Club Fitting Question & Getting a Deal?

[Harp stein]

I've been gaming a set of RSi1 irons with aeroburner hybrids and G30 driver for about 4 years now.  Got fitted for them 4 yrs back and they've worked really well.  I swapped out my 8I for a Cobra S3 7I 9 months ago ($25 on EBay), same loft just a lot smaller club head, and I love it.  Hit it the same distance as my current 8I, they have the same lofts.

So I'd like to get something a bit smaller in a complete set, more like a players distance iron.  Ping Blueprints and i210s look interesting, as do Mizunos and Titliest's new T100/200 lines.

With all of that said, given that my current clubs work great (just don't like the look anymore) I'm not willing to spend $500 on a new driver or $1,500 on a new set of irons/hybrids.

Seems like 2020 could be a good year to get a good deal on clubs, given everything that's happened with employment and I know retail channels are running sales these days.

Maybe a dumb question, but I'm wondering what everyone thinks about the timing of a fitting?  One thought I had was to get fit now and then I'll have my specs when/if the clubs I want go on sale.  Do custom-ordered clubs ever go on sale?

The other thought was, when might companies start launching new lines?  Typically that would happened this Spring, right?  I can see why it didn't but are those new lines just waiting to release or did manufacturers completely skip a cycle for 2020?

And what happens if I get fit, wait a few months then can't get the clubs I got fit for?  That's a wasted fitting!

Am I over-thinking this, anyone given similar thoughts to new clubs this year?

[billchao]

20 minutes ago, Harp stein said:

The other thought was, when might companies start launching new lines?  Typically that would happened this Spring, right?

Most companies launch clubs in the fall.

[Harp stein]

Thanks, that's good to know.  Maybe discounts then on current models later this year?

[dennyjones]

1 hour ago, Harp stein said:

Seems like 2020 could be a good year to get a good deal on clubs, given everything that's happened with employment and I know retail channels are running sales these days.

With everyone safe at home, they all took up golf!   

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, billchao said:

Most companies launch clubs in the fall.

Hey Bill, Seems like drivers come out in February... unless I'm mistaken the companies might announce 'em earlier but you usually can't actually get em until February. 

1 hour ago, Harp stein said:

Do custom-ordered clubs ever go on sale?

Right now all the 2019 Mizuno irons are on sale for about 200 bucks off. You can still get custom fit and/or place custom orders. 

https://www.tgw.com/mizuno-mens-jpx-919-hot-metal-pro-irons

You can order custom specs from places like tgw.com if you know em.

There are lots of options out there.

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Harp stein said:

Thanks, that's good to know.  Maybe discounts then on current models later this year?

They usually discount current clubs when they rollout the new lineup, yea.

8 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Hey Bill, Seems like drivers come out in February... unless I'm mistaken the companies might announce 'em earlier but you usually can't actually get em until February. 

Maybe that’s what I’m thinking of. I know they usually come out in fall/winter when it’s too late for me to want new clubs 😉

[ChetlovesMer]

25 minutes ago, billchao said:

it’s too late for me to want new clubs 😉

I'm sorry this sentence doesn't make any sense to me... when would you not want new clubs? 

... I like shiny things.

[xrayvizhen]

I generally don't respond to anyone who uses the expression "I'm gaming a set of_____"  but the general tenor of the questions are, as you said, kind of... well I don't want to use the word "dumb" but they really don't make much sense . If you want a new driver, buy a new driver. If you want new irons, buy new irons. What difference does it make? Depending on the manufacturer, whatever you buy will be superseded by something newer and shinier next year. TaylorMade comes out with something new every year while Titleist does so much more infrequently. The others are in the middle somewhere, depending on each's sales volume and/or marketing plan. This year with what is probably a huge supply combined with what up until now has been a very low demand, the sales from everyone will probably be extensive. Maybe the pent up demand will reduce the supply now that things are loosening up a bit but the manufacturers will have to figure that out for themselves individually and who knows what the virus will decide to do in the fall and winter. We could all be back in the same boat we've been in up until now.

As for fitting? Depends who's doing it and when but most amateur's swings change throughout a season. None of us are pros with thousands of hours spent grooving swings. Amateurs stand a  little closer or a little farther from the ball, changing the lie angle. We tinker with our swings, sometimes a lot. Swing speeds change too. In the early spring...slower while later in the season they speed up. If you're on the cusp with a driver (ie: 95). You might need a stiff shaft later in the season because you're at 96 or 97 but in the early spring you might be at 93-94 which would indicate a regular shaft. Get what I'm saying? Personally, I bought my new set of irons, in February after testing extensively many different brands & models throughout the fall. My old irons were just a couple of years old but I wasn't liking the trajectory I was getting from them so that was my main reason for buying something new. YMMV.

[jmanbooyaa]

But @xrayvizhen what set are you gaming? 
 

ha ha. Makes sense what you posted. 

[iacas]

On 6/17/2020 at 2:22 PM, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm sorry this sentence doesn't make any sense to me... when would you not want new clubs? 

... I like shiny things.

Because he just got a new set.

[ChetlovesMer]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

Because he just got a new set.

Again, in my mind that doesn't matter. I can literally be walking out of the shop with brand new clubs in my hand, haven't even taken the plastic off them. "Oh, look at that..." I'm totally distracted by shiny things. ...But ... perhaps I have a problem.