OT: Fitted Golf Clubs and Lead Times
Hey Gang -
Been away from the board for a while. Second child arrived in November and all… anyway.. looking for some help!
Odd topic, but thought I’d see what the dimple heads around here think. I’m in the process of ordering some fitted clubs for the first time in my life (irons are Mizuno JPX923 Hot Metals), and haven’t ordered yet. I’m being told by my club pro that their lead times are now 4-5 weeks. 2 questions, is that common? And, does anyone work at Mizuno and can expedite this for me once I order (jk..kinda! Lol)?
Super pumped to go this route finally. I’ve been using the same set for like 20 years and they are not at all suited for my game.
Lastly, do you guys notice a big difference in transitioning from stock clubs to fitted?
Thanks in advance for the feedback!
Mizuno is always on the slower end of things. Here's estimates from 2nd Swing on lead times. I got a custom TM order within 12 days last month.
Fitting is a very good investment if you're serious(ish) about golf. It helps players of all abilities but definitely isn't a panacea.
Mizuno: 4-5 weeks
Callaway: 2-3 weeks
Ping: 2-3 weeks
Titleist: 2-3 weeks
Scotty Cameron Putters: 2-3 weeks
Taylormade: 1-3 weeks
Wilson: 1-2 weeks
Cobra: 2-3 weeks
Srixon/Cleveland: 1-2 weeks
Bettinardi: 4-5 weeks
Tour Edge: 1-2 week
Woof. I had someone else tell me that Mizuno is actually averaging 10 business days. I sure hope they’re right. I’m playing Radrick and the UofM course in early June for a quick golf weekend with some buddies. I am hoping they’re here by then.
In my experience (outside of 2020/2021), these tend to be on the higher side so people don't get cranky. Also, since JPX have been around for a bit, it's not like they're sold out from brand new releases.
Thanks a bunch. Appreciate the insight.
I got some Pings not long ago and that lead time is pretty accurate. Great clubs, loving them...played my first round this season last week and totally in love with them.
I ordered some Callaways 3 weeks ago with a 2-3 week lead time. They were at my house in 4 days. But yeah...the quoted time is pretty common right now. Not sure how it plays out maker to maker, but mine was a welcomed lie.
Yeah, that sounds about what I'd expect for lead time. At least it's better than it has been the last couple years when I was hearing 3 months for multiple manufacturers.
Fitting is definitely a good thing. How big the difference is kinda depends on how right or wrong your previous set was for you.
Based upon how I was hitting it with the right set up on the Mizunos, my current irons were betraying the hell out of me lol.
I've never had fitted clubs and can't golf for shit, but just popped in to say congrats on the 2nd child!
Thanks! Both things you said are currently true about be also. Sporting a 22.8 handicap after being in the 18s 2 years ago.
Fun experience having the second as he was born on Telegraph in an ambulance in Monroe Co. (everyone was OK, just didn’t make it to the hospital because our son was in a huge rush to be born). I almost had to deliver him myself lol.
congrats dad, and nice delivery. buddy of mine delivered his in the elevator at the hospital.
would be a good thread during OT season: 'wildest childbirth stories' or 'who here has had a baby born out of the hospital'
Heck yeah… let’s do that!
Made it with 45 minutes to spare on the second one. Wife said she wanted to stay in her own home as long as possible. Half hour drive to hospital and 45 minutes later my daughter began her efforts to lay waste to mankind.
April 30th, 2023 at 11:42 PM ^
Second child is usually *much* faster. Oh yeah. And congrats!
April 30th, 2023 at 11:58 PM ^
I can attest. Our first was induced, and didn’t want to come out.. lol.
Second time, the contractions started and then kept decreasing in time by 50% pretty quickly. My son can always say he shut down Telegraph for a happy reason though!
His nickname has to be: The Traffic Jam, probably shortened to either The Jammer or Jam. ;-)
And, I hope you get nothing but joy from your kids.
Mizunos are a very good choice - they have been the irons I’ve played for over 20 years - in a variety of sets, when I switched from Hogans to Mizuno MP-29’s a long time ago.
You can get any / everything you’d like - and I would hope your fitter focused on the best shaft for you. My sets have been fitted with Rifles.
The grips are essential too, and I prefer Golf Pride with their MCC (which is a half cord).
As for the wait time, unfortunately - I can’t speak to it - but, Mizunos are worth it.
And - the only other irons I’d think of (or have) in my bag have been wedges. Years ago I used Cleveland wedges and have played Titleist Vokey wedges for at least a decade.
Take dead aim… go low…
Thanks for the tips! Yeah, we were waiting for Mizuno to send a new shaft tool as my pro’s broke the day before I went in. So, I am waiting for the new one to come in and then finishing up the irons. Pretty excited about the way I hit the configuration I worked my way to though! FYI for all interested, someone DM’d me on 247 to say that Mizuno had some computer issue (that feels like code for hack or ransomware to me??), that’s now fixed. So, hope springs eternal.
Ordered a set of Wilson Dynapowers three weeks ago yesterday. They quoted me 2-3 weeks lead time at the time, so I'm really hoping they show up really soon now. Going from my old Titleist 981s I took something like 10 degrees and 4000 RPM off my launch angle/spin rate on my 7 iron. Expecting to see quite a bit more distance on the real course whenever they come in.
Talking about burying the lede--getting time to golf after second child!
congrats!
Thanks! Yeah, I am lucky I get any time to golf. We’ll see.. haha. Partial birth story in one of my replies above, but as a side note, everyone lied to me about having a second child. “Oh, going from zero to 1 is harder than 1 to 2.” What they didn’t tell me is how even more so than before, every minute of every day is a non stop sprint.. haha it’s killing me
April 30th, 2023 at 10:56 PM ^
Congrats on the second kid!
I bet the age gap makes a world of difference... For instance, I can imagine how having them 2 years a part is much more difficult in the short term than, say, having them 5 years apart.
We recently had our second, and its been a piece of cake (as much as raising another human can be considered "a piece of cake") but I realize we are not in the normal distribution of age gaps.
Our first is currently in 2nd grade.
April 30th, 2023 at 11:56 PM ^
Our first is 4. Our second is a little easier baby overall, but there’s just always another thing in the daily schedule. I should add, my wife and I both work hectic schedules and my wife didn’t take more than a week of maternity leave. Insane.
it gets even more fun when the second one becomes independently mobile. Golf becomes less recreational and more therapeutic at that point. Good luck! And congrats on the new human!
Moose.. I’m the father of twins… before they were born, my index was 3.4. The kids just finished their sophomore year in Ann Arbor - and, my handicap hasn’t been in single digits for too long.
I can still go lower on occasion - but, my entire game - off the tee, approaches, short game, and putting - needs attention. I need hours a week on a range / short game area.
Where did you go through? Carl’s can usually help get things pushed through.
April 30th, 2023 at 10:47 PM ^
Went with my private club (Ok, that sounds a certain way.. it’s a golf club, not a country club, Highland Meadows in Sylvania, OH).
April 30th, 2023 at 10:57 PM ^
I suspect the time frame being quoted is conservative. Clubs come early, customer is happy.
Our second child was born 49 minutes after my wife's water broke. Fortunately we made it to the hospital in the nick of time.
April 30th, 2023 at 11:21 PM ^
I ordered mizunos in December 21. I didn’t receive them until May 22. 4-6 weeks is nothing today. Count your blessings
April 30th, 2023 at 11:40 PM ^
I had Callaway irons fitted a few years ago and it came less than the quoted time but I got mine fitted at the end of the season so YMMY with the golf manufacturers.
Best advice: relax. If you’re going to use the same clubs for YEARS, you can wait a few weeks to get them. Your fitting experience should have delivered the best head/shaft/grip consideration for you and nobody else’s configuration and/or experience is relevant. It probably would not have gone down well if you’d told your wife to hurry so you could celebrate Halloween…
I want to get fitted for some irons but I keep thinking the club fitter is going to laugh at how much my swing sucks.
I purchased the JPX923's on 3/31 at Carl's in Bloomfield Hills and was told 30 days. Today is day 30 and I'm still waiting on them. I'm a lefty, so may or may not be a little longer for me. I also ordered a Cleveland 56 degree the same day (had to be extended) and that came within 10 days. Hopefully today is the magic day for the Mizunos!
3 years ago I got fitted for a driver, and picked up about 50 yards (!) off the tee. Went from about 220 yards to about 270. And I’m 46. I typically blow it past all my middle aged golf buddies.
I was fit for 923 Forged Mizuno Irons at Miles of Golf on 3/26. Absolutely loved the feel and the data showed the best ball speed most consistency.
They told me about 3-4 weeks lead time and now we are over 5 weeks. Not Miles fault, but it stinks. The Irons were $1400 and I tend to play a lot of golf early in the year and in the fall (just because the summer gets busy with other things). So a bummer that I've missed over 10 rounds already. Hoping to hear something from them this week.
Hoping they come in quicker for you!
I got fitted for a set of clubs last year (Titleist T300 irons, TSI driver/fairway) and it made a big difference in my game. I was fortunate that Carl's had them in stock but the salesperson told me that a lot of his customers were waiting at a minimum 3 weeks
Getting fitted is the way to go when making this investment. Went to new PXG store and the session was amazing, then got the price, might have to make another stop! Went to my local pro shop, tried a few brands with different shafts and went with Taylor Made P770's. Should be here next week.
My wife did a fitting 3 weeks ago this coming Thursday. All of her clubs are in except one, her Callaway hybrid is the only one missing still. The rest are Taylormade and are in.
I've been thinking/wanting to get fitted for some time now, but am a bit hesitant, based on some of my buddies' experiences. What if you have no idea what clubs you want? Will they really help find the best clubs for you, or are they incentivised to push particular brands?
As always, "it depends."
If you belong to a club, your pro definitely has brands they are incentivized to sell. But if you work with your pro, like them, and have a good relationship, they will likely know you and your game better. My pro is also always willing to let me try out demo clubs if he has them.
Going to a place like Carl's gives you many more options, but they don't know you and your game.
My experience at Carl's was wonderful. The guy (Brad?) was never pushy and really put things together to make my golfing better and I dropped about 5-6 points on my handicap because I finally have clubs that fit my swing. They give you a spreadsheet of all your shots, and what clubs hit at what distance and accuracy. It was great to look at, Carl's has everything you could want and I tried out a ton of different heads and shafts until I found my Callaways. That decision was all on me with no push
That lead time is actually shorter than I would have expected, though my frame of reference is limited. I ordered new fitted clubs last september (cobra forged tec irons, titleist TSR 2 driver and TSR 3w) and was told 6-8 weeks for the irons, 5-7 weeks on the woods. The driver actually arrived in just under 3weeks, but the shaft had been snapped in transit, and the replacement arrived 10 days later. the 3w arrived at about 6 weeks, and the irons were two weeks late - arriving 10weeks after the order was put in.
I think you'll be happy with noticeable differences. For the last 10 years, I was using clubs that were almost 20yrs old, bought from a friend who bought them from a friend. the difference in feel and accuracy with the newer tech, properly fitted for my body and my swing, is a welcome improvement. Have fun!
The thing that makes me play the best is... playing more.
I have fitted Ping G5 irons and hybrids, 2 additional Callaway wedges, and a fitted Callaway driver. For me, getting my wedges "correct" (I carry a 58* Callaway, a 54* Callaway, and Ping U 50* and 46* PW that are part of my iron set) was the best thing for scoring. Going to the 4th wedge was beneficial for me even though there's a gap between my 3W and 3I-hybrid.
That being said, I'm excited about the fact that one child is out and working, one just graduated from Michigan, and one is about to graduate hs and will be busy and away all summer. I'm finally really freed up to golf again. For me, the last 25 years have been varying levels of constrained due to work and family commitments. I guess you have time for the things you make time for.
To sum up: I hope you get to golf more over the next 25 years than I did over the last 25. But congrats on the baby! Kids are awesome.
I'm 6'4" and I learned to play with a cheap set I got from a garage sale that was too small for me. A few years later my dad purchased for me a set of clubs fitted to my length. I started overhitting everything and my scores initially went to trash (worse trash than they already were), until I got acclimated to the new length of my shots, particularly the irons. Probably the difference of about two clubs. Then my scores improved to less-trash.
Lead time for most OEM is about 4 to 8 weeks if you are ordering custom shafts. PXG has a one week turnaround, because they have a limited selection of shafts to choose from. If you are near a PXG store, they only charge $50 for a full bag fitting. And for a full bag of clubs, it’s pretty cheap especially if you wait for the end of the product cycle. I think it’s the best deal in golf and I play PXG. Some top level golfer would knock PXG especially in driver tech, but unless your handicap has a + in front and a club-head speed above 110mph, it won’t matter. Any clubs from any OEM that has enough forgiveness with properly flexed and weighted shaft will work all around the same. It’s 99 percent archer, 1 percent bow.
I ordered my Titleist irons back in 2021. It was about a 5 week turnaround but the times were skewed then. Anyways hope you hit ‘em long and straight.
I've been playing for over 30 years, stock clubs mostly. In early '21 I decided to take the plunge and was fitted at club champion, just irons to start. There was a small transition period, getting used to the feel of the new clubs. Everything about my game has changed since making that decision. My ball striking is better. My scoring results are more consistent. Does my half-wit alter ego still show up and make bad swings? Sure he does, but nowhere near as much as he used to. Last year I managed to card a 73. That would have never happened using my off-the-rack clubs. This year I went back and took the plunge on the top of the bag. Again, yielding consistent and better results. Lead time in '21 with Pings was about 4 weeks due to covid. This year, with my Callaway, 3 weeks. One suggestion, make sure you get the shafts pured. Well worth any additional cost, IMO.