There are so many places now claiming to do custom club fitting I wonder how golfers make the decision as to where to go for clubs. The purpose of this blog is to help you avoid a mistake I made long ago when I purchased my first set of ‘custom clubs’. By spending a few short minutes reading this you will save money and you will ensure a much better golf game for yourself.
One of the biggest challenges of life is trying to avoid bad purchase decisions. We learn about life looking back but we must live life going forward. In other words, the lessons taught by hindsight is the toughest and costliest thing we humans must learn to live with. Not being able to see the results of our bad decisions until after the fact can cost us money and agony. How do we avoid the pangs of hindsight teaching us that we made the wrong decision about where to buy our golf clubs? Read about my sad story.
My story is also about how I got into the club business and this will help you make a better decision about where to buy custom golf clubs. In my case a friend whom I thought was a golf expert suggested buying custom clubs in Myrtle Beach and he pushed for the brand he was playing because his pro hero was playing them. I assumed my well-intentioned buddy knew what he was talking about. After all, he was one of the few single digit golfers I knew and he had won some local tournaments.
My wife and I were going to Myrtle Beach for a week of golf back in March of 1997 so I followed my friend’s advice. We had improved our games and wanted to take it up a notch by getting custom clubs while on that trip. We figured Myrtle was the golf capital of the US so I assumed I would find the best club fitters there as my friend had suggested. Sadly, I had not done my homework other than asking my friend so I just looked in the yellow pages and asked some locals where to buy custom clubs.
I was directed to a golf shop whose name I no longer remember. It looked like a fancy storefront and the inside was meticulous with some beautiful displays of the owner’s custom crafted clubs. Yeah now I know, how could they be custom if they were already built! But I was new to all this golf club stuff. In the past, we never had a custom option and just bought from the fancy displays in our country club pro shop. We played what our pro played right! Made perfect sense back then. I was impressed with the size of the store and the shiny looking clubs. This guy took some measurements and we agreed on a price. He built the clubs which I picked up the next day. Still think he had them in his back room already built. They were good but not much better than any other. Post purchase satisfaction rules forced me to convince myself that I was on the way to better golf once I got used to those shiny new weapons.
At that time, I didn’t’ realize that I had made the biggest mistake most golfers make. I got sucked in by brand names and glitz and glamorous marketing to play what the pros play.
In the meantime, my wife had found a nice-looking club in another shop that she liked but it was a bit long so Sam that shop owner sent us to a shop nearby that he used for repairs to get it cut down.
So, we drove to this shop and the outside looked downright dingy. When we walked into the place it was a messy disorganized looking golf store which looked more like a garage than a high end custom club shop with clubs and boxes everywhere. It was a disaster area with clubs everywhere. Little did I know that this guy was the most successful club fitter in the US!
Fortunately, I never judge a book by its cover and I listened to the owner who later became my mentor and friend. He talked both my wife into a testing and he took us at a local range in North Myrtle Beach to test both of us right away. Of course, I was confident that my new branded clubs would outperform his ‘no name stuff’. I could not have been more wrong.
The feel and results of Mike’s clubs were to die for. We bought a new set for my wife. But I had just bought a ‘custom set’ that were flying lower and 30 yards shorter than Mike’s test clubs. I felt dumb but didn’t want to admit my mistake and decided to stick with my so called custom clubs.
When we got home I kept remembering the feel and distance from Mike’s clubs and hated hitting my crappy so called custom clubs. It kept me up at night visualizing how high and long and straighter Mike’s clubs had soared, not to mention that feel to die for. So, after a month of suffering and not playing any better I called Mike and asked him to build me a set. When the clubs arrived a few days later I fell in love with golf all over. I could not wait to practice and play as often as I possibly could. The result was a huge drop in my handicap from 15 to 3 in one season. I had never heard of Infiniti golf but didn’t care because they worked! Mike’s system for testing and building seemed fool proof.
My wife and I both had bought his clubs and are still playing clubs assembled like Mike’s. Our golf games became much more enjoyable and scores dropped like a stone for both of us. Because the clubs felt so good we played more and practiced more and our scores got better and better. Our love for this great game grew more and more.
That day in 97 when I walked into Mike’s golf “garage” I was living life going forward. I was so impressed with his clubs and his system that I decided that to get into the custom club business. I called many sources to find out how to get trained to make sure I was seeking out the best possible teachers for club fitting. I learned my lesson about not doing my research before buying golf stuff!
They all said the same thing, Mike is one of two if not the top club fitter in the U.S. So, I asked Mike if he would train me to do the same thing he does but up here in Canada. Mike agreed and hindsight now 18 years later tells me it was the best decision of my life. I have helped 100’s of golfers during that period play better golf. I have become an obsessed student of the game we all love and I have always gone to top experts in the world to master my trade. By following that strategy of seeking out excellence I can pass on the best information to my clients about how to improve their golf game. That is what my business is all about, helping others have more fun by playing better golf.
Over the last 18 years I have refined Mike’s system and taken it far beyond what he ever could imagine from his retirement yacht. Club fitting has gone very high tech and much has changed for the better. But the tendency of golfers to get sucked into buying what the pros play and to purchase before doing their homework has not changed. I can share countless histories with you about clients who like me who have bought impulsively based on glitz and glamour only to find that those ‘custom clubs’ don’t work as well as advertised. Many of my clients went elsewhere first and have spent thousands on custom clubs which are better than off the rack but which were not fitted or assembled well enough to make a substantial difference in their scores. This has cost some of them over $4 000 for a set of substandard irons. That is a costly mistake and once again hindsight bites us you know where, in the pocket book.
Many of my clients went elsewhere by a well-meaning friend to get fitted before seeking out the best just as I had done so long ago. They thought that those large, fancy places must be good or how else would they survive.
How can you beat hindsight problems and avoid costly mistakes? Read and get informed about true custom club fitting. Firstly read 12 Myths Booklet by Tom Wishon. If you email me I will send you a copy of this must-read booklet. His books entitled, the Search for the Perfect Club and the Search for the Perfect Driver are compulsory reading before going for golf clubs. Tom says always custom never off the rack but be sure to find true custom club fitting like the tour pros get if you want the best blast for you hard earned cash.
Call or email the actual club fitter and ask questions. Is he willing to spend time with you answering questions or is he just eager to get you in and close a sale? Ask for references and testimonials. Can he send you to his website where he explains his system and certifications? Knowing as much as possible about the technical aspects of golf is critical to a perfect fit. Certifications do matter and help to ensure the best fit possible. Some fitters are certified by the brands they sell. Of course, the company will certify them as ‘master fitters’ just to promote club sales.
Here is a critical question to ask: What is the chief detriment of distance in the finished golf club? The answer is center face contact in case you didn’t know and if they don’t say that move to another fitter. Ask if they can guarantee center face contact once the fit and assembly is done? Do they provide any guarantees? Have they ever been certified by any independent club fitter organizations like the AGCP or the ICFG? Ask how long the fit will take? Anything less than 2-3 hours means you will not get the best fit possible.
On my website, you will see pages that will inform you about my qualifications and certifications, my fitting process, my customer reviews, and information about how our custom clubs will increase distance, accuracy and consistency which leads to lower golf scores. You will see that we guarantee center face contact, the holy grail of all club fitting, the key result that optimizes distance and control.
Many companies have glitzy web pages with very little information on them. They want to convince you that they are the best without providing you with the best explanation, without trying to educate you about how to buy custom clubs. Buyer beware applies.
We all want decisions to be simple but wanting simple doesn’t make things simple. Beware when fitters try to oversimplify. You deserve a full and good explanation to help with the purchase decision. Golf is the most complicated movement on the planet so no website trying to explain it can be simple. If you look for simple and shortcuts you will not get the right fit. Demand a full explanation. Don’t come to Power Golf if you want simple only come to us if you want the best and a full explanation in plain English.
This is the best way to buy clubs by looking back before you go forward with a club purchase. Don’t do as I did, do as I say. Find someone like me and get the proper fit and assembly to ensure improvement in your scores. No matter where you live there are great well-trained club fitters near you. If you feel you live to far from me to come to the best, email me and I will give you the names of those I know to be second best in your area. FYI we have had people drive 11 hours one way to get fitted by us. Another came from Mexico, the Philippines, all over New York state and all over Canada. Check us out at Power Golf and you will discover why so many have driven right by the large glitzy places to travel so far in search of golf fitting excellence at Power Golf. In the words of many clients you will have a magical day with us by having the best golf experience of your life.
If you are worried about price read our web page on pricing from start to finish. Email me and I will respond within one day to answer your questions.
Remember Ben Hogan’s wise words, “You are only as good as your clubs allow you to be.” Avoid the pangs of hindsight and come see us at Power Golf. Plan your golf future living forward. If you want the best fit come to the best.
If you want to read about how a professional club fit is done look for my next blog about an actual and typical fit at Power Golf. Warning it is not a quick and dirty summary because our fitting takes hours not minutes. Excellence and perfection cannot be distilled into a few words or sound bites. Our fit lasts until we get you the best results possible for your swing and skill level.
Enjoy the 2017 Golf season! Think birdies and eagles!