'Tour Issue' clubs - are you bothered?

[Ethan]

And I think a Tour Issue Regular Ozik Altus shafts would be a pretty rare beast too. Even the Stiff one I have is pretty soft!

LPGA Tour?

 

[Fraz]

My irons say "prototype" on them... Does that go one step further? Lol

I take tour issue as being a model with a spec which is a bit higher than normal... I.e. a real shaft not a "made for" shaft.

 

[USER1999]

Nothing to do with it, nike clubs are forged by endo who do loads of oem forgings. The tour guys are on all protype stuff not off the shelf mass productions

How is the food in France?

 

[Foxholer]

LPGA Tour?

Rare even there I would think. The several LET players I've met all use relatively strong shafts for their apparent swing speed (it's quite surprising how fast they actually swing) and, as I posted, Matrix tends to be on the soft side of their stated flex, though tipping can alter that markedly!

 

[JJF69]

How is the food in France?

Wit?

 

[USER1999]

Wit?

May be you weren't on here when the Hakusa playing French peasant was bleating on about his exclusive relationship with retief goosen et al, and how he knew first hand that every single tour player ever, from old tom himself played Japanese forgings from a bloke in a shed in Osaka, but badged up as nike/tm/titleist/take your pick brand?

 

[Foxholer]

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

These are not Tour Issued clubs. Nor is the (Retail) FT Tour from Callaway and some other (Retail) 'Tour' labeled gear.

(Genuine) Tour gear is often made available to fitters and to others who, for any number of reasons, doesn't actually have an account with the OEM - at least not for 'head only'. Other tour gear is made available by tour players or associates, some of whom can be concerned enough that the source doesn't get back to the OEM (who actually own the gear) that they hide/Dremmel the serial number(s).

 

[Imurg]

Agreed - there is a World of difference between a club marked "Tour", "Tour Prefered", or "TP" or the like and a "Tour Issue" club.

Tour issue is what's played on Tour by the Tour Pro.
Tour etc is just a "model" if you like within a brand to signify a club aimed at the better player - doesn't mean high handicappers can't use it but that's who it's aimed at. It may have a better shaft, smaller head, neutral weighting etc but it bears little resmeblance to a club played by Tiger, Rory or Luke etc.

A Tour issue club - like the Orka hybrid - probably has an Extra-Stiff shaft to cope with the Tour Pro swing - not something mere mortals like us need to worrying about much.

Obviously putters are different as anyone can use any putter - as Ethan says they may be one-offs or similar, passed on to friends and then sold on....