Club Champion can call itself the country’s #1 fitter, builder and retailer of the best brands in golf for many reasons, but the expansive fitter and builder training program lends proof to the claim. As of April 2019, the premium fitting brand had updated and expanded its existing classes – already 150+ hours of learning – to include a wider array of topics, more hands-on exercises and additional teaching experts.

The training program, called Club Champion University (CCU), now includes a 144-page manual, six professors, two weeks of classroom learning and mock fitting, followed by another two weeks of live fitting with the team at the Chicagoland headquarters. Hosted every two weeks, the program is the first step in becoming a certified Club Champion fitter.

“Our fitters are the core of the company,” said Nick Sherburne, Club Champion founder. “Having the most passionate and most educated individuals in our fitting bays is what ensures that we can provide the results we promise and the immersive experience our customers want.”

Sherburne himself is the Dean of CCU, personally overseeing all of the processes and fitters. His expertise, along with that of the other professors, is what drives all of the new hires and guides the company standard. Because Club Champion does not franchise – all its studios are corporate-owned – the company is able to streamline everything nationwide to ensure that a golfer will receive as comprehensive a fitting in Seattle as they will in Orlando.

As part of the CCU expansion, new professors have been added to the roster. Most notably, Brad Syslo, formerly Product Line Manager & Grassroots Program Manager at Wilson Golf and Manager & Master Club Fitter at TaylorMade Performance Labs, has taken the position of Lead Professor. Brad’s most recent experience has been recruiting, hiring and training fitters to manage their own store/territories.

“I love being able to help our newest fitters provide great experiences to golfers from coast to coast, as well as further develop our experienced fitters,” said Syslo. “What Nick has created is extremely impressive, and I’m thrilled to add my knowledge to the program. The Club Champion team is second to none in the industry!” said Syslo.

CCU is one of the major points of differentiation between Club Champion and its competitors. Prior golf experience, coupled with the immense knowledge and skills from CCU, ensures a level of expertise unrivaled in the industry. Before they step into a fitting bay, each Club Champion fitter extensively trains on TrackMan swing analysis technology; the SAM PuttLab system; club building, including bending, glueing and more; the fitting process, including how to take data points like smash factor and turn them into suggested club combinations; customer service best practices; sales tools like Salesforce and financing options; and dozens of other touchpoints to round out their existing knowledge and skill set.

“Being in the industry for 15+ years, I thought I knew everything about fitting,” said Don Phattiyakul, Master Fitter and Builder in Washington D.C. “Going through CCU taught me more than I could have imagined. Club Champion invests a lot in us because they know we are the face of the company and to be the best, you have to have the best training in the industry.”

To further the education of each master fitter after graduating CCU, Club Champion hosts its own online learning center called Thinkzoom. This platform has training and instructional videos about everything from fitting procedures to products, even customer service. Mandatory classes are held through this platform year-round, along with bi-weekly conference calls and webinars with product manufacturers like Callaway, TaylorMade, Titleist, Golf Pride and more. Understanding each brand and line of products is imperative when fitting a golfer into the best combination of clubs for their individual swing.

Club Champion’s impeccably trained fitters and builders are just another defining factor in its continued success. Ranked by Golf Digest as one of the 100 Best Club Fitters ten years running, Club Champion is the only fitter in the country to offer 35,000 interchangeable head and shaft combinations on-site, at all locations. More information on the company and information on how to become a fitter can be found at clubchampiongolf.com.