Golfsmith Fitting vs. Golf Galaxy Fitting

[Alohaed]

I would do neither. Not even PSS. Last time I was fitted for my irons, I went to my local pro shop in Mineola NY, who is highly regarded(even before they made it to the Golf Digest list), and also does fitting for PGA amateurs and other professionals. It took a few hours. He doesn't display clubs and doesn't have all of them. It took my measurements for length and grip size. Then he has heads to attach to different shafts. Decided on which heads I hit best by the tape method. Then hit using a monitor to display which head was better for mishits, and dead on hits also. Then tried many different shafts using their shaft monitor, deciding on flex, weight, kick point, etc. THen sent the specs to Mizuno to build my irons and wedges. They shipped them back and the fitter double checks the lofts and lies before he called my to pick them up.

When I finally/hopefully get another job, I will go back to them for the new Mizuno irons. Maybe a driver and 3 wood too. He isn't cheap, $125 for the fitting, not deducted from the cost of clubs. Yet worth it.

[Aflighter]

Wow, we 15.1 handicaps must really have bad swings.

No its got nothing to do with your handicap.They just wanna make money off of you and figure you love golf and you want to improve and will pay for it.Im a 9-10 handicap and knew I have a good swing and was even told by pro especially since ive been playing 20 years.I took the golftec evaluation was even after figuring out what I needed to do to hit ball straighter and better they still wanted to offer that lesson deal but he wasn't really pushy,just trying to help me be better.Wouldnt recommend anything near that many lessons unless you just started golf.

[whatwoodtigerdo]

I was just looking at Golf Galaxy platinum fitting. Then I found a top 100 fitter from golf digest in my area. Both charge the same amount for a complete fitting. I would say make sure you research.

I haven't set up my fitting yet but it is definitely a hard decision. I am looking to get irons and will probably spend somewhere around a grand. Would hate to make the wrong choices.

[Lihu]

I was just looking at Golf Galaxy platinum fitting. Then I found a top 100 fitter from golf digest in my area. Both charge the same amount for a complete fitting. I would say make sure you research.

I haven't set up my fitting yet but it is definitely a hard decision. I am looking to get irons and will probably spend somewhere around a grand. Would hate to make the wrong choices.

Sounds great. Let us know what you end up getting and how the fitting goes.

[BeCu]

Regarding original question, I personally call it 50/50 based on personal experience.

I do fitting/repair(not full time-yet:) and order some components from GolfSmith/GolfWorks/GolfGalaxy. I learned through trial and error like most. For many many years I spent way too much $$ based on marketing, etc before meeting someone that took time to explain why specs, club configurations may fit my swing characteristics.

My best advice is to visit as many fittings as you have time/patience for. Hopefully you will know when you are in good hands. IF you go the OEM route (i.e. big name brands) you should definitely hit balls outside preferably with a fitting person that represents a particular OEM brand.

I do admit to being a Wishon disciple when it comes to club fitting. Personally I think when it comes to choosing/educating yourself on what shaft/club head loft/lie angle configuration you actually require, there is no better authority than Tom Wishon. Yes there are others, I just think Tom Wishon covers all bases and has greatly simplified the fitting process.

In conclusion, I would suggest contacting via the web, Wishon golf as they maintain a listing of club fitters.

[quebb]

I am a certified club fitter at a big box store and I try to do my best with my customers.  Ideally, I recommend to high handicappers to spend there money on a package of lessons to learn how to swing a club before making a purchase.  A customer should always wear clothes that are similar to what he or she would be wearing to the golf course

Once all above has been achieved, then we could proceed.  The customer should do his/her due diligence regarding costs, set makeup, and the style and brands that they are interested in.  As a fitter, some of these questions are usually asked during the initial interview.  Once a customer has settled on a particular brand, model, set makeup and costs..........we can proceed to a fitting.  During a fitting we identify 4 main components....shaft length, shaft flex, lie angle and grip size.  Most manufacturers offer at additional cost other shaft and grip selections beyond what comes as standard.  I will offer that as a suggestion to a customer if I feel he or she will benefit from an upgrade.  I will also have the customer demo an upgrade shaft and head combination for feel and differences.....specifically as it relates to distance, accuracy, feel and cost.  Once we have agreed on the selection and finalized the fitting specs then we move forward with the purchase.  I want my customers involved in the selection process throughout the fitting.  I want my customer to feel good about his purchase and confident that he or she made the right decision.  Is there any benefit of being fit for a set of clubs outdoors?  Yes, but only if you have a trackman or flight scope.  Our simulators are inside, but we do have technology that delivers spin rate rpm (backspin, L2R, R2L), face and path information, deviation, launch angle, ball speed, club head speed, smash factor............

[4Aces]

In the area I live, and the choices you offered, I would travel a couple hours to the Golfsmith that has an outdoor range passing my local Golfsmith and Golf Galaxy.

Story that was told to me by the pro at my old club. When he started his career the head pro told him if he wanted to be thought of as a smart and a good pro, never move someone too far out of their comfort zone. With club fitting find out what they are using and make only slight adjustments if necessary. That way it won't feel too strange and usually they will get that "new club bounce" in their games. He thought the guy was just being lazy and didn't want to really work and do a good job. Now he sees the wisdom in that advice for most of the players.Ask yourself if you want to be that customer, you really may want to be. Make changes in stages.

Fitters have biases.

They are pals with a certain brand rep

They get a bigger commission on some clubs

They have had success with a certain club

In most cases they do not know you, but they do know the various reps, bosses, etc.

The XYZ rep just took them to play XYZ course.

Buyer beware. Learn as much as you can before starting the process. Have a specific issue you are trying to improve with your current clubs. Distance? Ball flight? Consistency? Alignment? Then ask how that new club is going to help that. Does the answer pass the b.s. test?

[golfbarefoot]

In my opinion.. Both are very reputable retail stores with authentic, quality products.. but if possible research your preferred manufacturer and find demo days and fitting events... For example: http://www.titleist.com/golf-club-fitting/ You can't go wrong. With the retail stores, it's luck of the draw. Some associates are excellent, some are clueless and do their best.... they are all equipped to fit you with excellent technology (launch monitors etc) but I suggest you do your research on your fitter to ensure you maximize your experience and investment.

[march11934]

I recall having posted some negative feelings about Golf Galaxy in my area. They just recently built a new and much larger one maybe a mile from where I work. So i stop in from time to time just to browse the new stuff. I have interacted with a few of the guys there and maybe they are all new hires or a different managerial direction in that store but everyone i have spoken with has been great. Just recently went through some fittings for a 3 wood and a putter. They sounded knowledgeable about the details and pleasant to work with. Good job GG!

[Parker0065]

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.

That's exactly how it plays out in my area!

There are basically three options in my area:

Dick's - Um,,,,NO!

Golf Galaxy - They have all the equipment and the ability to do a decent fitting but honestly the "big box" mentality really comes out in there. To them, everyone that walks through the door is a 20 handicap because,,,,,that's what they mostly sell to so they give everybody the usual treatment.

Mom & Pop store that's been around since the 1950's - Bingo, every and all good players from scratch to 5 handicap that I personally know are fitted and buy their clubs from this store. The customer service is top notch and they go out of their way to get you into what you really need. Their prices are not the lowest by any stretch but it's just another example of you get what you pay for! My sons entire bag of Titleist clubs have come out of there. Pricey, yes, but fit to perfection!

[James Dalton]

On 7/2/2012 at 9:27 AM, tiger187126 said:

i got fitted for my irons at Dicks a long time ago and i wasn't very happy, but that's because i didn't have a swing to get them fitted to. that's my fault and the guy was extremely patient with me. at golf galaxy i have had mixed results, but have never bought a club. part of it is the car salesman aspect, not the commission, but the fact that they were falling over themselves to help the guy in the 3 piece and threw me in an empty bay by myself. at least they were nice enough to turn on the machine, even if it wasn't working.

 

the best place i went was called 2nd swing. i hated my dymo driver because of the sound it made and just wanted a new one, so i decided that maybe i'd get a used driver unless some new technology really gave me a leg up.

 

i scheduled a driver fitting, showed up and had a guy basically at my hip the entire time. we went through 10 different drivers and tried different settings on the adjustable ones. i probably spent close to 2 hours hitting balls. at the end we looked at the final tally and my current driver was by far the most consistent and accurate. i had them regrip it there and was out the door. they also had a 30 day return policy which seemed much more doable than the one at golf galaxy (i bought a pair of shoes online and tried them on, but the didn't fit so i took them into a store to return them. you would have thought i was at a high price auction the way she inspected the shoes and questioned me about how long and where i wore them.), and they were really helpful. they had a much better selection than just the newest (and most expensive) models like GG/Dicks and having them used saved me a few bucks.

 

now i've never had a country club fitting, so i can't comment, but from my personal experience:

1) Learn your swing and have a consistent one

2) 2nd swing (if they're anywhere besides minneapolis/st paul, i'm not sure)

3) golfsmith (good selection and employees have always been helpful)

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4) golf galaxy/dicks (elitist attitudes/understaffed/lack of knowledge from all but a few employees, who, of course, are always busy)

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5) sports authority (i've never been to one that has anything more than a small area to take a full swing. they did have some great deals on sets of clubs for beginners, although i'm not sure of how they would hold up)

I am a certified club fitter for Golf Galaxy and wanted to respond. First, all employees are on salary or hourly wages, there is no commission. The reason for that is they want us to find the club that best fits your swing instead of trying to sell the most expensive clubs. This is the main reason I chose to work at GG. Not all sales people are Certified Club Fitters. Make sure you look on the wall for that salesperson's certificate showing he is Certified. Even after becoming certified, it takes a couple of years to get really good at club fitting. Make sure you ask how long they have been doing club fitting.  I can assure you that you will get a good fitting if you follow this advice. I am a 10.1 handicap, have 4 hole in ones, 2 double eagles & play 3 times a week. 

[Grumpter]

On ‎1‎/‎11‎/‎2015 at 10:18 AM, march11934 said:

I recall having posted some negative feelings about Golf Galaxy in my area. They just recently built a new and much larger one maybe a mile from where I work. So i stop in from time to time just to browse the new stuff. I have interacted with a few of the guys there and maybe they are all new hires or a different managerial direction in that store but everyone i have spoken with has been great. Just recently went through some fittings for a 3 wood and a putter. They sounded knowledgeable about the details and pleasant to work with. Good job GG!

I think it is much like the fed-ex / UPS debate. It depends on the individual elements. For me I drive 5 x as long to get to Golfsmith than to the Golf Galaxy which is very close to my home. IMO the managerial staff at my local Golf Galaxy are just not very appreciative of any business. They act like they are doing me a favor rather than earning my business and I am pretty low maintenance as far as that is concerned. It's a shame because the teaching Pro at the Golf Galaxy is pretty solid but I won't go there because I don't want to give that location the business.

That being said the poll results are pretty interesting.

[saevel25]

If you know you are going to go with one brand or anther then I recommend trying to find a local golf course to get fit. A lot of times you can get the clubs cheaper there because they push that brand. Also they are not making a living off of selling clubs. 

 

[kenstl]

I think I'm of the opinion of many on here, I would do neither.   I think a fitting should include hitting balls at a range where the flight of the ball can be seen.  IMO, the data from track man is over used in selling clubs, especially when a high proportion of players have a driver club head speed under 95 mph.  I would highly recommend a fitting through a wishon fitter.  They measured my current clubs for length, lie, weight, moi and swingweight first to get a starting point, discussed likes and dislikes, and the goal of the fitting.  The actual fitting included range time where the ball flight could be viewed and impact tape on the face to determine an optimum length of club based on measuring center of club face hits.  

In the past, I had also went GG fittings with mizuno and their fitting cart. It worked as well, but it in no way matched what I learned about my swing and my club needs through the Wishon fitting process. 

[Jakessnakelive]

Although I work at Golfsmith I'm giving you all the info with NO BIAS. Golfsmith requires you to be trained in every brand but do not just walk in expecting perfection. We have master fitters that have actually put in the time to train, so it is not just a random guy who knows a little about everything. As long as you make a reserved time for one of the certified master fitters you will be fine. The monitors don't always read 100% correctly, but no indoor machine will. It's close but not exact. 

Golf galaxy has the same machines but doesn't require master fitting certificates. I have had many golf galaxy employees convert to the Golfsmith side and have had no verifications what so ever. 

Despite both of these I feel that the best way to get fit is by looking into each brand and talking to their reps at demo days. You have people trained for all the specifics of a specific brand. Go to Golfsmith or galaxy and hit a few to see what clubs peak your interest but don't pull the trigger into you are ok with at least two brands then do a demo day 

Also in final. All fitters are there to fit you around your swing when you come in. So DO NOT spend a ton of money on clubs if you do not have a consistent swing or are currently making huge swing changes

Edited July 26, 2016 by Jakessnakelive
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