Titleist charges $900 for demo day at my club

[GoStars]

Just wanted to get thoughts and experiences from the crowd here. I recently signed up for a Titleist fitting (with TrackMan) for when the van is at my club for a Demo day in April. I'm looking forward to it, but I think we are all a little taken aback (including the pros at my club) by the fact that Titleist is charging $900 for the demo day. As such, Titleist suggests the club charge $150 for each of the six fittings to recoup the cost.

 

Is it just me, or does this seem a little nuts? Yes, I guess the market may bear it, because, after all, I am signed up. But it does leave a small sour taste in my mouth to pay $150 for a fitting when that doesn't even go against the cost of equipment I might purchase through the event.

 

Seems like running demo days is just a part of doing business for the OEMs.. they are there to sell product after all. And the club is very high end.. so there are lots of Titleist players and target golfers to sell to.

 

What do you think, are you surprised?

[MountainKing]

Not surprised, I'm sure they have to make sure they recoup some costs for their visit. There's no promise a visit will result in any sales. Since they have a lot of these type of visits that means people are willing to pay it, if your club won't pay it another will. It might seem nuts to us but as long as there are places that will pay it then it's going to keep being the price.

[Ranman]

I've not had a Titleist demo day yet but never had Taylormade or any others charge. Getting ready to have a big Taylormade demo day on April 19th. I'll have my Flightscope plus the tech Rep will have one.

[J13]

Depends on what their offering. IF they are doing a full out club fitting on trackman then $150 is not bad IMO.

[drewtaylor21]

My home course has a lot of demo days and most of them are just the OEM's show up and you can hit the clubs and do a brief fitting. Those are all free....

Last fall the Titleist tour van came for an indepth fitting and the cost was $100. $900 seems ridiculous....

I'm not sure if the course that is hosting these events pays to host them? Perhaps that is what my course is doing and maybe your course ISN'T paying, thus you as the customer are eating the entire cost? No idea really, just a guess. But regardless, I would never pay that kind of money for a fitting....

[GoStars]

The assistant pro said its a full TrackMan fitting by a guy who's eve experienced, so my gripe is less that it costs $150 (which is nothing compared to what I pay for my club and how much I play), but that it won't apply towards my purchase.

[markjinc]

To me, that's like charging your client because I visited them and tried selling something. Very goofy and personally, with all of the companies out there competing for my business, a little arrogant if you ask me.

[doglover72]

Coming from someone who's done it, best experience you could have, and if you play a lot of golf, a minimal investment for what you get.

[sheldonjhacker]

Any fee should go towards the purchase price of the equipment.

[Sean2]

Surprises me. You are giving them a forum to sell their equipment. And, they charge for a fitting, which isn't applied against the purchase. Bit of a ripoff if you ask me.

[sanjaygolf]

It looks there are a lot of places that have trackman in the Dallas area. Maybe you're better off trying them as I'm sure they'll put the money towards clubs

[Ranchobob]

Sounds steep and if the cost of the fitting isn't credited at least in part against the cost of a purchase, a bit of a rip off.

I can go to Co Clubs, hit at a range and try a slew of different drivers and shafts. Including Titleist.

[highergr0und]

I think the problem is they're bringing a 20k piece of equipment plus a rep plus all the demo stuff out for 6 people. I'd ask your pro to call around and see if you 6 people can go piggyback on a demo day,at another club.

[Froth]

[quote name='GoStars' timestamp='1395279463' post='8908321']
The assistant pro said its a full TrackMan fitting by a guy who's eve experienced, so my gripe is less that it costs $150 (which is nothing compared to what I pay for my club and how much I play), but that it won't apply towards my purchase.
[/quote]
I completely agree with that, while the $150 isn't a bad price for a quality outdoor fitting with a certified fitter off grass with trackman I do also feel it should go toward your purchase. The pro shop local to me charges $125 for just an iron fitting done inside on a simulator but they do employ a golf digest top 100 club fitter and the mat/hitting bay setup is quite nice and quite large. The difference is that they do put the cost of the fitting towards the purchase of whatever you got fitted for, so $125 would come off the total price which is how I think it should be.

[ws6]

I did an outdoor fitting with Titleist when I lived in Albuquerque. First, it was free. Second, it was really nice hitting all the clubs outside on a Trackman with new Titleist Pro-V1 balls, and the Titleist fitters I had were solid.

But, at a cost of $150 I would rather spend my money somewhere else that would let me hit a variety of OEMs.

[2bGood]

It could be your head pros "fault". Titleist has all kind of rebates based on the amount of buisiness the clubs does. the head pro (or who ever is in charge at the club of these things) has some influence on how the rebate is used. Your head pro might have opted to use rebates towards new clubs for his assistant pros instead of a free demo day. Just a theory.

[GoStars]

The reason I wouldn't go elsewhere to buy the clubs is my club offers very good pricing for members (ala the pro doesn't own anything he's just an employee of the club..). So I'm probably net even between paying this and going elsewhere. I'm sure it will be a great experience, I just think it ought to go toward the purchase.

I'll also feel kind of dumb if I'm fitted to stiff x95s!

[GoStars]

Btw it's a full demo day where any number (could be a hundred plus) try out the gear, it's just that there are 6 fitting appointments available.

[OUZO Power]

This isn't really a "Demo Day" for everyone to come by a hit a few models. Then that should be free. But from what you describe that's not the case.

This is a scheduled fitting session. Then some charge for getting fit for a full bag is reasonable.

[OUZO Power]

[quote name='GoStars' timestamp='1395291317' post='8909337']
Btw it's a full demo day where any number (could be a hundred plus) try out the gear, it's just that there are 6 fitting appointments available.
[/quote]got ninja'd. Dang it.

[njlam]

If I were to pay that kind of money for a fitting (and this cost does not go towards the ultimate purchase), I would want an impartial fitter.

By this I mean, I would want the fitter to be able to choose from any/all OEMs for clubs that fit my game/swing/etc.

To charge for a Titleist-only fitting seems ridiculous to me.

At our club, we have multiple OEMs come on a given day, most bring their own Trackmans and we can compare and contrast......no charge.

[johnstitch]

Our Pro takes members up to Titleist's fitting centre near Edinburgh. They charge £50 ($80) for a fitting. Same fee for a driver or a full set. The process is very thorough and nobody I know has objected.

[stk13]

The cost of the fitting seems to be justified, the fact that it doesn't at least partially apply to purchased items seems absurd. Just my opinion

[doglover72]

What some of you may be overlooking is the quality/expertise of the fitter and club maker. First guy does nothing but fittings, including for pros. Not all fittings/fitters are created equal. Demo day, local guys, etc not nearly as good at quickly dialing in what would be best for you. These guys are cream of the crop. And other guy makes your clubs in the van as opposed to an assembly approach in the factory so clubs are better made, too. They only schedule six fittings a day because it's about quality not quantity.

Now if you've never been fit before, don't know what brands you like, etc, not worth it to do Tour van. I think it's a great investment for serious golfers who play a lot, have lower caps, and play mostly Titleist. I took detailed notes after the fitting so I'll always have their expertise when buying future clubs.

[Aces-6]

I would happily pay $150 for a full, Trackman, outdoor fitting session. Seems like a bargain when you consider the cost of The Kingdom fittings.

[displayname]

I think defining the "van" and the "demo day" would make a big difference on the cost. If this was a demo day where one or two reps bring out 100 clubs, dozens of people line up to hit them, you wait 30 mins to get on a monitor for 5 minutes. That's a normal demo day, and I would not pay for that.

Now, if Titleist is bringing a tour van, doing an hour or an hour and half one on one fitting session with various shafts at various lengths, stock and custom options, fitting the bag top to bottom. That would be worth the money to me. Especially if they let you in the van and build your clubs on site if you purchase. Still a demo day, but much more of a tour treatment. That experience may or may not be what they are offering, but I think they would happily find 6 people to pay $150 for that.

[DavePelz4]

If you think it's a bad deal, don't do it.

[ghabanos]

Only if going towards my purchase!!!

Otherwise no. But then I'm a cheapskate! Lol

[GoStars]

Well, if I was really cheap about golf, I wouldn't be paying for my club lol. I don't think I'll regret paying the money for the fitting, it's going to be a neat experience. I was just surprised, and so were the pros. Last year they had a tour van, but I think it was a mix of order from the pros and them building them on site. This is different from our recent Callaway demo day where the rep just rolled up with his trailer and setup a tent and a bunch of clubs to try.

Ping is coming with a similar setup (they aren't bringing a TrackMan.. but they could conceivably use our club's) and the fittings (they are pretty comprehensive, I've seen them done before) are free.

[bph7]

To me, this seems quite ridiculous. I would not do business with Titleist to set up a demo day if these were their terms, but as you said, you are probably gonna end up paying the money, and as long as 5 other people do as well, Titleist will get their money. Only way to "protest" this is to take your money elsewhere, but if you can't get a good fitting any other way, I guess that option might not be super attractive either.