Weird Fitting Experience - What are your thoughts?

Papatortuga

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I had previously done a fitting for my new M3 driver and had a pleasant time. I even ran a little contest here on THP regarding my gains with the driver, I think it was 35 yards? Everything was right down the middle with a nice draw to it and I was consistently hitting 250-255 carry while rolling out to about 270. At my first fitting every shaft they put me in was a stiff, the clubs I currently own are all in stiff flex too (recommended by Cleveland Golf when I sent them some of my stats for The Shootout last year). The problem with my first fitting was that it was an older shaft that TaylorMade didn’t offer. I reached out to my fitter and he recommended 2 more shafts in a stiff flex. TM didn’t offer those either even though they were ones listed on their site, so they recommended a shaft for me and I took it. I’m not too happy with the shaft and that’s ok because I planned on buying one of the previous 3 that they didn’t have.

Fast forward to yesterday. I go to the PGATSS for another fitting because I have a gift card and thinking maybe I’d find something newer that worked well. First question the fitter asks is my handicap, 36. I tell him about my previous fitting and the results I was getting with a stiff 70g shaft. He starts to go on a rant about how he’s a 1 handicap and he’s been fitting and instructing for 20 years and wouldn’t put his star pupils into a 70g. All this before I even take a swing. Without stretching or warming up I hit maybe 5 balls and max out about 230 with the ball going anywhere but straight. He insists that at this point it wouldn’t matter what shaft I use because I needed to work on my swing (something I’m well aware of). He also insists that I should use a regular flex and proceeds to pull up a chart on his phone showing me the PGA pro’s averages. Annoyed, I laugh it off and tell him I’m no pro and just want a shaft that will help me now. He changes the shaft to a regular flex and I’m getting ok results with my max drive going 245. He goes on to accuse the first fitter of “juicing” his machine and kept going on about his 1 handicap, his star pupils, and the PGA pros averages chart (he must have showed me this chart at least 3 times). I was annoyed with him and didn’t want to argue much with him even though we literally only tested one shaft (the regular flex). Needless to say I left very upset.

What do you guys think? I find it really weird the discrepencies I was getting between my first fitting and this latest debacle. I’m thinking about going back to my first fitter and giving it another go. They are a highly respected company and have made Golf Digests top fitters lists for several years. Any suggestions/thoughts/input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
 
Weird Fitting Experience - What are your thoughts?

It does seem that he wasn’t as open minded as he could be, but from your write up the change to R flex had you gaining 15 yards with the driver on that monitor, so it’s not all that bad. But still, why not give a few chances a go? I would say at a minimum you didn't get your moneys worth.

A 70g driver shaft is definitely on the quite heavy side these days but not out of the question. Especially if you have a big OTT move more weight can help with that.
 
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I don't think I would go back to that guy if you paid me. It didn't sound like he was to open to listening to what you where saying.
 
I don't think I would go back to that guy if you paid me. It didn't sound like he was to open to listening to what you where saying.

I agree. Because even if it's the 99% case that he could be right, not having an open mind to try something is disqualifying to me. I mean, what better way to show someone something isn't the best fit than breaking down the numbers after a change?
 
I think if one visits 3 different "fitters" he will receive three different club spec recommendations.
 
Go see the guy you liked who is a top 100 fitter. If someone annoys me and wants to compare me to a +1 handicap I’m not giving him my money.
 
As a fitter and builder myself, don't trust the second guy. If I'm going into a fitting and bragging about myself or my other customers I'm not paying enough attention to you.

I could care less if you swing it 70 mph or 170 mph. If an x stiff feels and performs better than that a chart says, I'm going with it. Everyone loads the shaft differently and we have to match the shaft to the swing. Yes there are baselines and charts we can use but they're just that, baselines.

If the chart says you need 1/2" shorter than standard but you can't hit the broad side of a barn and you go and try 1/2" longer than standard and strike everything dead center of the face, which one would you rather use?

Sorry for going on the rant but as someone who works at golf galaxy which isnt particularly known for their fitting and expertise, it really gets me mad when I hear out people like that considering all the time and effort I put in for my customers.

Long story short, find someone who you trust and actually cares about you. Not someone who will brag about their handicap.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
As a fitter and builder myself, don't trust the second guy. If I'm going into a fitting and bragging about myself or my other customers I'm not paying enough attention to you.

I could care less if you swing it 70 mph or 170 mph. If an x stiff feels and performs better than that a chart says, I'm going with it. Everyone loads the shaft differently and we have to match the shaft to the swing. Yes there are baselines and charts we can use but they're just that, baselines.

If the chart says you need 1/2" shorter than standard but you can't hit the broad side of a barn and you go and try 1/2" longer than standard and strike everything dead center of the face, which one would you rather use?

Sorry for going on the rant but as someone who works at golf galaxy which isnt particularly known for their fitting and expertise, it really gets me mad when I hear out people like that considering all the time and effort I put in for my customers.

Long story short, find someone who you trust and actually cares about you. Not someone who will brag about their handicap.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Man I wish I lived closer to you, I’d come to you in a heartbeat. Some very good points you brought up. The 2nd fitter just had way too much ego and was so stubborn.
 
I don't think I would go back to that guy if you paid me. It didn't sound like he was to open to listening to what you where saying.

I was with my brother and my friend and they said the exact same thing in the parking lot. He was an older guy that just seemed way too stuck on his way and not open to listening to anything else. Honestly if I was the store manager/owner I’d be prettt upset at the guy. Luckily for the fitter he doesn’t work off commission or he’d be broke! I’m just happy I didn’t pay a dime for that huge waste of time. But, I always take every good or bad opportunity as a learning lesson and I still learned a lot about what not to do.

Thanks for the input everyone. I really enjoy listening to everyone on here and have so much respect for THP I knew this was the right place to turn to!
 
I actually had a good little chuckle to myself this morning thinking about how stuck the guy was on me needing 140+ mph ball speed in order to hit a stiff flex!
 
I actually had a good little chuckle to myself this morning thinking about how stuck the guy was on me needing 140+ mph ball speed in order to hit a stiff flex!

Yeah, while that's a good rule of thumb, there are definitely slower swinging folks who fit into a stiffer flex. And like I said earlier, it's very easy for someone to show you why what they think is a better fit works by having you hit both. At the same time, if you're < 140 ball speed, I wouldn't trust the TM fitting at all either. 250 carry is physically impossible at that ball speed.
 
Yeah, while that's a good rule of thumb, there are definitely slower swinging folks who fit into a stiffer flex. And like I said earlier, it's very easy for someone to show you why what they think is a better fit works by having you hit both. At the same time, if you're < 140 ball speed, I wouldn't trust the TM fitting at all either. 250 carry is physically impossible at that ball speed.

Hmm interesting. Thanks for your input. I was hitting the ball a tad bit under 130mph so I wasn’t too off. I feel like I could hit the ball a lot better though if I had a chance to warm up or even stretch. I didn’t mention this earlier but my back was hurting a little while doing the second fitting. I think that going at it without warming up or stretching maybe had an effect. The results were just so polar opposite
 
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