Golf Club Fitting Glossary
The vocabulary of a proper golf club fitting, explained in plain English.
- Bag GappingArranging your clubs so each one carries a consistent distance increment, leaving no large holes or overlaps between clubs.
- Ball SpeedHow fast the ball leaves the clubface at impact - the truest predictor of distance, driven by clubhead speed and quality of strike.
- Blade (Muscle Back)A compact, full-backed iron with the weight concentrated behind the center - maximum feedback and workability, minimum forgiveness.
- BounceThe angle between the leading edge and the lowest point of a wedge's sole - it stops the club from digging into turf and sand.
- Cavity BackAn iron design with a hollowed-out back that moves weight to the perimeter for added forgiveness - the most common iron style today.
- Clubhead SpeedHow fast the clubhead is moving at impact, measured in mph - the primary driver of distance and a key input for shaft and flex selection.
- ForgivenessHow well a club preserves distance and accuracy on off-center strikes - driven mainly by MOI and weight placement.
- Game-Improvement IronA forgiving iron category built for mid-to-high handicaps - wider soles, stronger lofts, and high MOI for distance and easy launch.
- Golf Ball ConstructionThe number of layers in a golf ball - from 2-piece distance balls to 4- and 5-piece tour balls - which trades distance against spin and feel.
- Grip SizeThe thickness of the grip - undersize, standard, midsize, or jumbo - which affects hand action, comfort, and shot shape.
- Handicap IndexA standardized number representing your demonstrated scoring ability, used to level the field between golfers of different skill.
- Kick Point (Bend Point)The point along a shaft where it flexes most - a lower kick point launches the ball higher, a higher kick point keeps it lower.
- Lie AngleThe angle between the shaft and the ground when the club is soled at address - too upright or too flat pushes your shots offline.
- LoftThe angle of the clubface relative to vertical - the primary lever that controls how high and how far the ball flies.
- Mallet vs Blade PutterThe two main putter head shapes - compact blades that suit arcing strokes, and high-MOI mallets that suit straighter strokes and forgive mishits.
- MOI (Moment of Inertia)A club's resistance to twisting on off-center hits - higher MOI means more forgiveness on mishits.
- OffsetHow far the leading edge of the clubface is set back from the hosel - more offset helps square the face and fight a slice.
- Players Distance IronA hybrid category that looks like a players iron but hides game-improvement technology inside - compact looks with extra distance and forgiveness.
- Putter Hosel & Toe HangHow the shaft connects to the putter head - plumber's neck, slant, double-bend, and center shafts - which sets how much the face rotates during the stroke.
- Shaft FlexHow much a golf shaft bends during the swing - rated from Ladies (L) and Senior (A) through Regular (R), Stiff (S), and Extra Stiff (X).
- Spin RateHow fast the ball spins backward in flight, measured in RPM - it controls carry, stopping power, and how much a mishit curves.
- Standard Club LengthsThe off-the-rack length of each club - a one-size baseline that fits your height and posture only by coincidence.
- Swing WeightA measure of how heavy a club feels as it swings - the balance of head weight against grip weight, expressed on a scale like C9, D2, D4.
- TorqueA shaft's resistance to twisting, measured in degrees - lower torque feels stiffer and more stable, higher torque feels smoother.
- Wedge GrindsThe shaping and material removed from a wedge's sole - it controls how the club interacts with turf and how it behaves with an open face.
- Wedge Loft & GappingThe loft of each wedge (PW, GW, SW, LW) and how they're spaced - typically 4–6 degrees apart - to cover your scoring distances without gaps.