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Club Fitting Vs Club Demo'ing

Club Fitting Vs Club Demo'ing

  • Club Fitting

    Votes: 19 63.3%

  • Club Demo'ing

    Votes: 11 36.7%
  • Total voters
    30
SuperStroke
DataDude

DataDude

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Albatross 2024 Club
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THP'ers I have a question for you. Which would you prefer:

Option 1: You go to a Club Champion type place and pay their rates for a clubfitter to work with you and get you fit. They driver the ca and bring you things to try and watch the performance on the launch monitor. Basically the fitting formula that is in place now.

Option 2: You go to a place with 4-8 simulator bays and pay some hourly rate (Maybe $50). All of the same heads and shafts are available and a clubfitter is available as well, but you drive the boat. You ask them and they get it for you, then you hit some shots with it. They can of course answer questions and give advice but really you are picking what you want to hit and what shafts you want to put in to try. Basically a place where for an hourly rate you can demo whatever you want to pick out your new clubs and there is still an expert available to help you if you need it.
 
Fitting. Never done one but the videos I've seen on fitting seem to suggest that a fitter's outside point of view along with metrics and knowledge of equipment would be ideal.
 
I would have to go with option one. I just think I would get more out of it. Might be able to use option 2 for a driver though.
 
I’d love option 2 for myself. I think it would be great to have access to all the gear and work out my needs myself.
 
Interesting question - I say Both! #2 sounds more fun and would be a blast. #1 would probably cut the amount of time down significantly to get to the best fit.
 
Option 1 for me, I would think after a few swings a good fitter would be able to start narrowing down the correct choices for you. A person could spend all day demoing and at the end be wornout swing wise and have no idea if what he ends up with is the optimal setup.
Ideally I would chose option 1 with with a follow-up a day or two later doing #2 with the same fitter to verify your original choices.
 
I would vote both. I'd like to get my consideration set down to 2 or 3 sets that I have high interest in then look at optimization.

My ideal path to a club is to read positive reviews from many, to see it working on the course in my hand in real conditions, then to have shaft or lie alterations.
 
I'd prefer option 2, but option 1 would probably be better for my game.
 
i’m inclined to say option 2. i typically know what i like. and i think if a combo wasn’t working, i would have some idea of the direction to go.
 
I'd probably go with option 1. I just don't know enough about all the shaft options and what they all mean to match what my swing needs
 
#2. I generally have an idea of what I want to hit and I rely lots on the eye test and personal feel. I actually have never used a launch monitor and have never looked at any numbers regarding my swing. I just don’t feel a need to. I use a fitter in this demo type process relying on his advice and observations but I ultimately make the decision based on what I see and what I feel and not based on numbers.

All that said I would eventually love to do a Club Champion type fitting one day. I’m open to it.
 
Driver I want a fitting.

Irons, I think maybe I'd prefer demoing - especially if I can get on grass. I know what shafts work for me, let me play around and find the best contact.
 
Option 3: take demo club (s) to the golf course.
 
I think a lot of us could successfully find a setup that works for them using option 2. But how much time do you have? A skilled fitter can get you squared away in a few hours, while it might take you 2-3 hours a day for a few days to arrive at that setup.
 
DataDude said:
THP'ers I have a question for you. Which would you prefer:

Option 1: You go to a Club Champion type place and pay their rates for a clubfitter to work with you and get you fit. They driver the ca and bring you things to try and watch the performance on the launch monitor. Basically the fitting formula that is in place now.

Option 2: You go to a place with 4-8 simulator bays and pay some hourly rate (Maybe $50). All of the same heads and shafts are available and a clubfitter is available as well, but you drive the boat. You ask them and they get it for you, then you hit some shots with it. They can of course answer questions and give advice but really you are picking what you want to hit and what shafts you want to put in to try. Basically a place where for an hourly rate you can demo whatever you want to pick out your new clubs and there is still an expert available to help you if you need it.
Click to expand...

Jeesh Dude, option 2. Are you even asking this question of me?

Stop by some night and I’ll show you the bachelor palace of clubs, shafts, bags, putters, etc that will both excite and chill you to bone.

If I go option one I’ll feel obligated to play one type. Right now I’ve got it all. I’ve got sets of blades/MB’s and sets of GI. I’ve got wedges I forgot I had. I loaned out 3 putters so a family friend wouldn’t have to use the putt-putt putters at their summer campground due to C19.

All three are decent putters (Seemore, Betti, and a TM). I still have putters. I have a putter in my front passenger seat right now. I have no idea how many I might have in the back? Or the basement?

I gave away a Circle T on here, just because it was fun and we raised enough money for youth golf I felt it justified. I gave away my gamer set (mostly, kept GW and 3W+) just because it was fun and we raised money to support youth golf.

I’ll probably do the same next year. Selling stuff is all well and good but giving it away? That’s even more fun (as anyone that’s done a giveaway will attest)

Option 2. I like to use everything and eventually settle on what works best. If I had a repeatable swing, a fitting might make sense. I don’t. One day I might be 5* out to in and hitting it 10ft from center at 200 yards and the next I might be 5* in to out and hitting it 30ft left of target and 10 yards long. The next day I might not be able to make reasonable enough contact to tell anything.
 
I would think 2 would appeal to most members here. We have some knowledge now things work with shafts (weights/tourque/kick) and a general knowledge of what we want and like, but aren't afraid to tinker or try new brands and combinations. It would be like turning us loose in a fun house.
 
I’ve had Club Champion fitting for my driver, 3W, and wedges. I can see the difference with those clubs vs the previous that were not fitted, but perhaps lightly demoed.

My Club Champion fitter was describing all kinds of effects on the clubface with different shafts, lofts, lies, etc. I had no idea on that stuff and am always really impressed on how much their knowledge helps. For instance, he was able to get my driver spin numbers from 3600s to 2600s with no other changes in the head or hosel... just by working me with different shafts. That there is black magic for me!
 
I just went through a CC fitting. It was informative and helpful. Sam lab was the best part and the shaft and head options are staggering. But it is all condensed into one tiring session.

And I love going to my local shop and hitting clubs on a sim. I grab clubs all the time and explore. There are limited shaft options to test, but this is my happy place. Now with tne CC fitting under my belt, I can say this is the better approach for me.
 
cjroman said:
I would think 2 would appeal to most members here. We have some knowledge now things work with shafts (weights/tourque/kick) and a general knowledge of what we want and like, but aren't afraid to tinker or try new brands and combinations. It would be like turning us loose in a fun house.
Click to expand...

I’m an exception. 😆 I have been playing golf since 1972. I have zero knowledge of how things work with shafts. I understand weight but I have no idea regarding torque, kick or launch. However, I am willing and trying to learn what I can.
 
DG_1234 said:
Option 3: take demo club (s) to the golf course.
Click to expand...

Not to be picky but isn’t that still option 2? I saw it as an umbrella of self fitting, 😂
 
It kind of depends on what I am looking for. I would love option 2 to try out lots of different new stuff but to really get fit it helps to have someone with some experience recommending things.
 
Option #1 for me. Unquestionably. I don't know enough to know what I don't know, so me going the Option #2 route, demo'ing, would probably be fruitless--if not counter-productive.
 
I know what I'm about to say is an unpopular opinion for THP, but here goes. Almost to the day 2 years ago, after reading nothing but rave reviews here and elsewhere, I went for a full bag fitting at Club Champion in Atlanta. Rarely have I been so excited in anticipation. I wrote a full description for y'all at the time, so I'll be brief here. For me to get a fitting, it's an all day deal since the closest fitter is an hour and a half away.

Long story short, it was an absolutely horrible experience and the worst money I've ever spent on golf. Nothing but a con man sales pitch worse than anything I've seen from used car salesmen, politicians, and TV preachers combined. I was absolutely livid on the long drive home. Thankfully, my club actually held a demo day a couple of days afterward and I went not expecting anything and quite honestly a bit down and skeptical. The Taylormade rep only wanted to work with the young, big hitters, Callaway and Cobra seemed to care less about my interest (I was playing Callaway woods and Cobra OL's at the time). The Mizuno rep took the time to talk with me about my game, preferences, and thoughts about clubs and shafts. He gave me the Mizuno fitting experience and I walked away with a recommendation for driver, woods, and hybrids, along with multiple shaft recommendations for irons.

Shortly after, my club pro set up several demo irons with different shafts, and I took them out on the course to test them. That led to me choosing my Recoil F3's for my 919 HM's. A friend of mine jokes that I'm living proof that you can indeed buy a game because I've played the best golf of my life the last 2 years. Once I knew the best driver specs for my swing, and the best length/lie for my irons, I chose the specific ones myself. I'm not saying I'd never, ever use a "professional" fitter again, but right now my attitude is "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." So, yeah, I voted option 2, club demo'ing.
 
Option 2. Like many people here, I know at least a little bit about what works and what doesn't for my game. Plus, the tinkering and figuring it out process is part of the fun for me.
 
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