Club Champion Recommendation or Go My Own Way?

[iacas]

26 minutes ago, Big C said:

And if you are willing to play with  clubs that are a year model old, you can easily purchase a set for closer to $2,000-2,500,

Well, I mean, DUH. So geez.

27 minutes ago, Big C said:

So I'd stand by the "absurdly high" comment.

And I'll stand by the fact that you're talking about a < 30% premium for non-stock components.

Absurd would be $5.5k or something.

[jmanbooyaa]

$4k for all the clubs mentioned is about right with tax. New clubs throughout the bag is going to cost you. 
 

However the up charge by club champion is bit concerning. By that I mean anyone going to a fitting with them will already be a the defensive to start after reading this. Not good if true. 

[Vinsk]

Well just about any top quality brand is gonna cost a good chunk when you go the whole bag. But $1000 for a Ping driver is ridiculous. 

[Big C]

46 minutes ago, iacas said:

Well, I mean, DUH. So geez

And I'll stand by the fact that you're talking about a < 30% premium for non-stock components.

Absurd would be $5.5k or something.

A bit of semantics, but ok, fair enough.

My point is that their recommended upgrades are not worth it for the vast majority of golfers. And yet Club Champion pushes them hard anyway.

[iacas]

23 minutes ago, Big C said:

A bit of semantics, but ok, fair enough.

My point is that their recommended upgrades are not worth it for the vast majority of golfers. And yet Club Champion pushes them hard anyway.

Of course they do. They’re a business. 🙂

[lmorales425]

I checked with my club pro during my lesson with him today.  He told me that we are going to continue to work on my AoA (in our lessons) and to wait a while to see if we can improve it more.  If we can, then another fitting/testing may show a different driver/shaft combination.

He also mentioned that club champion is expensive, but the shafts they get are tour quality (not consumer quality).   Our pro has played on the tour.   

Bottom line, I am going to wait and keep working on AoA.  If I can get it to the +3, +5 range, then I will go back for a fitting (not necessarily club champion). 

I like all the feedback and comments - good conversation.

Thank you !

[Shindig]

11 minutes ago, lmorales425 said:

Bottom line, I am going to wait and keep working on AoA.  If I can get it to the +3, +5 range, then I will go back for a fitting (not necessarily club champion). 

A reminder:  most OEMs (Titleist, Ping, etc) will fit for you free;  this usually includes determining not only loft length and lie, but also which stock shaft would be best for you, and which premium (if any).  When I got fit for my current driver, Titleist told me that of all the options, including the upgrades, this particular stock shaft of theirs would be the best for me.  At the time, I was early in my teaching career and was buying my first new driver ever (all my previous were bought out of the used bins), so not needing, or even having to think about, to buy an upgraded shaft was very welcome.

The only downside is that you may have to figure out which brand you want to buy from before -- Titleist isn't going to tell you that the latest Ping driver is the best one for you.  And also, I suppose, they won't tell you that last year's model with various specs is best for you.  But it's still a good deal.

[Vinsk]

2 hours ago, lmorales425 said:

 

He also mentioned that club champion is expensive, but the shafts they get are tour quality (not consumer quality). 

@Adam C?

[boogielicious]

11 hours ago, lmorales425 said:

I checked with my club pro during my lesson with him today.  He told me that we are going to continue to work on my AoA (in our lessons) and to wait a while to see if we can improve it more.  If we can, then another fitting/testing may show a different driver/shaft combination.

He also mentioned that club champion is expensive, but the shafts they get are tour quality (not consumer quality).   Our pro has played on the tour.   

Bottom line, I am going to wait and keep working on AoA.  If I can get it to the +3, +5 range, then I will go back for a fitting (not necessarily club champion). 

I like all the feedback and comments - good conversation.

Thank you !

I’m also curious as to why they picked 9 degrees for the head. At your swing speed, I would think a higher static loft would help. My driver swing speed is ~95 and I use a 10 degree head and have a positive angle of attack.

The site below allows you to plug in your numbers to see what your best launch angle and spin should be. Spin can be affected by angle of attack, where on the face the ball impacts and dynamic loft at impact. You can see how spin affects flight by keeping ball speed and launch the same and raising or lowering spin. You can do the same with launch angle, keeping spin fixed. Your ball speed should be known from your fitting.

Play around with it.

Trajectory optimizer - Launch Monitor, Golf Ball Tracking | Golf Simulators | FlightScope.com

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Find your optimal ball flight trajectory and add distance to your golf shots. Use FlightScope's Trajectory Optimizer to plot ball flight in real-time.

 

[lmorales425]

we initially tried the 10.5 with the taylormade and a couple of different shafts.  those combinations generated more spin then 9.  

[Adam C]

13 hours ago, Vinsk said:

@Adam C?

Don't even know what that means. It just sounds good for them to say. The shafts they use are no different from the upgrade shafts that you can order direct from the OEMs. Of course they charge you 30% over MSRP on these shafts at least.

I've tip toed around saying this other places but I will say it here. CC is a scam and if you go there thinking you are going to get a legitimate unbiased fitting, you are just completely wrong. To be fair, it's not just CC. True Spec, Cool Clubs, etc have all now realized they can pull the same cons and get away with it, so they are all doing it. 

Go to an indépendant fitter or fit yourself. Even a big box store I have more belief in the integrity of their fitting process.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, Adam C said:

Don't even know what that means. It just sounds good for them to say. The shafts they use are no different from the upgrade shafts that you can order direct from the OEMs. Of course they charge you 30% over MSRP on these shafts at least.

I've tip toed around saying this other places but I will say it here. CC is a scam and if you go there thinking you are going to get a legitimate unbiased fitting, you are just completely wrong. To be fair, it's not just CC. True Spec, Cool Clubs, etc have all now realized they can pull the same cons and get away with it, so they are all doing it. 

Go to an indépendant fitter or fit yourself. Even a big box store I have more belief in the integrity of their fitting process.

Seems like common sense to me. Why would the shafts they offer be ‘tour quality’ shafts that are better than what we can order from OEMs but if I order Titleist T100 irons they are ‘tour quality’ irons? Tour player irons sure as hell more detailed specs but they are of no better quality than mine. Yeah it’s a business. But damn….

 

[saevel25]

6 hours ago, boogielicious said:

I’m also curious as to why they picked 9 degrees for the head. At your swing speed, I would think a higher static loft would help. My driver swing speed is ~95 and I use a 10 degree head and have a positive angle of attack.

Depends on how he delivers the golf club + how the golf shaft reacts to his swing. Also how he reacts to the golf shaft. Like for me, my swing likes mid to low-mid launch, low-mid spin, low torque golf shafts. I can really swing in a way that takes spin off the ball. 

2 hours ago, Adam C said:

I've tip toed around saying this other places but I will say it here. CC is a scam and if you go there thinking you are going to get a legitimate unbiased fitting, you are just completely wrong. To be fair, it's not just CC. True Spec, Cool Clubs, etc have all now realized they can pull the same cons and get away with it, so they are all doing it. 

Go to an indépendant fitter or fit yourself. Even a big box store I have more belief in the integrity of their fitting process.

Yea, I tend to do a lot of research before hand. I will go to a local big box golf store and hit a few drives for just looks and feel. Then I will research what stock golf shaft upgrades are available, or if custom, what the price uncharge is. Then, I will make an appointment with a local fitter listed on the manufacturers website. I will also do research on the fitter. I do like demo days at a golf course, or working with fitters how work for the manufacturer. I feel like I get less BS from them. 

 

[reidsou]

3 hours ago, Adam C said:

I've tip toed around saying this other places but I will say it here. CC is a scam... it's not just CC. True Spec, Cool Clubs, etc have all now realized they can pull the same cons and get away with it...

Thank you! It's all marketing.

Jamie Sadlowski hits an upside down left-handed driver 300 yards. 

Why would I get "fitted" for my poor swing? 

[Shindig]

1 hour ago, reidsou said:

Why would I get "fitted" for my poor swing? 

Just don't pay a surcharge for a fitting.  Shaft flex, length, grip size, lie angle, and so on can often be fitted for free by the OEM at days the set aside for doing this.  My irons, 4-wood, and driver all had this fitting for free from Ping and Titleist, respectively, and all at my then-local Roger Dunn shop;  it would have been free even if I hadn't ordered from that shop, which I did.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, reidsou said:

Thank you! It's all marketing.

Jamie Sadlowski hits an upside down left-handed driver 300 yards.

It’s not all marketing. He hits his normal driver much farther.

[caniac6]

Every time I have been fit, I've been fit outside, and I've been fit into stock shafts. The numbers have always been good, and I really like to see the ball in the air. Mabye I'm just fortunate that I fit in the range covered by stock shafts. My results have been acceptable to me. I think a more technical putter fitting might be worth it, but I don't think I'd go to CC for anything else, and, to be honest, I'd rather do a putter fitting on a real green.

[Big C]

On 8/6/2021 at 3:47 PM, iacas said:

Of course they do. They’re a business. 🙂

As a small business owner yourself, I find this to be an odd reply. 

A good business should be able to provide a quality product, generate a profit for themselves, while also looking out for the best interests of their customers. 

Club Champion seems to be taking advantage of their customers and your reply implies that it's to be expected because "they're a business"? The truth is, that businesses that consistently operate in this manner will tarnish their own reputation and give the rest of the industry a bad name.