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High Handicapper Full Bag Fitting - Club Champion Review


mynerds

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Heck of a writeup! Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with us. So which of those do you envision purchasing first? 

In my  :wilson_staff_small:  carry bag:
:mizuno-small: ST-X 10.5* Kai'li Blue R Flex
:mizuno-small: ST-Z 15* Kai/li Blue R Flex
:mizuno-small: ST-Z 4h Linq Blue R Flex
:cleveland-small: Launcher 5h
:cleveland-small: Launcher CBX 6i-PW
:cleveland-small: CBX 54* & 58*
:cleveland-small: Huntington Beach #10
:bridgestone-small: e12 Contact
CURRENTLY TESTING - Mizuno Long Game

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One of the best fitting write-ups I have seen on here.  Absolutely fantastic.

LOVED this part

Quote

I arrived and Roger started the appointment by asking about my game and my goals during the fitting. I said that I’m a relatively high handicapper that has been grinding out time at the range in the hopes of improving my experience when on the course. The metaphor I used was that if I’m training for a marathon, I know I’m going to have to train for a while, but I should probably make sure I’m at least wearing the right size shoes to begin with. I mentioned everything in my bag (minus my putter) is second hand and I don’t know if it’s the best thing for me to be trying to improve with. I really struggle with my irons in particular. I also mentioned that I didn’t want to do anything exotic because I was so relatively inexperienced. Lastly, I asked for advice on my bag composition – where would I benefit from hybrids and fairway woods over longer irons? Roger agreed that this was a good approach and said he would create two builds: one like any other fitting with all options on the table and another that matched the “best” spec for me with OEM, no-upcharge options.

The pre-fitting conversation where expectations and budget are discussed is the single most important part of any fitting.  Period.

The far majority of bad fitting experiences I read about on here are because the customer never discussed budget and then were shocked when they found out the shafts they loved doubled the price of the club 

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This is an awesome post. Thanks for sharing your experience, and I really love your approach and recommendations. Definitely a good primer on how to properly prepare for a club fitting.

Unofficial WHS Handicap: 7.5 / Anti-Cap: 13.0 (Last Updated Feb. 19, 2024)

Driver: callaway_logo.png.3dd18aa65544000dd0ea3901697a8261.png Callaway Paradym TD (10.5°, -1/N), 45.75", Fujikura Motore X F1 6X | Fitting Post
3 Wood: 
cobra_logo.png.190908c8b4518eec87c087429e4343ee.png Cobra RadSpeed Big Tour (14.5°), 43", Fujikura Motore X F1 7X
20° Hybrid: PXG_Logo.png.8401024d1fb8aec46f0e790c1aa5b80c.png PXG 0211 (2020 Model), 40.25", Mitsubishi Tensei AV RAW White 90X
4 Utility: 
cobra_logo.png.190908c8b4518eec87c087429e4343ee.png Cobra KING Utility (2020 Model), 38.5", Aerotech SteelFiber i110cw Stiff
5-PW:
logo-Ben-Hogan-large.png.98d743ae5487285c6406a1e30a0a63b5.png Ben Hogan PTx Pro, 37" 7 Iron, Aerotech SteelFiber i125cw Stiff | Club Champion Fitting
50°, 54°, 58°:
231036130_Edel_Golf_Logo_v2_grandecopy.png.13cc76b963f8dd59f06d04b1e8df2827.png Edel SMS, V Grind, Nippon Modus 125 Wedge| Official Review Thread
Putter:
image.png.49fcc172a1ed0010d930fbe1c5dc8b79.png L.A.B. Golf DF 2.1, 36", 68°, Black with Custom Sightlines, BGT Stability Tour, L.A.B. Press II 3° | Unofficial Review
Grips: 
stargrip.png.4285948f41f1409613266e7803f0bbaa.png Star Sidewinder, Undersized with Custom Tape Build-Up
Ball: :Snell:Snell MTB-X Optic Yellow

Tracked By: shotscope.png.4a7089f2bddff325285b1266a61dda03.png  Shot Scope H4
Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Personalized 2020 Sun Mountain Sync
Riding On: 
image.png.1db52ce91db040317a9ac580f1df8de8.pngBag Boy Nitron | Official Review Thread

WITB? | 2022 Reviewer Edel SMS Wedges | 2021 Reviewer Maxfli Tour and Tour X Balls2020 Participant #CobraConnect Challenge | 2019 Reviewer Callaway Epic Flash Driver

 

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Thanks for the positive feedback - It's really appreciated!
 

1 hour ago, russtopherb said:

 So which of those do you envision purchasing first? 

Oddly, probably the club I will benefit the least from - the MW3 wedge. I have a $99 "credit" from the Golf Galaxy fitting that is applied toward a new club purchase. If I can use it towards a single wedge, it will give me the chance to try out the light weight graphite shaft on a club I'm relatively confident over for the least amount out of pocket. I don't know the details or restrictions of the deal though and if the fitting fee has to be applied to a club I was fitted towards (e.g. only an iron set since its an iron fitting, or only an iron I tried during my fitting) then I don't know what I'll do.

I really, really liked the shorter shaft length and the irons would probably be the first true purchase, followed by the driver. A matching 3 Wood would be nice, but my current gamer is a recent pick up from a reseller and does good-enough for now. The little help with the draw bias on the 3W was nice though....

Last will be a 60 degree, if ever. I'd love to get my swing to a point where it makes sense to have three MW3's in the bag. I think they're a great looking club, but not so pretty for me to buy two more just to look cool.
 

28 minutes ago, jlukes said:

The pre-fitting conversation where expectations and budget are discussed is the single most important part of any fitting.  Period.

Couldn't agree more! Roger spent 15 minutes on the pre-fitting discussion while we sat on the couch drinking coke with the PGA Championship on TV. That relaxed attitude set the stage for a relaxed fitting. My pre-fitting discussion at Golf Galaxy lasted, conservatively, 2 minutes and happened as we were walking from the front of the store to the fitting bay.

Further, I've already gushed over having the dual engineering specs, but its hard to overstate how helpful it's been to see to compare the no-upcharge build against the fully custom, twice as expensive build. I wouldn't have had that chance if I hadn't asked up front. If you have the willingness to look up the shaft specs, it becomes harder at my level to justify paying twice as much for similar performing clubs. For those looking for a specific performance spec (e.g. mid spin, low loft, medium weight), I get that a custom build makes sense. That's not my game, and my fitter was completely supportive of that. Again, can't say enough good things about having the right fitter for the job!

Driver:     :cobra-small: LTDx Max 10.5°, MCG C6 Red 50 R

Wood:     :cobra-small: LTDx Max 3W 15.5°, MCG C6 Red 50 R

Hybrid:     :titleist-small: TS2 4H 23°; 5H 25°, Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black 60 Graphite Regular

Irons:       :cobra-small: LTD (5-9); :Fuji: Vista PRO 60i R

Wedges:  :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 3 - 54.11 (56°), :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 3 - 60.10; :Fuji: Vista PRO 60i R

Putter:      :odyssey-small: White Hot Pro 1 / :odyssey-small: 2-Ball Ten Armlock

Bag:         :taylormade-small: Supreme Cart Bag 2022

Balls:      :maxfli: Tour

Reviews: Spornia SPG8 XL Net (Official), Me and My Golf Full Body Freedom (Unofficial), Club Champion Full Bag Fitting (Unofficial), Gravity Caddy (Unofficial)

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Great write up!  Glad to see they were able to dial you in more on the irons and woods!  Let us know how this translates onto the course!

 

MDGolfHacker

TSssWhat's In This Lefty's Bag?

Driver: :titleist-small: TSR2 11° Project X HZRDUS Black 4G 60g 5.5 Flex

Fairway Woods: :cobra-small: F8 3W Project X Even Flow Blue 75g shaft

Fairway Woods: 

Hybrid: :titelist-small: TSR2  18° Graphite Design Tour AD DI-85 Shaft

Irons: :titelist-small: 2021 T200's 4-GW AMT RED shafts Regular Flex

Wedge: :cleveland-small: Tour Satin RTX 4 Wedges in 52° and 56° 2 Dot

Putter: :nevercompromise-small: Gray Matter TDP 2.2 32.75"

Bag: :1590477705_SunMountain: Three 5

Ball:  :titelist-small:  PRO V1 / :srixon-small: Z*Star

RangeFinder:918457628_PrecisionPro: In search of new range finder

Social Media:

Facebook:   MD Golfhacker
Twitter:        @mdgolfhacker
Instagram:   mdgolfhacker

 

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Great write up!  You nailed some pretty solid aspects of the fitting, especially the preparation and the pre-fitting conversation. 

:titleist-small: TSi3 10° w/ Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 65g

:titleist-small: TS2 15° 3W w/ Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black 6.0 70g

:titleist-small: 818 H1 21° Hybrid w/ Mitsubishi Tensei CK Blue 70g

:mizuno-small: MP-18 MMC 2 iron w/ KBS Tour C-Taper S 120g

:mizuno-small: JPX 921 HM 5-GW w/ Project X LZ 5.5 115g

:Sub70: JB Forged 54° SW & 58° LW w/ Project X LZ 6.0 120g

:EVNROLL: EV5.3 Black

 

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I have been looking into getting a fitting soon and I have to say, I was pretty dead set on Miles of Golf in Ann Arbor. But your write up has me more seriously looking into Club Champion.

The Wife has been mentioning that she wants to go back to Chicago... LOL

Driver - default_taylormade-small.jpg R9 Superdeep TP 10.5* - Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana 65g XStiff Shaft

3 Wood - 2020 1ef73718.png Tight Lies 16* - Aldila Synergy Red 50-S Shaft

2 Hybrid - 1ef73718.png Idea Pro - Aldila VS Proto+ 'By You' 80-S Shaft

3 Iron - default_taylormade-small.jpg R7TP DGTT SL S300 Shaft

4-9 Irons - default_taylormade-small.jpg R7TP DGTT X-100 Shafts (6i has mismatched Project X 6.0 shaft)

Sand Wedge - Adams GT XTreme 2 SW

Putter - default_ping-small.jpg Heppler Tomcat 14

Ball - default_titelist-small.jpg Tour Soft

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Yeah thx for taking the time to detail out your experience - have been thru a few fittings myself and it was interesting to follow along 👍

Question, though: you'd mentioned you were not swinging full speed, which makes sense during an extended fitting, but what I'm curious about is the gapping / set makeup...

.. For example, they recommended your iron set go up to 5i yet on the gapping graphic that 6i and 3W actually overlap (ie. no distance gap) .. so a 5i might then seem superfluous .. unless .. this was a function of not swinging all out..?

What have you seen on the course?

Also curious on their non-recommendation related to hybrids - for me, a fellow high handicapper, and yes considering everyone is different, everyone swings differently, everyone is comfortable with different clubs but for me I have two hybrids .. 5H, 4H (replace 6i, 5i) .. that I get a lotta use out of every round! Not just full swings but punch outs outta trouble, or into wind, or occasionally putting from closely mown areas off the green, etc.

Have you tried any hybrids?

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

followthrough.jpg

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5 hours ago, MyWifesSwingCoach said:

I have been looking into getting a fitting soon and I have to say, I was pretty dead set on Miles of Golf in Ann Arbor. But your write up has me more seriously looking into Club Champion.

The Wife has been mentioning that she wants to go back to Chicago... LOL

Ha! Glad to be of help / sorry for making you consider a long drive to Chicagoland! To reiterate, I can only speak for the positive experience with my specific fitter (Roger Paiz) at my specific location (Willowbrook, IL). I can't imagine there isn't another competent fitter closer to you, nor can I imagine that there are other equally good fitters at the Club Champions in Grand Rapdis or Detroit. However, I can't offer the mynerds Stamp of Approval™ for those options 😉

56 minutes ago, cksurfdude said:

.. For example, they recommended your iron set go up to 5i yet on the gapping graphic that 6i and 3W actually overlap (ie. no distance gap) .. so a 5i might then seem superfluous .. unless .. this was a function of not swinging all out..?

What have you seen on the course?

Also curious on their non-recommendation related to hybrids - for me, a fellow high handicapper, and yes considering everyone is different, everyone swings differently, everyone is comfortable with different clubs but for me I have two hybrids .. 5H, 4H (replace 6i, 5i) .. that I get a lotta use out of every round! Not just full swings but punch outs outta trouble, or into wind, or occasionally putting from closely mown areas off the green, etc.

Have you tried any hybrids?

Great questions! For the latter question, I have a beat-to-snot Rescue 4H that I may start calling Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

AE56006F-88D7-4FE4-9B78-A5FE8AD2002A.JPG.c49876f0f25c88f00091badb84eebc97.JPG

Appropriately, it either treats me very well or turns into a monster. I didn't have a FW for quite a while and now find myself reaching for a 3W where I would have typically gone with the 4H - generally limited to the fairway. For less than ideal lies, I could never get it to cooperate with me. Perhaps that's a function of it being a rescue hybrid, but I don't know what I don't know. I'm open to revisiting if I get new clubs and spend time with them on the course.

As for the potential gapping overlap, I don't have a clue actually. I didn't specifically ask about why I should stop at the 5-iron, and it was recommended after I hit my driver but before I asked about fairway woods. Perhaps it is duplicative? If anyone has any other thoughts, here are the carry, total, and trajectory charts:

1260282405_Total3.PNG.0185febe3264c99fc7809799c8bc8113.PNG

1800478041_Total1.PNG.534cdebc179429033162a533eab580a0.PNG

1060550762_Total2.PNG.35bd7db570f74b0b6cd658826cde7a5c.PNG

 

Driver:     :cobra-small: LTDx Max 10.5°, MCG C6 Red 50 R

Wood:     :cobra-small: LTDx Max 3W 15.5°, MCG C6 Red 50 R

Hybrid:     :titleist-small: TS2 4H 23°; 5H 25°, Mitsubishi Kuro Kage Black 60 Graphite Regular

Irons:       :cobra-small: LTD (5-9); :Fuji: Vista PRO 60i R

Wedges:  :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 3 - 54.11 (56°), :taylormade-small: Milled Grind 3 - 60.10; :Fuji: Vista PRO 60i R

Putter:      :odyssey-small: White Hot Pro 1 / :odyssey-small: 2-Ball Ten Armlock

Bag:         :taylormade-small: Supreme Cart Bag 2022

Balls:      :maxfli: Tour

Reviews: Spornia SPG8 XL Net (Official), Me and My Golf Full Body Freedom (Unofficial), Club Champion Full Bag Fitting (Unofficial), Gravity Caddy (Unofficial)

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22 hours ago, mynerds said:

Great questions! For the latter question, I have a beat-to-snot Rescue 4H that I may start calling Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:

Ha that one's showing some battle scars!

Just an FYI - as an older model that one has more of a fairway shape .. but which some people still prefer .. most newer hybrids have a much more compact profile plus a little bit taller face, which helps make them a little easier to hit out of rough but still work from the fairway. May be worth a look sometime if you do go back to the fitter.

WITB of an "aspiring"  😉 play-ah ...
Driver...Callaway Paradym (Aldila Ascent PL Blue 40/A)
5W...Callaway Great Big Bertha (MCA Kai'Li Red 50/R)
7W...Tour Edge Exotics EXS (Tensei CK Blue 50/R)

4H...Callaway Epic Super Hybrid (Recoil ZT9 F3)
5H...Callaway Big Bertha ('19) (Recoil 460 ESX F3)
6i-GW...Sub 70 699 V2 (Recoil 660 F3) 
54°, 60°...Cleveland CBX2, CBX 60 (Rotex graphite)
Putter...Ev
nRoll ER5 or MLA Tour XDream (P2 Reflex grip on both)
...all in a Datrek bag on an MGI Zip Navigator electric cart. Ball often, not always, MaxFli Tour.

Forum Member tester for the Paradym X driver (2023)
Forum Member tester for the ExPutt Putting Simulator (2020)

followthrough.jpg

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