Buying from a club maker vs taking the specs to the open market

[sfarrell22]

I have been reading MGS for a little bit now and recently joined the forum. 

 

Need some help wrapping my mind around some things - hopefully, you can help?

 

Background: 

Started playing apprx 8 years ago - started with an inherited set and then went and got "fitted" (they basically just cranked the lie up a few degrees and gave me semi-stiff shafts) at a large retailer for mizuno jpx 800s. Over the last two years I started giving up some of the other hobbies to focus more on golf and decided recently to go get a proper fitting to see what was going on with my clubs and my swing. Turns out the clubs are out of wack - varying stiffnesses, swing weights and too short for me. 

 

I know there are varying schools of thought on what clubs to play based on handicaps (right now I am at an 18 - as low as a 14 last year and then I had a kid which cut into playing time) - I really like the look and the feel of the mizuno jpx tours! I think if I get this it will help me become a better ball striker and help me focus more on my swing. Am I just setting myself up for punishment?

 

The club fitter/maker is making me a 6 iron from the jpx 900 tour set to my spec +3/4 length, S200 dynamic gold, I forget the SW we decided on and grips slightly above regular.  He is then letting me buy just that one to take out into the real world to hit and make sure I like it. 

 

What to do? 

The clubs would cost $190 a club - seems reasonable for the process - sound fair? but that's $1000-1400 depending on if I get the lower irons. 

I have seen similar sets on different forums with rifle steel shafts with 5.5 or 6 - I think that is comparable? These are significantly less... like half. might not be able to get the exact length... I saw one set that was .5 longer instead of the .75. 

The new jpx 919 tours are also coming out in september?! Do I just wait for them? They look nice.. maybe a touch futuristic but I like that the lack of colored text like in the 900s

 

Also trying to decide if I should get the ping g400 max or just try and tune up my current driver - titleist 913d2 - he is adding some weight to the shaft to give it a better feel. is it really that forgiving?

 

HELP!

[PlaidJacket]

You're going to get a load of advice with this topic. So, I'll give you some of mine.

 

First I'd suggest you take your time and if possible interview-visit several club fitters/builders. Try to stay away from Retail golf fitters. I'm talking about smaller private shops. That's what you want. I'd also suggest you forget the irons you "want". Part of the idea of custom fitting is to Find the Right Clubs for You. Those are the ones you Want. Another suggestion is to not scoff at some brands custom fitters/builders might carry. Wishon, Alpha, KZG, etc. There's a whole world of irons available that aren't called Mizuno or TaylorMade, or Callaway, or Ping for example. And they are first class.

 

We have some fitters/builders here in the forum. Maybe they'll catch this topic.

 

Best Wishes.

[sfarrell22]

Thanks!

 

 

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[chemclub]

I think Plaid gave you all the advise you need. Sometimes the best club fitters work out of their garage - it looks like a Mickey Mouse operation but they know their s***. I also a huge fan of all brands that aren't OEM.

 

In terms of cost, I don't buy irons very often so I don't mind paying for what I really want.

 

Brooks Koepka plays jpg 900 tours. You are a double digit hdcp. I am definitely guilty of loving the look of irons in my hand but then trying to talk myself into loving them behind the ball or when hitting them. Food for thought. You will at least be able to take some dead sexy witb photos.

[sfarrell22]

You're going to get a load of advice with this topic. So, I'll give you some of mine.

 

First I'd suggest you take your time and if possible interview-visit several club fitters/builders. Try to stay away from Retail golf fitters. I'm talking about smaller private shops. That's what you want. I'd also suggest you forget the irons you "want". Part of the idea of custom fitting is to Find the Right Clubs for You. Those are the ones you Want. Another suggestion is to not scoff at some brands custom fitters/builders might carry. Wishon, Alpha, KZG, etc. There's a whole world of irons available that aren't called Mizuno or TaylorMade, or Callaway, or Ping for example. And they are first class.

 

We have some fitters/builders here in the forum. Maybe they'll catch this topic.

 

Best Wishes.

Yeah I went to this small but very good shop (izett golf near Philadelphia).. they don't use all the new launch monitors etc.

 

I guess my question is - should I go with the clubs he could make or try and use the specs he gave me to get a pre owned set?

 

 

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[Mr. 82]

Yeah I went to this small but very good shop (izett golf near Philadelphia).. they don't use all the new launch monitors etc.

 

I guess my question is - should I go with the clubs he could make or try and use the specs he gave me to get a pre owned set?

 

 

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neither. start from scratch with a custom club fitter and throw out everything you have done so far. I got "fit" at Edwin Watts last year for my irons, which essentially was determining which color dot my lie angle was, and then I just hit a few different iron heads, and decided between shift and regular flex for my shafts. The Edwin Watts guys weren't much help, and were more like cheerleaders when I was hitting in the simulator, such as, "Wow, you really hit the ball good."

 

I don't need or want a cheerleader, I need someone who will analyze the data and guide me towards the best clubs for my swing. And from the limited information I've read from you in this thread, your process sounds eerily similar to my failed experience with Edwin Watts. Granted, I was able to change my swing to fit these irons, because I am too dang poor to throw away $600 in irons (or whatever I spent) and just start over.

 

I regret not visiting a legitimate club fitter and doing it the right way. But short of that, you might be better just going to Play It Again Sports and buying something off the rack if you aren't going to go to a legit custom club fitter. But spending the kind of money you are considering seems really dangerous to me (you've got a kid, so you probably have a SWMBO at home, and if in a year you hate your irons, she would kill you if you started that process all over again).

 

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[RickyBobby_PR]

You're going to get a load of advice with this topic. So, I'll give you some of mine.

 

First I'd suggest you take your time and if possible interview-visit several club fitters/builders. Try to stay away from Retail golf fitters. I'm talking about smaller private shops. That's what you want. I'd also suggest you forget the irons you "want". Part of the idea of custom fitting is to Find the Right Clubs for You. Those are the ones you Want. Another suggestion is to not scoff at some brands custom fitters/builders might carry. Wishon, Alpha, KZG, etc. There's a whole world of irons available that aren't called Mizuno or TaylorMade, or Callaway, or Ping for example. And they are first class.

 

We have some fitters/builders here in the forum. Maybe they'll catch this topic.

 

Best Wishes.

I agree with pretty much everything in here but will disagree to an extent with forgetting the irons you want part. Unless those irons are just bad fit regardless of shaft then I say go with what the works best, imo most golfers in the hands of a good fitter can get the iron head they want and the fitter can find a shaft/setup head that fits the golfers swing.

[sfarrell22]

I agree with pretty much everything in here but will disagree to an extent with forgetting the irons you want part. Unless those irons are just bad fit regardless of shaft then I say go with what the works best, imo most golfers in the hands of a good fitter can get the iron head they want and the fitter can find a shaft/setup head that fits the golfers swing.

That was what the fitter and I talked about!

 

Plus he is letting me try just the 6 iron setup to my specs on the course for a bit before committing to the full set.

 

 

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[Singerski]

I have been reading MGS for a little bit now and recently joined the forum.

 

Need some help wrapping my mind around some things - hopefully, you can help?

 

Background:

Started playing apprx 8 years ago - started with an inherited set and then went and got "fitted" (they basically just cranked the lie up a few degrees and gave me semi-stiff shafts) at a large retailer for mizuno jpx 800s. Over the last two years I started giving up some of the other hobbies to focus more on golf and decided recently to go get a proper fitting to see what was going on with my clubs and my swing. Turns out the clubs are out of wack - varying stiffnesses, swing weights and too short for me.

 

I know there are varying schools of thought on what clubs to play based on handicaps (right now I am at an 18 - as low as a 14 last year and then I had a kid which cut into playing time) - I really like the look and the feel of the mizuno jpx tours! I think if I get this it will help me become a better ball striker and help me focus more on my swing. Am I just setting myself up for punishment?

 

The club fitter/maker is making me a 6 iron from the jpx 900 tour set to my spec +3/4 length, S200 dynamic gold, I forget the SW we decided on and grips slightly above regular. He is then letting me buy just that one to take out into the real world to hit and make sure I like it.

 

What to do?

The clubs would cost $190 a club - seems reasonable for the process - sound fair? but that's $1000-1400 depending on if I get the lower irons.

I have seen similar sets on different forums with rifle steel shafts with 5.5 or 6 - I think that is comparable? These are significantly less... like half. might not be able to get the exact length... I saw one set that was .5 longer instead of the .75.

The new jpx 919 tours are also coming out in september?! Do I just wait for them? They look nice.. maybe a touch futuristic but I like that the lack of colored text like in the 900s

 

Also trying to decide if I should get the ping g400 max or just try and tune up my current driver - titleist 913d2 - he is adding some weight to the shaft to give it a better feel. is it really that forgiving?

 

HELP!

A couple of things 1) just going to a small shop and thinking you have someone that knows what they are doing means as little as going into a retailer and assuming they know nothing. Have gone into a Golfsmith in the past and worked with some very knowledgeable folks and in contrast have worked with independent folks that only fit off a lie board.

You will know in your discussions whether they are worth their salt.

 

2) Unless you are someone that has a lot of issues getting the ball airborne get whatever head you like the look of. Over the years my view has changed quite a bit and honestly don't think the “forgiveness” thing matters a whole lot. If you're starting out and can't the the clubface at all a big GI club isn't gonna help and if your at all competent a toe shot on a blade vs a GI iron is gonna be negligible when it comes to your score. So get the iron you like and gets you psyched about the set.

 

3) Most OEMs will let you order an individual club I know for 100% certainty you can from Mizuno and Callaway and have had to order or known folks that have gotten single irons to replace ones lost/damaged so don't think this builder is doing some crazy favor for you

 

4) The fitters markup seems really high in my opinion. JPX900 tours are currently $125 a club. Obviously not sure how many irons you are looking to add into your set but you could be looking at several hundred dollars on top going to your fitter. I'm a big fan of Mizunos custom build process so I'd get your specs and order directly through on of their reps and put the saved money towards some lessons instead

 

 

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