Opinion & Analysis
Confessions of a Golf Equipment Tech Rep
It seems like a dream job, doesn’t it? Golf equipment tech reps spend hours on the driving ranges of some of the most prestigious courses. They have access to all the new gear from a golf equipment company and get to talk golf with like-minded individuals.
Let me tell you, it’s a ton of fun, but just like any “job” it does have its challenges. Here’s an inside look into what it’s really like to work as a summer tech rep for a golf equipment company.
The Travel
The commute can be one of the most challenging parts of any job, but traveling to golf courses really isn’t that bad. Most demo days are in the afternoon or around the lunch hour, so traffic in most cities is pretty light. Also, the majority of courses are located around the outskirts of the downtown cores just off arterial roads. The trick is avoiding the evening rush hour, but that’s easy when you have your clubs and an endless bucket of premium golf balls.
In contrast to my car (cover image), this is car of a full-time Ping rep. He built a shelf for his van.
The most difficult task actually is trying to get everything to fit into your car. Full-time reps have the luxury of either a company van or have made the decision to own a large vehicle. Tech reps, on the other hand, are not always so well prepared. I, for example, own a (humble brag) 2009 Toyota Matrix. It’s not a large car by any stretch of the imagination, but on the plus side it is a hatchback. A few other guys have small to mid-sized sedans. In another life, we must have all been very good Tetris players, because we somehow always get everything to fit (including the pop-up canopy tents). Speaking to the camaraderie, I’ve seen reps help each other out by taking an extra staff bag or two to the next event if for some reason it won’t fit in a rep’s car.
The Other Reps
Since we spend so much time together during the busy summer demo-day months, we’re more of a band of brothers than rival tribesman. When working with customers, it’s all business, but during off times we hit each other’s gear and trade golf balls and war stories. We even play golf together after demo days wrap up.
When it comes to finding the right piece of equipment, someone is either going to end up with our gear or move on down the line. We always do our best to make sure every golfer that comes out is giving our gear a fair shake and tries what’s right for them, but we all know people have brand biases, too. The one thing we all abide by is the unspoken etiquette of the range, which includes never interrupting another rep during a conversation with a golfer. We’re also never “that guy” who walks all the way to the other side of the range to push a product onto someone at another booth. We’re not new to the golf industry, and we’re all in it together. Our job is ultimately to fit and sell clubs, but at the end of the day, regardless of what equipment the golfer decides to purchase, it’s more important to represent your company the right way and make sure every golfer has a positive experience.
The Food
Each course we visit treats us amazing, from the head professionals all the way to the back-shop and range teams. Plus, since they want us to be good guests and stay with their members on the range, lunch is provided and delivered.
I’ve made the joke many times now that, by the end of the summer, I will be able to rank every sausage, hamburger, and chicken-caesar wrap from every private club in and around the Greater Toronto Area. So far, they’ve all received top marks.
The Fitting Experience
One of the best things about being on the range with golfers at their own club is that they’re comfortable in their surroundings and familiar with course conditions. This, to me, is one of the best ways to fit a golfer, especially one that plays a majority of their golf at their club.
Fittings move very quickly when a golfer can see ball flight and make an apple-to-apples comparison with their own clubs on their own range with an outdoor launch monitor. The benefits of new equipment are quick to spot and problems are easy to correct.
The Golfers
From scratch club champs to weekend warriors, we fit them all. The better golfers are easier to fit them since their swings are more repeatable. Most better players are also able to more accurately describe what they are “feeling” swing after swing.
When testing equipment, it helps to clean your clubs in between shots. It also helps a tech rep!
The one thing that still shocks me is the lack of understanding golfers have on simple fitting principles. Many are stuck in the past with what they know about technology. So many golfers also have misconceptions about what leads to gains in distance, accuracy and consistency. It’s part of our job to help make things simple to understand, and something we take pride in. Here are the top-5 misconceptions I hear from golfers on demo days:
- Hitting it higher with a driver causes distance loss.
- Graphite shafts are only meant for the slowest swingers.
- Forged irons are only for highly skilled players.
- “I don’t need to get fit. Just give me off-the-rack clubs.”
- All “stiff” shafts and all “regular” shafts are the same.
The other difficulty lies in the outliers: the guys who are 6-feet, 6-inches tall and have club head speeds in excess of 120 mph with hands the size of bear paws. These are tough fits since most carts don’t have mid-sized grips. And as far as aftermarket shaft options go, it’s really hard to carry more than what’s already offered by golf equipment manufacturers. The great thing about the Mizuno fitting cart, particularly the company’s iron shafts, is that there aren’t many people I can’t fit given the wide amount of options.
The Weather
This is the one thing that is beyond our control. I’ve experienced days where it’s blowing 30 mph directly into golfers on the range and that’s a tough place to be. Not only that, but be prepared for at least one face full of dirt and sand along the way. No lie, on an extremely gusty day, I once saw a rep get thrown 8 feet into the air trying to save his tent. Thankfully, he walked away unscathed, but I can’t say the same for the tent (he crushed it when he landed inside of it, upside down).
And rain… even the thought or possibility of it scares people away, which can lead to pretty slow days on the range. We all know how much it sucks to have to dry out your entire golf bag after a soggy round. Imagine doing that with 5-6 golf bags after a few extra hours in the rain.
Golfers, don’t let the sun get away with anything, either. One of the first lessons as a tech rep is to load up on sunscreen or risk a very bad sunburn. If you think a golfer’s tan is bad, a rep tan can be even worse.
—
To all the golfers headed to the demo day, make sure to stop by and say hello to us tech reps. Don’t be nervous or embarrassed to make a swing in front of us; we hold no judgement. And please, ask as many questions as you’d like. We’ve heard them all, and want you to learn and enjoy trying out some new gear. You might just be surprised what ends up working for you, and you may even have a great conversation with one of unsung road warriors of the industry.
As the editor-in-chief of this website and an observer of the GolfWRX forums and other online golf equipment discourse for over a decade, I’m pretty well attuned to the grunts and grumbles of a significant portion of the golf equipment purchasing spectrum. And before you accuse me of lording above all in some digital ivory tower, I’d like to offer that I worked at golf courses (public and private) for years prior to picking up my pen, so I’m well-versed in the non-degenerate golf equipment consumers out there. I touched (green)grass (retail)!
Complaints about the ills of and related to the OEMs usually follow some version of: Product cycles are too short for real innovation, tour equipment isn’t the same as retail (which is largely not true, by the way), too much is invested in marketing and not enough in R&D, top staffer X hasn’t even put the new driver in play, so it’s obviously not superior to the previous generation, prices are too high, and on and on.
Without digging into the merits of any of these claims, which I believe are mostly red herrings, I’d like to bring into view of our rangefinder what I believe to be the two primary difficulties golf equipment companies face.
One: As Terry Koehler, back when he was the CEO of Ben Hogan, told me at the time of the Ft Worth irons launch, if you can’t regularly hit the golf ball in a coin-sized area in the middle of the face, there’s not a ton that iron technology can do for you. Now, this is less true now with respect to irons than when he said it, and is less and less true by degrees as the clubs get larger (utilities, fairways, hybrids, drivers), but there remains a great deal of golf equipment truth in that statement. Think about it — which is to say, in TL;DR fashion, get lessons from a qualified instructor who will teach you about the fundamentals of repeatable impact and how the golf swing works, not just offer band-aid fixes. If you can’t repeatably deliver the golf club to the golf ball in something resembling the manner it was designed for, how can you expect to be getting the most out of the club — put another way, the maximum value from your investment?
Similarly, game improvement equipment can only improve your game if you game it. In other words, get fit for the clubs you ought to be playing rather than filling the bag with the ones you wish you could hit or used to be able to hit. Of course, don’t do this if you don’t care about performance and just want to hit a forged blade while playing off an 18 handicap. That’s absolutely fine. There were plenty of members in clubs back in the day playing Hogan Apex or Mizuno MP-32 irons who had no business doing so from a ballstriking standpoint, but they enjoyed their look, feel, and complementary qualities to their Gatsby hats and cashmere sweaters. Do what brings you a measure of joy in this maddening game.
Now, the second issue. This is not a plea for non-conforming equipment; rather, it is a statement of fact. USGA/R&A limits on every facet of golf equipment are detrimental to golf equipment manufacturers. Sure, you know this, but do you think about it as it applies to almost every element of equipment? A 500cc driver would be inherently more forgiving than a 460cc, as one with a COR measurement in excess of 0.83. 50-inch shafts. Box grooves. And on and on.
Would fewer regulations be objectively bad for the game? Would this erode its soul? Fortunately, that’s beside the point of this exercise, which is merely to point out the facts. The fact, in this case, is that equipment restrictions and regulations are the slaughterbench of an abundance of innovation in the golf equipment space. Is this for the best? Well, now I’ve asked the question twice and might as well give a partial response, I guess my answer to that would be, “It depends on what type of golf you’re playing and who you’re playing it with.”
For my part, I don’t mind embarrassing myself with vintage blades and persimmons chasing after the quasi-spiritual elevation of a well-struck shot, but that’s just me. Plenty of folks don’t give a damn if their grooves are conforming. Plenty of folks think the folks in Liberty Corner ought to add a prison to the museum for such offences. And those are just a few of the considerations for the amateur game — which doesn’t get inside the gallery ropes of the pro game…
Different strokes in the game of golf, in my humble opinion.
Anyway, I believe equipment company engineers are genuinely trying to build better equipment year over year. The marketing departments are trying to find ways to make this equipment appeal to the broadest segment of the golf market possible. All of this against (1) the backdrop of — at least for now — firm product cycles. And golfers who, with their ~15 average handicap (men), for the most part, are not striping the golf ball like Tiger in his prime and seem to have less and less time year over year to practice and improve. (2) Regulations that massively restrict what they’re able to do…
That’s the landscape as I see it and the real headwinds for golf equipment companies. No doubt, there’s more I haven’t considered, but I think the previous is a better — and better faith — point of departure when formulating any serious commentary on the golf equipment world than some of the more cynical and conspiratorial takes I hear.
Agree? Disagree? Think I’m worthy of an Adam Hadwin-esque security guard tackle? Let me know in the comments.
@golfoncbs The infamous Adam Hadwin tackle ? #golf #fyp #canada #pgatour #adamhadwin ? Ghibli-style nostalgic waltz – MaSssuguMusic
Episode #16 brings us Cliff McKinney. Cliff is the founder of Old Charlie Golf Club, a new club, and concept, to be built in the Florida panhandle. The model is quite interesting and aims to make great, private golf more affordable. We hope you enjoy the show!
Last week, I came across a reel from BBC Sport on Instagram featuring Scottie Scheffler speaking to the media ahead of The Open at Royal Portrush. In it, he shared that he often wonders what the point is of wanting to win tournaments so badly — especially when he knows, deep down, that it doesn’t lead to a truly fulfilling life.
View this post on Instagram
“Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about it because I’ve literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,” Scheffler said. “To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special, but at the end of the day, I’m not out here to inspire the next generation of golfers. I’m not out here to inspire someone to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point?”
Ironically — or perhaps perfectly — he went on to win the claret jug.
That question — what’s the point of winning? — cuts straight to the heart of the human journey.
As someone who’s spent over two decades in the trenches of professional golf, and in deep study of the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the game, I see Scottie’s inner conflict as a sign of soul evolution in motion.
I came to golf late. I wasn’t a junior standout or college All-American. At 27, I left a steady corporate job to see if I could be on the PGA Tour starting as a 14-handicap, average-length hitter. Over the years, my journey has been defined less by trophies and more by the relentless effort to navigate the deeply inequitable and gated system of professional golf — an effort that ultimately turned inward and helped me evolve as both a golfer and a person.
One perspective that helped me make sense of this inner dissonance around competition and our culture’s tendency to overvalue winning is the idea of soul evolution.
The University of Virginia’s Division of Perceptual Studies has done extensive research on reincarnation, and Netflix’s Surviving Death (Episode 6) explores the topic, too. Whether you take it literally or metaphorically, the idea that we’re on a long arc of growth — from beginner to sage elder — offers a profound perspective.
If you accept the premise literally, then terms like “young soul” and “old soul” start to hold meaning. However, even if we set the word “soul” aside, it’s easy to see that different levels of life experience produce different worldviews.
Newer souls — or people in earlier stages of their development — may be curious and kind but still lack discernment or depth. There is a naivety, and they don’t yet question as deeply, tending to see things in black and white, partly because certainty feels safer than confronting the unknown.
As we gain more experience, we begin to experiment. We test limits. We chase extreme external goals — sometimes at the expense of health, relationships, or inner peace — still operating from hunger, ambition, and the fragility of the ego.
It’s a necessary stage, but often a turbulent and unfulfilling one.
David Duval fell off the map after reaching World No. 1. Bubba Watson had his own “Is this it?” moment with his caddie, Ted Scott, after winning the Masters.
In Aaron Rodgers: Enigma, reflecting on his 2011 Super Bowl win, Rodgers said:
“Now I’ve accomplished the only thing that I really, really wanted to do in my life. Now what? I was like, ‘Did I aim at the wrong thing? Did I spend too much time thinking about stuff that ultimately doesn’t give you true happiness?’”
Jim Carrey once said, “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Eventually, though, something shifts.
We begin to see in shades of gray. Winning, dominating, accumulating—these pursuits lose their shine. The rewards feel more fleeting. Living in a constant state of fight-or-flight makes us feel alive, yes, but not happy and joyful.
Compassion begins to replace ambition. Love, presence, and gratitude become more fulfilling than status, profits, or trophies. We crave balance over burnout. Collaboration over competition. Meaning over metrics.
Interestingly, if we zoom out, we can apply this same model to nations and cultures. Countries, like people, have a collective “soul stage” made up of the individuals within them.
Take the United States, for example. I’d place it as a mid-level soul: highly competitive and deeply driven, but still learning emotional maturity. Still uncomfortable with nuance. Still believing that more is always better. Despite its global wins, the U.S. currently ranks just 23rd in happiness (as of 2025). You might liken it to a gifted teenager—bold, eager, and ambitious, but angsty and still figuring out how to live well and in balance. As much as a parent wants to protect their child, sometimes the child has to make their own mistakes to truly grow.
So when Scottie Scheffler wonders what the point of winning is, I don’t see someone losing strength.
I see someone evolving.
He’s beginning to look beyond the leaderboard. Beyond metrics of success that carry a lower vibration. And yet, in a poetic twist, Scheffler did go on to win The Open. But that only reinforces the point: even at the pinnacle, the question remains. And if more of us in the golf and sports world — and in U.S. culture at large — started asking similar questions, we might discover that the more meaningful trophy isn’t about accumulating or beating others at all costs.
It’s about awakening and evolving to something more than winning could ever promise.
‘Why would anybody want to change that swing?’ – Brandel Chamblee says PGA Tour star was wrong to change his swing
‘The stupidest freaking thing I’ve ever heard’ – Billy Horschel slams Open idea suggested by Padraig Harrington
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Chris Downing
Apr 23, 2018 at 5:49 am
I think Ryan thought he boss would read this before he submitted it. In the past I have worked as a rep in a lot of industries – pluses are new cars supplied to you, quite a lot of freedom – downs – not all customers are nice, targets you need to hit causes stress, hours wasted on the road. Because you get a car and lots of people want the job it depresses the salary. It’s also not a particularly well respected career – as my mother said,” Couldn’t you get a proper job?” Ouch!
D williams
Mar 29, 2019 at 7:18 pm
I have been the top tech rep in Texas for many years. I command top dollar from any company. The things that have been said are BS. Tech reps will never be more than that and most tech reps I know don’t have the ambition to be more. I have worked for multiple companies at same time I’ve worked full time Year around. In closing if you want to be a tech rep good luck maybe get a real job
ooffa
Jun 25, 2017 at 6:42 am
Calm down dude. If some one wants to get fitted let it be. Why are you always freaking about stuff?
High handicapper, low handicapper, so what, let people enjoy themselves a bit. Stop being such a know it all downer. You must be a whole lot of fun at the monthly member mingler.
Ward Wayne
Jul 1, 2017 at 12:32 pm
What?! Are you responding to the comment above?
Dave R
Jun 25, 2017 at 12:02 am
Very good article and well explained. Every time I went to demo days I was always treated with respect . And showed the same in return . Never did I feel that I was being pressured into buying. And yes would strongly advise before you buy get fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. Expensive is not always the answer.
Tom1
Jun 24, 2017 at 5:12 pm
you rep’s need larger vehicles
Compressthis
Jun 23, 2017 at 12:54 pm
Long time Cobra demo tech in the Midwest. Liked the article, we are a band of friends at all events looking to only set up anyone with the clubs that best fit their swing. Of course I will do my best to explain why my clubs would be the best when you hit them as I believe like everyone that we have the clubs to fit your swing. You are still the one making the decision to purchase. It is your job to take the launch monitor readings, ball flight information, feel and performance observations and narrow down your ideal club selections for final comparison. We all have no problem going head to head with each other because the customer walks away satisfied knowing he got the best club for him. Not sure where the tech reps are shoving new product down people’s throats, that is not the case here. If you are not interested in hearing about or trying the new equipment why are you at a demo day anyway? Hopefully your response isn’t for the free balls to hit! ????
Bobbyeggroll
Jun 23, 2017 at 12:37 pm
Best time for me was when working a driving range I received a few new clubs and put them in the demo bag for an afternoon demo day. I set everything up and while getting setup a few keeners went looking in my bags and took a new hybrid out and started hitting it. This person wasn’t the best golfer but made reasonable contact and brought the club back to me and said they really liked it particularly the grip. Amusingly the protective plastic was still on the grip as I had only got the head plastic off. Slipped the club in the bag and said I was glad they liked it and could I order it for them? They came back later and bought one through the proshop and I never heard anything negative from the transaction and never told the pro the story.
mr b
Jun 23, 2017 at 11:04 am
always been something i wanted to do….but…there just wasn’t any money in it from what i saw. but if money wasn’t a concern it’d be a dream job for this guy.
Me
Jun 23, 2017 at 9:17 am
I too am a Club fitter, have been for over 10 years. The amount of stock & custom upgrade-able shafts, fitting heads for both Right and lefties- there is no way I could fit in a small SUV. I travel with more club and shaft selections ( including driver shafts in different lengths} that any superstore could possibly offer at any time. I have full sets of lefties, ladies, even full sets of ladies lefties. In addition I have the latest Trackman launch monitor not for consumers ego, but to be fitted. It amazes me that some large club companies, send a guy out with a tent and 2 staff bags, no launch monitor of any kind, a folding table with table cloth, a 1/2 dozen iron & driver fitting heads and conduct a demo day. A “demo day” consisting of hitting free range balls is not the way to conduct business. A fitting day on the other hand, with appointments is a partnership(s) between the Pro, vendor and consumer/member….Sadly many “pros” do not understand this & act like they are too busy. PXG, Taylormade and Titleist understands appointment driven fitting days, the consumer loves the attention to detail and often buys. The pros that do get it, see in an up tick in business profits and often an increase in lessons by these purchasers investing in their game.
Thomas Murphy
Jun 23, 2017 at 10:17 am
Yay a full set of lefties. I hate when I go to fitting events and they have like 30 RH 6 irons of the same model and no LH. And I also agree that models like Titleist with “fitting thursdays” and appointments is great though at times I am not wanting a “fitting” I just want to try(demo) stuff but more directed models are great.
Mike Sykes
Jun 23, 2017 at 4:03 pm
I am a Titleist Product Specialist (Tech Rep.). Titleist Thursdays serve both purposes…Fitting Appts. offer 45-min. total attention to a player’s wants & needs. If a player just wants to demo clubs & ask questions, they just need to walk up..no appt. needed. A somewhat consistent swing does help in fitting and player feedback during the fitting is critical. We are there to help players with their equipment. No-pressure selling here. If I can’t help improve their game, in their opinion….thanks for coming out!
Nick
Jun 23, 2017 at 8:59 pm
Mike I to am a Product Specialist which Rep do you work for? I am on the west side of Michigan.
Bert
Jun 23, 2017 at 9:04 am
Best quote in the article is scratch golfers are easier to fit than bogey golfers.
” The better golfers are easier to fit them since their swings are more repeatable. Most better players are also able to more accurately describe what they are “feeling” swing after swing”.
Said this for years and still believe it. If you can’t repeat a swing, it’s difficult at best to be fit. Fitting is normally, hit this, hit this, I think this will fit you best, your numbers are better.
Dat
Jun 23, 2017 at 9:43 am
This IS the truth. Not everyone can benefit from a true fitting unless you have a consistent swing. Truly has nothing to do with handicap or the size/shape of the golfer. The best question I was ever asked was if I had a “Flex Shaft” for a gentleman to try out…
Was
Jun 23, 2017 at 9:55 am
Well you know why men ask for e “Flex” shaft, don’t you? They’re too ashamed to ask for a “Soft” one. Ego gets them every time.
Steve
Jun 23, 2017 at 10:49 am
Launch monitors have really smoothed out that shaft flex thing for me…my motto is your best fit driver will hit the fairway, best fit irons will hit the green and if you find a putter that will put the ball in the hole I want one….
Ude
Jun 23, 2017 at 6:04 pm
New club designs — stronger lofts and softer shafts — more distance and more flex for higher shots — and the OEMs don’t tell you about it because golfer’s egos would suffer
Bishop
Jun 23, 2017 at 12:23 pm
I’m personally on the fence about this statement. I think that though the low ‘cap may be easier, even a high handicapper would be easy to fit, so long as their swing is consistent (which I completely agree, is absolutely necessary). To play Devil’s Advocate, I have a couple of friends who are 35 handicappers, but have a very consistent and repeatable swing (one in particular has a high handicap because he doesn’t line up for his 20 yard slice to land in the fairway, and thus his second shot is almost always out of the rough).
stephenf
Jun 23, 2017 at 2:58 pm
Absolutely. A _lot_ of higher-handicap players have distressingly consistent swings. From a teacher’s perspective, the typical challenge is to get them out of those consistent patterns.
Dave
Jun 25, 2017 at 7:50 am
He should line up to see that a 20 yard slice ends up in the fairway he should determine what is causing that slice and FIX it. I speak from painful experience.
Dave
Jun 25, 2017 at 7:53 am
That should say SHOULD NOT line up …. doggone bad typist.
Double Mocha Man
Jun 25, 2017 at 2:29 pm
You sliced that one. 🙂
Double Mocha Man
Jun 25, 2017 at 2:30 pm
You sliced that one! 🙂