Titleist Performance Institute Tour Fitting - The Fitting

[GolfSpy Tim]

Titleist Fitting Works - TPI Tour Fitting – The Experience

 

A high-handicap spy gets fit like a Tour Pro.

 

You can see the first article in this series here.

 

Arriving at TPI, Carlsbad, CA:

 

 

Heading to the Titleist facilities last Tuesday had me excited and scared all at the same time. Here I am, a higher handicap player walking into Titleist's gated facility to review their process of them reviewing me!

 

Driving to the fitting appointment we stopped three times for me to find a restroom… I'd like to say it was due to some random food I ate, but I'm pretty sure it was my nerves realizing I was going to be analyzed for 3+ hours by some of the industry's best.

 

With a quick stop at the Rainbow Sandals factory in San Clemente, we eventually arrived at the Titleist Performance Institute facility in Carlsbad, CA.

 

 

Driving up to the Titleist Performance Institute property is like driving up to a top-secret military facility. You can tell something important is going on inside of those walls, but you'd have no clue it was Titleist in there without prior spy knowledge. The only sign from the outside that this facility was used for anything golf related was the towering nets on one side of the property. It feels pretty special driving up knowing that anyone else driving by might not know what this facility houses.

 

 

Once inside:

 

Once through the gate, we headed to check in at the front desk (we being my wife Cheryl and I – she was there to take a few pictures and videos of me in action)

 

 

From the start I felt like a VIP (And I can say without a doubt, this is how the experience is for anyone visiting) Once inside, I never had to open a door for myself, I didn't carry my own bag, and there were bags and bags of new ProV1 balls waiting for me to send them flying down the fairway.

 

After checking in at the front desk and signing a waiver/NDA that I wouldn't' spy more than I was already being allowed to, I was directed to the waiting room.

 

Waiting for me were bottles of water, an assortment of drinks, big comfy leather chairs, and a large TV for my enjoyment. I walked in, introduced myself to the other guy being fit that day, Ryan. I set my camera bag down and left Cheryl to relax while I wandered the halls looking for any signs of top-secret clubs or balls sitting around that I could photograph. No love, but I did get to check out all of their displays.

 

 

 

 

 

When I came back to the room there was a text message from my wife – I assumed that Ryan (a tall, handsome and fit guy) had been flirting with her and she was texting about that – turns out he was a total gentleman. The text is to let me know that Ryan is Ryan Getzlaf – Mighty Ducks team captain. You would assume that someone of some “celebrity” would get more attention than you, but nothing could be further from the truth at TPI. (Never once did I feel like Steve was distracted by one of the NHL's best players being fitted just 20 feet away)

 

After relaxing for a couple of minutes Cliff Walzak, Tour Fitting Manager, stopped by the room and asked if we all wanted a quick tour. He showed us TPI's workout facility, hitting bays, ball testing, short game area, driving range(s) and a quick glance at some of their more high tech toys used with the Performance Institute programs.

 

After the tour I was introduced to Sr. Club Fitting Analyst Steve Ziff. Steve would be fitting me for the day. (I have to say; Steve is an extremely friendly guy with many years experience and such a wealth of knowledge to share, both in fitting as well as advice for my swing)

 

 

Onto the Tour Fitting Experience:

 

The First step of the fitting was to pull out my old clubs (this got a good chuckle, and had Steve and Cliff both reminiscing on memories of the year my old clubs were released)

 

 

Steve asked some questions about what my goals are for my fitting and my game. I said I wanted to be able to hit the ball straight and more consistently/less miss-hits, and hopefully with a bit more distance, but with a focus on accuracy. You know, everything…

 

Steve had me hit a few balls with my 8 iron to get the initial numbers and see what my current swing with my old clubs was producing. As has been my norm with these old clubs, I was shamefully pushing every shot WAY right off the fairway into who knows where.

 

 

I started out REALLY nervous – i.e.: I literally could see the club head shaking as I setup to swing, but Steve immediately noticed how nervous I was and told me to relax and just swing away and not worry about anything – that there was nothing wrong with some bad swings. Steve did a GREAT job calming my nerves and making sure I was producing swings at the best of my ability. He ensured me it was ok to take bad swings, and that if/when I did, if they were my normal bad swings, we could talk about ways to fix them.

 

After watching me swing a few times and looking at the launch numbers on the Trackman system, Steve said he could definitely help with my accuracy and miss-hits, stating that his goal would be to take my 30+ yard misses and trim those down to 10 yard misses.

 

We talked a little bit about things I'd been learning in my recent golf lessons, and talked about a couple of things that could help as the day progressed. Just little pointers to help me tune my swing even more.

 

He also asked me which Titleist irons stood out to my eye. I honestly had no attachment to one over the other, so into my hands slipped an AP1 8 iron with a steel shaft.

 

 

Like magic, on my first swing I actually pushed the ball left. A few more swings and then Steve had me try a graphite shaft, right away it was obvious to him that this shaft was too light for me to be consistent with (I felt like I couldn't “feel” the swing as much with the lighter shaft, but with the steel shaft the swing came more to life for me)

 

While Titleist utilizes the Trackman system to come up with the raw numbers, it's Steve's eyes and experience that allow him to quickly compare the numbers as well as the visual ball flight and my swing to come up with the right mix of club head and shafts. To top that off, and the part I didn't expect was that they were always curious how the clubs “felt” to me, and how they looked to me. This feedback was important to help guide them as well.

 

 

After getting me dialed into the AP1 with the Dynamic Gold S300 shaft, Steve then had me try the same setup but with the AP2 head. Taking turns switching back and forth between the AP1 and AP2 8 irons, I was able to get a feel for both. The AP1 club felt heavier when I was swinging it, and as I can best describe the AP2 felt like it was allowing me to have a more “clean/crisp” swing. With this feedback Steve told me that the launch numbers were nearly identical with both, and that it really came down to preference.

 

Did I like the appearance of one over the other? Long term, did I want to eventually learn to shape shots a little, or was I happy just hitting everything straight? I can't say I liked one's appearance over the other enough to make a decision, but Bubba Watson is a bit of a hero to me, so the idea of someday learning to shape shots sounded fun and so the AP2 it is.

 

 

Cliff was hoping back and forth between fittings (Ryan had a dedicated fitter as well) So Cliff would check in once in a while and look over the numbers, make some suggestions and between Steve and Cliff they would take what they were seeing, mixed with the numbers from the Trackman, and decide if I needed a longer shaft, different flex, weight and/or any tips to tweak my swing ever so slightly.

 

Instruction never took over the fitting process, but it was great that throughout the entire day, if I was struggling with anything, either Cliff or Steve would quickly see what was going on and give a simple suggestion that I could do to fix things.

 

At first all the numbers they were talking about were going slightly over my head, but after a few different times stepping back and looking at the monitor and seeing the numbers, things began to make a lot more sense. Ball speed, launch angle, spin/rpms, carry and how they all go together to create distance and the optimal numbers for each.

 

 

The biggest news for me – I had a faster ball speed than the ladies!!! Honestly, I always thought I probably had low speeds, but as it turns out, with my shorter irons, my ball speed is pretty solid. It's not until I get into the longer clubs that the speeds were not holding up as well as they should.

 

I hit the AP2 8 iron with the DG S300 shaft at 36.5” with a ball speed of 106.8 mph, 21.1 launch, 7,291 spin and a carry of 133 yards.

 

Irons:

AP2 5-PW, Dynamic Gold S300 shafts

 

Finishing the irons, we walked across the facility to one of the short game areas and started looking at wedges. Steve grabbed my current wedge and put it in the lie/loft machine to check the specs (this process was actually done for every club that was part of the fitting, checking to see the exact specs of my current club, and what that was producing in my ball flight) Then I took a few swings with my old club.

 

Steve took a few minutes to talk about bounce and how this affects the wedge as it moves through the turf, and the difference between being a digger or not. Having watched my swing from the irons and with my own wedge, Steve was able to start me in the right direction with the wedges without any guesswork.

 

 

At this point I was getting curious as to how lie angle would be checked. Steve pointed to my divots and said that from watching the divots I was taking he could tell what my clubs were doing during the swing, and that I didn't need any adjustments from standard. Basically, I had good looking divots, flat and square going straight and even the whole length. (It was really impressive to me that Steve and all the guys working at Titleist, have enough experience and knowledge to examine your divots and ball flight and know where you are and/or need to be for the lie of your clubs)

 

After watching me swing my old wedge Steve grabbed a few beautiful looking Vokey wedges for me to dig more holes in the ground with. We quickly narrowed in on the TVD wedges. Steve's notes show that I hit through the turf the best with these wedges. (can I just take a second to say how PERFECT the grass was at TPI!? I've only played one course with as nice of grass and it was a very private club)

 

 

After checking to make sure I was hitting both the 52-degree and 58 degree through the turf properly, we headed over to a bunker to make sure the 58 performed the same for me out of the sand. Immediately my lack of skill in the sand was apparent, and Steve asked if he could share a quick pointer with me (Steve is not only an amazing fitter, but he also is a great teacher – every tip he had was concise and easy to implement and built on what my instructor has been teaching me)

 

 

After showing me a couple tips on getting out of the sand, I was hitting the 58-degree without a problem from the sand. (I say without a problem, but by no means did I go from zero to hero, but I was getting out of the sand easier than ever before, due to both the club as well as the pointers)

 

 

The only remaining variables with the wedges were the shaft and the finish. Steve already knew the correct shafts from watching my iron play followed by lots of shots taken in the short game area with the wedges. As for the finish, I originally thought I wanted the Oil Can finish, but seeing in person how the Oil Can finish ages, I chose the Black Oxide finish.

 

Wedges:

Vokey TVD52 with Dynamic Gold S300 shaft, Vokey TVD58 with Dynamic Gold S200 shaft

 

Getting the wedges right, we headed back over to the long game area to start playing with hybrids. First watching me hit my current hybrid, crunching the numbers and watching my swing, Steve and Cliff came up with a shaft and head combo they thought would work well for me, and they pretty much nailed it first try.

 

Steve built two hybrids for me to try out in order to take the place of my 3 and 4 irons. (I can't hit a 3 or 4 iron to save my life)

 

This was the first club with a Sure Fit Tip and I was impressed at how quickly they could adjust the head. They were tweaking the spin rate I was producing by opening and closing the face. After playing around with the settings, they had me hitting the hybrids straight and at the appropriate distances, filling in some gaps that existed in my previous bag.

 

 

 

Steve and Cliff also had me try the hybrids with the DG S300 shaft, but the results weren't pretty, and it was immediately apparent that I was going to be a happy golfer with the graphite shafts.

 

Once the numbers were right and I was producing the results we needed it was onto the fairway woods.

 

Hybrids:

910H 21 and 24 degree heads, Kai'li 80HBY mid flex-S – tip set to A-1

910F 15 and 19 degree heads, Kai'li 75 Mid flex-s – tip set to A-1

 

My old set of clubs only included one fairway wood, a 3 that sometimes went straight for me, but more often than not resulted in my topping the ball or pushing out way right.

 

The choice of fairway wood heads is either the 910F or the 910Fd. Steve pulled both heads out for me and explained the main difference is the placement of the weight on the club, resulting in different launch and rpm. From seeing my ball speed and launch conditions from all the previous clubs, Steve was able to explain that the Fd was not an option for my swing, and that the 910F was the right head. Then it was just a matter of finding the correct weight shaft – we already knew the Kai'li was going to be the right fit.

 

First Steve built a 5-wood/19 degree fairway wood for me with the matching shaft from the hybrids. With a small amount of adjusting both my swing and the club length, we were able to get the numbers on the launch monitor right and the carry of the ball looking good. With a 910F I was pulling a ball speed of 142, launch at 7.3 and spin of 3,313 for a carry of 205' with the 19 degree.

 

Next, a 15-degree “3 wood” was put together with the same specs. Wouldn't you know it, I could rock the 5 wood pretty well, but the 3 wood didn't seem to care for me. Tweaking around and giving me some pointers, we were able to create better results, but realized that I need a lot more practice and lessons to be as consistent as I should be with the 3 wood.

 

 

Steve said I definitely need a 3 wood in my arsenal, but to really get the ball off the ground with it I'll need to work on my swing a bit more. I think I may have managed one solid strike of the ball (maybe not even that) – and I'm pretty sure it was my swing that was the culprit through and through.

 

I could feel my swing falling apart a bit at this time, but didn't really think anything but, wow, I'm really starting to suck at swinging. What I hadn't processed through my head was that I'd been swinging a club pretty constantly for the past 3+ hours (realistically more like 4 hours at this point) Fatigue was setting in (this isn't just an excuse… Steve shared his notes with me from the fitting and he wrote for the Driver that I was having trouble hitting due to fatigue)… ;-)

 

Mind you, this fitting was supposed to only go 3 hours, but with as much talking as I did to better understand the whole process, and as giving of help as Steve and Cliff were through the whole experience, we quickly reached the 4-hour mark. I never felt rushed – and I never knew we went over-time until I got in my car and looked at the clock. Again, being treated like a VIP is the norm for anyone going through the Tour Fitting Experience.

 

Fairway woods:

910F 15 and 19 degree heads, Kai'li 75 Mid flex-S – tip set to A-1

 

So, onto the part of the fitting I was probably most excited for and scared of, the driver!!!! Who doesn't want to see a custom fitting take them from a 200-225 tee shot up to a 350-yard tee shot! Right?? Well, I'm here to tell you, a custom fitting can likely help you get more distance, but it can't take a terrible driver swing and turn it into something else, but it sure can help!

 

As we began the fitting for the driver, I found myself swinging for the fences. Totally typical for me as well, I think I need to try and drive the ball like a hero, and it usually has ugly results, and today was no different.

 

As the fatigue really started to set in and I continued trying to swing for the fences, Cliff and Steve were total professionals, offered a few suggestions to help me make better contact, and they were able to still give a solid assessment of my drive and what components would create the best results for me. (Trust me, I wasn't making it easy on them at the end of their day, with a terribly inconsistent swing, and making poor contact, but they were able to see through my errors and find the best fit)

 

I was put into a D2 head. This was a pretty easy decision simply due to the lower spin rates that I produce. The D2 helps someone with lower spin rates while the D3 helps those with higher spin rates. (It gets a bit more technical than that, but for my spin rate, the D2 was the better fit without question)

 

Driver:

910 D2 10.5, Kai'li 65 Mid flex-S – tip set to A-1

 

Winding down:

 

After we finished the driver fitting, the crew started moving the carts full of clubs back inside. It was really amazing to see all of the different options for combinations of heads and shafts they had at their fingertips.

 

 

Before everything was put away, we stepped over to the grip cart and looked at different grip options. My old grips were oversized grips, and to the EXTREME. They said the old grips were by no means helping my swing. So after comparing my fingers to Cliffs, we had a great starting point for what size grip I needed. – 1/32 over. Next, what color/look/feel did I want? I like loud, so I went for white, and I liked the Lamkin grips – So the Lamkin Performance Plus 3Gen was the winner.

 

As I headed out Steve gave me two small sleeves of balls, Pro V1 and Pro V1x. (from what I understand, the Pro V1 is a better fit for my spin rates – but Steve said to play both of them and see if I noticed a difference) And he also let me know that if at any time I had questions, or my ball flight noticeably changed, to give him a call and we could figure out if the clubs needed adjusting or anything else. (Again, this is something that anyone doing a Tour Fitting is given as an opportunity to take advantage of after his or her fitting)

 

Cheryl and I headed out the door to meet up with a friend for dinner at Stone Brewery, about 30 minutes away, finishing the night with a beautiful selection of IPAs from all over California. (Can you say Pliny The Elder)?

 

Check out the full slideshow of images here.

 

My Reflections:

 

Wow!!! This was seriously one AMAZING experience. Naming it the Tour Fitting “Experience” is spot on. I felt like a tour pro the entire afternoon. Never did I feel like anyone was trying to talk over my head, and I was included in all of the details, with attention paid to me and my swing without interruption the entire day.

 

The facility is top notch, the grass is beyond perfect, you're in Carlsbad not too far from the beach, so the weather is great.

 

Steve and Cliff really know their stuff, and they helped ensure that I was swinging properly the entire day.

 

I think one of my concerns going in was that I'd be doing something wrong, and they wouldn't want to “overstep” their bounds and give advice, but it was just the opposite. Anytime I was doing something that could be helped/improved with the slightest suggestion, they were happy to give me direction, never too much, just the right amount.

 

There was no doubt in my mind leaving TPI that my game would improve; the question was, how much. Finally I had clubs in my hands that just felt right.

 

I can comfortably say that if you are interested in being custom fit for a set of clubs, and Titleist is on your radar, the Tour Fitting Experience is well worth going out of your way for. The amazing facilities mixed with an awesome team of fitters made this experience one I won't soon forget, and that stands out in my mind as a worthwhile experience that I would suggest for any and all of my friends.

 

Oh, and no… I didn't get a chance for a one-on-one with Scotty Cameron. The Tour Fitting does not include a putter fitting as Scotty's studio is separate from the TPI facilities.

 

The Clubs:

 

Normal turnaround time on the clubs depends on how custom of options you get, i.e.: exotic shafts and such. My clubs were built the same week and arrived on Saturday (I was leaving town that weekend and asked if we could push for Saturday delivery vs. Monday when I would be gone)

 

The clubs arrived and I was like a child on Christmas morning! I pulled the boxes inside and started taking pictures… and half way through opening boxes, I called one of my golf buddies and asked if he could go out for a quick round of 9 in a half hour – and next thing you know I was headed to a course I play pretty regularly to put the clubs through the paces.

 

Ocean Meadows is a 9-hole par 4 course that's fun to play, ragged or not. (It's not the most amazing course, if you come visit me in Santa Barbara, I probably won't take you there, but when I'm looking for a quick round on a course I still enjoy, it's one of my first pics)

 

I'll be writing a bunch more in my next piece going in depth about my play since the custom fit set of clubs arrived, but to give you the quick and dirty, I purchased a new putter about two weeks ago, and I can't hit it to save my life and am putting worse than I ever have.

 

So, even with more putts in a round than I normally would ever take, I still managed to shave 5 strokes off of my best round before at Ocean Meadows (yes… 5 strokes saved in 9 holes, and that compounded with added strokes in my putting)

 

For the first time in my life I was hitting greens, and my miss hits were flying the correct direction. My irons were hitting farther, and my first drive off the tee on the first hole rolled out to nearly 300 yards, and with a PERFECT draw!

 

Tons more to come on just how a custom set of clubs have changed my game, but for now, I have to say, if you haven't been custom fit, there's no better time than now!

[shockdoc17]

Congrats on the new Titleist clubs. I have been playing with a new set of AP2s, Vokey Wedges and a 910h hybrid that were custom fit for me, and I have already shaved a few points off of my handicap (in just two months). I think one of the added bonuses of the Titleist drivers, hybrids and fairway woods is that they will adjust to your swing easily as you improve. This is probably not as much of an advantage for more experienced players, but for players like myself that still have a long way to go in developing a consistent swing, I think it really pushes the Titleist clubs over the top.

[Kanoito]

since you recommend Tour Fitting Experience... may I ask what's the cost compared to a "standard fitting"?

[bwelshmit]

Excellent insights. Great to have been able to take a few photos of the facilities as it can be hard with all the privacy issues. You mention you bought a new putter, what didi you end up getting?

 

Cheers,

 

Bryan

[GolfSpy Tim]

since you recommend Tour Fitting Experience... may I ask what's the cost compared to a "standard fitting"?

 

The rate for any "single" fitting at TPI - ie: irons, or fairway woods... separately is $150 each, or $450 for everything but the putter.

[GolfSpy Tim]

For those of you interested in all the details that Titleist delivers after the fitting, here's a screen shot of that:

 

[GolfSpy WD]

Any chance you're going to start posting scorecards as well now? It'd be great to compare how well you do to Golfspy Dave since you've both been fitted...

[GolfSpy Tim]

yes, I'm going to try and cruise back through the rounds I've already played with the clubs. I'm going to be creating a new post about how the clubs have changed my game.

[TWShoot67]

Wow that sounded like an incredible day! All I can say is DAMN I'm jealous , hopefully some day I will get that kind of treatment. I wish they had a TPI near me in Philadelphia,Pa. seems like all these OEM fitting facilities are located in California.

 

PS: very nice detail on your day, really made it a great read. Oh yeah the pics were nice too.

[ninetails]

Oh man, that fitting done outdoors on grass looks so nice. I'm so jealous as well.

[TBone]

Great Post, nice pics and video too. That must have been a great experience. REally nice to get a proper fitting and get the right equipment for your game. Thanks for sharing,

[Matt Saternus]

Tim,

 

I am wowed by the slideshow - very slick.

 

Great review overall. Sounds like it was a great learning experience for you, and that you got a sweet new set up to boot! Glad to hear that the new clubs are already making a difference.

[GolfSpy Tim]

Matt, thanks! always fun sharing pictures... I actually still need to edit through all of the video!!!!!! YIKES

 

Stoked on the new clubs and can't wait to start sharing new scores.