OEM Fitting vs DTC Options (Especially PXG)

[GregB135]

Alright,

I've decided it's just about time to get a new set of irons. The current in-bag set is Mizuno JPX 850 Forged (4-PW) with KBS C-Taper Lite 110 shafts. I played relatively well with them for almost 4 years before ordering a set of Ben Hogan PTx Irons. I liked the Hogans, but after about a year in play, the ferrules on all the irons were slipping to varying degrees. I realize that's mainly an aesthetic thing, but it made me question the overall quality of construction of the clubs. I also got to test the Ping G410 irons. I liked them, but didn't score well with them and it turns out the fitting for the test set may not have been accurate. I also never really felt comfortable at set up with them since they are a bit more game improvement than my current/previous sets.

As a GOLFTEC student, each lesson series package includes a fitting, so I recently did an iron fitting. The two top contenders were Titleist T200 and Mizuno JPC 919 Forged. I really liked both irons, but as an MGS reader, I've become a little leery of using data exclusively from an indoor fitting. SO.. I've got a follow up fitting scheduled with the fitter at my local club, a Titleist master fitter, who fits exclusively outdoors with the full van and trackman. I'll be looking at the T200s with him to verify the numbers from the GOLFTEC fitting and see turf interaction and actual ball flight. 

Enter PXG and the DTC discussion. I had a good experience ordering a driver through the PXG for Heroes program. They are offering a really good deal on the Gen2 irons right now. My thoughts are to blend a set with the 311XF 4/5 irons then the 311P for 6-PW. I sent in an email inquiry with some questions about blending the set that way, and to see if they have any comparison data available for those heads vs. the Titleist. By the time they respond, I'll have two different fittings worth of numbers with shaft/length/lie recommendations.

Has anyone else out there compared these irons and/or ordered from PXG without doing an in-person fitting?

Tell me what you think.

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

I got fit and ordered pxg gen2 irons when they first came out. I wanted to play the 0311T and told the fitter we could look at the P of the numbers weren’t working with the T

We went thru a few shaft combinations to find one that got spin in a good range. The numbers with the T head are similar to what I see in other heads of similar style.

 

[GregB135]

Did the PXG fitter offer any kind of comparison as far as other OEM club heads? 

[Jim418]

I did a PXG fitting a number of months ago, and all they can compare their clubs to are the ones you bring with you (typically the clubs you're using). After all the point of a fitting is how the clubs perform for YOU, not how they performed for a reviewer no matter how thorough they are. MyGolfSpy does extensive testing and then says "go get fit", right?

PXG got data from hitting my current 7-rion and measured the specs of my existing clubs. Then tried various combos to find something better.

 

[RickyBobby_PR]

22 minutes ago, GregB135 said:

Did the PXG fitter offer any kind of comparison as far as other OEM club heads? 

Unless you go to a place that offers multiple club manufacturer options you aren’t going to get a comparison to anything other than your current club against the manufacturer doing th e fitting. That would be no different if you went to a titleist Thursday or taylormade Demo day.

[GregB135]

On 7/9/2020 at 12:35 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

Unless you go to a place that offers multiple club manufacturer options you aren’t going to get a comparison to anything other than your current club against the manufacturer doing th e fitting. That would be no different if you went to a titleist Thursday or taylormade Demo day.

The original fitting was done at Goftec and we got to compare the Titleist T200, Mizuno JPX 919 Forged, and TM P790 irons. The T200 and Mizuno were the clear favorites.

Followed up with the fitter at my club. He is a Titleist master fitter, but also fits Ping and TaylorMade. The advantage is he fits outdoors with TrackMan, so we got to see and feel turf interactions as well as see actual ball flights. 

I definitely agree with you, the more OEMs the fitter has available to them, and the more extensive their shaft options, the more complete the fitting will be.

To their credit in this example, the end result was the same: T200 came out the winner in both fittings.

[GregB135]

Expanding a bit on my immediate previous post.

I did send in a list of questions to PXG about fitting comparisons and blended set options. Granted, I used only their 'contact us' link rather than call their telephone fitter. The only question that got an answer (of the four I asked) was can they build up a blended set. The question on club performance comparison and a couple of others were completely ignored.

Even with two complete sets of fitting specs, after the lack of detailed response to my questions, I chose not to bother with PXG.

[PlaidJacket]

37 minutes ago, GregB135 said:

Granted, I used only their 'contact us' link rather than call their telephone fitter.

Telephone fitter? LOL That's the first time I've heard that. Makes me wonder if they might also answer as the Psychic Hotline. 

[GregB135]

Telephone fitter? LOL That's the first time I've heard that. Makes me wonder if they might also answer as the Psychic Hotline. 

Yep
On the website there is a toll free number you can call to supposedly ask questions for a fitting over the phone.
I assume it is only effective if you know your length/lie specs and won’t to talk about shaft options or loft adjustments.




Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, GregB135 said:

Expanding a bit on my immediate previous post.

I did send in a list of questions to PXG about fitting comparisons and blended set options. Granted, I used only their 'contact us' link rather than call their telephone fitter. The only question that got an answer (of the four I asked) was can they build up a blended set. The question on club performance comparison and a couple of others were completely ignored.

Even with two complete sets of fitting specs, after the lack of detailed response to my questions, I chose not to bother with PXG.

When you contact them via the contact us you are getting a customer service person and usually not someone that’s going to have any fitting experience to answer any questions about performance comparisons. You may not even get that from the fitting phone call and I doubt if you called any company they will tell you any more than our clubs are as good as anything on the market or something along those lines.

As far as performer comparisons that’s really going to be player dependent. You can search the internet and golf forums for reviews and you will find people that did a pxg fitting and their clubs were the best for them compared to their current clubs and/or other brands they did fittings for and you will find others who found that the pxg clubs were the same performance as their current clubs and/or other clubs they were fit for and didn’t want to spend money for the same performance. This would be no different than somebody going to a fitting for any other brand. Some clubs are going to work for some and not work for others but you won’t know until you get fit by that brand.

You have your numbers from your other fittings that you could reference back to and compare to pxg if you went to a pxg fitting. It’s not like you would go into a pxg fitting with no reference to other clubs and they will have you hit your current clubs first to get a baseline and will then start putting you thru hitting their clubs and dialing in the best setup they have for you