Wednesday, August 17, 2022

True Spec Golf Fitting Review - Beverly Hills California

My first time in Beverly Hills was a memorable one, and I realized very fast I've got some L.A. in my blood.  Driving to my True Spec Golf putter fitting in Beverly Hills from Los Angeles took me through nostalgic, winding streets and the excitement was euphoric.  It almost felt like I was in a scene from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

When I arrived at True Spec on Wilshire Blvd., I knew it was going to be a great day.  Just down the road one way was Los Angeles Country Club.  The other way Rodeo Drive.  What I didn't know however was how damn impressive the fitting and my fitter Michael were going to be.  I opened the front door to True Spec and the fireworks were about to get started.

The putter studio is the first thing you see when you walk in.  A large putting area, putter heads and shafts and grips lining the walls as far as the eye can see.  And the driver, irons, and other clubs fitting area is in the back (I'll show you that later).  My fitter Michael greeted me and we hit it off pretty much immediately.  He's very genuine, clearly loves what he does, and takes great pride in doing his job well.  After a brief get to know each other period it was time for work.

 

True Spec uses a Foresight Sports launch monitor to collect and analyze data from your putts during your fitting on all kinds of performance measurables.  Launch angle, spin, skid, time to roll, club path, lie, loft, push/pull tendencies.  See what I'm getting at?  It's exhaustive and that's just naming a few variables.

Michael asked me to pick out a putter that I like.  It didn't matter what kind or why.  Maybe it was most similar to my gamer, or a well known brand, or a new putter I've had my eye on for awhile.  So I did and we used that putter as a baseline for my fitting.  Michael quickly found out what length putter was best for my stroke, and from there it was game on.

The first putter I chose I liked a lot.  And actually hit it pretty well.  I had a tendency however to pull putts left with it (and also had more skid with it than Michael wanted to see).  I told Michael I can adjust my stroke to get more square impact, and he said vehemently, "Absolutely not, don't do that."  And so of course I stopped the fitting and asked why.

Michael explained that we all have our own putting strokes, and they're all very individual, from grip, to delivery, to stance and so on.  And he didn't want me swinging the putter in any way other than how my body, arms, and hands naturally swing the putter.

This was a profound aspect of the fitting because Michael would take me on journey through different heads, hosels, shafts, and grips that optimized contact, roll, accuracy, distance control, and consistency with a putter that was objectively absolute best for my unique swing.

You're going to always revert to your natural swing, and you want a putter that you can hit right out of bed without worrying about your stroke or thinking about opening or closing the face or any of that other nonsense.  That's the happy place Michael eventually brought me to.  Line it up, hit the ball, and revel in the sound of that cup rattle.

After a few minutes of putting, Michael presented me with three or four different putters than the one I was using as my baseline.  And in varying degrees they all immediately improved my accuracy by coming into contact more square, reducing skid and getting the ball rolling more immediately, and even making these better putts consistently better.  The numbers didn't lie, as Michael showed me the data and improved results just from this first big change in types and styles of putters tested.

Still, there was a lot more work to do.  And more putters to still hit.  I'm pretty sure I hit at least nine different models, Cameron, Bettinardi, Odyssey, Toulon, Cobra, Piretti, TaylorMade,  if not more.

As we progressed through my fitting, Michael was systematically analyzing all the data from the different putters, making tweaks along the way, sometimes even going back to putters I had just hit (and making other and new adjustments to those).  We were slowly checking off the boxes that optimized performance for my swing.  And I don't want to get too technical here, but this is why the True Spec fitting and Michael in particular was so good.

There are a lot of variables in the putter swing.  To name just a few you have club path, loft and lie, closure rate, face impact, skid and roll, and Michael was like a mad scientist looking at them all trying to find that ideal combination.  He had me hitting different putters that reduced my closure rate marginally to significantly.  Some putters I hit with tighter consistency (or standard deviation) in face impact and club path.  And a handful of putters even had me rolling the ball a full inch sooner than others (i.e., less skid).

It was a process of trial and error, mixing and matching ingredients in head designs, weights, lofts, and more to find the most consistently effective putter for me.  And then Michael went back to see if there were still other tweaks that could be done to improve certain aspects even more.  He was always asking me how the different putters felt for me and if they appealed to my eye.

So for example say I hit a particular putter with an ideal closure rate for my swing because it was more face balanced or had a particular toe hang (this will be different for different swings).  But I wasn't thrilled with the look or feel.  Michael would then find a putter that did feel good and look good for me, was similarly face balanced or with similar toe hang, and made adjustments to make it ideal.  In my case it was simply to the grip.  For many players the size and shape of a grip can help influence closure.  A rounder grip tends to help you see more of the right side, an angled grip can get you over more to the left.

Some putters I hit with perfectly centered impact but had a wider overall impact area over a range of putts.  Other putters I had excellent impact at best, but consistently better impact over a range of putts.  It's a subtle difference you really can't feel or discern without a fitter who's as thorough as Michael.  And you saw the video I posted where I was making every one of those 10-footers, some even with my eyes closed.  It was ridiculous.  It was awesome too.

Michael was also extremely pleasant and fun to hang out with.  There were a lot of laughs.  We talked about all kinds of things.  Don Shula and Brad Faxon,  Inverness Club NCR Country Club.  Swing speeds for different ages, the backstory of the Piretti name, and whether LIV golf is better or worse for golf as a competitor.  Of course we talked about my Play With Pete Invitational at Pasatiempo as well.

Fittings can be a bit stressful for some, and I'm telling you straight up you'd have an absolute blast with Michael.  I genuinely wanted to continue the day with a full bag fitting (and here are the pictures of the other fitting area I promised you).

 
 

My True Spec putter fitting with Michael was as close to perfect as any fitting can be.  No BS.  It's not merely a job for them.  It's dedication.  Pure passion.  And was phenomenal in every way imaginable.

I'm going back to California next year for another Play With Pete Invitational at Pasatiempo in 2023.  Don't be surprised if I'm also going back to True Spec Beverly Hills for that full bag fitting then with Michael as well.

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