While getting fit for golf clubs isn’t a new concept, the advances in technologies such as cameras and launch monitors have allowed the fitting world to explode in recent years. Golfers are now able to test endless combinations of club heads and exotic shafts to optimize their performance and improve their games. There’s no question that these modern fitting services are proving to be valuable to many golfers of all skill levels. However, there are a variety of reasons that more players may not utilize these types of services. Some common reasons are intimidation of the process, costs, and complexity. Well Tour Edge Golf may have a nice alternative with their new Tour Edge HL4 club line and their simplified fitting process.
The Tour Edge HL4 Philosophy
“Get fit. Spend Less. Play better.” That’s Tour Edge’s tagline for the new HL4 club lineup. Tour Edge also understands that there are many (literally millions) of players that view cost and complexity as an obstacle in golf club purchasing. While big proponents of smart club fitting, Tour Edge wanted to create a simple and affordable fitting process for their HL4 clubs. Additionally, Tour Edge looked to create a line of clubs to fit a wider range of players without breaking the bank. The end result is being able to offer a quality club with a practical fitting process at a wallet-friendly price.
While Tour Edge fully agrees there’s a time and place for deep-dive fittings, they wanted to utilize a simplified process for HL4. They offer four expanded custom fitting options across the HL4 line. Those options are lie angle, shaft flex, shaft length, and grip size. Tour Edge’s fitting bag at your local establishment will have all driver, fairway, hybrid, and iron options available for testing. From there, the pro or fitter will be able to help determine what adjustments are needed to optimize your performance. Your fitter will then place your order with Tour Edge and they’ll start building your new custom HL4 clubs. A mere 48 hours later and Tour Edge will have your new sticks delivered anywhere in the continental US. More importantly, you’ll be out on the course with quality, custom-fit equipment while saving quite a bit of cash.
DRH Heads to Tour Edge for a Fitting
Tour Edge aims to make high-quality product with a simplified approach that works for anyone that wants to play golf. Simple as that. This ranges from Tour legends to the common player that struggles to hit the ball in the air. We took three players out to Tour Edge HQ to learn more about the HL4 lineup and go through the HL4 fitting process. Our goal was to fit and test with a range of skills and abilities from beginner to advanced. This would be a good assessment of Tour Edge’s simplified fitting process as well as the ability of HL4 to meet the needs of a wide range of skill sets.
The Players
Player 1
Our first player (“the “beginner”) wasn’t completely brand new to golf, but wouldn’t consider himself a lifelong player. He’s played 18 holes of golf before, but has never taken lessons nor invested in the game seriously. In his more recent adult years, he’s wanted to take the game up and “become more competent around a golf course.” This player was looking for something to help get the ball in the air and moving forward. Given the forgiveness and options of the HL4 lineup, this player was a great candidate.
Player 2
The second player is a competent golfer, but doesn’t get out much these days. While generally pretty straight, he can miss right and lacks distance. His goal was to find something easy to swing to get the ball launching and find more length. The hope being that the added length will help him keep up with his sons out on longer courses.
Player 3
Our third player is also losing some distance in his later years, but can still get the club around. The key for him was to get a little forgiveness, optimal spin, and better launch at his club speed. Ultimately, the goal was to combine these three things into longer and more consistent drives.
Tour Edge HL4 Fitting Experience
Working with Steve Fedderen at Tour Edge HQ allowed us the luxury of using a Trackman. Steve first spent time discussing each player’s game and what they were looking to accomplish. The next step was to hit some balls to build a baseline based on their current drivers. By hitting on the Trackman, Steve was able to get a clear picture based on lots of shot data. This included club and ball speeds, attack angles, face angles, launch angle, spin, distances, dispersion, etc. Based on said data, Steve was able to change out clubs and make suggestions for improvement.
The most noticeable factor here was how easy Steve made it for the players to understand the data and why changes made certain impacts. This is extremely valuable with any club fitter whether it’s a super complex detailed fitting or a more simplified “every man’s” fitting as utilized by the HL4 clubs. An experience like this will not only make you more confident in your investment, but will also help make you a better player. While observing the whole process, I felt this made each player feel more open to changes Steve wanted to make. As a result, there were night and day differences following their fittings. By the end of the fitting, all three players had more consistent flights and longer distances. In the case of our “beginner,” he went from struggling to even hit the ball to hitting solid ropes.
Ultimately, the fitting process itself was quick, easy to understand, and definitely impactful. Our first two players both ended up in the Offset model of the HL4 driver with 10.5º of loft. The offset hosel helped both players square the face at impact for straighter shots. Our third player, clocking in at 6’4″, was fit for the standard model at 10.5º, +.5″ in length, and a mid-size grip. A quick call down to the build shop and our three players were on their way with their brand new drivers and newfound confidence in their tee game. (Not a bad turnaround, eh?)
Post-Fitting Follow Ups
After getting fit for their new Tour Edge HL4 drivers, our players went away and put the equipment to the test. After having enough time to get some thorough on-course experience, we followed up to see how the HL4 driver has worked out for them so far.
Player 1
Player 1 was actually the player I was most interested in observing throughout the process. Simply put, he’s not very good and he wouldn’t tell you otherwise. I naturally expected him to come into the fitting and leave with something more forgiving. What I didn’t expect was the rapid improvement I witnessed. The combination of the 10.5º of loft and the offset helped him consistently strike around the center of the face and get the ball in the air, which he considered a major victory in itself. On the course and driving range, he continued to see similar improvements. Player 1 specifically noted that he now felt confident that he “could at least hit the ball out there a little bit in the air and have a fighting chance” off the tee. He considered that a successful result and I fully agreed.
Player 2
Going into this process, I think Player 2 was the toughest nut to crack. He wasn’t necessarily struggling, he just wanted more distance and some help with his miss to the right. The HL4 driver with 10.5º of loft and offset neck gave him consistent launch and held the ball in the air a little bit better to get more carry. He didn’t completely remove his right miss, but saw noticeable improvement.
My recent follow up discussions with Player 2 indicate that he’s liked what he has seen so far, but he’s still adjusting and getting used to the club given his playing schedule. His biggest takeaway has been that even if he isn’t adding a bunch of distance, the HL4 is easier for him to hit consistently straight and more forgiving than anything he’s played in awhile.
Player 3
Player 3’s biggest takeaway has been the optimization he achieved through the fitting process. When he grooved his old gamer and everything fell into place, the results were fine. Lightning in a bottle. The problem is, this is tough for him to repeat from tee box to tee box with that club. Since being fitted for his new HL4 driver, he finds he can consistently launch the ball through the same window without fighting the club. His HL4 setup makes it easy for him to get the ball in the air with a reflexive swing. With enough spin to hold his ball in the air, but a low enough spin rate to prevent balloons and still get some rollout, Player 3 is finding consistently longer distances and more fairways hit.
Final Thoughts & Takeaways
After working with Tour Edge and our panel of golfers, I grew a stronger appreciation for what Tour Edge is contributing to golf. Watching these three players testing the Tour Edge HL4 clubs, and maybe taking a few whacks myself, was a testament to how good this equipment is and its unbelievable value.
The HL4 clubs are extremely easy to hit, feel good, and the performance holds up with much higher-priced equipment across the industry. Add in some simple customization based on an educated fitting, and good luck finding a better value on the market. Following this process, I firmly believe the Tour Edge HL4 club lineup is exactly what the golf industry needs to make quality equipment more accessible to more players. “Get fit. Spend Less. Play better.”
To read our review of the Tour Edge HL4 driver, click here.
