I posted a question approximately 2 months ago wondering about tour fitting and whether or not it was worth it to have it done. I live in Canada and it is obviously an expense to fly to Oceanside and have the process done - vs. having it done at an advanced fitter here in Vancouver. I was a little concerned having read specifically about one person's experience on GolfWRX, but decided to try it anyways. Boy am I glad that I did commit to having the Tour Fitting done. I'll outline my experience.
I had played blades since childhood, but two years ago I decided to switch to another manufacturer's irons which were static fitted and then fitted at an outdoor range using a lie board. My driver and fairways were bought off the rack according to the manufacturer's internet guidance. My handicap has dropped from a 16 to an 8 through lessons and practice, but I found that my yardage gaps were not very good in any of my clubs, I was questioning the loft specifically of my 8 iron, I was spinning the ball too much on full shots, and was getting inconsistent yardages on well hit shots. Seemed like the clubs had hot spots and dead zones on the face. My best score last year was a 74 and I decided to get new clubs - serious ones, as I am serious about improving. As a result, I was looking for forged irons and thought why not go with clubs that good amateurs use, pro's in their prime-and you know which guys I'm talking about- used, and a company that supports golf in Canada, all of which brought me to Titleist.
I got to TPI oceanside about half an hour early and was impressed at the security of the place and how great the testing grounds appeared. Once in the building the receptionist was friendly and I waited in the 'tour lounge' where I watched Charles Howell III hit balls on the short game area. TPI trainers were all over the place and several pros were training. Once I was called to start the process, my fitter, Jim, introduced himself and I was given a tour of the facility. Amazing place and amazing thoroughness of the testing. Jim told me to get my clubs and we discussed my game, what ball I used and then we proceeded to the wedge/short game area. He looked at my current setup and asked about what shots I had trouble with including yardages. I got to warm up and then he had me hit at flags of known yardages. Did this with Pro V1-X, and Pro V1 balls, trying different trajectories. He made extensive notes during the whole process. Once done warming up I tried different lofts, lies-he bent clubs on the spot, sole designs, bounce options and lengths. It became clear which clubs felt the best and performed the best. All the while Jim made suggestions looking closely at my mechanics and divot pattern. He even gave me a few tips during the session. Next we moved to the short game area and I tried pitching and chipping and bunker shots in all lies. He even had me hit out of WET rough on a perfectly sunny day! He observed the amount of spin I was producing and how different bounces worked for me in different lies. As I'm sure you can guess, after this part I had a great idea of how to set up my wedges in terms of yardage gaps and lie/bounce options. Even the sole grind was noted and the ones I did best with were obvious. We moved from there to irons and Jim asked which iron design I liked and what my goals were. I mentioned the AP 2, CB and MB irons, and throughout the whole process kept an open mind about suggestions and tried not to steer them one way or another. I figured that if they fit McIlroy and Fowler they can fit me without a problem! They got baseline trackman numbers and observed my ballflight and divots with my existing clubs then I tried the various clubhead designs with a variety of shafts. They found numbers/shaft combinations that worked best for my swing using trackman, having me hit draws and fades with different lofts. Turf interaction was best using the CB's for me and my ballspeeds improved a lot using DG SL shafts. Next we went to long game fitting and again, we started with my existing clubs and then tried a variety of shafts iron, hybrid and fairway options. I could try any shaft head combo with any SureFit setting they had and they had EVERY shaft out there. We tried a good number of shafts and settings and using trackman and observing ball flight - another fitter came in to assist as well- came up with good gaps in all my clubs-ended up with a hybrid, removing my 5 wood, a 3 wood and then starting my irons from a 4 iron onwards. We next moved to driver and again I didn't let my ego get in the way of the fitting. I wanted to think I was going to be fit with a D3 but the D2 showed the best results. Again we tried many SureFit settings and shaft combinations until we found the best launch conditions and spin/roll results. I was staggered at how the correct ball makes a difference in distance - we even compared the 09 Pro V1X to the 2011 ball which was amazing, not to mention how much further I hit the D2 - 35 yards - than my non-fitted png driver. We ended by me trying whichever club I wanted again and then selected the appropriate grips and asking any questions I wanted. Never once did I feel rushed and the fitters were INCREDIBLY patient throughout the whole process. I was thinking about switching to a Scotty putter and they measured my current putter and gave me the details about what to get if I wanted to order one. This whole process took 3 1/2 hours. Absolutely incredible in terms of detail and attention. They truly treated me as well - if not better- than the pros who were around me. At this point, I have no doubt in my equipment and am excited to start working on my game. Only shame is I have to wait a couple more months for the sun to make its way up to Vancouver. If you are thinking about getting fit in Oceanside I'm sure that after reading my review you have no reservations about whether or not it is worth it. EVERY aspect of my clubs will be custom fitted to be best for me. I can't wait to start practicing with the new set without having to worry about my equipment. I also can't wait to break par for the first time this year.