custom clubs vs OEM clubs

[pgone]

Sorry BAD BADGER , I dont think we have much to debate. The good guys have been chased out of the business. Now its 500$ drivers, 1000$ irons and 350$ putters.. Good Luck newbies...I wish  you well

[DaveP043]

20 hours ago, pgone said:

 Just kept a promise to myself to help folks who had no idea how to play golf to see an affordable side.Just for fun-- How many on this forum have Drivers coated with TITANIUM CARBONITRIDE?

 

16 hours ago, pgone said:

Sorry BAD BADGER , I dont think we have much to debate. The good guys have been chased out of the business. Now its 500$ drivers, 1000$ irons and 350$ putters.. Good Luck newbies...I wish  you well

So your mission is to help people find affordable clubs, but now its too late, they can't find affordable clubs.  You're not here to discuss or debate, or even to explain your viewpoints.

 As for titanium carbonitride, I can find some patent applications for use of this (and other similar compounds) as a low friction coating for golf clubs, apparently to reduce spin.  A quick search didn't come up with any heads available with this coating.  Would you care to actually explain?

[shanksalot]

The component vs OEM has been going on for decades. There was a time when you could be fitted with good quality component heads and shafts by professionally trained fitters. The cost was less than off the rack OEMs. But today the OEM market has changed significantly. You can buy a 2 year old OEM set of irons for less than a fitted component set off Ebay. Same with woods and hybrids. Now if you really think that OEM heads have better tolerances than the good quality component heads you might be wrong. Quality component companies have the same tolerances as the OEMs an are often manufactured in the same shops. They almost all are done out of the USA and in China and Japan.

 If I were to be fitter for a set of clubs I would go to a professional fitter not to a store that sells off the rack OEM, but will go though a quick fitting that would often pale compared to a professional fitting. A real professional with weigh components, shafts and grips in order to get each club to match through out the set. What I am writing here is just a quick look at what they do, but it is far better than what you get off the rack and better than going to the local golf store to get fitted by someone who is usually not a trained professional, just someone who has had a few tips on fitting using a launch monitor. Now for those who are adamant OEM proponents something like a Callaway or PING fitting center will do the same thing for you, but it might cost  quite a  bit more. For years I built my own clubs from quality components and my scores were no differnt than with off the rack OEM clubs. During that period I was a single digit player with both types of clubs, component and OEM. Done correctly both options can give you a quality set of golf equipment.As a qualifier I usually reshaft the OEM iron sets I buy today.

 

Edited March 5, 2017 by shanksalot

[Hacker James]

Regarding components. Many OEM's have their heads supplied by the same company. On the west coast for example, Coast Cast did iron heads for Titleist, but having worked there for five years, I can tell you that frequently a head would mistakenly show up in a box from another OEM. I scored a Cleveland  Gap wedge one day (with permission), had the assembly crew put a shaft and grip on for me (during their break). 

[MarvChamp]

Great topic and debate!  As I have said elsewhere, I bought the used high-end brand irons I wanted. Then, consulted a fitter/builder for re-shafting, 1 soft-stepping and PURing for my swing. That worked for me. Being a crazy old man, my way was more expensive. although I did 2 sets for what a fitted high-end set cost AND I enjoyed the search and the experience.

I have heard others do the same, buying one club or clubhead at a time, until they have the set they want, and then re-building. So, I guess what I am saying is that there are different ways for people who love the game to obtain good clubs without going to extremes in price. Regards, -Marv

[Single Length Irons Guy]

The markup on "off the rack" sets is insane -- pick up a golfworks catalog and see that heads are selling for $20 in some cases, and that's the selling price, not the manufacturer's cost. Add on top of that the fact the the major manufacturers get better cost/unit due to volume and you can safely estimate that an iron head costs $10 to manufacture.

Add in a shaft for $20 and a $5 grip and you get a $45 club. So why do most sets cost $600 - $1,000? They're manufactured, marketed and sold by big companies who have lots of overhead costs.

But from the consumer's standpoint, is the latest and greatest iron set really worth 2x to 3x the cost of a "component" set?

[proto]

On 3/2/2017 at 0:06 AM, ShawnieD said:

considering set custom irons have never been fitted always have bought of the rack clubs. have always looked for forgiveness as the deciding factor in my purchase. just wondering if custom clubs are as forgiving as big name clubs. would like to hear good and bad aspects of both thanks

get custom fitted, they will make sure your swing is right for the shaft and that club your wanting to buy and you can get better grips then the stock ones. if you jus buy a club off the shelves, you could end up with a club that might not work well with what your wanting or looking for out of a club. the shafts could be too long for ya, and the lie and offset of the club could be too upright or too flat and that makes a big difference. i got custom fitted last week and i got the apex cf16 with projectX shafts in em. i was originally got fitted for the AP2 716 but my shafts were on back order till end of march and we didn't know that at the time so we called around to other brands that i liked and only shafts i could get and club to have next week were the mizunos. i needed up jus going with the apex cf 16 with projectX shafts in em now and won't get them till like maybe the end of march or first week of april which sucks but oh well.

 

if you want to have fun and make sure your clubs are right for you. go get custom fitted, don't go to dicks. go to a local custom club fitting place so they will actually spend time with you and making sure thats what you need. dicks jus goes and checks your lie and length of shafts. they don't get into deep like i think most stores should.

good luck and enjoy

[Buckeyebowman]

On 3/2/2017 at 0:48 PM, Typhoon92 said:

+1 to Badbadger.  Components like Wishon, Alpha make oem quality heads but are too close to oem in price.  Knockoff heads, you're spot on..depending on your level of play you might not care but if you care enough to get fitted so the right thing.

Here's my take on the whole deal. If you get quality components, like you and 1bad mentioned, in the hands of a qualified fitter/builder, and the component clubs and the fitting are just slightly more than the OEM "off the rack" clubs, why on earth would you NOT opt for the custom fitting?

Every time I walk into a golf store these days I am staggered by sticker shock! Hell, if I'm going to drop a grand on standard, off the rack, irons, why not drop an extra hundy or two on a set that was built just for me?