'Tour Issue' clubs - are you bothered?

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jimbob.someroo

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I was just having a nosey around th'ebay after reading the Orka thread, just to look at some of their other products more than anything. I came across an Orka hybrid which was titled something like 'Tour Issue Orka Hybrid'

Now, Orka don't have all that many tour players to issue clubs to and it got me thinking. Do people really buy clubs because it says 'tour issued'? Surely, a tour issued club wouldn't be all that suitable for the average joe?

I know TM are one of the main culprits but at least there's a bit more info on the differences between their standard and tour clubs (tour usually a degree open and different shaft options).

There's also a heck of a lot of 'tour issue' putters on th'ebay at the moment. Are these really pro's cast offs, or manufacturers taking advantage of gullible golfers who will buy anything with a tour stamp?

Personally, I have the 'tour' versions of my TM woods, hybrids and irons as these were what I was fitted for (and the non-tour hybrids/woods can't be adjusted). But, don't think I'd have a problem playing the standard clubs if they suited me better?

Whatcha think?
 
There are a lot of different things wrapped up here.

A lot of brands use the word Tour in their retail clubs. Some of these only go on Tour when someone leaves the golf bag in their boot by accident. Taylor Made use Tour on some of their retail clubs to denote slightly different specs from standard retail. for example, open face, better shaft etc. Confusingly TM also have TP clubs which are often different again. None of these are 'Tour Issue' because none of these are the clubs that TM staff players use.

For example, the R1 driver comes in standard, Tour and TP versions with different shafts and specs. You can buy any of these. But TM staff players mostly use a different one with a smaller head, the B version, and some players, for example Sergio, use a different one again, the C version, which is smaller again. Same with the irons. Staff players often use completely different irons from the ones you can buy. They also use shafts that you can't order, although they are all painted in retail colours.

With other brands, it varies. Some brands use the same heads for staff players, although these will generally be hand measured and finished and specced up according to the payers preferences. Mizuno and Titleist do this, so the versions you buy are closer to the versions used by staff players than is the case with TM.

Some Tour issue clubs are not available to retail. There are prototypes made for one player or for Tour testing, or sets made to look like a retail club but which really are quite different. With putters, you are more likely to see genuine one-off versions made for Tour players. Scotty Cameron, for example, makes Tour putters, usually marked with a Circle T symbol, which are rare, expensive and collectable. Whether they will hole any more putts for you than a second hand Benross is another question.
 
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I think people can get an element of the "mines better than yours" attitude, like Stiff or X stiff shafts being banded around as "status symbols"

Like you said, use what works best for you. if that TP, then great. as we talked about a few weeks ago, i much preferred the look of the Rbladez tour, but quite simply, my swing was much better suited to the standard Rbladez, so that's what i am gaming!

Typically with TM, its usually on the shaft that's any different, (ok the newer bits give you the adjustment) but in the main its a heavier/stiffer shaft = TP or tour (or as the R1, you can get a Super TP! LOL with a very expensive shaft..)

How a putter can be a "tour" version, i don't quite know..
 
I've had, and have, Tour Issued clubs and there's really little difference once the plastic wrapper with the head's specs is removed.

If you add the words 'and Rejected' then you might have a less rose-tinted approach to them.

However, sets of Tour Issued shafts are much more likely to be a true set and Tour Issued heads often have features that Retail ones don't.

For Drivers, FWs and hybrids, the weights may be adjustable where the Retail version is not (R5 for example - now they WERE rejects), ports for Hot Melt (my FT3). And there are some actual unique heads that were never released to Retail -n R7 HFS (Hot Faced Steel) 3-wood for example was produced to satisfy Tour Pros who didn't like the sound/feel of the Titanium R7.

Some iron heads are quite different from the Retail ones and if they look/play better, then I'd consider them. The Tour Issued TM300s I had (they weren't Lehmans) were identical to the Retail version - at least to me.

Grooves on Tour Issued wedges used to be much closer to the (then) limit, but the opposite is true now, so I'll stick with my non-conforming ones - that are legal in comps (for me) until 2024!

As for Tour Issued putters. It seems to me that these go for way too much money. Fair enough that there's some rarity value, but if it's for actual use, it would be much better to go get yourself fitted for a putter that matches your needs than to spend more than that charge extra on a putter that has been designed (maybe) for someone else!
 
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personally i think if anyone was to buy a tour version of a club just cos they think it would make them look better then more fool them. If it turns out that after a fitting thats the best club then thats the one id go for, whether its tour or basic. I want the clubs that are going to be best for me.

I know theres a lot of Tour version scotty camerons, but i think that more cos a lot of people collect them so theres a market to produce these. Its no different to collecting ball markers or the like.
 
I have some trouble with the concept of Tour Issue Orka clubs. Some of those others are just cosmetically different from retail. If that floats your boat, good luck to you.

I recently sold an Adams club which was genuinely Tour Issued. It was a prototype head with a Nunchuck shaft and has laser measured loft and face angle, and had been made for a player at the 2011 US Open. I think I sold it for less than £50.

Was it any better than a retail one? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on you.
 
Ethan said:
If that floats your boat, good luck to you.
Click to expand...

Absolutely doesn't :) May have done a few years ago but now I just want something which helps me knock the ball around better. Last time I bought a specc'd up club without trying first was an old Taylormade hybrid (tp with custom shaft) and couldn't hit the thing for toffee.

Happy to be more standard-ier ...
 
jimbob.someroo said:
I was just having a nosey around th'ebay after reading the Orka thread, just to look at some of their other products more than anything. I came across an Orka hybrid which was titled something like 'Tour Issue Orka Hybrid'

Now, Orka don't have all that many tour players to issue clubs to and it got me thinking. Do people really buy clubs because it says 'tour issued'? Surely, a tour issued club wouldn't be all that suitable for the average joe?

I know TM are one of the main culprits but at least there's a bit more info on the differences between their standard and tour clubs (tour usually a degree open and different shaft options).

There's also a heck of a lot of 'tour issue' putters on th'ebay at the moment. Are these really pro's cast offs, or manufacturers taking advantage of gullible golfers who will buy anything with a tour stamp?

Personally, I have the 'tour' versions of my TM woods, hybrids and irons as these were what I was fitted for (and the non-tour hybrids/woods can't be adjusted). But, don't think I'd have a problem playing the standard clubs if they suited me better?

Whatcha think?
Click to expand...

So what? Really Tour proven or Tour version means it has neutral weight bias and is generally a smaller piece of real estate. Having no tour players is largely inconsequential.

TM are extreme - they have a council version, a tour version and a TP version.
Council - is for most dudes with a cheap made for shaft
Tour - better players and offers most workability with a cheap made for shaft
TP - Is a tour head with a real deal OEM shaft.
 
Strikes me it's all marketing hype, usually to get a bit more of your money (when bought new at least). If you're better with a tour version, then good for you, but I guess some people would rather have 'tour' written on the shaft than actually hit the ball with the best club for them!
 
jimbob.someroo said:
My point being, calling something 'Tour' or 'Tp' in the way that Taylormade do, is different to emphasising that something was issued for the use of a tour player.
Click to expand...

No miles out mate. Its just a way offerring verions of the same club for different levels of players. Tour players are playing with a different level of product altogether (maybe Ping staffers are close). Check Tigers Nikes they dont even look the same finish as the stuff in shops
 
JJF69 said:
No miles out mate. Its just a way offerring verions of the same club for different levels of players. Tour players are playing with a different level of product altogether (maybe Ping staffers are close). Check Tigers Nikes they dont even look the same finish as the stuff in shops
Click to expand...

I wonder if that's because Nike don't actually make them?????? :confused:
 
Not bothered at all, marketing spin as far as I am concerned.

I try my hardest not to be swayed by any but that's pretty much impossible across everything in life as it so ingrained into daily life.
 
I will always remember an interview a number of years ago with Ian Poulter when he was praising his new set of Cobra irons that cost over £20000.00 to make. At that stage I realised that their clubs bore no resemblance to what was on sale.

As other say, I have always taken 'Tour' versions of clubs to just be better player versions so less forgiving, easier to work, sometimes a better shaft etc.
 
I have the TM Tour Preferred and got them as the top line and head is thinner and smaller but still had a degree of forgiveness. The Tour version of the Rocketbladez is a case in point. Much smaller than the standard model. Similar to the Call X Hot and X Hot pro. Of course I am not naieve enough to think these resemble anything out on tour but these tour or pro models give me a better looking club with the forgiveness I need
 
I hit my tp versions as well/as badly as other clubs I have tried. I do prefer the matrix hd6 shaft in my rbz to the floppy Xcon that was in it before but to me the TP just stands for a shaft that wasn't a cheap stick they installed to shift numbers

I haven't yet tried my tm ghost tour ma81 as it is still on route but I will give it a fair head to head against the MD Killarney. I didn't buy it because it was a tour putter, I bought it because it was a good price and liked it when I tried them in American golf. That and I'm a brand whore and was jealous when the lads got the TM day :)
 
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