One bench, then a studio
FAIRWAY opened in 1987 as a fitting bench behind another shop's counter. The bench is still here. Everything else was built around it.
- Est.
- 1987
- Where
- St. Andrews
What we sell on
Not discounts, not the newest thing because it is newest. A shop this size survives on being right more often than the internet is, which is a lower bar than it sounds and a harder one to keep.
- 01
Fitting first
Nothing leaves matched to somebody else. A launch monitor, a lie board and an hour, rather than a guess and a sticker that says regular flex.
- 02
Fewer lines, chosen
Twelve makers and a fraction of what each of them builds. If it is on the rack it won an argument at the counter, and we can tell you which one.
- 03
Staff who play
Everybody here plays, most of them badly enough to be useful. That is why we will talk you out of a purchase roughly once a week.
Most of the work happens behind the rack
Shafts pulled and replaced, lofts and lies checked against the card, grips cut at the size on your hands rather than the size in the box. A set that arrives from a maker is not finished until somebody here has put a wrench on it.
- Regrips while you wait, most days
- Loft and lie checked against your card
- Shaft pulls, tip trims and reweighting
- Fitting notes kept for every customer
Four moves in thirty nine years
- 1987
One bench
A fitting bench behind a pro shop near St. Andrews, a vice, a loft and lie machine and a second hand launch net.
- 1994
The shop
Twelve Links Road, with the bench moved to the back where it has stayed ever since. The rack took the front.
- 2006
The monitor
The first launch monitor arrived and the arguments got shorter. Numbers ended discussions that used to run all afternoon.
- Today
The studio
One bay, five sessions, twelve brands and a filing cabinet of fitting notes going back to the bench.
Play the long game.
Fitted once beats bought twice, and a set that suits you is still the right set in ten years. That is the whole argument and we have not needed another one since 1987.
