skysports.com got a sneak look of a Titleist Tour truck and a custom fitting with their new AP1 irons.
We go behind the scenes of Titleist's Tour truck and get fitted like a pro
It's not often you get to spend the day on a Titleist Tour truck, speak to a Tour golfer and a top technician behind the scenes and receive some professional fitting advice, so that is why I braved the cold at the London Club to find out more...
You've seen them all lined up around all the major golf tournaments, but what actually goes on inside the massive tour trucks that the manufacturers all drive up the big events? Well thanks to Titleist we were able to get a look inside their European model when it rolled up to the London Club in Kent.
The tardis-like tour truck is a lot more spacious inside than it looks from the outside, and it provides a welcome relief from the chilling elements at the London Club, but on the European Tour is offers a safe haven for Titleist players.
The truck is a place for players to come and relax away from the glare of big tournaments, but not only that, it is a drop-in service station for players to get their equipment checked, measured and tweaked to their specific needs.
For instance, the loft and bounce of a player's wedges could well change depending on the type of grass used on fairways and rough of a particular tournament, as well as with different weather and atmospheric conditions.
Tour rookie Victor Dubuisson was in the truck on our visit, and he was keen to point out how much the guys on the tour truck helped players out during the season - especially as he was a newcomer to it all, he leaned on the guys a lot when deciding on what was best for his club set-up.
Players
Top fitter Scott Morrison was on board and it was clear from what he told us that much more goes on behind the scenes than many, including myself, had ever thought possible.
"Each of our players has three dozen balls and four gloves at the start of a tournament, 61 percent of most fields use a Titleist ball, and in any given event we have about 45 sets of irons in play and 150 vokey wedges so we have a lot to deal with," Morrison said when talking through his main tasks on Tour.
With so many players to deal with (Titleist has 39 full staff players) it is important to build up good relationships with them all, from rookies like Dubuisson to huge mega-stars like a certain Rory McIlroy.
"Some of the younger guys it takes them a while to get used to asking for what they want and getting used to new products," Morrison said. "But then they're soon in here all the time checking everything and asking for new gear!
"Rory's in a lot. He's a good guy to deal with, he's the type of guy that is very easy to work with. He makes it a bit easier for us because he's such an incredible talent but he's genuinely a good guy to work with."
Fitting
The workshop in the back of the truck is where the skilled grinders alter the shape, lie and loft of the clubs, with draws and draws of spare club heads, grips and shafts to keep even the pickiest of Tour stars happy with what's in their bags.
Grinding the club is a real skill and Scott tells me that some players come in noticing minimal differences in their clubs, which he must then adjust to suit them better, so he needs to be right back on top of his game.
What greater test then to see if he could somehow turn around my own fortunes with the benefit of some top technology, the new Titleist AP1 irons, and his years of experience with the world's best golfers.
Many hackers like myself merely pick up some sticks off the shelf and never even think that custom fitting would make much of a difference, but even just an hour or so at the freezing London Club was enough to convince me otherwise.
Not just the length of the club, but the lie of the head, the weight of the shaft and even a difference in kick point can all make a huge difference, noticeable by myself and also with the stats on Trackman.
Titleist have built their philosophy into the new 712 series irons with a dual-angle SureFit hosel system allowing for interchangeable heads and shafts and for two different lie angles to be achieved from a single club head.
Promoting custom fitting is now a big thing for all golf manufacturers, and Titleist are now different as they have just opened a new National Fitting Centre at Celtic Manor to go along with their traditional site in St Ives and others in Edinburgh and Dublin.
Despite being a cold experience, it was an eye-opening one in terms of just what lengths players will go to to get the best out of themselves and their clubs, while it also proves that mere golfing mortals should also go that extra mile to get the very best out of their clubs.
For more information on Titleist equipment and custom fitting go to www.titleist.co.uk
