Brand Custom Fitting Days

[SurreyGolfer]

Hi,

There's a Taylor Made custom fitting day at my local course at the end of the month and, having never been to one before, I can't tell if this would genuinely be useful for a beginner like myself......or if it's a thinly veiled marketing/sales day. Anyone able to talk from experience? Specifically:

- Are there typically good discounts on these events?
- I'm a beginner so very inconsistent......therefore my assumption is I could be fit into clubs that won't suit me in 2, 3, 6 months time as I 'find' my swing and get better?
- Clearly they're there to sell clubs, but how pushy are they typically?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Orikoru]

I doubt you get much in the way of discounts as they are there to sell you the 'latest and greatest' gear. I also don't believe there is much merit in a beginner getting custom fit or spending big on brand new clubs even - as you say, you probably won't see much benefit and your swing will still be changing over time anyway. Better to get a solid second-hand set that's 4 or 5 years old and use them for the first year or two.

 

[Bratty]

Ones I've been to have never had a hard sell, but have never had discounts.
They might help if your current clubs are the thing that is making you inconsistent. So much these days about shaft, weight, grip, etc. not just the head.
I'd say you'd be in the minority of golfers who improve so dramatically that irons don't suit after 6 months.
Go for it! You don't have to buy anything and it is always nice to hit new shiny things.

 

[Bratty]

I doubt you get much in the way of discounts as they are there to sell you the 'latest and greatest' gear. I also don't believe there is much merit in a beginner getting custom fit or spending big on brand new clubs even - as you say, you probably won't see much benefit and your swing will still be changing over time anyway. Better to get a solid second-hand set that's 4 or 5 years old and use them for the first year or two.

Good advice too. Although... second hand apart from the wedges, which you might be better getting new. When I went for a wedge fitting, my old wedges had as much spin as a 4 iron! ?

 

[JamesR]

The fitters are usually really personable guys who travel the country doing these fitting days.
You choose what part of the bag you want to try, and they give you options based on discussion about your game and seeing you hit balls with your own club.
They tend to have a vast array of heads and shafts, and should just look to find the best option for your game.
Be honest and they should be able to find improvements.
They then email the fitting details to the club pro, who then can give you a price if you're looking to buy. Or you don;t need to if you don;t want to.
The fitters are just that, fitters, not salesmen.

Enjoy the experience of hitting different equipment and seeing your numbers on trackman. They may even spot things which are going array in your swing.

 

[Sats]

Hi,

There's a Taylor Made custom fitting day at my local course at the end of the month and, having never been to one before, I can't tell if this would genuinely be useful for a beginner like myself......or if it's a thinly veiled marketing/sales day. Anyone able to talk from experience? Specifically:

- Are there typically good discounts on these events?
- I'm a beginner so very inconsistent......therefore my assumption is I could be fit into clubs that won't suit me in 2, 3, 6 months time as I 'find' my swing and get better?
- Clearly they're there to sell clubs, but how pushy are they typically?

Thanks in advance!

I got fitted for my irons at a TM fitting day. Spent an hour with the rep and went through the process. I didn't feel like I was being pushed into buying anything and at the end of it the specs were given to my pro shop and I ordered through them. Don't expect a discount as it'll be paid via your club shop so unless they are running a deal it won't happen.

 

[sweaty sock]

No discounts

Totally worth getting fitted, Id say even more as a beginner as you wont have the skill to adapt your technique to account for equipment inefficiency like better players can

They wont care a hoot if you buy on the day. And although they wont hard sell, they will have bags and bags of mouthwatering gear you will somehow be compelled to touch, so dont expect to leave with nothing either!!

Its normally fun, informative and friendly.

 

[Ethan]

You can go to these to get some advice without any obligation to buy. American Golf, though, definitely wants you to buy. There may be exceptions in the AG world, but as a general rule I do not consider them to be proper fitters, they are retailers and want to sell you the best margin/special promotion stuff. Better to go to a proper pro shop, range or specialist fitter.

I also agree you should not be getting your wallet out just yet. It may be useful, though, to go, try some stuff, get some measurements from a launch monitor and keep those (photo on your phone will do) for future reference. Even though your swing will change, some of the elements may already be evident and some data now may be interesting to compare to in 6 months time.

 

[Orikoru]

I also agree you should not be getting your wallet out just yet. It may be useful, though, to go, try some stuff, get some measurements from a launch monitor and keep those (photo on your phone will do) for future reference. Even though your swing will change, some of the elements may already be evident and some data now may be interesting to compare to in 6 months time.

Agree with this as well! While I did say there's no benefit to buying expensive custom fit clubs as a beginner, it's still a lot of fit to do a free fitting session, and you can make a note of the numbers for future reference.

 

[Foxholer]

Definitely worth doing to find out the sort of clubs the (don't) work for you. The amount of 'real' individual custom fit (shafts, lengths, loft/lie etc)is often fairly limited too as that can be quite time-consuming.
Don't expect any discounts - it's more a 'seeding' exercise - pushing the brand - imo.

 

[jim8flog]

NO discounts but I did manage to get some balls thrown in by Mizuno.

With my recent Ping fitting it was get the fitter to recommend a set up and then buy the club of the shelf from the proshop.


With some pros it may cost extra for the session some will take it off the price if you buy.

The ones with the manufacturer's pro are the ones to go for really but it nay commit you to one manufacturer and only their products.

 

[Britishshooting]

Have a lot of fitting days at my club and I’m not sure if it’s how the pro arranges it but never a hard sell.

It’s typically launch monitor job, hit balls with your clubs and theirs. Review the numbers. They’ll do a bit of tweaking for a quick optimised fit. Delve a bit deeper if your keen to and then provide you with details should you wish to place an order of the spec that best suits.

I went to a Taylormade day with my Mavrik Sub Zero Triple Diamond which I spent days getting fit into. They couldn’t get close to the numbers with the Sim 2 with the available shaft offerings so said I’m better off as I am.

It’s often the same with Callaway, Taylormade and Titleist fittings I’ve been to. I think the pro tells them you’ll order through him so it pushes away the sell aspect