In “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the classic novel by Roald Dahl and immortalized on the silver screen by Gene Wilder, five Golden Tickets were hidden in chocolate-bar wrappers. As we know, things didn’t go too well for a few of the lucky winners. Is there a Golden Ticket in golf equipment? For some people, it might be a free, full-bag fitting through Club Champion, the industry’s largest premium custom fitter. Turns out, a few Average Joes just redeemed theirs.
First, a little background. Golfweek is conducting an ongoing club fitting study. Earlier in the year, we selected applicants after they completed a thorough screening process. Last month, the participants experienced the free fitting sessions at Club Champion’s corporate headquarters in Willowbrook, IL. They each received a custom-fit driver, at no charge, built to their exact specs. Here’s the catch: They must play golf with the fitted clubs while we follow them throughout the season, and not just one-round-and-done. Playing several rounds with their current drivers and, subsequently, a similar number with the custom-fit club is a more objective examination. We’ll post updates on their journeys along the way. Which, in the name of science and data research, is why we’ve outfitted their existing sets with the Arccos Caddie shot-tracking system. Lightweight sensors that screw into the end of the grip will record every shot and provide access to stats, including average driving distance, fairways hit and strokes gained.
