Club Champion has opened a new golf fitting studio in Vancouver with more locations to come.
“In the simplest terms we are a very comprehensive data driven club fitting and building company. We basically do club fitting and measure through a series of different diagnostics your ability or capability to hit a golf ball and measure up the best clubs we can find to maximize your production or maximize your capability to hit a golf ball,” said Joe Lee, chairman of the company.
Club Champion’s headquarters are just outside of Chicago. Overall, it has 115 locations in the U.S., four locations in Canada, three in the UK and three in Australia.
In Canada, besides the new location in Vancouver (in Richmond), it also has a presence in Calgary, in Toronto and in Mississauga. The two in the Toronto area have been open for four or five years. The Calgary location has been around for about a year.
To kick off its international expansion, Club Champion acquired top Canadian club fitter, Tour Experience Golf (TXG) in 2022.
“There has always been a mutual admiration between TXG and Club Champion,” said Ian Fraser, TXG’s founder, at the time of the acquisition. “We share a similar belief that every golfer deserves the best possible equipment for their game, and now we get to work together to further that message.”
Now, the two brands are coming together under one brand umbrella to serve North American golfers.
“We work with all major manufacturers . . . and what our real secret sauce is to be frank is we can separate the shaft and the head from each other so you can try on anything on the market together,” said Lee.
“We can mix and match all over the board with no bias. So we don’t care what club you end up playing with, we just want it to be the best one for you. And we go one step further, we actually assemble those clubs to spec. We actually have our own build shop. We have a 20,000-square-foot build shop right here in the States. We actually assemble the clubs to exact specs. So swing weight, length, lie of the iron, loft, all those things that can make a difference in what your performance is and how consistent your clubs are from club to club throughout your set.”
Lee said there’s a build shop in Toronto that assembles the clubs for all the four Canadian stores.
Lee said Club Champion locations are anywhere between 2,500 to 3,500 square feet. A location would typically have two or three fitting bays (simulator bays) and a putting green with a putting analyzer. There’s also a small build shop to do repairs or simple grip changes.
“We have big time plans for Canada. We believe that golf just like it is here is very popular for a certain segment of citizens that are passionate about the game. They play a lot. It’s a big part of their life. They may not be the best players in the world but they want to get better,” said Lee.
“So we think wherever there’s pockets of golfers and golf courses in a metro area or a small area that we can be a success. That’s pretty much the model we’ve done here. We’re only four stores today. I think there’s definitely plans to be in 15 to 18 locations by the time we’re mature in Canada.”
