Professional golfers rarely, if ever, make equipment compromises. With nearly every conceivable piece of gear at their fingertips, there’s no reason to play a driver shaft that produces excess spin or a wedge that doesn’t glide effortlessly through the turf.
The goal is to find a setup that accentuates the strengths of their games.
Having the ability to go à la carte and select the best setup is one of the benefits of going brand-agnostic — a route that’s become far more common in the pro ranks since Brooks Koepka won four major titles without an equipment deal.
Of course, there’s more to choosing an optimized club setup than simply trying every club on the market. Having an expert gear guide can both simplify and improve the process, as rising British star Sam Horsfield can attest.
Working closely with clubfitter True Spec Golf, which is an affiliate of GOLF.com’s parent company, 8AM Golf, the two-time European Tour winner has leaned on a data-driven approach to help him determine what clubs should be in his bag. The end result since the 2021 season began is three consecutive top-15 finishes, including a third-place showing in Kenya.
“I think my results, since going brand agnostic, speak for themselves,” said Horsfield, who is 24. “All of the manufacturers make great equipment, but when you are dealing with such fine margins, having equipment you are comfortable with is so important to me, even it simply looks better.
“For me, it’s the fact that I will never have to compromise. I have the ultimate freedom to play whatever equipment I need to maximize my performance, which is ultimately what I am trying to do.”
Horsfield is such a proponent of making his own equipment choices that he is one of four Tour pros serving as True Spec Golf ambassadors in 2021. Joining him are PGA Tour winner Aaron Baddeley and LPGA members Albane Valenzuela and Giulia Molinaro.
“I believe the biggest benefit is being able to test every single brand and club that’s out there to get the absolute best set of golf clubs that suit your game,” Baddeley said. “That way, when you head out to the golf course you have full confidence in your equipment, which can only help lower your scores.”
Valenzuela, who was a finalist at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur, said she likes having the ability to keep “an open mind, and feeling that I can put the best equipment into play.”
With True Spec’s proprietary fitting process acting as the guide, all four pros said they ended up in at least one piece of gear that otherwise wouldn’t have been on their radars had it not been for the clubfitter’s data-oriented system.
“This year I got fitted into Cobra irons, I never thought I would play their clubs but True Spec had me try them and they are fantastic and definitely the best iron for me this season,” said Molinari, who was the Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year in 2013.
Horsfield said True Spec’s bias-free approach appeals to him.
“It gives me the chance to experiment with different clubs for different environments, which has been a lot of fun without any pressure to use certain clubs,” he said.
True Spec, which was founded in 2014, has more than 20 fitting locations worldwide.
“Since we started, Tour pros have been trusting True Spec to help them find an edge through brand-agnostic customization, and we are delighted to be growing our visibility on Tour as a natural progression of these relationships,” True Spec CEO Hoyt McGarity said. “True Spec has been pioneering the data-driven equipment model for years, and more and more Tour players are turning to True Spec as the brand-agnostic trend continues to show its value.”
Here’s a closer look at each True Spec ambassador:
Sam Horsfield
Age: 24
Residence: Manchester, England
College: University of Florida
Career highlight: Two European Tour wins in same month (August 2020: Hero Open, Celtic Classic)
Fun fact: Shot a 59 when he was 13 (Highlands Reserve GC, in Orlando, Fla.)
Aaron Baddeley
Age: 40
Residence: Scottsdale, Ariz., and Melbourne, Australia
Career highlight: Ascended to 17th in the world ranking in 2008
Fun fact: At 19, became the youngest-ever winner of the Australian Open
Albane Valenzuela
Age: 23
Residence: Dallas
College: Stanford University
Career highlight: Represented Switzerland at 2016 Summer Olympics; finalist at 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur
Fun fact: Speaks four languages (English, French, Spanish, German)
Giulia Molinaro
Age: 30
Residence: Scottsdale, Ariz.
College: Arizona State
Career highlight: Represented Italy at 2016 Summer Olympics
Fun fact: Symetra Tour Rookie of the Year in 2013
Want to overhaul your own bag for 2021? Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.
