I told you last week on social media that one of my all-time favorite guest reviews is coming. And here it is. Daniel won my recent Club Champion iron fitting and custom built set of irons giveaway. And in one month since putting them in play he's lowered his handicap almost three strokes. Talk about confirmation of Better Fit, Lower Scores!
Since putting his new irons in play Daniel also took the medalist position and is advancing to the final of the Vegas Golf Series. And Daniel was so impressed and thrilled with the Club Champion fitting process he's going back for a driver and/or putter fitting next. Golf has always been a big part of Daniel's life and his Club Champion fitting was one of the best golf experiences he's ever had.
In his own words, here's what Daniel (@danielrobison on X) thought about his Club Champion iron fitting experience, and ultimately what irons wound up being best for him:
Believe the Hype!
I’ve been following @PGAPappas on X since (I think) January of 2015. At that time, Pete was covering the PGA Merchandise show and after following him, he sent me a message and said to let him know on his timeline of any requests for company or equipment pics. He mentioned it was going to be golf wild for 96 straight hours that week.
Little did I know that following him was going to be “Golf Wild” for the next ten plus years!
A little about me. I am a 56-year-old avid golf nut living in Northern California and lucky enough to play close to 100 rounds a year. I’ve also been fortunate over the years with my job, travel, and 15+ buddies golf trips, to have golfed in 18 states (AZ CA CO FL HI IL KS LA MI MN MO NV OH OR SC TX UT WA), Canada, and Mexico. My career low is 71 (even par) and I have two holes in one!
For the past three years, after my normal day job is over, I coachthe JV girls and boys golf teams at my local high school. On the weekends, I love to compete in golf tournaments at my local club (Whitney Oaks), play skins games with my buddies, and compete in the occasional member/guest events when invited.
For the past 13 years, I’ve also been captaining our NCGA Team Match Play, where during the summer we have 12 golfers from my club competing in home and away matches against three other clubs in the area, with the hopes of making the playoffs and advancing to the finals in Monterey. Needless to say, I love golf.
Now back to Pete…….over the past 10 years with all of his giveaways, from the PGAPappas 12 Days of Christmas (#ReleaseTheKringle #jingleBAM) to the many Play With Pete Invitationals (#PWPI) and everything in between, I’ve tried and tried to win something.
Well let me tell you this – if you’ve read this far, don’t give up. Keep trying! Stay engaged with Pete across his social media platforms, because one day, maybe you will get “the call”.
This past April, during my most favorite week of the year – Masters week (and my birthday weekend) – I tried yet again and entered Pete’s Masters Club Champion custom iron fitting giveaway.
On April 17th, I almost wrecked my truck, when I got “the call” and saw a notification pop up on my phone that I had won the Club Champion iron fitting and custom set of irons, which couldn’t have come at a better time for me.
The Fitting:
After some emails back and forth, and in a matter of only four days, Pete and the folks at Club Champion got me hooked up with KeiferSivret, a master fitter/builder at my local Club Champion at the Creekside Town Center in Roseville, CA. I went in on a Tuesday morning for my fitting with a two-hour appointment.
If you’ve never stepped foot into a Club Champion, it’s amazing and you should go check it out. (Quick side note – over the past 20 years, I’d been previously fit with some Ping G5’s and Callaway Mavrik Pros, but nothing compared to what I was about to experience with Keifer and Club Champion.)
It's a little overwhelming walking into Club Champion and seeing all the different shafts, iron heads, drivers, putters, grips, etc…not to mention the two fitting bays with Trackman. (Is this heaven? No, it’s Club Champion.)
When I arrived, Keifer was very welcoming and offered me drinks and snacks, then walked me through the fitting process. To be honest, I went into this fitting with an open mind and told myself I was going to go with whatever iron/shaft combo that gave me the best results.
I had long given up on my Callaway Mavrik Pros and my current gamers were a set of PXG 0211’s that I’d bought from a buddy a few years ago, I had also already experimented with three different iron sets this year and knew I wanted (needed) something different.
Keifer had me warm up with my gamer 6-iron to get some base line data. From there, he brought over five or six different shafts, and I hit more balls on the TrackMan, and we agreed that the Oban CT-115 Steel Regular shaft was the best one for me.
Now the fun part. While I said I was going in with an open mind, I really had my eye on the new Srixons but again wanted the data and results to be the driver for me. (Following Pete and reading his reviews, it makes us want what we want or what he has. Ha.)
Over the next 45 minutes, and in no particular order, I hit the following irons: TaylorMade P790, Mizuno Pro 245, PXG 0311 XP Gen7, Cobra King Tec-X, Titleist T150, Callway Apex, and the Srixon ZXi-4.. all the while, Keifer was explaining ball speed, smash factor, launch angles, etc to me. (I love the SMASH factor by way.)
Around this time, one of my scratch golf buddies, who I play a lot of tournaments with, came in to check on me and see how it was going.
As I continued to hit balls, he commented that I looked a little tired and worn out (which I was).
Although I still had another 30 minutes to go in my appointment, Keifer suggested that we shut it down for the day, as he knew that I was tired, making bad swings, and having won this incredible prize package from Pete, he didn’t want me to make a hasty selection.
So, he booked me for a follow-up to come back in two days to finish my fitting.
Day Two:
I went back to Club Champion Roseville that Thursday morning, refreshed and well rested, ready for round two. Keifer was also ready for me and had my top four clubs ready to go.
After warming up, we went back to work and I hit the Srixon Zxi5 irons, Callaway Apex, and the PXG’s. After about 30-45 minutes, the clear winner, based on my data, were the PXG 0311P Gen7 irons which had the best smash factor (1.34), lowest spin rate (3849rpm), and overall carry (167.4 yards).
I decided to go with the Xtreme Dark head color, and we went half inch long and two degrees up, with the Golf Pride CP2 Wrap (standard).
Keifer explained that the clubs would also be pured as they were made, which I’ve never had done before. We went with 4i-SW. He said the irons would come back to him in a few weeks and he’d call me when they arrived.
Conclusion:
A few weeks later, while playing in day one of a member/guest at my buddy’s country club, I got the call that my irons were in!
That next morning, I was able to go over to Club Champion, meet with Keifer and pick up the most amazing set of irons I’d ever seen. I then debated whether I should put them in play later that morning in day two of the member/guest.
But as Pete often says, All Gas and No Brakes (AGNB) baby, so of course I put them in play.
My partner and I went on to finish in second place (overall points in match play) but unfortunately got knocked out on the first hole of the horse race.
On that first day when I went into Club Champion, my handicap was an 11.1. I now have 20 rounds played with my new PXG ironsand my handicap has dropped to 8.6. (I’ve apologized to Pete several times for the delay of my review, as I really wanted to get through an official handicap cycle with them.)
To say I’m playing with more confidence than ever is an understatement! Over the Memorial Day weekend and with my Club Champion custom fit irons, I ended up as the “net” winner of our 26th annual Spring Soiree (net +2 in a two-day stroke play event).
But my favorite win so far, happened two weeks ago, when that scratch buddy and I were playing in a second round qualifying better ball tournament in San Jose, CA and we took the medalist position (net -6), and we now advance to the two-day finals of theVegas Golf Series this October.
I can’t thank Pete and Club Champion enough for this opportunity to have a custom set of irons in my bag! I’ve been in contact with my custom fitter/builder (Keifer) and am looking forward to a return trip to Club Champion to next get dialed in on a new putter and/or driver. (I’ve got my eye on the TM Spider ZT counter balanced putter,)
Thank you so much Pete and again, I apologize for the delay in my review!
What an incredible review Daniel! It felt like I was right there with you from absolute beginning to end. In a world where perfect is hard to come by, it truly sounds like your Club Champion fitting was as good as it gets. And your passion and genuineness is straight up contagious. Consider me a Daniel fan and go get em in October baby!
I've mentioned to many of you over the years that a Club Champion fitting is going to get you playing the best golf of your life no matter what your skill level or handicap. Club Champion simply goes above and beyond in every possible way to completely dial you in. One of the many things I loved about Daniel's review was how he also illustrated how Club Champion is entirely and uniquely invested in you. Daniel needed his fitting to extend two days. No problem. Club Champion legitimately treats you like the most important client they have and caters to your absolute every need. I can't say enough great things about Club Champion.
Anytime any of you win something from me and want to write a review just let me know. It's always great to read about your unique experiences. And you know me, we might have oh... a Club Champion putter fitting giveaway on the horizon? AGNB baby! And cheers to better golf and having more fun for us all in 2025!
Great read and Congratulations Dan.
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