Just like actually playing golf, every day is different and the purpose of a fitting is to get you in the right equipment for your swing. So as others have said, relax as best you can and realize the quality of your shots might be one of the least important factors in an equipment fitting or taking a lesson. That said, if things are really bad it can be a waste of time. I had a fitting for a free Callaway driver fitting a few years ago and when I woke up that morning, my back was on the border of spasms. It was a cool day and after about 10 minutes I apologized, thanked him and said "I don't wanna waste either of our time and hoped I could work through my tight back because I thought it was better than cancelling at the last minute". To my surprise he smiled and thanked me and said most just don't even show up and let me know when they would be having another fitting down the road. 

[TJ Hall]

I’ve only done one fitting for a driver, but walked in at a time when my driver wasn’t working at all…new club wasn’t any better, which helped justify that it was me and not the club.

Ive also found hitting into a net/screen for any indoor session I get in bad habits of trying to hit the ball too hard/overswinging.

I’d like to think most fitters aren’t expecting you to bomb it 300 yards straight down the middle, but they would be happy to help make any kind of improvements for those that are interested.

[KC Golf]

I believe getting a good warm up in the morning prior to your fitting by going to a driving range for 20-30 minutes outside helps.  Then before your fitting spend 10 min stretching and hit some wedges.  Then I think your are more than ready.

[NoRebound]

Using a Trackman for the first time last off-season I discovered that if I am not careful, I start chasing numbers.  I find myself trying to kill every shot I hit.  It wasn't doing me any good and it wasn't helping me figure out what my new bag should look like.

I've done two things.  One is to insist that I use a ball that I would use on the course or was considering a switch to.  Some places have started to substitute lower-grade balls because their customers were stealing ProV1s.  I am going to over-swing if someone puts a Chrome Soft in front of me, it's not a ball I can use on the course. 

Second, I try not to use the generic range function.  It doesn't tell me enough about my game.   I try and play a hole where I have to find a reasonable target and try to hit it.  That's how I am going to use the club in the real world.  

So far that has helped a great deal.  

[MissionMan]

 

16 hours ago, Shrek74 said:

I've found the last couple of times I've gone for one type of fitting or another, that I didn't seem to hit it very well. I was chunking a ton of shots at the wedge fitting. My iron swing was a disaster at those ittings. I felt like I was wasting the fitters time, it was so bad.

How do you go for a fitting and keep your swing on point?

I think it's important to have your natural swing and not overthink it. Too many people try to fix their swing during the fitting and that makes it worse. Rick Shiels posted a Titleist fitting video where he did exactly this and it was the worse fitting video I have seen. He pulled it down because of all the negative comments about it. 

Warm up before you hit, then swing your natural swing. Don't change it. If you hit bad, don't stress. Often the bad hits are as a result of shaft fit issues, so when you swing badly, he's trying to use that as a gauge of what shaft to fit you to. The whole purpose of the fitting is to swing your worse swing so he can get rid of your miss. 

 

Edited September 30 by MissionMan

[vamosjackets]

This is a great question.  I've had a few great fittings and a couple of absolutely awful ones - the "fitting yips" is a great phrase I haven't heard before, so if you just coined that phrase, congrats on your significant contribution to golf lingo.  

For me there are two keys to the fitting yips:

1. Do an outdoor fitting if at all possible. For me, swinging in an indoor bay into a screen changes my mind, body, and swing.  It's just not the same.  I found a good fitter within a 3 hour drive that does outdoor fittings, had a great fitting with them, and will continue to go with that option as long as it remains one.  

2. Swing your swing.  Don't worry about anything else, someone else's opinion, doing everything right, or even results.  Just swing your swing.  Let the fitter earn his money by finding what's best for your most natural, worry-free swing.  

Honorable mention:

A. It helps to have been playing more going into a fitting, so that you actually have a swing that's yours, that you've been playing on the course.

B. Warm up.  If that's exercising a bit beforehand or, even better, playing a few holes beforehand (that's only possible if the fitting takes place at a course, which my new favorite fitter is located at a course).  

[Rico_de_Gallo]

On 9/29/2024 at 5:50 PM, Josh Parker said:

Honestly, you just have to go in and not care. The more you think about it, the worse it tends to be. Warm up and don't think about where the ball is going. 

Yep this sums it up.

Amateurs already have enough variance as it is. Don't worry and just go have some fun. My 3 things

1. Don't worry about the numbers on the screen.  Just swing your swing and let the fitter worry about the numbers. If you want to really see how far or how high/low you can hit a club, go back another time to play that game (it is loads of fun, but not the right time during a fitting)
2. Communicate with them. If you feel it's your best stuff, let them know. Same if it's not a great swing day, might be able to work out a way to come back when things feel better. 
3. Warm up pre fitting so you don't waste valuable fitting time and you are ready to go