Custom Fitting Tall Golfers

The Proper Club Length for Tall Golfers

Custom fitting tall golfers may present specific challenges for a number of reasons but the automatic assumption that tall golfers require longer clubs is not necessarily correct (the corollary to this is that short players don't automatically require short clubs either). The length of the golf club should be determined by what the tall golfer feels comfortable and confident with.

Key factors for determining the club length for the tall golfer include playing ability, athletic coordination, health and physical make-up. The ability of the golfer to return the club head squarely and consistently to the ball is critical. A tall golfer who has difficulty hitting the ball solid may be better off with standard clubs if there are no physical limitations such as health. This being said, there are several fitting variables to consider when fitting longer golf clubs for the tall golfer.

• Shaft flex - A given shaft flex will tend to feel more flexible as a club is lengthened. The longer the club is lengthened, the 'softer' it will feel. If no adjustments are made for this, a tall golfer who requires a 'Regular' flex shaft may end up with a shaft that has an 'A' flex or even an 'L' flex totally unsuitable for his swing and wondering why he is spraying his drives all over the golf course. This would apply to both graphite and steel shafts, woods as well as irons. This particular problem can be compounded even further because there are no real standards between manufacturers related to shaft flex. One manufacturer could easily have an 'R' shaft flex while the next manufacturers's shaft is labelled as Stiff but has essentially the same flex characteristics.
• Lie - As a general rule, the longer the club is from standard, the flatter the lie must be. Lie can impact ball direction. To upright a lie and the ball can fly to the left. To flat a lie and the ball could be pushed to the right.
• Club Balance and weight - The total weight and weight distribution (swing weight) of the club is important for overall feel. As club length gets longer, the head of the club will feel heavier if no compensating weight is added to balance the club.
• Grip Size - Grip size is important for both feel and comfort as well as potentially impacting ball direction. A grip that is too small may cause the golfer to hook or pull the ball.

All things considered, there are several equipment variables directly related to the equipment in the tall golfers golf bag that could have a considerable impact to his game. While the length of the golf club should be determined by what the tall golfer feels comfortable and confident with it is evident that the tall golfer should have their equiment checked for proper fit and make-up and all equipment variables reviewed against what he may really require versus what he may have in his bag.