My Golf Fitting at Pure Golf Thunder Bay!
by Scott A. Sumner
Cameron Kennedy is the Master Club Fitter at Pure Golf Thunder Bay and one of less than 20 Master Fitters in Ontario He has done over 4000 fittings over the last 6 or 7 years and was previously at Tour Experience Golf in Toronto before opening Pure Golf here in Thunder Bay where he has done over 500 fits since opening.
The process today was taking me through a fitting looking through my irons and the driver.
“ The process is to get you in the clubs that suit your golf game better. Everyone's games are different so we could see things like improving ball speed, descent angle- how steep the ball is coming into a par 4 or 3 with your irons. With the driver you could see more distance or for me hitting it straighter is better,” said Cameron Kennedy. “ Distance will come with the new technology. In my fits I focus on the physics aspect of it and taking you through the numbers.
Every golfer has a swing. I'm not going to change your golf swing. If your swing needs some work I'm always be honest with people and will let you know your swing needs to be worked on. Then you can come see me for the fitting. There is no skill level that can not be fit for something even if you are a 20 or 30 handicapper or aspiring to be a scratch golfer I can fit you.”
Cameron at Pure Golf is brand agnostic and has been fitting with most golf companies since he became a fitter. They carry Calloway, Cobra, Titleist, Ping, Taylor Made and others.“ We can try 4 or 5 different options and you may like a different brand for say driver or irons. I have seen many different golf swings and am enjoying being here in Thunder Bay, my home town, where I know so many people as well as working with people I've never met.We have had guys come here from all over NW Ontario to see us.”
When you get the fitting you begin by warming up with your current clubs for 10 minutes.Then Cameron begins with the seven iron right in the middle of the bag.You hit your seven iron for him and he creates options with different brands and shafts.
“ For irons I'm not too worried about distance, if we get it great, but if I can pick you up three more greens in regulation a round you will be a happy camper. The ball flight is important as well which can be technical, but I make it easy for you to understand. Our Foresight camera captures about 300 pictures at club impact so I can tell so much from that. The companies do the build for me but if you need a shaft or a repair I do the actual build myself.” said Cameron.
The cost for a fitting at Pure Golf is about $100 for an iron fitting which is usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours or $100 for a driver fitting. Many people like a long game fitting where Cameron goes through the whole top end of the bag including driver, irons, fairway woods, hybrids and if time permits wedges and putter for $225.“ If you are looking for new clubs great that is a bonus, but I also will fit you for your own clubs which is called retro fitting through your whole bag for $100. I can usually do some type of fitting. We also do regrips as well as club repair.” he said.
“ When you come in to see me it tells me you are taking it seriously- you love golf and I try to help you.Today fitted clubs are the same cost as just buying clubs because a lot of the after market shafts are included in the price. So today, some irons for instance, are the same cost as 10 years ago but you can put in a custom shaft for the same price.”
It was so interesting to go through this process with Cameron and hit some 2024 clubs just coming out to the market from Ping, Titleist,Taylor Made and Calloway. The Foresight Canada technology really showed the comparisons well and what worked best for me! You can't hide from the numbers and it was a very eye opening experience. The atmosphere at PureGolf is upbeat, very supportive and you can tell they love the game so they will make your visit a fun time as well.
