Customization 2.0 – My Experience with Jeff Shuster

Credible sources are important to me. And when a golf writer colleague advised me that Jeff Shuster is worth approaching when considering a new equipment purchase I was very confident in approaching Jeff to explore having a new custom hybrid made.

I have written before about my experience, and value, of custom fitting. I am a strong advocate of the process. Have things changed? No. In fact, what I was able to get during this experience was an increased sense of service, support and reinforcement to the value of custom fitting. At the risk of this becoming an advertisement I will say right now that honesty and transparency are very important to me. With Jeff I had a very clear sense that he is willing to work for me and with me, respect my constraints (for example; no upselling of products I can’t afford now) and provide very honest and practical advice.

I am sure I am like many golfer out there that value our clubs, are willing to make investments based on performance, but often lack knowledge to make informed decisions. This was one aspect that Jeff was comfortable to share, and did so using clear language. I was not confused by terminology which I did not understand. Sure, we talked about technology and technology options but in the context of my game and my desired results. A good fitter should take the time to provide the information needed to allow his or her customer to make a decision that works well for them. My new hybrid is the product I received but I was really able to acquire was a trusted and confident relationship moving forward.

There are many excellent fitters across the country. They do important work and help create clubs that fit and function as effectively as possible based on our skills. I’m glad to have found one of them who’s values in business align with mine as a consumer.

Get fit. Seek service that aligns to your needs and respects your knowledge and constraints. I am very glad I did this. I’ll never buy stock equipment again.