OK, full bag fitting report........worth $31.25, but it was just a sales pitch as you would expect.
At the start, he asked what I wanted to accomplish. Here was my list...
- Putter fitting
- Driver optimization
- Check gaps between 3w, 3h, 4i, 5i
So, where does he start? Correct, a 7 iron fitting! Working with the Gen5 0311P head, he put me through a load of shafts (Steelfiber95S, Nippon Ham Fighters steel, KBS TGI, Mitsubishi MMT, TT Elevate 95). I had warned him that anything lighter than 85 has never seemed to work for me, and that was confirmed. The Steelfibers and Nippon were best (I thought Nippon was most consistent, but he kept pushing Steelfiber). Anyway, with those two I was getting about 3 yards more that my TS2 7i. Adding a couple of grams to the head added a couple more yards. That was it for the 7i, a jump from 147 yds to 152 yds.
Next, we did the gapping. Surprisingly, what I told him I thought I hit in distance for the 4i, 18* hy, 3 wood were all pretty much correct. 207 on the 3w, 190 on the hybrid, 175 on the 4i. He did shaft up a Gen5 3w with a Ventus shaft (same as my driver). But that $499 club didn't outperform my Tommy Armour Atomics with $10 Ozik shaft.
Next, he loaded up my info into my profile. And then he created my new set of Gen5 irons with Steelfiber shafts, and only $1800 would give me that 5 extra yards. I said no thanks, not enough of a reason to change. And he said thanks for coming by. I said "What about driver and putter?" Oh, ok.
At least with the driver, he didn't try to sell me a new shaft when I already have the Ventus. We pulled out my weight kit, and he moved things around and got me 7 yards more carry and -200 spin. That was worthwhile.
The putter fitting wasn't really a fitting. I assume it was because I already had PXG putter. It was a small putter lesson though. He did watch me putt, said I was very straight back/through and that my big toe hang closer wasn't made for that stroke. He said a double-bend would help me stop pulling putts. Also, I did set up with toe slightly in the air, so he said I needed to flatten the lie.
That was my fitting. The 90 minute session took 60 minutes, but I couldn't hit much more anyway. I'll take it for $31. I'd spend half that at the range anyway, and I did get some good driver feedback, little bit of putter knowledge, and it did resolve my concerns with long club gapping. The facility was fine, a nice Trackman setup. The 10 foot putting area was not enough area. The surprising news was my swingspeed really hadn't dropped since I was last tested 4 years ago at age 55. I just need to play more, I am playing about 1/2 as much as I did then.
The sales pitch was strong with this one. I do wish they were more interested in helping you with what you've already purchased - but I understand.