Every good club fitting should start with a conversation.
Before a single club is pulled from the rack or a ball is hit, the fitter needs context. How has your golf been lately? How does your current equipment feel and perform? How many times have you played and how much do you expect to play in the future? What are you actively working on in your swing?
Those questions are not filler. They help determine the goals of the session.
Of all the questions, one is particularly important: what are you trying to do with your swing now?
Why swing intention is important in a fitting
In my role as Master Fitter at True Spec Golf, I place a high priority on understanding a player’s swing intentions. During these early conversations, two delivery dynamics emerge more than any others: club path and angle of attack.
Some golfers are happy with where these numbers come from. Others are actively trying to change this. Regardless, most players these days have at least a good sense of their path and angle of attack (AoA), and that awareness matters in an appropriate environment.
When a player’s swing intentions conflict with the lie angles of his clubs, good contact becomes difficult to achieve. As we all know, quality contact is the foundation of any good golf shot.
The most common case: smoothing an over-the-top move
The first scenario I see, and by far the most common, is that the player is fighting an over-the-top move in transition. For a variety of reasons, this golfer is likely receiving instruction designed to flatten the swing plane and neutralize his path. “Feeling like you’re swinging to first base” is a common signal.
The lying angle is important for this player. A lot of.
Aside from club length, I pay close attention to the lie angles in the bag. This is not limited to irons and wedges. With today’s adjustable hosels, hybrids, fairway woods and even drivers also need to be evaluated.
If a player is working on smoothing out his swing and moving his path more from the inside out, I don’t want his equipment to work against that intention. In general, I’m not going to stand that player up any more than standard. In most cases I fall a little flat.
There are two advantages here. First, flatter lying angles can promote desired movement, both from a visual and emotional perspective. Second, as the player’s path gets closer to neutral, exaggerated upright lie angles will no longer contribute to contact with the heel side of the ground, leading to poor shots and frustration.
The less common case: when a good draw goes too far
The second example is less common and is usually found in better players or players with higher club head speed.
This golfer already hits a draw, sometimes a strong one, but doesn’t have the control he wants. They work on “swinging left,” stabilizing the clubface and producing a ball that starts to the left and curves to the right for the right-handed player.
This player has often been using flat lying angles for years. As they change how they shape the club, something changes. Suddenly the toe interacts with the turf. The contact feels inconsistent and the ball flight suffers.
In this case, slightly more upright lying angles can help. They support the player’s new swing intention while restoring centered contact.
True Spec Golf Club Fitting
With over 70,000 club head and shaft combinations, True Spec Golf custom fits and builds a precise set of clubs.
Reclining angle as an appropriate aid, not just as a specification
Recline angle should not be considered a static measurement or a box to be checked during an adjustment. It is a dynamic variable that must reflect the way a player performs for the club and how he wants to achieve that.
When lie angles are aligned with swing intentions, they support stroke performance and improve stroke quality. They can also serve as a subtle but effective tool to help a player make a swing change rather than fight against it.
That is why the conversation is paramount. Before we talk about numbers, we need to talk about intention. Come to your local True Spec Golf today to have those conversations and put together a set of clubs that fit your swing intentions.
Want to give your bag a makeover in 2026? Find a club fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
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