Golfsmith Fitting vs. Golf Galaxy Fitting

[nututhugame]

Around me at least Golfsmith's simulator is run off of a real launch monitor. For driver at least it's pretty important to know spin #'s as well as launch and ball speed. The combo of launch and spin makes or breaks it with driver. Also, although they are both box stores, Golfsmith seems to at least try to hire people who know anything about golf. The Galaxy is a bunch of sales associates. Again, that's just my experience.

[caniac6]

I don't buy anything at Golf Galaxy that I need any specific help with. I was there the other day, and the picture on the simulator said I washitting the ball one direction, and the salesman said it was going the other direction. I've found they really don't know what they are talking about. I'll go there to look, but if I want to buy something, I buy from my home course, or drive to Golf USA in Greensboro,NC.

[rehmwa]

I actually shop at the local Galaxy.  There's two guys there that I'd let guide me and help any day.  Anyone else I've not been happy with even a little bit.

and yes - they have a good monitor, but they also have the simulator bays - on my last driver purchase, I told one of my guys that I wasn't believing the output in the sim bay.  He agreed and took me immediately to the bay with the better launch monitor - I think we should have started there.

In the end, it really depends on the specific staff at the specific store.

Find a fitter you like -

[metrybill]

Find out where the best players in your area go for clubfitting - head (for irons, hybrids and wedges - offset, or not - blade or game improvement),  for drivers (launch angle, back spin and side spin), shaft (bend point, torque, weight, launch and spin

), LIES { by far the most important for irons, wedges and short irons (very, very, important) hybrids, even putters}, shafts {material (steel or graphite), bend point, weight, and launch}, bounce (short irons and wedges especially)}, and grip sizes.  In my area, New Orleans, the best amateurs and even the pros flock to James Leitz, PGA and top 100 Teacher and clubfitter.

[cooke119]

A few years ago I went to Golfsmith having already decided to buy Ping G15 irons (I had tried a friends and really liked them). The guy at Golfsmith was very helpful and I had a good experience. As stated above it is more about the fitter then the location. But I did like Golfsmith, versus the Dick's by me, because unlike Dick's you can hit on a launch monitor into a net. We went through the normal static fitting first, then hit on the strike board to determine the lie, then to the launch monitor for shaft selection. They ordered my Pings (blue dot, graphite shafts) and I had them in about two weeks. The irons work just fine for me, I'm very happy with them. When I purchase new irons I'll go back to Golfsmith.

Never tried GG because there isn't one by me.

[Fit-dreamer]

I know about Golf Galaxy fitting processes.

I am Maltby certified.  Certified with every major golf manufacturer who has their own fitting process.  Have studied the fitting processes of some of the specialty companies as well as some of the unorthodox.  GG managers can be PGA Professionals as well.  Working 60-70 hours a week, I missed my PGA player's ability test by a stroke.  My preparation, after a year long layoff, was a small bucket of balls prior to playing 36 holes in one day.  Otherwise, I would be a PGA professional too (not Class A though).  I even visited some of the manufacturer's fitting facilities (on my own time) to validate my in-store training.  Some of my very good friends are Golfsmith PGA professionals. and we've talked about the fitting processes.  I have worked for major manufacturers, locally and nationally recognized golf courses, and I know PGA professionals who care to know only the required basics for fitting. In every segment of the golf industry, I have heard of good and poor fitters.

GG employees make close to minimum wage.  No sales commission.  No one is allowed to accept merchandise (clubs) from vendors as "gifts" and Dick's sporting goods (owner of GG) took away the GG employee discount program.  I bought my clubs from Edwin Watts at retail.  They were cheaper than the in-house Dick's employee discount program. GG employees are supposed to be brand neutral.  They had to have a minimum of Maltby club fitting certification and whatever manufacturer they have been designated to fit for. Fitting is allotted only a certain amount of time.  If you go over that time, management takes notice (to the employee's detriment).  It's due to the "do more with less" cost cutting.

The basic fit only entails grip size, shaft flex, lie angle, and length.  And mainly applies if you have a set of clubs and want them fitted to you. Or want a set of specific set of clubs.

I would be wary of a fitter that doesn't ask alot of questions about your equipment, likes/dislikes, and goals.  Anyone who is condescending doesn't care about you or the fitting.  Leave and see someone else.  Anyone who doesn't give you 100% of their attention - leave.

And regardless of where you go, be wary of the launch monitor and/or simulators.  From experience, the altitude and/or ground firmness settings can be adjusted to give you more carry/roll (overall distance).  I prefer to have the settings as close to the local conditions as possible.  So your real world findings are the same as the launch monitors.  It would not be in the best interest of a retail store to fudge those settings.  But I have seen them being adjusted and then someone forgot to reset the launch monitor or simulator.  Or when I had to travel to another part of the country, sometimes we would forget to reset the launch monitor, but we always tested the launch monitors before using them so we always caught that mistake.

There are just too many facets to fitting for me to cover here.  Things like soft vs stiff tip shafts/butts, shaft manufacturers, shaft design, shaft  material, trajectory, spin, feel, tipped shafts, personal preference.......

[saevel25]

Probably the best place you can go to get access to many different combinations as possible is a golf Demo day. They usually have a multitude of irons and drivers with different shaft combinations. You really can get a feel for which ones you like, get to see the ball hit outside.

With a little research you can get close to what golf shafts you like. I know your not going to get perfect match to your swing, but you'll probably get close. If you want to get fitted, i really suggest you go to a golf course, try to find a professional who fits people as well. This way you can test clubs outside.

[Woodstocks]

The place where i got fitted for irons is called 'club champion golf' . They have all the clubheads and shafts from all manufacturers. Really an awesome experience, they measure your clubs as your hitting and work off your numbers. The fitted then has you hit different combinations of head and shafts. Clubchampiongolf.com

[march11934]

I have mentioned this before on this site that i have never felt comfortable at the Golf Galaxy in my area. There are a bunch of kids that have this "I'm too good to be dealing with you" attitude. Like they have Tiger Woods waiting on them to be done with you so they can reconvene with the personal club fitting...

Golfsmith has been good overall. There is the occasional golf brat like at Golf Galaxy. You just need to know to avoid them. The older guys actually have good intentions on helping you. I'm not saying you will get the best fitting but at least you will get an honest attempt.

I just bought a used driver today, as a matter of fact, at Golfsmith. An older guy helped me set up the simulator, a bunch of golf balls and reviewed my stats after i hit a bunch. He described the numbers to me and how they were good. He then went and got me a wrench since it is adjustable. Overall a nice experience. A few months back i dealt with one of the younger guys and was basically an impersonal transaction at best. The kid was just there to earn a paycheck. But I keep going there since most of the time it's good.

I would give Golf Galaxy 3 stars out of 10 for the occasional good sale.

I would give Golfsmith a 7 out of 10. Not a true pro golf shop but they do their best in setting you up.

Hope that helps.

[WUTiger]

In our area, both GG and Golfsmith have knowledgeable reps working in their stores. You can see the clubfitting school certificates on the wall at both companies.

Golfsmith had an advantage when it arrived three years ago: The shop had more hitting bays than GG, and a separate custom fitting department.

The GG shop in West County got remodeled and expanded this Fall, and gained more space. Shop now has a PGA-Tour caliber "fitting van" set-up, and does fittings for Edel wedges and putters (no mention of AimPoint).

[kcsteve]

I know this is an old post but thought it was funny because just last week I went to both locations in search of new 2014 irons and to get fitted.  A little background about myself first...I'm a lefty, age 49 with a handicap of 5.  I've been hitting the Callaway X-12 graphite shaft irons for the last 13 years, still love'm and they still help me shoot low scores but good grief it's time to get new clubs and take advantage of new technology.  Anyway...here is what happened, I first went to Golf Galaxy, huge place, lots of top of the line clubs everywhere.  Store was not busy this was on Saturday, I saw couple workers in back chatting, I stood by the irons I was really interested in which were the Titleist 714 AP2 and Mizuno JPX EZ forged irons.  No one came to assist or ask if I had any questions about the irons, stood around for 20 minutes and left...it just felt weird.

I then drove down to Golfsmith and to be honest I really expected the same.  I walked in the store, heard a lot of ball's being hit in the back, walked in the back, sat down on a nice soft couch and watch guys crush balls off the tee in the fitting area.  I immediately was asked by one of the workers could he help me and I told him I was looking real serious at the Titleist 714 AP2 and Mizuno JPX EZ forged irons and he said wait right here and I will get you set up to hit them in the fitting room.  He brought in the two I had requested along with the new Callaway apex pro irons...all were fitted 6 irons.  Over the years on average I hit my old X-12 6 iron about 167'ish.  The worker gave me the new Mizuno JPX EZ forged 6 iron and said go hit a few and we'll see the numbers.  I gotta tell ya it felt like butter coming off the club, hitting a  beautiful high left to right draw and the average distance was 164.  I then hit the Titleist 714 AP2 6 iron, same high left to right draw but averaged 171. The worker then told me the new Callaway apex pro irons have been getting incredible reviews and that I should try them.  Ball flight the same but higher and longer at 175 average.  He then said let's change the shaft by 10g less because I had told him I had graphite shafts on my X-12's.  The final results were the ball flight was higher than any of the others and longer at 180 yards with the 6 iron. I will be honest, I am not a long hitter but 180 was very respectable in my opinion.

I will be getting the new Callaway apex pro irons very soon!  The worker said we can set you up with the lighter shaft and half the clubs with (regular apex irons) and the other half with (apex pro irons) for a great combination.  That was my experience last week.

[jmanbooyaa]

That is great that you got someone who wanted to make sure you got clubs that worked for you. I too have had some cold experiences with Golf Galaxy.

[smidgin]

my view in the UK is that we have American Golf which, like most have said have staff that'll help you out and those that should be shown the way out... I use them for the odd club but if it was a driver I wanted my pro at my club knows my swing and will get me set up, tweak my swing to what he knows I'm best at and then see the fight etc... on the flat practice ground. His knowledge, lack of brand push and knowing that he'll want you happy and back keeps me there... he also matches price. I think simulators give a guide but a pro who knows you and the equipment is invaluable

[MickeyBlue]

I purchased my new irons from golf galaxy a few weeks ago. I was happy with the service. I think I was there for 2+ hours and the salesman was fine with me asking for 9-10 sets to try. He actually told me to try another set that I had not asked to try after about an hour hitting balls. Turns out that is the set I ended up purchasing. (MP-4's). Still not sure I made the right choice as I've never played blades but I will find out this spring. They sure felt good in the simulator though. Disclaimer this was my first club fitting of my life so I have nothing to base this off of. They fitted me for my shaft, length, and lie. I have a very upright swing and they needed to change my lie by almost 4 degrees. Sure made a huge difference on contact for me once this was done.n I would go back to GG for new clubs unless someone told me there was a better place for me to go.

[march11934]

Good luck with the MP4's. Very nice looking clubs. I have a set of 33's that i practice with. I game with 52's since they are lighter and go a bit farther. Never noticed a difference in forgiveness between the two clubs.

Regards.

[MickeyBlue]

I have a question. I am not sure if I want to pay for a full driver fitting. I have a strong idea of my swing. I have around a 107 mph swing speed with my driver. I have about a 7 degree launch angle. I tend to miss with. Snap hook or a really low drive. I need a driver with a high loft and a shaft that launches the ball with a spin of 2700 rpm. Drives go about 240-260 currently. Any suggestions on a good shaft for my swing speed and the need to get the ball up? I am think of getting the SLDR 430 cc driver with a custom shaft. I am also 5'9 and thing of ordering the shaft at 44". Please help. L

[inthehole]

In my area, Golf Galaxy has better launch monitor equipment than Golfsmith.    Golf Galaxy has all the mfg fitting carts as well.    Plus, you get a discount coupon in the mail every couple months if you spend $ there - it's pretty big if you buy irons there.

[DocParty]

Golfsmith has been around for 40 plus years. It has brick and mortar outlets in Canada and the USA and is the company that started the component supply chain.

Golf Galaxy started in 1997. A relative new comer.

The many off shoots of different associations that claim to be a 'certified' or 'official' group of club fitters is simply not the case.

There is no official club fitters group that is recognized world wide, nationwide or statewide.

Go with whomever you feel comfortable with. The person doing your fitting or making a repair is all that counts.

You'll know when you find a savvy person in this business and that's who you should go to.

Getting recommended to look at a site for some list of people in your area that are 'associated' is not smart consumer advice.

Go to someone that is recommended by a friend or by someone you trust. If you can't find any, go to the outlet that has the fitter/repair person that strikes you as if they are knowledgeable and willing to take the time to help you.

I'm a fitter/repair person and own my own small business here in Texas. It's called FORE! PLAY. It's my retirement career/hobby.

I can't say I'm the most knowledgeable and never have. But if it takes one hour or two hours or three hours to properly fit a person, then that's what I'm willing to spend with them.

Look around, be smart.

Doc