Originally an American company, the first of two Pro Fit franchises opened in Newtonpark Avenue - the other is in Galway separately owned - in March 1996 by Shay O'Byrne. He subsequently sold the shop to its present owner 26-year-old Colin Kirwan.

Immersed in a golfing family, where his father, mother, brother and three sisters play, Kirwan joined Forrest Little in 1983 as a juvenile. He played there for four years bringing his handicap down to seven before leaving for London and giving up the game for two years.

Retaining an overseas membership of Forrest Little he returned to Dublin for three years before venturing to the USA. It was during his time working for Washington National Insurance Company that a chance meeting with a friend of a business colleague led him into the custom fitting process.

He worked part-time in learning the new trade and returned to Ireland when he discovered that a Pro Fit Golf was being set-up. The opportunity arose to buy-out O'Byrne. However, his former boss still lends a hand occasionally.

Kirwan explains the objectives of his business: "I suppose it is about building comfort into someone's swing. I would not look to change someone's swing, simply build a set of clubs to match their swing. My main objective is to give a golfer accuracy, not distance. But I will try and maximise distance in the process."

He insists that there is no minimum requirement before someone can enjoy custom fit clubs. "I can make a set of clubs for anyone, from the beginner to the most experienced golfer. The club-head speed which a player generates does not change from the time they take up the game, nor does the length of the club, so it is possible to build a set of clubs with which a golfer can play as his game develops.

"Like any normal set, the average life span of the clubs is between eight to 10 years, although all parts carry a lifetime guarantee." Kirwan offers a comprehensive fitting process, remarkably free of technical jargon. There is no obligation to buy and the fitting service is free of charge.

He encourages potential clients to either take away and try a five iron that is reasonably close to one he would make for them, or have a single club custom built. His biggest obstacle is the fact that, while the materials he uses are state of the art, they do not carry familiar brand names. Grafalloy, True Temper, Bennington, Zero Tollerance and others manufacture component parts.

And the price? "We are not cheap but we are competitive, comparable to buying a good set of clubs elsewhere. A set of custom built clubs with True Temper steel shafts would cost £380, graphite shafts £430."

The latter may come as something of an eye-opener for those quoted a price differential in hundreds for graphite shafts in a professional's shop. Kirwan maintains: "There is no reason why they should be considerably dearer." Those looking for increased luxury could opt for forged heads which would add £200 to the price.

Irons and woods are not the only items that can be custom fit. The putter may also be tapered to specific requirements. Kirwan asserts: "If anything, having a putter custom built is probably even more sensible given the number of putts in a round."

Ascertaining the length of shaft, weight of putter head, grip size and lie angle will improve the putting stroke.

"The majority of golfers don't have their putters sitting flush with the ground and therefore 10 per cent of putts grab the ground."