motoo344
Bearded Bandit
I have been looking forward to this for a few weeks now. I had the chance to get a full bag fitting at Club Champion in the Philly area, it is a little pricey but part Christmas present and 30% discount helped. I also figured if I do it right the first...or third time it will save me a lot of heart ache later. It is definitely above and beyond any 'fitting' I have been through before. I actually walked out happy rather than questioning the big box stores numbers and limited time. Jim Yenser, who has been around a long time, he fit my dad years ago was great to work with and really seemed to be thorough.
The location is fairly easy to get to, its right of the schuykill expressway which is the only downside because that road is terrible. Once you get off it is about 1/8 a mile down the road. You walk in and there is an office and club building room. In the main lounge area they have a tv and some chairs you can sit and relax. Behind this are the two fitting bays with a wall full of shafts and heads.
I went in with an open mind and the only club I really wanted to hit was Razr Fit Extreme, I was open to whatever they had. My only real concern was finding the best driver and filling the gaps between my Driver and 5 Iron. My weakest area is my iron play and while I had no real intention to purchase irons I learned some valuable information about my irons. I ended up hitting some mizunos, tm, callaway and titliest clubs. Its nice because in 30 seconds you can pick pretty much any shaft you want and hit with any head. I am a big scooper, especially with my longer irons, the Rocketbladez and Mizuno MP H4 gave me the best results but nothing is going to help more than more lessons and practice. The MP H4 are a nice mix between form and function, they are simple looking unlike a lot of GI irons. I also liked them because they were forged, this is the one thing I did not like about the TM, I actually hit them okay but the H4 had an edge.
I have never had a driver that I have really liked, I have played a G10, I20 and then the Titliest D3 for a few months. My goal was more consistent misses as I figure distance will pick up a little with a better swing. I actually only ended up hitting the Razr Fit, 913 and R1. The Razr Fit was the winner, on the first try, I couldn't get numbers and disperssion better. I believe I hit six or seven shafts in the Razr Fit, I cannot think of them all but Oban, Diamana and Fujikura were a few. I hit the same shafts and some others in the the other clubs. I actually thought the R1 looked a lot better in person but I just did not like it. I did not like the noise it made and even though they are similar is volume I liked the Razr Fit better at address. I ended up being matched witt the Razr Fit extreme and Fujikura Fuel which was the first combo we tried.
This is the part I really wanted to get fit for, woods and hybrids. I hit a bunch of these, Cleveland, Callaway, TM, Ping, Adams and some others. I actually hit my Mashie fairly solid but I was left with it a lot, I honestly did not think I would pick up all that much more distance with anything else. I did not like anything TM in this department, they felt hollow to me. The Ping just was not for me either, I am not sure it was fatigue at this point or I just did not hit it well. I ended up spending a lot of time with the Adams Super LS and wow these are fantastic. I tried a bunch of different shaft combos and between the 3 wood and 19 hybrid I was hitting it really well. I don't put to much stock in distance on monitors but it seemed accurate enough with everything else up until this point but I have never hit a 3 wood so long. I was carrying them 210 on average, with roll at I was average mid 230's and had one up over 240. The hybrid was equally impressive getting me to 215-220. Only downside is that stock shaft with these clubs was the worst performer and last years shaft was the winner. Its actually a toss up for me because I crushed the X Hot as well, I would say I hit it about 3-5 yards less on average, I think 236 was the best with that 3 wood and they are significantly cheaper but I forget the shaft I hit with that.
Putting was something I was interesting in as well, they have SAM putting lab. I have a Metal X 7 and the report showed I have a slightly slow swing compared to the tour average and I close it slightly on my follow through. I was advised to try adding a little weight and cutting down the putter a bit, all in all only $20 bucks.
Overall a great experience, the place itself feels like a lounge, very relaxing and welcoming. I ended up spending just about five hours there and hit over 200 balls but the best part is that I actually felt like I walked away learning something about my game. The trackman is a great tool and if you are interested in getting fit I would go for it. I would rather pay a little more now than do what I did last year and buy an i20 and not like it, buy a D3 and not like it. Much easier to do it once and right!
The location is fairly easy to get to, its right of the schuykill expressway which is the only downside because that road is terrible. Once you get off it is about 1/8 a mile down the road. You walk in and there is an office and club building room. In the main lounge area they have a tv and some chairs you can sit and relax. Behind this are the two fitting bays with a wall full of shafts and heads.
I went in with an open mind and the only club I really wanted to hit was Razr Fit Extreme, I was open to whatever they had. My only real concern was finding the best driver and filling the gaps between my Driver and 5 Iron. My weakest area is my iron play and while I had no real intention to purchase irons I learned some valuable information about my irons. I ended up hitting some mizunos, tm, callaway and titliest clubs. Its nice because in 30 seconds you can pick pretty much any shaft you want and hit with any head. I am a big scooper, especially with my longer irons, the Rocketbladez and Mizuno MP H4 gave me the best results but nothing is going to help more than more lessons and practice. The MP H4 are a nice mix between form and function, they are simple looking unlike a lot of GI irons. I also liked them because they were forged, this is the one thing I did not like about the TM, I actually hit them okay but the H4 had an edge.
I have never had a driver that I have really liked, I have played a G10, I20 and then the Titliest D3 for a few months. My goal was more consistent misses as I figure distance will pick up a little with a better swing. I actually only ended up hitting the Razr Fit, 913 and R1. The Razr Fit was the winner, on the first try, I couldn't get numbers and disperssion better. I believe I hit six or seven shafts in the Razr Fit, I cannot think of them all but Oban, Diamana and Fujikura were a few. I hit the same shafts and some others in the the other clubs. I actually thought the R1 looked a lot better in person but I just did not like it. I did not like the noise it made and even though they are similar is volume I liked the Razr Fit better at address. I ended up being matched witt the Razr Fit extreme and Fujikura Fuel which was the first combo we tried.
This is the part I really wanted to get fit for, woods and hybrids. I hit a bunch of these, Cleveland, Callaway, TM, Ping, Adams and some others. I actually hit my Mashie fairly solid but I was left with it a lot, I honestly did not think I would pick up all that much more distance with anything else. I did not like anything TM in this department, they felt hollow to me. The Ping just was not for me either, I am not sure it was fatigue at this point or I just did not hit it well. I ended up spending a lot of time with the Adams Super LS and wow these are fantastic. I tried a bunch of different shaft combos and between the 3 wood and 19 hybrid I was hitting it really well. I don't put to much stock in distance on monitors but it seemed accurate enough with everything else up until this point but I have never hit a 3 wood so long. I was carrying them 210 on average, with roll at I was average mid 230's and had one up over 240. The hybrid was equally impressive getting me to 215-220. Only downside is that stock shaft with these clubs was the worst performer and last years shaft was the winner. Its actually a toss up for me because I crushed the X Hot as well, I would say I hit it about 3-5 yards less on average, I think 236 was the best with that 3 wood and they are significantly cheaper but I forget the shaft I hit with that.
Putting was something I was interesting in as well, they have SAM putting lab. I have a Metal X 7 and the report showed I have a slightly slow swing compared to the tour average and I close it slightly on my follow through. I was advised to try adding a little weight and cutting down the putter a bit, all in all only $20 bucks.
Overall a great experience, the place itself feels like a lounge, very relaxing and welcoming. I ended up spending just about five hours there and hit over 200 balls but the best part is that I actually felt like I walked away learning something about my game. The trackman is a great tool and if you are interested in getting fit I would go for it. I would rather pay a little more now than do what I did last year and buy an i20 and not like it, buy a D3 and not like it. Much easier to do it once and right!
