| Custom golf clubs are anything from a single club to a | | | | made by a very few companies, but normally China, |
| full set of woods, irons and putter which have been | | | | Bangladesh, Japan, etc. None of the big names make |
| custom specified and assembled just for you. They | | | | their own shafts, the majority fitting True Temper |
| may work for somebody else and other people will | | | | shafts, sometimes branded with their own name but |
| probably love your custom built golf clubs, but they are | | | | never manufactured by them.Now when you pick up |
| yours.To make an analogy that most of you will be | | | | the magazines or discount shop offers are you looking |
| familiar with we will compare buying a new set of golf | | | | for what suits you best or, more likely, the same clubs |
| clubs to buying a new suit or dress, there are three | | | | you thought Tiger or Vijay or Ernie or Annika were |
| ways you can go about this;Option 1 - You go to a | | | | winning with last weekend?This is a good time to |
| clothes shop and browse around until you see | | | | dispel a widely held belief, the only similarity between |
| something fashionable and then buy it and hope it fits | | | | the clubs you can buy and the clubs winning major pro |
| you OK and is comfortable. That is the normal way | | | | tournaments is the branding. These pro golfers are |
| most people buy their golf clubs.Option 2 - You can go | | | | paid anything up to seven figure sums of money to |
| to the same shops and try a few different designs, | | | | use these brands, they and their coaches specify |
| maybe even mix and match top and bottom of the | | | | every head, shaft and grip that makes up that set and |
| outfit, and eventually you will get something that fits | | | | somebody has to pay for that. So when you buy your |
| OK but you may need to have altered, within the | | | | set of Z43 Super Pingaway irons you are paying for |
| leeway the existing clothing gives on sizes and lengths | | | | the components, the plush headquarters and the |
| and quite a lot of people will get a reasonable fit. This | | | | massive advertising and endorsements that made you |
| is very similar to custom fitting your new golf clubs, you | | | | notice them in the first place.A good custom club |
| are still limited to the small number of shafts and flexes | | | | builder will use components made from at least as |
| that that manufacturer provides and most will only | | | | good raw materials as the big boys, often from the |
| extend or reduce by 1/2" and at the most 2 degrees | | | | same factories to produce the heads, they offer the |
| loft and lie. The shaft flexes will only be those stamped | | | | same shafts and grips AND take the same sort of |
| on the side of the shaft and are different for every | | | | time to analyse your game and physique as those top |
| shaft manufacturer, very rarely are these actually | | | | pros get, but because they don't pay for the names on |
| measured and you better match one of the five or six | | | | their components, that set of clubs, designed just for |
| flexes available. For a lot of people that just isn't | | | | you, is an affordable possibility.Again a good clubmaker, |
| enough, and this can still take many weeks.Option 3 - If | | | | and there are bad ones as in any walk of life, will be |
| you wanted something that would last a long time and | | | | more concerned about the results of your fitting than |
| fitted really well from day one you would go to a | | | | you spending money.There are many ways of fitting |
| bespoke outfitters, they would take all your | | | | but during the fitting ask your clubmaker what they |
| measurements, find out exactly what you wanted the | | | | think of your game, does it match with your and your |
| item for, how often it would be used, etc. This would | | | | friends impressions of your shot shape and distance or |
| cost a relative fortune but gives great results every | | | | are they just telling you things to make you sepnd |
| time. This is the same as custom club building, but the | | | | money. If it doesn't meet expectations can they justify |
| good news is, unlike the clothing market this is normally | | | | their statements without resorting to |
| less expensive, and rarely more expensive, than the | | | | technobabble?The best part about about custom |
| first option. So how does that work?Well, almost all | | | | building should be when you go back to your |
| golf club heads, with very few exceptions - if any - | | | | clubmaker and tell them "I've just shot my lowest ever |
| are made in the far east, mainly China. We believe that | | | | score" or "I've just won my first ever competition" or |
| all heads are made there but several of the big | | | | "I've just hit my best ever shot" or, and my favourite, |
| manufacturers just will not give a straight answer, try | | | | "That's the most I've enjoyed a game of golf for |
| them!Shafts, the most important part of the club, are | | | | years". |