Studio › Components
Bought outright, owed to nobody
Everything on the wall was purchased with our own money at wholesale. There is no consignment here, no volume commitment, and no representative with an opinion about our shelf layout.
The stocking rule
Three questions before anything gets shelf space
Does it cover a gap we cannot already fill? A ninth mid-launch 65-gram driver shaft adds nothing but confusion. A genuinely low-torque 50-gram option for a golfer who needs light and stable is worth carrying because nothing else on the wall does that job.
Can we service it in five years? Adapters and tip specifications matter. A head whose hosel system will be abandoned next season is a head we cannot rebuild for you at the re-check, and that makes it a bad purchase for both of us.
Did it survive blind testing? Before anything joins the rack it gets tested with the labels taped over, against whatever it would replace, by whichever of us fits that category. A few well-reviewed products have failed that step and are not here.
The consequence is a smaller wall than a big-box store's and a much higher proportion of it in regular use. We would rather carry 40 shafts we can each justify than 200 we cannot.
What we carry
Categories, not a logo wall
We deliberately do not publish a brand list. It invites people to arrive having already decided, which is the opposite of what a fitting is for. Here is what exists instead.
Heads
Current-generation drivers, fairways and hybrids from the major manufacturers, plus two smaller boutique makers whose forged wedges we rate highly. Iron models span cast game-improvement through forged players cavities and a small number of true blades.
Shafts
Nine manufacturers across wood and iron. The wall is organised by measured weight and frequency rather than by brand, because that is how the fitting decision is actually made and grouping by logo makes the testing order harder to follow.
Grips
Rubber, cord, half-cord and polyurethane in four core sizes with build-up tape available in every increment. Cord and half-cord get recommended here more than in dry climates for reasons any Kentucky golfer will recognise in July.
Blind testing, in practice
Labels are covered during your session too
Brand recognition changes how a club feels. This is not a controversial claim; it is a well-documented effect and it is strong enough to overwhelm a real difference in dispersion. So shafts are taped during testing and heads are referred to by a number on the rack rather than by name.
You find out what you preferred at the end, when the sheet is printed. If you have a brand preference we will honour it in the final recommendation — plenty of people care about what is in their bag and that is a legitimate thing to care about — but you will know first whether it was also the best-performing option, which is a different question.
If you want something we do not have
Special orders and outside components
- Special orders are placed at cost plus the same flat 22 percent, with the supplier's date rather than a padded one.
- Special-order heads are paid in full up front because we cannot restock them.
- Components bought elsewhere are welcome. Bring them in and we will assemble at the standard labour rate, and the build gets the same inspection as ours.
- We will tell you if an outside component is a counterfeit. It happens several times a year and it is not a comfortable conversation, but you should know.