No Longer a Niche, Clubfitting Thriving With Independents Leading the Way
Over the past 30 years, what was once thought of as a niche vertical within the spacious equipment landscape has blossomed into broad-based acceptance.
With it has brought what some might call mass appeal and accessibility. In any event, it's eons ahead of those archaic ‘90s.
Thanks in large part to technological advancements, companies like Club Champion, Golftec and True Spec Golf were able to hop on a seismic wave and parlay it into reputational and financial gain.
True Spec was founded in 2014 by Hoyt McGarity. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based brand-agnostic club fitting company has incrementally built upon a business model that rolls institutional expertise and analytics into customer satisfaction as the endgame.
For instance, True Spec Golf president Ryan Richardson, 39, follows feedback closely and understands its inherent importance. Some of his favorite reviews involve non-consummated sales.
"We understand that if we're not beating what they have significantly, at the end of the day not making the sale and saying 'the clubs may not be right, so go work on your game, come back and we'll refit you at no charge,' that's where we will realize those gains," Richardson says. "That's one of the things that separates us from our competitors."
Make no mistake, the clubfitting industry is legitimate, more so than where it was in the 1990s. Nick Sherburne, founder of another leading clubfitting company in Club Champion, told Forbes that about 1% of the golf market recognized club fitting benefits in the late 1990s, before estimating that percentage was above 50% by 2019.
Last year, MyGolfSpy surveyed 3,000 golfers and asked them a series of clubfitting questions. A little more than 95% of respondents indicated they had been fitted for clubs at least once. Fifteen percent said they've been fitted six or more times.
What gives? Technology, analysis and myriad options have led to the interest. Buzzwords like kickpoint, launch angle, or moment of inertia have captivated audiences. Golfers have always been a brethren in search of performance solutions.
In True Spec Golf’s case, one of its watershed moments occurred less than one year after opening for business. It bought Club Conex—or the bridge that led to a world aplenty. Club Conex makes universal adapters for connecting club heads and shafts, which in turn allows True Spec Golf to interchange them from any brand.
The acquisition allowed True Spec Golf to pore over information and its seemingly endless product mix.
"From there we have access to more than 400 shafts on a matrix and we can interchange shafts to really dial in and tweak and find the most consistent total club for a customer," says Richardson.
True Spec Golf’s fitting matrix stocks more than 50,000 possible combinations of club heads and shafts from all leading equipment manufacturers.
More than 50,000 possible combinations of heads and shafts from leading equipment manufacturers are available at True Spec Golf.
Courtesy of True Spec Golf
It's been a godsend for Richardson, who ran a competing business in Naples, Florida, before joining True Spec Golf in 2015 and moving into a chief operating officer role two years later. In 2020, Richardson was elevated to president and now focuses primarily on scaling the company, evaluating relationships while overseeing 31 global studios.
At the time, McGarity said it was a pivotal period of growth and lauded Richardson as a visionary, adding “with Ryan at the helm, True Spec will continue to set the industry standard for the premium fitting experience.”
Richardson got to work. First, the company looked at geographical growth areas. Incidentally, studios continue to pop up. In the past three months, three more were added in Australia, another in Chicago and one more will soon open in San Diego. There are also relationships in South Korea, Munich, Paris, and Switzerland, as well as more partnerships on the forefront.
"Basically, every day I'm getting approached by different courses and different places that I would not have dreamed would have approached us five years ago," says Richardson. "'What can we do to have a True Spec on our property? We want you to be one of the amenities at our resort,' they say. That's been pretty cool."
In terms of the fitting process itself, all True Spec Golf’s fitters go through meticulous training and must be well-versed in OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Even though True Spec Golf has its own guidelines and policies, fitters must go through OEM certifications so they become experts for each product.
Richardson made it clear that True Spec Golf fitters are “not compensated any differently with any product.” In other words, they won't shill a certain product because they get a cut, or commission, as it’s routine for OEMs to push their goods.
The fitting mechanism is straightforward. It begins with an interview, or survey, that asks about goals, tendencies, injuries and the clubs they're using.
The next step involves visiting a True Spec Golf studio, where their clubs are measured and then looked at how they were built. Even with the same manufacturer, the clubs normally range in measurement. It seems surprising, but it's common that a mix of regular and stiff shafts, for example, comprise a set.
"What's crazy about our industry is there are no standards of what most of these things are," says Richardson. "Take length and flex. There is no standard because there is no standard equipment."
Based on that, True Spec Golf innovated its own standards and quantifies them with data.
After clubs are measured, the golfer goes through performance drills. Fitters capture the data within a grouping sample, reviewing such criteria as ball speed, spin rate, proper launch and more. The fitter provides recommendations after reviewing the analytics. That's where Club Conex comes into play.
"There are always new products being added to the matrix," says Richardson, emphasizing fitters' learning threshold. "A key thing is we will never have a customer come in and know more about a product. A lot of customers are really educated these days and they're on forums, but at the end of the day we're getting all the information directly from the OEMs and engineers."
Even though True Spec launched like a rocket and is only eight years old, there's still room for growth. Its first three locations were in the Bahamas, Miami and New York, and the company now has locations in 27 states and the international areas.
Maybe True Spec is, pun intended, a solid fit in the industry?
"At end of day, it's basically a collaboration," says Richardson. "Some things we can't quantify, like feel, but we're going to put all the data in front of you and we're going to make sure you are satisfied."