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Taking your own clubs to Top Golf - douchebag move or not?

TopGolf has professionals who give lessons, so that's one reason to bring them.

If I'm going for a social activity with mixed company -- especially with non-golfers -- I'm not bringing them. But I wouldn't really judge anyone if they did, either. TopGolf's clubs are not good.
 
I bring mine, because I care where the ball goes. I'm enough of a golf neurotic to think that if I use their clubs, I'll ruin my carefully calibrated mediocre swing. Ha. And as @Cosmo said, the house clubs are not great. They're built to take a beating, and they do.

One of my best buds is the sales director at the TopGolf here in Indianapolis (so I always get free bay time, so I've got that going for me, which is nice). Fascinating to hear how the biz works and how it pretty much prints money in every market. He and I went to Myrtle Beach a few years ago for a golf trip and stopped by their TopGolf and chatted up their sales director to see how theirs works. Down there, holidays are dead times, which is the opposite of the TopGolf here when families are together and wanting to get out of the house. Their sales team is built and trained to handle last-minute big groups: namely when it rains and the tourists can't make their tee times. In a couple hours it can go from empty to full. My friend said "my entire staff would quit if we were like that."
 
I bring mine, because I care where the ball goes. I'm enough of a golf neurotic to think that if I use their clubs, I'll ruin my carefully calibrated mediocre swing. Ha. And as @Cosmo said, the house clubs are not great. They're built to take a beating, and they do.

One of my best buds is the sales director at the TopGolf here in Indianapolis (so I always get free bay time, so I've got that going for me, which is nice). Fascinating to hear how the biz works and how it pretty much prints money in every market. He and I went to Myrtle Beach a few years ago for a golf trip and stopped by their TopGolf and chatted up their sales director to see how theirs works. Down there, holidays are dead times, which is the opposite of the TopGolf here when families are together and wanting to get out of the house. Their sales team is built and trained to handle last-minute big groups: namely when it rains and the tourists can't make their tee times. In a couple hours it can go from empty to full. My friend said "my entire staff would quit if we were like that."

Totally get it why you do it, but to me, it still gives off "Russell Wilson doing high knees down the aisle" on the plane to Europe.

There was a guy walking out of there yesterday with a golf bag bigger than Scottie Scheffler's. He was walking next to a family leaving that included a grandma and a 12 year-old.
 
If I'm going to what amounts to a driving range, I want to swing my own clubs, if I'm even taking it semi-seriously.

If I'm not, I'll just drink the beer and watch everyone else swing rentals.
 
Totally get it why you do it, but to me, it still gives off "Russell Wilson doing high knees down the aisle" on the plane to Europe.

There was a guy walking out of there yesterday with a golf bag bigger than Scottie Scheffler's. He was walking next to a family leaving that included a grandma and a 12 year-old.

It's no different than bringing your own bowling ball to the lanes, the golf bag is just more awkward to lug around especially with how crowded TopGolfs can be. "Excuse me, pardon me, sorry ..."

Valid point about the balls though.
 
I would think, like most restaurants and sports bars, Top Golf makes its money off the drinks. The golf part and goofy scoring system helps keep people ordering the food and drinks.
 
I went to the one in Glendale, Ariz., a few years ago. I couldn't decide if it was a driving range with a sports bar or a sports bar with a driving range. I wouldn't take my clubs, but I would take my gloves.
 
I've done Top Golf a couple of times and love it, even though I gave up real golf decades ago, in large part because I was horrible at it.

I'm a lefty, and they have LH clubs (I no longer own a set — see above). In fact, I've used their left-handed women's clubs before, as I am vertically challenged.

The funny thing is, both times I've been, I've won multiple games. As noted , I'm a terrible golfer and I don't have a strategy — I just whack it out there and see what happens. So I'm thinking luck beats skill at Top Golf.
 
TopGolf has professionals who give lessons, so that's one reason to bring them.

If I'm going for a social activity with mixed company -- especially with non-golfers -- I'm not bringing them. But I wouldn't really judge anyone if they did, either. TopGolf's clubs are not good.

Exactly where I'm at. Been a few times, and generally don't bring mine, just because to me it's a social/drinking/eating activity, with a little golf thrown in. I have gone with my group of golf buddies, where we drink, gamble and get competitive in the games, and I've brought mine then. But not the whole bag, just a driver and 3-4 irons.

As far as "douchebag move," I'm not going to judge anyone either way. The older I get, the more and more I find myself with a "you do you" approach and don't really spend time thinking about what others are doing unless it impacts my life. Or I try to, at least.
 

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