General Club Fitting Questions

[uptownpolecat]

Greetings Players,

I am seeking some info on club fittings. I have golfed off and on for about 10 years now and I am looking to get back into it. I don't currently own my own set of clubs and have been borrowing my dad's for the last year. It's a set of Niklaus Irons (3-PW, with the PW being my only wedge lol) from probably the 90's paired with TaylorMade Burner woods / driver (2007 I think?). So they definitely aren't the fanciest clubs ever but they seem to do me just fine. 

I am definitely a leisure player more than a competitive player (around a 18 handicap thru 18), and I will have a few drinks with every round I play so I'm not really looking to have a perfect set of clubs built to shave every stroke possible off. I am more just looking to try out some different clubs and see how they feel, possibly experiment with some added length since I am a bit taller, steel vs graphite and stiff vs regular flex. I'm not really looking to build out a bunch of clubs for a ton of money with specific offset and such considering my swing probably differs greatly from beginning of the round to the end. 

My plan is probably to try out some different models at the fitting and find something I like, maybe discover if I play better with stiff shafts vs regular flex and then buy some used clubs online. From your experiences, do you find that fitters will mostly carry the newest models of clubs (2020 and newer)? Wondering if its even worth getting a fitting if I will only be swinging brand new models of clubs that are gonna run $1000+ for a set of irons. Since I'm a pretty casual golfer I'm looking to probably buy a couple year old model just to save some money and in my mind I'm probably not good enough for nicer clubs to make a huge difference but who knows! 

Fitting retailers near me are Club Champion, GolfTec, Golf Galaxy, Scheels and a couple non-franchise shops. Do you guys think its worth me getting a fitting if I'm just going to be a diva about how much I'm wanting to spend? Feel free to share opinions or your personal club fitting experiences!

Thanks! 

 

[Shapotomous]

I would be honest with the fitter about your budget for clubs and your plan to buy clubs that are a few years old.  See if what they charge for the fitting is what you want to spend.  If they don't want to hire themselves out for a couple hours so you can get some club data then that is their choice and you don't feel like you mislead them.

 

[cnosil]

Sounds like you just want to play casual golf with a reasonably fitted set. I would go to those retailers and browse the used rack and try them out to see what works.

If you go to a fitting, they are generally going to have the latest and greatest. The advantage is this for you would be simply to get the club spec info.

[CarlH]

From the description of your expectations, I wouldn't go to a big fitter, like Club Champion, simply due to the costs involved.  You'd likely fare just as well by going to a retailer, tell him what you're looking to do and have them guide you into a used set that will work for you.  

[RollingGreens]

59 minutes ago, uptownpolecat said:

Greetings Players,

I am seeking some info on club fittings. I have golfed off and on for about 10 years now and I am looking to get back into it. I don't currently own my own set of clubs and have been borrowing my dad's for the last year. It's a set of Niklaus Irons (3-PW, with the PW being my only wedge lol) from probably the 90's paired with TaylorMade Burner woods / driver (2007 I think?). So they definitely aren't the fanciest clubs ever but they seem to do me just fine. 

I am definitely a leisure player more than a competitive player (around a 18 handicap thru 18), and I will have a few drinks with every round I play so I'm not really looking to have a perfect set of clubs built to shave every stroke possible off. I am more just looking to try out some different clubs and see how they feel, possibly experiment with some added length since I am a bit taller, steel vs graphite and stiff vs regular flex. I'm not really looking to build out a bunch of clubs for a ton of money with specific offset and such considering my swing probably differs greatly from beginning of the round to the end. 

My plan is probably to try out some different models at the fitting and find something I like, maybe discover if I play better with stiff shafts vs regular flex and then buy some used clubs online. From your experiences, do you find that fitters will mostly carry the newest models of clubs (2020 and newer)? Wondering if its even worth getting a fitting if I will only be swinging brand new models of clubs that are gonna run $1000+ for a set of irons. Since I'm a pretty casual golfer I'm looking to probably buy a couple year old model just to save some money and in my mind I'm probably not good enough for nicer clubs to make a huge difference but who knows! 

Fitting retailers near me are Club Champion, GolfTec, Golf Galaxy, Scheels and a couple non-franchise shops. Do you guys think its worth me getting a fitting if I'm just going to be a diva about how much I'm wanting to spend? Feel free to share opinions or your personal club fitting experiences!

Thanks! 

 

Maybe call or stop at the non franchise shops to see what they can offer. Never hurts to kick the tires. If you’re upfront with what you want I would think they could be of service to help you find something reasonable. Most local mom and pop places get business that way because they can offer things the big box store can’t and provide a more personalized experience 

[lasorcier]

Golf galaxy is probably the best bet.  Mine has used stuff.  I have never seen used stuff at scheels.  I'm not sure they do buybacks.

[uptownpolecat]

Thank you all for the responses! I think I'm going to go check out the used section at my local shops and see if I find anything I like. If I have no luck I may schedule a fitting and let them know my intentions then browse online for something similar!

[Larryd3]

Also if you buy from Edwin Watts or whatever they are called in your area, you can return the clubs within 90 days if you don't like them and get credit back towards another set.  Believe you can do this twice.  So hit some used ones first in their simulator and figure out what you do best with and then take them out and play for a month or so.  If they aren't what you're wanting, take them back and repeat the process.  

[uptownpolecat]

Yeah I had no idea places like Golf Galaxy and such let you hit practice shots into the net before you buy... Never owned my own set of clubs so that was news to me .

 

Thanks everybody!

[lasorcier]

Even better than that, they let you rent clubs for a nominal charge so you can field test them before buying.