Driver fitting at PGA Tour Superstore: Free vs. Paid

[berkeleybob]

Heyo!

I’ve never had a formal fitting. I’m traveling out to California in a couple weeks, and I thought I’d drop by a PGA Tour Superstore and schedule a 75-minute paid-driver fitting to see if my current driver, Ping G410 Plus, can be better tailored to me, or if there’s a different driver to consider. I called up the store to tell them my plans, and the fella on the phone suggested/recommended that instead I can come into the store with my driver tweaked with a free fitting that lasts about 20 minutes max, where I can also try other drivers as well.

I’m not sure which is the better route to take. What do you think?

[GolfSpy_APH]

Go free to start and if you feel you need more or go further in depth then pay for the full! 

[berkeleybob]

2 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Go free to start and if you feel you need more or go further in depth then pay for the full! 

I guess I’m wondering, what’s the difference between the two? What would I be missing if I just went with the free version?

 

[Jim Shaw]

7 minutes ago, berkeleybob said:

Heyo!

I’ve never had a formal fitting. I’m traveling out to California in a couple weeks, and I thought I’d drop by a PGA Tour Superstore and schedule a 75-minute paid-driver fitting to see if my current driver, Ping G410 Plus, can be better tailored to me, or if there’s a different driver to consider. I called up the store to tell them my plans, and the fella on the phone suggested/recommended that instead I can come into the store with my driver tweaked with a free fitting that lasts about 20 minutes max, where I can also try other drivers as well.

I’m not sure which is the better route to take. What do you think?

very nice of the person to tell you about the free option, go with that, I would say, and like @GolfSpy_APH said, then you can go from there, enjoy...

[Rob Person]

Free is for your specific driver, as it stands. Paid will include other models, different shafts, optional degree angles, etc

[golfinnut]

I relate the free version as a "quickie" (No get your head out of the gutter!  Not that kind of a quickie)    Quick version to get your attention & show you quick numbers that says "yeah, this driver is better than yours."  Cha-ching ... quick sale.  The paid version is an in depth, dig deep, into the numbers & try a multitude of shafts, lofts, weighting, etc. to find The best driver for your game.  Really compare your gamer numbers vs other OEM's.  

 

[SteveGH7]

I think the primary difference is the experience of the person conducting the fitting, and the amount of time spent.  The paid fitting would probably be about an hour with a fitter who has a bit more training.  The free fittings are usually with a store employee in the main hitting bays letting you sample the different drivers, making some small tweaks, and explaining the numbers.  If you are just looking to dial in your current driver or compare it to some of the stock new releases, stick with the free. However they might not have the different shafts to try in the free hitting bay.  So it depends on how in-depth you'd like to be.

[RickyBobby_PR]

If getting fit at a box big store always go for the paid option and upgrade it to the tour van option.

If it was me and I was in Cali I would not go to pga superstore for a fitting. I would find one of the local fitters. If I was in San Diego area I would try to get into one of the OEMs for a fitting, followed by TruSpec or cool clubs

[Owengeorge13]

If you pay, then you decide to buy the driver the fee gets squashed  at the pga superstore.  I’m a big fan of truespec, but it can be expensive 

Edited January 18 by Owengeorge13

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, berkeleybob said:

Heyo!

I’ve never had a formal fitting. I’m traveling out to California in a couple weeks, and I thought I’d drop by a PGA Tour Superstore and schedule a 75-minute paid-driver fitting to see if my current driver, Ping G410 Plus, can be better tailored to me, or if there’s a different driver to consider. I called up the store to tell them my plans, and the fella on the phone suggested/recommended that instead I can come into the store with my driver tweaked with a free fitting that lasts about 20 minutes max, where I can also try other drivers as well.

I’m not sure which is the better route to take. What do you think?

Traveling to California from Denmark for a fitting... you must be rich!    

A paid fitting will be what you are looking for as opposed to trying out drivers vs your own.  Listen to @RickyBobby_PR advice.  Haven't been to Cool Clubs, but TruSpec is awesome.

[berkeleybob]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

Traveling to California from Denmark for a fitting... you must be rich!    

A paid fitting will be what you are looking for as opposed to trying out drivers vs your own.  Listen to @RickyBobby_PR advice.  Haven't been to Cool Clubs, but TruSpec is awesome.

My Dad lives out there, and I try to see him once or twice a year. Unfortunately, he’s out of reach from any club fitters or golf stores apart from Dick’s. So I have plan my visits to the golf stores carefully.

If I were rich, I’d just buy all my golf clubs and needs in Denmark.

Edited January 18 by berkeleybob

[Wheelieb]

Again, This is why I miss Edwin Watts in Florida. You go into any of their stores and fittings are free. They know they will get a sale regardless so why make you pay for it if they aren't getting any commission? That's how fittings should be. You should not have to pay to get fit for clubs. That's my opinion though.

[Kenny B]

1 hour ago, berkeleybob said:

My Dad lives out there, and I try to see him once or twice a year. Unfortunately, he’s out of reach from any club fitters or golf stores apart from Dick’s. So I have plan my visits to the golf stores carefully.

If I were rich, I’d just buy all my golf clubs and needs in Denmark.

Where are you going to be?  I'll be in Palm Springs for 2 weeks in Feb.

[berkeleybob]

48 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Where are you going to be?  I'll be in Palm Springs for 2 weeks in Feb.

I’ll be in Bakersfield for the first week in Feb.

Edited January 18 by berkeleybob

[Josh Parker]

I would go with the free first and see what you think and what they suggest.

[Bossfan]

My last experience with a free one wasn’t great. I will admit it ended up alright. He kept bringing shafts with a pretty big markup and said he didn’t have any of the stock shafts available for the driver I was testing except in stiff or senior. None of the stiffs worked at all. Most of the regular shafts he was bringing me were $75 to $100 extra. I actually found one of the stock shafts in the next bay over . It wasn’t that hard. It performed as well to me as the more expensive shafts he was bringing me. He tried explaining why it didn’t work as well but I’m a simple guy and according to where the ball was landing on the sim it was in the same area as the shafts he was trying to get me to buy. This will be my 4th year using that driver because I keep finding the fairway. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

6 hours ago, Wheelieb said:

Again, This is why I miss Edwin Watts in Florida. You go into any of their stores and fittings are free. They know they will get a sale regardless so why make you pay for it if they aren't getting any commission? That's how fittings should be. You should not have to pay to get fit for clubs. That's my opinion though.

At a box store maybe. They are getting paid somehow by the store,  but it’s also why box store fittings aren’t the best.

an independent fitter who has spent time training and learning their craft not only should be paid but shouldn’t give a discount if one buys. You are paying the fitter their time and their experience. 

[Wheelieb]

1 minute ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

At a box store maybe. They are getting paid somehow by the store,  but it’s also why box store fittings aren’t the best.

an independent fitter who has spent time training and learning their craft not only should be paid but shouldn’t give a discount if one buys. You are paying the fitter their time and their experience. 

I mean, Edwin Watts you went in and they ran through all the heads and shaft options to include the stock options and you could see those numbers. Of course the workers are still going to get paid by the store. I’m not saying they aren’t getting paid by them. What I am saying is they aren’t getting paid by the oem to sell you their products or pressure you into buying aftermarket shafts that perform the same as a stock shaft you hit. 

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, Wheelieb said:

 What I am saying is they aren’t getting paid by the oem to sell you their products or pressure you into buying aftermarket shafts that perform the same as a stock shaft you hit. 

They kind of are.   Many of the employees in golf stores are on staff with an OEM and will often push their products.   They do receive compensation from the OEMs.

[berkeleybob]

10 hours ago, Wheelieb said:

I mean, Edwin Watts you went in and they ran through all the heads and shaft options to include the stock options and you could see those numbers. Of course the workers are still going to get paid by the store. I’m not saying they aren’t getting paid by them. What I am saying is they aren’t getting paid by the oem to sell you their products or pressure you into buying aftermarket shafts that perform the same as a stock shaft you hit. 

My ex used to work at a camera store, and she said all the OEM reps would come in and offer each salesperson spiffs if they were able to sell their brand. I think retail is retail—that said, at least there's a launch monitor that'll give the customer some info/proof of what's happening before making a choice. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happened with @Bossfan.

Okay, I looked around, and I found Cool Clubs, Golftec and Club Champion all within reach of my travel day. Alas, TrueSpec is no longer/never was in the Bay Area. They all have appointments available. So I've got good options, free or paid. So now I just gotta think about which way to go about it.

Thanks for your input!

Edited January 19 by berkeleybob

[Bossfan]

44 minutes ago, berkeleybob said:

My ex used to work at a camera store, and she said all the OEM reps would come in and offer each salesperson spiffs if they were able to sell their brand. I think retail is retail—that said, at least there's a launch monitor that'll give the customer some info/proof of what's happening before making a choice. I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's what happened with @Bossfan.

Okay, I looked around, and I found Cool Clubs, Golftec and Club Champion all within reach of my travel day. Alas, TrueSpec is no longer/never was in the Bay Area. They all have appointments available. So I've got good options, free or paid. So now I just gotta think about which way to go about it.

Thanks for your input!

My post was meant as a cautionary tale. Just pay attention to what you’re seeing during the fitting whether it’s paid or free. Ask the price of each shaft. Take notes mental/on paper how each shaft performs. I mostly pay attention to 3 things distance, dispersion and launch angle. I know the other info is important but I understand those 3. I have had better fitting experiences at the PGASS. That last one left me with a bad feeling. Good luck on your search

[hoppman]

I regularly hit clubs at the PGA Tour Superstore near me, the free fitting was a way to see if a stock club fit my eye, sound, look, feel needs. They also have some different shafts available in the free bays you can try, mainly to do with stiff, regular, X-stiff etc. 

So now that I like a certain club, go get fit to see if it is for me. I have a pretty good idea what shafts I like, but new equipment gets introduced all the time. I do believe the Van fitting is way more comprehensive than the freebie, but freebie gets you warmed up and let's you test what you might be interested in and gives you a start at least. 

I would probably avoid Club Champion, they always try to up sell you. Golftec usually has a more limited number of options to try. 

I actually found a fitter in the PGATSS free bays that I really liked, so I would try and visit him, he eventually became the Tour Van fitter and he was better IMO than the guy they had previously. You probably don't have that much time since you are visiting so YMMV. 

If I still am not sure, I might go to another place a week later, hit the same club especially if it is stock and see how I still feel about it. 

 

 

Edited January 19 by hoppman

[hoppman]

11 hours ago, cnosil said:

They kind of are.   Many of the employees in golf stores are on staff with an OEM and will often push their products.   They do receive compensation from the OEMs.

Even if they aren't on staff, many will have their own biases. I had one kid tell me I needed a Tensei orange shaft over and over because he played it, I passed because I didn't like the feel of it and didn't think it was correct for me. 

[Mauchan]

I've never had a good experience at the box stores, Edwin Watts, PGA SuperStore, or Club Champion.  The goal is to sell you something there.  It was frustrating to say the least.  So much time and money spent for clubs when they could have been much better, with not much more effort.  I did find a fitter at a local course that was honest, took the time to understand the goals, and time to fit correctly.  I think you would be better served finding a small shop that can take the time.  I also want to say, have a goal in mind.  If your Ping is a fairway finder, what do you hope to accomplish?  If this is truly exploratory, take the free and go have some fun.  If you find that you see greater results and a reason to buy a new club, go find a fitter locally with that club in mind.  You can absolutely nerd out on shafts, tip trimming, weighting, counterbalance, grips etc and a good fitter will know what to do to accomplish the goal with the best results.  I've never seen that any any of the aforementioned stores.  

[chisag]

On 1/18/2024 at 8:15 AM, berkeleybob said:

Heyo!

I’ve never had a formal fitting. I’m traveling out to California in a couple weeks, and I thought I’d drop by a PGA Tour Superstore and schedule a 75-minute paid-driver fitting to see if my current driver, Ping G410 Plus, can be better tailored to me, or if there’s a different driver to consider. I called up the store to tell them my plans, and the fella on the phone suggested/recommended that instead I can come into the store with my driver tweaked with a free fitting that lasts about 20 minutes max, where I can also try other drivers as well.

I’m not sure which is the better route to take. What do you think?

 

... Most golfers fit into stock shafts. Every time I have been to a fitting from someone really good an aftermarket shaft works a little better for me, feels a little better and gives me a slight upgrade in numbers, but the stock options were always pretty close. There are just so many great stock shafts these days. That said, personally I would always like to know how all shafts work for me in a new driver. You will be able to hit all the stock shafts with a few upgrades in the PGA SS hitting bay for free. As others have said it's a good starting place.

... But many SS's have a new high end fitting center with virtually every shaft to try and dial in the perfect combo and the tech goes through training. I don't do well being fit indoors so I wouldn't pay for premium fitting unless it was outdoors, but that's me. I have not tried one of the SS premium fitting centers so I don't know how they compare to even an outdoor OEM Demo Day which has always been good to very good. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, hoppman said:

I regularly hit clubs at the PGA Tour Superstore near me, the free fitting was a way to see if a stock club fit my eye, sound, look, feel needs. They also have some different shafts available in the free bays you can try, mainly to do with stiff, regular, X-stiff etc. 

So now that I like a certain club, go get fit to see if it is for me. I have a pretty good idea what shafts I like, but new equipment gets introduced all the time. I do believe the Van fitting is way more comprehensive than the freebie, but freebie gets you warmed up and let's you test what you might be interested in and gives you a start at least. 

I would probably avoid Club Champion, they always try to up sell you. Golftec usually has a more limited number of options to try. 

I actually found a fitter in the PGATSS free bays that I really liked, so I would try and visit him, he eventually became the Tour Van fitter and he was better IMO than the guy they had previously. You probably don't have that much time since you are visiting so YMMV. 

If I still am not sure, I might go to another place a week later, hit the same club especially if it is stock and see how I still feel about it. 

 

 

For club champion all someone has to do is tell the fitter their budget and that they don’t want to be fit into anything that doesn’t stay in their budget. If the fitter doesn’t want to or pushes back, then ask for a refund and walk away. Their business practice isn’t necessarily to upsell, but rather to only use aftermarket or their oban shafts.

Its easy to get them to meet your needs if you tell them that 

[cksurfdude]

On 1/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, berkeleybob said:

I guess I’m wondering, what’s the difference between the two? What would I be missing if I just went with the free version?

 

On 1/18/2024 at 10:31 AM, SteveGH7 said:

I think the primary difference is the experience of the person conducting the fitting, and the amount of time spent.  The paid fitting would probably be about an hour with a fitter who has a bit more training.  The free fittings are usually with a store employee in the main hitting bays letting you sample the different drivers, making some small tweaks, and explaining the numbers.  If you are just looking to dial in your current driver or compare it to some of the stock new releases, stick with the free. However they might not have the different shafts to try in the free hitting bay.  So it depends on how in-depth you'd like to be.

^^ Yes what he said, especially about the shafts.

The quality of your free fitting will vary widely dependent on the quality, experience, conscientiousness* of the store rep - vs a certified club fitter (who works separately from sales).

Maybe urban legend but I've heard that some store reps may juice the LM to make the new club you're testing look better....

Also... out of the three fitting choices you mentioned - my rec would be Cool Clubs.

GolfTec = limited selection. May or may not have a certified fitter.

Club Champion = imho way too upsell oriented. No stock shafts available .. in case that might actually work better for you. Will push shaft Pure'ing.

[berkeleybob]

2 hours ago, Mauchan said:

I also want to say, have a goal in mind.  If your Ping is a fairway finder, what do you hope to accomplish?   

This is a great point. I know when I’m up and rolling, I can find the fairway somewhat consistently. What I keep wondering about is, can I get more distance out of it while maintaining a level of forgiveness? When I play 18-holes, I usually switch to a ball with more distance, but I’d like to see if there’s something I can do with the club.

[GaDawg]

On 1/18/2024 at 10:20 AM, berkeleybob said:

I guess I’m wondering, what’s the difference between the two? What would I be missing if I just went with the free version?

 

In my opinion the only difference is with the fitting you pay for, you are in a studio with no interruptions and the fitter has 50 -75 shafts available to try for your fitting. Higher end shafts at a lot higher cost. The free fitting is probably with a less experienced fitter in a bay next to others. He would probably only have 8 - 10 shafts for you to try.

Edited January 20 by GaDawg

[GaDawg]

I have had a fitting at Club Champion and it was really good. I was not pushed into anything, only suggestions were given. I know enough about the swing numbers to make a good decision but appreciated their thoughts. At Club Champion, they took the fitting cost off my purchase.

I have also been fit at the PGA SS. (Free Fitting) It was good as well, probably not as well trained fitter as Club Champion. I agree with Sam, chisag stock shafts work out well for most golfers.