Club fitting by OEM vs 3rd party

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

So my middle child is a serious tournament player who is now way past due for a fitting into full-size adult irons (have been playing adult-heads with cut-down shafts for the past 3 years).

 

We have some really great club fitters in our area whom we have used in the past, but are considering traveling to an OEM headquarters/custom fitting facility to get the fitting done.

 

Does anyone have any experience with the OEM fittings, and can speak to the quality of the custom fit vs a 3rd party club fitter (e.g. Cool Clubs, Club Champion, GolfTec, etc)?  We are brand agnostic.

[shoot4par]

Only gone by OEM but Club Champion is a good (relatively convenient) option. Have known a few people at the local one and they do a solid job. Always wanted to go top of the line, cool clubs or Hot Stix. Hot Stix - You've got real grass and just a boat load of options that you wouldn't see at any demo day. The nice thing about cool clubs, hot stix or club champion is that you can hit all options at once. You eliminate variables in the sense that everybody's golf swing is a little different, day to day. Essentially, you are giving yourself a better test environment. Some places will do demo days with multiple vendors but I wouldn't say you get the same type of service that you would in an individual fitting with one of the above listed options.  That being said you pay a premium in every sense of the phrase. Fitters can be good, fitters can be bad. This concept of brand agnosticism at demo days doesn't really have that much merit imho. Good luck with everything.

Edited September 22, 2021 by shoot4par

[leezer99]

We have OEM's come to our course every 6-8 weeks and unless they are all there at the same time it's pointless to do the fittings with them.  I am a big believer in finding the right blend regardless of brand name on the club.  If I were you, I'd hit up a 3rd party.  Cool Clubs does a great job and will email you complete TM stats on everything you test that day.  Depending on your cash situation though you will want to tell them to fit using stock shaft options because I've had them fit my son into a driver and then tell me that the best shaft for him was a $400 upgrade.  You can bet I told them where to stick that shaft.

 

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

2 hours ago, shoot4par said:

Only gone by OEM but Club Champion is a good (relatively convenient) option. Have known a few people at the local one and they do a solid job. Always wanted to go top of the line, cool clubs or Hot Stix. Hot Stix - You've got real grass and just a boat load of options that you wouldn't see at any demo day. The nice thing about cool clubs, hot stix or club champion is that you can hit all options at once. You eliminate variables in the sense that everybody's golf swing is a little different, day to day. Essentially, you are giving yourself a better test environment. Some places will do demo days with multiple vendors but I wouldn't say you get the same type of service that you would in an individual fitting with one of the above listed options.  That being said you pay a premium in every sense of the phrase. Fitters can be good, fitters can be bad. This concept of brand agnosticism doesn't really have that much merit imho. Good luck with everything.

Thanks - we have a Cool Clubs near us that we have used in the past and they are great.  Was just wondering, if we decided to go Callaway for example, and we went to their custom fitting location in Carlsbad, whether they would do that much better a job than Cool Clubs or Hot Stix?

[heavy_hitter]

3rd Party is the way to go.  OEM club fittings are to Sell that brands clubs even if it isn't the best option.  3rd Party is to sell any brands clubs and the best option that works for you.

 

Club Champion is awesome in my experience with a putter fitting.  Good Junior Rates. 

 

My son's coach is also a fitter of clubs and he fits him for everything else.  Strictly numbers based and understands his swing.  He pulled Graphite Design XC shaft out of the bag for his driver and woods.  Went through 5 other shafts and the one he thought would be right was the correct shaft.

[Seattlegolfnut]

All great advice here. Start 3rd party.

 

Weed out what doesn't work, look right, feel right, etc. Then you can check out an OEM fitting event at local courses when they come by for potentially fine tuning with more specific knowledge of setting up their own clubs with shafts, hosel settings, etc. And with Titleist at least, I love checking in with them on a Vokey wedge fitting every couple years as my swing gracefully ages and try out new/different grinds.

 

Then, armed with all that info, if you really want to take the trip to Carlsbad you can target which OEM(s) to go to for more in depth fitting. Note that KBS has a shaft fitting 'experience' in the area too....I stopped in when I last in San Diego since I'm a KBS fan-boy but didn't go through fitting.

[Abh159]

I'd definitely recommend a 3rd party over an OEM. If you get a decent fitter you'll have the same level of service at both, but you'll obviously have wayyyyy more options with a 3rd party. Unless you specifically know that you want only 1 brand of clubs I don't see why you wouldn't try out every option available.

[shoot4par]

3 hours ago, ConcernedBoutCOVID said:

Thanks - we have a Cool Clubs near us that we have used in the past and they are great.  Was just wondering, if we decided to go Callaway for example, and we went to their custom fitting location in Carlsbad, whether they would do that much better a job than Cool Clubs or Hot Stix?

 

If you wanna do Titleist oceanside or something like that.... its a price range up from cool clubs and hot stix (I think). That being said any custom option can get quite expensive. Hot Stix is on a golf course, if I'm gonna drop $5k on a set of clubs.... It will be after hitting off grass. 

Edited April 15, 2021 by shoot4par

[malarayat4227]

My 13 y/o daughter has grown bigger and stronger in the past year and a half since the last set purchase and needed an upgrade.  I chose an OEM fitter (OEM owned fitting studio).  She is not a tournament player.  Does PGA Jr League, attends our club junior programs, plays recreationally with the family and wants to play high school golf next school year.  At her level, trying out all the options at a 3rd party for a full bag fitting is tiring (even for an adult) and may affect results towards the end of the session.

 

If she decides to enter tournaments and takes golf more seriously, I would be open to 3rd party.  I have been fit at Cool Clubs and at Titleist TPI Oceanside and enjoyed both experiences.  I try to schedule family vacations to Legoland so I can make a side trip to TPI.

[mrshinsa]

Here's our experience, and our experience alone.  YMMV.

 

We've went to handful of fitting/fitters/events.  They all have their pros and cons.

Golf Stores + Simulator + TXG youtube was our first attempt.  Pretty much a very rough fit.  You really have no idea if all those numbers on the screen are good or not, or what to look for.  At least my son had fun.  

 

Demo days are pretty chaotic.  If you go early, you can get some good information, but later on in the day, when they are busy, you'll get very little or no help.  You're pretty much on your own.  I actually like this, because we can take our time, and feel out what works and what doesn't w/o salesman pressure.  It's also chance to try out lot of head+shaft combination which might not be available in stores.  We found our first golden fit here.  

 

Third party fitters are hit or miss.  Be very careful who you go to.  Yes it can open up doors to all different manufacturers and combinations, but let's face it, you only have an hour or so.  How many different combinations are you expecting to try out?  I think we tried two major brands with handful of shafts, and even then it was not enough time.  Paralysis by analysis is your biggest enemy here.  Also some fitters are biased towards certain brand/equipment.  Unless you know what brand you want, they will push what they have in stock, higher margin, etc....  Salesman they are.   

 

Last is the OEM fitters.  We had the best experience here, mainly because we already had the brand in mind, and had already chosen the head.  They were the most knowledgeable in that brand(duh), and can tell you every little technical detail.  They also had extra tools, the third party did not.  Since we already picked out the head, they were able to pinpoint to the best shaft that worked with my sons swing.  No sales pressure here.

 

Having said all this, fitting is an art as much as science.  If you visit 10 fitters, you may end up with 10 different suggestions.  I've seen some kids who came out hating their fit, and I've also seen others who picked stuff off the rack, and plays much better than the kid who dropped a grand or two. Also, at least for my kid, it takes time to get used to the change in equipment.  They will not hit their best shots with what "should" be a good fit during their fitting day.  Lastly, juniors are constantly growing.  What you get fitted today may be obsolete within a year.   Moving target this is.  

[Golfingdawg19]

Honestly if you went to three different fitters you would end up with three different sets of clubs. They all have their biases and also each fitter puts more weight into different aspects of the club. I personally like the 3rd party where you can try different clubs but like the one poster mentioned, you can only try so many things in an hour. 

[wildcatden]

Find some good arrows, but keep focusing on the Indian.

[DevilDog]

Third party. Also, you do not have to buy the gear from the third party. You’re paying them for their fitting recommendations only. Get all the specs in detail and usually can buy clubs elsewhere cheaper than from a fitter.