FITTED DRIVER vs OFF THE SHELF DRIVER - UNBELIEVABLE RESULTS! 

Haven’t commented in a while. Happy for you on the channel growth and thank you again for all you do. In regard to your test, it seems the average golfer may see much more dramatic results. Someone of your skill would be able to get the most out of many off the shelf drivers I would think. I’ve truly seen the 20 yard gain in fittings in my golf group. Getting fit just makes sense and I think your dispersion speaks to that added benefit without a doubt. Cheers James. To you and a great 2020.

I'm currently making some swing changes and practicing as much as i ever have done, I know how hard you have to work to get these improvements and i must say James its paying off for you! Definitely gained distance in recent months and nice to see those spin numbers are down with that fitted Sim/Ball combo too! Keep up the good work!

I've mostly fitted my self over the years, and I always wondered if I was missing out on something. Like leaving some yards out on the table. I've been through a few professional fittings now, and I guess I'm pretty much maxed out for my swing speed and ability. The equipment is all so close now. I played a round on the sim yesterday and used a different driver on each tee, with no issues, apart from a bad swing or two, but those are going to happen regardless.

When you watch your old videos, you can really see the difference in your swing. Doing a great job. I have not been fitted yet, but think I have found a shaft that I can work with.

I absolutely love every time you almost “fore left” and it hangs on. I too have my bad drives left, so I completely feel your pain through the screen 🤣

My new Sim driver will be here end of week. I can't wait to get it out. Recently had both knees replaced. So far so good. Focusing more on practice and getting game back in shape right now. Would be nice if you make a series about dealing with injuries, rehabbing or how to practice while getting over an injury. Lot of us out there that would watch.

James ..I have taken golf to another level..RIP my golf swing apart to get more lag..get more turn..which has gain me more speed..(from 102 now 118).. I follow your video ..top speed golf video..and a few more..got fitted for a new driver .traded my ts3 in for the ping G410 plus .went to a new ball ..titleist Avx..and so far I think I am getting better

Hard to say James. You could have gotten similar results by playing with the off the shelf driver. Adjust loft and weights. Might be interesting to have someone try and fit themself with off the shelf and see how close they can come to being fit professionally. I see that as the real comparison. Keep up the videos!!!

Just got fitted for SIM. Amazing!!!!! I swing it 110mph carrying 285yds - went for the SIM Max 9 degree head, lofted to 8.75. Hzardus 6.0 70g shaft , spin rate of 2200. Boom! Loving the content, all the way from Cape Town South Africa! 🇿🇦

As your average golfer I have been fitted and noticed a huge improvement As for your experience and talent and club head speed you can hit anything I really think the fitting helps the average players benefit more you guys talk dispersion and we talk keeping it the fairway on the same hole.But seriously everyone should go for a fitting except the guys I play with

James, I had great fitting at TXG in Toronto. Bottom line was fitted clubs felt better, grips and shaft performance, but the key is the machine. For me the fitted Driver and fairway metals really helped with my confidence . Not guiding the ball. Irons fitting helped posture matching fade preference swing. Finding fairways and then hitting greens from 150 in makes all the difference. Thanks.

Had my fitting for the SIM and it came in this week. Went back to the shop and made the adjustments. I'm amazed at the way my spin has dropped. Running between 1900-2300 and much better dispersion.

With the fitted I think accuracy and feel becomes more consistent. I got fitted for my M5 Tour last year and I love it. Just got fitted for my new ping irons yesterday. Fitting is the way to go.

Great video James I have been fitted for my driver to, just the dispersion was better really not the distance👍keep up the keep work.

That was what I was expecting for you. I doubted you would have any difference in distance, but much better dispersion.

Was fitted for the SIM a few weeks ago. Big improvement over the M5. Saw increase of over 2MPH of Ball Speed & less spin, this resulted in about 8 years more total distance. It was for forgiving and more consistent on off-center hits and tighter dispersion. Kept the same Graphite Design Tour AD BB 6X shaft from the M5.

Got fitted for my sim max yesterday! Had the 2017 M2 which was good but the sim max I got fitted for feels soo good in my swing. Got the fujikura ventus blue stiff as my shaft and the numbers were super consistent👍🏻 And love the videos man keep up the good work!

Got myself a coach and been working hard to change my swing this winter and after only 2 lessons and about a thousand balls hit I've already gained 20 -30 yards on my irons. Loving the grind atm and the improvement is exciting me for summer

Planning to purchase this club and have it fitted during the 2020-21 off season. Thanks for the vid!

Turned 50 last year and have been working on my game more this winter than probably the last 20 years. Yoga for golfers, Deadlifts and Superspeed training has put my clubhead speed back up and really enjoying playing again.

Interesting results! I have a very similar set up. I was fitted for the hazadus smoke green in a 10.5 degree head. They bumped me up from the 9 degree head to keep my spin up. Surprised how low spin these drivers are!

Would love to see a review of irons off the shelf vs fitted irons. Enjoyed the contents all the same keep up the good work 👌🏻🏌️‍♀️👍🏻

Interesting results. I’d expect the dispersion to be better, but I’m surprised by the distance numbers. That said, same distance but better dispersion is a winner. I got the Speedzone Xtreme this year and my dispersion improved dramatically and off centre hits don’t suffer much. An improvement on the F9 which is saying something!

James, clearly working on your game!! Bombing them drives, coming for Big AL!! Love the content, can’t wait to see the 100k followers happen for you! Keep it up!

James I do practice 3 times a week in my garage. I have a golf simulator. I do have the TaylorMade M6D. I do like it a lot.

Just got a fitting, 2 years since my ping g400 fitting. Ended up with a 8° sim with what is essentially a 70g x flex accra shaft. 11 yard average gain, 30% reduction in spin average, consistency gained across the board, dispersion tightened and a lot of knowledge gained.

I’m not completely convinced about the fitting process. I have recently been fitted for a SIM driver, well actually I was trying out lots of driver and ended up with the SIM but I have to say that my experience leads me to believe that the fitting process is really just a sales funnel for the average golfer. As a higher handicap golfer I just don’t believe that I’m consistent enough to make a proper judgement in an hours testing. My good shots with the SIM are definitely longer and straighter than my previous driver so no complaints. I’m just sceptical about the fitting process.

Interesting how your lessons and work is paying off. Congrats on going over 90k subscribers. Now on to 100 k

Really enjoyable head to head against a fitted driver and a stock driver. I got fitted a few weeks a go now and I am now getting used to it and starting to benefit from it. I went for the callaway matrix driver over the SIM it just felt more natural in my hands even though it was the SIM that I wanted the most, always go with what works for you and not because your favourite player uses it I’m interested to see what you end up gaming this year

Getting fit for my driver was a game changer for me as I had a reg flex off the shelf after a fitting turns out I have a swing speed of 114 and needed a x-stiff now my drives are usually pin straight instead of all over the place

8:15 first time I’ve seen James get pissed off on camera😂. I’ve been subbed for years.

Great test, with exactly the same result I would expect: less dispersion with the fitted driver.

I’ve been playing for 7 years now. And finally decided to treat myself to something nice. Got fitted for a new B.B. B21. Keep in mind I don’t get much distance at all. I’ve focused so much on keeping it in play, I don’t bother using power. He had me use my driver at first where I carried a max of 195 and total of 224 with a swing speed of 89.1 mph. By the time I finished, my carry is now to 229, and total around 260-270 with swing speed of 93.7 mph. I started with my spin rate at 2800, and he switched me to a 9 degree head. It’s now around 1900. 100% recommend getting fitted.

If you throw out the one (for left) with the shelf driver I think they are remarkably the same. Good video the movement of the weight to promote a fade will free you up on the tee.

Very interesting video, keep them coming! Question: spin is related to spin loft and low spin heads work by moving the centre of gravity forward. How does a low spin shaft actually reduce the spin?

Nice video...James you can cure the loft angles if you go with a Cobra F 9 My Fly....does not seem to effect the performance any....Ask Rickie.....

Hi I’m relatively new to your channel, just wanna say straight up, your editing and filming is refreshing 🙏 really nice to watch

For me I've got to like looking down on a matt head which sits square at address. I went through dozens of shafts and even played them out on the course where it counts. After all the tinkering i finally ended up with the cobra speedzone in white set to 10* loft and paired with an atmos blue 6r shaft playing length off 44.5". Results arrow straight drives that split the fairway in two. Couldn't wish for better results from a driver my perfect partner will be with me for years to come 👌 Four left try the cobra James 😁😁

Yes, very interesting. Thanks for the honest video. To think that with a little adjustment to the off the shelf driver that any person would naturally do, you might be able to improve on the numbers further too. I went through a couple of fittings that I was thoroughly disgusted with a couple of years ago. The problem is most places tend to paint their customers with the same brush using small pockets of information. A proper fitting would take too much of their time in my estimation. I know there are some that do better, but you will pay a pretty penny for that service. I then chose to do my own extensive research where I feel totally comfortable with my results. It initially costs a bit, but once you get a handle on it, it’s pretty rewarding actually. And a lot of fun. After all, it is a hobby to most.

I do try to get to my local range at least once a week. Mostly to just keep the muscle memory working a little better for when I step on the tee box for the first time of the season. But I did just get a new driver and 5 wood. Ping G400. Got it fitted also. Now to work on getting the feel of it. Just changed all of my grips also too. Tour wrap for my irons, and the new Golf Pride +4 grips for my woods. I like that soft squeezy feel. Plus the shape is a little different at the bottom. Better fit. Midsize. Yeah baby. And I do think that you will hit your fitted driver 5-10 yards further.

Got fitted for a driver for the same reason as you, more control, got plenty of distance to work with and all the drivers I tested came down to the same distance more less. In the end in my experience it's shaft fitting, most of the heads create a similar result and look and feel the same.

Congrats James just seen you’ve hit it 300 yards on 1 shot 🏌🏻‍♀️🏌🏻‍♀️🏌🏻‍♀️💪

Just bought myself a set of taylormade sim max os irons. They're sweet. Just need one of these drivers to add to the bag now 😜

Always find it funny when I see a video that uses the same track as one of mine...Epidemic Sound?! Great video as always!!

Super video James. Keep up the good work. Loving the content 👌🏻

James do this test with mark and see if the results are the same, would be interesting, keep up the good work. 👍🏻

Great video James and a little surprising there wasn't a huge amount of difference. The driver you've tested though has adjustable fade and draw bias, do you think there will be much difference in a test with drivers that don't have adjustable bias?

Interesting stuff James. Not sure even your fitted driver could have saved that shocker of a "FORE LEFT" though 🤣🤣. Better spin and slighter tighter dispersion was good to see... And a far cooler shaft in the smoke 👍

Hi, James, I am also working hard on the game this winter. Shallow that shaft - hard work but hopefully worth it

James, my new SIM Max driver shows up Tuesday, can’t wait.

For Right hand players who tend to hit right then buy a TM driver 1 or 2 degrees lower, and loft up to your optimum loft, as with the way the TM adapter works, lofting up also lifts the toe so increases lie angle and closes the face to promote a left bias, you also have the option of moving the weight screw to the heel, but I'd do that as a last resort as for me it ruins the feel. If you hit left do the opposite of above, buy higher loft adjusted down, opens face and flattens lie angle for right bias, move weight screw toward toe. Lofting up & down also effects spin, lofting up tilts the head back & lowers moi & reduces spin, lofting down lifts moi & increases spin a few revs. The x stiff shaft on the fitted club brought the spin down beyond this.

Very interesting test... do more of these. 👍

Always an interesting comparison with your videos James. I am fitted with a Callaway Rogue and have tinkered around with different shafts and noticed the drop off in performance. Regarding drivers, how about checking out and comparing budget drivers. Benross have an adjustable offering - the Evolution R as do Macgregor with the Mactec. Both drivers retail at under £200 and do look quite good! Anyway, just a suggestion. Keep up the great work.

Great idea for a video. Do irons, hybrid and fairway woods too!!

I think initially there would be a big difference as you’re getting it fitted to your current swing. Maybe a question would be “how often should you get re fit for a driver? Given that swings can have changes over time etc

I think the adjustable driver gives a fitter more scope to help the player deliver the club at a more optimal level. Even the top pros have some bad swings. My son got fitted 4 years ago at the PGA fitting centre at the Belfry. He tried every head by every manufacturer they did. The stand out statistic was dispersion not distance. There were a number of similarities between the fitted and off the shelf driver James used, so again not surprised there was no distance gain. Renowned fitter Tom Wishon does some really good books on custom fitting & well worth a read as a balance to the marketing hype.

From a statistical point of view , to account for human variables, drive 12 or more shots with each club. Drop from the data set your worst drive and your best drive. Then look at the parameters from the launch monitor and standard deviations which are produced. Essentially the potential for the absolute complete data set for any club is infinite number of drives. The minimum sample size should be 9 drives to be statistically valid. Great video, thank you!

Got fitted for the sim last week can’t wait to get it going

Think you have to take into account that you know to choose a 70g stiff flex shaft and 8 degree head on the shelf- when I went for a fitting, I went from a regular shaft to extra stiff and from 10 degrees of loft to 8 - like many people, they wouldn’t know what there specifications actually are and therefore would make a huge difference having a fitting as it did for me! Great video though!

Hi James, if you moved the weight to the fade setting on the off the shelf driver would the results be even tighter? The dispersion would definitely improve and then it’s just the shaft that would be the difference, other than that not much difference and you can do it yourself to a certain extent. I can definitely see some gains off the tee in distance will you get to 300 yards before the end of the year?

I'm in the group of serious golfers who haven't been fit. It's getting a little easier to find fitters but then the MSRP of clubs vs the deals on ebay etc are a big factor. I do agree that it's a bigger deal for golfers who don't know their swing speed etc. For you, you knew to pick the stiff on the rack instead of regular, knew what loft you should get and so on. Some people might grab a 10.5 with regular when they need 9.5 with stiff.

Be interesting to see mid Handicap Mark do a similar thing, take a shelf club and tinker with it (everyone loves playing with settings) and then compare his driver self fitted against one fitted by either yourself of ideally a tour fitter to see how much it would effect the adverage golfer

Nice vid which shows how a small change through fitting can make a difference. Out of interest, what’s your angle of attack and launch? You seem to get pretty high spin from supposedly a low spin head and shaft..

I was fitted for a Cleveland Launcher Turbo driver. I was hoping that we could of compared with a stock driver. It's always in the back of my mind if I really needed a $243 shaft added to the cost.

Hi James, love your work! What was the reasoning for lofting the "shelf driver" up? Isn't that some form of fitting and doesn't changing the lie play to "Fore Left"?

Honest assessment James, even if it does little to promote fitting for drivers. I have never had a fitting for a driver and always used an off the shelf model, which is currently a TM M4. I recall an article many, many years ago in a golf mag by Bernhard Langer, who said that 95 percent of golfers could use a standard set of clubs - presumably adequately well. When you consider the average male handicapper is 14/15 handicap, does a fitting really make all that much difference? A rhetorical question BTW.

Was fitted for an Epic Flash last season and I am content with the results. I do need to practice period!

Imagine that, practice helping you hit it better!!! Kidding. Good content Brother!!

Did you try the stock shaft in the fitted settings? I’m interested to see if there would be much difference in between the 3.

I think your swing looks a lot more fluid and not forced compared to your videos from the past, you have hit a lot of balls in the last couple of years

I was fitted at Titleist St Ives for a driver in September an ended up with the same driver as your dad the TS1, though a different shaft and head weight in fact with the extra head weight and heavier shaft and grip it now weighs exactly the same as a "off the shelf" TS2, however it performs (for me at least) completely differently to a a TS2 in those settings, sometimes club fitting is really weird!

Hey James, So does a fitted driver really make much difference? I must say you do a really good job on the videos, Well done and thank you

Might just pick the perfect driver off the shelf. and then again- Great Video! FR

It's been close to 6/8 years since I had a Taylormade driver, but doesn't lofting up close the face, which would give you the aspect of hitting the off the shelf driver toward the left. While lofting down with your fitted driver would open the face and help alleviate the miss left. I could be wrong, anyway, I loved the sound of the Taylormade drivers there, first rate sounding clubs.

I think the key is testing a bunch of different brands in a fitting and then when you have the right head that is where the fine tuning comes into play. This video is more about the fine tuning. My fine tuning showed some distance gains and a lot of dispersion gains. My head selection showed great distance and dispersion gains.

Shelf Avg 282 - Fitted - Avg 276 “They’re exactly the same difference.” ??? My recent driver testing with two PING 400 drivers and three different shafts made a HUGE difference- getting correct flex and weight on the shaft are key. Enjoying the videos across The Pond! Thanks for your efforts. Cheers 🍻

I’ve been practicing really hard lately. I’m trying to play college golf at the school I wanna go to.

I went for a driver fitting last year at a very well known club manufacturers centre and they basically tried one head with two flexes of the same shaft and that was it. I was expecting a lot more in terms of adjustment to maximize my delivery, speed etc. I left very disappointed and hence didn't purchase their product.

Your content is great at the moment!!

Youre onto something here this is really interesting to see be nice to see irons aswell

Really love your content, James, and the idea of getting professional fittings of several top of the line drivers. I just ask that, despite its lack of “newness”, add the TS3 into it, please.

I am VERY curious about what kind of trajectory results you would get doing the same comparison on the range/golf course. Not concerned with the data aspect, just a focus on your trajectory and ball flight. You should do it, and you should do it now......or in a couple of days after some rest.

Very interesting video James. Is it possible to have a shelf driver fitted. Thanks

Great ibfo about face changes when changing lofts. And yes I am enjoying practicing as much as playing, partly dte to the great content that you are pushing out. Thanks James

How about a full bag brand agnostic fitting once? :-) would be interesting to see

My experience is to avoid chain stores if you want a professional fitting. I’ve had fittings at a well known retailer and also at a manufacturers fitting centre and there was just no comparison in the process. It may be that I was just unlucky in my choice of branch but I’m not convinced of that.

James, you could try to rotate your right hand a bit more TOWARDS (left) the target which will provide you with a fade. or a right starting ball.

More chance of you putting the spider in your bag than the tour edge driver 😂😂😂

Drives are looking much better than the back end of last year, you mentioned the amount of work going Into your game currently, is there a specific reason for that?

I’ve made it a huge point to practice more than playing from the start of the year!

What a big change in your swing. It looks way different? How did you do it, in such a short time?

In my experience I think that fitting your irons is a must do, but when it comes to a driver not super necessary as you only hit it ones per hole. When I try various driver of friends of mine that have been fitted for them or haven’t been fitted at all i find that my body easily adapts to it and I can still make a proper swing with good contact. If I would try that with their irons..... wouldn’t work at all

With the fitted driver I would expect better consistency as you will have the right setting and shaft.

I recently got fitted for the new maverick driver with t110 Hazurdus shaft and 30 yards difference in distance of the tee

Would love to see a video of fitted irons vs off the shelf ones

I wonder if you were to hit them on different days or with a significant amount of time between each club if you would have a bigger distance. Just because you’re going to try and change things to correct your shot which could carry over to the other driver. I’ve actually never been fit for a driver other than shaft stiffness based off swing speed but I just had an iron fitting and my clubs adjusted and made all the difference in the world!

Just did a testing with non fitted irons vs my Mizuno jpx 919 Hm fitted and the non fitted won hands down. I also was able to play four(4), nine(9) hole rounds where my lowest 9 with fitted clubs 40. Non fitted rogue x irons all 4 rds under one 40 n other 3 were 38s, 39.

Seems like very modest results. I have to wonder, if you shifted the sole weight on your own, would you end up the same.

What about just moving the weight on the off the shelf club to the fitted? Wouldn't that really be a closer comparison(essentially just loft and shaft).

I'd guess before seeing it that the fitted driver should have a more consistent shot shape than the off the rack as fitting should adjust the driver to your swing, tuning it to avoid the things a non-fitted one might do.