Titleist charges $900 for demo day at my club

[GoStars]

I live in Dallas, so I could go to a professional fitter and try a bunch of different stuff, pay them ~$150. Even if I didn't buy from the fitter, I'd still be in the same situation. it would just be convenient and fun to do it at my club.

[Tarheelnation3]

For what it's worth, that price is a STEAL compared to the same fitting at the TPI. I did just the iron fitting at TPI and it cost me more than $150. However, it was WELL worth it IMO. Also, Titleist (or at least TPI) does NOT do the fittings in order to sell clubs, so of course they do not provide a "portion" of the costs towards new clubs. So, I'm not surprised by that either. In the end, I think you will be very happy with the $150 spent.

[FullOfBrushMan]

$150 for a full bag fitting via launch monitor is a bargain.

I don't see the problem here.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

Titleist can't give you a credit toward your purchase. The purchase (if you make one) will be from your club's pro shop.

I suspect at some clubs Titleist charges the pro shop $900 for the day of fitting appointments and the pro shop has the choice of eating the $900, passing it along as a fee for the fitting or applying it toward purchases FROM THE PRO SHOP.

Titleist isn't there to sell clubs direct from Titleist. And they can't offer credit on purchases made through a third party (your pro shop).

So before you fork over the $150 TO THE PRO SHOP for the fitting you need to ask THE PRO SHOP to agree to credit all or some of it toward any purchase you make FROM THE PRO SHOP.

[blink3665]

If I had the funds (and it sounds like you do), I would do it in a heartbeat. If you are getting a full fitting I would say that it's worth it. If this was a demo day where you BS with the rep and he gives you clubs to hit and makes a few recomendations.. no, not worth it. However, I assume you are getting the full meal. Full fitting on all clubs, trackman, outdoors? Sounds like a great opportunity that alot of people on this board would love to take part in. Normally you should get some of the cost of the fitting back when you purchase clubs, but you mentioned that you are already getting a sweetheart of a deal. I don't see any reason not to do it, and enjoy the experience!

[backtees]

Lately there was a Taylor Made demo day in my region. The came with their European Tour truck, 2 trackman and offerd it all.
Costs? Zero, nada, nothing! Thank you, Taylor Made!

[Tee2Green85]

[quote name='drewtaylor21' timestamp='1395278240' post='8908171']
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....
[/quote]

Same with us at our club...it was only $100 for a full bag fitting from the tour van. I would never pay $150 on something you are unsure of.

[RollingRocks]

No, no hell no. That's the cost of doing business as far as I'm concerned.

[sarkleshark]

There was a fitting day at my club recently with one of the major players-you know the company that comes out with a new line of clubs every few months. I overheard one of the other members saying there was someone who the tour van team just spent TWO hours fitting for a driver for no charge and after all that she wanted LAST years colors on the clubhead which of course they could not do. No sale.

I don't agree with these high charges but it does filter out those who are not serious about being fitted and purchasing. Demo the clubs for free to see if you like the look , feel , sound ect. but if they are going to spend a few hours to get the shaft and specs right, there should be some charge that could go towards the cost of the clubs.

[martinbns]

The Taylormade Performance Centre in Toronto charges $250 for a Driver, Iron, Wedge and putter fitting, doesn't mention if you get the $ back if you buy the clubs.

[scottycollector]

$150 sounds about right. the time, equipment and labour used to fit an individual costs them $ too

if they are fitting ur entire bag, then $150 is actually a bargain. be sure to ask for a printout of your trackman stats

[OUZO Power]

[quote name='martinbns' timestamp='1395617498' post='8934119']
The Taylormade Performance Centre in Toronto charges $250 for a Driver, Iron, Wedge and putter fitting, doesn't mention if you get the $ back if you buy the clubs.
[/quote]that is significantly more than what the Callaway Performance Centre in Toronto (Markham) charges for a WHOLE BAG fitting. And I mean significantly.

[homergolf]

I'd do it if it was a choice of brands. I like the Titleist offerings, but there are others I like better, so I wouldn't pay the $150.

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

It's like any other purchase. Three questions apply:

What do you want (in this case what is your goal for the fitting)?

Is it worth paying the price for what you want?

Will you get what you paid for?

They only seem to have six slots for fittings that day. So presumably if it's not worth $150 to you it will be worth $150 to someone else who will fill the slot.

What exactly is your goal? Do you intend to buy a bunch of Titleist clubs but want them fitted in an outdoor Trackman session? Because if that's not your goal then why are you even considering paying $150 for what will be a "just for the heck of it" type of thing?

If you do want a good Trackman fitting for an upcoming Titleist club purchase then it comes down to can you get an outdoor Trackman fitting for Titleist clubs cheaper, elsewhere, and will the "van" experience deliver a good fitting.

When your CLUB chooses to charge members $150 for the session, whatever their intention it will have the effect of limiting it to people seriously in need of some information specific to Titleist clubs. Not many tire kickers going to pony up that kind of money.

[Dizz]

After reading all of your posts OP-- I'm not sure I totally get where you're going here. First of all, does your club do much business with Titleist? You cannot expect them to send out an A team with $100K+ worth of equipment for free if your account does very little business. This is the same for every vendor-- small accounts simply aren't going to get first class treatment if the visit will cost the company more than the account spends with them in a year.

Second, Titleist doesn't participate in "demo days" much anymore unless the rep is willing to do so for the account. They prefer to call them "fitting days" and generally be the only OEM there-- whether you or other members think this is the correct way to do things is totally up to you. Their strategy is really to have players spend time one on one with a rep or fitter to get the clubs done correctly the first time and not just guys beating balls.

Third, you're getting a TrackMan fitting and not just a demo day so only you can decide if $150 is worth it. I will say this, there aren't many public facilities that only charge $150 for a full outdoor TrackMan fitting. Most of the places that employ knowledgeable fitters with that unit are charging $225-300 for a full 13 club fitting on Doppler Radar with only a small portion coming back should you purchase. Again, some people view this as worth it and others might not see the value in it.

Last-- your post about purchasing the equipment through your club at a generous discount is sort of something I don't understand. So you expect Titleist to come to your club and host an event with $100K+ worth of equipment, spend 1-2 hours with you on TrackMan and then purchase the clubs at a discount with no fitting fee? That doesn't seem like a real profitable venture for either the club or Titleist. Trust me I understand the importance of feeling like you got a good deal but man, free TrackMan fitting and then buying the clubs at a discount? For what it's worth I've never been charged to host a fitting day by any OEM which includes Titleist so there must be another reason for the charge-- as someone else mentioned rebates... or potentially the club not doing enough business to warrant a first class fitting at no charge.

I would imagine charging also makes it so that only people seriously interested in getting a quality fitting with quality data are going to show up. As I'm sure you know-- demo days often times bring out a lot of ball beaters. Hopefully you get fit into some clubs correctly the first time!

[MK7Golf21]

Titleist did the trackman fittings at our demo day for free last year, this was at a golf learning center/ range open to the public. Granted the slots filled up fast because so many people come. 150 might be because its a private club but since its only titleist clubs, I wouldnt do it personally. I can go to club champion, try a whole slew of shafts and heads on a trackman for that same price. Titleist is trying to sell their equipment, these fittings will sell alot of equipment. When you are trying a whole slew of different brands from a fitter who doesnt work for an oem then it should cost money. They arent really getting anything out of it, just a service to customer

[GoStars]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts. I was mostly curious to see if this situation was commonplace, and what the other members might recommend. For all I know, it may be common for clubs/ranges/etc. to pay for the OEM fitting van to show up, because they hope to sell equipment. It's a pretty big club, with hundreds of golfing members, and I'm sure it sells a fair amount of Titleist gear. We do have member pricing, but Titleist is getting their same wholesale price, the club just isn't taking a big markup (making our prices more competitive with "street prices"). I honestly don't know if the fitting is for all 13 clubs, when i signed up I said irons (primarily), so it may depend on how long that takes versus my allotted time (about an hour).

Now I just need to be 100% sure I want some AP1s.. which I have a couple of weeks to determine. I could go to an agnostic fitter, but this will be more convenient, and outside. I've also checked around on the internet (briefly), and fittings don't seem to be cheap around DFW.

[gprointraining]

[quote name='markjinc' timestamp='1395279533' post='8908335']
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.
[/quote]
Arrogance and Titleist go hand in hand dude....

[QEight]

[quote name='gprointraining' timestamp='1395899912' post='8960115']
[quote name='markjinc' timestamp='1395279533' post='8908335']
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.
[/quote]
Arrogance and Titleist go hand in hand dude....
[/quote]

That is why I play Titleist!


j/k, or may be not

[gprointraining]

[quote name='QEight' timestamp='1395902250' post='8960139']
[quote name='gprointraining' timestamp='1395899912' post='8960115']
[quote name='markjinc' timestamp='1395279533' post='8908335']
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.
[/quote]
Arrogance and Titleist go hand in hand dude....
[/quote]

That is why I play Titleist!


j/k, or may be not
[/quote]
Hey, it apparently sells. If it ain't broke....

[J13]

I spoke to my club to see if they charge when they come and they said no but........they refuse to come if any other company is there. We do a demo day where all companies are invited to come and setup on the range. Titleist doesn't come because all the other companies will be there.

[Bonesaw]

if you want to order something after the fitting you could always ask for the 150 towards your purchase. I bet if you want to order 2k worth of clubs after the fitting they would give you the prepay back towards the purchase.

[alange_underpar]

[quote name='sarkleshark' timestamp='1395465084' post='8923675']
There was a fitting day at my club recently with one of the major players-you know the company that comes out with a new line of clubs every few months. I overheard one of the other members saying there was someone who the tour van team just spent TWO hours fitting for a driver for no charge and after all that she wanted LAST years colors on the clubhead which of course they could not do. No sale.

I don't agree with these high charges but it does filter out those who are not serious about being fitted and purchasing. Demo the clubs for free to see if you like the look , feel , sound ect. but if they are going to spend a few hours to get the shaft and specs right, there should be some charge that could go towards the cost of the clubs.
[/quote]

"She"….

[alange_underpar]

[quote name='gprointraining' timestamp='1395899912' post='8960115']
[quote name='markjinc' timestamp='1395279533' post='8908335']
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.
[/quote]
Arrogance and Titleist go hand in hand dude....
[/quote]

Yeah, it's part of them trying to set themselves apart I guess…. still good product though. But the joke around the shop is I'm the Titleist "snob" hahaha

[atlambert2]

Anyone know (maybe I am naive here, never been to a demo day) if you can just demo the clubs as these things, or are they "paid for fittings" only? Looking to try a couple shafts in the 913d head, but I don't need a full fitting...just trying to actually demo

[TKD24]

I think the issue here is not necessarily the cost of services, because I think most of us can agree that a one-on-one grass fitting with Trackman with a tour van caliber guy is well worth $150+.

However, the point, imo, is that most of us are getting similar fittings at no cost out of our own pockets. My club does fittings with all the major players every year, including Titleist, and we've never had to pay a dime out of pocket. These fittings are not the "line 'em up like ducks in a row" fittings, but these are schedule your time slot between 11am-4pm fittings. Also, with the new SM5s out, Titleist is sending out a guy to specifically do wedge fittings on our short game facility (which I'm definitely taking advantage of this year).

[Fourmyle of Ceres]

[quote name='TKD24' timestamp='1395925495' post='8960773']
I think the issue here is not necessarily the cost of services, because I think most of us can agree that a one-on-one grass fitting with Trackman with a tour van caliber guy is well worth $150+.

However, the point, imo, is that most of us are getting similar fittings at no cost out of our own pockets. My club does fittings with all the major players every year, including Titleist, and we've never had to pay a dime out of pocket. These fittings are not the "line 'em up like ducks in a row" fittings, but these are schedule your time slot between 11am-4pm fittings. Also, with the new SM5s out, Titleist is sending out a guy to specifically do wedge fittings on our short game facility (which I'm definitely taking advantage of this year).
[/quote]

Maybe the original poster ought to join your club.

[lumberman2462]

TaylorMade is coming to my club but they aren't charging the club anything....that might be because our Pro's are all outfitted TM.

I don't know about fittings.

[pat007]

[quote name='sheldonjhacker' timestamp='1395281012' post='8908519']
Any fee should go towards the purchase price of the equipment.
[/quote]

Then your pro would make $0, especially if you end up buying say, just a driver or nothing at all...

I work in the golf industry, and have for the last 10 years. What i see is a trend where people want the full "Tour Experience" when it comes to fitting, but don't want to pay for it. Titleist clubs are really not marked up much at all (10-15%) when all is said and done. For your pro to break even for the day, he'd have to sell $8000-$9000 worth of inventory. Is that worth it? I'm assuming the shop is his in this case. What people don't realize here is the pros own the inventory, and are responsible for whatever's left in stock at the end of the year.

I just don't see what the big deal is about spending the $150 to get professionally fit. You're being fit by a professionnal, and on a $20 000 machine, on top of being able to try $200-$350 upcharge driver shafts, outdoors on your range. Where's the issue?

Another thing that this helps prevent, and I see it all the time at work, is you getting a "free" fitting (didn't cost you a dime), and cost the pro $900 for you to get your specs and go buy somewhere else. We see it alot being in Canada and having many members with places in Florida. They come to a demo day or a fitting, only to buy either online or when they go down to their place in Florida.

I speak from experience on this one. Your pro needs you just as much as you need him. There are so many good pros leaving the golf industry, as it's becoming harder and harder to make a decent living up against big box stores and online retailers that have no overhead. I will not take back a club for a return or defect if you didn't buy it from us. Too bad, so sad. Everything gets logged and scanned in the computer, so I know exactly what's been bought by who and when.

Everything your pro does, every demo day, event, etc has a cost attached to it. Think about it.

[GoStars]

I get your point. In my case the pro does not own the shop. I guess we could always tell Titleist no thanks. Given the cost, it is probably fairest to charge for the fittings, as then the people using the fitting services bear the cost. Ping isn't charging for a similar deal, but we could be a much bigger account for Ping. I am aware that hard goods have a pretty low margin. Balls and soft goods are much higher.