What's your experience with Tour issue fairways

[getitdaily]

Did custom specs help and make a difference or were the tour issue heads not much different than the non-tour issue?

[kasting333]

I had the m6 tour issue 3 wood and it was exactly the same as retail other than the face groves. Still a great club. 

[driveandputtmachine]

Before the advent of the adjustable hosels I only used tour issue fairways due to my wonky swing and needing a very open face.   Since the advent I only play adjustable hosel fairways and nothing much has changed.

 

I never noticed some drastic change in distance or dispersion(other than my regular heads back in the day tended to go left often).  I had numerous of the Tour Duffy Taylor made fairway woods and the like that were extremely open.

[Kale_m]

Have had a couple TM ones.
 

I find that there had been so much hot melt in them that they feel dead. 
 

meh. 
 

The one I liked the most was a tour issue 2017 M1 HL. That thing was sick. RIP (it cracked ) 

[nitram]

99 out of 100 playing partners won't know you're playing a TI club unless you tell them. And most won't ask, especially if you suck with it.

[getitdaily]

17 minutes ago, nitram said:

99 out of 100 playing partners won't know you're playing a TI club unless you tell them. And most won't ask, especially if you suck with it.

So, did it perform any better for you? I wasn't asking about clout...I'm interested in performance.

[jc2]

I had a tour issue 3 wood prior to my current off the shelf version.

 

The only difference is that I talked about my tour issue 3 wood way more than I talk about my current 3 wood, which I am better with in every possible metric, other than golfwrx street cred

[Flyers99]

From what I understand, the TM tour issues heads are the same as retail but just have a spec sticker on them from what I was told.  I did not see any difference but, for me, knowing the exact loft helped mentally.  I was looking for a gap between driver and 4 hybrid.  Wanted something 16-17 degrees without having to adjust the club thus opening or closing the face.  I bought a TM 3 HL at 16.2 degrees and mentally it works for me.  Had I have purchased a 16.5 or 17 model I would not have know the loft.  I know they can be off a degree of so.  Doesn't really matter in the big picture but for me, anything that mentally can give some confidence is a win.  I am on the hunt for a newer wood so we will see.

[getitdaily]

5 minutes ago, Flyers99 said:

From what I understand, the TM tour issues heads are the same as retail but just have a spec sticker on them from what I was told.  I did not see any difference but, for me, knowing the exact loft helped mentally.  I was looking for a gap between driver and 4 hybrid.  Wanted something 16-17 degrees without having to adjust the club thus opening or closing the face.  I bought a TM 3 HL at 16.2 degrees and mentally it works for me.  Had I have purchased a 16.5 or 17 model I would not have know the loft.  I know they can be off a degree of so.  Doesn't really matter in the big picture but for me, anything that mentally can give some confidence is a win.  I am on the hunt for a newer wood so we will see.

This is kind of what I figured. The adjustable hosel fairways do a lot to negate the need for spec specific heads. But there are off the shelf heads that would be awesome for some of us with a small tweak to lie and face angle. I think the performance differences are going to be negligible, but also noticeable...little things like consistency in start line or "this thing doesnt go left" kind of stuff. 

[Phabs]

My M3 HL is a tour head,  zero difference from the stock offering.   I didn’t buy it because it’s a tour , it was just the head/ shaft combo I found online that I wanted.   I could really care less. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Phabs

[iknowbagu]

Can't speak towards current manufacturer offerings, but back in the day most tour issue stuff referred to shaft, not head.

[driveandputtmachine]

1 hour ago, Flyers99 said:

From what I understand, the TM tour issues heads are the same as retail but just have a spec sticker on them from what I was told.  I did not see any difference but, for me, knowing the exact loft helped mentally.  I was looking for a gap between driver and 4 hybrid.  Wanted something 16-17 degrees without having to adjust the club thus opening or closing the face.  I bought a TM 3 HL at 16.2 degrees and mentally it works for me.  Had I have purchased a 16.5 or 17 model I would not have know the loft.  I know they can be off a degree of so.  Doesn't really matter in the big picture but for me, anything that mentally can give some confidence is a win.  I am on the hunt for a newer wood so we will see.

This has been the truth since the Aeroburner lines.   They stopped producing tour special editions, did they pre bend plenty and test and send the hottest ones to the tour van, but they weren't some special editions or different materials like they had been previously.   This came directly from a close friend that was one of their patent attorneys.  He left the company maybe 4-5 years ago, so that may have changed again, but based on what I have seen and heard it hasn't.  

[Valtiel]

They make a difference for me purely because I know what works best in terms of loft and face angle. A retail head that hit the same specs by accident would therefore basically work the same, but I pay for these specs upfront so I don't have to play a guessing game. 
 

[Pepperturbo]

3 hours ago, getitdaily said:

or were the tour issue heads not much different than the non-tour issue?

I've been fortunate to play Tour Issue equipment, mostly Drivers with tour issue "only" shafts and sometime back had a set of PRGR tour irons, 2-SW.  Only real noticeable difference is HOW much I paid for them.  I wouldn't waste your money!

 

I am not one to spend time using a LM to determine subtle differences in launch, spin, etc.  All I care about is down range results, in other words, what I can see and what I can do with the equipment I have.  Never saw much down range difference, and say that resoundingly since Fujikura Ventus Velocore shafts found their way into my Driver and 4wd.

 

 

[getitdaily]

14 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

They make a difference for me purely because I know what works best in terms of loft and face angle. A retail head that hit the same specs by accident would therefore basically work the same, but I pay for these specs upfront so I don't have to play a guessing game. 
 

This is exactly the reason for my post. I've danced around adjustable hosel 3Ws but haven't game one long term until I started toying with the stz 3. Found a lot of what I was looking for in a certain setting. Wondering just how much others have found lie and face angle they prefer and just how much it makes a difference. Especially since I find mwt in 3Ws to not really do much.

[BlueDragonKorea]

2 hours ago, nitram said:

99 out of 100 playing partners won't know you're playing a TI club unless you tell them. And most won't ask, especially if you suck with it.

Brutal but true

[MountainKing]

Other than it being a prototype club, they're the same heads that have been spec'd out.  You can take your 3 wood to a club builder and have them measure the specs if you're wanting to know.  

 

Most heads are fairly close in spec, unless you have a very repeatable swing it won't be game changing.  Even if you have a repeatable swing it won't be game changing. 

Edited August 26, 2021 by MountainKing

[FormerDimer]

If your swing is also tour issue, you MIGHT be able to tell the difference. It's really more so about tighter tolerances regarding loft and weight. 

[elwhippy]

A lot of the tour issued heads are the "rough" prototypes hence the hot melt and different shapes. Retail will be the finished product. 

[getitdaily]

Maybe responses can be kept to what I posted...? Your experience with them, not how they're made, how cool you are or are not with them...just performance. 

 

Thanks

[BYK]

Got a GBB SZ tour ID club in the bag

It's all mental I'm sure, but I hit this bad boy great, and it's not leaving the bag.

[getitdaily]

37 minutes ago, BYK said:

Got a GBB SZ tour ID club in the bag

It's all mental I'm sure, but I hit this bad boy great, and it's not leaving the bag.

Have you compared it to an off the shelf version? I assume your tour issue has an open face and flatter lie than the off the shelf version?

[Booker]

I enjoy the flat lie angles of some tour issued fairways. They also make some with a smaller head shape, deeper face. The 16m2 deep face fairway was phenomenal, smaller foot print and noticeably deeper face. The callaway fairway stuff doesnt seem to be much different than retail. I wouldn't say they are any longer (more ballspeed). Titleist, Ive never noticed a difference from retail other than they have different weights in the bottom and hotmelt.  

[NNJ111]

Have a tour issue 2016 M2 3 wood at 15 degrees.

 

Lots of hot melt, but long 

[MakersMarsh3]

10 hours ago, driveandputtmachine said:

This has been the truth since the Aeroburner lines.   They stopped producing tour special editions, did they pre bend plenty and test and send the hottest ones to the tour van, but they weren't some special editions or different materials like they had been previously.   This came directly from a close friend that was one of their patent attorneys.  He left the company maybe 4-5 years ago, so that may have changed again, but based on what I have seen and heard it hasn't.  

 

Most of them are the spec'd heads that are a bit with some hot melt 

 

But there are some heads that are completely different for sure

The 2016 Deep Face M2 was legendary

They made a smaller M6 or SIM and it was unreal good

Rahms crazy Epic Speed ones look awesome

 

Edited August 27, 2021 by MakersMarsh3

[nitram]

20 hours ago, getitdaily said:

So, did it perform any better for you? I wasn't asking about clout...I'm interested in performance.

Fair enough, 10 years or more ago I'll say there was a benefit to TI clubs (woods) because their tolerances were closer to spec. Prior to adjustable hosels, weight tracks, and various "openings" for hotmelt and such, the TI clubs made it simpler in finding something that fit you better, immediately. So in essence, a TI club that matched your specs allowed you to obtain center-face contact (CFC) sooner and more often.

 

Having said that, I can tell you from personal experiences in TI vs OTR, performance is a wash, as long as you can adjust them and obtain CFC.

[bladehunter]

Depends on if If it’s Tour only or not.  If it’s a model that can’t be had retail , then it’s at least different, and yes can be better if the different suits you. 
 

 

most difference I’ve seen is the hotmelt.  Most come melted somewhere.  That snd picking lie angles . For instance. The sim max hybrid I have in the bag. Tour head that’s bent 3 degrees flat , and has hotmelt neutral . You can’t get that retail or locally. Nobody will bend a hybrid.  They don’t have the fixture to bend it in.  Bar none the best hybrid I’ve ever owned.  It doesn’t have the big left in it that these had retail.  I had a retail one that I couldn’t  fade to save my life.  This one will hit a low fade or a high draw with the best of them. I call it the “ 230 yard pitching wedge “.   I’ve found 3 woods snd driver heads the same in the past.  

[Qegurezi]

18 hours ago, driveandputtmachine said:

This has been the truth since the Aeroburner lines.   They stopped producing tour special editions, did they pre bend plenty and test and send the hottest ones to the tour van, but they weren't some special editions or different materials like they had been previously.   This came directly from a close friend that was one of their patent attorneys.  He left the company maybe 4-5 years ago, so that may have changed again, but based on what I have seen and heard it hasn't.  

The 2016 M2 deep face was a special tour head that could not be bought. Pretty sure there was a special M6 as well. 

[ChipNRun]

I test out clubs on launch monitor and/or get fitted. Then I take it out on course.

 

For the most part, my on-course problems are caused by operator error - not by whether the true loft on the 4W is 16.8* rather than 16.5*.

[bladehunter]

Here’s an example of tour only.  Yes Taylormade is still making tour only stuff. So is callaway.     This is seller niblick-99.  Or Brick  and mortar shop broken niblick.  Long time Taylormade tour issue clearing house.  If you scroll through his listings he shows the special tour issue heads from the standard ones that are similar to retail .  
 

callaway does similar. They had some adjustable Mavrik 3-5 wood heads on tour. Never retail.  And they’ve made some glued epic , and epic speed heads for tour.  
 

see this link.  This is a “ small “ sim TI 3 wood head from them.  Smaller footprint and deeper face.   More like a persimmon shape.  so they most definitely still make special heads. 
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TaylorMade-RH-SIM-Ti-PGA-SMALL-3HL-15-actual-17-2-TOUR-ISSUE-Good-CT-222-228-/373656411719?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

 

thought or add this one.  Spider red with a short T sightline. You’ve never seen that before.  Not the normal T. Probably only one that exists.  
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Taylormade-TOUR-ISSUE-SPIDER-TOUR-RED-PUTTER-HALF-T-Head-7740THDBXZT-VERY-RARE-/373657581924?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

Edited August 27, 2021 by bladehunter