club fitting, taylormade or callaway? in chicago

hey guys!

Im looking to get custom fitted but having a hard time choosing between the two...

callaway charges 150, which sounds fair. Taylormade charges 400, which really sounds a little bit much... but they have the fancy motion detecting sensors systems... MATT. does anyone had experience in both? I've read Ingolfer's review on the callaway. is one better than the other? which one should i go with? thanks in advance for the help!

What about an independent fitter?

I don't know anything about fitting centers in Chicago. $400 seems kinda steep to me. Is there any other local stores that stock both Cally and TM because it there is would it not be better to hit both ranges to see what best suits you. Then if you found which brand suits your game best you could go to one of the official centers and get more in depth fitting.

SharkHat said:

What about an independent fitter?

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^^ this ^^ I would suggest a independent fitter to put you in the best club possible for YOU!

Club Champion. They have 3 locations around Chicago land. They will fit your entire bag for $350 - they use a Trackman. Or $150 for driver, $150 for irons, respectively. They also have a SAM PuttLab.

http://www.clubchampiongolf.com/fitting

They have every single shaft and club you can imagine, even shafts not on the market yet as prototypes. They are a very knowledgeable staff. They get my highest recommendation.

the one thats around work with nike titleist and ping and he only charges 50. he does fitting traditionally, by looking at the divots, the club face, the ball flight. he also uses a launch monitor and FlightScope. 400, 150, or...50. Why is there such a big price difference? do we really get what we pay for in this case?

dhsieh911018 said:

the one thats around work with nike titleist and ping and he only charges 50. he does fitting traditionally, by looking at the divots, the club face, the ball flight. he also uses a launch monitor and FlightScope. 400, 150, or...50. Why is there such a big price difference? do we really get what we pay for in this case?

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Well the TM fit center in Olympia Fields sounds state of the art. They put monitor's on you like you're a video game. I don't know what exactly it does, but it's probably in your best interest to call and get more information. If you're actually considering this...

Otherwise $150 is about right, for a proper fitting.

If you don't mind old school fitting, go for it. I personally don't think it gets to the meat of the issue. Do you see pro's going to guys who looks at divots? Technology and advancement is there for a reason. Take advantage of it and improve your game.

Finally, yes. Obtaining a bag of clubs that you hit consistently with low dispersion and the desired trajectory is worth it. Or would you rather be pissed off this season?

What about the PGA Tour store opening in Schaumburg? Do they hire quality fitters or are they glorified salesmen?

dhsieh911018 said:

hey guys!

Im looking to get custom fitted but having a hard time choosing between the two...

callaway charges 150, which sounds fair. Taylormade charges 400, which really sounds a little bit much... but they have the fancy motion detecting sensors systems... MATT. does anyone had experience in both? I've read Ingolfer's review on the callaway. is one better than the other? which one should i go with? thanks in advance for the help!

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I was fitted for irons, hybrids, woods, driver and putter at the Callaway Performance Center at Edwin Watts for $100. Where are you going that charges $150?

SharkHat said:

What about an independent fitter?

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This should work too, GolfTec does it, or you should be able to find a clubfitter with minimal searching in your area.

Couple other names to throw out, that I have heard good things about are EJL Custom Golf (@ Cantigny) and Green Grass Golf. I myself have not been to those places.

sleuth said:

Couple other names to throw out, that I have heard good things about are EJL Custom Golf (@ Cantigny) and Green Grass Golf. I myself have not been to those places.

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I have been fitted at EJL in Willowbrook by EJ himself. Granted this was 12yrs ago but my fitting experiencing was one to remember, in a good way. I bought the Ping ISI driver at GG. They fitted me with stiff and on the launch monitor I was hitting it good. Went to the range later that week and could not hit the darn thing. Nothing like the monitor results. Did some research on the net about shafts and forget how ended up looking into SST Puring. EJ was listed and decided to drop by one day to talk to him about SST Puring with my Ping in my hand. After hearing my problem, he asked if I had an appointment and I replied I didn't know I had to make one. He said not a problem since he had a hitting bay available. He kindly told me to hit away and his machine will record the info he needs and while I hit if I don't mind that he attends to the other customers. I told him not a problem at all. He was doing me a favoring after all. So I hacked away and hacked away. 15min later and I was getting tired. I turned around he said EJ said a few more minutes and I should have enough data. After another 5 minutes he came over and said I could stop. He kindly apologized for the length of time, but he needed data with me fully warmed up.

From the numbers, he said you are definitley slicing it and definitely have the wrong shaft based upon some other readings. I forget because all his numbers and tech talk was foreign to me. He walked over to supply of shafts and handed me 2 shafts (BiMatrix and Harrison) and to pick one. He explained his reasoning why he picked them. Since Mark Calc just won with the Ping BiMatrix combo, I thought I would pick that. EJ then explained to me I was in between a R and S flex. Since I was having issues with S flex, he recommended that I go with the R flex and he would tip ever so slightly to made it a tweener. Had no idea what that meant back then but just his word for it. After we agreed that was the best configuration, he said it would take 3 days. I then had to bring up SST Puring which is the reason why I came in the first place. He said "oh yeah, you can do that too but that is up to you." Talk about no pressure sales. He explained the benefits and I was sold so I did it. He gave me a sales receipt on how much it was going to be. I was surprised that it only cost $150 for the shaft to be replaced. My reaction was "that's it?" He smiled and said next time I should make an appointment because a shaft fitting is normally $50. I graciously thanked him.

Sorry for the rambling story but it was an experience I will never forget not only EJ's kindness and helpfulness but educating me about my swing in relation to shafts. The Ping and BiMatrix was the best setup I've had.

Oh yeah, I stopped by the Catigny branch to get my HiBore installed with the pink BiMatrix I bought off the bay a couple of years ago. The fitter said I needed an appointment but I told him I wanted the setup EJ gave me. He didn't argue and took down the instructions. I asked about EJ and he EJ only works part time and may retire soon. I told the gentlemen to tell EJ the reason I came back was due to awesome experience I had with him 10yrs prior even though I didn't come back for a fitting.

BTW, the Catigny fitting is at hitting bay at the range. Very private so interruptions and very one on one. I forget what tools they used for readings but there was a computer so I think its Trackman.

Sorry for the long winded story.

**Tappin' from the center of the middle of the fairway**

That's what I have also heard about EJ, from someone who was fitted by him. It's appointment only, but it's one of the best experiences. Not just as far as the whole fitting experience goes, but personal and customer service.