Take a walk up and down the driving range, and a few things immediately are observable:

Fact: In today's market there are NO major golf companies manufacturing precision fit, precision manufactured sets of golf clubs that have been precisely tuned to the individual's swing! Only when you can put the same swing on every golf club, can you compete at the highest level and achieve results truly commensurate with your ability.

Probably the best example of this commitment to precision tuned and precision manufacturing, was when the great Ben Hogan invited Jack Fleck to the Hogan factory in Fort Worth to be fitted a set of precision Hogan golf clubs. The difference to Jack Fleck's game resulted in his winning of the 1955 US Open over none other than Ben Hogan himself in a playoff.

Today all tour players today are precisely fit and most equipped with precision golf sets. On the other hand, the majority of the general golf public is stuck with off the shelf, mass produced , inferior sets of clubs that do not match their swings.

So what's the point? Custom Fitting is BACK. BIG TIME and we are not talking about the major manufacturer's "Golf Fitting Carts" found on ranges and country clubs. Another favorable consideration – custom fitting runs about the same price as off the shelf clubs and if one has access to custom fitting, it would be well worth the time and effort.

Want to improve your game? Lessons and custom fitting are critical elements. Nothing more - nothing else. Off the shelf is Out, Custom is in. And forget the current hype of Bigger is Better or Smaller is better. These are marketing gimmicks plain and simple.

There are however, some of the big boys that are finally getting with the program. After years of shoving down the gullets of the general golfing public, non-frequency matched shafts and shafts that do match the golfer's swing speed, they are now jumping on the bandwagon with the possible exception of MacHenry Metals and DimensionZ Golf who are already there. Cobra is pushing their new Gravity Backed clubs with frequency matched shafts and matched swing speeds, similar to MacHenry and you can be rest assured that the others will soon follow. Of all the custom fitted manufacturers, only DimensionZ Golf, in this writer's opinion, warrants further discussion in this article.

But guess what, the real golf- manufacturing experts, those that can be seen through the hype, are alive and well and running custom golf manufacturing organizations. In this article we focus on one of the top custom manufacturers with discussions of the other manufactures in future articles. The best of these manufacturers are Dimension Z, Henry Griffiths, and Zevo in this order.

DimensionZ however, in our opinion, is way ahead of its closest competitor. Numerous pros such as Tom Kite, Justin Leonard, David Frost, Lee Janzen, Ed Sneed and Mark Brooks to name a few who have availed themselves to these fitting techniques. On further investigation, there are numerous other pros such as Tommy Armor III, John Brodie, Rick Rhoden, Gary Stickel, Gary Hallberg, R.W. Eakes, Ed Wall, Jack Fegen and Luke Lane from the PGA Tour, Bruce Devlin and Robert Landers of the Senior PGA Tour and Cindy Kelleher, Jackie Gallagher, Sharon Barret and J.J. McCormickof the LPGA that are availing themselves to precision fitted and manufactured clubs from DimensionZ Golf. Even Clint Eastwood and John Elway are DimensionZ Golf converts. Major League baseball players and NHL players in the dozens are also using DimensionZ clubs.

Of the so-called "mass producers" MacHenry Metals has no equal period. Though they do not offer custom clubs, they must be doing something right. They are the most popular brand of woods being used on the Senior Tour. (FYI – Kasco is the second best.) Their shaft to swing speed allows the golfer options that simplify "the right club" decision.

Dimension Z, based in Colorado, has Don Ingermann, the former president and vice chairman of the Ben Hogan Golf Company. In this writer's opinion, Ingermann has discovered what it takes to satisfy those golfers who are really desirous in obtaining equipment that benefits them individually.

While all the other custom club manufacturers have a "system" of custom fitting, the nationwide professional fitters assembled by Ingermann, is second to none. With the exception of Zevo, the other brand name custom club manufacturers are difficult to locate. Zevo though, has an excellent group of knowledgeable fitting specialists as well, but not as thorough as Dimension Z.

The primary USP (Unique Selling Proposition) of Dimension Z is that documentation provided by Ingermann, warranting and guaranteeing the matched frequencies, is highly unusual, not readily available or supplied by other custom manufacturers. Moreover, the aesthetically pleasing completed product simply feels great and plays wonderfully. The results in your confidence and your wallet behoove the serious golfer to pursue being custom fit.

Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the California Golf Writers Association, and serves both as a Consultant and Mediator to the golf industry. He is also the author of numerous books, including "333 Best Web Sites for Golfers" and his current book, "How to Build Business Relationships Through Golf" is in the Top Ten Golf Business Book's best seller list.

He can be reached at www.pgtaa.com or drlotz@cbsgolf.net