Club Champion

[MerryTex]

Okay, so if I don't pure the shafts and get fit into a no up charge shaft, I'd almost pay the same as retail? Sounds good to me. I wouldn't mind not having the money back guarantee - not a deal breaker for me. I've had shafts pured before and was NOT a fan actually.

[huyngo1986]

I've been keeping up with this thread ever since I booked my fitting at CC (Feb 6th - missed the 50% I called the 2nd week on Jan and my local CC was completely booked. The rep was kind enough to apply the 50% full bag fitting since they couldn't squeeze me in time). After seeing all these reviews on CC I'm getting a bit nervous due to many people saying their prices are outrageous and not to buy from them. I am looking to get a new set of irons since mines is about 7 years old playing titliest ap1 710s. I got these fitted at Golf Galaxy and it didn't seem like a proper fitting. Anyhow my swing isn't as consistence as it was, been injury prone the last 3.5 years (2 Achilles repair - now fully recovered and ready to hit the links). I've just been hitting the range 2-3 times a week for the last month in a half finding my swing and seeing huge improvements each time. My question - still worth it to get fitting through CC since I'm in the market for irons?

I already have in mind that I need to be straight forward and honest to the fitter. Any other tips and tricks before going in?

Thank you

[KMeloney]

"Either raise the price of the fitting to the point where it makes sense for CC from a financial standpoint and then maybe also deduct the cost of the fitting from any equipment purchase made there."

Wait -- since when is CC's business model not working for them?

[e-man]

Meaning, if CC is not okay with a person walking in and having a fitting with absolutely no intention of buying, then raise the price to the point where it makes sense for them financially. If they have no issues with someone coming in with no intention of buying and treat that person exactly the same as a person who buys equipment from them, then leave things as is.

[jeffrey r]

Be as up-front as you can and want to be with them about your budget. Be ready to hit a lot of balls. Start with your priorities. For example, if irons are your big priority, do those first or second. You will get very tired, and don’t want to be gassed when it comes time to do your most important fittings. Ask to split your fitting into two sessions if you are getting too tired and won’t be able to effectively demo and get fit for some clubs. Just driver, irons, fairway woods and hybrids are a lot of swings.

Be prepared with lines of clubs and shafts you might want to hit. There are innumerable combinations of heads and shafts, so they inevitably need to narrow things down. But once you settle on a shaft for example with irons, if you really want to hit the Ping i210 irons, then ask them and they’ll set it up. When you are done, you will hopefully have a huge amount of data and results to sort through, and a game-plan to put some clubs together. There will be sticker shock—virtually guaranteed. But you are under no obligation to buy whatsoever. If it is too much for you, then politely decline. My work with CC was all new shafts (no heads), so while there was still sticker shock, it was easier for me to stomach.

Just relax, go in with an open mind (yet prepared from this forum), and have fun. This is supposed to be a fun/good experience, and it should be.

[ssfranny]

Yeah I agree with someone else said if they charge what they do for fitting bit take a portion off the price of clubs. I really cant believe a iron fitting would take 90 min frankly after hitting shots non stop for an hour the numbers are going to be skewed due to fatigue.

[ssfranny]

Also I thought the 40% off was good through end of Feb

[rgk5]

In a good fiting you never hit shots "non-stop". Every 4-6 shots you stop the customer, explain what the numbers show, suggest a change in lie, shaft, head, explain why, rinse and repeat until consistent gains are made. I doubt any customer of mine has hit more than 40 shots in a 45 minute iron fitting. Sometimes only an adjustment to their existing iron is the correct remedy.

[nsxguy]

"Im not cheap I spend $3-$4000 on gear most every year"

You spend $3-4K most every year ?!?!?! I hope you're at least including shoes, socks, short, shirts and hats in that. LOL

You're right. You're definitely not cheap. I have a much different adjective in mind. Perhaps you should consider spending $800 on a proper fitting ?

[ssfranny]

Maybe that number was high but I rarely lose money selling clubs. I buy when they have discounts on sites like GlobalGolf. If dont like I sell the clubs. And no its not a matter of not being fitted for clubs I just like buying gear (as do most do most on WRX based on BST posts)

[OspreyCI]

I wouldn’t go there if it was free. They will find a way to screw you out of $1k..... run!

[briancon7]

I had a great experience in there. Bruce, Nick, and Andie are all great. I did a hybrid and putter fitting. Never pressured to buy anything, and was actually told not to change my putter, because it would not be worth spending the extra money.

[sennett0r]

I just had my 50% off full bag fitting at Club Champion in Santa Monica, CA last Friday and had a pretty good experience. My fitter was Ashley and she was friendly, concise, and answered all my questions.

2 of my buddies went through the same full bag fitting about 1.5-2 years ago and they both saw improvements with the recommended spec clubs but only 1 bought from them and even then, he only bought a 3w with the recommended shaft (for $700! yikes!).

During the pre-fit interview, I told Ashley about my game/typical miss and that I was very open to all brands. Prior to the fit, I tried to take a look at the new club options available but was quickly overwhelmed by the amount of 'new' products released just within the past year.

We started with irons and spent a good amount of time on them, probably about half of the full 3.5-4 hours I was there. We moved on to wedges which felt like an afterthought. I literally hit 2 shots with each of my 2 gamer wedges on a lie board and then a few with the recommended wedge and that was it. On to the driver... I hit about 4-5 different shafts, then tried 2-3 different heads. Next was Fairway wood... I hit 3 shafts, and 2 heads. Lastly, Hybrid... I tried 3 shafts and 2 heads. By the time we got to the Hybrid, I was fairly gassed and noticeably made some 'fatigued' swings. I actually changed my glove because it was really sweaty and it made a huge difference.

One thing that I found just a bit suspect but want to fully trust is that we moved on very quickly once we found the "right combo". There was no going back to try a different combo, whether it was to try and top it or testing to see if I had just made some bad swings with previous combos. I did mention in the pre-fit interview that I was concerned about getting too tired towards the end but Ashley said she always tries her best to manage the number of swings and limit the swings made with bad combos. So, I want to trust that this was simply her way of making sure I didn't waste any energy.

All in all, I think the experience is worth it, especially for $175. I don't club tinker a lot and I don't spend a lot of money on new clubs. I knew about the MSRP pricing and sticker shock before going in so I wasn't terribly shocked to see an invoice of $5300+ but I went in knowing I would pay for the fitting and would be looking for clubs/shafts on golfwrx/ebay, etc. At my skill level, ~15 handicap, I don't believe that having my shafts pured and clubs built to my exact specs will make the price difference worth it. I did learn a lot about my swing and realized that my swing has changed quite a bit since the last time I hit on a Trackman (~2 years ago).

 

[jgallant415]

Glad to hear it. I’m going back to do the driver again next month.

[jeffrey r]

To your point about moving on quickly once you find the "right" combo, I hear you on that. Unfortunately, I think it is a necessary evil of the process, especially when one (I did the same thing) does the full bag fitting. If you want to get fit for irons, fairways, driver, hybrid, etc., all in a few hours, there is only so much time these fitters can spend on any given part of your bag. And then you think about the innumerable shafts out there (and on their wall)--think of all of the lines within all of the big shaft families--Aldila, Fujikura, Nippon, True Temper, Project X, etc. Then think about all of the different heads available. They need to narrow things down somehow, and there is always the possibility that there is something else on that wall that could/would work better.

Under the circumstances, I think CC and comparable fitters do a good job honing in on the right profile for you and finding better results for you. But it is simply impossible to hit every combination, so when they find something works, and it betters your current club, time to move on. You can always book another fitting if you feel something wasn't fully addressed, or want to focus on one part of your bag in particular. YMMV.

[TinkerGolfMan]

Club Champion, Newport Beach, CA:

 

[cbbaron]

CC in Needham is excellent not like the others described

[JCAG]

Tinker

What I found interesting in the above video was you were going to CC to get fit for TM versus go there versus let them fit you for what would be best for you, regardless of the brand. I do not think you used all the resources they have such as other brands.

 

[cbbaron]

CC in Needham is excellent not like the others described

[MerryTex]

Just had my fitting at the San Antonio location and I had a very good experience. I tested Miura, Mizuno, and Titleist.

I went in for an iron fitting and came out very pleased with my experience at this CC location. I was greeted warmly by Rod and we began conversing about my game, goals, and even shared a common employer at one time! I have a good background in club fitting, the process, and the data and I didn't hesitate to tell Rod about it. He knew the type of player I was immediately after I spoke with him and I could share my knowledge as well. We were after flighting the ball down a bit but also have me in something I was comfortable with. I ended up getting fit into the Mizuno MP20 MMC with KBS C-Taper 120 stiff. We tried a few different combinations of shafts and heads before finding that this one just stuck out above the rest. My launch conditions were exactly what we were after and I left a very happy customer of Club Champion. My smash factor even went up to 1.46!

 

I was actually quite surprised to see myself in the C-Taper but it felt great and I had the best numbers and dispersion with this combo. I'm excited to get my irons in! I get why their pricing is what it is. You're getting an experience from introduction to build to data. I'm glad I went into CC and I'm even more fortunate to have the experience I did.

[txsndvl]

Had a very similar experience in Houston for the full bag. Driver was a total game changer for me. I have struggles so much with consistency and distance. This covered all of the bases. Would definitely do it again, especially when they run the 50% off full bag.

[txsndvl]

Forgot to mention...definitely building and buying them elsewhere (hello discount dans)

[MerryTex]

I'd agree to a certain point. I think he went in knowing what he wanted and just wanted to find the best shaft option to create the best dispersion and most efficient combo he could find with the SIM. This is exactly what I did to an extent. I went in knowing what I wanted to hit but was also open to a few others. Not everyone will want club A or B but instead get fit into something that they might feel comfortable with instead. Nothing wrong with wanting to max out what you're wanting. The fitter did a good job as well in explaining the data and how those shafts were trying to do what they were trying to achieve.

[shackmangolf]

The issue isn' the upfront charge for Club Champion. The main driver of cost is that they will fit you in a shaft that costs $300-$500. I had a good experience but I was prepared to spend money and I did. Driver, 3 wood, and hybrid was over $2100.

[idratherbegolfing]

Stop exaggerating, not to sound like a fan boy. But having a fitting done at 2 different locations in San Antonio and Salt Lake City. They don’t force you to buy anything. If you choose to do so yourself. Then that’s all on the person. Not club champion. You sound like you are that person that had something built through them. Only to realize you didn’t have to so you gotta blame someone else other then yourself.

[rjp322]

I’m going Saturday to a club champion. I’m going in there for the fitting only knowing I won’t spend a dime on clubs there. I’m pretty happy with my club heads so plan is to dial these in to pretty optimal numbers and then branch out into other manufacturers to see if something is better

[briancon7]

I work just up the street from them, and pop in all the time. They have helped mentor me with all my personal club building aspirations, and give me tons of tips and tricks for when im doing work in my little shop at home. The manager is gonna teach me to grind raw unfinished wedges into a finished product in the coming months.

[JCAG]

I just think going to a place like CC that has many combos to properly fit one to than "handcuffing" them to one "band" is not the best thing to do. Why not just got toa "factory" fitting and be done with it? I do agree that part of the litmus test for CC is that once they suggest say a driver, then compare it to ones existing driver.