True or false: All club fitters are the same, stick with the brands you’ve always played.

To be clear, nothing is further from the truth. Just how far we’ve come in club design and fittings is on full display inside the True Spec Golf outdoor fitting container at The Ridge at Castle Pines North. Drawer after drawer of state-of-the-art club heads, walls lined with premium shafts, club measuring machines, and everything else you’d find in a premiere fitting studio packed neatly inside a sleek, unassuming container just off the driving range.

I thought I had an idea of what to expect when the company invited me to its new Denver location for a full bag fitting. I had a custom fitting several years before at a big box outfitter — how different could it be? I wasn’t even considering any upgrades to my bag nor had any notion that my current clubs could be holding me back. But boy was I mistaken.

The two Bs of True Spec club fittings

Within minutes of Master Club Fitter Tyler Yearley’s explanation of the True Spec outdoor fitting process, I knew this fitting would be different. True Spec fitters begin with a series of simple questions to better understand who you are as a golfer — current handicap, strengths and weaknesses, objectives, etc. — before shifting the focus to your current equipment. Yearley walked me through the specs of my current bag using the onsite machines to “blueprint” my clubs, explaining how the length, weight, lie and loft, along with shaft flex and profile, all play a factor in my on course performance.

Blueprint in hand, it was time to get a baseline. After several swings with my six-iron on the Trackman, Yearley had the data he needed to optimize my irons. I’m no stranger to Trackman data, but having an expert eye define the correlation between the numbers and my overall performance was truly enlightening. For years I thought my bag was already built for my game, that all the flaws and inconsistencies stemmed from my swing mechanics. But Yearley explained how minute changes in my specs can have a dramatic effect on my inefficiencies.

“I firmly believe custom fit clubs are the quickest and most enduring way to improve your scores,” Yearley, a former teaching pro says. “Depending on how often you play, it’s worth going through the process every year or two.”

My baseline numbers clearly showed where my current bag is lacking — ball speed/smash factor, and excess spin — none of which I really considered could be dramatically improved with upgraded equipment. I was almost embarrassed at how much I didn’t know about my current setup, not only the specs of my bag but just how much it was affecting my performance on the course. With my hope restored, off we went to select club heads and shafts for testing.

A tried and true testing process

True Spec leaves nothing to be desired when it comes to testing the latest golf tech, with more than 35,000 club head and shaft combinations on hand.Yearley had several iron setups in mind for me given my current specs and baseline numbers, and made room for anything I was curious to try. True Spec is a “brand agnostic” company when it comes to OEMs, meaning there are no incentives influencing their recommendations — their goal is to determine the best equipment for you, period.

“There are some golfers who have always been very loyal to one brand,” he says. “However, it’s actually quite rare that one brand will be the best fit through the entire bag — something we’re starting to see even at the tour level. Our mission is to find and build the best set of clubs for your game, regardless of the manufacturer.”

True Spec’s testing process itself is fun and straightforward. The Denver location offers the added benefit of testing outdoors, taking advantage of real turf to deliver a true feel for the clubs you won’t find hitting off traditional mats. You’ll notice a difference between club setups immediately, though, for the less educated like me, having an expert weigh in helps make sense of all the data. “I don’t like the dispersion with this one, bring it back,” Yearley would say before handing me the next club. “Ball speed is really good here. Let’s see if this shaft gives us better trajectory.” Sure enough, after a few more configurations Yearley had my iron prescription dialed down to two options — one for optimal distance and another built for accuracy. They’re called “master fitters” for a reason, and the proof is in the numbers.

The true difference

From start to finish my True Spec fitting exceed all expectations. By the time I got home an email with a breakdown of Yearley’s overall findings, truncated charts and data from our Trackman session, and an easy-to-read prescription and quote to use when upgrading my bag was waiting for me in my inbox. I wish everything in life was this easy.

All club fitters are not created equal. It was an eyeopening experience, to say the least, and one I’ll look forward to again for years to come. Yearley’s expert insight gave me the tools needed to improve my game without all the sales pitches and awkward up-sells I was used to. With unbiased, experienced master fitters, state-of-the-art testing machines, tools and studios, and more equipment combinations than you’ll want to count, there’s a reason why True Spec Golf is the worldwide leader in custom club fittings. See for yourself at any one of their locations, the results won’t lie.

This promotional post was made in partnership with True Spec Golf. CGB endorses all advertisers, products and services promoted on our pages.