I *finally* went to Truespec

[yungkory]

First time I had heard of Truespec was back when @jlukes won a fitting and posted about it. Since then, I immediately followed them on Instagram and would cheekily reply to their new location posts with a comment like "Oahu when?" In 2020, when we were planning our honeymoon, we decided to go to California to go to Disneyland and stuff, and I booked a fitting at Truespec Beverly Hills. Then C19 hit and the plans got cancelled. Fast forward to today (and probably 10-15 more comments on IG begging them to come, even tagging local courses so they could get exposure and maybe entice them a little) Truespec Oahu has finally opened. I immediately had to put my money where my mouth was now that they finally made it out here, so I booked a fitting. Much to my delight and surprise, I know the fitter who was hired there and have been fit by her in the past!

I've been wanting to try graphite iron shafts for a while now. Not that there's much wrong with my current set, but just to preserve my wrists since they're not in great shape from years of skateboarding when I was younger, working at a computer all day, and obviously golf. The problem was, I couldn't find a spot locally that would be anything more than like an OEM+ fitting AT BEST, if the OEM carried a graphite shaft on their cart by chance. I hadn't played graphite iron shafts since I was a junior (I'm 36 now) and any time I've randomly tried them, they felt overly light and like I couldn't feel the head at all. Not necessarily boardy, just... dead?

I'll spare you the deep-dive into the details since everyone knows by now what goes on at places like Truespec and TxG, but I got to try a variety of heads and shafts. I remember thinking between club tweaks how great it is to finally have something like this locally, and it felt every bit as dreamy as I had imagined it would when I finally got the custom fit I was craving for however long it has been since I read the original thread. Also for whatever reason I suck at hitting into nets/screens so it was nice that the fitting was outdoor, so I can see the ball flights changing between club/shaft tweaks.

Tried a variety of heads, with the Mizuno and TM's being the ones I asked to specifically try:

• Mizuno: 223, 225
• Taylormade: P770
• Callaway Apex Pro
• Ping i59, i525

In a few different shafts:

• Mitsubishi OTi 105
• KBS TGI Tour 100
• UST Mamiya Recoil 95
• Steelfiber i95

It was really, really close between the i59 and the Mizuno 223, but in the end the i59 just felt like the faces were too hot. Very interesting that they were so close in numbers considering the Mizuno are lower lofted by 2*

I went in thinking all I would gain were the benefits of graphite on my wrists, but found out that my 919 Forged weren't spinning enough, especially (duh) on mishits. The 223's were still spinning on poor strikes and my average carry went up, with a smaller standard deviation -- which is huge for me right now since I'm not playing as much as I used to. I'll definitely be back, probably to swing an Autoflex at some point

[Rchang]

That’s quite cool. Hope you get multiple kick in birdies with this set 

[RickyBobby_PR]

3 hours ago, yungkory said:

It was really, really close between the i59 and the Mizuno 223, but in the end the i59 just felt like the faces were too hot. Very interesting that they were so close in numbers considering the Mizuno are lower lofted by 2*

So you mean all the “jacked loft” talk isn’t true and that maybe the designers know what they are doing with what they stamp on an iron

[Middler]

I’m a True Spec fan. I thought Mizuno used 6i heads for fittings while most other OEMs use 7i? I know it’s always something I’ve had to keep in mind when I compared Mizuno irons to other brands. Iron club (sole) numbers, lofts, COG, CTs, geometry, etc. make comparisons difficult at best - and that won’t ever change back. Fine.

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, Middler said:

I’m a True Spec fan. I thought Mizuno used 6i heads for fittings while most other OEMs use 7i? I know it’s always something I’ve had to keep in mind when I compared Mizuno irons to other brands. Iron club (sole) numbers, lofts, COG, CTs, geometry, etc. make comparisons difficult at best - and that won’t ever change back. Fine.

Brands have switched between 6 and $ irons over the heads. When I demoed jpx921 it was a 7i

[yungkory]

3 hours ago, Middler said:

I’m a True Spec fan. I thought Mizuno used 6i heads for fittings while most other OEMs use 7i? I know it’s always something I’ve had to keep in mind when I compared Mizuno irons to other brands. Iron club (sole) numbers, lofts, COG, CTs, geometry, etc. make comparisons difficult at best - and that won’t ever change back. Fine.

Everything I tried that day was a 6i. Maybe places like Truespec don't rely on getting "fitting" heads and just order 6i? Not sure, but very interesting!

 

4 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

So you mean all the “jacked loft” talk isn’t true and that maybe the designers know what they are doing with what they stamp on an iron

Small sample size, LOL! I will say though that I was surprised at the differences in heads. I didn't think the P770 would've been so much less spinny for me than the others. Really just solidifies the importance of getting fit.

[null]

True Spec uses 6 irons heads for everything. They use their own proprietary adapters that they install on the shaft and head so they can use whatever head they want for fittings. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

34 minutes ago, jlukes said:

True Spec uses 6 irons heads for everything. They use their own proprietary adapters that they install on the shaft and head so they can use whatever head they want for fittings. 

That would have been my guess. All the demo heads at my guys shop are 7i

[chisag]

8 hours ago, yungkory said:

I went in thinking all I would gain were the benefits of graphite on my wrists

 

... I found it interesting that the top 3 LPGA players in the world were paired together at the AIG Championship. All 3 of them use Steelfiber shafts in their irons. Sounds like an awesome fitting!

[yungkory]

35 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I found it interesting that the top 3 LPGA players in the world were paired together at the AIG Championship. All 3 of them use Steelfiber shafts in their irons. Sounds like an awesome fitting!

They feel VERY similar to the Modus 105 I was playing prior. I might struggle in a blind test to identify which is which.

[Hook DeLoft]

On 8/7/2022 at 11:56 AM, yungkory said:

Everything I tried that day was a 6i. Maybe places like Truespec don't rely on getting "fitting" heads and just order 6i? Not sure, but very interesting!

 

Small sample size, LOL! I will say though that I was surprised at the differences in heads. I didn't think the P770 would've been so much less spinny for me than the others. Really just solidifies the importance of getting fit.

All the Mizuno demo heads at my local shop are 7 irons.  Been that way since at least the MP18 release.

[Kenny B]

4 hours ago, Hook DeLoft said:

All the Mizuno demo heads at my local shop are 7 irons.  Been that way since at least the MP18 release.

I have been looking on EBay for Mizuno MP20 HMB heads and the fitting heads are all 7i.  However, when I went to TrueSpec in Bend OR a few years ago, their MP20 HMB head was a 6i.  

[fixyurdivot]

My TrueSpec fitter explained that they choose to test with 6i's because it is their belief it affords the best representation of how any set of irons will play through the bag. Basically he said "if you can hit the 6i well, odds are you will hit the 4 and 5i's well enough and the higher irons even better". Sounded reasonable to me.

[Bang60]

3 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

My TrueSpec fitter explained that they choose to test with 6i's because it is their belief it affords the best representation of how any set of irons will play through the bag. Basically he said "if you can hit the 6i well, odds are you will hit the 4 and 5i's well enough and the higher irons even better". Sounded reasonable to me.

Yeah agree with the 6 or even the 5 iron, back when I was getting lessons I never went back to anyone stuck on the 7iron...

[yungkory]

Got them today! Posted in the club ho thread but figured I would round out my Truespec experience and post the eye candy. I think it was 3 weeks exactly including transit to Hawaii.

[chisag]

5 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Got them today! Posted in the club ho thread but figured I would round out my Truespec experience and post the eye candy. I think it was 3 weeks exactly including transit to Hawaii.

 

... I always value performance over aesthetics but I am not immune to beauty. Those shafts with the black label look so much better than the silver labels in my irons. And those 223's have been singing the sirens song ever since Bens put them in his bag... and now you too! 

[yungkory]

17 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I always value performance over aesthetics but I am not immune to beauty. Those shafts with the black label look so much better than the silver labels in my irons. And those 223's have been singing the sirens song ever since Bens put them in his bag... and now you too! 

I literally paid a premium for the black Steelfibers just because they look so slick haha. I was supposed to go to Truespec back in 2020 so I splurged a little to make up for the misery I've been in

[Bang60]

5 hours ago, yungkory said:

Got them today! Posted in the club ho thread but figured I would round out my Truespec experience and post the eye candy. I think it was 3 weeks exactly including transit to Hawaii.

I've decided to sell my T200 Irons and try mizuno, hopefully it's all good but they look nice and the reports certainly say so...

[yungkory]

34 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

I've decided to sell my T200 Irons and try mizuno, hopefully it's all good but they look nice and the reports certainly say so...

Titleist makes great clubs! Try a lot of different brands in a fitting, you might be surprised. I never expected the Ping i59 to be as good as they were. They would've been in these screenshots but the faces felt a little hot, and I'm not necessarily chasing distance. Probably in a few years though!

[edingc]

10 hours ago, yungkory said:

Got them today! Posted in the club ho thread but figured I would round out my Truespec experience and post the eye candy. I think it was 3 weeks exactly including transit to Hawaii.

I have no clue how I missed this thread originally, but those are gorgeous. Hit 'em well! I think you'll love the SteelFibers, I sure do.

[Bang60]

12 hours ago, yungkory said:

Titleist makes great clubs! Try a lot of different brands in a fitting, you might be surprised. I never expected the Ping i59 to be as good as they were. They would've been in these screenshots but the faces felt a little hot, and I'm not necessarily chasing distance. Probably in a few years though!

Agreed 100%, but I've developed a left shot shape with the T200's I didn't have before. The bigger problem is finding a fitter near me, what's convinced me of this problem is anyone I've spoken with about changing loft and lie tells me I need lessons. Convinced me that they don't have the skills/equipment to do what's required, I'm also not getting any real distance gains so I'm going to try adjusting lofts and lie myself so buying a cheaper iron if I break it it's ok....