Fore!

New Jordan Spieth-approved golf studio swings into west Fort Worth

Get ready to improve your game.

Photo courtesy of Club Champion

In time for spring golf outings, a new high-tech shop with celebrity cred has scored a space in a bustling complex on Fort Worth's west side. Club Champion, a premium golf club fitting and building company, will open its first Fort Worth studio in the Chapel Hill Shopping Center, at 4601 W. Frwy., Suite 200, in early January.

The shop fits, sells, and builds custom golf clubs constructed from clubheads, shafts, and grips from the best brands in golf. These include Callaway, TaylorMade, Ping, Titleist, PXG, Fujikura, Golf Pride, and many more.

Golf superstar and Dallas native Jordan Spieth was recently named the primary ambassador for the brand and uses his platform to educate golfers on the benefits of playing with properly fit golf equipment.

“I’m excited to partner with Club Champion because they really do provide a true tour-level experience that I am confident will help golfers improve their game and ultimately have more fun on the course,” says Spieth in a release.

But even for golfers who possess a fraction of Spieth's prowess, the company says, studies show that a proper, tour-quality fitting produces longer, more accurate shots.

“Our approach is unbiased, with no promotion of any specific vendors," says CEO and president Joe Lee in a release. "Our only goal is to find the best combination of components to help customers hit longer, more accurate shots, and lower their scores and enjoy the game more.”

And that's where the studio comes in.

The 3,000-square-foot Fort Worth location has been designed to showcase 35,000 hittable clubhead and shaft combinations, and golfers get to hit the exact club that will be custom built for them.

The studio includes two indoor hitting bays with Trackman launch monitors for analyzing performance, a SAM PuttLab’s fitting system to find the perfect putter on their practice green, and a build shop for repairing and assembling golf clubs by hand.

“A recent Golf Magazine study showed our average customer gained 22 yards off the tee, 15 yards with their irons, and lowered their scores by 3 strokes," Lee says. "Many players think they aren’t good enough to be custom fit. But the study showed that higher-handicappers saw the biggest gains. Some of these golfers gained as much as 25 more yards with their drivers and shaved as many as 10 strokes per round.”

Club Champion has 39 fitting studios around the country, with 23 more expected to open in the spring. In North Texas, there are shops in Plano and at the Hank Haney Golf Ranch in Lewisville.

To celebrate the grand opening, the Fort Worth store will offer 50 percent off full bag fittings (normally $350) and 33 percent off driver, fairway wood, long game, hybrid, wedge, and putter fittings for a limited time.

Club Champion will be open from 10 am-6 pm Monday through Thursday and 9 am-5 pm Friday and Saturday.

Police News

Fort Worth police officer fired for unjustified use of force

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A Fort Worth police officer has been terminated following his involvement in a use of force incident. According to a release, Officer Matthew Krueger was let go on December 18, following an investigation into an incident involving someone who was videotaping his actions while he was on duty.

On Sunday, June 23, Fort Worth police officers responded to a hit-and-run collision near 1000 Foch St. The incident involved a suspected intoxicated driver who crashed into another vehicle and a structure before fleeing the scene on foot.

While officers were investigating, a woman approached them and used her cell phone to record their actions. Krueger asked and advised her multiple times to move across the street. When she failed to comply, she was placed under arrest.

During the arrest, Krueger used force to take the woman into custody, resulting in injuries that required medical care at an area hospital.

After being treated, the woman was released from the hospital, booked into jail, and charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest and/or detention, evading arrest, and making a false alarm or report.

Krueger had been with the department for just under eight years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau at the time of the incident.

The Fort Worth Police Major Case and Internal Affairs Units began immediate and congruent investigations. Krueger was transferred from Patrol to a unit with no public interaction, pending the outcome of the investigation.

After a review of the Internal Affairs investigation, Krueger’s chain of command determined that the level of force used was unjustified and violated departmental policy. Police Chief Neil Noakes concurred and terminated Krueger’s employment.

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