Honest Ping

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Our club had a Ping fitting day so I booked and went along as I bought my TM R11 driver off the shelf rather than fitted, although I have fitted irons. Having taken readings using the R11 the fitter then gave me a couple of Ping drivers to use and record numbers, following which he changed the settings on the R11 by closing the face and increasing loft. More readings, the he declared that there was little to choose between the adjusted R11 and the Ping drivers so my best bet is to keep the R11 and work on my technique.

I was expecting a Ping sales pitch saying 'use this Ping driver and it will be better'.

Maybe he was really saying 'Doesn't matter what you use you're beyond help':rolleyes:.
 
BREAKING NEWS:

Ping fitter gets fired after head of Ping reads on a golf forum that he wasn't pushing their equipment.
 
The Titleist guy did the same when said he couldn't fit a better 3 wood than the Mizuno MX700 that I have. There is room in sales for some honesty!
 
I take it that you guys are slating American Golf? I had no idea that they were that bad ... What was the result when you complained about their dodgy dealings? Spill the beans guys.
 
I was talking to a guy who runs his own golf shop, basically and this will be old news for most, the golf fitting computer can be tweaked to whaever setting you like. Say for example you wanted manufacturer A's driver to show 300yds, so tell the system to show 300yds drives when that driver is used, you can then tell the system to reduce the distance by a percentage or percentages for each subsequent driver, so then manufacturer B's club goes only 85% of 300yds and manufacturer C's only goes 75%. That way a shop can push any manufacturers club they see fit, or that they will get the bigget profit from.
 
Khamelion said:
I was talking to a guy who runs his own golf shop, basically and this will be old news for most, the golf fitting computer can be tweaked to whaever setting you like. Say for example you wanted manufacturer A's driver to show 300yds, so tell the system to show 300yds drives when that driver is used, you can then tell the system to reduce the distance by a percentage or percentages for each subsequent driver, so then manufacturer B's club goes only 85% of 300yds and manufacturer C's only goes 75%. That way a shop can push any manufacturers club they see fit, or that they will get the bigget profit from.
Click to expand...
Wouldn't 'they' have to do that everytime you used a different driver? Wouldn't anyone with half a brain cell notice the monitor being 'tweaked' when you used your own driver then a shop one?

Some monitors might not be calibrated perfectly so use your own driver during a 'fitting' and at least you can compare stats on a level playing field.
 
There are some good honest shops out there and honest people also, for example a mate went to buy a new set of irons as he wasn't getting on with his current set, after trying many different makes, the fitter checked his setup and found that his current clubs need the lie tweaking. Lie was teaked the result no sale for the shop as the tweaked clubs were now working for my mate and the shop coudn't better what he was using with the other clubs that were available.
 
On the putting green on Thursday. Ping were also there with the full assortment of putters and putting aids. I knocked a few decent putts in and close with my Odyssey - cue Ping man saying you'd best stick with your putter.

On the range afterwards and I'm trying their Ping i20 irons.... oh so nice. Had a chat with the Ping man and he says glad you liked them but its best to book a full session rather than hitting a few shots then going off to play...

Huge respect for the Ping men on the day... and I loved the i20's... the seed is planted.
 
Khamelion said:
I was talking to a guy who runs his own golf shop, basically and this will be old news for most, the golf fitting computer can be tweaked to whaever setting you like. Say for example you wanted manufacturer A's driver to show 300yds, so tell the system to show 300yds drives when that driver is used, you can then tell the system to reduce the distance by a percentage or percentages for each subsequent driver, so then manufacturer B's club goes only 85% of 300yds and manufacturer C's only goes 75%. That way a shop can push any manufacturers club they see fit, or that they will get the bigget profit from.
Click to expand...
Utter nonsense.

Of course machines can be calibrated, but it's not a simple click of a button to do it. You'd have to be a complete screaming retard to miss the resetting of calibration and the time it takes to do so. You'd also lose the previous data, so you'd have no comparison on screen.

Don't trust flightscope - then bring your own clubs for comaprison as has been said by others. They cant "tweak" anything mid-fitting.
 
I know a guy that took an R7 (uprated with Graffalloy Blue) which was about 4 years old at the time to a Mizuno fitting. He could get no better and the fitter said "Just keep the R7 in your bag".
On the adjusting machines - as said - hit your own and then others without letting the salesman even touch the computer. You have to remember the numbers from each club but at least you know the machine is the same.

If a machine tells lies get it to tell the same lie on different clubs and you can make an informed decision.
Best bet is hitting where you can see the full flight and with flightscope is a bonus. Depends where you are and what you want to do but there is always a way to gain a comparison.
 
I went to a fitting at Precision Golf and they tested my existing clubs. Then after trying some other shafts, the fitter said that they could possibly improve on the numbers a bit with different shafts but it wasn't really worth it.

A former manager in a well known golf store told me that they did change the settings between clubs to flatter one brand over another. That must be how I carried the ball 280 yards with 100mph swing speed at that same store once. When I told the fitter that was impossible and asked him if the machine was turned up to 11 (Spinal tap reference) he looked rather sheepish.

I don't think I am a complete screaming retard (we don't like that word around here, by the way). Others may have different opinions.
 
My club is having a Ping demo day. Despite being fitted in June I'm going along as here is still a nagging itch about the I20 irons I want scratched once and for all. Will be interesting to see what they say. I think it's refreshing that a manufacturer isn't pushing at all costs.
 
After using a few clubs onthe simulators in some shops I think I'd only be buying stuff that I can try on a range or "in real use" that way nothing can be tweaked and you can compare directly with your existing clubs
 
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