Club Fitting

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

How, where, how much?

I originally posted a giant list of questions in the Introduction Fourm: http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?sh...pid=261655&

but Gxgolfer suggested I break them up, with the questions about club fitting here. So here's the intro and the those questions from the other post:

I am returning to golf after a decade layoff where I quit because I was a complete hacker and I wasn’t getting any better. I’m still a hacker, but now I am taking private lessons with a top-notch pro, trying to play on a regular basis, and I genuinely want to get better.

In short, I’m hooked again and I have some questions about club fitting. I’ve used the search button, but there is a ton of info here and sometimes it’s difficult to locate exactly what I’m looking for (but if you’ve got a link to a relevant thread, I’m on it.) Thanks in advance, and all opinions are appreciated:

I picked up an inexpensive “complete set” to use until I develop a consistent swing. (Although, I must say, for a “clone” set of clubs, there was only one name-brand set of irons that I thought felt better. But, then again, I was only demo’ing low end iron sets.) However, I am a total gear head and it is only a matter of time before I start looking at new clubs. So:

• How should I go about getting a good club fitting? Frankly, I feel it’s going to be “hit or miss” if I just walk into a golf store and ask for/pay for a fitting.
• What should I expect to pay for a good fitting?
  
• What should be done in a good and thorough fitting?
  
• What is the best way to go about finding out which clubs are best for me? That is, how can I demo good clubs for more than a couple of swings on a practice range?
  
• I live in Seattle, but I visit my family in the Dallas area a couple of times a year. What are the best stores and/or club fitters in each of these areas? (I realize that is a subjective question, but I’m looking for opinions.)
  
• What about online stores? I like to support my local shops, but only within reason and only if they have exactly what I am looking for. There are a lot of e-Stores out there, which are your favorites?
  

Thanks.

[Charlie_Foxtrot]

This is EXACTLY the kind of information I need! Please keep it coming!

[abewley]

find the biggest ping dealer in your area...

[GenErr]

I had a good experience with Callaway about a month ago. It was indoors and into a net,

at their Performance Center in central NJ. Computers and cameras recorded different aspects

of the swing. I hit my existing 6 iron, the Fusion, X-18 and Big Bertha. The fitter and I reviewed

the results and he recommended the Big Bertha 2006, which was not the most expensive iron I tried.

 

We also went through a fitting for the driver. I hit most of the Callaway offerings, and after

comparing the results, the fitter told me to keep my TM580XD, since it performed pretty close

to the newer Callaways.

 

Cost of the fitting session was $75, with $50 deducted from the purchase of the irons. The price

was comparable to on-line retailers, and no shipping charges were incurred. The session lasted

almost an hour.

 

I thought it was honest of the fitter not to push a Callaway driver, and also not to push the

most expensive irons.

 

I left satisfied, and am hitting the irons more consistent than my previous set (mx-23).