American Golf: Should they offer refund?

[Deleted member 21258]

A very generous offer by AG, in my eyes.

 

[Fabia999]

Lucky you didn't use Sports Direct. I have a £100 pair of Skechers that after 7 months, several spikes have broken off, one of the Boa things has a plastic insert that falls out, the material on the toe of one of them has torn. Unfortunately my wife got them from Sports Direct who said the damage isn't covered and told me to jog on.

Exactly the same problem for me. So annoying after spending so much money.

 

[Springveldt]

After 40 rounds and 8ish months, you're getting a good deal. A few years back I did a brief 18 months in golf retail, the number of chancers, and folks with ridiculous expectations would fear you. One woman took her son's (well worn) adidas shoes back as the lining had started to go at the heel. Yes, they're shoes, you're doing 5 miles + every time you're out, of course they will wear.

I must be a chancer then as I did the exact same thing with my Adidas Tour 360's as well. Had them 3 months and the lining was going and they were cutting into my heals. The manager said "no problem, it's a well known issue with these shoes, have another. When the lining goes on those ones bring them back and exchange for a different pair" as I said I wanted a replacement pair since they where the comfiest golf shoe I had ever worn.

He was right, exact same thing happened again within 3 months again. Exchanged them for a Footjoy pair with the boa thing that started letting in water on the upper/tongue area after about 4 months. I just binned them and got a pair of Nike Vapor instead which ended up being good shoes.

I've got Adidas Tour 360's again now but they have changed the design and the heal liner is now leather instead of fabric. Still the most comfy golf shoe I've worn.

@ClicketyClick I think AG are doing fine by you. You can't seriously expect to get your money back after wearing them for 40 rounds? A replacement pair is fair enough imho.

 

[Pants]

After 40 rounds = approx 240 miles, I'd expect a bit of wear

I'd say that AM did the right thing here offering you another pair of shoes free. Full refund after that mileage - no way. I suppose they could have given a refund, less wear and tear of course- say £20 or so as a goodwill gesture.

6 months of use, 40 odd rounds, and a brand new pair of shoes? You should bite their hand off (so to speak).

 

[Smiffy]

I don't think he's coming back
???

 

[Jensen]

Lucky you didn't use Sports Direct. I have a £100 pair of Skechers that after 7 months, several spikes have broken off, one of the Boa things has a plastic insert that falls out, the material on the toe of one of them has torn. Unfortunately my wife got them from Sports Direct who said the damage isn't covered and told me to jog on.

Before I bought a pair of Adidas BOA’s I checked what would happen if it broke, as it’s not exactly laces after all. It turns out that the BOA is covered separately by the BOA manufacturer.
I never had an issue, but you could check

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I don't think he's coming back
???

Cynic

 

[ClicketyClick]

Just on the top one though, do you think it's unreasonable to expect a pair of shoes to last a year? Golf shoes used to be hard-wearing, whereas nowadays it seems the majority are not. If you were buying a cheap 30-40 quid pair then fair enough, probably 6 months is good going. But shoes approaching £100 not lasting a year is extremely poor in my opinion.

Thanks for the replies folks, and this is where I'm at. If they'd had something that I liked in my size - and around the same price that they could've offered me - then great, but they didn't. I think it seems to be a drop in durability right across the board these days - I still buy the same Adidas tennis shoes that I've bought for donkey's years, and as nice as they are out the box brand new, they are nowhere near as durable as they were 15 years ago. Big firms cutting costs on labour & materials... the old adage "they don't make them like they used to" fits well in this instance. Someone on the thread said something about 40x 6 miles = 240 miles, I play a short flat course which is only just over 5.5k yards and it's flat, so you can practically chop the 240-mile estimate in half! I just honestly can't believe that so many people seem to think an £80 shoe from a supposedly reputable brand, used for under 40 rounds and literally falling to bits, is acceptable!

 

[Jensen]

Pay more next time and go for Ecco. That’s all I buy and their durability is second to none. They may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

 

[ClicketyClick]

Pay more next time and go for Ecco. That’s all I buy and their durability is second to none. They may be more expensive, but you get what you pay for.

'tis often true. I did actually look online at a pair, and they do look to be very well built. Ecco Golf Biom G3, very stylish too.

Now I don't want to clog up the board with a "golf shoe reccomendations thread", so I'll ask here: People's thoughts on Skechers? I've now seen a pair on AG's website that I think I'll take in the meantime. They come in at £90 so I'd only have to pay AG a tenner more. Golf Monthly review

 

[Robster59]

'tis often true. I did actually look online at a pair, and they do look to be very well built. Ecco Golf Biom G3, very stylish too.

Now I don't want to clog up the board with a "golf shoe reccomendations thread", so I'll ask here: People's thoughts on Skechers? I've now seen a pair on AG's website that I think I'll take in the meantime. They come in at £90 so I'd only have to pay AG a tenner more. Golf Monthly review

I'd say yes. I wear Skechers and have even stood in running water in mine and they've stayed dry. For me they're comfortable and durable.

 

[PJ87]

I'd just chuck them out after 40 rounds. AG have done well here.

I was changing someone's studs for him at a society event.

One of the guys said by time he needs new studs he just changes the shoe lol

I have like 6 pairs I think , some wear more than others but good rotation means they last well

 

[Pants]

I play a short flat course which is only just over 5.5k yards and it's flat, so you can practically chop the 240-mile estimate in half!

One of the biggest myths in golf. Oh! My course is 5500 yds long so I only walk about 3.2 miles a round.

Think about it or, even better, use a gps tracker. You would be very, very surprised as to how far you actually walk in a round.

 

[Foxholer]

Pair of shoes bought last autumn at local American Golf, lucky to have seen 40 rounds. Now showing very bad signs of wear: Interior lining ripped under left foot toe-end, heel padding/lining worn down & slightly ripped on both shoes, very small chunk of midsole on right shoe has literally disintegrated, the small studs ('spikeless' model shoe) have worn so badly that they might as well not be there... and the worst part is that they're letting in a little water on the left shoe despite the 12 month waterproof guarantee. £80 Under Armour shoe.

Manager of store: Happy to exchange, blah blah blah. Having looked in-store and online, there isn't anything I fancy as a replacement, they've barely anything decent that's both in my size and fits budget. But when asked about a refund... "We're taking care of you, we're offering a replacement, we're looking after you etc". A friend has recently sent a pair of shoes (not same brand) back to clubhouse golf and was offered either a credit note or refund. What is it about American Golf and refunds?! The immediate offer of exchange (manager barely looked at the shoes), to me, indicates that AG acknowledge the fact that the goods are sub-standard and have not lived up to the manufacturer's warranty. Where here might the Consumer Rights Act and/or Statutory Rights come in to play, as I feel I've been treated poorly... I took the shoes away back with me and told the manager I'd have to think about it. Thoughts?

AG are treating very fairly imo. A Credit Note would be equally fair imo. If they haven't 'lived up to manufacturer's warranty', that's a different situation altogether - in which case you should push for that, but that's not an AG issue/problem.

 

[Bazzatron]

I was changing someone's studs for him at a society event.

One of the guys said by time he needs new studs he just changes the shoe lol

I have like 6 pairs I think , some wear more than others but good rotation means they last well

Think I must be at 6 as well, some look like new. Different pair every round and they last forever.

Appreciate not everyone can have more than one but think 40 rounds is about right surely. Walking 4 miles, I'd be changing my running shoes around that mark.

 

[PJ87]

Think I must be at 6 as well, some look like new. Different pair every round and they last forever.

Appreciate not everyone can have more than one but think 40 rounds is about right surely. Walking 4 miles, I'd be changing my running shoes around that mark.

Some do last better than others though that's for sure

I've got a pair of footjoy contours from ages ago that don't seem to have aged a day

 

[Sats]

Gonna echo the majority we're in spring and 40 ish rounds, I'd be taking the exchange all day long.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Did the OP rake the offer up?

 

[Bratty]

Sketchers are fantastic shoes.

 

[ClicketyClick]

One of the biggest myths in golf. Oh! My course is 5500 yds long so I only walk about 3.2 miles a round.

Think about it or, even better, use a gps tracker. You would be very, very surprised as to how far you actually walk in a round.

I have - and you've a good point to be fair! Add in the green-to-tee walks (admittedly short at my course), ball searching for both my own and playing partners' balls, cross-fairway trekking for wayward tee shots (occasionally ) and it does all add up!