Buying from a Private Club

[Double Bogey]

So I am thinking of getting new irons since I got a bonus.  I know Fleabay and big box stores have cheaper prices than retail, but what about buying through a private club?  I want to avoid possible counterfeits and I need them customized so Fleabay is not an option.

Anyone have experience with that?  What is the discount, assuming there is one.  Is every club maker different or is there a standard.  I am thinking of buying Titleist AP1 or AP2s.  Thanks

[Clubchucker]

My experience when I bought my AP-1's: you always hear you should be fitted.  However, you also hear that you need a "good" fitting by a person who knows what they're doing.  Fine...how do you know?  None of my friends had gone through it (all bought off the rack) and I knew I wanted the Titleist.  So...I called Titleist and asked who their rep was in my area.  They gave me his number so I called him and left a message (apologizing for wasting his time of course) wanting to know a good fitter.  Didn't expect a call back, yet he called me back within 30 minutes.  After me again apologizing profusely for wasting his time his reply was "absolutely not...you did the right thing and I'm glad you called".

He then gave me the name and number of a local course (which I was familiar with) and said he was the best fitter he had in my area.  Went to him and much to my surprise, not only did he do the fitting for free (since I ordered the clubs through him) but he also sold me the iron set for $100 less than any of the box stores.  That was after getting custom shafts, lies, etc.  Still...$100 cheaper.

I have since bought every single club I've bought through him, always below what Golf Galaxy/etc has advertised.  Significantly lower might I ad.  Obviously he doesn't have everything "in stock" so I might have to wait a week for him to order it, but when I'm saving big $$ on everything (and getting it fitted for me) I don't mind the wait.

Moral of the story: check around.  You might be surprised that buying from a pro shop might be cheaper.

[Willie Malay]

Many private clubs give a discount rate to it's members and makes the final price comparable. Plus you have someone to work with if something goes wrong. Plus the money stays in the club or local. I'm a local business owner and pretty much always search out local people.