Still Stunned After Getting Estimate From Club Champ Fitting

[Jagpilotohio]

Just got fit at CC for 5-Gap and 3 wedges but they estimate is over 3 grand!!!! :stink:

 

Is it acceptable to charge me TWICE the actual RETAIL price for graphite shafts and more than TWICE for steel?...really??? On top of that a buddy of mine was at Fujikura 2 weeks ago and they laughed when asked about PUREing shafts. He was told Fujikura shafts go through PUREing before leaving the plant and the shafts will be screwed up if they go through PUREing again by a shop. So there's another $30 for each shaft that would not only be pissed down the drain but have an adverse effect on performance.

 

Yeah they charged more than retail for grips too...by at least 20%.

 

What am I missing? Feel free to defend them. I've got to know how they justify their prices. In CC's favor they did charge the full retail price for the clubs. No discount whatsoever. I know...I've heard this before to a degree but until it happens to you...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I was quoted $25 more per club to get a set of irons reshafted compared to OEM doing the same exact work. Needless to say, I was very turned off and will never consider them again for anything.

@Uscgolfguy..

I noticed your username and have to ask if you are in the Coast Guard?

I spent 9 years active duty in the USCG from 2001 to 2010

 

I’m guessing he means USC the University.

[tdk8180]

Puring is bullpoop.

 

Club Champion is bullpoop.

 

Fit yourself by taking a club to the course...best fitting experience right there

[borloryau]

I hate to say this...but you went to a fitting at a premium facility- spent a lot of money on the fitting alone - and expected a reasonable quote? To pay $350 USD for a fitting is about as much as you can spend. A quick search about CC will reveal your exact thread many times over.

 

What did you expect?

 

Ultimately, you will leave this experience with accurate specs for every club on the bag. That is very valuable. Source the heads and shafts out yourself and bring them to a local builder. Save thousands.

 

Goodluck!

 

I did NOT pay $350. I paid $175 knowing they run specials through January. To me it was worth 175. I would never ever pay $350 for a fitting, especially since that’s not deducted from the purchase price.

 

For the sake of completeness I will say that I did purchase the suggested putter...so there. Why? Because the price of a PING putter is set in concrete regardless of merchant. And I knew it would be difficult to for him to say I needed an expensive aftermarket putter shaft.

 

Great deal. I guess my point isnt that you PAID $350, but the place you want to normally charges $350. It's not surprising thst you got a great deal on the fitting, and want the same for the clubs. Hey...I would too. The difference is, I would never go to a premium place and expect to pay golftown prices for builds.

 

In fairness...I went to TXG in Toronto...am excellent facility. I went for a putter fitting, was told my current putter had better numbers than anything k tired, and they charged me $0 for the fitting aswell.

 

TXG??? The guys who make the awesome YouTube videos? I found their videos last weekend. Kind of fired me up for my fitting on Monday. I assumed from their videos they are a high end facility and there’s been more than 1 set of $3,000 irons that have left that place. That’s very classy the way you were treated for the putter fitting.

 

Awesome videos for sure and great ppl, however they do operate on the same a la carte pricing model as CC. Definitely high end, and definitely not cheap.

[Fairwindsgolfer]

Just got fit at CC for 5-Gap and 3 wedges but they estimate is over 3 grand!!!! :stink:

 

Is it acceptable to charge me TWICE the actual RETAIL price for graphite shafts and more than TWICE for steel?...really??? On top of that a buddy of mine was at Fujikura 2 weeks ago and they laughed when asked about PUREing shafts. He was told Fujikura shafts go through PUREing before leaving the plant and the shafts will be screwed up if they go through PUREing again by a shop. So there's another $30 for each shaft that would not only be pissed down the drain but have an adverse effect on performance.

 

Yeah they charged more than retail for grips too...by at least 20%.

 

What am I missing? Feel free to defend them. I've got to know how they justify their prices. In CC's favor they did charge the full retail price for the clubs. No discount whatsoever. I know...I've heard this before to a degree but until it happens to you...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

I was quoted $25 more per club to get a set of irons reshafted compared to OEM doing the same exact work. Needless to say, I was very turned off and will never consider them again for anything.

@Uscgolfguy..

I noticed your username and have to ask if you are in the Coast Guard?

I spent 9 years active duty in the USCG from 2001 to 2010

 

I’m guessing he means USC the University.

Roger that..I see what you mean.

[skyking]

Got my putter from CC today. Fanciest delivery box I've ever seen for a golf club...wow. No not doing an "unboxing video" don't worry. Never used or thought about using a black putter, a mid-mallet or a one with an insert...but I went to my friend's shop and made everything so...

 

We've all heard of the honeymoon phase with new clubs but this is like dating a girl you get along with like a buddy, great sex but not overly attracted to ya know? She'll grow on me if I drop some birdies and less three putts.

 

BTW, my friend wasn't at the shop but his guy an ex Web.com dude let me hit some shafts with the same Mizzy head CC recommended and I think the results were better with a steel no less, Nipon NS Pro shaft, which I didn't hit at CC. I'll have to let me friend take a look. A stock shaft with no uncharge. Hum...

[Otter101!!!]

So I just completed a 5 lesson pack at GolfTec that included a swing analysis and a TechFit. The techfit was 1 hour and I wanted to do irons. I was kinda wanting Ping so that’s where we started and end, Ping I210 was the best with modus 3 105 shafts lofts and lies all set and spec out. Ping I210 125 per club, GOLFTEC did not care where I purchased from, so I purchased from my local club because they had a loyalty program for every dollar spent, big benefit for me. Then I decided I wanted to do a driver fit used one of my lesson for that no prob, my fitter dialed the driver in to a Ping G400 with a Aldila XTorsion shaft. So I asked him Asked if I could save some money and bye last years Ping G and order my shaft through Ping, he said no prob good idea. GOLFTEC ordered the shaft I went to a local golf shop bought my Ping G put them together no problem could not be happier. I went though the whole bag irons 4-paw,uw, 1200, driver 385 with shaft, 5w, 2hybrids off the rack 500, 2 ping glide wedges (last years version) 150, odyssey putter 200, that’s less than 2450 for the whole bag and most of it is custom. Two rounds on them could not be happier.

[KMeloney]

Sure, big is relative but last time I checked if you do any kind of volume you get better pricing with your suppliers. I assume CC does a reasonable volume across all their centers.

 

My point on the labour is that even if they charged $100/hr for the build, it's still only $350 plus material costs and the markup for material should be reasonable.

 

I get the impression that CC can't afford to buy in bulk and sit on inventory they're not using right away (or ever), assuming they're fitting people in so many different combinations of heads and shafts.

 

I hear you on the labor. I don't know what the right number for labor is -- but then again, no one has been offer what CC charges in labor anyway. So, I don't know that they're charging too much or too little.

 

To me, CC is somewhere between the one-man shop and Golf Galaxy. When you check out other threads, all you see is an overwhelming eagerness to pay more for equipment and labor to the local mom-and-pop shop over the big box stores. But when it comes to CC, CC is the devil. I think a lot of the cynicism is misplaced, especially by the folks who have never been to a CC (and just dislike what it "represents"), don't understand the potential benefits of it, and/or whose local CC fitters aren't particularly helpful, good, or friendly (which would certainly turn me off to the experience).

[DavePelz4]

Isn't Club Champion a sponsor of the site? Maybe we should ask them for a Q&A with a representative of the company and let them present their story and answer questions from the WRX'ers.

[DavePelz4]

OK...sent them a note regarding this thread and their interest in a Q&A where they can tell their story and take questions from the masses. Will see if they respond.

[KMeloney]

Isn't Club Champion a sponsor of the site? Maybe we should ask them for a Q&A with a representative of the company and let them present their story and answer questions from the WRX'ers.

 

What, and take all the misinformation out of these threads?! Pfft.

 

(Didn't know they were a sponsor. Great idea, and hopefully they agree. Thanks!)

[deadsolid...shank]

I really don’t have a problem with their pricing. They’re filling a niche market, serving people who don’t mind spending that kind of money.

 

I’m really kind of surprised anyone would be surprised by their pricing model, it’s pretty well known (or at least I thought it was) that they are a high dollar place.

[trhode]

Isn't Club Champion a sponsor of the site? Maybe we should ask them for a Q&A with a representative of the company and let them present their story and answer questions from the WRX'ers.

 

They did a Q&A a couple of months ago in the Tour Pre-release section.

 

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1635814-recap-club-champion-live-qa-check-inside/page__st__90__p__17374898__hl__+club%20+champion#entry17374898

[DavePelz4]

Isn't Club Champion a sponsor of the site? Maybe we should ask them for a Q&A with a representative of the company and let them present their story and answer questions from the WRX'ers.

 

They did a Q&A a couple of months ago in the Tour Pre-release section.

 

http://www.golfwrx.c...n#entry17374898

 

Dang...was just schooled and with my own post! Well done kind Sir.

[skyking]

I really don’t have a problem with their pricing. They’re filling a niche market, serving people who don’t mind spending that kind of money.

 

I’m really kind of surprised anyone would be surprised by their pricing model, it’s pretty well known (or at least I thought it was) that they are a high dollar place.

 

I went in knowing it would be more...just not THAT much more. Secondly, do you think CC's unwritten sales strategy is get customers in exotic\aftermarket shafts so they have bragging rights on the first tee? Reason I ask? Why didn't the fitter at least let me try the stock shafts during the fitting? Went to my friends shop yesterday, got on TM with the same head and had as good if not better on some data from a Mizuno stock offering. I'm wondering if CC assumes ALL customers go there wanting something other than stock, otherwise they'd just go to GG\Dick's or contact whatever brand club they want for a fitting.

[Z1ggy16]

I really don’t have a problem with their pricing. They’re filling a niche market, serving people who don’t mind spending that kind of money.

 

I’m really kind of surprised anyone would be surprised by their pricing model, it’s pretty well known (or at least I thought it was) that they are a high dollar place.

 

I went in knowing it would be more...just not THAT much more. Secondly, do you think CC's unwritten sales strategy is get customers in exotic\aftermarket shafts so they have bragging rights on the first tee? Reason I ask? Why didn't the fitter at least let me try the stock shafts during the fitting? Went to my friends shop yesterday, got on TM with the same head and had as good if not better on some data from a Mizuno stock offering. I'm wondering if CC assumes ALL customers go there wanting something other than stock, otherwise they'd just go to GG\Dick's or contact whatever brand club they want for a fitting.

Well because their "stance" is that 99% of stock offerings are quote, "low quality, low grade", so obviously a $350 Oban or GD shaft must be considered. Not that high $$ shafts aren't good... it's just that you could get very similar performance out of the stock or minor upcharge shafts now a days. Just look at Cobra.

 

And as Tom pointed out, PUREing does serve a purpose, but maybe only for a very small % of players, and only in certain shafts. If you're a +HC who swings a driver 115+, then yeah maybe a PURE'd driver and 3w shaft could help you hit that one extra fairway during your high dollar skins match or whatever. For the rest of us mortals, it's probably a waste.

[deadsolid...shank]

I really don’t have a problem with their pricing. They’re filling a niche market, serving people who don’t mind spending that kind of money.

 

I’m really kind of surprised anyone would be surprised by their pricing model, it’s pretty well known (or at least I thought it was) that they are a high dollar place.

 

I went in knowing it would be more...just not THAT much more. Secondly, do you think CC's unwritten sales strategy is get customers in exotic\aftermarket shafts so they have bragging rights on the first tee? Reason I ask? Why didn't the fitter at least let me try the stock shafts during the fitting? Went to my friends shop yesterday, got on TM with the same head and had as good if not better on some data from a Mizuno stock offering. I'm wondering if CC assumes ALL customers go there wanting something other than stock, otherwise they'd just go to GG\Dick's or contact whatever brand club they want for a fitting.

 

Sorry SkyKing, I really didn’t mean that as a call out to you. Just meant in general.

 

Did you ask them to try the stock shaft? I’m sure they’re going to do everything possible to not even let someone try one. They’re not going to offer (again, all speculation on my part as I’ve never been there).

[propman]

I really don’t have a problem with their pricing. They’re filling a niche market, serving people who don’t mind spending that kind of money.

 

I’m really kind of surprised anyone would be surprised by their pricing model, it’s pretty well known (or at least I thought it was) that they are a high dollar place.

 

I went in knowing it would be more...just not THAT much more. Secondly, do you think CC's unwritten sales strategy is get customers in exotic\aftermarket shafts so they have bragging rights on the first tee? Reason I ask? Why didn't the fitter at least let me try the stock shafts during the fitting? Went to my friends shop yesterday, got on TM with the same head and had as good if not better on some data from a Mizuno stock offering. I'm wondering if CC assumes ALL customers go there wanting something other than stock, otherwise they'd just go to GG\Dick's or contact whatever brand club they want for a fitting.

Well because their "stance" is that 99% of stock offerings are quote, "low quality, low grade", so obviously a $350 Oban or GD shaft must be considered. Not that high $$ shafts aren't good... it's just that you could get very similar performance out of the stock or minor upcharge shafts now a days. Just look at Cobra.

 

And as Tom pointed out, PUREing does serve a purpose, but maybe only for a very small % of players, and only in certain shafts. If you're a +HC who swings a driver 115+, then yeah maybe a PURE'd driver and 3w shaft could help you hit that one extra fairway during your high dollar skins match or whatever. For the rest of us mortals, it's probably a waste.

 

 

+1 here. There is no assurances that a high $$ shaft is better than the stock or other reasonably priced shafts for the mid capper. I am considering them for an iron fitting but I will call first to make sure they have shafts (both graphite and steel) that don't cost a sh^tload of money. Then I will take the specs elsewhere for a build. Not sure how CC is doing financially, but I think they could do better by not thinking all golfers can or want to spend huge $$$ on clubs. But what do I know. :swoon:

[JCAG]

Let's see:

 

New set of 10 irons (5-GW + 3W) $1200 retail

New set of 10 preferred shafts $500

New set of 10 preferred grips $100 - $200

20% markup $360 - $380

Parts alone = $2160 - $2280

 

Seems like with fitting and build labor, you're just about right!

 

I haven't seen many reports saying that they do shoddy work at CC and it's really difficult staying in business when you don't make money off your sales. They provide a somewhat exclusive service, a large assortment of expensive equipment for testing and have to provide ongoing training for employees to stay up on the technology. Why folks seem surprised by the cost of all this is beyond me. Sure, they may get a bit of a markdown on the clubs, but since they market several different brands, it can't be that much.

 

Truth is, if you want fitted clubs, that's pretty much what your going to have to pay.

 

OR.........

 

You can learn how to do it yourself and get your clubs for less than half that. It's not rocket science and you don't need thousands of dollars worth of tools and equipment to do it. Every time I build myself a set of clubs, it runs me around $900 and I do everything myself. And that's looking hard for deals. Retail would be considerably more. Took me about 2 months of looking, but I just picked up a set of new MP5s, Fuji Pro TS 115 S shafts and GM Roo grips for about that. I'll spend probably 4 hrs pulling the shafts, cleaning the heads, spec'ing everything out and building them over the next few weeks.

 

Quality golf equipment is not cheap.

 

BT

 

Well said.

[vernon]

Tom Wishon has to be the most knowledgeable guy I know that’s handicapped by a small mind.

 

Great stuff and thanks as always Tom.

[DavePelz4]

OK...sent them a note regarding this thread and their interest in a Q&A where they can tell their story and take questions from the masses. Will see if they respond.

 

Not sure if I've ever responded to my own post before but Nick wrote back...

 

Hi DP4!

I am the Founder of Club Champion. My VP of Marketing sent me your inquiry and although I am not a forum guy, I will jump in today and create a handle ClubChampionFounder. I will put a link to the Q&A that answers most of the questions I did a couple months ago on Golfwrx.

The readers can ask me any questions as long as it's professional I will answer. I will not engage in any arguments as this thread looks more like an angry mob than folks that really care about what others think or have proved. That being said I will give it a shot as we are an open book.

Thanks again and look for me shortly in the thread.

Nick Sherburne | Founder | Dean of Club Champion University

Office: 630-654-8887 | Mobile: 630-361-4668

www.clubchampiongolf.com

[deadsolid...shank]

OK...sent them a note regarding this thread and their interest in a Q&A where they can tell their story and take questions from the masses. Will see if they respond.

 

Not sure if I've ever responded to my own post before but Nick wrote back...

 

Hi DP4!

I am the Founder of Club Champion. My VP of Marketing sent me your inquiry and although I am not a forum guy, I will jump in today and create a handle ClubChampionFounder. I will put a link to the Q&A that answers most of the questions I did a couple months ago on Golfwrx.

The readers can ask me any questions as long as it's professional I will answer. I will not engage in any arguments as this thread looks more like an angry mob than folks that really care about what others think or have proved. That being said I will give it a shot as we are an open book.

Thanks again and look for me shortly in the thread.

Nick Sherburne | Founder | Dean of Club Champion University

Office: 630-654-8887 | Mobile: 630-361-4668

www.clubchampiongolf.com

 

Cool. Good to see you here and willing to talk to the members.

[animalgolfs]

OK...sent them a note regarding this thread and their interest in a Q&A where they can tell their story and take questions from the masses. Will see if they respond.

 

Not sure if I've ever responded to my own post before but Nick wrote back...

 

Hi DP4!

I am the Founder of Club Champion. My VP of Marketing sent me your inquiry and although I am not a forum guy, I will jump in today and create a handle ClubChampionFounder. I will put a link to the Q&A that answers most of the questions I did a couple months ago on Golfwrx.

The readers can ask me any questions as long as it's professional I will answer. I will not engage in any arguments as this thread looks more like an angry mob than folks that really care about what others think or have proved. That being said I will give it a shot as we are an open book.

Thanks again and look for me shortly in the thread.

Nick Sherburne | Founder | Dean of Club Champion University

Office: 630-654-8887 | Mobile: 630-361-4668

www.clubchampiongolf.com

 

Give them credit & willing know that it's a hornets nest in this thread

 

 

 

 

[dunn]

I am not a representative of Club Champion but as a educated golf industry person who wanted to weigh in on this post. Because I know CC and all other places to buy clubs well.

Also Tom Wishon is where he is on this forum because he's very small minded and set in his ways "the world should work" but doesn't, never will, not because of ill manner but because of simple economics and business principals that every company runs on. CC or any other fitter isn't doing anything different than any other business in the world. I contend they are more forthright than most because it all happens in front of you and they stand behind it. They pay endorsers like every company on the planet, so get over that. Tell Gillet to stop paying Tom Brady so your shaving cream you use every morning will get cheaper. Guess what Tom Brady or not Tom Brady it's staying the same price. Thats economics and facts, not price gauging.

 

Understand the business model is to deliver a better fit with lower scores. For years CC (and others) learned the only way to do this is by controlling the ENTIRE process, from the fit to the build to deliver improved performance on the course. Twenty years of industry knowledge and studying the best in the game, accompanied by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine testing verifies their process leads to longer more accurate shots and lower scores. NO OTHER COMPANY I HAVE BEEN TO OR VISITED HAS DONE THE STUDIES AND BACKED UP THEIR CLAIMS LIKE CC (Fitting company). I'm not saying it couldn't be better, but they are the best of the best when it comes to fitting and delivering.

 

Golf Magazine Study on Club Champion Custom Fitting

http://www.golf.com/...lower-instantly

 

Golf Digest Study on Club Champion Custom Fitting

https://www.golfdige...study-hennessey

 

Understand a true fitting process with all the tech, demos, people will be expensive and intensive and may not be for everyone. CC certainly try to work with individuals from my experience that still want their service in some capacity, but may not want the “Full Monty”.

 

Moving on to individual concerns brought up BROUGHT UP IN MANY POSTS.

 

1) SST Pure - CC are one of the original licensee and have been PUREing shafts for the last 17 years. There are many costs to doing this process, machines, licensee fees, man power, and time. I won't lie they make some money on PUREing, but its not all gravy is the point. CC truly believe as do their customers (The one's you can't believe they have and have built an awesome business on) and some of the best PGA Tour pros that SST PUREing makes a difference. Here is test performed by PluggedinGolf that demonstrates the benefits of PUREing: http://pluggedingolf...yths-unplugged/. Remember, PUREing is optional but there is no arguing there's a benefit. It's up to the golfer to decide if he or she sees the value in those benefits. Remember every manufacturer will tell you Puring is irrelevant, by telling you Puring is true they are admitting to making a product with defects, they won't do that (Kim Braly is a friend of course he will say that, he isn't bashing his own shaft, but he does all his R&D at Cool Clubs that Pures all shafts, hmmmm, but behind the curtain he does). CC has the data above and the others can’t produce data to support their side.

 

2) The Club Fitting Process – At Club Champion they will let you hit WHATEVER you want in my experience. If a fitter in the company doesn't let you, talk to their manager or just speak up, you're all adults, talk communicate. To my knowledge they do NOT instruct their fitters to sell any brand over another, or any price point for that matter. They do instruct them to conserve swings and try to not waste swings with illogical choices, but at the end of the day, it’s the customer’s money and time so they will do what the client asks. I get it, you think they are here to sell everybody something expensive, that’s not the case. Many times I have seen recommendations to the customer to stick with one of their current clubs. CC's goals from my view is to fit a customer to the club that performs best regardless of cost and it costs something.

 

3) The Build Process - Understand you can buy clubs from CC like anywhere else and they are happy to do that (Not all fitters allow that). Understand they want you to build the clubs through them because there are clear and present benefits to doing it that way. They build clubs the same way they are built on the PGA TOUR, distinctively for one individual, like a fingerprint. Let me break that down further. Not all manufacturers will build to swing weight. Understand swing weight can be one of the biggest influences to the performance of the club. To how the shaft plays, loads, and you release at the ball. Every piece that goes into the build affects swing weight. Second, weight sorting –

 

Understand, they are not knocking manufacturers. It’s just a law of numbers. When a manufacturer needs 100,000 shafts, they go to a manufacturer place the order and that manufacturer finds an overseas partner to run that job. The job is priced based on the quality and price the manufacture wants. So sometimes the quality is a great unknown. CC source all their shafts from the shaft manufacturer’s tour stock. The same shafts sent to the tour are the same shafts put in your clubs when you buy from CC. Sure there are certain outliers to my comments but nobody here knows the manufacturing world of golf like I and others do and these are the facts. CC sources and weight sorts their customers’ shafts to make sure their clubs are built with the very best.

 

Last, please recognize that with CC's process your clubs are one order on a bench with one master builder, everywhere else your clubs are on an assembly line. I Have been in their production facility and it is impressive and even many manufacturers respect their facility. Not to say that assembly line is bad, I am impressed by many production lines in the industry. But the more moving parts the more mistakes. The best in the world at this game understand that and that's why there are tour vans.

 

4) The Cost - CC from my angle have a very simple formula. MAP (minimum advertised price) on all heads. Understand buying just the head does not affect the pricing CC has to sell it at. The manufacturer sets their minimum advertised prices and CC have to abide by that pricing. On shafts, CC sells at MAP plus $35. Then, if a shaft needs to be PURED its $30 additional. For installation of grips, CC sells at MAP plus $4 for installation. I was told if they are approached by a customer with a different price exists from a reputable dealer the conversation can be had to match or adjust that price. FYI because it was said earlier and it bothers me Dan's Discount golf is one more sale from losing all their accounts for price skimming, theres a reason they don't show price, they can't, it breaks MAP rules. They are bad for the industry because nobody makes money, when nobody makes money, nobody innovates. You get what you pay for is all I'll say.

 

5) Additional Points – When CC's control the process they back the results with their Perfect Fit Guarantee. When CC doesn't control the entire process, CC cannot guarantee the results. If a customer wants to supply the components CC will certainly give you a quote to build your clubs and build them. If you want to buy through the manufacturer, you can do that too. CC to my knowledge will take the time to make sure the manufacturer built it to the specs we provided.

 

Again, from my dealings with CC they are an open book. Their goal is to get you the highest performing clubs on the market and everybody puts a different economic value on that. They seem to respect everybody's view on that as well, but they haven't changed their view. Club Champion’s service is for the golfer who doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned to get the best performance possible. It’s not cheap but neither is a AMC Mercedes or a Shelby Ford Mustang. Money creates innovation.

Also don't forget what else in your life do you spend as much time on as golf. Maybe work, sleep, family. So golf is 4? (Be honest your on this site, it's at least 4th if not higher) I would invest in something that is 4th in my life. Just make sense.

FYI the reason I normally don't post is I won't argue facts. I leave and you decide. So I won't be responding to any replies. Use what you want, use none.

Fairways & Greens,

The GolfFather

lol, nice try....

 

People can fit themselves fairly easily if willing to spend a lil time....golf course is totally different .....idk that's way I did it....

 

No guarantee way you hit in a controlled environment is gonna relate to course.....we arent robots and WE are the biggest hurdle to overcome....not becuz a shaft is off by few grams

[dhartmann34]

Sticker shock there is normal... Which is why I sourced all the pieces myself and had a great builder in Carolina do it for a fraction of the cost. Great place to get fit. The guy has fit me twice in 5 years. He's done great. But he knows they're expensive. But still great to work with.

[cristphoto]

Don’t the pro’s have their clubs fit and built by the respective manufacturers? My last two sets of irons were Titleist and now Ping. Both were special ordered to my specs. Both companies have excellent quality control programs. I paid normal list price (no up-charge for my selected shafts or grips). In fairness I basically fit myself as as I tried many combinations at our clubs demo day. There was no charge for this. Both times I was happy with the results.

[SUMM1T]

I had a Club Champion come into Nashville recently. It took business from me for a brief moment, and then people started realizing what they were charging and my client list jumped through the roof! As an independent fitter/builder, I have everything to lose with an unhappy client. When I priced out my fitting charges, I made sure to come in under Club Champion and I heavily discount my builds if someone was fit by me. I also include free “check ups” for a full year to make sure the clubs stay at the right specs or if the client makes a swing change and needs to adjust the clubs. It’s a shame that people actually pay what CC is charging.

[grm24]

This thread.....

 

The GolfFather = Michael Spinks. Tom Wishon = Mike Tyson

 

The difference. The GolfFather was KO'd faster and more decisive than Michael Spinks ever was.

[Thayneil]

Toms post on Pureing actually being valuable for high swing speed players with a late release makes me wonder about something.

 

The 8 iron in my set has always given me a hard time for the entire 30 months I’ve been playing my Hogan’s.

 

My strike never seems regularly pure with it and it’s always a little hooky. 9 is great and the 7 is great. The 8 is not my friend. I actually avoid using it if I’m even slightly between clubs. Loft, lie, and swingweight are dead on. It’s Weird. I wonder if I’ve just got a really bad shaft in it.

 

Hummmmm.... I have all winter to think about it now.

 

what iron shafts do you use?

 

easy to get a duplicate and see if their is any difference?

[Jacked_Loft]

On top of all that, I emailed the fitter yesterday asking for ALL the TM data and the fitting information, "lie, loft, length and the like". Guy writes back that I got ALL the TM data and I got the fitting info on my "Sales Order' sheet...BS. There is no lie, loft, length info...F'ing liar. My guess? He doesn't want to send it. My friend showed me a fitting sheet from CC because they are building a set for a customer.

 

I have to go back on Friday to finish up the full bag fitting and it's not gonna be comfortable. Almost but not quite as bad as the feeling when dealing with a timeshare sales person.

 

You might consider asking for the manager because that's BS.

 

Yes...because I PAID for the fitting. The fitting fee is NOT deducted from the purchase so give me my info!

 

I agree but there is a catch 22 to the whole fitting charge thing.

 

Here are two different (but similar) fitting results for an iron set for the same player:

 

Fitting #1

 

Model X 4-PW

Dynamic Gold S300

+0.5" Build length

Lie 1° up

Standard grips +1 tape.

 

Fitting #2

 

Model X 4-PW

Dynamic Golf Tour Issue S300 -0.5" hard step

Loft 4/5/6 Standard 7-PW +1° weak

+0.5" Build length

Lie +1° Up on 4-8 Standard lie on 9-PW

Swingweight 4/5/6 D2 7/8 D3 9/PW D4

Standard grip +1 Tape LH +3 Tapes RH

 

Now these two fittings differ from another in depth and precision, however fitting #1 results in clubs that you can basically buy (online or offline) almost anywhere. Fitting #2 is a different story, and try getting this order filled at your local big box.

 

The real value of information in our society is based on it's accuracy, and if I research deep enough into a subject this is my intellectual property. Just buying the clubs from fitting data/recommendation #2 dosen't mean that I won't charge you for the fitting, It just means that I've done my work accurately and professionally enough to give you the best fitting clubs that you can buy.

 

Analogy: If you go to a doctor and he hits your knee with a hammer and says your reaction time is slow, is this the same diagnosis as a doctor who orders a battery of tests, and afterwards tells you that you're starting to develop Parkinson's?

 

To which hospital would you go to for treatment? Most would go where doctor #2 (who showed the most professionalism and the most accurate diagnosis) works. The same with fitting; I'm going to pay for the best fitting that I can get and will also buy the clubs from those who did the fitting because they understand the material, and can build the clubs to thier own in depth fitting specs.

 

Buying the data from fitting #1 should NEVER be a problem, as the data really isn't a test of anyones intellect, you're just renting thier measurement tools.

[trhode]

The problem with scenario #2 is, I doubt you were able to hit the entire set with those specs during your fitting. So, this comes down to more of the quality of the build than anything else.