New Club horror stories- advice needed

[Leek]

I've had several friends buy new clubs and when they had them checked, the quality control was terrible and the setups were all over the place. One friend had a set of less than 1 year old irons that ranged from 2 deg flat to 4 deg upright from his specs. His shafts were supposed to be 6.0 Rifles and ranged from 4.5 to 7.0.

Another friend had a 9.5 degree driver that was really 8 degrees!

I plan to buy new irons and want to make sure the clubs are accurate and well built. Have any of you tried to do this? If so, how did you get well made clubs?

[supercow]

No offense to OEMs but I sort of expect this type of thing. A friend was working as a PGA apprentice and had the opportunity to check clubs as part of his training. A lot of them were pretty woeful with 5 irons having the loft of 6 irons and so on. With regards to drivers most OEMs have tolerances of +-2 degrees if I remember correctly (recall from some Wishon article). Are you sure they weren't "Flighted Rifles"? That could be the reason why the machine is being thrown off.

Best way to get clubs you want is to have everything measured while in store, get them built by a clubmaker using custom components, or build them yourself if you have the knowledge.

[Leek]

No offense to OEMs but I sort of expect this type of thing. A friend was working as a PGA apprentice and had the opportunity to check clubs as part of his training. A lot of them were pretty woeful with 5 irons having the loft of 6 irons and so on. With regards to drivers most OEMs have tolerances of +-2 degrees if I remember correctly (recall from some Wishon article). Are you sure they weren't "Flighted Rifles"? That could be the reason why the machine is being thrown off.

They were standard Rifles. I don't want custom components- I want well built OEM clubs. Do I have to get Miuras or Epons to get this?

[supercow]

You could just get them measured in store and just keep on going from store to store until you find something that is actually on spec. Only problem is that it could take a while to find something that is completely up to spec.

Other thing you could try is to buy a set and have them checked and bent (I know how rediculous this sounds) so that you KNOW that they are on spec (the store you purchased them from or a clubmaker could do this).

Another strategy is to buy them, check them and if its not on spec send it back until you do find one that is completely on spec. I'm not certain which OEM's would allow you to do this though...

Anyone have any good stories about fantastic OEM customer service?

Be prepared for a hefty premium if you're going to go with Endo/Miura.

[Leek]

You could just get them measured in store and just keep on going from store to store until you find something that is actually on spec. Only problem is that it could take a while to find something that is completely up to spec.

In my mind, it isn't a premium if the clubs are well built. I'm a value buyer. I think my friends TM RAC TPs were a bad value. Lofts off, lies all over the place, shafts with different frequencies. That's a bad value. If Miura or Endo charges me 50-60% more and the clubs a made right, it's a better value to me.

[Terrier]

Good points. To add...

Tour pros get their lofts and lies checked at least monthly. Any of you all remember a segment on Mark Wilson on the Golf Channel in the Ping van getting his irons' loft and lie checked?

Clubs will move. They get banged around when on display, when demoed, when re-gripped, when shipped, when the wife shut the car door on them by mistake and didn't tell you...

Loft and lie checks are about a $1.00 a club. To bend one if it needs it, it's $4.00. Loft and lie adjustments/bending free with new club purchases from the store (from what I've experienced).

Don't know the standard specs? Go to the manufacturer's website, print out the specs, and give them to your clubmaker when telling s/he what exactly you want done. The minor homework is appreciated.

Those fees are minimal in the grande sheme of guessing whether or not if the club is dead on to your specs from the get-go, IMHO.

Or you can...

Take it straight from the UPS truck to the range and/or course and hook the livin' daylights out of it for hundreds of shots and wonder why.

HTH. Been there...

[Aaron]

If I bought a set of off the rack clubs from a store, would it be too much to ask them to check the clubs for me? If so, do you think they would cover any adjustments back to factory specs or would I need to return them to the factory?

[myndcraft]

If I bought a set of off the rack clubs from a store, would it be too much to ask them to check the clubs for me? If so, do you think they would cover any adjustments back to factory specs or would I need to return them to the factory?

Well Terrier right above your post said this…

Loft and lie adjustments/bending free with new club purchases from the store (from what I've experienced).

So I guess it depends on the store… I'm about to go through this process as well so we'll see. If I had to guess though I'm betting your more quality stores/pro shops would do this whereas some bargain sellers so to speak would not.