January 29th, 2022 
The ultimate answer to this question is NO! Reading the article link below from GOLF.com you will see the basic reasons for the answer. This should be a good start for players seeking a club fitting with the intention improving your game. Next immediate question is where and followed by what it will cost you anything to get fitted. I have been on all sides of this question and basically, I believe that the primary fitting for the first time golfer to get started can be free but the greater technical examination will cost you.
Do short golfers need short clubs, and tall golfers need long clubs?
Why should the early fitting is cheaper? Basic reason is that the player is most likely learning a golf swing and advanced technical knowledge about such things as flight, launch and swing speed (all that affect the fitting) have not always been established at this point. The biggest character that effects the player is posture which directly correlates to length and weight. Adjustments in basic club set at this point is relatively easy and after several lessons the adjustment modifications can be dictated by the teaching professional.
Club technicians should have some experience in this matter and the box stores can help. I believe that the biggest problem is that the use of static measurements to make the primary fitting is not a good idea. Why, you would ask? Well from personal experience I have had a couple of really outside the box players come to me and found that their first club sets were very poorly matched.
First is my male example. Player comes to me and complains that he is all over the golf course with the ball. The distance isn’t too bad but he says, “I don’t know where it is going because I seem to be loosing the club.” Quick check here for his hands and it was quickly apparent that the jumbo grips (by the way did I mention he was 6′-6″) didn’t allow him to grip the club. Checking the hand position on the club found that when the grip was laid along the base of the fingers (See Ralph Maltby’s grip assessment) he can now hold the club without loosing the control he had said was not there. Results were that he had more action, longer distance and better control.
Second example was a female client with no experience. Don’t know if it was just a mistake but because she was so short the set fitted to her as actually a junior (i.e. a Varsity) set. Similar complaints to my first example but she was much more athletic and had extensive baseball background. Going thru the basics found that the grips were too small for her hand and the shafts were way too flexible.
In each of these cases it was found that only a preliminary examination of the basics (i.e. grips, length and player feel) made significant improvements in the players enjoyment of the game. Handicap in each case got significantly lowered and there were alot fewer missing golf balls at the end of the day.
As noted in the basic article and here you should be able to find a competent technician and/or fitter to meet your needs at a minimum of cost. The next best investment from this point is to find you a good teaching professional which could most likely be found at the local course or country club where you want to become a member.
Hope that this is helps you in understanding how to get started with your first clubs and getting to the professional to help your game.
Supporting the Greatest Game Ever…
have been around golf operations for some time and believe this is the most recognized system currently in use. I know that licensing by USGA is available to country clubs and golf courses to maintain their memberships stats. But there are a great number of golfers who are not members of those organized facilities and on occasion are Guests at membership events. Many have GHIN numbers as they come from other facilities that conscribe to the GHIN system. Of these people without GHIN numbers and who use other systems are with some skepticism and scrutinized by the organizing committees totry and keep their events fair. This is a good effort but with the advent of a new tournament system, Golf Genius in 2019 to replace the older TTP system, it has become easier to setup with GHIN as the common handicap system. This is not to say that other systems are bad, just that they are questioned heavily. There is why I would recommend every golfer getting a GHIN number that is now also using the World Handicap System. The use of Golf Genius has been such and great help to local tournament operations.
