Is Club Champion worth it?

[ChiefMikeOfficer 690]

3 hours ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

My decades of direct professional experience managing protected brands at retail proves more to me than you and your hearsay ever will; so give it up and move on. Believe what you want; my life will not change a bit. 

Hearsay? I'm reading these as direct experiences (including my own, and the post you quoted) on the retailer end of things. Hearsay would mean just relaying info from others. These are more counterexamples to broad claims, not hearsay. 

Maybe disclose a bit more on your experience? What industry? Were you the manufacturer, supplier, retailer, or some other role? How does it relate to what's actually happening in golf club sales? 

And I'm still waiting on that link to get a Triple Diamond below MAP - if that's happening, I want in. 

[Dog Faced Pony Soldier 32]

6 hours ago, ChiefMikeOfficer said:

I'm still waiting on that link to get a Triple Diamond below MAP - if that's happening, I want in. 

We’re off topic but this actually might help someone so here’s the “link” to a discount on nearly everything purchased at retail. There’s no expiration date.  

Visit a retailer in person and speak to them face to face. Have an actual human interaction. Bring genuine paper cash money and communicate that you’re ready to buy today. Then, and this is the key point… provide a clear reason why it’s in the retailer’s interest to use a discount to win your business. If you accomplish this goal you will be “in” because there’s not a manufacturer dealer agreement contract in the US that restricts this negotiation between parties. The retailer can literally give you the goods for a 100% discount if you’re able to display why it’s in their interest to do so. Theres simply zero question if a retailer can discount. The challenge is generating a reason why someone should sell you something at below market value. Discounts absolutely can and are used every day to win business; even on newly released Callaway drivers. 

For me it’s astonishing to think this isn’t common knowledge, but perhaps my career in sales and brand management has provided clearer vision. Surely some will stubbornly continue to argue, but hopefully others will understand what’s possible. Good luck. 
 

Edited February 23 by Dog Faced Pony Soldier

[RickyBobby_PR 10,146]

1 hour ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

We’re off topic but this actually might help someone so here’s the “link” to a discount on nearly everything purchased at retail. There’s no expiration date.  

Visit a retailer in person and speak to them face to face. Have an actual human interaction. Bring genuine paper cash money and communicate that you’re ready to buy today. Then, and this is the key point… provide a clear reason why it’s in the retailer’s interest to use a discount to win your business. If you accomplish this goal you will be “in” because there’s not a manufacturer dealer agreement contract in the US that restricts this negotiation between parties. The retailer can literally give you the goods for a 100% discount if you’re able to display why it’s in their interest to do so. Theres simply zero question if a retailer can discount. The challenge is generating a reason why someone should sell you something at below market value. Discounts absolutely can and are used every day to win business; even on newly released Callaway drivers. 

For me it’s astonishing to think this isn’t common knowledge, but perhaps my career in sales and brand management has provided clearer vision. Surely some will stubbornly continue to argue, but hopefully others will understand what’s possible. Good luck. 
 

The guy you quoted earlier works in sales in the golf industry so you should recognize that there are people here with direct knowledge and experience on the subject.

What your saying here is exactly what the secret shopper does for the club manufacturer and what leads to the accounts being shut down when the person agrees to sell it below the brands stated price. 

[cnosil 26,321]

1 hour ago, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

We’re off topic but this actually might help someone so here’s the “link” to a discount on nearly everything purchased at retail. There’s no expiration date.  

Visit a retailer in person and speak to them face to face. Have an actual human interaction. Bring genuine paper cash money and communicate that you’re ready to buy today. Then, and this is the key point… provide a clear reason why it’s in the retailer’s interest to use a discount to win your business. If you accomplish this goal you will be “in” because there’s not a manufacturer dealer agreement contract in the US that restricts this negotiation between parties. The retailer can literally give you the goods for a 100% discount if you’re able to display why it’s in their interest to do so. Theres simply zero question if a retailer can discount. The challenge is generating a reason why someone should sell you something at below market value. Discounts absolutely can and are used every day to win business; even on newly released Callaway drivers. 

For me it’s astonishing to think this isn’t common knowledge, but perhaps my career in sales and brand management has provided clearer vision. Surely some will stubbornly continue to argue, but hopefully others will understand what’s possible. Good luck. 
 

Pretty basic guide to how consumers can shop and what is commonly done when purchasing automobiles.   We also use coupons and price matching to buy from preferred retailers.  I’ll go back to where you say it is ILLEGAL for a OEM to dictate price to a reseller; show me where that is stated.   I have provided a link to the FTC that shows that OEMs can require contractually agreed upon prices that resellers can not drop below.  Many here have provided personal knowledge of the ramifications from selling Ping equipment for discounted prices.  

[Golfspy_CG2 33,966]

6 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The guy you quoted earlier works in sales in the golf industry so you should recognize that there are people here with direct knowledge and experience on the subject.

What your saying here is exactly what the secret shopper does for the club manufacturer and what leads to the accounts being shut down when the person agrees to sell it below the brands stated price. 

 

5 hours ago, cnosil said:

Pretty basic guide to how consumers can shop and what is commonly done when purchasing automobiles.   We also use coupons and price matching to buy from preferred retailers.  I’ll go back to where you say it is ILLEGAL for a OEM to dictate price to a reseller; show me where that is stated.   I have provided a link to the FTC that shows that OEMs can require contractually agreed upon prices that resellers can not drop below.  Many here have provided personal knowledge of the ramifications from selling Ping equipment for discounted prices.  

Guys let's move on from this.  Many of us have stated real world personal experiences. We're not going to change anyone's mind.  

If we don't get the subject back on track, I'll close it as it seems to have derailed from the original topic, which I know is being discussed in many other threads.    Not to mention the OP isn't even a posting here anymore, well at least under that name

 

[treeleaf20 10]

21 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Im not sure any fitter would gurantee that you will drive the ball better. Most if not all would tell you they will see if your current setup is optimal for your swing and if not they will get you into a setup that is. Having a setup that’s optimized for your swing will reduce the effects of your bad swings while making your good ones have better results. As golfers it’s still on us to make the swing. Having a setup that works with our swings eps improve the changes we will make better swings.

I don’t many fitters in the Carolinas but True Spec is going to be a top choice because they are going to have outdoor capabilities which allows you to seee true ball flight. Imo this helps see what changes in ball flight a setup is doing and how a ball really reacts based on strike location. They are also some of the most qualified fitters around. The down side is their business model is all aftermarket to my knowledge. I don’t recall them offering stock options like CC does.  
 

I would always recommend an outdoor fitting whether it’s off grass or from a bay towards grass areas for the reasons mentioned above. Second I would contact the fitter and ask what their process is for conducting a fitting, during that discussion I would ask about your want for a guarantee and see what they say. Let them know what you want to accomplish and see what their response is. 
 

Once at the fitting be as honest with the fitter about how a setup feels, if you fee like you are having to swing different to make the club work and what your thoughts are about the ball flight you are seeing. The more communication during the fitting the better.

Ill message a guy that lives in N Carolina to see if he has any recommendations for fitters

 

I'm in the Charlotte area, did you hear back from your friend here to see if he has any recommendations? I got fitted previously at Club Champion but in the market for a new driver and potentially new irons as well. Appreciate any insights.

[flyingwedges 14]

On 2/18/2022 at 8:47 PM, cnosil said:

CC provides their answer here:  https://clubchampiongolf.com/blog/misconceptions/

 

And that MAP story is full of hot air.

[Golfinvegas 17]

My experience was positive.  A year ago, I got a bonus from now former employer and decided to get a new driver to replace my Callaway Diablo 10.5 degree.  Made an appointment and met the fitter Julian who had me warm up.

After warm up, he took my numbers using the Diablo which showed 3-4k sidespin thus getting a lot of fades as well as loss of distance (180-220 yards).  We tried different manufacturers and shafts but found excellent results with the TSi2 9 degree with 60 gram Hzrdus smoke shaft which gave me 20 more yards on the monitor while reducing my sidespin to 2k or less.  Now I am not an expert on components but I can see enough data to get the driver.

I placed the order at ~ 650 with fitting waived and was told 6-8 weeks which turned more into 11 but once I got it, it has become a fairway finder and now I am hitting it between 240-260.  Could I have gotten those numbers at any big box location or independent fitter, maybe so and then again maybe not.  Golf here in Vegas is transient with stores and courses closing left and right.  I just learned recently that Julian is no longer with CC so while I am very happy with my purchase, someone else may not.  As with a lot of things, YMMV.

[GaDawg 1,752]

On 2/23/2022 at 6:22 AM, Dog Faced Pony Soldier said:

We’re off topic but this actually might help someone so here’s the “link” to a discount on nearly everything purchased at retail. There’s no expiration date.  

Visit a retailer in person and speak to them face to face. Have an actual human interaction. Bring genuine paper cash money and communicate that you’re ready to buy today. Then, and this is the key point… provide a clear reason why it’s in the retailer’s interest to use a discount to win your business. If you accomplish this goal you will be “in” because there’s not a manufacturer dealer agreement contract in the US that restricts this negotiation between parties. The retailer can literally give you the goods for a 100% discount if you’re able to display why it’s in their interest to do so. Theres simply zero question if a retailer can discount. The challenge is generating a reason why someone should sell you something at below market value. Discounts absolutely can and are used every day to win business; even on newly released Callaway drivers. 

For me it’s astonishing to think this isn’t common knowledge, but perhaps my career in sales and brand management has provided clearer vision. Surely some will stubbornly continue to argue, but hopefully others will understand what’s possible. Good luck. 
 

 

[Guam135i 1]

I just spent $5k at Club Champion at Del Mar in August of last year. I used to play PXG irons and Titleist woods before I got to San Diego and thought I want to get fitted so I can improve my game some more. I got fitted and it took more than 7 weeks to get the clubs that were fitted to me. I was very excited to get them premium shaft etc. from Driver to Putter. I tried to play with the fitted clubs  when I got them in November but I could not hit them properly and lost 2 club lengths of distance on the entire bag. I thought it must be me not getting used to the new fitted clubs. I took them to the driving range, used then at the course, but still I got worst and worst. I noticed that the clubs were super light to my feel I could not feel what the club head is at and what it is doing...I sucked. So I decided to used my old set (lucky I did not sell them) lo and behold I played so much better and so much fun. I thought maybe it is all in my mind so I played a day after and I was even better and I got my distance back. Now I know it is the clubs, 5K down the drain any suggestions what my options are to make these clubs workable? I would like to try to have the lie set back to standard they are Srixon ZX4's. I thought club fitting would always be a plus nit knowing that it could also make you worst...so be wary before spending your hard earned money....

[RickyBobby_PR 10,146]

6 hours ago, Guam135i said:

I noticed that the clubs were super light to my feel I could not feel what the club head is at and what it is doing...I sucked.

Did you not notice this during the fitting?

6 hours ago, Guam135i said:

5K down the drain any suggestions what my options are to make these clubs workable? I would like to try to have the lie set back to standard they are Srixon ZX4's. I thought club fitting would always be a plus nit knowing that it could also make you worst...so be wary before spending your hard earned money....

Talk to club champion and have them look at the specs to make sure they were built to what you were fit too. Club champion can also do lie adjustments.

Theres never a guarantee that fitting makes a person better. It gives the golfer clubs that work with their swing that allows them the chance to make better swings because they aren’t trying to manipulate the club/swing to achieve a shot they are trying to execute. It’s also to optimize the ball flight so that the results of our bad swings isn’t as bad as what they were with the previous ones. 
 

[rlb4 11]

Aren't Club Champion's fitting irons heavier sw due to the adapter they use? Definitely contact them and explain what's going on. It could be that the sw is different from the ones that you were fitted with.

[TomBomb51 3]

My CC experience:

I went on 1/8/22 and had an iron fitting. I had a few in mind. I'm a 1 handicap and the guy was pretty good. He was knowledgeable but definitely your typical salesman. He's gotta make money so I get it.

I ended up with Mizuno Pro 223 with Project X LZ 6.0. He got the quote and it was like $2800. I questioned it of course and it had SST puring, aftermarket shaft upgrade price and grip price. After removing the SST Puring and the shaft upcharge, which I had to remind HIM that Mizuno doesn't charge for shafts, the price was more reasonable and I pulled the trigger.

Bout a week later I realized I still got charged for the grips. I let him know and they refunded me the cost, no biggy.

It was annoying that I had to tell him, but what if a customer isn't as informed as me? Just comes off as slimy.

Now on to the worst part. I realize this is t their issue, but Mizuno had a malware attack that delayed the order about a month. They also had 223 head production issues which delayed it another week or so. They shipped from Mizuno and arrived at the CC HQ on 3/29/2022.

Once I got confirmation from Mizuno that they arrived at CC, I contacted CC and they told me that they hadn't been "received" yet. They claim that they get 300-600 boxes per day and it can take a week to actually check in all these shipments.

It is now 10 days later and I had to contact them AGAIN and now they claim that their build shop is relocating, delaying the order yet again and they anticipate the clubs to be "received and checked in on 4/19"

It's truly unbelievable to me that it would take nearly a month just to open a box.

I will not be ordering clubs from CC again.

Edited April 9 by TomBomb51

[russtopherb 9,755]

8 minutes ago, TomBomb51 said:

It is now 10 days later and I had to contact them AGAIN and now they claim that their build shop is relocating, delaying the order yet again and they anticipate the clubs to be "received and checked in on 4/19"

It's truly unbelievable to me that it would take nearly a month just to open a box.

I will not be ordering clubs from CC again.

It's bad enough to have the expected delays due to supply chain holding up orders, but to have CC add onto it to with this as an excuse? Poor form on their part.

[Pete Morison 0]

I was for for a new driver new shaft, 3 new wedges, and a new Putter on 2/24/22.

I finally got the driver/shaft and the putter 6/8. The wedges were not ready since they were being swapped out with my current wedges using the same shaft.

while they were removing one of the heads they snapped a shaft.

It is now 6/21 and I still do not have my wedge. I played a member guest with the new putter, but it did not feel right. I took it back and they had to bend it to my specs. This has been a very poor experience. To make matters worse they never once called me to update me on when the clubs would be in. I still can’t get a answer on the remaining wedge. An honestly when I went back to have them check the putter, the original fitter was too busy to correct his mistake so he had someone else bend the putter.

it is now late June, this is not how you treat someone who has paid good money. I will never use Club Champion again. The sad part is no one has even said sorry, or pretended to care. This all took place at the new store in Livingston, NJ.