I think that an amazing return policy would go a huge way. For example, the fitter can recommend the best fit possible with the information presented and it may come down to 1 head but 2 possible shafts. If they could send both (charge the deposit on it) and then you return the non-winner, that could be a great way to handle those on the fence. Just musing out loud here.
NEWS Callaway Distance Fitting
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What shaft in the Mavrik?I’ve already bought Mavrik driver, Mav SZ 4w and Mav standard 3h 5h combo. Might need some more hybrid counseling and overall numbers review to make sure I made good choices
Isn’t that what Ben Hogan is doing with their club fitting? I agree though, when doing the distance fitting, the ability to narrow it down to a couple options, then to actually hit would be the way to go.
Bridgestone does this too with their test drive
Riptide 60 6.0 in Driver and 70 6.0 in 3w. It is likely I'll experiment with the 6.5 flex in those as well.
That’s good to know.
I know that places like globalgolf offer the uTry option as well, but that’s not a fitting service.
I personally was just fit in person a month-ish ago for some Mavrik irons and was the best possible experience, by someone skilled and knowledgeable in what they were doing.
I’ve also experienced a fitting in another unnamed box store long ago, where the experience and fitting was incredibly poor, I just did not know any better at the time.
At another point in life, I worked in a big box environment and sold clubs. While I was not certified as a fitter, the store still wanted me to go out and sell clubs to people with barely more training than a soft goods shirt folder. Thankfully I was a member here and had taken it upon myself to learn more, but I understand my my poor fitting experience better.
This might also be a good option for people that cannot afford the added expense of somewhere like Club Champion.
Ideal scenarios:
First choice for me would always be a certified/trained fitter in person with data.
Second option would be something like this distance fitting, where someone from the company is fitting me; then having the opportunity to demo the narrowed down options with deposit towards a purchase.
So I just finished my Distance Fitting.
BLUF: Overall, it was pretty good.
I specifically asked about Hybrids because I haven't played one in a few years and well Callaway makes a lot of Hybrids.
Discussion started first with the Golf Ball. I mentioned that I had previously played the CSX TT and was told that the 2020 version was closer to the TT version over the 2018 CSX. I'll probably give a dozen of these a try at some point.
We then moved into the specific club I wished to get fit into. We talked about the shape of the hybrid, what my miss was in general, and I why moved away from a hybrid. From there we narrowed down to a few options. The Mavrik Pro and Apex. Loft wise, we wanted to choose something close to my 5 wood since this was more likely than not replace my 5 wood in the bag. He suggested looking at a 2 hybrid. Choosing between Mavrik Pro and Apex, I said I dislike the squared off toe look, and went towards the Mavrik Pro. Additionally, he recommended looking at the Apex in person since it has polarizing looks due to the size of the head. Shaft wise, I prefer things on the heavier side. On there non-exotic program list I had the options of Graphite Design DI 95, IZ 95 and KBS Prototype 95. I already own a few DI 95s in the garage and based on the discussion went towards the KBS. Length and Loft wise, he recommended staying standard. He said going too flat maybe an issue with the ball staying too much to the right. Length wise it would blend in between my 3 wood and 4 iron. Grips we just went with my current UTX grip. The system on there side can filter options (Cord and other options) easier than the website.
From there we talked a little bit about wedges for a bit and that finished up the call.
After the call I was sent a worksheet with the fitting recommendations and with contact information if I have anymore questions.
Would I recommend the experience, definitely if you want to talk through recommendations with someone much more familiar with the equipment and who is a master fitter. Will I buy the club I was recommended? Maybe.
BLUF: Overall, it was pretty good.
I specifically asked about Hybrids because I haven't played one in a few years and well Callaway makes a lot of Hybrids.
Discussion started first with the Golf Ball. I mentioned that I had previously played the CSX TT and was told that the 2020 version was closer to the TT version over the 2018 CSX. I'll probably give a dozen of these a try at some point.
We then moved into the specific club I wished to get fit into. We talked about the shape of the hybrid, what my miss was in general, and I why moved away from a hybrid. From there we narrowed down to a few options. The Mavrik Pro and Apex. Loft wise, we wanted to choose something close to my 5 wood since this was more likely than not replace my 5 wood in the bag. He suggested looking at a 2 hybrid. Choosing between Mavrik Pro and Apex, I said I dislike the squared off toe look, and went towards the Mavrik Pro. Additionally, he recommended looking at the Apex in person since it has polarizing looks due to the size of the head. Shaft wise, I prefer things on the heavier side. On there non-exotic program list I had the options of Graphite Design DI 95, IZ 95 and KBS Prototype 95. I already own a few DI 95s in the garage and based on the discussion went towards the KBS. Length and Loft wise, he recommended staying standard. He said going too flat maybe an issue with the ball staying too much to the right. Length wise it would blend in between my 3 wood and 4 iron. Grips we just went with my current UTX grip. The system on there side can filter options (Cord and other options) easier than the website.
From there we talked a little bit about wedges for a bit and that finished up the call.
After the call I was sent a worksheet with the fitting recommendations and with contact information if I have anymore questions.
Would I recommend the experience, definitely if you want to talk through recommendations with someone much more familiar with the equipment and who is a master fitter. Will I buy the club I was recommended? Maybe.
Thanks for the feedback!!!
I am going to jump on this here pretty soon. I need a club fw or hybrid) to close the gap between my 5i and Heavenwood. There are so many options on the table I think talking it through people directly with the brand makes the most sense before I drop some hard earned cash.
Sounds like a solid experience!
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I just finished my call with Brock Kauffman. First, I want to say he was very engaging, very easy to speak with. Second, he was fantastic explaining why and how certain things happen and what can cause them.
We spoke initially about the ball. I explained that I bounced back and forth last year between the ERC and CSX because I liked the TT each offered. He suggested that I try the CS w/TT for the best performance, spin and feel. After going through the driver fitting, he confirmed that the CS was the ball for me.
My interest was driver. Brock asked what I played. I told him I had been fitted in a EF SZ with a Diamana M+ 60g stiff shaft from a self-fit Rogue SZ with an Evenflow Blue 65g shaft. I mentioned that I didn't always have a good feel of where the clubhead was with the EF and Diamana combo but had better feel with the Rogue and Evenflow. I added that I liked the Evenflow with the EF. He explained that what I was not feeling was probably not the shaft but the lighter head of the EF. We talked about my miss which are toe hits and a low hook. We talked about my Trackman numbers from last year. Because my spin was low then and I have fought a low ball flight with the EF, even with good strikes, I expected the standard Mavrik but he recommended the SZ because it was a flatter lie and would help with my miss. He recommended a 10.5 set to N +2 to help increase spin. He said that the added loft with the flatter lie angle would give me more benefit than the slight closing of the face. Brock recommended the Riptide 60 but since I already have that shaft, he went with the Tensei AV Blue 65 at 45 inches to help with bring contact more to the center of the face. He recommended that I try both shafts at my fitter. He also mentioned that I was right on the cusp of the stiff/extra stiff line and could give that a go when I tried the club. If I wanted to try a shaft upgrade, he recommended the Ventus Blue, Oban Red, or the GD AD DI or MT.
So, going in, I didn't expect a MavMax rec because of my draw (hook). I expected the Mavrik probably matched up with the Riptide. I wasn't terribly wrong.
I recommend trying the distance fitting. It exceeded my expectations. It was really a blast to speak with someone with that much knowledge about the clubs and all that goes into getting you into the best possible fit. I'd really like to do a full fitting with Brock at some point. Hey Santa . . .
Thanks to @vgolfman and his staff for an awesome experience.
We spoke initially about the ball. I explained that I bounced back and forth last year between the ERC and CSX because I liked the TT each offered. He suggested that I try the CS w/TT for the best performance, spin and feel. After going through the driver fitting, he confirmed that the CS was the ball for me.
My interest was driver. Brock asked what I played. I told him I had been fitted in a EF SZ with a Diamana M+ 60g stiff shaft from a self-fit Rogue SZ with an Evenflow Blue 65g shaft. I mentioned that I didn't always have a good feel of where the clubhead was with the EF and Diamana combo but had better feel with the Rogue and Evenflow. I added that I liked the Evenflow with the EF. He explained that what I was not feeling was probably not the shaft but the lighter head of the EF. We talked about my miss which are toe hits and a low hook. We talked about my Trackman numbers from last year. Because my spin was low then and I have fought a low ball flight with the EF, even with good strikes, I expected the standard Mavrik but he recommended the SZ because it was a flatter lie and would help with my miss. He recommended a 10.5 set to N +2 to help increase spin. He said that the added loft with the flatter lie angle would give me more benefit than the slight closing of the face. Brock recommended the Riptide 60 but since I already have that shaft, he went with the Tensei AV Blue 65 at 45 inches to help with bring contact more to the center of the face. He recommended that I try both shafts at my fitter. He also mentioned that I was right on the cusp of the stiff/extra stiff line and could give that a go when I tried the club. If I wanted to try a shaft upgrade, he recommended the Ventus Blue, Oban Red, or the GD AD DI or MT.
So, going in, I didn't expect a MavMax rec because of my draw (hook). I expected the Mavrik probably matched up with the Riptide. I wasn't terribly wrong.
I recommend trying the distance fitting. It exceeded my expectations. It was really a blast to speak with someone with that much knowledge about the clubs and all that goes into getting you into the best possible fit. I'd really like to do a full fitting with Brock at some point. Hey Santa . . .
Thanks to @vgolfman and his staff for an awesome experience.
I just discussed a number of items with Justin King.
We talked about the Chromesoft ball and the perks and fit for me being Chromesoft original (not x). He was able to analyze based on driver swing speed and feel of putts and chips. Said I was in between and mentioned what the chromesoft X would bring to the game and the feeling of harder
We also talked about irons using my current set up and some of the problems that I have been facing with the current model. These included pushes and shorter overall distance in the clubs. We walked through heads, Mavrik, Apex, Apex Pro, X forged, including intense details on the comparison lofts and the amount of offset. He explained what the offset does and turning the ball over for draw vs cuts and fades on shots. We went into the different measurements of offset and player confidence when standing over the ball. He also gave some feedback into the dark finish on the clubs.
Justin was indepth and talked about the availability of additional wrap given my XL hands and how that might help or hinder as it relates to the quick hand movements. We also talked about the feel of shafts and that Modus120 is available at no upcharge in the irons of choice.
We finished talking about delays and availability of Chromesoft products as well as golf in San Diego and his experiences at Callaway golf as well as prior golf knowledge working at a club.
Very knowledgeable experience and appreciate the time spent explaining callaway club offerings. He was able to take a lot of the technology in clubs and explain why they work the way they do.
We talked about the Chromesoft ball and the perks and fit for me being Chromesoft original (not x). He was able to analyze based on driver swing speed and feel of putts and chips. Said I was in between and mentioned what the chromesoft X would bring to the game and the feeling of harder
We also talked about irons using my current set up and some of the problems that I have been facing with the current model. These included pushes and shorter overall distance in the clubs. We walked through heads, Mavrik, Apex, Apex Pro, X forged, including intense details on the comparison lofts and the amount of offset. He explained what the offset does and turning the ball over for draw vs cuts and fades on shots. We went into the different measurements of offset and player confidence when standing over the ball. He also gave some feedback into the dark finish on the clubs.
Justin was indepth and talked about the availability of additional wrap given my XL hands and how that might help or hinder as it relates to the quick hand movements. We also talked about the feel of shafts and that Modus120 is available at no upcharge in the irons of choice.
We finished talking about delays and availability of Chromesoft products as well as golf in San Diego and his experiences at Callaway golf as well as prior golf knowledge working at a club.
Very knowledgeable experience and appreciate the time spent explaining callaway club offerings. He was able to take a lot of the technology in clubs and explain why they work the way they do.
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So, is this just a temporary thing until the pandemic is over? Because, I could see this being huge for a person like me who doesn't have any local fitters. I am not in need of it currently for Grandaddy reasons, lol. But, I would definitely look into this in years to come. Great work!
The plan is for this is to be an ongoing entity, assuming there is demand for it. Still, now is a great time to get fit for everyone EXCEPT those that have "Grandaddy reasons". (And really strong flex there @radiman!)
Haha. That's great news. The nice thing is, there is so many options in Callaways arsenal, there is something that fits pretty much everyone!
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What information is best to have when doing a distance fitting? Since most is going to discussion based what numbers or knowledge of your game is necessary to have readily available to help the fitter?
He asked if I had any launch data, swing speed distances from on course. How my irons were set up and what the L/L/L was for them. Why I wanted new products and what I was looking to accomplish. It's nice that it's real life people that love golf like us
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The more swing data you have the better. But, knowledge of your game, swing, distances, flight, misses, club specs, turf interaction (if irons) and where on the face you typically strike the ball will give your fitter a plethora of information.
When you sign up for a Distance Fitting online we have questionnaire... Fill that out as honestly and completely as possible. Then, come into the fitting with an open mind about what may be best for you, but as much information about your game as you can. If you have recent launch monitor data, have that ready for the call. If you use Arccos or a similar on course data app, have a summary of your last few rounds or a list of your tendencies. Still not sure? Maybe ask a friend you play a lot of golf with to be honest with you about your game. Ask him/her about where your misses go, what shots give you trouble, what clubs you have loved, and/or hated, in the past. Ultimately, your Certified Master Fitter will ask questions to prompt you as well.
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I'm not so worried about distance. I mean, it's not that I'm too long, but I'd prefer to be fit for accuracy. Can they do an accuracy fitting?
Ideally we fit for both! Fitting should NOT be an either/or proposition. Still, let you fitter know whats most important to you and your game and that will absolutely be factored in and weighted appropriately in the final recommendation.
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I figured. I guess you just haven't been around enough to catch on to my sarcasm. I'm just glad you took it in stride and didn't come out up in arms because I let loose with one of my patented snide comments like some folks here do! A sense of humor should be a mandatory accouterment when interacting with people on the internet and you have proven you're well armed.
What if I want a small headed driver with a shallow face? I've heard those are easier to square at impact. Can you help?
Just had my distance fitting with Justin. Very helpful and informative. I learned a bit about shafts as well as what to look for with ball flight. Good Stuff. Thanks Callaway for leading the way.