In today’s golf culture, club fitting is a lucrative facet of many golf operations. Whether it’s the expanded service, subsequent hard goods sales or increased golfer participation (play, practice, instruction), expert fitting services are as vital as expert coaching, state-of-the-art technology, extensive practice facilities and a pristine golf course.
Newly recognized as a 2026-2027 Golf Digest Best Teacher in the State of Maryland, John Rosecrans is a 2025 Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Club Fitter and Growth of the Game Teaching Professional. He is a PGA of America Teaching Professional at Fox Hollow Golf Course, a GRAA Top 50 Public Facility in Timonium, Maryland and one of five championship courses under the Baltimore County Golf umbrella.
Introduced to the game by his grandparents, Rosecrans started playing golf when he about five years old. They played at Colonial Country Club, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and enrolled in summer golf camps.
“The game quickly became something we shared as a family,” Rosecrans recalls. “Over the years, my brother and I played occasionally with our grandparents and our father. We were very active with other sports, so golf was always a special activity we would do a few times a year.”
Rosecrans transitioned from baseball to golf in high school and began dedicating his efforts to improving his game. He would go on to play collegiate golf at Mount St. Mary’s University for one year in 2009 before transferring to Towson University, where he competed on the club golf team. While at Towson, Rosecrans worked at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Maryland while earning his degree in Environmental Planning.
“Over the course of my golf career, I’ve gained experience in every role — from cart attendant to assistant golf professional — and now serve as a Player Development Professional at Fox Hollow Training Center,” he explains. “Before taking on this position, I had the opportunity to work under three head golf professionals at different facilities, gaining valuable experience across a variety of operational, instructional and player development environments.
"At the Training Center, we focus on helping golfers improve their golf games with lessons or with new equipment,” he continues. “We have multiple clinics and junior programs, so we can accommodate all skill levels and ages.”
Rosecrans understands that every golf swing is unique, and identifies the root cause of an issue as being essential to lasting improvement. As such, he determines the problem, educates the player on what’s happening and develops a clear game plan for improvement. He keeps it simple and uses basic swing aids, alignment rods and swing ropes for most lessons.
“We focus on building feel, incorporating the entire body and creating timing within the golf swing,” he says. "In club fittings, we use Trackman and the Mizuno shaft optimizer to get the best possible combination of head, shaft, loft, lie and more for the customer.”
Looking ahead, Rosecrans says the continuing trend will be new, properly fit equipment that leads to increased new club sales and enjoyment in the game. He believes that being properly fit for one’s next new set builds confidence and allows golfers to play better, enabling them to hit the ball straighter and farther.
“Most golfers I see do not have fitted equipment, which hampers their ability to improve or receive valuable feedback,” Rosecrans comments. “In the future, I would say we’ll see more online fitting options and the use of AI.”