AG Tour Truck

[Matty]

American Golf have now got a Tour Truck and it is going around a few stores offering custom fitting sessions.

http://www.americangolf.co.uk/Demo-Days/ag_customservices_demodays,en_GB,pg.html

Now, I am a little skeptical about AG in general and I do wonder about this service - are they going to have lots of shaft option for each manufacturer or are they going to show the launch stats for stock shafts in different clubs?

So, given that I've book myself in for next Saturday and that I've never been for custom fitting before (I'm looking at getting a newer driver) can fellow forumers give me an idea of what I should expect from the 30 minute session?

 

[Matty]

I know it's bad form to respond to your own threads but since I got no replies I thought I'd posts again with some information about how it went.

I got there nice and early to find the person booked in before me had cancelled. I had taken my golf shoes and current driver with me to get a comparison with the newer clubs. I had a good chat with one of the AG employees about my game and what I was hoping to get from a new driver - more accuracy and if possible a little more distance. The Tour Truck events are sponsored by Titleist so there was a chap there from Titleist too who'd brought loads of gear.

Then it was into the net where I had a nice warm up with a 7 iron to get loose and then hit about 5 shots with my driver to get an idea of how the ball is coming of my driver right now. Then I tried the drivers I'd picked out in my price range with a couple of extras as suggested by the AG staff. (Nike Covert, TM RBZ Stage 2, Callaway X-Hot and a Titleist D3 - as provided by the sponsor of the event)

The TM club seeming didn't suit me at all. The shaft felt whippy and distance suffered on the flight scope. The other 3 clubs were all showing about 10 yards further in distance overall but the Nike was about 20 yards less carry with 40 yards of roll so the fitter advised I discount that one as roll out can be unpredictable. That left the Callaway and Titleist.

At this point the fitter checked my palm size and grip strength to make sure that the standard grip was right for me (I wear a small glove but had relatively long fingers so it was worth checking), he was happy that I don't need extra tape layers. He also reassure me that at my club head speed which was between 80-90mph a regular shaft is quite sufficient.

So, decision time. The Titleist club was about £100 more to buy and as the Callaway also came with a free hybrid club worth £130 it wasn't a hard decision. I now have a Callaway X-Hot driver and 3 hybrid in the bag!

The only odd thing was despite my occasional slice the fitting data based on a few hot suggested I might need an open face setting to correct for my slightly heel biased strikes. Having taken the club to the course and hit 4 drives 1 fade, 1 straight and 2 slices, I've put the face back to square to give this a try next time out.

Given that this was my first time at being fitted I was quite impressed with the cleverness of the fitting process - it certainly helps you to discount clubs that don't help you game very quickly. I'll see over the next few months if the club I've bought delivers what it was supposed to based on the fitting data!

 

[Junior]

Glad you enjoyed the session. I think that AG get some bad press on here sometimes, but I think these events are great for just going down and trying lots of kit with no obligation to buy.

 

[pbrown7582]

Glad you had a productive session and it worked out nicely. No brainer of a deal a driver and hybrid for less than a driver.
Enjoy the new shineys and hope those distance gains work well.

One question with the AG truck do they have decent choice of shafts or just the stock reg/stiff?

 

[Ethan]

I got there nice and early to find the person booked in before me had cancelled. I had taken my golf shoes and current driver with me to get a comparison with the newer clubs. I had a good chat with one of the AG employees about my game and what I was hoping to get from a new driver - more accuracy and if possible a little more distance. The Tour Truck events are sponsored by Titleist so there was a chap there from Titleist too who'd brought loads of gear.

Then it was into the net where I had a nice warm up with a 7 iron to get loose and then hit about 5 shots with my driver to get an idea of how the ball is coming of my driver right now. Then I tried the drivers I'd picked out in my price range with a couple of extras as suggested by the AG staff. (Nike Covert, TM RBZ Stage 2, Callaway X-Hot and a Titleist D3 - as provided by the sponsor of the event)

The TM club seeming didn't suit me at all. The shaft felt whippy and distance suffered on the flight scope.
At this point the fitter checked my palm size and grip strength to make sure that the standard grip was right for me (I wear a small glove but had relatively long fingers so it was worth checking), he was happy that I don't need extra tape layers. He also reassure me that at my club head speed which was between 80-90mph a regular shaft is quite sufficient.

So, decision time. The Titleist club was about £100 more to buy and as the Callaway also came with a free hybrid club worth £130 it wasn't a hard decision. I now have a Callaway X-Hot driver and 3 hybrid in the bag!

The only odd thing was despite my occasional slice the fitting data based on a few hot suggested I might need an open face setting to correct for my slightly heel biased strikes. Having taken the club to the course and hit 4 drives 1 fade, 1 straight and 2 slices, I've put the face back to square to give this a try next time out.

Given that this was my first time at being fitted I was quite impressed with the cleverness of the fitting process - it certainly helps you to discount clubs that don't help you game very quickly. I'll see over the next few months if the club I've bought delivers what it was supposed to based on the fitting data!

Some interesting if odd comments.

Did they only have 1 TM shaft?

80 to 90 mph is a regular?

The X Hot and 913D3 are rather different beasts which don't seem suited for direct comparison.

Heel strikes are not cured by open (or closed) faces. Shorter shaft, perhaps.

I remain rather dubious that this not simply an upgraded selling tactic with questionable advice dressed up in better clothes to flatter with the word Tour. It is not even slightly close to a Tour van fitting

 

[Matty]

Glad you had a productive session and it worked out nicely. No brainer of a deal a driver and hybrid for less than a driver.
Enjoy the new shineys and hope those distance gains work well.

One question with the AG truck do they have decent choice of shafts or just the stock reg/stiff?

The Titlesit clubs did have a whole selection of shafts and grips so I was told - I didn't see them as I was told I was right for the regular stock shaft in the Callaway. That said there was a 7.5 tonne truck parked outside so it could well have been chock full of stuff.

I guess I could have tried numerous shafts in all the clubs but then I'd probably still be there now hitting the same clubs over and over with slightly different shafts.

Based on the pure numbers the Callaway and Titleist clubs both gave me about 11 yards more carry with projected carry and roll out for both at 198 yards (I guess that about 350 forum yards).

As I said above the fitting process is based on the numbers produced on the day and ultimately the equipment is designed to sell golf clubs. Why AG get a bad reputation for doing this while club makers get a big thumbs up I really don't know. Perhaps, one day if I ever travel a good distance in order to be fit by maker direct (maybe one day I'll get picked for such a thing by GM if I bother to enter) then I'll be able to make a comparison.

Overall, I'd say I was quite impressed but certainly not blown away.

 

[Ethan]

The Titlesit clubs did have a whole selection of shafts and grips so I was told - I didn't see them as I was told I was right for the regular stock shaft in the Callaway. That said there was a 7.5 tonne truck parked outside so it could well have been chock full of stuff.

I guess I could have tried numerous shafts in all the clubs but then I'd probably still be there now hitting the same clubs over and over with slightly different shafts.


As I said above the fitting process is based on the numbers produced on the day and ultimately the equipment is designed to sell golf clubs. Why AG get a bad reputation for doing this while club makers get a big thumbs up I really don't know. Perhaps, one day if I ever travel a good distance in order to be fit by maker direct (maybe one day I'll get picked for such a thing by GM if I bother to enter) then I'll be able to make a comparison.

Overall, I'd say I was quite impressed but certainly not blown away.

You don't have to go to a national fitting centre to try a range of shafts. How did he know there wasn't a better set up among the range of other Titleist shafts, lofts or the D2? Because he had you pegged for a Cally as soon as he saw you.

A decent fitter would not have you hitting 'the same clubs over and over with slightly different shafts', as you put it, but would use their skills and expertise to find a head/shaft/orientation combo with optimised your performance. I rather doubt you got this, except by sheer dumb luck. I further bet that there was a sales incentive on the Callaways.

This should serve as further warning that AG is not a good place to get fitted. Fitted up, perhaps.

 

[groundskeeperwilly]

I have went twice to AG looking for a driver. Both times they were happy to get me on the tracker. Both times I had picked out a few drivers that I liked, were in the correct price range etc etc. Both times they steered me away from the ones I picked and offered me something that I hadn't thought of and wash;t overly keen on. Both times they really pushed this brand even though the tracker didn't show much if any difference in performance to the others I had tried.

OP-that is not to say that the X Hot isn't the correct club for you. They are really highly rated and quite a few people find improvement with them but just wanted to share me experiences of AG.

 

[elmoag]

Hi Matty
I work for ag and work closely with the tour truck fitting teams
interesting to read your thoughts on your appointment with our tour truck team.
This is an exciting new part of our business after we which is proving to be really popular as they tour round the country.
We are adding new aspects to these days all the time and our range of available shafts and fitting carts from various brands is constantly growing but as you say often we have some of the major brands present to advise alongside our fitting staff.
I will pass your experience on to our tour truck guys who are constantly trying to enhance the level of advice and experience we can provide.
In terms of your purchase give them a few rounds if you have any concerns whatsoever with the performance either let me know via here or pop back into the store we employ pga pros in all our stores who are delighted to help.
In the meantime happy golfing and thank you very much for your custom.