Had my Ping Fitting Session Today

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Have to say that I was a little bit disapointed.

Dont get me wrong, the amount of clubs that the guy brought with him, the equipment that he used i.e nFlight and his knowledge were all fabulous. But I was very disapointed that I only got 40mins with him. I think that I was going to one or two items then it would have gone a lot better, but as I was being fitted for a Driver, Fairway Wood, Utility and Irons then I had very little time on each.

Anyway the guy started off with measuring my hands, floor to hand height, fingers and asking my height and asked me what I was looking for i.e. Driver, 3-Wood, 3iron utility and Irons

He started off with the irons and handed me a regular i10 7iron which I was hitting quite well 160 yrds and 4900 spin and the G10 which I was hitting about 5 yrds longer and a little more accuracy. He even tried me a Stiff shaft but the dispersion was a little wayward.

Next Driver and he started me with a 10.5 deg regular but I was creating too much spin then he moved me onto a 9deg offset but as I was pulling my shots and an offset would only accentuate this. Then the 9deg reg driver which had a fantastic penetrating ball flight and I was hitting it past the 250 marker, even the guy said that he could not beleive that I was playing off 15!

I then tried the Fairway woods & Utilities but was not overly impressed. I hit my current 3-wood better and the 3 iron utility was good but with my fitting session at Mizuno on Tuesday I wanted to wait and see what they can offer.

Anyway I purchased the driver, even though I only hit 5 balls with it I am pretty sure that I have made the right choice as I dont think that Mizuno's MX-700 or anything else out there (for the money) would be as good. I paid £185 (which is £199 less 2.5% VAT reduction and 5% Demo day reduction) + a 10 basket range card (worth £18) so effectively £167.

In summary if I was going today for just one item i.e Driver, then 40mins would have been fine. But I just felt that everything was rushed today.

Question to the other G10 Driver owners out there. How do you get on with yours? Best driver that you have ever had?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its a shame that you felt rushed. I thought most of these appointments were for at least an hour. At least you got something out of it.

 

[thecraw]

Ping fitting in my opinion is simply the best, (that would be a good title for a song! Wonder if it would catch!!) the guys are extremely knowledeable and present their product well.

G10. I had a conversation with a Pro the other day who insists that the G10 (IN HIS OPINION) is a better club than the new Rapture V2! Insists that its Pings best product since the Eye2 irons.

I have a G10 4 wood and its awesome if that helps you. I also dont really like any of the Ping Hybrids, just dont sit easy on the eye for me despite being a self confesed Ping freak!

 

[TonyN]

Good thing with mizuno is the session is atleast 90 mins (I had 2 hours) I went only for Irons so it was 2hrs just on them.

If I wanted a driver or woods, I would book a seperate session so I had the full 90 to go through. You cant rush custom fiting, it goes against the point of it IMO.

 

[boggybop]

When I went to the Yes! centre, the session took just over 90 mins for the one club. All was free of charge and at the end I walked away with a completely fitted putter which suited my needs, costing the same price as one straight off the shelf.

However I had a 'fitting' at my local Direct Golf - and it was a total waste of time, the fitter had no idea of what he was doing and just prompted me towards the clubs where he would receive the most commission. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

 

[DCB]

Was this at a fitting centre or at a demo day on a range/club ?

 

[Smiffy]

I have just started using a Ping G10 3 wood and love it to bits. First couple of shots were a bit dodgy,(would have got away with them if that bloody pond hadn't been there), but once I'd got the hang of it I was nailing them. So impressed I picked myself up a matching driver (10.5) off of ebay for a good price (mint condition, £90.00 delivered ). The 5 wood turned up on Thursday .
Thing is, I am hitting my Benny so well at the moment I don't want to tempt fate by swapping drivers over just yet. The G10 is waiting for it's maiden flight!
I went for the ProLaunch Red shaft in regular in all three. Helps keep the ball down a bit. Mate of mine uses the G10 driver, he's a good player, hits the ball miles and loves it. He wishes he'd got the ProLaunch shaft now though, rather than the stiff Ping TFC.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Was this at a fitting centre or at a demo day on a range/club ?

Ping came to my club and he had 6 40min appointments.

Forgot to say that I went straight onto the course afterwards and using my own clubs hit my worst round to date, a 98!

 

[DCB]

I only look into demo days as a way of seeing what the latest offering is like. It's often the first time you get to see a particular club close up in a variety of shaft offerings. A full fitting session I would view differently.

As to what to expect at a custom fit session, I'm not too sure what people expect from these. I've been fitted for three sets of irons since the mid 90s. 1st time was before all the technobable, it was a case of getting loft & lie sorted and then getting pros advice on what shaft I needed. End result as fitted set of irons that I used for the next seven or eight years.

Second set was for a set of Mizunos MP30s. Again before technobable. Went and discussed current game,what I was using, shot pattern and distance. Hit a few shots with my own clubs and then tried comparison with MP30 i.e. 6 iron and 6 iron, 4iron and 4 iron for direct comparison, each with couple of shaft options. End result a set that I used for the next 4 or so years.

Went back last year, looking for a bit more forgiveness and tried the MP57s. Ended up with the first computer oriented fitting. Okay, I knew what I wanted, I knew my specs of my MP30s,(57s very similar) I told the pro this and he set off from there. Tried two shaft options before going with the option I chose. Since I knew what I was looking for, I didn't expect to be in there for ages. In fact I was probably only there for about 45 min in total. Even that there wasn't much else to do or try. I had done what I needed, I had good readouts from the computer and I was happy with ball flight.

End result, new irons delivered a week later.

I suppose if your looking in general for a set of irons and don't know what it is you are looking for it may well take longer, but if you know what you're for then it shouldn't take long too go through the process at all.

I would certainly not be comfortable with too long a session, because I know my best swings will be the earlier ones when I'm concentrating on trying to swing properly and freely.

I would certainly not go for a fitting without taking my old clubs to swing as a comparison and without having looked into the specs etc of the prospective new set thoroughly before hand. I'm pretty sure if I went back in tomorrow and asked for a fitting of MP52 or MX200s I could detail the spec I'd end up with before I went in.

 

[Canfordhacker]

Although I'm a biased Ping tart, I love my G10 to bits. It's soooo consistent (and long), so when I hit a bad one I know it's me. But I think the shaft is what makes it. Sometimes I know I've hit it off centre, but the resistance to twist/shear means that it still goes straight and long.

I'm still pondering the three wood to match - I know I want to!

 

[theeaglehunter]

I am slightly disappointed in the Ping rep in this situation to be honest. I think most would agree 40 minutes to fit a driver, hybrid and irons is nowhere near enough and that is what the Ping guy should have told you- he should not have tried to rush through it and risked giving you an unsuitable fitting. He would have been much better being honest and saying lets only focus on the driver today, as an example, and then come up to Gainsborough for the rest of the clubs rather than looking for the quick money making solution.

I had 40 minutes with a Ping rep trying to find me a better driver and whilst he did, I definitely decided that I would not be buying a new driver on a 40 minute fitting- I would want longer to really make sure the club is right. When my irons were fitted I spent a good hour and a half trying different models / combinations.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

I am slightly disappointed in the Ping rep in this situation to be honest. I think most would agree 40 minutes to fit a driver, hybrid and irons is nowhere near enough and that is what the Ping guy should have told you- he should not have tried to rush through it and risked giving you an unsuitable fitting. He would have been much better being honest and saying lets only focus on the driver today, as an example, and then come up to Gainsborough for the rest of the clubs rather than looking for the quick money making solution.

I had 40 minutes with a Ping rep trying to find me a better driver and whilst he did, I definitely decided that I would not be buying a new driver on a 40 minute fitting- I would want longer to really make sure the club is right. When my irons were fitted I spent a good hour and a half trying different models / combinations.

So am i tbh. I was potentially looking at placing a £750 order here and although I have bought the driver, I am not 100% sure that it is the right club for me.

What I mean by this is that I hit a 10.5deg reg, 9deg offset and 9 deg reg and only hit 5 balls with each, how can I be 100% cetain by only hitting 5 balls? Don't get me wrong he had all of my stats and I feel that the 9 deg is the right head but I'm not sure that shaft is the right one especially as my club head speed is 95mph and borderline Reg/Stiff, I didnt even try a Stiff!!

Anyway I'm going back down my club in a hour to discuss with my pro.

 

[haplesshacker]

PPE. You sound really disappointed with the whole expeiance. Just to put it into context. The chap you saw from Ping probably saw maybe only one or two 'real' buyers that day, and I would suggest that perhaps it's a 'warming' session as much as anything. ie. he's lining the real buyers up for a bigger session at a custom fit centre. But I am only speculating!

If I were you I'd either try and get to one of the national fitting centres, or make a day of it at the Belfry. I know that when I'm good enough to start looking at my next set of irons, with cash in my pocket (this I will make very clear to them at the time of booking). I will go to one of the national fitting centres. I think these demo days are 'taster' sessions really.

As has been reported on here by some, I think folks just go to these demo days to 'play' with the latest kit, with no real intention of buying. At least not immediately.

I wouldn't buy a club that I'd only hit 5 balls with off the shelf, let alone a CF product. I'd want to know that I was being taken seriously, after all, it's a lot of money.

I feel for your buyers remorse, and even if the club you did buy is spot on for you, the doubt in your mind will mean that you will never feel at ease with it.

Maybe not much help to you, but it is a bit of sympathy!

Good luck.

 

[thecraw]

Sorry,

but how can you complain when you knew in advance that you were only getting 40 minutes???

Surely its down to you as well as the Ping rep to say look I appreciate what you have done here today but I want more time to decide on what I want to buy. I am delighted with the driver but need another fitting for irons/hybrids.

Now that you have admitted that you knew you were only getting the 40 minute fitting I cant see where your comming from. Go back to your own Pro and tell him of the money you want to spend and I can assure you he/she will bite your hand off and get the Ping fitting board out or book you another session.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Well I've been down the club this afternoon and our pro (who has 20years fitting experience) assures me that I DEFINATELY have the right club, he would not have let me buy it otherwise. A regular shaft can be used anything up to a swing speed of 110mph and the Stiff from 90mph. My swing speed was 95mph.

the craw - how am i supposed to know how long these things take?, its my 1st one for god's sake. Having now had experience yes I will approach them differently, but right at the beiginnning of my session I told the guy what I was looking for and surely he should have either asked me if I was seriously looking at a driver and partially irons or vice versa and concentrated on those.

Anyway I am down at Mizuno on Tuesday and I will be saying to the guy there that my primary objective is new irons, secondly a 3 iron hybrid, thirdly a fairway wood and lastly some wedges then he can structure the 90mins around this.

You live and learn I suppose.

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

Hapless - The club sold £6k of Ping gear yesterday!

I suppose only time will tell but there is no doubting that it is a fantastic club and oozes quality, it's just whether it is going to be a fantastic club for me.

I may even ask the Mizuno guy on Tuesday and if he feels it's wrong and I have time to try out the MX-700 and get on well with it I will purchase one, sell my G10 and NEVER buy from my pro again. (sorry if that sounds a bit harsh!).

 

[TonyN]

Take your G10 and he'll let you hit it on the trackman and he will show you all aspecs of the shot, Launch angle, spin rate, trajectory, dispersion, carry, roll etc. You will then see if it is right for you!

 

[haplesshacker]

PPE. The Mizuno guy shouldn't tell you that the G10 is wrong for you, well if he does it should be by selling the virtues of the MX700 / MP600 over the G10. Not by slagging off what you already have. As most of you know, I'm a bit of a Mizzy tart, and yet I still bought the G10 3 wood.

The experiance that you've already had will just make you wiser for the Mizuno visit. Concentrate on the irons, as that is your single biggest outlay. Just don't make the mistake that MWJ (if I remember correctly), made, and buy blade (ish) clubs, when perhaps something more forgiving would be better. The MP series of irons from Mizuno are gorgeous clubs, but the MX200s might give better results.

I suspect that it will come down to the MX200s or the MP52s from Mizzy.

Remember that you can buy these clubs individually, and therefore don't get lead down the full set route if you really don't want / need a 3 iron or SW.

Sorry, retailer coming out in me again. But if that were true I'd be suggesting the MPT or MPR range of wedges and a Bettinardi putter!!

 

[PeterPumpkinEater]

PPE. The Mizuno guy shouldn't tell you that the G10 is wrong for you, well if he does it should be by selling the virtues of the MX700 / MP600 over the G10. Not by slagging off what you already have. As most of you know, I'm a bit of a Mizzy tart, and yet I still bought the G10 3 wood.

The experiance that you've already had will just make you wiser for the Mizuno visit. Concentrate on the irons, as that is your single biggest outlay. Just don't make the mistake that MWJ (if I remember correctly), made, and buy blade (ish) clubs, when perhaps something more forgiving would be better. The MP series of irons from Mizuno are gorgeous clubs, but the MX200s might give better results.

I suspect that it will come down to the MX200s or the MP52s from Mizzy.

Remember that you can buy these clubs individually, and therefore don't get lead down the full set route if you really don't want / need a 3 iron or SW.

Sorry, retailer coming out in me again. But if that were true I'd be suggesting the MPT or MPR range of wedges and a Bettinardi putter!!

I've already hit the MX-200, 52's & 57's albeit into a net, and the 57's felt right and the results backed this up.

Really looking forward to my visit now.

TonyN - Good idea mate.

 

[aussiesrixonboy]

I got G10 12 deg draw driver with a Ust HL R flex shaft.
Hit it straight down the middle- well sometimes.
Very forgiving and easy to hit. Thats coming from someone who normally cant hit one and leaves them out of his bag !!