Any golfer can grab the cheapest set of used clubs from a thrift shop and head out to the local municipal course to play a round. That’s the beauty of the sport. It’s open to everyone.
Still, to play the game well with serious and competitive intent, a golfer needs to be fitted for a set of custom clubs. The most effective golf clubs, from the driver and fairway woods to irons and putters, should fit the wielder’s every physical attribute, from height to strength to swing mechanics. Finding that perfect match for any golfer is the mission of every True Spec Golf center.
True Spec Golf is a leader in the fast-growing custom club fitting industry. In 2019, Golf magazine declared that club fitting now “touches nearly every corner of the game, from big-box stores and pro shops to the practice range on the PGA Tour. It has changed how clubmakers manufacture, retailers sell, shoppers buy and golfers perform.”
Is custom club fitting worth the investment? I tried True Spec Golf for myself, and I can walk you through the process.
How True Spec Golf’s Custom Club Fitting Works
From their far-flung locations dotting the map from Europe to the Bahamas and throughout North America, True Spec can accurately fit a player for every club in the bag. Their multistep process (progressing through pre-fitting, initial interview, blueprint examination of current equipment, baseline fitting, testing and equipment recommendations) takes into consideration a player’s physical factors and ability. In the end, the fitter calculates and presents the best possible club options from amongst the ranks of the industry’s top golf club manufacturers.
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The player can undergo the fitting procedure and depart with just the recommendations, leaving the decision on whether to buy clubs for a later day. That said, the entire True Spec journey ideally concludes with the purchase and construction of new custom clubs.
With that order placed, a few clicks on a computer’s keyboard sends every measurement and preference to the True Spec club building facility in Scottsdale, Arizona. Once the clubs are hand-built to exacting specifications, they ship out to an excited golfer eager to hit the links with equipment specially created for him or her.
What We Liked About the True Spec Golf Fitting Experience
Every True Spec Golf fitting center offers all of the top club makes alongside the game’s most elite shaft brands. After performing the initial analytics, the Club Conex system opens up thousands of potential combinations by allowing a fast connection between clubheads and shafts strong enough to allow multiple full speed swings. A simple twist and click disconnects head from shaft to allow the next combination to take shape. It’s click, swing, disconnect, repeat. This brilliant system allows fitter and golfer to work in unison quickly while testing a wide variety of equipment.
Most Unique Feature: The Human Factor
True Spec Golf would be an impressive operation on the strength of their technology alone. Armed with sensors attached to every clubhead, tracking systems that simulate and record ball flight and body analyzers that examine how a golfer, stands, turns and swings, True Spec Golf could effectively fit customers using only this data. But that’s not how True Spec does business, and it makes all the difference.
While trying out the experience at the True Spec Chicago location, I worked with Carmen Corvino. The veteran fitter uses all of those techy tools at his disposal, but he possesses instincts no computer can match. After helping scores of golfers find the right clubs, he can see tendencies and swing quirks without needing to check the readouts. Most importantly, Corvino’s enthusiasm was obvious and impossible to feign. He considers it his job to get the numbers spot on so every customer can find his or her golfer’s smile.
What We Didn’t Like About True Spec
It’s not cheap, and we never expected custom club fitting would be. There is a fee for the fitting session and, of course, additional charges depending on what clubs the golfer decides to buy. If a player decides to fill the bag with everything from driver to putter, the price tag will easily tick well north of four figures. Since True Spec is a service intended for the serious golfer who wants to take up the game with passion, that player should enter this process with eyes open.
The Verdict:
After a three-hour fitting session with Corvino, I came away fitted for the PING G410 Plus 9 degree driver (a shorter, heavier and stiffer club than my previous model) and a TaylorMade Truss TM2 putter. The two clubs combined tipped the cash register around $1,100. I received both from Scottsdale within 10 days of order, though overnight shipping was available if I wanted to hit the links right away. The fitting also identified the Honma T//World X irons as my best option, but I held off on purchasing those right away.
A perusal of the driver and putter on arrival confirmed they were built exactly to the specifications Corvino and I pinned down during my session. More importantly, within a couple practice sessions with the new sticks, I was able to replicate the success I found on the True Spec simulators.
The new driver is now carrying the ball in the air as far as the old club’s total shot distance. That means I’m picking up 40 to 50 yards off the tee. For a serious golfer, that’s a huge win, and I’ve certainly found my golfer’s smile.