My Not So Fitting Experience
It was not a good one.
As consumers we get peppered with advertisement nonstop. Everything from banking to car purchases, businesses are trying to get our business.
That is how I came across Golf Champion. As an avid golfer, and a consumer of golf equipment, I get hundreds of golf offers a day, and golf club fitting was one of them.
Also, internet reviewers like GolfWRX and Plugged In Golf, they are always telling people to get fitted if they want to play better. Of course, these outfits are heavily sponsored by companies like Club Champion, so they are bound to sell you their product, even if is not for you.
Last year, I decided I wanted to go through the whole experience of a driver fitting with the intention of purchasing one. I made the appointment with my local Club Champion, and after a three month wait, I got in.
Mind you, this was during the Covid-19 lockdowns, and making an appointment was a nightmare.
I am not a scratch golfer, but I can hold my own with the swing I own. Going into the fitting my expectation was one of honesty, no matter how cruel the truth, I wanted my fitter to tell me if a fitting was going to be helpful or not. After all, I am trusting the expert to do just that.
We went through the whole thing, mixing and matching club heads and shafts, and my fitter settled with a TaylorMade SIM2 Max head and a Motore F1 shaft.
I was not feeling it, I thought the shaft was too stiff, too light, and I was not feeling the head of the club. I shared these concerns with my fitter, but he told me it was the right combination.
He showed me a bunch of numbers that I did not understand, and he did not take the time to explained to me. But, as the expert, I trusted his judgment and went ahead and ordered the driver.
It took almost 4 months to get the driver and when I got it did not have the right grip. It was not a big deal, so I took the driver and went home.
Needless to say, the driver did not work for me on the golf course. It felt awkward, just like it felt during the fitting session, and I ended up going back to my PING G400 Max that I had been using.
I sent an email to the fitter explaining the situation, and he threw it back at me saying that it was my swing, and not the driver. We went back and forth about it and I ended up working with the store manager because the original fitter did not want to deal with the situation and was very unprofessional.
The store manager was a nice gentleman and tried to come up with a solution. According to Club Champion policy, they are allowed to do one change of equipment on them, and even then he had to get permission from headquarters to do it.
Once again, I put my trust on the fitter, and this time he fitted me with the same TaylorMade SIM2 Max head, but this time with an Accra Prototype shaft. After waiting another two weeks to get the shaft, and for him to do the adjustments, this whole process took almost 6 months.
At the end of the day, the driver never worked for me, and it was nothing else they would do for me. I have probably the most expensive driver I will ever own, and I cannot use it.
What is the real moral of this story? You cannot buy a game, companies like Club Champion are in the business of taking your money and they will not be honest with you.
I was expecting Club Champion to be honest and recommend me to hone my skills first, and then come back to take full advantage of a good, fitted club. But even then, I trusted the process and their alleged expertise.
Funny thing was when the original fitter told me the problem was with my swing and not the driver, I asked him why he did not said that during the fitting. I am still waiting for an answer, but of course we know the real answer.
They do not care. All they care about is taking your money.
Ironically, during the fitting process we tried several combinations and there were actually better combinations I felt good with.
Unfortunately, and I am sure by design, if you pick your own combination they will not honor their commitment to the fitting, and you are on your own. I had to go with their recommendation or else.
Would I recommend Club Champion to any of my friends? Not a chance.
Do I believe that club fitting can be beneficial? Absolutely, but only if you have a good, consistent swing, with good mechanics, and fundamentals. Getting fitted with a bad swing and bad fundamentals only enhances those flaws and it serves as a temporary band aid.
Do yourself a favor, do not listen to advertising or internet sites. They do not know your game and they are in the business of supporting their sponsors.
Instead take that money and invest in some good lessons, just as I did. It not only helped my game and allowed me to compete at the amateur senior level, but with a few adjustments to my current equipment I did not have to spend thousands of dollars chasing that next level.