Have a look on the ping website and see if they have any demo days in your area coming up.
Rubbish, all they want to do is sell you something so they can make commission on the sale, i have complained about this in particular there was one member of staff in swansea. It was like being in a market in turkey
Obviously AG stores and staff vary in their knowledge, willingness to help and affability, but they are all operating under the same pressures and incentives . They want to sell you something and as chance would have it, that will often be the items with this months staff incentives attached. We also know that they tend to mess around with the launch monitor in order to enhance the results to make a sale.
I would go to a pro with fitting facilities. If you are prepared to go down to Basingstoke, Jason at Golf Principles is excellent and will fit you for any brand. If you don't want to go that far, Jonny Draycott at Drayton Golf Range near Didcot is a great guy and has trackman and other fitting tech.
I had no issues at all with my local AG and being fitted for my ping irons. I went in with an idea of what I liked the look of and tried a few options before deciding on the i20's. we then went through quiet a thorough testing of lengths/lies to figure out what my fitting was, all the time trying different head/shafts to get the optimal fit. Checked grip sizing too. Then all was sent off to Ping for them to make and got a price match with the lowest price I could find on the Internet.
If you don't want to go that far, Jonny Draycott at Drayton Golf Range near Didcot is a great guy and has trackman and other fitting tech.
Ta all, opted for Tony Valantine in Swindon today, never pushy in anyway, and once even advised me not to buy a putter until I sorted the odd thing out stoke wise,
allegedly......... as a moderator I'd be wary of such statements without evidence, or can you present it?