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Getting Clubs Built by Club Champion

Nippon Shafts
JB

JB

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One of the questions we asked Club Champion is why should you get your clubs built there, instead of the club company or elsewhere? To better answer the question for everybody we asked Nick to show us into the build room and explain what they do differently.

 
There is nothing Nick said in this video that I do not like.
 
I have had a couple of iron sets built by Club Champion (CC), and they were built spot-on to specs discussed during my last fitting with CC. No, it isn't cheap, but if you are one who ponders if a difference in SW, or an 1/4" difference in length, or a one degree difference in loft are impacting your results, CC takes care of that. And there are other specs they can get into as well, with hard/soft-stepping, tip-trimming to fine tune a shaft/club combo, and I'm sure some others, too.

In the end, though, the benefit I saw from having CC do an iron build for me, was also directly related to also having that detailed fitting with CC.

Disclaimer: For both my iron set builds, I sourced the iron heads on my own, and then provided those to CC to build-out with the other components which they sourced.
 
Cool video. The quality of a Club Champion build has never really been in dispute for me, but the price is such that you really need to WANT it.

I guess I'd like to hear what the OEMs response to this would be. Do OEMs acknowledge that their custom builds are inferior? I know most custom orders I've placed through an OEM always come wrong somehow, but it's free so I'm not sure what I should expect.
When I toured the late Ben Hogan Golf facility in Texas I didn't see anything that would make me doubt the quality of their builds, but they weren't your typical OEM either.
 
Looks like the correct way to go!! Wish there was one closer to where I live!!
 
I've never had the chance to be fit for clubs. It is on the list of things I'd like to do in 2018 though. Sounds like Nick is a great resource that would be trusted to build anything.
 
Sox Fan said:
There is nothing Nick said in this video that I do not like.
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Agreed, I can build to specs but mine won’t be as exact as them. It’s why certain things you trust the pros
 
Great video and I couldn't agree more - yes you pay for a premium but its the added assurance it is done properly...
 
I had a pretty in depth fitting done at Club Champion. It's true that the fitting and end specs are different in terms of just being fit at a big box retailer. They aren't just looking at shaft stiffness and lie angle. The swing weight portion was HUGE during my fitting as my fitter had me go with a swing weight of D6 (irons) and D7 (wedges).

I felt they would do a great job building them, but the cost of them sourcing the pieces and building was more than I was willing to pay. Pretty mind boggling in my opinion. I believe the total bill was around $3,100 and I already had the iron heads.

But since they give you all the specs, I went and sourced the components and had them built by an independent club builder that I trust. It cost me about a 3rd of what CC wanted and they were all to spec, as I checked them afterwards.

While I believe they'd do a fantastic job, as they did for @rambler, I cannot get myself to pay those prices... especially when I have a club builder I trust, at a much more economical cost.... Which can be an issue for some that don't.

And while the clubs coming from the EOM may be off at times, I tend to think it's because those building in the factories, especially the bigger ones, are probably a little less "emotionally involved" in the end result, than an individual club builder or someone working at Club Champion who is doing it with the purpose of making it exact to spec, and having that customer come back again and again.

Overall, club building is an amazing process though. I wish I had the skill and patience to do it. Really cool to see them do it and be so precise. Can't wait for my next fitting there this winter.

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I really enjoyed my CC full bag fitting that I had about a year and half ago. I still to this day use the shafts and specs that I received that day for all my clubs. It's true that they are a little pricey but the saying "you get what you pay for" totally embodies the products that they build for each customer.


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Would love to visit a Club Champion someday and love the swing weight timing on the video, JB! :D
 
Pretty interesting how exacting club building can get at the highest level. 3k plus for a set I just couldn't do in this lifetime.
 
Is it possible to take your existing, off-the-shelf clubs into CC and have them fitted? I’m quite happy with my clubs but would love to have a fitted experience.
 
I had my iron fitting couple weeks ago.
As long as I buy the heads through CC, I can provide them the shafts and the cost to build is free.
I plan to do that, as I can source the shafts I was fit for at a much lower price point than through CC but would like their expertise in building the clubs to spec.
 
altoidman said:
Is it possible to take your existing, off-the-shelf clubs into CC and have them fitted? I’m quite happy with my clubs but would love to have a fitted experience.
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Yes. You do not need to purchase new clubs to have a fitting experience.
 
Got this sweet little gem in my email today from Club Champion....thinking I might just take them up on the deal. (Up to 50% off premium club fitting)
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They had been hiring fitter in Cleveland for a while on indeed, glad to see they are finally open.
 
For full builds they are pricey but for little things like pulls in premium equipment That I won’t do myself i feel comfortable going to them as their prices are competitive


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OITW said:
For full builds they are pricey but for little things like pulls in premium equipment That I won’t do myself i feel comfortable going to them as their prices are competitive


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Ive noticed that if you buy a full-retail priced club(s) from them, you can customize it just about any way you want without any upcharge. So if you're buying new, they're a good option.


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Have to travel about 3 hours to the nearest one but it might be worth it!
 
buckeyewalt said:
Have to travel about 3 hours to the nearest one but it might be worth it!
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For me it is 4 hours and 15 minutes each direction to the closest CC....seems a little extreme to me.
Oh, yeah....my fitting is scheduled for this coming Wednesday!
 
My full bag fitting comes next week. Excited to see what comes of it. I think the Apex CF is #1 on my list to try. But I'll be open to whatever the fitter suggests.

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dhartmann34 said:
My full bag fitting comes next week. Excited to see what comes of it. I think the Apex CF is #1 on my list to try. But I'll be open to whatever the fitter suggests.

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Have fun man!


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Trying to figure out how they price the gear. Say I go in there and get fitted for some Cleveland HB 6-PW with KBS Tour 90 shaft.
I pay the price for the fitting, that is easy enough as their prices are on the site.

Now for the club pricing.
If I go onto TGW and price these out they would be $100+$8 for the shaft upcharge, so $540 for a 5 pc set.

Would Club Champion price these out at $100 each per iron head and then $30 for each shaft (retail price of the Tour 90). So $650?

Am I ballpark?
Do they charge to assemble?
 
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