Experience at Titleist National Fitting Centre - St Ives

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By Simon S

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  1. I was fit at the Titleist National Fitting Centre this weekend, and I struggled to find a lot of information on what to expect, so wanted to post something about my experience.

    I’ve been pretty lucky with fittings over the years - both in the UK and the USA - yes I’ve had some mediocre experiences, but I’ve also had fitters who have worked with European Tour and LPGA players (not that I’m an amazing golfer - I’ve just stumbled across some good fitters during my time). I wasn’t 100% sure what to expect at the Titleist National Fitting Centre at St Ives, but I thought to myself, “this is the best Titleist has”, so my expectations were high... I entered the facility and was greeted by James who was very friendly and welcoming - he put me at ease right away, and explained how the session would operate (including Covid restrictions of course). When we went into the main area, the setup was amazing - bags filled with shafts, and of course all the head combinations across the Titleist range. The technology used was top of the range, enabling all the key elements to be measured (angle of attack, strike point, path, face to path, launch angle, spin, etc.) - knowing this information was part of the process was really important to me, and it was great to discuss these things with James as we went through the fitting to help us make our decisions on what was best for me. Now to the most important part - The Fitter! James was really incredible and I couldn’t have enjoyed the fitting more! A very nice person who makes you feel at ease; listens to you and uses the information gleaned as an important input into the process; and has an impressive amount of technical, product, and brand knowledge - we had really interesting conversations on Titleist’s R&D process, customer journey, and technical aspects of the fitting (the latter he told me he doesn’t push unless the person being fitted shows interest / knowledge - I personally really enjoyed our three dimensional spin loft discussion!) Overall, even with high expectations, this was better than I had hoped, and I couldn’t recommend more highly. I don’t need any more clubs for a while, but I’ll be looking for an excuse to head back - maybe some fine tuning, gapping, loft and lie checks.......?! Nicely done Titleist (I was a huge fan already, but this elevated my appreciation even higher!), and thank you James!

  2. ANg

    ANg
    UK

    Very insightful post, thanks! I’ve been meaning to visit that national fitting centre for a while for some vokey wedges. The cost doesn’t seem extortionate given it is an hour of their expert time on products they know back to front. Given me more of a push to get something booked in!
  3. I neglected to say what I ended up getting, sorry! I actually got an Vokey SM8 sorted while I was there.....!
    I got SM7s last year (fitting experience wasn't as good as this - I got 52.08 F & 56.10 S), but needed a new 60 degree this year.

    Re the cost, I think it’s £40 for a single category fitting - I think that’s worth it for a/ the quality of the process, and b/ for the confidence in knowing you’ve got the right tools…. (One less excuse for when I hit a bad shot though….!)

    Re my fitting, I have a pretty strong preference for the M grind’s versatility given what I use it for (I don’t typically hit full shots with my 60 degree, just chipping around the green when I’ve shorted sided myself (so pretty frequent usage....! ) so it’s all about feel and control, and being about to use the bounce and sole on the turf.

    That said, I was happy to be proven wrong, so for the chipping aspect, we went over to the chipping green (a grass one) and did a blind test. James basically took all the wedge head options with us, and I hit each one saying what I liked / didn’t like. - at the end of the test I had a favourite, and a pretty close second, but the favourite was the M grind, so that’s what I’m going with (getting it done through Wedge Works so having some fun stampings and colours… :) ).


    In case anyone is interested, I also got: TSi3 Driver (10 degree, C-3), TSi2 3-wood (16.5 degree, C-3), TSi2 Hybrid (21 degree, C-3), U500 (3 iron). We stayed in the Project X HZRDUS Smoke Black RDX family for my shafts, but depending on head weight and desired launch and spin numbers the specific shaft varied. I can’t wait to get my hands on them - very excited!!

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