Let’s Talk Fitting: Length, Lie and Loft
With club fitting and club building, there are a lot of factors that can be measured and taken into account. When it comes down to it, though, there are three critical factors that will create the biggest effect on your ball flight. They are known as the 3 L’s: length, lie and loft.
In this video, I explain why the three L’s are important and why you should always ask for your measured specs.
This past Monday, I played in the U.S. Amateur local qualifier at Rock Creek Country Club in Portland, Oregon. A full tee sheet from 7:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m., the top 11 scores would make it to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying.
I teed off at 10:48 a.m.. With the 7:30 am tee time, you can get a feel for the leaders’ pace, and they were off and running on the challenging setup at Rock Creek.
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Getting to the highlight of the round on the par five 17th, a drive up the left side and 212 yards left to the front hole location. I took out a 5-iron with plans of middle of the green. The ball ended up 8 feet left of the hole, pin high. A slight downhill putt dropped in for an eagle 3 on the 17th. With the cut line looking to be anywhere from -2 to even par. This was the boost I had been waiting for all day.
With making par from the trees on 18, it was time to wait for a potential playoff with a posted score of one under par 71.
Three hours later, it was playoff time. 8 players for 6 spots. I made par on the playoff hole, which was good enough to advance to the U.S. Amateur final qualifying in July. USGA qualifiers sure deliver on all of the emotions in golf!
Club Junkie
Building my 2026 gamer WITB: Ranking the contenders and new putter projects – Club Junkie Podcast
The annual What’s In The Bag build is underway, and on this episode of Club Junkie, Brian breaks down the clubs currently leading the race for a spot in his 2026 gamer setup. From drivers and fairway woods to irons, wedges, and shafts, he ranks the equipment that’s performing best and explains what’s separating the front runners from the rest of the field.
Brian also heads into the workshop to discuss several putter projects currently on the bench. From head options and shaft choices to build ideas and testing plans, he shares what he’s working on and which putters could become serious contenders for the bag this season.
If you’re a gear junkie who loves equipment testing, club building, and the never-ending pursuit of the perfect setup, this episode is for you.
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Club Junkie
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frank
Feb 6, 2018 at 2:04 pm
If someone does not have access to Trackman or other photographic devices, what is the next best option to determine proper lie angle? You mentioned that a lie board is not recommended?
St. Donald
Jan 13, 2018 at 12:39 pm
I did no say Haiti was a sh••hole country… even though it’s TRUE.
x-out
Jan 12, 2018 at 5:12 pm
If your swing is inconsistent a fitting will not rescue your incompetence. If you are consistent you may improve your swing with a fitting to enable you to generate more power or control in your swing.
The old Ping fitting diagrams which measures your ground to wrist joint and your body type is a good start for most golfers without messing around with a costly fitting.
The danger with a dynamic fitting is that it will destabilize your swing and you have to evolve a new swing dynamic to be consistent again.
John Comninaki
Jan 12, 2018 at 8:53 am
In my opinion club length does not fit neatly into toe strikes=longer, heel strikes=shorter. This may apply in a one hour club fitting, but 35 years of teaching has shown me once the player has become accustomed to the new length, the player often returns to the same swing pattern that created the toe and heel strikes. I think it is important to be fitted by someone who knows the players game or the player can return to for follow up and tweaking. Thanks for your videos, lots of good information!
Darren
Jan 12, 2018 at 8:04 am
Good video, do you as a fitter still use wrist to floor measurements? And could you do a actual fit on camera to show how you plan and execute that !
Ryan Barath
Jan 12, 2018 at 9:13 pm
Hi Darren, glad you enjoyed the video.
I don’t often use wrist to floor and rather use the players current clubs as a baseline and get the specs from there. After that its a matter of going through the fitting process and finding out what combination of specs and components are going to end up offering the best results.
Darren Merrihew
Jan 11, 2018 at 9:31 pm
Length of iron question. Does a club that is too long or too short cause heel strikes?
Ryan Barath
Jan 12, 2018 at 9:09 pm
Typically a club that is too long will cause heel strikes.
Cons
Jan 11, 2018 at 6:04 pm
I question flatter lie angles on wedges just to hit half shots better as players hit wedges typically with the steepest attack angle, which in most cases makes the ball go more right.
Ryan Barath
Jan 11, 2018 at 7:11 pm
My philosophy on flatter wedges isn’t just me. There are lots of coaches & fitters that also promote this view based on solid Trackman / other system data. Although shorter clubs, the likelihood of hitting full shots with a wedge is quite low compared to other clubs in the set and since the face is opened up so often you need a flatter lie to prevent the launch direction to be to far left of target.
Edward Pollack
Jan 12, 2018 at 11:44 am
Where along the winding road did you decide to correlate start direction with Angle of Attack? You literally made that up. I honestly don’t think that is anywhere else on the internet. Impressive stuff.
the Y
Jan 11, 2018 at 2:17 pm
Why is Mizuno the best iron ??
BIGSEAN
Jan 11, 2018 at 10:47 am
good stuff here!
Carmen Sandiego
Jan 11, 2018 at 9:48 am
Hamilton, Ontario what! Brantford native here (home of the great one)