Inside the Tour Van: Fitting Q&A with Alexander Wardle

By Drew Mahowald -- 2nd Swing Staff Writer

2nd Swing’s club fitting process is among the best in the golf industry, proven by its yearly recognition on the Golf Digest Top 100 fitter list. The key component to a successful fitting process that works for golfers of all skill levels is building a staff of knowledgeable, friendly, and experienced club fitters.

Alexander Wardle has served as a club fitter at 2nd Swing’s Wilmington, Delaware location for two years. But believe it or not, golf wasn’t a passion of Wardle’s growing up. About 10 years ago, Wardle started playing and was immediately hooked. He soon started working part time at a local golf retailer in the Philadelphia area so he could get involved in his new passion.

Before he knew it, Wardle was working in golf on a full-time basis. He joined 2nd Swing when the Wilmington location was opened in 2017 and has been helping golfers shoot lower scores ever since.

We recently had a chance to chat with Wardle about his fitting process and experiences at 2nd Swing.

2ND SWING: The players distance iron category has grown rapidly over the past couple of years. What type of tendencies do you notice in customers that you fit into players distance irons?

WARDLE: The player's distance iron fitting is always a blast. Most of these players strike the ball somewhat consistently but their distance has been somewhat limited by more traditional clubs. We also see a good amount of players who want to maintain the distance they have on their current game-improvement irons and get a better looking, more challenging club shape. Or we’ll get players looking for something that just feels better than a game-improvement iron.

2ND SWING: How often would you recommend golfers go through a fitting? Is there a number of rounds or a length of time in which a player's swing tendencies can change enough to warrant an updated fitting?

WARDLE: Golfers should always go through a fitting every time they want to purchase a club. Without wanting or seeing a need for a new club I would recommend getting a fitting every couple of years or sooner. Many times, players go through swing changes or develop tendencies in their swings without even knowing it and that can make their current clubs no longer a fit. Through a fitting, we can make sure the equipment is still correct or make changes to keep pace with any swing changes.

2ND SWING: What are the consequences of playing the wrong shaft? What kind of distance gains have you helped customers get by fitting them into a proper shaft?

WARDLE: The biggest result of playing the wrong shaft I see is lack of consistency. Having the matching shaft to your speed and tempo really allows the player to make more consistent contact with a consistent ball flight and a more repeatable swing. With more repeatable swings comes both more control and more distance. Just within the last week, I had a player gain 18 yards of carry distance from switching to graphite versus the heavy steel they had been playing.

2ND SWING: What new products released in 2019 have you noticed are performing best in your fittings?

WARDLE: The PING G410 and Callaway Epic Flash drivers have been great for gaining golfers more ball speed and distance off the tee. Plus, the Titleist T300 irons that were just released are absolute distance machines and are in the conversation of every game-improvement iron fitting right now.

2ND SWING: What is your favorite part about club fitting?

WARDLE: My favorite part of club fitting is how different and fun they all are. Every player swings, feels, and interprets clubs differently, but yet we all want the same result (lower scores). I could do 10 fittings a day for a year and each fitting would be unique. But each time, I’m helping someone play better!