Opinion on Hotstix?

[questforscratch]

I've been debating whether or not to try Hotstix. Has anyone tried them out? It is a company that custom fits your clubs. VERY high tech with lasers and launch angles and every other high tech gizmo you can think of. They are a bit expensive but I was thinking of getting my driver and woods fitted to start with. The reason is that I can't hit my driver very far. It looks great when it leaves my club, straight, and good trajectory and all but when I get there it's only 230 yards! What a dissapointment. I'm hoping they can fit the right shaft and ball for me.

[jimbo2007]

I'm interested in the same thing, as I will be in Scottsdale for a week in April. I posed the same question on this board, only two reply's but both had very positive things to say about the results (if not the price...).

I'm definately leaning towards getting a full evaluation when I'm there.

[RangeHound]

I went to a Hotstix Licensee. They claim that they can offer everthing the Hotstix center can but cheaper. It cost me $40 for each; Driver, Irons, Wedges etc. My licensee claims to be better because the centers tend to push people to the clubs, and shafts combination they have ready for you to take home today. I did two fittings: driver and irons. In both cases I took the top 3 and hit the stock equipment right off the rack. Based on what I felt and liked I tweaked my favorite with the ultimate shaft suggested by Hotstix.

I have spent 1 year hitting everything at every demo day I could find. The Hotstix stuff really helped me focus on what actually would work with my swing. With me driver I instantly could not believe the difference it made. With my irons it has taken me about 2 weeks to develop some confidence. This is mainly due to the dramatic change I made. Zing 2's to Mizuno forged. At the range today I had the tightest group I have ever hit.

Unless you have access to a great professional fitter/teacher I would strongly suggest the Hotstix stuff. I liked the licensee I went to because I was able to spend the money saved on my equipment.

[gortyl]

first of all, forgive my "newbie" status. i have to get my three posts in so i can introduce myself and edit my signature, so this thread jumped out at me (you'll see why).

i was out in scottsdale last october and went to hotstix to get fitted for my irons and my putter (i had JUST gotten fitted for my driver and fairway woods in summer 2006).

the first thing you have to come to grips with is the cost. it's relatively pricey compared to your local gigantic golf retailer or your local pro, period. if you're not worried about what it costs as you're going through the fitting.....YOU'LL F'NG LOVE IT!

i was in some '04 big berthas and was dead set on the x-18s or some other callaways. hotstix assigns you a fitter for your session and the first thing they do in the "stall" that you are assigned is evaluate what you're currently playing - the #s, the lofts, the lie angles, the length, the swing weights, etc. for me, having originally purchased them "off the rack" and having had 2-3 of the clubs re-shafted over the years, it was clear immediately that my clubs were all screwed up.

and while they're evaluating each and every one of your current irons, they're educating you on why certain things are important and giving examples of what the effect will be with the issues your clubs may have. everything is computer-driven and they have flat-panels in the stall that displays all of the information from your current clubs.

FINALLY....on to the new clubs. they first measure you for the right shaft length based on your 6-iron (although i think the club they use varies). they gather your swing speed and launch angle, side spin, etc. based on this, they recommend 3-4 different brands/models/shafts (shafts being the key). one of the cool things about hot stix is that they are not married to any brand, so based upon the preliminary information, they'll recommend these brands.

in my case, it was the x18s, mizuno mx-25s and callaway fusions (at the time i was probably a 15). they then let you hit those clubs and use impact tape and the launch monitor to measure everything from clubhead speed to ball speed to launch angle to side spin and more. they continue to tinker with the lie angle until you're squaring up a vast majority of your shots on the sweet spot. after a while, you've got the right shaft, the right lie angle and the right length....at that point, it's up to you.

and while you're cranking balls into the net (they also have an outdoor facility which i did not use), all of the statistics are immediately being projected onto the flat-panel for you to compare to your previous swings with the previous clubs/brands. my mind said x18s, but my swing and the result kept saying mx25s. the guy just let me keep hitting those two over and over, for probably 15 minutes straight until my mind caught up with my swing and i decided on the mx25s.

i'd do it again in a heartbeat.

as for the putter fitting, it too is cool. they have something like 8 different cameras from all different angles and you putt a few. they can tell the tiniest flaws from this. unfortunately for me, i happened to have a steady stroke that day and they really could not tell me anything to do differently as i drained about 9 in a row from 6 feet - this was very unusual and i was pretty pissed that this happened since i was really looking forward to switching putters. they did, however, educate me on the different weighting of putters and the different swing paths of putters and which path i had a tendency to follow.

bottom line, i'd highly recommend hot stix to anyone who happens to be in the scottsdale area and who is looking for the absolute best possible fitting they'll ever have.

i'm done rambling, but if i'm asking a serious question later on in this forum about a particular topic, i hope someone takes it as serious as this.

[questforscratch]

That's great feedback. I have heard good things about them also. Of course the only thing holding me back is the cost. I guess it is worth it if you love the game and will be playing it for a long time. This way you can't keep making excuses about having the wrong equipment. At least you'll know it's you and not the clubs!

[gortyl]

The other thing I failed to mention is that there is zero high pressure sales there. None whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even buy my Mizunos for about five weeks after my visit. And I really didn't have to buy them from Hot Stix either since they provide you with all of the data you need.

But they make them right there and if the club makers have any questions, they have the fitter on-site right there. Yes, they make the clubs on-site, same place they do the fittings....it's like a golf factory.

And yes, you pay a bit more probably having them do everything, but you know it's going to be right. And I've loved my Mizunos even though it was a surprise pick coming out of my fitting....

[questforscratch]

Now I'm really temped to go do it!!! Thanks again for the info. I will let you know how it goes.

[Reesh]

I intend on visiting sometime in January myself, if you decide to go with their recommendations, do you know if you can have them done while onsite?

[doublesuited77]

is there a place anywhere to get a list of hotstix licensees.

[gortyl]

Reesh - I imagine it's possible to have them do it on-site while you wait, but you'd probably have to "make it worth their while", if you know what I mean since there would, hypothetically, be several (if not, dozens) of orders in front of you. The turn around time from your order until you receive at your house, if memory serves, can be from a few days to a couple of weeks. The factors that dictate this include whether they have the shafts/clubs on-site or not and how many orders are in their backlog.

doublesuited - Check out their website for a few locations. I recall they were investing in some Mobile Hot Stix vehicles that would make visits to clubs throughout the country, but I didn't have time to browse the site to see if they still have those or what the story is with them.

http://www.hotstixgolf.com/index.php?action=entrance

[Reesh]

Thanks for the info gortyl, that's unfortunate because I was planning on purchasing/customizing a new set of irons upon my visit to Hotstix, from what I understand they perform customizations to the existing set of clubs you bring to a fitting session. I currently own a knock-off set, it seems kind of a waste to have a $200 fitting/customization performed a set that costs just as much! It doesn't make sense to purchase a new set prior to a fitting either, since that's kind of the whole point of going to a session to begin with.