Good club fitting experience?

[acatalano32]

Can someone tell me a good club fitting experience they had? I don’t think I had one lol
I got a club fitting a couple of years ago and she claimed my driver head wasn’t being read on the machine and basically just “fit” me for a shaft. 
then for my putter fitting she basically fit me for a face balance putter and said any face balance putter is fine as long as you like the look….

so now I’m iffy to go back to do another fitting and waste money if that’s the process, I can fit myself better. 

[cnosil]

26 minutes ago, acatalano32 said:

Can someone tell me a good club fitting experience they had? I don’t think I had one lol
I got a club fitting a couple of years ago and she claimed my driver head wasn’t being read on the machine and basically just “fit” me for a shaft. 
then for my putter fitting she basically fit me for a face balance putter and said any face balance putter is fine as long as you like the look….

so now I’m iffy to go back to do another fitting and waste money if that’s the process, I can fit myself better. 

Doesn’t sound like you had a good fitting.

I have been fit at CC where we went through the clubs in my bag and compared gamers to various other head and shaft combos.  Results were based on data that was collected on a trackman.   
 

best putter fitting I had took quite a while (months).  We assessed my posture, setup, and vision needs.  Based on my putting preferences like how I gripped the club and how I powered the stroke, I was categorized to a stroke profile which identified my putter needs.  Picked up a putter that matched those needs  to a putter then went  to someone and got a Puttlab report.  I sent the report to the individual that was teaching me about putting to confirm everything we had done online.  

[RickyBobby_PR]

I haven’t done much of a multi brand fitting because I typically am looking at buying a specific brand and then get fit for the best setup for me from that brand.

But all my good fittings start with an interview of what my game is like, my miss is, what I’m looking to achieve. The fitter will typically look thru the bag to see the bag makeup. This may or may not happen while I’m warming up at which point the fitter is also watching my swing.

Then we spent time getting baselines, then move onto the first setup, get numbers, watch ball flight and I give feedback. Then adjustments are made t based on the feedback and results. We repeat the process til we get to the final setup. 

[billybogey]

Had one at a Local Golf Shop a year ago. Wrong !! At my age have found Swing Speed has slowed down a few MPH. Will be smarter going forward!!

[Just_the_Chip]

I'm interesting in hearing other's thoughts. I went to a shop early this spring, and in about an hour we narrowed it down to two sets of clubs. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I also feel like I didn't get as much information as others, and definitely didn't go through shafts etc. Going down a youtube hole, you can see fitters going all out for clients. Club Heads, loft angles, shaft weights, etc. I grabbed my 7 iron, he said my clubs were old and anything new would be an improvement and we just smacked a ton of balls until he saw I was getting more distance and said that's the one.  I had to ask him to try a couple of additional brands. 

I would be willing to pay more for an indepth session with someone who would actually made club recommendations upon what they are seeing, versus "you tell me if that felt good" 

but again I'm a super newbie and maybe I just have false expectations from what I've seen online. 

[cnosil]

3 hours ago, Shakeyfly said:

I'm interesting in hearing other's thoughts. I went to a shop early this spring, and in about an hour we narrowed it down to two sets of clubs. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I also feel like I didn't get as much information as others, and definitely didn't go through shafts etc. Going down a youtube hole, you can see fitters going all out for clients. Club Heads, loft angles, shaft weights, etc. I grabbed my 7 iron, he said my clubs were old and anything new would be an improvement and we just smacked a ton of balls until he saw I was getting more distance and said that's the one.  I had to ask him to try a couple of additional brands. 

I would be willing to pay more for an indepth session with someone who would actually made club recommendations upon what they are seeing, versus "you tell me if that felt good" 

but again I'm a super newbie and maybe I just have false expectations from what I've seen online. 

What you describe isn't a fitting and could be accomplished by yourself.  Where did this take place and how was it described when you asked for a fitting?   

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, Shakeyfly said:

I'm interesting in hearing other's thoughts. I went to a shop early this spring, and in about an hour we narrowed it down to two sets of clubs. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I also feel like I didn't get as much information as others, and definitely didn't go through shafts etc. Going down a youtube hole, you can see fitters going all out for clients. Club Heads, loft angles, shaft weights, etc. I grabbed my 7 iron, he said my clubs were old and anything new would be an improvement and we just smacked a ton of balls until he saw I was getting more distance and said that's the one.  I had to ask him to try a couple of additional brands. 

I would be willing to pay more for an indepth session with someone who would actually made club recommendations upon what they are seeing, versus "you tell me if that felt good" 

but again I'm a super newbie and maybe I just have false expectations from what I've seen online. 

Far from a fitting. Good fitters are going to go thru shafts, heads, they will check lie and or length(some fitters prefer modifying length vs adjusting lie and vice versa). They are going to get into what you want to accomplish, what your game is like. They are going to ask you questions along the way so they can get you into a good setup.

 

[Just_the_Chip]

14 hours ago, cnosil said:

What you describe isn't a fitting and could be accomplished by yourself.  Where did this take place and how was it described when you asked for a fitting?   

I don't want to blow up the spot. They are a small non-chain business.  They used a trackman, and had a hitting an outdoor hitting net.  

I'll be interested if anyone knows of a good fitter in Massachusetts? 

[RickyBobby_PR]

8 minutes ago, Shakeyfly said:

I don't want to blow up the spot. They are a small non-chain business.  They used a trackman, and had a hitting an outdoor hitting net.  

I'll be interested if anyone knows of a good fitter in Massachusetts? 

TruSpec or five iron. 

[cnosil]

33 minutes ago, Shakeyfly said:

I don't want to blow up the spot. They are a small non-chain business.  They used a trackman, and had a hitting an outdoor hitting net.  

 

That’s fine.   My suggestion would be that you research what a club fitting entails and how they are done so you can be better prepared in the future.  

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/clubfitting-101/

https://truespecgolf.com/blog/2018/09/19/what-is-custom-club-fitting/

https://www.taylormadegolf.com/clubhouse/310074-the-guide-to-custom-fitting-10-things-you-need-to-know-before-being-custom-fit.html?lang=en_US

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bYUzPV2n4

 

 

 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

Dan at Carlsbad Golf Center, now part of Golfmart, in Carlsbad, CA.  Being in Carlsbad, San Diego, anything less than 1st class won't fly.  All the club companies are right here.  Don't know where you are, but in any golf city, you should be able to find a good fitter by asking around.  Or, take a vacation trip to San Diego and schedule a date ahead of time with Dan.  Then go play Torrey Pines.  or, Contact one or two shaft companies via their website for some leads.

[Bob Barczykowski]

Had a great fitting experience with PXG.

[dctr71]

Do Not go to Club Champion. They try real hard to fit you into a driver head that is one of the most expensive, plus all the data is from a Trackman, which they can manipulate. I bought a driver and shaft, but when I actually took it to the range and course it did not perform well at all. Went back for a second fitting and changed to a different driver head and shaft, gosh it was cheaper. It has been over two months and I have yet to receive my new driver. Numerous calls to Club Champion have gotten me nowhere. First, don't go to Club Champion because they will try to put you into a club which I'm sure they make the biggest commission on. Second, don't trust Trackman because they can manipulate the data. Third, don't buy if you can't actually hit the driver outside. 

[Hacker60521]

I have had fittings at both Club Champion and TrueSpec.  I’d agree with @dctr71 my experience was very similar, so I walked out buying nothing. I tried TrueSpec and it was unbelievably good. Meeting started with a discussion of my game, what I was hoping to achieve from the fitting, and what worked / didn’t work with my current clubs and a price range for clubs. I was scheduled for a full bag fitting, so we started with a 7I and worked on getting baseline data before trying anything else. We then tried various heads on a single shaft, to optimize the head. Then kept the head and moved to shafts. All of the data was live, and I could see the same thing the fitter saw. So there wasn’t any editing. When we were settled in the right combo, I then tried it out on longer irons. Driver fitting was similar but in this case he couldn’t find a better driver than what I was hitting, and he said so.  He asked for a second chance and asked me to come back in a couple of weeks (free of charge) to try again.  So that gives you a sense of my fitting at TrueSpec.

 

A few things I’ve learned

• The fitter has a lot to do with your outcome. I was lucky that the fitter I went to at TrueSpec was highly regarded here in Chicago.
• As much as you might be biased to a single brand keep an open mind.  The data doesn’t lie, and there might be a club / shaft combo that works better for you than your favorite brand
• Similar to above, I avoid fitting days or places like PXG where they can only fit you with their brand. There’s not a lot of objectivity when you sell just one brand. They are finding the best clubs in their brand that they have for you. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, dctr71 said:

Do Not go to Club Champion. They try real hard to fit you into a driver head that is one of the most expensive, plus all the data is from a Trackman, which they can manipulate. I bought a driver and shaft, but when I actually took it to the range and course it did not perform well at all. Went back for a second fitting and changed to a different driver head and shaft, gosh it was cheaper. It has been over two months and I have yet to receive my new driver. Numerous calls to Club Champion have gotten me nowhere. First, don't go to Club Champion because they will try to put you into a club which I'm sure they make the biggest commission on. Second, don't trust Trackman because they can manipulate the data. Third, don't buy if you can't actually hit the driver outside. 

If the golfer is upfront with the fitter about their budget the fitter will work within that budget.

If gofer doesn’t then they will get fit into upgrades as that is the business model. I know people don’t like to hear it but if you don’t do your research on the way a business operates it’s not on the business but the consumer.

There are hundreds of threads across multiple forums about fitting experiences at club champion for one to learn and understand how they work along with any custom club fitter of similar practice like TXG and Truspec

[RickyBobby_PR]

35 minutes ago, Hacker60521 said:

Similar to above, I avoid fitting days or places like PXG where they can only fit you with their brand. There’s not a lot of objectivity when you sell just one brand. They are finding the best clubs in their brand that they have for you. 

There goes for any of the club brands, obviously they are going to only fit you to the best combo for you in their lineup. Either a dedicated fitting or a brand agnostic fitting isn’t right or wrong, it’s whatever the customer prefers

Theres nothing wrong with going to PXG, Titlest, Callaway, etc for a fitting of their clubs. Some people only want to buy from a single company so go directly to that company for a fitting. Others may not want to go to demo days where fittings are typically free except for titleist because the rep there might not be as good as some fitters so they pay the fitting fee for a direct fitting from the brand.

There are no bad clubs on the market so going to one brand for a fitting can possibly get one into a better performing club than their current one, sometimes it doesn’t happen and the golfer can walk away knowing they have a better fit already. Just look at the ones who did the pxg challenge and either saw no improvement or had the pxg club beat their club out.

[cmart0219]

I had a fitting at Dicks Sporting goods in my lil home town in NY. Thought at the time it was awesome. But after seeing what real fittings from golf galaxy, even the traveling fittings for Titleist, and the awesome PGX fittings I knew I had wasted my money. My guy measured my height. Said I need an extra inch of club. I'm only 6'2". I said okay he knows best. swung three clubs with tape on the bottom to see how it hit the ground. Said here use these Mavriks. I bought them. Honestly I regret it. With the money spent I should've gotten a better experience. I'm always choking down, don't think I needed longer clubs and I was in and out in like 40 minutes with a 1000 dollar bill and ill fitting clubs. I play them, they work, but I haven't felt happy about it really. I want to get a Ping or PGX fitting in the coming years hopefully, when I can justify spending another huge chunk of dough on this game.....lol

[RickyBobby_PR]

54 minutes ago, cmart0219 said:

I had a fitting at Dicks Sporting goods in my lil home town in NY. Thought at the time it was awesome. But after seeing what real fittings from golf galaxy, even the traveling fittings for Titleist, and the awesome PGX fittings I knew I had wasted my money. My guy measured my height. Said I need an extra inch of club. I'm only 6'2". I said okay he knows best. swung three clubs with tape on the bottom to see how it hit the ground. Said here use these Mavriks. I bought them. Honestly I regret it. With the money spent I should've gotten a better experience. I'm always choking down, don't think I needed longer clubs and I was in and out in like 40 minutes with a 1000 dollar bill and ill fitting clubs. I play them, they work, but I haven't felt happy about it really. I want to get a Ping or PGX fitting in the coming years hopefully, when I can justify spending another huge chunk of dough on this game.....lol

I wouldn’t consider golf galaxy a real fitting for the most part. There may be a few people in some of their stores that can do a real fitting but most aren’t that good. It’s the same for pga superstore, 2ndswing and so on. If going to a big box store like that getting the tour or tour van fitting experience is a better option.

Most good fitters don’t measure people and the good ones who do it’s just a starting point. @Golfspy_CG2got fit at txg and titleist performance institute. He’s 6’7” and wasn’t measured. At txg he was fit by Ian and at Titlest their master fitter.

Titeist put him in their standard length.

 

[KC Golf]

45 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I wouldn’t consider golf galaxy a real fitting for the most part. There may be a few people in some of their stores that can do a real fitting but most aren’t that good. It’s the same for pga superstore, 2ndswing and so on. If going to a big box store like that getting the tour or tour van fitting experience is a better option.

Most good fitters don’t measure people and the good ones who do it’s just a starting point. @Golfspy_CG2got fit at txg and titleist performance institute. He’s 6’7” and wasn’t measured. At txg he was fit by Ian and at Titlest their master fitter.

Titeist put him in their standard length.

 

This is a great data point.  I was wondering why I was never measured physically and so now I know that my fitters have been dead on with in just putting me in standard length.

On the PGA Tour it looks like Keegan Bradley plays a fairly standard length despite his height.

I think the new golfer fitter fitting form from MGS is a pretty good sheet on how to approach fitting.  Budget, your data and your goals are a good starting point.

[RickyBobby_PR]

5 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

This is a great data point.  I was wondering why I was never measured physically and so now I know that my fitters have been dead on with in just putting me in standard length.

On the PGA Tour it looks like Keegan Bradley plays a fairly standard length despite his height.

I think the new golfer fitter fitting form from MGS is a pretty good sheet on how to approach fitting.  Budget, your data and your goals are a good starting point.

Keegan has a very non standard setup so not surprised.

the fitters I’ve talked to from the various companies and independent fitters when it comes to lie and length they both use ball flight and then look at contact on the face. Th guy from Nike that moved to tm was a adjust length vs bending lie, there was another guy I used to go to that was the same way and he came up thru Ping. Others go with lie and unless the way a person sets up is to bent over they will mess with length.

My old fitter that’s down at Sawgrass now is 6’ maybe 6’1”. His measurements put him 1/2” over but he plays standard in Ping and Titlest. 
 

Just remember that when it comes to length and lie standard is only relevant to the brand you are hitting. Each company has their own standard length and measure differently so even if they show the same on their website they more than likely aren’t. I’ve seen people post tm and Callaway of the same stated length and be 1/4” different.

For lie each company has their own standard.

[jak29672]

Had an excellent fitting experience in Warner Robbins GA.  Your shots were hit into a blank screen. Fitter had all the data on his computer. Without feedback on the screen in front of me I just focused on hitting solid shots and didn’t focus on correcting a swing path, the club head angle, trying to swing harder or faster, try to correct a bad swing or correcting ball position. .  I felt I got better data without all this images in front of me after every swing. Fitter was there to help me make best decisions even if it meant staying with what I had.

[Badgermc76]

Back in the spring I wanted to test the Latest Irons and upgrade if possible. After going through the fitting, we settled on Ping I230s. I was disappointed as we never went over loft lie and length, Etc. It was, these are better or equal to your current clubs. I done see much difference. $1900 all in. I mentioned it but the Fitter didn't care. I left and did a second fitting weeks later

[Mister G]

Ohhhh......the horror!!!

When is a fitting not a fitting?

By all reports--"Depends":

Where and/or when you go...the motivation/skill/experience/ of the fitter...sales pressure for brand or for expensive re-shafting...hourly or commissioned fitter..."free" fitting with purchase--hahaha...fitting by the hour/minute in a crowded setting or "special" event...

language difficulties---i.e.: angle of attack, smash factor, shot shape, clubhead speed, ball speed, spin on ball, spin from clubhead, range balls vs golf balls you actually use, distance, carry vs landing, strokes saved, etc....

.......the horror!!!!

 

[Jonas Cameron]

On 9/17/2023 at 9:34 AM, Hacker60521 said:

I have had fittings at both Club Champion and TrueSpec.  I’d agree with @dctr71 my experience was very similar, so I walked out buying nothing. I tried TrueSpec and it was unbelievably good. Meeting started with a discussion of my game, what I was hoping to achieve from the fitting, and what worked / didn’t work with my current clubs and a price range for clubs. I was scheduled for a full bag fitting, so we started with a 7I and worked on getting baseline data before trying anything else. We then tried various heads on a single shaft, to optimize the head. Then kept the head and moved to shafts. All of the data was live, and I could see the same thing the fitter saw. So there wasn’t any editing. When we were settled in the right combo, I then tried it out on longer irons. Driver fitting was similar but in this case he couldn’t find a better driver than what I was hitting, and he said so.  He asked for a second chance and asked me to come back in a couple of weeks (free of charge) to try again.  So that gives you a sense of my fitting at TrueSpec.

 

A few things I’ve learned

• The fitter has a lot to do with your outcome. I was lucky that the fitter I went to at TrueSpec was highly regarded here in Chicago.
• As much as you might be biased to a single brand keep an open mind.  The data doesn’t lie, and there might be a club / shaft combo that works better for you than your favorite brand
• Similar to above, I avoid fitting days or places like PXG where they can only fit you with their brand. There’s not a lot of objectivity when you sell just one brand. They are finding the best clubs in their brand that they have for you. 

The PXG thing is interesting because I have been fit there - and they were honest about my woods and wedges setup and didn't try and push that product at all.  I ended up with a great set of irons and a driving iron.  I have had multiple experiences with them now and all have been positive, they ask the right questions and weren't pushy. 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

I have real long arms, 36 1/2 inch sleeve, so using the Ping color chart I need a flat lie, at least 1 if not 2 degrees.  (Hands closer to the ground will make the toe point up into the air and make the heel dig in).  But.  My fitter, Dan at Carlsbad Golf Center (Golfmart) had me hit on the lie marker board, and lo and behld, my actual impact is close to neutral.  I said this before:  plan a vacation to San Diego and we have all the companies here, including Evnroll putters and probably as good a bunch of fitters as anywhere.  2 Golfmarts have outdoor fittings.  Then go hang gliding at Torrey Pines.

Regards Single company:

I did have a driver fit with PXG.  Yes, it was very very good, mostly due to the Evenflow Riptide A flex 40 gram shaft, which was pretty new I guess in 2021.  We tried 3 or 4 shafts and it was a no brainer which shaft fit me way better than my Recoil F2, which I liked.  I figured $50 to get a PXG fitting was a good investment after they came out with clubs priced for Joe Doaks, not Admiral Halsey.  Single company fittings have two things going for them.  1.  Most of them have a family of irons and drivers in all the design varieties.  2.  They have a very important reputation to maintain.  I doubt that a mediocre person will last long at Titleist or Ping.

And since nobody else here has used this phrase, CAVEAT EMPTOR.  Look it up.  It is the flip side of Free Enterprise.

[Hacker60521]

9 minutes ago, Jonas Cameron said:

The PXG thing is interesting because I have been fit there - and they were honest about my woods and wedges setup and didn't try and push that product at all.  I ended up with a great set of irons and a driving iron.  I have had multiple experiences with them now and all have been positive, they ask the right questions and weren't pushy. 

That’s great to hear, and I’m glad that you had such a great experience with them. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard wonderful things about their clubs.

 

But I’ve always been one that tries to collect a lot of data So a place like TrueSpec made sense for me — especially since I’m brand agnostic. That said, when I was at TrueSpec I asked to add PXG to the mix. Interestingly, PXG doesn’t offer their equipment for fitting at places like TrueSpec. 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

5 hours ago, KC Golf said:

This is a great data point.  I was wondering why I was never measured physically and so now I know that my fitters have been dead on with in just putting me in standard length.

On the PGA Tour it looks like Keegan Bradley plays a fairly standard length despite his height.

I think the new golfer fitter fitting form from MGS is a pretty good sheet on how to approach fitting.  Budget, your data and your goals are a good starting point.

I keep thinking someone needs to buy Keegan some new irons, he looks like he is hitting kids clubs.

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Jonas Cameron said:

The PXG thing is interesting because I have been fit there - and they were honest about my woods and wedges setup and didn't try and push that product at all.  I ended up with a great set of irons and a driving iron.  I have had multiple experiences with them now and all have been positive, they ask the right questions and weren't pushy. 

You will find that with most of the oems and pretty much any good fitter. They won’t push a sale and would rather let the data and results do the talking for the customer

51 minutes ago, Hacker60521 said:

That’s great to hear, and I’m glad that you had such a great experience with them. And don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard wonderful things about their clubs.

 

But I’ve always been one that tries to collect a lot of data So a place like TrueSpec made sense for me — especially since I’m brand agnostic. That said, when I was at TrueSpec I asked to add PXG to the mix. Interestingly, PXG doesn’t offer their equipment for fitting at places like TrueSpec. 

PXG has a deal with club Champion. They are a dtc brand and having retail stores it doesn’t make much sense to have their product in a bunch of other locations 

49 minutes ago, Donn lost in San Diego said:

I keep thinking someone needs to buy Keegan some new irons, he looks like he is hitting kids clubs.

It’s because of how he setups to the ball. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it

[Hacker60521]

18 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

PXG has a deal with club Champion. They are a dtc brand and having retail stores it doesn’t make much sense to have their product in a bunch of other locations 

 

So they’ll work with CC but not TrueSpec? Well I suppose that’s their decision 

[callen91]

I didn't have a great experience at CC. My fitter hadn't ever seen a swing speed as high as I have, and wasn't sure what shaft to try for me. His boss saw what he was having me swing and told him they were wrong for me, so he gave me other ones. Then the price...so high. I paid the fitting fee, and moved on.

Couple weeks later I went to a local fitter, Barton Creek Fitting Studio here in Austin and wow, what an experience. Outdoor on the range with a trackman, and he had every head and shaft you can imagine. I got some irons I feel like I can never miss with they're so perfect for me.