Greetings Ya'll,
I need assistance getting Dick's to stand behind their error. They ruined my mixed set of Titleist 718 irons and 3 SM6 Vokey wedges.
-My Wife and I live in Michigan full time. We are in Clermont Florida temporarily while I attend classes at the Golf Academy of America, Orlando Campus. I am 47, retired as a Major from the Army after 25 years of service. I am going to school to become a Teaching Professional.
-A large part of the course work is actually playing the game. I need golf clubs on a daily basis to receive a grade.
-I purchased a new set of irons, a Titleist 718 mixed set. 4-7 AP2. 8-P CB. They were professionally fit in Michigan before starting class on October 23rd. In addition to the irons, I purchased 3 Vokey SM6 wedges. 48, 54, 58. All the shafts are upgraded True Temper shafts. Total Cost is approximately $2000 dollars.
-I was scheduled to participate in a golf tournament on November 6, 2017. The course, Venetian Bay, is in Port Orange, Florida. On November 5, 2017, my wife and I left Clermont for the tournament. I have been working on gapping my clubs. On our way out of town, we stopped at Dick's Sporting Goods in Clermont, FL. I stopped to have the licensed club fitter, Jim, adjust the lofts of all 10 clubs. The most any club was to be adjusted was 2 degrees. He adjusted them, we paid for them, and we continued on to the hotel in Port Orange.
-After checking in, my wife and I went to a driving range. I always warm up with my wedges. I grabbed my 58 and discovered it looked more like a 4 iron. I don't know how he did it. But he managed to bend all of clubs in the range of about 10 degrees apiece. I was devastated. We went to Bob Evans for ice cream and to ponder my options. I found a Dick's in Daytona about 7 miles from us. We made it to the store just before closing. I grabbed the 3 SM6 wedges and showed them to the club fitter Gary. He couldn't even get them in his loft machine at first. He was able to bend them back close to the point they resembled a wedge. Gary couldn't figure out how Jim could have done it. I asked him to look at all of them. He couldn't because the store was closing. The manager of the store apologized profusely.
-I played in the tournament and shot a 102 with a bag full of 4 irons. On Tuesday, I showed them to a Pro at school. He told me they were completely ruined. He sent me to the club repair lab to show them to J.D., J.D. is the school's club fitter. He checked my 6 iron. It was supposed to be 31 degrees. It was 22 degrees. He gathered the class that was about to start to illustrate what happens to a golf club when you bend them wrong. He told me to go back to Dick's and ask them to replace them. All of the clubs were ruined.
- I took the clubs back to Dick's. I asked for a manager. Zach and Ken were both some sort of intermediary managers. They went to a back room to determine how to proceed. The store manager and golf manager were not in at the time. They couldn't get ahold of them. They don't carry Titleist Clubs. I told them I need golf clubs for school. Ken did his best to get them back to stock measurement until a decision was made in the morning when the other 2 were back in the office. Ken told me to snap one of the heads off and then Titleist would replace them. He told me that I would receive a call by 10AM. I called the store at about 4 on Wednesday because I hadn't heard from them. I eventually talked to Jim the guy that ruined them. He denied it, of course. Zach, the assistant I talked to the day before, eventually called me back. He finally reached the store manager. The store manager is not going to replace them. They said they would send them to Titleist to have them evaluated. This is a problem. I need clubs every day. I had to purchase a set of Mizuno irons and wedges through the school. They offer a school discount. They don't have an account with Titleist. I can't afford a set of Titleist irons from a retail store. They should be in this week so I can turn in the Titleist clubs to Dicks.
- I expect to receive new Titleist 718 irons from Dicks and to be reimbursed for the irons I had to buy to participate in school.
Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.
Best,
Brian Bonney