Reference
Fitting information
Everything the calculator uses, and why. How to take the measurements, what each spec actually does to a golf ball, and the tables behind every recommendation — so you can check the working and argue with it.
Interactive
The lie-angle bench
Lie angle is the spec people understand least, because its effect is tangled up with loft in a way nobody guesses. Drag the two sliders. The lesson is in the two meters: the face error grows enormously with loft, and the yards offline hardly move at all.
The Bay Scale
Our lie-angle scale. Every height has a reference wrist-to-floor — the arm length that plays a standard lie — and your code is the distance from it, a degree per inch. The codes say what they mean: U2 is two degrees upright, F1 is one degree flat, LEVEL is standard.
The green line is the reference wrist-to-floor for each height — the arm length that plays a standard lie. Your code is simply how far off that line you sit, one degree per inch, which is why the chart draws that distance rather than asking you to find a coloured zone. Complete the fitting above and your measurement is plotted on it.
The detail
Thirteen short sections. Open the ones you need.
01 How to take the measurements
Wrist-to-floor
Stand upright on a hard, flat floor in the shoes you play in. Let your arms hang completely relaxed at your sides — do not stretch down, do not shrug up. Measure from the crease where your palm meets your wrist straight down to the floor. Have someone else read the tape: bending to look at it yourself changes your posture and typically adds an inch.
Typical range is 27"–40" (69–102 cm). This measurement is the reason two golfers of the same height can need lie angles two degrees apart — it captures arm length, which height alone cannot.
Hand length (for grip size)
Palm up, measure from the crease of your wrist to the tip of your middle finger. Keep the tape flat on the palm. Do not wrap it over the fingertip or around the heel of your hand.
Height
Back to a wall, heels down, looking straight ahead. Measure in golf shoes if you can, or add ½" if you cannot — the chart assumes you are standing as you stand over the ball.
02 Lie angle — the Bay Scale, and what a degree is worth
Lie angle is the angle between the shaft and the ground when the sole sits flat. If it is wrong, the sole is not flat at impact, the effective loft twists, and the ball starts offline before the face angle gets a say.
Rule of thumb: every 1° of lie error costs you about 3 yards on a mid-iron. Roughly a third of that is the ball starting offline; the rest is the curve it puts on the shot, because the face is now closed or open to a path that has not moved.
Why wedges punish it, and why the usual explanation is wrong
You will read everywhere that a lie error costs you more yards as loft goes up. It does not — the yards are remarkably flat across the bag, because the bigger face error in a wedge is almost exactly cancelled by the shorter shot. What actually changes is the size of the face error itself:
face change = arctan( sin(lie error) × tan(loft) )
| Club | Loft | Carry | Face turned by 1° of lie error | Offline | As % of the shot |
|---|
A degree of lie error turns a 60° wedge face four and a half times as far as a 4-iron face. The ball finishes a similar distance offline either way, but as a share of the shot it is nearly three times worse — on the club you are trying to hit closest. That is the real reason wedge lie matters, and it is why a fitter checks your wedges separately from your set.
The face-angle figures are geometry and are exact. The yardages are modelled: start direction is about 75% face for an iron, and the curve is anchored on published TrackMan face-to-path data. Treat the yards as indicative and the ratios as solid.
How the Bay Scale works
Every height has a reference wrist-to-floor — the arm length that plays a standard lie. The scale is simply how far you sit from it:
your wrist-to-floor − reference for your height = your code
1 inch of deviation = 1 degree of lie
Measure high for your height and your arms are short: your hands sit high at address and the club needs to be more upright (U). Measure low and your arms are long: hands low, club needs to be flatter (F). Land on the reference and you are LEVEL.
The codes are the answer, not a lookup key — U2 is two degrees upright. We also report the unrounded figure, so you can see whether you sit in the middle of a band or on its edge, which is exactly the case where a fitter would test both.
| Code | Lie vs standard | Wrist-to-floor | Miss it produces if this is wrong for you |
|---|
Static charts get you a starting point. A dynamic fit — hitting off a lie board with impact tape on the sole — gets you the answer, because your posture and shaft droop at impact are not visible in a tape measurement. The two commonly differ by one step on the scale.
03 Club length by height
Length comes from height, in the half-inch steps club builders actually work in:
| Height | Height (cm) | Length adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 5'0" – 5'1" | 151–155 | −1½" |
| 5'2" – 5'3" | 156–160 | −1" |
| 5'4" – 5'6" | 161–168 | −½" |
| 5'7" – 6'0" | 169–183 | Standard |
| 6'1" – 6'3" | 184–191 | +½" |
| 6'4" – 6'5" | 192–196 | +1" |
| 6'6" – 6'7" | 197–201 | +1½" |
A second, independent opinion comes from wrist-to-floor alone: under 32" suggests −1", 32"–34" suggests −½", 34"–36" is standard, 36"–37.5" suggests +½", above 37.5" suggests +1". When the two disagree it means your arms are long or short for your height, and the tool says so rather than hiding it.
04 Shaft flex, weight and material
Flex by driver clubhead speed
| Driver speed | Flex | Rough driver carry |
|---|---|---|
| Under 72 mph | L — Ladies | Under 150 yd |
| 72–83 mph | A — Senior / Light | 150–185 yd |
| 84–96 mph | R — Regular | 185–220 yd |
| 97–104 mph | S — Stiff | 220–250 yd |
| 105 mph and up | X — Extra Stiff | 250 yd+ |
Flex by 7-iron carry, if you have no launch monitor
Roughly: 130–145 yd → A; 145–160 yd → R; 160–175 yd → S; 175 yd+ → X. Less reliable than a speed reading, because carry distance mixes clubhead speed with how well you strike it.
Weight matters more than the letter
Flex is not standardised. One brand's S plays like another brand's R, and the same shaft in two weights behaves like two different shafts. Weight is what drives your tempo, your ability to find the centre of the face, and your consistency swing to swing.
| Shaft | Typical weight range | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Driver graphite | 40–80 g | Lighter for slower/smoother; heavier for fast, aggressive transitions |
| Iron graphite | 50–105 g | 7-iron speed under 70 mph, age 60+, joint issues, or deliberate weight reduction |
| Iron steel | 95–130 g | 7-iron speed 70 mph and up; more feedback and a tighter dispersion |
Tempo overrides the chart at the edges. A fast, aggressive transition loads a shaft like extra speed does; a slow, smooth one unloads it. If you are within a few mph of a flex boundary, tempo decides which side you land on.
It is common and correct to play one flex softer in irons than in the driver. Iron shafts load differently and the shorter length makes the same flex play stiffer.
05 Driver — loft, length and launch conditions
| Driver speed | Starting loft | Target launch | Target spin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 75 mph | 12°–13.5° | 15°–17° | 2,800–3,400 rpm |
| 75–85 mph | 11.5°–12.5° | 14°–16° | 2,600–3,200 rpm |
| 85–95 mph | 10.5°–11.5° | 13°–16° | 2,400–2,900 rpm |
| 95–105 mph | 9.5°–10.5° | 12°–15° | 2,100–2,600 rpm |
| 105 mph + | 8.5°–9.5° | 10°–14° | 1,700–2,300 rpm |
Length
Stock drivers ship at 45.5"–45.75". Tour average is closer to 44.5"–45". Shortening a driver costs roughly 2–3 yards of theoretical distance and usually returns more than that in centre-face contact, because the face is only about 4" wide and it is much easier to find the middle of it with a shorter club. If you are choosing between the two, take the shorter one.
06 Iron head categories
| Category | Typical handicap | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Players / muscle-back | 0–4 | Minimal offset, thin topline, small head. Maximum feedback and workability, no forgiveness. |
| Players cavity | 0–9 | Compact but perimeter weighted. Feedback with a safety net. |
| Players distance | 5–18 | Compact look, hollow body or forged face, strong lofts. Distance in a clean package. |
| Game improvement | 12–27 | Wide sole, low CG, real offset. Gets the ball up and rescues the heel and thin strikes. |
| Super game improvement | 25+ | Maximum sole width, hybrid-like long irons, most offset. Built to make a bad strike playable. |
Offset is the quiet variable here. More offset gives the face a fraction more time to square up and moves the CG back — genuinely helpful if you miss right, mildly annoying if you miss left.
07 Grip sizing
| Hand length | Glove (men's) | Grip size | Diameter vs standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 6.9" | Small | Undersize | −1/64" |
| 6.9" – 7.6" | M / ML | Standard | baseline |
| 7.6" – 8.25" | L / XL | Midsize | +1/16" |
| Over 8.25" | XL / XXL | Jumbo / Oversize | +1/8" |
Build-up tape adds diameter at the butt but not much in the lower-hand area, so two wraps is not the same as a true midsize grip. And grip weight counts: going from a 50 g grip to a 66 g midsize changes swing weight by about two points.
08 Wedges — loft gapping, bounce and grind
Gapping
Space your wedges 4–6° apart, which is roughly 10–15 yards. Start from your actual pitching wedge loft, not from a nominal "PW". If your set PW is 43°, a 56° sand wedge leaves a 13° hole — you need something around 48° and 52° in between.
Bounce
| Bounce | Suits | Fails when |
|---|---|---|
| Low, 4–8° | Shallow attack angle, firm turf, tight lies, links golf | Soft turf or a steep swing — the leading edge digs |
| Mid, 8–12° | Neutral attack angle, normal turf. The safest default. | Extremes in either direction |
| High, 12°+ | Steep attack angle, deep divots, soft turf, soft sand | Very tight, firm lies — the sole bounces into the ball and you thin it |
Grind
Grind is where material has been removed from the heel, toe or trailing edge of the sole. More relief lets you open the face without the leading edge lifting off the turf, which is what makes flop shots and short-sided lobs possible. Less relief gives you a wider, more supportive sole. If you are not routinely opening the face, a full or mid sole will serve you better than a heavily ground one.
09 Set makeup and gapping the top of the bag
You are allowed 14 clubs. The job is to cover every distance from your wedge floor to your driver with even gaps, and the place that always goes wrong is the top of the bag.
| Driver speed | Longest iron worth carrying | Fill the rest with |
|---|---|---|
| Under 82 mph | 7-iron | 3W/5W/7W plus 4H, 5H, 6H |
| 82–92 mph | 6-iron | 3W, 5W, 4H, 5H |
| 92–102 mph | 5-iron | 3W, 5W or 3H, 4H |
| 102 mph + | 4-iron (or a driving iron) | 3W, 5W or 3H |
10 Putter fitting
| Height | Putter length | Typical lie |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5'2" | 32" | 69° |
| 5'2" – 5'5" | 32.5" | 69° |
| 5'5" – 5'8" | 33" | 70° |
| 5'8" – 5'11" | 34" | 70° |
| 5'11" – 6'2" | 34.5" | 70° |
| 6'2" – 6'5" | 35" | 71° |
| Over 6'5" | 35.5" | 71° |
Adjust for arm length: long arms for your height means your hands hang lower, which means a shorter putter. Most off-the-rack putters are 34"–35" because that is what sells, not because that is what fits — a lot of golfers are playing a putter an inch too long and standing too upright to compensate.
Head style and toe hang
| Stroke | Toe hang | Head |
|---|---|---|
| Straight back, straight through | Face-balanced (0°) | High-MOI mallet |
| Slight arc | 20°–35° | Mid-mallet or wide blade |
| Strong arc | 45°+ | Heel-shafted blade |
The check that beats every chart: set up comfortably, let your arms hang, and look at the sole. It should sit flat. If the toe is in the air the putter is too long or too upright for you, and a toe-up putter pushes putts right.
11 Golf ball selection
| Driver speed | Ball | Compression |
|---|---|---|
| Under 85 mph | 2-piece, low compression, soft cover | 35–65 |
| 85–95 mph | 3-piece mid compression, ionomer or soft urethane | 65–85 |
| 95–105 mph | 3-piece tour urethane | 85–95 |
| 105 mph + | 3- or 4-piece firm tour urethane | 95–105 |
Compression matters less than the marketing suggests, but cover material matters a lot. Urethane spins more around the greens and curves more in the air. If you are fighting a slice, a firmer ionomer cover is doing you a favour.
12 Standard specifications reference
There is no industry standard, so these vary by a quarter-inch and a degree between brands. They are the baseline this tool applies your adjustments to.
| Club | Men's length | Women's length | Typical lie |
|---|
13 What this tool cannot do
This is a static fitting. It measures your body and asks about your tendencies. That is genuinely how a professional fitting starts, and for length, lie, grip size and set makeup it gets most golfers to within one increment of the right answer.
What it cannot see:
- Your posture and shaft droop at impact. Only a lie board and impact tape reveal these, and they are why a dynamic fit can land a full step away from the static one.
- Your actual launch, spin and dispersion. Shaft profile — where a shaft is stiff along its length, and its torque — matters as much as the letter on it, and only a launch monitor can read it.
- Whether your ball flight is a swing fault or an equipment fault. A slice caused by an open clubface will not be fixed by an upright lie angle. Equipment can reduce a curve; it cannot remove the cause.
- Anything about a swing that is actively changing. If you are mid-rebuild with a coach, fit the swing you will have, not the one you have this month.
Use this to walk into a fitting knowing what to ask for, and to sanity-check what you are told.