Any golf fan who has followed Tiger Woods knows the old truism about golfers not being athletes is as outdated as persimmon drivers. Getting physically fit - besides, duh, being good for you - is one way to improve not only your life but your golf game.

But these days, there's a double meaning to "get fit." Using video cameras and launch monitors and plain old trained eyeballs, golf-equipment experts can make sure you're using the correct clubs for you in terms of loft, lie, swing-weight and other factors. It's also one of the easiest ways to get better (and without all that sweat at the gym).

Yet, Mike Stachura writes in the May issue of Golf Digest (on sale now), 70 percent of golfers have never been fitted. All those new, adjustable drivers are worthless if they are used by golfers who don't take the time to get the right ones for them.

Improvement isn't just for the pros, either. "The benefit for high-handicappers is more than for scratch players," club fitter Mark Timms tells Stachura in the article. "I can probably drop a 20-handicapper five shots through the proper fitting."

Why would you not get fitted, then? And in South Carolina - which claims four spots on Golf Digest's "100 Best Club Fitters" list - it's easy.

Here are the four top-ranked S.C. fitters (in no order):

Victory Custom Golf, 5421 Charlotte Highway, Clover; (803) 831-1156.

Lowcountry Custom Golf, Wando Crossing Shopping Center, 1485 Highway 17 North, Unit J, Mount Pleasant; (843) 492-7009/442-2160.

Martin's PGA Tour Superstore, 1400 29th Avenue North, North Myrtle Beach; (843) 839-4653.

Steve Dresser Golf Academy, 80 Pinehurst Lane, Pawleys Island; (843) 650-2272.

As Stachura writes, why devote so much time and energy to the sport if you're not going to maximize your abilities - and your fun?