Club fitting advice

[Lilfish]

Hi, new member so please bear with me. I'm looking at getting fitted for some new irons, as I'm currently using Cleveland CG Reds I've had for a while bought off the shelf. I'm also looking at getting my driver checked over too, as this was also off the peg, stock shaft etc, It was a replacement to one which cracked. The driver is the new Adams XTD, so I could sell this for some decent cash probably if needed to change.

A bit of background on my game - I'm not a club member but play once a wk winter to 2 or 3 times if I can in the summer. Obviously I don't have an official handicap but track my game using an online tool, inputting every round and it's currently got me at 8. I have had a course of lessons over the winter for the first time and have measured my swing speed at 105mph with the big stick.

I have seen online a guy called Gene Fulton in Leicester who is the club fitter for the Women's European tour, who offers fittings and makes your clubs up. He seems good, so wondered if anyone has had any experience of him?

He offers all makes but Ping and has a vast choice of shafts/heads etc apparently. The alternative is to go to Titleist Fitting Centre in Cambridge or Ping in Gainsborough, but I'd rather not limit myself to one manufacturer.

Anybody offer any advice or have any relevant past experience of ay of the above?

Thanks

 

[HomerJSimpson]

My advice would be try as many as you can. If this guy doesn't offer Ping but most of the other brands, why not find a local club pro who is a Ping fitter and try a few (or a range that does fitting sessions). See if you like them, try the other makes with this guy and then narrow it down. If Ping win, go back to the place you tried them and either buy or get them to book a Ping fitting. You can't book directly with Ping. If you prefer one of the other models then job done unless you have a specific desire to go to a factory fitting but to be honest the way you describe it I think he'll offer everything you'll get

 

[Lilfish]

Thanks Homer. He charges £70 for the fitting, which he refunds against any purchase. I may just give it a go, as I'd rather have a choice of manufacturers. I just don't want to go to American Golf or similar for a fitting, as I don't feel they offer a comprehensive fitting.

I suppose as its my first fitting and its a decent outlay for a full set of irons, I was maybe looking for reassurance I was doing the right thing.

Thanks again for the reply. Also, on a different topic. How do I update my profile to show my bag contents etc

(Sorry, such a newb!!)

 

[nemicu]

I'd echo the advice of trying as many as you can. See if you can hit demo clubs (for free obviously) and see what takes your fancy. Then you can concentrate on fitting your preferred club. In all honesty, nobody in the world is going to have just about every club and shaft for you to try and make your mind up - it doesn't make for a successful business most of the time. That's why a majority of fitting centres stock a limited amount of options. Gene is no different and only stocks TaylorMade and Cobra (maybe Wilson?). Anyhoo - only high end boutique fitting centres stock anything like fitting centres of Titleist and Ping, so be prepared to find that reflected in the cost. Bottom line - any limited stock fitter is going to push you into...surprise, surprise - their limited stock. I dare say Gene is a good club fitter, but I doubt he has got access to any club and shaft you can think of bar Ping.
Therefore, like you would for getting quotes from builders - be prepared to make plenty of phone calls and ask plenty of questions. Once you can narrow down your search criteria, then you can fine tune your set up with a proper fitting session to identify the right set make up. Don't try to do all this in one session, from finding a club you like to being fitted - it just doesn't happen. If it does, then it's not really a very good fitting. As always, you have to do a bit of legwork - don't expect the right option to find you - the onus lies with the amount of effort YOU make.

 

[Alex1975]

He seems to have a fairly limited selection of equipment, Orka, Cobra, Taylor Made and Wilson. Reading his site though I am willing to bet you would get an awesome service and set of clubs.

 

[Foxholer]

Gene Fulton appears to be the sort of guy I would happy to go to go to. Though he may not have the greatest range of clubs on hand. Best to ring him and discuss and, if it feels right, do it. There are other fitters scattered about the country, normally based at clubs.

I would be suspicious of any 'hard sell', but i don't believe you'll get it from him.

Good Luck

And welcome.

 

[Lilfish]

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate the advice from all. My mate actually phoned him today as he's looking at new irons as well and he was told that he offers all manufacturers, but as you say on his site it seems limited. I'll call him tomorrow as Leicester is a bit of trek if its not right. Surely he should know what he's doing though if he fits for the Pro's?

I just want to make sure if I'm investing the cash, time and effort that I'm doing the right thing.

 

[Alex1975]

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate the advice from all. My mate actually phoned him today as he's looking at new irons as well and he was told that he offers all manufacturers, but as you say on his site it seems limited. I'll call him tomorrow as Leicester is a bit of trek if its not right. Surely he should know what he's doing though if he fits for the Pro's?

I just want to make sure if I'm investing the cash, time and effort that I'm doing the right thing.

He has a good launch monitor, Sam putt lab, he talks about spine aligning and pure shaft fitting. He knows his stuff, I would ask about costs of manufacture but if he's reasonable or money is no object your good.

I know from spending an evening with Alex from Orka that they do not let just anyone fit there product.

 

[nemicu]

I would steer clear of shaft Puring unless you really know your onions. For the recreational golfer, it's a waste of money. Anyone who says it's "a must have" part of fitting is pulling your proverbial and adding a healthy profit to their fitting fee.

 

[Alex1975]

I would steer clear of shaft Puring unless you really know your onions. For the recreational golfer, it's a waste of money. Anyone who says it's "a must have" part of fitting is pulling your proverbial and adding a healthy profit to their fitting fee.

Its not always an option, some fitters insist on it and it's part of the service.

 

[palindromicbob]

I would steer clear of shaft Puring unless you really know your onions. For the recreational golfer, it's a waste of money. Anyone who says it's "a must have" part of fitting is pulling your proverbial and adding a healthy profit to their fitting fee.

Often wondered how important it is when you get the adjustable drivers?

 

[Lilfish]

From what I've read on puring it divides opinion. Budget is obviously a consideration, so don't want to add to the costs unnecessarily. However f you get a good professional fitter I would hope this wouldn't happen? I work in sales myself but for a major manufacturer of print equipment and although my job is to sell, its also to sell the right products for the client. I would like to think a decent fitter would do the same. It sounds like from what I've heard this guy should be pretty good, so I'll probably give him a go.

 

[Foxholer]

I'd be 'happy' to have Driver shaft Pured, though some are actually Pured by the manufacturer.

If trying to cut the cost, I wouldn't pure irons - though they have been done for me once. I'd check out the price of Spining though - that also tries to align shafts consistently - as that could be beneficial - at least in the head! If i was building my own set, I'd certainly Spine them.

 

[Blue in Munich]

I would steer clear of shaft Puring unless you really know your onions. For the recreational golfer, it's a waste of money. Anyone who says it's "a must have" part of fitting is pulling your proverbial and adding a healthy profit to their fitting fee.

Couldn't disagree more; I had it done on a set of 3 woods and it made a world of difference.

Often wondered how important it is when you get the adjustable drivers?

Manufacturers are there to sell clubs and more people buy into adjustability, or the hype behind it, than spining or puring so the manufacturers don't push spining or puring as they figure the adjustability sells more. Personally I'd rather have a non-adjustable driver with a pured shaft.

 

[Alex1975]

Couldn't disagree more; I had it done on a set of 3 woods and it made a world of difference.



Manufacturers are there to sell clubs and more people buy into adjustability, or the hype behind it, than spining or puring so the manufacturers don't push spining or puring as they figure the adjustability sells more. Personally I'd rather have a non-adjustable driver with a pured shaft.

What do you mean by a set of 3 woods?

 

[3565]

I don't go to the OEMs, I prefer to see an independant fitter as normally they would pure or spine align as part of the service. I can't say for the OEM's as I've never been fitted by them and don't know if it's part of their service or charge! I've had in recent years Snake Eyes blades which have been the best I've had and now use Wishon clubs from a guy in Chesterfield but he only specialises in that product, but Tom Wishon is the guvnor in club design and what he doesn't know ain't worth thinking about. Coincidently he helped develop the whole Puring process with shafts.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Just buy off the shelf,custom fit is a waste of time & money

 

[Blue in Munich]

What do you mean by a set of 3 woods?

Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood.

 

[Alex1975]

Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood.

Lol ok, I am not sure how I missed that... I had in my mind that you had bunch of different 3 woods.... doh

 

[woody69]

what is puring?