BREAKING: True Spec Golf Launches Tour Department

In a year where golf equipment sales and rounds played are way up (despite the fact that golf courses across the U.S. were closed for nearly 3 months), the brand agnostic club fitters at True Spec Golf didn’t want to be left out.

True Spec Golf—equipped with more than 20 club and shaft brands that, together, result in more than 35,000 combinations—has just announced the official launch of the True Spec Tour Department, with PGA TOUR player Kevin Chappell being the new division’s first Brand Ambassador.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by True Spec Golf (@truespecgolf) on Oct 2, 2020 at 6:08am PDT

And for those of you confused what makes this noteworthy, allow me to quote True Spec:

“The True Spec Tour Department will turn the outdated equipment contract model on its head and put pros through the rigor of the True Spec brand-agnostic process to optimize equipment decisions and custom build their clubs to maximize performance…regardless of manufacturer.

This isn’t an endorsement deal for the sake of TV commercials. This is a commitment to our core belief that through our process, we can fit and build the most well-constructed, precise set of golf clubs, capable of performing at the highest level – the PGA Tour.”

As most of us are aware, a significant majority of guys on the PGA TOUR are subject to equipment contracts with the major OEMs (e.g., TaylorMade, Callaway, Titleist, PING, Srixon). The pro’s of this are that each player is paid a lot of money to hitch their wagon to a particular equipment manufacturer, with the idea being that the OEM gets a marketing opportunity when someone places really well (see TaylorMade staffer Collin Morikawa winning the 2020 PGA Championship win at Harding Park).

But it’s not all roses and sunshine, because an equipment deal means you’re, essentially, forced to play whatever the OEM’s newest product line is (albeit, with a few exceptions like Henrik Stenson and his Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 3-wood). As a result, there’s been some stories about failed marriages when players and equipment no longer match up (see Sergio Garcia and TaylorMade parting ways in 2017, despite Sergio winning the Masters merely 6 months before the divorce).

Furthermore, it’s becoming more common to see players remain unsigned and, thus, free to play any equipment they want. The best recent example is Brooks Koepka, who was signed to Nike Golf in 2016, but after the brand abruptly decided to leave the equipment sphere, was left without a deal. Instead of signing with another brand, Koepka decided to play a mix of clubs he felt most confident with and, to everyone’s surprise, proceeded to win 4 majors during the 2017-2018 period.

Likewise, other unsigned, agnostic players, such as Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey (the latter of whom just finished T-17 at Winged Foot), have also found the freedom to play whatever they want—whether it’s a mis-matched set for Srixon and TaylorMade Tiger Edition irons or a 2-year old fairway wood.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by True Spec Golf (@truespecgolf) on Sep 15, 2020 at 2:21pm PDT

In sum, it’ll be very interesting to see whether players on the PGA Tour start passing up sponsorship money and, instead, put into the equipment that they believe gives them the best chance to succeed, which clearly seems to be the goal of True Spec’s new Tour Department.

But perhaps most interesting is whether we’ll start seeing more Tour Department True Spec reps on the range pre-tournament helping golfers dial in their gear for each event. Naturally, if True Spec fit PGA TOUR pros with mixed sets can start bringing home the big checks, then it’ll certainly speak volumes to their capability as a custom golf club fitter to help golfers maximize their potential.

Cover Image via Instagram