Best Paid Fittings in Chicago Area

[Merkury10]

For anyone still looking for a club fitting, I highly recommend TrueSpec Golf in Highland Park (https://www.truespecgolf.com). I just completed a full bag fitting, minus the putter, and had a great experience. They are relatively new to the Chicago market just opening at the end of August.

 

I had my fitting two weeks ago with Mike. Upon arrival, he measured all myul current clubs for length, loft, lie, and swing weight. While he took notes on each club in my bag, he asked me to tell him about my game. This included strengths, weakness, ball flight characteristics, etc. We also spoke about any parts of my game that I'm currently working on (the importance of this will be highlighted later on). At this stage we also discussed that if a different shaft retrofitted into my current clubs was the best result that is what we would go with. Obvisouly, this is hard to do for irons, but given my current issues (high spin, high launch and ballooning) I new I needed completely new irons. But for my woods, driver, and hybrid we would try new shafts in my current club heads.

 

TrueSpec uses a Foresight GC2 Quad, which I have never used before. I've used a Trackman in a previous fitting years ago, and I've used a FlightScope with my instructor. While, a bit leary considering Trackman and FlightScope get more publicity, I didn't notice much difference in numbers if any.

 

Throughout the fitting we moved from irons, to driver, to fairway woods, to hybrids and ultimately wedges. When it came to trying different club heads, Mike asked if I had any constraints, and if there was anything I was interested in trying. I stated that I didn't want any exotics (PXG, Miura, Epon, etc) and that I was interested in the new Mizunos and Srixons. Other than that I told him to use his expertise in picking heads that would give me lower launch and spin. When it came to shafts I let Mike do his thing. Based on the baseline numbers we gathered he chose a handful of shafts that should give me lower launch and spin. At no stage did I feel rushed, or steered in a certain direction. Throughout our trials, Mike would stop and explain the results of each club, while also asking how each setup felt, and what my feedback was. The improvement were staggering. A combination of PX 6.0s and P790s gave the best results. My 6i spin rates dropped to the low to mid 5000s, and launch angle decreased by 5*, all while maintaining a descent angle in the upper 40* range. Combined with about a one club length gain in distance, and great dispersion we had winner. I still had my doubts given previous bad experiences with Taylormade, and what I thought were low spin numbers (more on this later).

 

Moving on my woods/hybrids, we again used my current gamers to get some baseline numbers. This time I let Mike make his recommendations, even checking to make sure I would be okay with two tone heads (think TayloreMade) before trying them. The experience here was similar to the irons. I never felt rushed or steered towards anything. After each combination we would talk through the results, and how I liked each combination. We were able to settle on a 3 woods/hybrid combination relatively quickly. In regards to selecting a hybrid, Mike asked what purpose that club would have in my bag. I stated that my sole purpose of carrying a hybrid/5-wood was purely for gapping between my 3 wood and 4 iron. Knowing this we looked at my 3-wood numbers and calculated what my approximate 4 iron distance would be given my 6 iron results. As a testament to Mike's experience the first combination we tried was absolutely perfect, and nothing we tried after that came close.

 

Finally, we got to the driver. I guess I have a unique swing as this took the longest. It didn't take long to settle on a club head, but we struggled with shafts. Apparently, my swing is between two groups of shaft frequencies (think stiff/x-stiff). We kept trying shafts but the lower frequencies created high launch and spin, while the high frequency shafts prevented me from properly loading, and being able to go after it. Eventually we declared a stalemate. Mike recommended we regroup in a few weeks (Thanksgiving weekend interfered with the following week) to finish the driver fitting.

 

As we went through recommendations, I never felt pressured to buy anything, but Mike did explain their satisfaction guarantee. As we priced everything out I felt like the pricing was fair, but I couldn't be sure until I could do some research at home.

 

In a few days Mike followed up to see if I had any questions, and to schedule our driver follow-up. After having a few days to reflect on everything, I was still hesitant with the P790s due what I thought were questionable numbers, and my prior experiences with TaylorMade. He answered all my questions, and explained that based on what I was working on swing wise (less in-to-out path) the spin rates would increase to the proper range. He also offered to have me hit them again to make sure the numbers were consistent when I finished my driver fitting.

 

When I came back from for part two, Mike clearly did some homework. We started by confirmed the P790s were right for me by re-hitting my gamer, the P790 and the second best combination. There was virtually no change from the prior session, and to put my fears at ease Mike walked through the results explaining how they would benefit not only my current swing but where I was going with my swing. Then one we went to finish the driver fitting. Mike had the best combination we could come up with, but also a few other shafts already picked out. This first shaft we tried was perfect. To verify we tried the other two shafts, but also a few others, but we clearly had a winner.

 

Again we went through the recommendations for my entire bag. Having some time to do some pricing research I was also able to confirm their prices were in line with the OEM websites, and third party sellers. Being quite tall, I knew I needed upright lie angles, and some longer lengths. Also, given that lengthening clubs increases swing weight, I was inclined to go with having TrueSpec build my clubs. While I was fitted for my current clubs almost five years ago, I ordered direct from the OEM given the fitted specs. Not until Mike measured my current clubs, did I realize they weren' built to what I requested. Lengths were longer, lie angles were off, and the swing weight was D6. Also, since none of the recommended combinations were offered at no upcharge from the OEMs, I placed my order.

 

I've done previous fittings with Club Champion and Cool Clubs, and can honestly say this was the best experience of the three. TrueSpec has a good soft and hard product offering in a service that is rapidly getting crowded.

 

Great review Noles!

 

Can anyone else speak to a True Spec fitting. I just discovered there is one here in Columbus.

[MGMM]

For anyone still looking for a club fitting, I highly recommend TrueSpec Golf in Highland Park (https://www.truespecgolf.com). I just completed a full bag fitting, minus the putter, and had a great experience. They are relatively new to the Chicago market just opening at the end of August.

 

I had my fitting two weeks ago with Mike. Upon arrival, he measured all myul current clubs for length, loft, lie, and swing weight. While he took notes on each club in my bag, he asked me to tell him about my game. This included strengths, weakness, ball flight characteristics, etc. We also spoke about any parts of my game that I'm currently working on (the importance of this will be highlighted later on). At this stage we also discussed that if a different shaft retrofitted into my current clubs was the best result that is what we would go with. Obvisouly, this is hard to do for irons, but given my current issues (high spin, high launch and ballooning) I new I needed completely new irons. But for my woods, driver, and hybrid we would try new shafts in my current club heads.

 

TrueSpec uses a Foresight GC2 Quad, which I have never used before. I've used a Trackman in a previous fitting years ago, and I've used a FlightScope with my instructor. While, a bit leary considering Trackman and FlightScope get more publicity, I didn't notice much difference in numbers if any.

 

Throughout the fitting we moved from irons, to driver, to fairway woods, to hybrids and ultimately wedges. When it came to trying different club heads, Mike asked if I had any constraints, and if there was anything I was interested in trying. I stated that I didn't want any exotics (PXG, Miura, Epon, etc) and that I was interested in the new Mizunos and Srixons. Other than that I told him to use his expertise in picking heads that would give me lower launch and spin. When it came to shafts I let Mike do his thing. Based on the baseline numbers we gathered he chose a handful of shafts that should give me lower launch and spin. At no stage did I feel rushed, or steered in a certain direction. Throughout our trials, Mike would stop and explain the results of each club, while also asking how each setup felt, and what my feedback was. The improvement were staggering. A combination of PX 6.0s and P790s gave the best results. My 6i spin rates dropped to the low to mid 5000s, and launch angle decreased by 5*, all while maintaining a descent angle in the upper 40* range. Combined with about a one club length gain in distance, and great dispersion we had winner. I still had my doubts given previous bad experiences with Taylormade, and what I thought were low spin numbers (more on this later).

 

Moving on my woods/hybrids, we again used my current gamers to get some baseline numbers. This time I let Mike make his recommendations, even checking to make sure I would be okay with two tone heads (think TayloreMade) before trying them. The experience here was similar to the irons. I never felt rushed or steered towards anything. After each combination we would talk through the results, and how I liked each combination. We were able to settle on a 3 woods/hybrid combination relatively quickly. In regards to selecting a hybrid, Mike asked what purpose that club would have in my bag. I stated that my sole purpose of carrying a hybrid/5-wood was purely for gapping between my 3 wood and 4 iron. Knowing this we looked at my 3-wood numbers and calculated what my approximate 4 iron distance would be given my 6 iron results. As a testament to Mike's experience the first combination we tried was absolutely perfect, and nothing we tried after that came close.

 

Finally, we got to the driver. I guess I have a unique swing as this took the longest. It didn't take long to settle on a club head, but we struggled with shafts. Apparently, my swing is between two groups of shaft frequencies (think stiff/x-stiff). We kept trying shafts but the lower frequencies created high launch and spin, while the high frequency shafts prevented me from properly loading, and being able to go after it. Eventually we declared a stalemate. Mike recommended we regroup in a few weeks (Thanksgiving weekend interfered with the following week) to finish the driver fitting.

 

As we went through recommendations, I never felt pressured to buy anything, but Mike did explain their satisfaction guarantee. As we priced everything out I felt like the pricing was fair, but I couldn't be sure until I could do some research at home.

 

In a few days Mike followed up to see if I had any questions, and to schedule our driver follow-up. After having a few days to reflect on everything, I was still hesitant with the P790s due what I thought were questionable numbers, and my prior experiences with TaylorMade. He answered all my questions, and explained that based on what I was working on swing wise (less in-to-out path) the spin rates would increase to the proper range. He also offered to have me hit them again to make sure the numbers were consistent when I finished my driver fitting.

 

When I came back from for part two, Mike clearly did some homework. We started by confirmed the P790s were right for me by re-hitting my gamer, the P790 and the second best combination. There was virtually no change from the prior session, and to put my fears at ease Mike walked through the results explaining how they would benefit not only my current swing but where I was going with my swing. Then one we went to finish the driver fitting. Mike had the best combination we could come up with, but also a few other shafts already picked out. This first shaft we tried was perfect. To verify we tried the other two shafts, but also a few others, but we clearly had a winner.

 

Again we went through the recommendations for my entire bag. Having some time to do some pricing research I was also able to confirm their prices were in line with the OEM websites, and third party sellers. Being quite tall, I knew I needed upright lie angles, and some longer lengths. Also, given that lengthening clubs increases swing weight, I was inclined to go with having TrueSpec build my clubs. While I was fitted for my current clubs almost five years ago, I ordered direct from the OEM given the fitted specs. Not until Mike measured my current clubs, did I realize they weren' built to what I requested. Lengths were longer, lie angles were off, and the swing weight was D6. Also, since none of the recommended combinations were offered at no upcharge from the OEMs, I placed my order.

 

I've done previous fittings with Club Champion and Cool Clubs, and can honestly say this was the best experience of the three. TrueSpec has a good soft and hard product offering in a service that is rapidly getting crowded.

 

Amazing review, thank you sir! I was looking for another option besides Club Champion and this might be the one. Not saying Club Champion isn't a viable option, just like the fact that there's a second choice for a high-end fitting place.

 

Any idea if TrueSpec does a similar deal to Club Champion (half off during holiday winter months)? That might be the difference maker if all other things are equal. I'm not sure I'd buy direct from either place but sounds like TrueSpec has more reasonable price ranges. Everything I've heard about Club Champion leads me to believe they are pushier and the pricing is outrageously high.