My Golf Town Let Down

[Caper]

Alright. Where to start. I had already expressed on here my intention to forego adjustability in my next driver so I was pretty excited to go to Golf Town today to test out some of the latest and greatest in non-adjustability. It is not everyday I get to go to a place like this since the closest one is a 5 hour trek from where I live.

I walked into the store guns a blazin' and firing on all cylinders. After reading extensive posts regarding fitting on here I decided to do it for the first time. I walked over and grabbed a G20, a Classic and a Fast 12 to start. I walked over to the hitting bay and someone set me up and taped up the drivers for me. That was the last I saw of any employees for the next 90 minutes. After hitting the 3 drivers I had, I wanted to try a couple of different lofts and shafts. I had to go to the rack myself and grab what I needed and tape them up. Employees watched me do it and offered no assistance. And there were not busy in the least. After the 90 minutes I had chosen and taped over 12 drivers myself. The G20 with the Tour Stiff shaft and a 10.5* head gave me the most consistency, and was among the longest as well.

So I sought out the help of an employee saying that I was looking to be fit for a driver. I explained my predicament with adjustability and said I wanted to stay away from anything that comes with a wrench. His response was that there was nobody there who knew how to fit me. My look must have been of bewilderment because he told me to hold on and asked the guy gripping my girlfriends driver how to do it. He then told me he could fit me. I went to my bay and the guy brings me a Razr Fit, a D2 and a Classic in the same specs I already had. He obviously didn't listen to a thing I had said. After he taped them up he left me and went with another person. I hit a couple of balls with each driver and went back to the G20. He still wasn't back after 5 minutes. When he arrived he saw me hit ONE ball with the G20 and said that looks like the right club and setup because it "went far and straight".

After hearing this I put the driver down and told him I might be back later if I decide to buy it. I was So disgusted with this experience that I didn't even purchase the club that I loved. They had an easy sale and effed it up.

I DO think the G20 was the best fit for me based on the numbers. I mean, I don't know much more than some of what I have read on here, but my SS was between 100 when I swung easy and 118 when I really went at it. I would assume my average was 110ish. Ball speed averaged close to 150-155. Launch Angle was at 14-16*. Backspin was between 3200 and 3500 for the most part. Carry average in the 280 range (either this thing is a beast or GT really jacks up the simulators...I a guessing the latter is true).

Rant = over.

 

[coolbreeze]

I'm really sorry to hear that man. GolfTown is fine for what it is, and you can find some good ones, but its really not a place I would go to be fit for my clubs. They should have offered you much better service then they did.

 

[Damaikis]

That sucks, but it sounds like you found something you like, so now you can buy it elsewhere.

 

[Mr. Satchmo]

Sorry to hear about your experience, I would go online from a trusted retailer and buy the driver with the shaft/loft combo that you liked best, I wouldn't spend my money there unless they made it right somehow

 

[milo]

Sorry to hear that. But it sounds like you got to hit a lot of drivers.
They lost a sale to bad for them.

 

[RatFink]

That is pretty terrible to hear!

It must be a staff thing because I have always had really great service at Golf Town. I have one guy who really does well for me at one of the stores here in town.

 

[Scrap Iron]

Man I feel for ya. I also expect nothing more from GolfTown. I have only found one guy here who is helpful. I don't know what it's like where you are but GolfTown has eaten almost all the compition and we don't have many places for golf club selection. buy what you want with your specs on line try blind9 I hear they are great to THP members.

 

[Scrap Iron]

That is pretty terrible to hear!

It must be a staff thing because I have always had really great service at Golf Town. I have one guy who really does well for me at one of the stores here in town.

You must go to a different one than I do.

 

[RatFink]

You must go to a different one than I do.

Which one do you go to?

 

[Scrap Iron]

Which one do you go to?

The one down south. The only guy who is helpful to me is an old silver haired guy real friendly. I find I have to help them with the equipment. I remeber asking one guy if they had any of the cobra wedges I was told that cobra didn't make wedges. when I asked if they had the trusty rusty to the same guy he said we dont carry small brands people haven't heard of. Another guy I asked if they could order a certain hybrid in an 18* he told me they didn't make them because they weren't in his system because they can get anything the manufactures make. He checked the company's website and in the spec section is has 18* hybrid listed. Not very educated staff. I have asked for a shaft fitting on my irons the employee with "club builder" on his name tag asked what do you mean whats that. So yeah I think they are kinda poor on service and education

 

[DB]

Thats one reason I won't buy anything from Golf Town other then Balls, Hats and Outfits.. I find there are many young people there who are probably great golfers but don't have the knowledge to fit you. Or know much more about the Equipment then you or I already do!!

I was there hitting my R11s before i got it and the Super Fast and i told the guy i was just testing out what i wanted before my Birthday that weekend. When i left he mumbled " I can't stand people who just fking hit balls for fun and leave to his buddy , stragglers. " I was actually going to come back and buy that Driver that day but after that comment i chose not to do my business there. They seem to get really stressed out because there based also on commission but i find thats why they always harass me when i'm in there and you can't get 10 minutes of peace which is unbelievable that they left you over a hour.

I now do my business at a local store, locally owned and do everything threw the owner there as he has a passion of the game (goes to all the PGA shows) and wants to do best for you. He also gave me 4 free lessons and takes me out golfing with him, Which is awesome because i get tips the whole time I play its kinda funny how all ages can find something in common and get along so well with Golf im in my early 20's and he is prob 75 and semi retired!

 

[RatFink]

The one down south. The only guy who is helpful to me is an old silver haired guy real friendly. I find I have to help them with the equipment. I remeber asking one guy if they had any of the cobra wedges I was told that cobra didn't make wedges. when I asked if they had the trusty rusty to the same guy he said we dont carry small brands people haven't heard of. Another guy I asked if they could order a certain hybrid in an 18* he told me they didn't make them because they weren't in his system because they can get anything the manufactures make. He checked the company's website and in the spec section is has 18* hybrid listed. Not very educated staff. I have asked for a shaft fitting on my irons the employee with "club builder" on his name tag asked what do you mean whats that. So yeah I think they are kinda poor on service and education

Ahh that sucks. I only go to the NE or NW ones, and have had generally good luck with everyone working there.

 

[Scrap Iron]

Ahh that sucks. I only go to the NE or NW ones, and have had generally good luck with everyone working there.

I might have to try one of those but I think I'm just going to go to ericsons golf when It's time for new equipment. Lets not jack this thread.

LW contact patty at blind9 the banner is at the top of the page tell her your from THP she will take care of you.

 

[Wake]

Thats one reason I won't buy anything from Golf Town other then Balls, Hats and Outfits.. I find there are many young people there who are probably great golfers but don't have the knowledge to fit you. Or know much more about the Equipment then you or I already do!!

I was there hitting my R11s before i got it and the Super Fast and i told the guy i was just testing out what i wanted before my Birthday that weekend. When i left he mumbled " I can't stand people who just fking hit balls for fun and leave to his buddy , stragglers. " I was actually going to come back and buy that Driver that day but after that comment i chose not to do my business there. They seem to get really stressed out because there based also on commission but i find thats why they always harass me when i'm in there and you can't get 10 minutes of peace which is unbelievable that they left you over a hour.

I now do my business at a local store, locally owned and do everything threw the owner there as he has a passion of the game (goes to all the PGA shows) and wants to do best for you. He also gave me 4 free lessons and takes me out golfing with him, Which is awesome because i get tips the whole time I play its kinda funny how all ages can find something in common and get along so well with Golf im in my early 20's and he is prob 75 and semi retired!

Way off target but the bolded is so true. I am also in my 20's and have had a great time golfing with people from the age of 16-75.

To the OP, I wouldn't settle on the G20 just yet. The G20 is a great driver and might be your best choice. But those numbers don't seem quite ideal to me, you very well may be losing some distance, especially in the wind. I know you mentioned your selection in stores is low, but you might ask around to see if anyone knows of a good place semi nearby to do an actual fitting. It would be worth it in the long run.

 

[Alsponge]

May be a little off topic, but don't you want to aim for for 2000-3000 backspin with a driver? At least that's what the local fitter told my friend. Then again, he was just like the people you listed, kept leaving to different areas of the store.

 

[Oregon Jack]

May be a little off topic, but don't you want to aim for for 2000-3000 backspin with a driver? At least that's what the local fitter told my friend. Then again, he was just like the people you listed, kept leaving to different areas of the store.

i believe it's supposed to be around 2400, but yeah.. like someone said above (sorry, can't scroll to find out who is it while typing on my ipod) there are a lot of drivers out there and yes, the G20 is a good driver, but it might not be the best. find the place with the best selection, and see what they have. it's going to be harder to get fit for the optimal driver if you don't want to have a changable driver, aswell. it's not going to be impossible, but as you probably know, it's a lot easier to change shafts in those, so there would probably be a bunch of shaft options aswell..
back to the main point, that really bothers me that the people working in a golf shop would just let you do your thing and not ask if you need help, and when you did ask for help, they didn't respond correctly (or for that matter, really respond at all...).

 

[biggsy]

I hate that. Given it takes such an effort to get to the store, maybe set an appointment with a fitter and not let the minimum wagers who walk around watching the clock get to you.

In all honestly, you could do better with those spin numbers and that can be tweaked with a fitting. It's worth the investment. I feel your frustration and sorry you had to go through that.

 

[Trout Bum]

In all honestly, you could do better with those spin numbers and that can be tweaked with a fitting. It's worth the investment. I feel your frustration and sorry you had to go through that.

I really agree with Biggsy here, try someone else for a fitting. It's shocking how many CSR's don't know anything about getting fit let alone doing the fittings and what's even scarier is the number of golfers playing off the rack equipment due to poor service. I hope you get fit man.

 

[h0ss66]

Frankly the big box stores are useless for fittings. Try to find a local clubmaker-clubfitter or perhaps one of the club pros in your area can do it and/or point you in the right direction.

 

[Cats04]

That is a shame, especially if it is 5 hours away. This is why I stay away from places like Dick's and Golf Galaxy in my area --- I feel like I know more than 95% of them - when I go in looking for the latest sometimes they have no idea what I am talking about. I only purchase clothes, hats, balls tees etc. I have found a small local store in my area and their guys are fantastic and up to date on all things golf. As others have said see if there is a local club fitter or even check out some local golf courses and see who their lesson guys are, they might be of more assistance. There is a local instructor in my area who not only does lessons but can fit also.

 

[Mark]

I would be a little upset. I have always received great service from GT. They bring stuff to me in the bay all the time. Sometimes they bring stuff over and say you have to hit this. I normally only use their sims to see dispersion and and height. I like to hit my stuff outside if need be. I would write to the higher ups. The one bad thing, is that it sometimes seems, that some big box retailers (employees) think they are the only game in town. I change that to major upset if I had to drive 5 hours. Thats like a total awesome feeling day when it starts as I would be excited to hit everything and walk out. They hum bugged your summer Christmas

 

[IceyShanks]

Wow, can't believe they just blew you off, it's weird when someone's job is to sell an the sale is almost handed to them on a silver platter and they won't put any effort in. What a joke. Those are experiences that lead me to never go back to certain places.

 

[Just_Brad]

I almost wonder if it has to do with Summer Staffing.

When I was in GolfTown 2 weeks ago, a similar thing happened. I usually am approached by a couple salespeople when I am browsing the clubs, no one came this time. I took the drivers I wanted to test (a CG Black Driver, and a Cleveland Classic Driver) to the bays to get them taped up.

The guy, set me up in the hitting bay, and disappeared. Didn't come to check or anything. This whole time though, 6 salespeople were hanging out shooting the breeze at the pro-shop desk. No one came to inquire if I needed help, except for the guy who was working in Clothes that day LOL.

Weird, because the last time I was there, I was greeted, helped with club selection, and attended to the entire time I was in the hitting bay. The salesman was constantly asking me questions, asking me for feed back, and feeding me the stats I was producing. I bought irons the next day from their other store (they didn't have the shaft flex I needed), but the fitting I was told would be available at the first store for free/on the spot, was unavailable without a future appointment at the 2nd store.

For sure go elsewhere (online) and purchase what you thought was best. I would still continue to shop at GolfTown though. Great selection, and usually great service. I wouldn't let one experience color my opinion of them.... if it keeps happening again though, I would not hesitate to email them ASAP though and express your displeasure.

 

[Super Tuna]

Alright. Where to start.

Go back there and complain about the experience. Tell them that to make it up to you their going to let you use the SkyFit program free of charge. While you could do a better fitting in person with someone certified, the SkyFit program is pretty good.

What it will do is have you hit 5 shots with your current driver. It will then list a bunch of off the rack options for you to try out. You nab some of those, select them on the screen and hit 5 shots with each. It will then give you a head that matches up better with you. Further more on the next page it will show you a compairison of your current driver vs the next best off the rack. It will also show you where the driver off the rack needs to be improved. On the next page after that, it will list adjustments to the head (closed, open, weight in the toe, etc) and will list off shafts to pair with the head that could get you the desired results. It will list these shafts with star's by them. The more star's, the more likely they are, in theory, to get you to your ideal numbers. It will list both shafts that the head OEM offers and aftermarket ones they don't that you would have to do custom.

Not the best way to be fit but it's better then your previous experience.

Man I feel for ya. I also expect nothing more from GolfTown. I have only found one guy here who is helpful. I don't know what it's like where you are but GolfTown has eaten almost all the compition and we don't have many places for golf club selection. buy what you want with your specs on line try blind9 I hear they are great to THP members.

In Calgary, you guys have a tone of great fitters and custom shops. They likely won't be able to beat GT's prices in many instances but you'll also get a proper fitting with good customer support/service. Calgary's way better then BC actually for that type of skill access.

I was actually going to come back and buy that Driver that day but after that comment i chose not to do my business there. They seem to get really stressed out because there based also on commission but i find thats why they always harass me when i'm in there and you can't get 10 minutes of peace which is unbelievable that they left you over a hour.

Unless that just changed with the Golfsmith merger, they are not on comission.

 

[DB]

Unless that just changed with the Golfsmith merger, they are not on comission.

Thats weird thats what the worker told me around April! Whos knows he could have been new and thought that!