Club Champion iron fitting

[LeftyRM7]

I’ve seen a lot of discussion on here about fittings and weather they’re worth it and what is the best place to get fit. Just before lock down here in NC, I got fit for new irons at Club Champion in Charlotte. I’ve also been fit for driver and putter at the same location. Today, I’m going to give an overview of my experience, give some pros/cons, and give some thoughts about fitting. Hopefully this will help some people unsure about the process at CC and fittings in general.

 

For starters, I picked CC for their huge selection. As a lefty, I wanted to make sure my fitter had the most options available. I really like the fitter I’ve been using, which is the biggest factor in fitting. Not clubs, technology, or where they work, the fitter and their knowledge are what drives the fitting. Can’t stress that enough. I think of them like a coach, because they should be one in the same. If I was working with a coach, I’d use them or whoever they recommend to get fit.

 

Next, is my thoughts on expectations. I’m a bit of a nerd and tend to always think about everything. I’m the guy that constantly asks why and wants to put everything to test. So eliminating variables and having piece of mind that my clubs aren’t costing me strokes is huge for me. Obviously their needs to be performance gains to justify a purchase, but performance gains are based on your current clubs. You never know how good/bad they’re fit until you get fit. I know most people, myself included, get fit when they’re ready to upgrade equipment, but don’t think fitting means you have to change equipment. The reality is, their may not be a sizable jump in performance. Length, loft, lie, weight, are big factors that usually cost little or nothing to get adjusted. For me, I’m happy with the data and the knowledge I get from trackman and my fitter. That knowledge, more than anything I take to the course to make me better.

 

Now to the fitting. I had already spoke to my fitter to confirm what heads they had available in lefty. I gave him a short list and he confirmed they had them. I did a bit of research and some testing to narrow down my search and my fitter added a few heads to try. When I arrived, we sat down for a few minutes while we talked about my game and what my expectations and limitations were. I requested to stay in stock shaft offerings to keep the cost down. Their are plenty of shaft upgrade options available from OEMs for no up charge, and $1000 for a set of irons was enough to have to explain to my wife. We then worked our way to the fitting bay where he had me warm up with some wedges and work my way up to my 6 iron. While warming up I did notice that their was a mixture of balls in the tray of the mat, so I picked 3 ProV1s to use for the rest of the fit. At CC they base everything off of a 6 iron. Which I understand will be a deal breaker for a lot of people. It is a big flaw in their system for so many reasons but for me it wasn’t a deal breaker. I use my 6 iron a lot at my home course so it is an important club to my game. Once I got warmed up he had me hit about 5-6 good shots with my 6 iron to get a baseline. Then a few off of a lie board with strike tape. Because I had Callaway irons, he started me with the Mavrik head and we worked through about 7 shafts, narrowing it down to 2 options. I could definitely play the Mavriks even though I don’t like the look, the feel is nice and the numbers weren’t bad. Then we worked through heads, I tried JPX919 Hot Metal, Cobra Forged TEC, Srixon Z585, TaylorMade SIM and Ping G410. SIM and Z585 were no good for me, struggled to strike them with any consistency. G410 was similar to the Mavrik but the standouts were the Hot Metal and the Forged TEC, which were my favorites entering my fitting. I’ve been obsessed with the Mizunos since I tried a JPX850 about 2 years ago and was thinking about doing a demo day fitting for them this spring but ultimately I didn’t want to wait and once I discovered the Forged TEC I couldn’t buy anything until I try them. I strongly prefer the look and feel of the TEC and my dispersion was best with them. The JPX was slightly wider left to right but tighter length wise in dispersion. Ball flights were very similar, not enough to say one or the other was better, especially with a small sample size of data. My fitter picked the Mizuno because he felt it would be slightly more forgiving but felt I could easily game either one. So then we came back to the Mizuno head and hit a few balls with each of the 2 shafts we had settled on to get a good read on which was best. Then he had me hit off of the lie board again to verify a lie adjustment. He recommended Nippon NS Pro 950 R flex and a 2° upright lie. Also some loft adjustments to match the short irons to my current gamers because I felt good about my gapping there and strengthening the longer irons to widen the gaps a little bit. Grips were the final piece, which consisted of me picking from about 50 different options on the wall and he took a look at my grip to get a good idea of grip size. I knew I wanted to try the golf pride mcc align but was surprised when he recommended midsized, never thought about it but he pointed out that my fingertips ran into my thumb pretty good with standard grips.

 

The whole process was 90 minutes and it flies by so going in prepared will really help you to get the most out of it. Know what you want and don’t want and be up front about about it. The more you know before you go the better. I felt very satisfied with everything, even though it’s not the perfect process. I like the indoor hitting bay for eliminating variables, and their setup is second to none. Trackman, or something similar, is a must when getting fit in my opinion. They have more options than anywhere I’ve seen when it comes to equipment, which is big for a lefty.

 

Now to the negatives of CC. First the obvious, hitting off of a mat is not ideal and can have an affect on things. Next, I would bring the balls that you play with to eliminate that variable, I wish I would have thought of it but I had some in my bag. The big negative to their iron fitting process is undoubtedly the fact that you hit a 6 iron and only a 6 iron. Not exactly the most consistent club for most people and it makes gapping and afterthought. That being said I can go back to test them and have them adjusted but that’s not ideal if you’re say thinking about blending a set. Also that is by appointment so they can schedule you in between fittings. Obviously a very streamlined business model that maximizes profitability, I get that. As I said before, I really like my fitter but it is a fast paced business that doesn’t give you a warm and fuzzy personal experience like if you were fit by an independent coach.

 

Overall I am very pleased with my experience and I will continue to be a customer in the future. Since I spent over $1000 in the last 12 months with them, I get “membership benefits“ for the next year. Which equates to some discounts, a half priced fitting, and 3, 1 hour sessions in a hitting bay. They also gave me a 10% discount on my clubs because they new my clubs would take longer than usual with everything going on in the world. I actually ordered my clubs while they were shut down, my fitter kept in contact with me even though they weren’t working, so that was nice. I feel like I got a deal at $844 after tax on a 7 club set(5-GW). If I bought at a big box store, even with a free “fitting”, I would have paid more than I did after my $150 fitting cost. I plan on going back for a long game fitting to address everything between my irons and driver, also to see where my driver stands over a year after my fitting. I don’t plan on ever doing a wedge fitting with them because I don’t see much value in an indoor wedge fit.

 

I can say without a doubt that my driver and putter fittings have made me better and saved me strokes. I fully expect my iron fitting will do the same this year for my game. I only have one range session and a bad day on the course with them so far. I’m already a big fan of the MCC Align grips. I love the looks and feel of the head/shaft combo but I definitely have some bugs to work out. Definitely seeing more distance out of the long irons and I’m not over-cooking shots to the right like I had been. Ironically I shot my lowest round ever, 84, the week before I got my new irons. I had a rough day, and shot 100 on my first round out with the new clubs. A good reminder that it is definitely the Indian much more than the arrow. Granted it was 2 different courses and the first played easier but I know it may be a year, or more, before I break that score. At the end of the day, I love my new clubs, they give me confidence and make me want to play better, and that’s all I can ask for from a good fitting.

 

 

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[tchat07]

Great write up I had a very similar experience with CC a few months back. The fitter described to me they use the 6 iron because it's often an inconsistent club for most golfers. The thinking being if they can make it consistent then the rest of the bag will follow. I was fit into a midsize grip as well, I wish they would let you hit with select grip types to see if you like the feel.

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[PMookie]

I’ve seen a lot of discussion on here about fittings and weather they’re worth it and what is the best place to get fit. Just before lock down here in NC, I got fit for new irons at Club Champion in Charlotte. I’ve also been fit for driver and putter at the same location. Today, I’m going to give an overview of my experience, give some pros/cons, and give some thoughts about fitting. Hopefully this will help some people unsure about the process at CC and fittings in general.
 
For starters, I picked CC for their huge selection. As a lefty, I wanted to make sure my fitter had the most options available. I really like the fitter I’ve been using, which is the biggest factor in fitting. Not clubs, technology, or where they work, the fitter and their knowledge are what drives the fitting. Can’t stress that enough. I think of them like a coach, because they should be one in the same. If I was working with a coach, I’d use them or whoever they recommend to get fit.
 
Next, is my thoughts on expectations. I’m a bit of a nerd and tend to always think about everything. I’m the guy that constantly asks why and wants to put everything to test. So eliminating variables and having piece of mind that my clubs aren’t costing me strokes is huge for me. Obviously their needs to be performance gains to justify a purchase, but performance gains are based on your current clubs. You never know how good/bad they’re fit until you get fit. I know most people, myself included, get fit when they’re ready to upgrade equipment, but don’t think fitting means you have to change equipment. The reality is, their may not be a sizable jump in performance. Length, loft, lie, weight, are big factors that usually cost little or nothing to get adjusted. For me, I’m happy with the data and the knowledge I get from trackman and my fitter. That knowledge, more than anything I take to the course to make me better.
 
Now to the fitting. I had already spoke to my fitter to confirm what heads they had available in lefty. I gave him a short list and he confirmed they had them. I did a bit of research and some testing to narrow down my search and my fitter added a few heads to try. When I arrived, we sat down for a few minutes while we talked about my game and what my expectations and limitations were. I requested to stay in stock shaft offerings to keep the cost down. Their are plenty of shaft upgrade options available from OEMs for no up charge, and $1000 for a set of irons was enough to have to explain to my wife. We then worked our way to the fitting bay where he had me warm up with some wedges and work my way up to my 6 iron. While warming up I did notice that their was a mixture of balls in the tray of the mat, so I picked 3 ProV1s to use for the rest of the fit. At CC they base everything off of a 6 iron. Which I understand will be a deal breaker for a lot of people. It is a big flaw in their system for so many reasons but for me it wasn’t a deal breaker. I use my 6 iron a lot at my home course so it is an important club to my game. Once I got warmed up he had me hit about 5-6 good shots with my 6 iron to get a baseline. Then a few off of a lie board with strike tape. Because I had Callaway irons, he started me with the Mavrik head and we worked through about 7 shafts, narrowing it down to 2 options. I could definitely play the Mavriks even though I don’t like the look, the feel is nice and the numbers weren’t bad. Then we worked through heads, I tried JPX919 Hot Metal, Cobra Forged TEC, Srixon Z585, TaylorMade SIM and Ping G410. SIM and Z585 were no good for me, struggled to strike them with any consistency. G410 was similar to the Mavrik but the standouts were the Hot Metal and the Forged TEC, which were my favorites entering my fitting. I’ve been obsessed with the Mizunos since I tried a JPX850 about 2 years ago and was thinking about doing a demo day fitting for them this spring but ultimately I didn’t want to wait and once I discovered the Forged TEC I couldn’t buy anything until I try them. I strongly prefer the look and feel of the TEC and my dispersion was best with them. The JPX was slightly wider left to right but tighter length wise in dispersion. Ball flights were very similar, not enough to say one or the other was better, especially with a small sample size of data. My fitter picked the Mizuno because he felt it would be slightly more forgiving but felt I could easily game either one. So then we came back to the Mizuno head and hit a few balls with each of the 2 shafts we had settled on to get a good read on which was best. Then he had me hit off of the lie board again to verify a lie adjustment. He recommended Nippon NS Pro 950 R flex and a 2° upright lie. Also some loft adjustments to match the short irons to my current gamers because I felt good about my gapping there and strengthening the longer irons to widen the gaps a little bit. Grips were the final piece, which consisted of me picking from about 50 different options on the wall and he took a look at my grip to get a good idea of grip size. I knew I wanted to try the golf pride mcc align but was surprised when he recommended midsized, never thought about it but he pointed out that my fingertips ran into my thumb pretty good with standard grips.
 
The whole process was 90 minutes and it flies by so going in prepared will really help you to get the most out of it. Know what you want and don’t want and be up front about about it. The more you know before you go the better. I felt very satisfied with everything, even though it’s not the perfect process. I like the indoor hitting bay for eliminating variables, and their setup is second to none. Trackman, or something similar, is a must when getting fit in my opinion. They have more options than anywhere I’ve seen when it comes to equipment, which is big for a lefty.
 
Now to the negatives of CC. First the obvious, hitting off of a mat is not ideal and can have an affect on things. Next, I would bring the balls that you play with to eliminate that variable, I wish I would have thought of it but I had some in my bag. The big negative to their iron fitting process is undoubtedly the fact that you hit a 6 iron and only a 6 iron. Not exactly the most consistent club for most people and it makes gapping and afterthought. That being said I can go back to test them and have them adjusted but that’s not ideal if you’re say thinking about blending a set. Also that is by appointment so they can schedule you in between fittings. Obviously a very streamlined business model that maximizes profitability, I get that. As I said before, I really like my fitter but it is a fast paced business that doesn’t give you a warm and fuzzy personal experience like if you were fit by an independent coach.
 
Overall I am very pleased with my experience and I will continue to be a customer in the future. Since I spent over $1000 in the last 12 months with them, I get “membership benefits“ for the next year. Which equates to some discounts, a half priced fitting, and 3, 1 hour sessions in a hitting bay. They also gave me a 10% discount on my clubs because they new my clubs would take longer than usual with everything going on in the world. I actually ordered my clubs while they were shut down, my fitter kept in contact with me even though they weren’t working, so that was nice. I feel like I got a deal at $844 after tax on a 7 club set(5-GW). If I bought at a big box store, even with a free “fitting”, I would have paid more than I did after my $150 fitting cost. I plan on going back for a long game fitting to address everything between my irons and driver, also to see where my driver stands over a year after my fitting. I don’t plan on ever doing a wedge fitting with them because I don’t see much value in an indoor wedge fit.
 
I can say without a doubt that my driver and putter fittings have made me better and saved me strokes. I fully expect my iron fitting will do the same this year for my game. I only have one range session and a bad day on the course with them so far. I’m already a big fan of the MCC Align grips. I love the looks and feel of the head/shaft combo but I definitely have some bugs to work out. Definitely seeing more distance out of the long irons and I’m not over-cooking shots to the right like I had been. Ironically I shot my lowest round ever, 84, the week before I got my new irons. I had a rough day, and shot 100 on my first round out with the new clubs. A good reminder that it is definitely the Indian much more than the arrow. Granted it was 2 different courses and the first played easier but I know it may be a year, or more, before I break that score. At the end of the day, I love my new clubs, they give me confidence and make me want to play better, and that’s all I can ask for from a good fitting.
 
 
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Sounds great! Congrats. Good to hear about the benefits after spending $1000 with them. I hadn’t heard that one before.


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[heavygolffeels]

I believe TXG does alot of fitting with the 6 iron as well. 

[fixyurdivot]

Great write up @LeftyRM7!  Like you, I approached my iron fitting as a "show me the data" effort.  Of course moving from PE2's as a baseline didn't exactly put a load of pressure on the fitter, but some significant results were needed for me to make the switch.  I ended up with G410's, but the Mizunos were oh so close. As for the 6i, I don't see why that is an issue and think it might even be a better choice than the 7i.  Sounds like money well spent and that CC is a solid choice in club fitting.

[Lakeeriegolfer]

This whole writeup has been really informative.  I have been thinking about fitting for ages, with most of my clubs being relatively old (going on 17 year irons that are too upright) or are just thought to be automatically the best (Vokey wedges).  Only using the 6 iron concerns me a bit but I understand the time aspect of using only one club.  I hit my 6i and up well, and 7i down through wedges is where I get dicey. 

Any feedback is good feedback and as we get into summer the itch to get fit keeps getting stronger. 

[WillKizer]

Interesting, I’ve been fit by club champion for driver/FW and putter with truly excellent results. I’ve also had multiple fittings with professional fitters over the years for irons.

CC iron fitting sounds fairly similar to what I’ve had previously experienced with private fitters. The difference that Club Champion can offer is a much wider range of options.  The cost for a CC fitting session is competitive, so definitely Club Champion unless you have a fitter you trust.

One benefit of private fitters is you may be able to demo the head with a similar shaft, and I shudder to think about spending $1200 on irons before hitting them off of real fairways.  Honestly, I purchased my clubs fit from CC separately after spending time at my club trying demos first to confirm those expensive purchases.  And yes, they CC fittings were validated, so I do give a vote to CC in their fittings so far (Driver, FW and putter so dar with me).