Before a single club is pulled from the rack or a ball is struck, the fitter needs context. How has your golf been lately? How does your current equipment feel and perform? How often have you been playing, and how much do you expect to play going forward? What, if anything, are you actively working on in your swing?
Those questions are not filler. They help establish the session’s goals.
Of all the queries, one stands out as especially important: What are you trying to do with your swing right now?
Why swing intention matters in a fitting
In my role as a Master Fitter with True Spec Golf, I place a high priority on understanding a player’s swing intentions. Two delivery dynamics come up more than any others during these early conversations: club path and angle of attack.
Some golfers are happy with where those numbers live. Others are actively trying to change them. Either way, most players today have at least a working awareness of their path and angle of attack (AoA), and that awareness matters in a fitting environment.
If a player’s swing intentions are at odds with the lie angles of their clubs, good contact becomes difficult to achieve. As we all know, quality contact is the foundation of every good golf shot.
The most common case: Flattening an over-the-top move
The first scenario I see, and by far the most common, is the player fighting an over-the-top move in transition. For a variety of reasons, this golfer is likely receiving instruction aimed at flattening the swing plane and neutralizing their path. “Feel like you’re swinging to first base” is a familiar cue.
For this player, lie angle matters. A lot.
Club length considerations aside, I pay close attention to lie angles throughout the bag. This is not limited to irons and wedges. With today’s adjustable hosels, hybrids, fairway woods and even drivers should be evaluated as well.
If a player is working to flatten their swing and move their path more in-to-out, I do not want their equipment fighting that intention. Generally speaking, I am not going to put that player into anything more upright than standard. In most cases, I will go slightly flat.
There are two benefits here. First, flatter lie angles can encourage the desired motion from both a visual and feel standpoint. Second, as the player’s path moves closer to neutral, overly upright lie angles will no longer contribute to heel-side turf contact that leads to poor strikes and frustration.
The less common case: When a good draw goes too far
The second example shows up less often and is typically found among better players or those with higher clubhead speed.
This golfer already hits a draw, sometimes a strong one, but does not have the control they want. They are working to “swing left,” stabilize the clubface and produce a ball that starts left and curves right for the right-handed player.
Often, this player has used flat lie angles for years. As they change how they deliver the club, something shifts. Suddenly, the toe is interacting with the turf. Contact feels inconsistent, and ball flight suffers.
In this case, slightly more upright lie angles can help. They support the player’s new swing intention while also restoring centered contact.
True Spec Golf Club Fitting
With 70,000+ clubhead and shaft combos, True Spec Golf will custom fit and build you a precise set of clubs.
Lie angle as a fitting tool, not just a spec
Lie angle should not be treated as a static measurement or a box to check during a fitting. It is a dynamic variable that needs to align with how a player delivers the club and how they intend to deliver it.
When lie angles are in tune with swing intentions, they support shot performance and improve strike quality. They can also serve as a subtle but effective tool in helping a player implement a swing change rather than fight against it.
That is why the conversation comes first. Before we talk numbers, we need to talk intent. Come into your local True Spec Golf today to have those conversations and build a set of clubs that matches your swing intentions.
