The Complete Guide to Performance Golf's Trial Model, Billing Practices, and How to Protect Yourself
The Performance Golf RS1 putter is a legitimately excellent piece of golf equipment. We've covered the technology, the configurations, and the competitive comparisons in our main RS1 putter buying guide. The engineering is real, the reviews from credible platforms are positive, and the 365-day return policy is one of the most generous in the industry.
But before you click buy — especially if you're purchasing directly through Performance Golf's website — there is a separate issue you need to understand completely. It has nothing to do with the putter itself. It has everything to do with how Performance Golf sells digital products alongside their physical equipment, and why over 800 customers have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau in the past three years.
This guide exists because that information is hard to find in one place, and because golfers who understand it upfront make better purchase decisions and avoid unnecessary frustration.
We are going to cover everything: how the subscription model works, what the $299 charge is and where it comes from, how to cancel before you're billed, what the refund and return process looks like, and the simplest way to buy the RS1 putter without any subscription risk at all.
Who Is Performance Golf and What Do They Actually Sell?
Performance Golf is a Florida-based direct-to-consumer golf company that operates across two distinct business lines that are important to understand separately.
Business Line 1 — Physical Golf Equipment. This includes the RS1 putter designed by Chris McGinley, the ONE wedge series, and other physical clubs sold through their online shop at shop.performancegolf.com. These are real, well-made golf products that have received genuine positive reviews from established equipment platforms. The RS1 in particular has been reviewed favorably by Plugged In Golf and Breaking Eighty, neither of which are affiliated with or paid by Performance Golf.
Business Line 2 — Digital Golf Instruction Subscriptions. This includes the PG1 Membership platform, the Scratch Club program, VIP Coaching packages, and other digital instruction products delivered online. These are separate products from the physical equipment and are sold through a subscription model with free trial periods.
The confusion — and the complaints — arise almost entirely from the intersection of these two business lines during the purchase process. When a golfer visits Performance Golf's website to buy the RS1 putter, they are simultaneously navigating a checkout funnel that presents digital subscription trials alongside the physical product purchase. The two are easy to conflate, and the consequences of not noticing the distinction are felt weeks later on your credit card statement.
How the Trial Subscription Model Works
Performance Golf's digital products are offered through a free trial structure. Here is the standard flow as documented through customer reports, BBB complaints, and Performance Golf's own terms of service:
Step 1 — You begin the checkout process for the RS1 putter. At various points during or after this process, you may be presented with offers for free trials of digital products. These can appear as pop-ups, upsell pages between checkout steps, post-purchase confirmation page offers, or in follow-up emails after your purchase is complete.
Step 2 — The trial offer is accepted, sometimes without full awareness. In many documented cases, customers report accepting what they believed was a free bonus or add-on without understanding they were enrolling in a paid subscription with an automatic renewal clause. The trial periods typically run between 14 and 30 days depending on the specific product.
Step 3 — The trial converts to a paid annual subscription. If the trial is not actively canceled before the designated deadline, the subscription automatically converts and a charge appears on the card used for the original putter purchase. The most commonly reported charge amount is $299, which corresponds to the annual PG1 Membership fee. Other charges reported include amounts associated with Scratch Club and VIP Coaching tiers.
Step 4 — The charge appears unexpectedly. Because the trial period is typically 14 to 30 days after the original equipment purchase, many customers have mentally moved on from the transaction before the conversion charge hits. This timing gap is the primary source of the surprise and frustration documented in BBB complaints.
What the BBB data shows: Performance Golf has received over 800 complaints with the Better Business Bureau over the past three years. The overwhelming majority of these complaints involve unexpected recurring charges from digital subscription conversions rather than any issue with the physical golf equipment itself. Consumer protection law firms have noted this pattern and some have opened investigations into whether Performance Golf's automatic renewal practices comply with state-specific consumer protection laws.
The $299 Charge: What It Is and What to Do About It
If you have found this article because you already see an unexpected charge from Performance Golf on your credit card statement, here is the specific information you need.
What the charge is: A $299 charge from Performance Golf most commonly represents the automatic conversion of a PG1 Membership free trial into a paid annual subscription. Performance Golf maintains a page on their own website addressing this specific charge at shop.performancegolf.com/pages/credit-card-charge, which confirms this explanation.
What your options are:
Option 1 — Contact Performance Golf directly to request cancellation and refund. This is the first step and often the fastest resolution for charges that occurred recently. Contact their customer service team through the following channels:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 1-833-PG1-GOLF (1-833-741-4653)
When you contact them, be specific: state that you were charged for a subscription you did not intend to activate, reference the exact charge amount and date, and request both cancellation of the subscription going forward and a refund of the charge. Document everything in writing — use email rather than phone if possible so you have a record of the exchange.
Option 2 — Contact your credit card company. If Performance Golf's customer service does not resolve the issue satisfactorily, contact your credit card issuer and initiate a dispute. Most card issuers allow disputes for charges that the cardholder did not authorize or did not receive adequate notice about. Automatic renewal charges that were not clearly disclosed are frequently upheld in the cardholder's favor during the dispute process. Bring documentation of your communications with Performance Golf to support the dispute.
Option 3 — File a BBB complaint. While a BBB complaint does not guarantee resolution, Performance Golf does respond to BBB complaints and the documentation of patterns in those complaints creates accountability. Filing at bbb.org is straightforward and creates a record.
How to Cancel a Performance Golf Subscription Before You're Charged
If you enrolled in a trial and want to cancel before the billing conversion occurs, act as soon as possible. Here is the exact process:
Step 1 — Identify which trial or trials you enrolled in. Check your email inbox for any confirmation emails from Performance Golf after your putter purchase. Look for subject lines referencing PG1 Membership, Scratch Club, VIP Coaching, or any free trial enrollment. These emails should contain details about the trial period end date.
Step 2 — Contact Performance Golf customer service before the trial end date.
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 1-833-PG1-GOLF (1-833-741-4653)
Customer service hours are typically Monday through Friday during standard business hours Eastern time. If your trial end date is approaching over a weekend, email immediately and follow up by phone at opening on Monday.
Step 3 — Request written confirmation of cancellation. Ask them to confirm in writing — via email reply — that your trial has been canceled and that no charge will occur. Keep this confirmation permanently. If a charge subsequently appears despite the confirmation, that documentation significantly strengthens any dispute or refund request.
Step 4 — Check your bank or credit card statement. Monitor the card used for your original purchase for 30 to 60 days after cancellation confirmation to verify no charge has processed.
The RS1 Putter's 365-Day Return Policy: Full Details
Separate from the subscription issue entirely, the physical RS1 putter is backed by a 365-day money-back guarantee. This is one of the most generous return windows in the golf equipment industry and it applies to the club regardless of whether you've used it extensively during that period.
What the policy covers: The physical RS1 putter — Standard, Plus, or Founder's Edition — within 365 days of purchase.
What the policy does not cover: Digital subscription products are governed by separate cancellation policies with their own timelines and conditions. The 365-day guarantee applies exclusively to the physical putter.
The return process — step by step:
Step 1 — Contact Performance Golf customer service to initiate the return and request a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. Returns sent without an RMA number will not be processed. Use the same contact details listed above.
Step 2 — Package the club for return. Use the original packaging if you have retained it. Include the RMA number clearly marked on the outside of the package.
Step 3 — Ship to the following address:
Argo Shipping Company
C/O Performance Golf
1301 Ridgeview Drive
McHenry, IL 60050
Step 4 — Retain your shipping tracking number until the return is confirmed received and your refund is processed.
Does this guarantee apply if I bought through a site like Fairway Tips and News? Yes. The 365-day money-back guarantee is a manufacturer's warranty attached to the product itself. It applies regardless of where the physical club was purchased. We recommend retaining your purchase confirmation from any site as documentation of your purchase date.
What the return process is like in practice: Customers who have gone through the physical putter return process — as distinct from subscription disputes — generally report a smooth experience. Performance Golf's return guarantee is a core marketing pillar for the RS1, and they have strong commercial incentive to honor it consistently. The complications arise specifically in the digital subscription domain, not in the physical product return process.
The Safest Way to Buy the RS1 Putter: Authorized Retailers
The cleanest way to purchase the RS1 putter without any subscription enrollment risk is to buy through an authorized third-party retailer rather than directly through Performance Golf's website.
When you purchase through authorized retailers, you are conducting a straightforward one-time retail transaction. There is no upsell funnel, no free trial offers embedded in the checkout process, and no digital subscription enrollment. You pay for the putter, the putter ships, and the transaction is complete.
What you get when buying through authorized retailers:
- The same physical RS1 putter in your chosen configuration
- The same manufacturer's 365-day money-back guarantee on the physical club
- Free shipping
- No subscription enrollment risk
- A clean purchase record with a documented purchase date for any future return
What you do not get: access to Performance Golf's digital instruction platform, PG1 Membership content, or any bundled digital training materials. If access to those digital products is important to you, you would need to enroll in them separately and directly with Performance Golf — with full awareness of the trial terms and cancellation deadlines.
For most golfers who are buying the RS1 specifically for the putter technology rather than the digital instruction content, purchasing through an authorized retailer is simply the lower-risk, cleaner transaction.
A Balanced Assessment: Separating the Equipment from the Business Model
It would be easy to use the subscription complaints as a reason to dismiss Performance Golf entirely. That would be an oversimplification that doesn't serve you well as a buyer.
The RS1 putter is a legitimately innovative product. Chris McGinley's Forward Axis Weighting technology is based on real physics, the club has been tested and reviewed positively by serious equipment platforms that have no financial relationship with Performance Golf, and the build quality across all three configurations is appropriate for the price points charged.
The subscription model concerns are real and worth taking seriously. But they are concerns about a business practice — specifically about the clarity of trial enrollment disclosures and the automatic renewal structure — not about the physical product. These are two separate things.
The most accurate framing is this: Performance Golf makes a good putter and runs an aggressive digital marketing business alongside it. If you buy the putter with full awareness of how their sales funnel works, and you either purchase through a retailer or navigate their checkout carefully, you are very likely getting a club that genuinely improves your putting.
If you walk into their checkout process without understanding the subscription model, you may find yourself resolving a billing dispute six weeks after your putter arrives. That outcome is avoidable — which is exactly why this guide exists.
Quick Reference: Everything You Need in One Place
Performance Golf Customer Service:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone: 1-833-PG1-GOLF (1-833-741-4653)
Physical Putter Return Address:
Argo Shipping Company
C/O Performance Golf
1301 Ridgeview Drive
McHenry, IL 60050
Performance Golf's own billing explanation page:
To file a BBB complaint:
- bbb.org (search Performance Golf, Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Performance Golf a scam? No — Performance Golf is a legitimate company selling real golf equipment. The RS1 putter is a genuine product that has been reviewed positively by credible independent platforms. The concerns around Performance Golf relate specifically to their digital subscription enrollment practices, not to the quality of their physical equipment.
Why did Performance Golf charge my credit card $299? This charge almost always represents the automatic conversion of a PG1 Membership free trial into a paid annual subscription. Contact Performance Golf customer service at 1-833-741-4653 or [email protected] to request cancellation and a refund if the charge was unexpected.
Does the 365-day return policy still apply if I buy through Fairway Tips and News? Yes. The 365-day money-back guarantee is a manufacturer's warranty on the physical product and applies regardless of purchase channel.
How do I cancel the PG1 Membership? Contact Performance Golf by email at [email protected] or by phone at 1-833-741-4653. Request written confirmation of cancellation and keep that confirmation permanently.
What if Performance Golf won't refund an unauthorized subscription charge? Contact your credit card issuer and initiate a formal dispute. Provide documentation of your communications with Performance Golf. Most card issuers side with cardholders in cases involving automatic renewal charges that were not clearly disclosed.
Is the RS1 putter itself worth buying despite these concerns? For golfers with face rotation issues or inconsistent short putting, yes — the RS1 is a well-engineered putter with a genuine performance case. Read our complete RS1 putter review and buying guide for a full assessment of the technology, configurations, and who benefits most.
This guide is based on publicly available information from the Better Business Bureau, Performance Golf's own terms of service and billing pages, consumer protection reporting, and independent equipment review platforms. It is intended to help golfers make informed purchase decisions. Last updated June 2026.
Related Reading:
- Performance Golf RS1 Putter: Complete Review and Buying Guide
- RS1 vs RS1 Plus: Is the Graphite Shaft Worth the Upgrade? — coming soon
- RS1 vs LAB Golf DF3: Active vs Passive Face Squaring Compared — coming soon
- How Forward Axis Weighting Works: The Physics Behind the RS1 — coming soon