I have done all three of mine at Titleist Thursday offerings. Outdoors with a Titleist employee using Titleist range balls. I would personally try to avoid an indoor session with someone that wasn't highly skilled at the process and hitting outside off of real turf gives you more accurate feedback. That said, If you can't do an outdoor fitting with a Titleist rep, getting any kind of fitting is still better than just guessing and buying off the shelf.

Appreciate the feedback. Hopefully when it gets nicer the local TPC course will have something with Titleist??

Based on my own experience, the "fitters" at my local box are just guys off the street that are golfers. Being 40 years younger than me, they only really knew what worked for them and the same information I saw on commercials. The icing on the cake was I went in with a 913 wanting to shop a new shaft. After semi-paying attention to what I was hitting, they convinced me that magically, one of the drivers on the rack was just what I needed. That 915 was so bad that it was easy to get a 917 that gained me 20 yards.
Personally, I will only get fitted at outdoor sites with a Trackman or similar so I can see the flight and see the numbers. I do have access within 75 miles of both a Titleist Thursday and a Premier Fitting site. It's worth the drive. If you trust an indoor fitting location with qualified fitters like a GolfTec or Club Champion, that can work for you. Do the due diligence to select the site/fitter. I like to see the full flight and getting fit off a mat instead of local turf condition just doesn't seem right. I could probably shave 5-8 strokes off of my handicap if I could hit every on course shot off of a mat.

Schedule a Fitting with a Certified Titleist Fitter at a Course.

Big box stores are there to sell and they will be glad to fit you with whatever you tell them..remember they are retail sales people.........please go see a certified fitter.....Titleist Thursdays are free by the way......

Agree with all the comments - Proper fitting with a certified fitter is absolutely the way to go. That said, I use big box stores to satisfy curiosity prior to the fitting. Not really to presuppose with I will be fitted with but more to rule out the "hmm maybe I should try that combo" type ideas. One only has so many 'good swings' in a fitting session before things taper off - a primary reason IMO that some fitters try to jump to the end state very quickly. Full disclosure though - I do not pull the trigger until I have hit outside with my preferred golf ball - yet another reason why the Titleist Thursdays are such great events.

The reality is that it all comes down to the fitter - even at the big box stores - some fellas are quite good. We are fortunate to have an exceptional fitter at our golf club - certified Titleist Premier fitter.

Lastly - watch for the promo days at the Stores. May have to wait a bit but I have seen local / regional Titleist fitters showing up for specific days in the stores as well.

I mainly go between Golf Mart and Fairway Golf (a "mom and pop" store). Golfsmith (now Golf Galaxy) used to have an extensive repair shop and a Golftec hitting booth. The military courses (Miramar and Adm Baker) do have grass driving ranges and have fitting/demo days; only issue with Miramar is the lies are uneven.

Lie boards, mats and Trackman machines inside will get one in the ball park. The final test is hitting off turf or outside. I have a certain driving range I go to where the mats are very thin; I have a test called "the Sorrento Canyon Driving Range Test" where being able to hit off the mats is the same as hitting off a tight lie. A normal driving range mat is about an inch thick and gives a false sense of security.