A positive AG fitting story, Moor Lane Lincoln (resulting in a new shiney)

Curls

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Plenty of conflicting opinions on AG on here and I think from what I've read the take home is "not all AG's are the same, some are pants, some are very good". I'd like to nominate the Moor Lane Lincoln AG store (as opposed to the Valentine centre one, of which I have no experience) for the very good category.

Firstly I think the set up and product range are both pretty good. A well-flood-lit driving range, decent srixon balls and a Flightscope launch monitor that okay, may not be as accurate as what the Tour guys use but it's certainly accurate enough for my standard. About that, the whole night I didn't really miss the middle of the club by much. I was told I have a very consistent repeatable swing, which is what you need to get the most out of the fitting. I wouldn't say I'm the fastest swinger in town (matron) but contact is usually good, I'm probably at the limit of what I can achieve for my body size (5 foot 8 and less than 10 stone at a guess).

The fitting itself was great, I had plenty of time to warm up and when we got started we were well over an hour for the half hour free slot they advertise. Fitting was done by Chris, who as far as I could tell knew his stuff and also helped me out by identifying something I was doing poorly (which I knew was a flaw but didn't realise had crept back in - the value of having someone watch your swing!). Can't say enough about the guy, really good bloke and I'd happily go back to him if I had the cash monies for irons!

In the end I said goodbye to my forum-bought Titleist 915. When I got it 2 years ago it was a revelation, I gained real distance over my Ping G15 (the only other driver I've owned). I put that down to the Reg shaft in the Ping not being as stable/stiff (or maybe just suitable) as the Reg Diamana shaft in my 915. The numbers for that were

Carry average (5 drives):207, rolling out to 215. My best was 215-230 and I went after that one (as much as I can) and nailed it, don't think there's a longer swing in that club. Swing speed 95mph, ball speed 135mph. Smash factor 1.41. Spin was around 3600rpm.


That's pretty much spot on with what I'd look at carrying on a course, any hazard at 210 carry and I'll lay up unless there's a fair wind. My bad shot is a high, right weak one that comes from getting into to too much, I feel like I lose the clubhead and even if the strike is good it's off to the right hand side of the course (not like a slice, more of a push with a helping fade at the end to really ruin your day). Now you could say a more controlled swing is good, but its a tough tempo to repeat, especially on the course, with a wind, and a carry, and someone watching, and what's that noise SMASH IT.

During the fitting I never knew what driver I was hitting, Chris was handing them to me and changing the shaft in another and handing that to me. I hit at least 5 with each and then 10 with the one we thought was working best. Titleist TS3 with a stiff, light Tensei. The ball had a visibly more penetrating flight in comparison to my usual flight. Okay, so these numbers are as much down to switching from a regular shaft to a stiff one, but keep in mind I tried about a half dozen stiff shafts that were either too heavy ,too boardy, didn't kick right, pulled everything left, etc etc. I could have bought 10 stiff shaft drivers off ebay and not got on with any of them.

Carry average (for 10 drives): 225. Total 240. Ball speed 145mph. Smash factor 1.45. Spin 2600. Best 257.

Made up is not the term. And yeah, it's a crazy amount of money, in fact I'd say it's almost more than I've paid for the rest of my bag combined being a confirmed eBay/bargain-holic. But the lads chipped in for my 40th this summer and got me a £400 voucher, and while I could have spent it on lots of little things I thought it'd be nice to tell them I'd just got that 1 special thing. Which it is. And I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL IT GETS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So tip of the cap to Chris and the AG set up. There was absolutely no pressure whatsoever to buy, in fact I had a quick go off some irons at the end (which he Scoped) and my dispersion narrowed to nothing by switching to stiff shafts there too. I never even considered the new Mizuno Tour (I'd tried the Forged and didn't like them) but these were weapons. Fair play to him though, he said if I put those shafts in my Mizzys I'd get a very good result for a lot less money.

Get's my vote. Just wish I'd done it earlier in the season!
 

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GOLFER1994

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Good to hear a positive experience for once ! Looks like a really nice little set up there as well. Hopefully it carries on performing like that on the course (y)
 

Parsaregood

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Do you work for AG ? Don't do subliminal marketing, AG are bad for golf in general they have helped destroy the value of the traditional pro shop, becoming a pga pro is not as attractive now as it was 25 years ago simply because the margins are soo tight and quite simply AG have played a large role in this
 
D

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Do you work for AG ? Don't do subliminal marketing, AG are bad for golf in general they have helped destroy the value of the traditional pro shop, becoming a pga pro is not as attractive now as it was 25 years ago simply because the margins are soo tight and quite simply AG have played a large role in this

Sorry but that’s complete nonsense

What about the guys who are nomads and don’t play at golf clubs or clubs that don’t have pro shops - where do you expect those golfers to purchase there stuff from

Online golf shops will have made more of an issue to the retail shops including AG themselves

To suggest they are bad for golf is complete dribble.

There are no doubt 1000’s of golfers around the uk that play golf but can’t afford pro shop prices or memberships but use AG to get stuff and play on pay and play courses

A PGA Pros Main source should be his teaching
 

Parsaregood

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Any person can walk in off the street and buy out a pro shop, I'm a member of 2 clubs but have used other pro shops in the past where I'm not a member. If a par pro runs a shop, THAT IS his main source of income. Teaching will top it up nicely, a club pro does an awful lot more than your typical driving range par pro who books people in and true to get them in and out the door as fast as possible, driving range pros are vultures, trust me I know a lot of them
 
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Any person can walk in off the street and buy out a pro shop, I'm a member of 2 clubs but have used other pro shops in the past where I'm not a member. If a par pro runs a shop, THAT IS his main source of income. Teaching will top it up nicely, a club pro does an awful lot more than your typical driving range par pro who books people in and true to get them in and out the door as fast as possible, driving range pros are vultures, trust me I know a lot of them

Why would they go into the pro shop when they are not a member and pay the prices which are normally more expensive than online retailers ?

Not sure where driving range pros came from ?!
 

Parsaregood

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Well they would be pros where teaching is there primary source of income, most club pros will match prices or do a deal if you talk to them, why feed AG when there's absolutely no need. I guarantee you if you phone a couple of pro shops they would match AG price no problem
 
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Well they would be pros where teaching is there primary source of income, most club pros will match prices or do a deal if you talk to them, why feed AG when there's absolutely no need. I guarantee you if you phone a couple of pro shops they would match AG price no problem

But the Pro Shops don’t stock the same level of equipment and clothing as a retail store does.
There is a clear place for AG in golf - there maybe too many stores and need slimming down.

I guess you have the same issue with the online retailers and places like Clubhouse and Snainton
 

Parsaregood

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A club pro can order in any brand you like and they will probably match prices if you say such and such does it for this. Also your average club pro is much more informed on club building, fitting and club design and will give you a better service than any high street or online golf retailer
 
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A club pro can order in any brand you like and they will probably match prices if you say such and such does it for this. Also your average club pro is much more informed on club building, fitting and club design and will give you a better service than any high street or online golf retailer

But how do you know you will like that brand ? How do you know the brand will suit you ? How do you know you can hit them ? A pro isn’t going to order in irons and drivers unless they are bought
 

Parsaregood

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They can get demos no problem, most club pros will deduct the fitting price if you buy. Clothing wise most stock a good range but I'm sure you can tell if you like a style from a brands range online or whatever, if it's the wrong size they will return it. It's a shame people don't value a club pro when the reality is they offer an awful lot more than these high street places who want to shift stock and make a quick buck. Good riddance is my view personally
 

Parsaregood

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Also how do you know you can hit a set of irons or that they are any good after hitting off a matt for 10 minutes, how many times do your hit off of a flat lie off artificial grass when you play....that would zero times
 
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They can get demos no problem, most club pros will deduct the fitting price if you buy. Clothing wise most stock a good range but I'm sure you can tell if you like a style from a brands range online or whatever, if it's the wrong size they will return it. It's a shame people don't value a club pro when the reality is they offer an awful lot more than these high street places who want to shift stock and make a quick buck. Good riddance is my view personally
We have a superb Pro who will price match anything he and American Golf have in common, unfortunately he is the first to admit he can’t compete with their range of brands, you’re wrong about them getting demos of brands they don’t carry.
Some brands will only provide demos if the Pro can guarantee sales.

Imo, both the local Pro and a high street Golf shop have a place in the market.
 

Parsaregood

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We have a superb Pro who will price match anything he and American Golf have in common, unfortunately he is the first to admit he can’t compete with their range of brands, you’re wrong about them getting demos of brands they don’t carry.
Some brands will only provide demos if the Pro can guarantee sales.

Imo, both the local Pro and a high street Golf shop both have a place in the market.
I know pros who can get demos off of brands they don't stock, also they will know another pro who do stock that particular brand
 
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I know pros who can get demos off of brands they don't stock, also they will know another pro who do stock that particular brand
But you’re putting a lot of work onto the pro in the hope of a sale, plus he will end up buying it off the Pro he borrowed it from and not at the discounted price.
 

User 99

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I took my new TS2 to the course today as I just got it yesterday. Two lost balls in the first 3 drives had me wondering about my expensive purchase but after that it was bombing, like everything felt out the screws.
 

Parsaregood

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If you can take advantage of the double trade in go for it, i know a guy who couldn't sell a set of irons for 300 decided he'd ask AG how much they would offer. We will give you 425 sir, okay I'll give you £4 and I'll take that m3 driver there. The more transactions they do like this the faster they will go down
 

Parsaregood

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But you’re putting a lot of work onto the pro in the hope of a sale, plus he will end up buying it off the Pro he borrowed it from and not at the discounted price.
Not really he would probably say, such and such down the road stocks them go and see him. I'm sure after that the other pro would send business his way if he doesn't stock something
 
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Not really he would probably say, such and such down the road stocks them go and see him. I'm sure after that the other pro would send business his way if he doesn't stock something
No sorry, I have to disagree, we’re surrounded by Golf courses up here and for every decent Pro there is also a few rubbish ones who carry next to no stock and sit comfortably on a decent retainer.
Also why go and do extra trips when you can go to AG try the clubs then go and see if your pro can price match, if my Pro doesn’t carry the stock AG get my business, why should I be showing a Pro down the road more loyalty than AG
 

Parsaregood

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No sorry, I have to disagree, we’re surrounded by Golf courses up here and for every decent Pro there is also a few rubbish ones who carry next to no stock and sit comfortably on a decent retainer.
Also why go and do extra trips when you can go to AG try the clubs then go and see if your pro can price match, if my Pro doesn’t carry the stock AG get my business, why should I be showing a Pro down the road more loyalty than AG
If your pro has recommended them, I'd definitely go and see them especially for a club as they will fit you usually with a lot more knowledge than the guys at American golf or other equivalent store
 
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