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Club Champion long build/delivery times?


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Hey all - I took advantage of Club Champion's deal where the $350 full bag fitting was free as long as I bought $500 in merch. I ordered a Seemore putter and an Edel wedge from them over a month ago and they're STILL not available. Conversely, I ordered two other wedges directly from Edel and they were delivered in a week. I called Seemore and they said they are getting things out in 2-4 days. Supposedly my putter was delivered to their Chicago build facility over a week ago and it still hasn't made its way to my local CC. They were also "unable to give me an update" on the Edel timing. 

I know that EVERYTHING has slowed down during COVID, but this seems SUPER excessive. I also know that Club Champion has longer than normal times because of "their process" of building things "from scratch" to ensure the highest quality standards.

Am I going crazy? 

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You’re not: I had a CC driver fitting on 6/6. Got the shaft I ordered yesterday, 8/1. If they don’t already have it in stock at their HQ, you’re in for a wait. My shaft was coming from Mitsubishi: and they were delayed due to being out of components to build with! So they had to to get inventory, then ship overseas, then CC builds, and ships to your location. So 55 days later, I got my order. So it goes in the age of COVID-19...


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Driver - Cobra LtDxLS

3 Wood - Ping g410 LST

2iron - Titleist U505

Irons - Ping i59

Wedges - Vokey Sm9

Putter - Mizuno Mcraft IV

 

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21 minutes ago, Micah T said:

You’re not: I had a CC driver fitting on 6/6. Got the shaft I ordered yesterday, 8/1. If they don’t already have it in stock at their HQ, you’re in for a wait. My shaft was coming from Mitsubishi: and they were delayed due to being out of components to build with! So they had to to get inventory, then ship overseas, then CC builds, and ships to your location. So 55 days later, I got my order. So it goes in the age of COVID-19...


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Totally understand that type of situation. I actually called both of the OEMs, and they confirm for me that my items already shipped out to club Champion. So this makes it even more maddening.Totally understand that type of situation. I actually called both of the OEMs, and they confirm for me that my items already shipped out to club Champion. So this makes it even more maddening.

:titleist-small: TS3 9° Driver with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:titelist-small: TSi3 15° Fairway with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:srixon-small: ZX 2 iron

:mizuno-small: JPX 900 Forged 4-GW

:cleveland-small: 54°, 60° Full Face

:taylormade-small: Spider SR Single Bend

:srixon-small: Z Star Diamond

:ping-small: Hoofer

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I've been hearing a lot about long wait times from them lately and am wondering if independent fitters or golftec are having the same problem.

I was planning on buying new irons, this spring but got stuck overseas till about a week ago. I was looking into game improvements irons but I'm not sure I really want to go through the process this year of finding a fitter, getting fit, then waiting till the end of the golf season here in New England to be able to play them. I'm not looking for anything just something better fit to.me than my off the rack rocketballz.

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I've been hearing a lot about long wait times from them lately and am wondering if independent fitters or golftec are having the same problem.
I was planning on buying new irons, this spring but got stuck overseas till about a week ago. I was looking into game improvements irons but I'm not sure I really want to go through the process this year of finding a fitter, getting fit, then waiting till the end of the golf season here in New England to be able to play them. I'm not looking for anything just something better fit to.me than my off the rack rocketballz.

I feel like it’s basically the new normal: you can always ask to only demo what CC or true spec have in stock already, that would cut the wait time...


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Driver - Cobra LtDxLS

3 Wood - Ping g410 LST

2iron - Titleist U505

Irons - Ping i59

Wedges - Vokey Sm9

Putter - Mizuno Mcraft IV

 

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I was informed (by CC) that one of the reasons is because Edel is building this wedge and not CC that CC is at the mercy of whenever Edel decides to finish it. CC said that Edel will fulfill their own retail orders and deprioritize partner orders. I get this to a degree, but 6 weeks still seems excessive. 
 

What I ALSO found out is that CC only ships your entire order. So if they are waiting on your putter, but they have your irons and woods and wedges, they won’t ship the order. 
 

Thankfully I talked them into sending along the putter and I’ll just have to wait for the wedge. 
 

Honestly, if I didn’t NEED to keep the wedge from CC to have gotten the free fitting, I would cancel it and just order from Edel. 

:titleist-small: TS3 9° Driver with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

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  • 2 weeks later...

I did the same deal as you for the free fitting if $500 spend met on July 2. I got a SIM Max and Newport 2 putter. As of last week I am still waiting on the order (2 clubs) so I ended up just canceling the SIM head since we're only a couple months away from TM releasing new woods and figured I can wait until then at this point. If I decide to just get it I could probably just order it from DSG or Carlsgolfland and have it here in two days...

CC told me the next target delivery date for the shaft and putter is next week. We'll see how that holds up.

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12 minutes ago, PMookie said:

I’ll tell you this... I am good friends with a manager of a CC and he had one of my clubs right at the beginning of Covid that he was supposed to swap shafts in and out of. Well, they get shutdown to customers coming-in for fittings, and he’s supposedly already fixed my club. A month later, after lying about shipping it, and having me call UPS, a UPS drop off they use  all the time, he comes clean and says he never built the club. Yep. Flat out lied through his teeth.

Come to find out, he was actually allowed to go and do his builds, just as long as they had zero customers in the building. Some builds are done locally, not all are done in Illinois! He then tells me he PURPOSELY wasn’t building any clubs until Club Champion gave them their full pay back! CC had reduced their pay, but they didn’t lay them off or furlough them, well, this guy was mad and all his customers were “just going to have to wait”.

I have NO idea what they’ve done with your clubs, but at this point, cancel the order, call Edel and SeeMore with your specs, and have them take care of you directly. When one is fitted with clubs like that from specialty makers, there really isn’t ANY reason to have CC build the clubs because Edel and SeeMore don’t mass produce, and EVERYTHING is “spec’d” out to the specific golfer.

 

Some friend.

We don’t stop playing the game because we get old; we get old because we stop playing the game.”

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15 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Some friend.

Yeah, pretty much haven’t talked since. Never understood why someone would lie to the extent he did when he’s done all of my fittings for the last five years, four of which he wasn’t with CC. Really good fitter, but I don’t plan on using him again, needless to say.

Driver: Ping G430 Max 9*, Ping Tour 70X

Fairway: Ping G425 15*, Ping Tour 70X

Hybrid: Ping G425 22*, Ping Tour 80X

Irons:  Ping i230 4-GW, TT DG X100

Wedges: :edel-golf-1: SMS 50D/54V/58D:Nippon:Modus 130 stiff, +1”

Putter:  :edel-golf-1: EAS 1.0

Ball: Titleist 2023 AVX

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I think club fitting is important but the Club Champion model has always rubbed me the wrong way. In what world is it okay to sell a $500 driver but not offer stock shafts? It sounds like they offer a decent fitting but it will be tainted with constant up selling. If you want a good fitting, find yourself a Tom Wishon or local club fitter. Club Champion just smells of some over-leveraged private equity deal.


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UPDATE: Got the SeeMore after talking with someone on Instagram. They were able to get the putter separated from the wedge for shipping. I've played two rounds with it so far. YAY!

I emailed Edel as I had recently bought two additional wedges from them just to see if they could shed any light. Well... THE CLUB WAS NEVER ORDERED. They called the CC ordering department saying "hey, this guy said YOU all said you were waiting on Edel to complete this club, and we don't even have it in our system". The CC ordering dept said it was completely their fault. Edel said they'd build it same day and ship it to CC for me on a rush. A week later (almost) and 1. I still haven't heard ANYTHING from CC saying that they messed up, apologizing or anything and 2. Still no contact letting me know the status.

I just had to email the GM for our area and say that I knew what's up and where's my wedge?

From this experience, I have to say to stay away from CC. I enjoyed my fitting, but this has soured me BIG TIME and I won't be going back in 5-7 years when I do another fitting. 

:titleist-small: TS3 9° Driver with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:titelist-small: TSi3 15° Fairway with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, the saga continues... I got a shipping notification from CC that my club was delivered to my local CC last Friday. I was super busy over the weekend and this week, and I'm not playing until tomorrow, so I thought I'd see when someone reaches out to me. No one has. A club that was already delayed weeks and weeks is finally delivered, and still no one has reached out about it for me to come pick it up. Frustrating to say the least. 

:titleist-small: TS3 9° Driver with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:titelist-small: TSi3 15° Fairway with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:srixon-small: ZX 2 iron

:mizuno-small: JPX 900 Forged 4-GW

:cleveland-small: 54°, 60° Full Face

:taylormade-small: Spider SR Single Bend

:srixon-small: Z Star Diamond

:ping-small: Hoofer

:918457628_PrecisionPro:R1 Rangefinder

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Well, the saga continues... I got a shipping notification from CC that my club was delivered to my local CC last Friday. I was super busy over the weekend and this week, and I'm not playing until tomorrow, so I thought I'd see when someone reaches out to me. No one has. A club that was already delayed weeks and weeks is finally delivered, and still no one has reached out about it for me to come pick it up. Frustrating to say the least. 

What I’ve discovered about CC is, like most “franchises”, it has good locations and bad. This is why the experience varies so much: my location has a great manager, who emailed me weekly updates when I waited almost 2 months for my aftermarket shaft, he also called the day it came in. No one would go back to any business the way you were treated, I would be beyond frustrated too. I wonder if they even realize how much brand damage gets done when they treat their core demographic this way.


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Driver - Cobra LtDxLS

3 Wood - Ping g410 LST

2iron - Titleist U505

Irons - Ping i59

Wedges - Vokey Sm9

Putter - Mizuno Mcraft IV

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ordered a sim driver and sim Max hybrid on august 7th got an email 3 weeks ago saying they were waiting on the hybrid, seems odd taylormade would ship them my order separately.. emailed them a week ago asking if this was still the case, and was told the build shop is full and I should get an email sayin this.. still haven’t heard anything about the build shop.. 31 days and counting is excessive even with covid going on

Edited by Wisemanchillen
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  • 2 weeks later...

I ordered a full set - TS2 driver, hybrid, and 3W, and a set of Maverick Max irons - and have been waiting now for over 10 weeks. My emails go unanswered. I try and call the store and the call gets rerouted to the central/corporate center. Everything is stock - no modifications other than grips I picked out. I ordered in mid July and finally got an “update” that my order should be ready Oct 1. Just in time for what, winter golf? The TS2 line has already been further discounted since I paid for mine through CC...

Really starting to feel like a scam at this point...

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On 9/21/2020 at 7:58 PM, AARams said:

I ordered a full set - TS2 driver, hybrid, and 3W, and a set of Maverick Max irons - and have been waiting now for over 10 weeks. My emails go unanswered. I try and call the store and the call gets rerouted to the central/corporate center. Everything is stock - no modifications other than grips I picked out. I ordered in mid July and finally got an “update” that my order should be ready Oct 1. Just in time for what, winter golf? The TS2 line has already been further discounted since I paid for mine through CC...

Really starting to feel like a scam at this point...

I’m sorry you’re experiencing this. At this point, you might want to consider canceling the order. I don’t know the fine print of if you’d get a full refund or not. But this is more than excessive. They were talking about “it’s not our fault, it’s covid and demand is up and the OEMs don’t have clubs... but they’re the ONLY company I know of that is taking multiple months to get things together. If you want an alternative, I bought my irons directly built by Callaway from a rep I know for a STEAL of a price based off of the CC specs and they built and shipped them in 4 days. 

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:titelist-small: TSi3 15° Fairway with HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX 6.5

:srixon-small: ZX 2 iron

:mizuno-small: JPX 900 Forged 4-GW

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  • 2 weeks later...

I recent was fitted for a set of irons back on August 26th. I was told that it would be 6-8 weeks to completion due to manufacturers delay from COVID-19. Though it is a lot longer of a delay than anticipated, I recieved my SST Pure results last week (they were competed on September 26th) and surprisingly they are out for delivery tomorrow, almost exactly 6 weeks from the fitting/order date. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 8/27/2020 at 3:13 PM, Micah T said:


I wonder if they even realize how much brand damage gets done when they treat their core demographic this way.


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I can tell you that after reading this thread, my decision between CC and TrueSpec is getting easier.

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I can tell you that after reading this thread, my decision between CC and TrueSpec is getting easier.

I think the relationship with the fitter is still paramount, if you’ve had success with someone it would be hard to go somewhere else...


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Driver - Cobra LtDxLS

3 Wood - Ping g410 LST

2iron - Titleist U505

Irons - Ping i59

Wedges - Vokey Sm9

Putter - Mizuno Mcraft IV

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

My cc experience has been quite different from the posts here. I first have had a putter fitting. Got one ordered on the Nov 8th. Received it on November 15th. Got my irons fitted on Nov 12th the majority of that order including my 5w and 7w and iron heads are in illinois waiting on nippon shafts to come in. Should be at store ready for final adjustments mid December. Did driver wood and wedge Nov. 23rd the wedges arrived from titlist today and my driver from pxg has been delayed because shaft stock shortages but will be in mid December as well. I know a lot of the custom shafts are back ordered. Most of them had to shutdown from March until September. So they have a huge supply issue at smaller club makers. New level, sub 70 also are running out of shafts and have had to delay orders. The major manufacturers have been receiving shafts and had ordered a ton before the shutdowns so they could have enough. Even when CC orders the clubs direct from oem they don't order built clubs they have the parts Shipped to illinois so that they can be built to your specs. 

 

steelhead 9°, rbz 5w, ping awr 2 bc irons, isi irons, or nike vapor irons, cleveland 52°, 58°, 64° 2 ball putter.

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On 7/31/2020 at 5:34 PM, analyticandrew said:

Hey all - I took advantage of Club Champion's deal where the $350 full bag fitting was free as long as I bought $500 in merch. I ordered a Seemore putter and an Edel wedge from them over a month ago and they're STILL not available. Conversely, I ordered two other wedges directly from Edel and they were delivered in a week. I called Seemore and they said they are getting things out in 2-4 days. Supposedly my putter was delivered to their Chicago build facility over a week ago and it still hasn't made its way to my local CC. They were also "unable to give me an update" on the Edel timing. 

I know that EVERYTHING has slowed down during COVID, but this seems SUPER excessive. I also know that Club Champion has longer than normal times because of "their process" of building things "from scratch" to ensure the highest quality standards.

Am I going crazy? 

I had a full bag fitting too and it took 8 weeks to get my gear.

Driver: Titleist TSR 3 10* Accura TZ6 M3 65g

Fairways: Callaway Rogue 15* & 19* Matrix Ozik TP 6 HD stiff 

Hybrid: Titleist TSI 4 & 5 Hybrids Mitsubishi Tensi AV 65 HY X stiff   

Irons:  KZG Forged III 6-P Accura iS7 (Refinished and regrooved)

Wedges: Cleveland CBX  50*, Taylormade MG 3 Tiger grind 56 bent to 54/10 & Taylormade MG 4 Tiger grind 56 bent to 58/14

Putter: Positive Putter's Custom P2 (think Edel putter meets Heavy Putter)

Ball: Callaway Chome Tour                        

All clubs have Winn Dri-Tac Wraps oversized

 

 

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On 8/14/2020 at 6:05 PM, Kansas King said:

I think club fitting is important but the Club Champion model has always rubbed me the wrong way. In what world is it okay to sell a $500 driver but not offer stock shafts? It sounds like they offer a decent fitting but it will be tainted with constant up selling. If you want a good fitting, find yourself a Tom Wishon or local club fitter. Club Champion just smells of some over-leveraged private equity deal.


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I’ve heard stories. Some sound more like business men than true golf fitters. 

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On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2020 at 7:24 AM, RollingGreens said:

I’ve heard stories. Some sound more like business men than true golf fitters. 

I don't have a problem with people taking risks and wanting to make money but the Club Champion model is an odd one. They charge for the fitting as they should but the fees they charge on building clubs, that already have a markup, is a bit much IMO. I did a little research and it turns out Club Champion is now supported by a PE firm. That likely means aggressive growth, high balance sheet leverage, and high pressure sales. The PE firm is only a minority stakeholder which is positive but I have a feeling they are in the driver's seat. I would be way more comfortable with what they did if they were able to offer stock shaft/head combos at normal pricing. 

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On 7/31/2020 at 4:34 PM, analyticandrew said:

Hey all - I took advantage of Club Champion's deal where the $350 full bag fitting was free as long as I bought $500 in merch. I ordered a Seemore putter and an Edel wedge from them over a month ago and they're STILL not available. Conversely, I ordered two other wedges directly from Edel and they were delivered in a week. I called Seemore and they said they are getting things out in 2-4 days. Supposedly my putter was delivered to their Chicago build facility over a week ago and it still hasn't made its way to my local CC. They were also "unable to give me an update" on the Edel timing. 

I know that EVERYTHING has slowed down during COVID, but this seems SUPER excessive. I also know that Club Champion has longer than normal times because of "their process" of building things "from scratch" to ensure the highest quality standards.

Am I going crazy? 

@analyticandrew check out this thread...  care to know more how club champion conducts business... but you are not going crazy

 

Driver:taylormade-small: SIM 10.5, Graphite Design Tour AD-XC 6X 

Woods:titelist-small: TSi2 16.5, Fujikura Ventus Blue 7X

Hybrid: :ping-small: G410 3&4H, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 95X 

Irons:titelist-small: T-100 3-PW, Nippon Modus 120 X 

Wedges: :mizuno-small: T20, DG TI S400, 50/56/60

Putter:  :EVNROLL: ER1.2 W/BGT Stability Shaft

Ball:  :titelist-small: ProV1X-Optic Yellow

Bag: :ping-small: Pioneer

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On 11/30/2020 at 9:10 AM, Kansas King said:

I don't have a problem with people taking risks and wanting to make money but the Club Champion model is an odd one. They charge for the fitting as they should but the fees they charge on building clubs, that already have a markup, is a bit much IMO. I did a little research and it turns out Club Champion is now supported by a PE firm. That likely means aggressive growth, high balance sheet leverage, and high pressure sales. The PE firm is only a minority stakeholder which is positive but I have a feeling they are in the driver's seat. I would be way more comfortable with what they did if they were able to offer stock shaft/head combos at normal pricing. 

@Kansas King the PE owns more than you think... I am pretty sure before hand CC debt was traded so I am sure they have been buying that... also check this link out... I explained in more detail there... but they don’t hire fitters they hire golf club sales people who maybe can fit... 

 

Driver:taylormade-small: SIM 10.5, Graphite Design Tour AD-XC 6X 

Woods:titelist-small: TSi2 16.5, Fujikura Ventus Blue 7X

Hybrid: :ping-small: G410 3&4H, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 95X 

Irons:titelist-small: T-100 3-PW, Nippon Modus 120 X 

Wedges: :mizuno-small: T20, DG TI S400, 50/56/60

Putter:  :EVNROLL: ER1.2 W/BGT Stability Shaft

Ball:  :titelist-small: ProV1X-Optic Yellow

Bag: :ping-small: Pioneer

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On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2020 at 1:13 AM, Manimal26 said:

@Kansas King the PE owns more than you think... I am pretty sure before hand CC debt was traded so I am sure they have been buying that... also check this link out... I explained in more detail there... but they don’t hire fitters they hire golf club sales people who maybe can fit... 

]0

I've seen a number of bad experiences with MGS and other sites. However, I think getting fit on a proper launch monitor with someone who is only looking a charts is probably better than guessing at a golf shop. However, I really think the problem with Club Champion is their business model is essentially trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. They can get away with this to a certain degree because getting properly fit is complicated and most people aren't willing to go down the golf equipment rabbit hole like many of us on MGS. I'm sure the numbers for CC work out nicely on a PowerPoint in front of a group of managers at a PE firm. However, I think the number one sin they commit is not offering stock options at the same cost as what you can order them for from OEMs. If the golf market sold shaft and heads separately normally, this would be different but when was the last time anyone walked into a golf shop that had heads on one rack and shafts on another? I know I never have. I would be on board with their business model if the specialized in component clubs like those from Maltby and Hireko. However, charging someone $2000 for a $1000 stock set of clubs with DG S300 shafts is disingenuous. Another problem with CC that probably shows up the most is slow build times. It sounds like they don't really have their supply chain set up to support their business. This was problem pre-COVID and COVID amplified the lack of relationships they have with suppliers. This also supports my theory that the PE firm is pushing for fast growth and that makes it difficult for the businesses admin and support functions to keep up. If someone who knows of a PE firm investing in growing businesses in a stable and healthy way let me know because I have yet to see it. 

Anyone reading this who is unsure of CC, I would recommend searching online and finding a local fitter. A fitter doesn't need a $20K launch monitor to fit you really well. I'm sure there are some good CCs out there that have a good fitter. However, if you're going to spend that level of money on golf, you may as well find a local guy because CC is likely the most expensive fitter in town. Wishon has a good network of fitters that can help you and if you are located in a bigger city there is likely a golf shop with experienced fitters and good launch monitors that are going to offer stock OEM offerings.

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13 hours ago, Kansas King said:

I've seen a number of bad experiences with MGS and other sites. However, I think getting fit on a proper launch monitor with someone who is only looking a charts is probably better than guessing at a golf shop. However, I really think the problem with Club Champion is their business model is essentially trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. They can get away with this to a certain degree because getting properly fit is complicated and most people aren't willing to go down the golf equipment rabbit hole like many of us on MGS. I'm sure the numbers for CC work out nicely on a PowerPoint in front of a group of managers at a PE firm. However, I think the number one sin they commit is not offering stock options at the same cost as what you can order them for from OEMs. If the golf market sold shaft and heads separately normally, this would be different but when was the last time anyone walked into a golf shop that had heads on one rack and shafts on another? I know I never have. I would be on board with their business model if the specialized in component clubs like those from Maltby and Hireko. However, charging someone $2000 for a $1000 stock set of clubs with DG S300 shafts is disingenuous. Another problem with CC that probably shows up the most is slow build times. It sounds like they don't really have their supply chain set up to support their business. This was problem pre-COVID and COVID amplified the lack of relationships they have with suppliers. This also supports my theory that the PE firm is pushing for fast growth and that makes it difficult for the businesses admin and support functions to keep up. If someone who knows of a PE firm investing in growing businesses in a stable and healthy way let me know because I have yet to see it. 

Anyone reading this who is unsure of CC, I would recommend searching online and finding a local fitter. A fitter doesn't need a $20K launch monitor to fit you really well. I'm sure there are some good CCs out there that have a good fitter. However, if you're going to spend that level of money on golf, you may as well find a local guy because CC is likely the most expensive fitter in town. Wishon has a good network of fitters that can help you and if you are located in a bigger city there is likely a golf shop with experienced fitters and good launch monitors that are going to offer stock OEM offerings.

@Kansas King if you only new how bad CC really operates... if you care to know I am happy to pick this up on a DM... but you are educated enough to avoid this trap... but you are right on track with your assumptions... 

I won’t digress any further, that being said good shops will and should exshaust all the no charge options before going to upcharge... also let’s say you are going with t-100 and want TI x100 from Titleist they are $20 a shaft and at CC they have $40... if you read between the lines you will catch what I am getting at...

 

Driver:taylormade-small: SIM 10.5, Graphite Design Tour AD-XC 6X 

Woods:titelist-small: TSi2 16.5, Fujikura Ventus Blue 7X

Hybrid: :ping-small: G410 3&4H, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 95X 

Irons:titelist-small: T-100 3-PW, Nippon Modus 120 X 

Wedges: :mizuno-small: T20, DG TI S400, 50/56/60

Putter:  :EVNROLL: ER1.2 W/BGT Stability Shaft

Ball:  :titelist-small: ProV1X-Optic Yellow

Bag: :ping-small: Pioneer

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5 hours ago, Manimal26 said:

@Kansas King if you only new how bad CC really operates... if you care to know I am happy to pick this up on a DM... but you are educated enough to avoid this trap... but you are right on track with your assumptions... 

I won’t digress any further, that being said good shops will and should exshaust all the no charge options before going to upcharge... also let’s say you are going with t-100 and want TI x100 from Titleist they are $20 a shaft and at CC they have $40... if you read between the lines you will catch what I am getting at...

 

I think I'm picking up on what you're saying. I don't think what they are doing is new by any means. They are trying to take advantage of the nebulous and challenging golf equipment market. Many people who can afford to golf don't care if a new set costs $4000 instead of $1800 if they know they will feel confident with the end product. CC is just trying to leverage the fitting trend as much as possible. I'm not a fan of how they are doing it but I don't want to paint a broad brush and say all national fitters are bad because that would be incorrect. I just think that CC in particular is scummy.

However, is the PE firm pushing CC the root cause of the issues we think are wrong with their business model? I would argue that the large OEM marketing departments are still the root cause of so many of the issues in the golf market. I've watched so many videos of people reviewing golf clubs that claim to be "independent" that do nothing more than spew marketing talking points. I think most people should look at the last 20 years of golf new golf equipment and try to be honest if their performance gains (if any) were actually the result of the equipment. I do believe equipment has improved but not like most golfers would lead you to believe. This is why I like the figures Maltby posts regarding the MPF in irons and why I like the measurements MGS posts in their tests. It's the few widely available sources that actually get to facts and cut through the marketing wank. So, what does this have to do with CC? Whether by design or not, the major OEM marketing departments have made the golf equipment market so convoluted that people are willing to pay double for a new set of clubs just in an attempt to be confident with what they are buying. CC is a symptom of the bigger problem with golf equipment.

Wishon is/was a passionate fitter that built a small empire in the custom world. He created a shaft bend profile software that could be used to compare the bend profiles of the shafts on the markets. Manufacturers used to send him shaft for measurement and he would update the info on the software, similar to Maltby's MPF system but for shafts. What did shaft manufacturers do when they found out fitters were using cheaper shafts with the same bend profiles as expensive shafts? They stopped sending shafts in for measurement. Two shafts with similar bend profiles regardless of price and construction are going to likely perform similarly. Shaft companies don't want that kind of information readily available out their and companies like CC aren't going to help with that. CC is interested in selling expensive sets because they will obviously make more money assuming the margins are about the same regardless of price point. Companies like CC lead to the self-perpetuating cycle of misinformation because if the absolute facts about golf equipment were the main talking points, the "magic" of golf equipment would be gone and suddenly price point becomes the talking point. This issue is not exclusive to golf but golf is one of the biggest purveyors of it.

All these issues aside, I am thankful that we have options as golfer. Maltby, Hireko, Sub70, Ben Hogan, Haywood, etc. all offer good options at a more appropriate price point. Luckily, the eastern equipment manufacturers aren't all strictly beholden to the large OEMs. Do I truly care if someone gets hosed for five grand at CC, not really, it was their choice. However, I don't like seeing the stories of people getting horrible fittings or poor service given what they pay.

Moral of the story is that I think CC is a symptom of the current environment. Big OEM marketing departments will do their best to keep golf equipment as something magical and people will continue throwing money to get that magic. Hopefully MGS continues to try and cut through that layer of "magic" and keep golfers informed about real improvements that are being made. 

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