By Kris Sirak, BGGA Master Club-Maker/Fitter and Assistant Coach
One of the first steps in the fitting process at BGGA is determining club length. It is also one of the most important factors that will influence your posture and setup. Chances are if your club length isn’t correct, your posture will be off as well, and we all want good fundamentals, right?
The system we use is a simple height and wrist-to-floor measurement. This gives us a very good understanding of the correct length for that particular player. It’s somewhat similar to getting fit for a suit.
The current standard length for a men’s 7-iron is 37” but can range from 36”- 38.5”. For women, the 7-iron length will range from 35.5”- 37”. I typically prefer -1” under men’s standard for women, although this will vary.
Most are unaware that the average club length on the PGA Tour will not vary much from men’s standard typically + / – a 1/2 inch. Very few players on the PGA Tour have clubs that are over or under a 1/2 inch from men’s standard.
When building/fitting for longer or shorter clubs, you always need to be aware of overall-weight and swing-weight. These parameters can change drastically when changing overall length, and definitely something to be aware of.
I hope this has given you a bit of insight, and I encourage you to see your local club-fitter.
