Custom fitting experience at True Clubs in Carmel Indiana

gavman07 · July 10, 2017

My brother and I had the pleasure of getting a full bag fitting at True Clubs in Carmel Indiana this past week and I wanted to post about our experience. Tony is a Golf WRX member and has been helpful in the past. He came highly recommended on this site. My bag was about 4 years old so it was time to update.

I will preface the fitting by saying my brother and I are not your average fitting case. We are both extremely short for male golfers at 5'1 and 5'2. Therefore, it is very hard for us to test clubs in a fitting environment. We have very extreme specs (-2 inches, 3*flat, etc).

On to the fitting.

When we arrived Tony had us come back and warm up a bit with our clubs. After a warm up he watched about 15 iron shots and 15 drives on the monitor, and then several other iron and driver shots (he basically watched enough to get a great feel for my swing and what I needed). He even gave me a few tips about my swing. He asked before hand to see if I wanted any swing thoughts. I thought that was very thoughtful because I know some individuals just want a fitting and don't treat it as "a lesson", but I am happy to hear from golf professionals on any way I can improve my swing.

We started with irons per my request because that is what I was really planning on replacing for sure with the fitting. My smash factor was terrible with my Mizuno MX-200's. It was on average a 1.3. Tony was very kind, but later in the fitting he did admit that the smash numbers were not great when I asked him to be frank :). I think he was trying to be kind. They stunk to high heaven. I am actually replacing my clubs because I can't play near as much as I did in the past (having kids can do that) and need some clubs that help me out. I had some clubs in mind and he let me hit a variety including the Taylormade M2, Mizuno Hot Metal, and Callaway 16'w (I think). This is where I was really surprised. Tony actually cut down two shafts to let me hit the clubs at my preferred lengths. He also found an undersized grip and regripped the cut down shaft with my grip size. I was amazed that he was willing to cut down a shaft and regrip it for me to get the correct fitting. This is not something I had ever experienced in any fittings before. He was dead set on getting the correct numbers for me. I ended up loving the Mizuno MX 900 Hot Metal and gained about 10-15 yards over my prior irons (has some to do with strong lofts) and the clubs felt great. The smash numbers went way up.

We then worked on the Driver as I had more time in my fitting. I had a shaft that fit my prior Callaway XR 15 which still worked on the new Callaway drivers. My smash factor was much better with the driver (1.4 on the low end getting up to 1.5 consistently with the Epic) so there was a little less work to do. Again, Tony had a shaft cut down so I could swing a Taylormade M2 as well. I have heard a ton about the Callaway Epic and I must say the numbers don't lie. The Epic was an absolute cannon for me. By a cannon for me I mean it carried 225+ for me with low spin. I think the distance gains are even greater for shorter hitters like myself. Tony moved the weights, removed weight, etc to get the club to the correct feel for me. I found that I actually liked the driver with a slightly lower head weight. I liked the feel and the combination of the jailbreak tech along with increased swingspeed from the lighter head lead to my gain in distance. I was consistently gaining 10-15 yards from my prior callaway.

What I found very comforting is that Tony continued to concentrate on smash factor, spin rates, and launch angle rather than the shot shape or carry on a particular shot. He wanted to make sure I was hitting the center of the face with the correct launch and spin consistently. The rest is up to me at that point. I really liked that he was concentrating on fitting the best club to my swing when I hit it good. No club will fix a poor swing or hit, but the clubs can be fit to give us the best tool to succeed.

My brother and I both ended up purchasing an entire new bag:

Callaway Epic 10.5*- Kiyoshi Purple, Adila Rouge, Pro Green 62, and Diamana Blue board 60 to tinker with (two from my prior callaway driver)

Callaway steelhead 4+ wood with Recoil 95

Taylormade 3,4,5 hybrid with Recoil 95

Mizuno Mx 900 Hot Metal with Recoil 95 (6-SW)

I just got a Callaway 50* forged wedge I am having him fit to match the set as well. I am also keeping my current custom scotty cameron gamer putter.

If you live in Indiana and are looking for a great club fitter look no further. Tony is a pleasure to deal with, is meticulous, and his fitting center has every shaft, grip, head combinations known to man. The wall is lined with hundreds of the newest shaft options and he has every major new club head to fit with the shafts to try. I was like a kid in a candy store. He has a trackman set up right there to get the numbers perfected. I typically hate hitting into the trackman style monitors, but the mat he had and the set up were very comfortable. He even said if anything feels off he would continue to work with the clubs after they are built to get the perfect weights/lies,etc.

I can't recommend Tony any more highly and can't wait to hit my new sticks.

Tony is a member that posts on Golf WRX regularly. I think his name is Trhode on here. Hopefully he can reply to this topic. I won't post a link to his site or anything, but if you want to find him a simple Google search of True Clubs Indiana will get you to his site and phone number. I think it's important for members to post about good experiences because great club fitters are often hard to find.

MODS- if this is the incorrect place to post this topic, I apologize. Please move if so.

trhode · July 10, 2017

Thanks Gavin! It was a pleasure working with you and Taylor.

coops · July 11, 2017

Sounds like a good and helpful fitting.

As far as smash factor goes, your irons should be way lower on average than your driver :-

....
We started with irons per my request because that is what I was really planning on replacing for sure with the fitting. My smash factor was terrible with my Mizuno MX-200's. It was on average a 1.3. Tony was very kind, but later in the fitting he did admit that the smash numbers were not great when I asked him to be frank :). .....

. I ended up loving the Mizuno MX 900 Hot Metal and gained about 10-15 yards over my prior irons (has some to do with strong lofts) and the clubs felt great. The smash numbers went way up.

Irons should naturally be lower smash factor than a driver - and progress to be a higher smash factor as loft decreases - as loft goes down you make less of a glancing blow to the ball naturally, so smash factor will increase ( and spin decrease ).... and jacking an iron's loft will make the smash factor go up just because the 8 stamped on the bottom is what was on the 7 before for instance...

See typical Pro numbers here with smash factor progressing from 1.23 with a PW to 1.49 for a driver.

http://www.golfclubshaftreview.com/pga-tour-swing-data.html

gavman07 · July 11, 2017

Sounds like a good and helpful fitting.

As far as smash factor goes, your irons should be way lower on average than your driver :-

....
We started with irons per my request because that is what I was really planning on replacing for sure with the fitting. My smash factor was terrible with my Mizuno MX-200's. It was on average a 1.3. Tony was very kind, but later in the fitting he did admit that the smash numbers were not great when I asked him to be frank :). .....

. I ended up loving the Mizuno MX 900 Hot Metal and gained about 10-15 yards over my prior irons (has some to do with strong lofts) and the clubs felt great. The smash numbers went way up.

Irons should naturally be lower smash factor than a driver - and progress to be a higher smash factor as loft decreases - as loft goes down you make less of a glancing blow to the ball naturally, so smash factor will increase ( and spin decrease ).... and jacking an iron's loft will make the smash factor go up just because the 8 stamped on the bottom is what was on the 7 before for instance...

See typical Pro numbers here with smash factor progressing from 1.23 with a PW to 1.49 for a driver.

http://www.golfclubs...swing-data.html

Thanks for posting that Coops. That makes me feel much better. Tony didn't act like there was any problem with the numbers so obviously knew this chart as well. That makes me feel a ton better though. I'm still not approaching the tour any time soon, but not has horrendous as I thought :). I do know that the mizuno's are strong lofts so the 8 iron is like a 7.5 iron. Still this chart makes me feel much better about my game. I probably should have asked more about the smash factor before we got to the driver fitting :). Tony was very complementary of my swing which did help me feel confident in the fitting. He was very good about being honest with what I was doing wrong and what I needed to change without being condescending. I think that can go a long way in the pleasure and confidence one feels after a fitting, but it was just my personal experience.

As for the fitting it was exactly what I was looking for. I had only ever been "fit" in a 30 minute session with a local club fitter that had won several club fitting awards. However, he tried to sell component clubs and told me that the driver shaft flex didn't matter because he could make it work. I decided not to purchase a set from him. After that poor experience I built my prior set by myself with the help from a builder in New Jersey who was recommended (I remember his name was Willy). That club fitter was actually extremely helpful and made a great set that I played for 4 years. For my new set I decided to do my due diligence and do the research to find a true professional that I could actually travel to and hit balls with them in person. So I ended up at True Clubs and am glad I did.

muniman · July 11, 2017

Thanks for posting your experience. I live in Lafayette, and had been wondering where a good fitting center was located.

gavman07 · July 12, 2017

Thanks for posting your experience. I live in Lafayette, and had been wondering where a good fitting center was located.

I'm glad it helped. When I was looking for a place for a good fitting I actually found Tony on this website so I am glad I could help someone do the same. Indiana has some great golf, but it's hard sometimes to find a great fitter here. My little brother went to Purdue so I have been in your neck of the woods many times :). I'm sorry to say I am an IU Grad myself.

muniman · July 12, 2017

I won't hold that against you.

rb83993 · July 17, 2017

Where is Tony located?

Thanks Gavin! It was a pleasure working with you and Taylor.

Tony, where are you located?

trhode · July 17, 2017

Where is Tony located?
Thanks Gavin! It was a pleasure working with you and Taylor.

Tony, where are you located?

http://www.trueclubs.com/location.html

Mob · July 17, 2017

I would support everything said above. Tony has made me a bunch of clubs over the years. He is very knowledgeable and almost as meticulous as I am. :)

gavman07 · July 18, 2017

Where is Tony located?
Thanks Gavin! It was a pleasure working with you and Taylor.

Tony, where are you located?

Sorry I didn't get back to you quicker. I'm on vacation. It looks like Tony got you the info. You won't bet disappointed if you go to see him. The facility is really cool and if you are a club geek like myself you will love the wall of shafts!

rygroves · July 24, 2017

Another big thumbs up for Tony ??

gavman07 · July 27, 2017

Just a follow up on my fitting.

The clubs arrived super fast. They were built and ready under two weeks after my fitting with the exception of one Callaway Epic driver because the shaft I ordered was on back order.

The clubs were great. My last set was a bit of an experiment. More akin to Frankenstein. KBS blanks with lead powder in the hosels to get swingweight, etc. Tony built this set with shafts that were light weight with heavier heads so the swing weight could be more natural. The swing weight feels great and set feels great.

I got 18 holes in yesterday after picking up the clubs.

The Epic Driver is as good or better than everyone has already said. It's super long long. I hear it a lot on here, but I truly did pick up 15 yards on average. Take that with a grain of salt because I was hitting a X2 hot driver with a kaili shaft and now have the Epic with Kiyoshi Purple.

The M2 hybrids were extremely long. I feel they are a bit longer than my prior set (rocketballz). They also feel more compact which I like. Not a crazy difference, but the added length may be due to the graphite recoil shafts instead of steel shafts on my prior hybrids.

The irons were probably my favorite change even though the driver was awesome. The one thing I will say is that the Hot Metal 900's launch HIGH . I loved the flight because I could use the additional height. With the short irons the ball did not roll out much and was very close to the divot. If you hit it high already I would definitely recommend maybe going a different direction. As for performance they were great I actually had three birdies in my first round all from well hit iron shots. I typically only have 1 biridie a round with a lot of pars and bogies (with the occasional dreaded bogey +). I was very confident that I could hit the center of the green if I needed to.

I actually had the clubs cut a little shorter than my prior set so I didn't gain any distance, but also didn't lose any distance with the new shorter irons. I also added a 6 iron instead of a 6 hybrid like I had in my prior set and I am really glad I did. The Hot Metals are SUPER easy to hit. My favorite part of the recoil/hot metal combination is that well struck shots feel like you barely hit the ball at all. I don't know how better to describe it, but if feels like the ball just flies off with no vibration or anything. For a cast club they feel just as good as my prior MX-200's. I didn't get any fliers like some people have seen, but my swing speed is rather low and my clubs are very short (-2 inches) so that may have something to do with it. For reference my 130 club is my 8 iron. The yardages felt very consistent to me.

The main overall difference I saw with the newer technology across the board was that mishits were far less penal. When the driver was hit on the toe it still traveled. When I didn't catch the center of the irons they still got up in the area and were just a bit short.

Tony built two great sets for two very tough customers. If you have "unusual" specifications and are close to Indiana, Tony is the guy to see.

****EDIT***

I wanted to post one more positive experience. I swear I don't work for Tony :). My clubs felt a bit upright after ordered from mizuno and played one round. I called Tony and he called back quickly and said he can bend both my set and my twin brother's set in the morning and get them back to us the same day. Can't get much better service than that. A+ guy.