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Custom fitting is achieved by altering key club specifications: shaft type & flex, club length, lie & loft angles and grip size.

Steel shaft generally offer greater accuracy than graphite, while graphite offers greater distance. It is common for tour players to put steel in their irons and graphite shafts in their woods. The reasoning is clear, they want as much distance as possible off the tee where they can afford to lose some accuracy, but the iron shot to the pin must be as accurate as possible. Steel shafts have very little torque (twist) when they are swung aggressively, which means they are more likely to return the club head square to the ball resulting in a straight shot. Therefore, steel shafts are the most common choice for irons because irons are typically used when approaching a small target - the green.	Graphite shaft weigh less than their steel counterparts, are easier to swing and generate more club head speed resulting in increased distance. As fairways tend to be a bigger target than greens, and distance off the tee is always at a premium, graphite shafts tend to be the preferred choice for woods.
	Shaft flex is a critical factor for both distance and direction. Generally, the greater the shaft flexes the greater the distance but with less control over direction. Shafts that are too stiff for a player will often feel "heavy" resulting in ball flight to the right for a right-handed player with associated loss of distance. Shafts that are too flexible may feel better but are more difficult to control resulting in ball flight to the left for a right-handed player.

Grip size To a small degree grip size can be used to tailor ball flight. Smaller grips promote hand action in the swing, which generally results in a left ball flight for right-handed golfers. Larger grips restrict hand action and have the opposite effect on ball flight.	Club length Clubs that are too upright (club length too short) for a player's physical measurements will generally cause the ball to miss left for right-handed golfers. Clubs that are too long for a player's physical measurements will generally cause the ball to miss right for right-handed golfers.

Lie angle is the angle between the centerline of the shaft and the ground.	Loft angle is the angle between the centerline of the shaft and the clubface.

Lie angle is related to the club's overall length. As irons get longer the lie angle is decreased to allow the club to perform correctly e.g. a 7-iron is more upright than a 3-iron. Club length, lie angle and loft angle are tied together in a delicate balance. Changing one element will have an effect on the others.