The Truth about Tour vs. Retail

[XtremeCruiser]

Don't worry about offending anybody here.  We all don't have feelings, and if we find out that somebody does have feelings, we ridicule them until they leave.  You have to also realize that many guys here on the site have personal dealings as well as hard feelings towards a group of guys who love lamborghini's, thumb rings, and Big Montana's.  The issue is that most don't want to see people squandered out of money, which we all work very hard for.  With all of the useless, inaccurate drivel that they have spewed, it is hard to let people understand that most of what they say is not true.  Believe what you will, but enjoy the ribbing that you will receive while on this website.

Just for you Jim 

http://bigstealergolf.blogspot.com/2007/01/funny-4bsg-pictures.html

[BigLeftyinAZ]

Here is another example of the tour department FT-5...FWD markings not available at retail.
http://www.golfdigest.co.jp/golfmagazine/gear/pro_setting/uspga/mickelson.asp

I need that special decoder ring to read that.English please

[BigLeftyinAZ]

TW,

I hope you choose to stay and chat here.I'm enjoying your comments

[jimbonecrusher]

Just for you Jim 

http://bigstealergolf.blogspot.com/2007/01/funny-4bsg-pictures.html

Gosh dog firewalls.  Dang thing blocks out that stuff, because it falls under the category of "blogs & forums". 

[XtremeCruiser]

Gosh dog firewalls.  Dang thing blocks out that stuff, because it falls under the category of "blogs & forums". 

 

[jimbonecrusher]

That is awesome.  I remembewr those.  I wish I would have gotten in on the sale of the thumb rings before they ran out.

[slymer58]

see that Dbag that was trying to sell the "tour" gear on ebay and he actually made the serial numbers all to be  TXXXX

I noticed those Cleveland Hibores now going for like $69 but the serial numbers are obscured on the hosel. The only thing decernable is the B stamp on one.

[idiotbox]

Is everyone going to be clamoring for tour irons and wedges when the new groove rule comes out?

[Jaylasvegas]

Is everyone going to be clamoring for tour irons and wedges when the new groove rule comes out?

tour only reduced performance

pm for details

[speedliner]

I am new here and hello to everyone. I deal with a great deal of Tour and Retail stuff.  I am a what you would call a club hoe but it is actually 100X's more compulsive. I do know a few facts about Adams and also TM.

I now play Adams A4 forged irons and I got them direct from the tour Van, I actually picked each head by hand to mak sure the weight of each head was as close as possible. The A4 forged on the Tour Van and the A4 Retail sets are EXACTLY the same. There is a A4 head that says
 " A4 Tour " but those are cast heads and have zero offset. The "A4 Forged" heads are what most of the Tour players are using and like I said are the same as the Retail head. Chad Cambell is playing the A4 forged and i spoke to him at a Tournament and he said "these A4 forged irons are the best set I  have  EVER PLAYED BY FAR" .  As far as other Adams stuff 99% of there equipment on tour is the same as what you get retail. They do have different logos and may put a 17º on a Tour hybrid  and put a #4 on the retail version but they are the same for the most part when it come to performance.   Now TM is a Different story, TM will make a Tour Driver head with a different face and to make the COR well below the Legal USGA limits  and a retail driver head will be pushing the legal limits and sometimes even over by a fraction. This is be use if for example Kenny Perry is winning  tournament and then the the driver heads tested and it is over in COR then he would  be cheating and then be disqualified.  So in my opinion a TM driver head is not always the way to go. This is factual info I got form TM.
I have a Tour issue TM r9 420CC head that has a serial number that starts with a SSXXXXXXXXX and it is a Tour issue Demo Design head. This is a Head that the Tour Reps have out on the range that is either on the COR limit or  maybe even right above it so that a player hits it and gets hooked and wants to bag it.  Also the Tour demo design is only made right after the prototypes are made and they are sent to the tour reps and to the Reps that are at the Fitting labs across the country. Some retail reps get them also.  I am personally wondering Callaways tour issue equipment and what they do as far as building of there clubs for there tour players.  How about shafts ? For example I know Boo weekly's shafts for his driver are made tto the exact CPM he needs from Aldila's tour dept. Anyone know what other players have a certain shaft made in there exact specs for them.?

[hoot29576]

I am new here and hello to everyone. I deal with a great deal of Tour and Retail stuff.  I am a what you would call a club hoe but it is actually 100X's more compulsive. I do know a few facts about Adams and also TM.

I now play Adams A4 forged irons and I got them direct from the tour Van, I actually picked each head by hand to mak sure the weight of each head was as close as possible. The A4 forged on the Tour Van and the A4 Retail sets are EXACTLY the same. There is a A4 head that says
 " A4 Tour " but those are cast heads and have zero offset. The "A4 Forged" heads are what most of the Tour players are using and like I said are the same as the Retail head. Chad Cambell is playing the A4 forged and i spoke to him at a Tournament and he said "these A4 forged irons are the best set I  have  EVER PLAYED BY FAR" .  As far as other Adams stuff 99% of there equipment on tour is the same as what you get retail. They do have different logos and may put a 17º on a Tour hybrid  and put a #4 on the retail version but they are the same for the most part when it come to performance.   Now TM is a Different story, TM will make a Tour Driver head with a different face and to make the COR well below the Legal USGA limits  and a retail driver head will be pushing the legal limits and sometimes even over by a fraction. This is be use if for example Kenny Perry is winning  tournament and then the the driver heads tested and it is over in COR then he would  be cheating and then be disqualified.  So in my opinion a TM driver head is not always the way to go. This is factual info I got form TM.
I have a Tour issue TM r9 420CC head that has a serial number that starts with a SSXXXXXXXXX and it is a Tour issue Demo Design head. This is a Head that the Tour Reps have out on the range that is either on the COR limit or  maybe even right above it so that a player hits it and gets hooked and wants to bag it.  Also the Tour demo design is only made right after the prototypes are made and they are sent to the tour reps and to the Reps that are at the Fitting labs across the country. Some retail reps get them also.  I am personally wondering Callaways tour issue equipment and what they do as far as building of there clubs for there tour players.  How about shafts ? For example I know Boo weekly's shafts for his driver are made tto the exact CPM he needs from Aldila's tour dept. Anyone know what other players have a certain shaft made in there exact specs for them.?

Who do you deal with at Adams?  Almost every club they have for tours are one offs,  they have tons of  different fairway and hybrid models for what ever you are looking for.  there retail stuff is not even on the same page as what they have to offer through their tour department. 
As for Taylormade they have a TP model and that is about it.  they will make adjustments to that head model but they dont have any different faces or hoopla that is being said.  As for being over COR, every driver is tested before it is put in play, it is tested and the reps try to get the driver as close to the line as possible to max it out for their players.  they dont make sure they are well below the line. 

[RexWrx]

Who do you deal with at Adams?  Almost every club they have for tours are one offs,  they have tons of  different fairway and hybrid models for what ever you are looking for.  there retail stuff is not even on the same page as what they have to offer through their tour department. 
As for Taylormade they have a TP model and that is about it.  they will make adjustments to that head model but they dont have any different faces or hoopla that is being said.  As for being over COR, every driver is tested before it is put in play, it is tested and the reps try to get the driver as close to the line as possible to max it out for their players.  they dont make sure they are well below the line. 

Agreed. Adams produces a sick number of one-off tour heads.

[speedliner]

You are correct but irons and drivers are the same except tour may have paint break with a more adjustable hosel or you may be gettiing something the retail side is not selling yet but when it comes retail theres no difference You ar e not going to get a better weighting location for better LCG or a different material that the heads are made of. Its all the same . There are the A4 tour heads that are every bit Tour and worth 3 times what you are buuying them for and there is alot of Speedline drivers that people say are tour and are different and that the sole has a bigger round lump on the bottom but per the tour dept at Adams there is no difference from any speedline head to the next unless it is a prototype of a new Speedline head coming out. They do have speedline heads like I said above that have a bendable hosel with paintbreak so they can be adjusted more but besides that no difference.  This info is also direct from Sticky Willams ( if you do nont know Sticky is the main Tour rep for Adams on the PGA TOUR)

[Chelanace]

You are correct but irons and drivers are the same except tour may have paint break with a more adjustable hosel or you may be gettiing something the retail side is not selling yet but when it comes retail theres no difference You ar e not going to get a better weighting location for better LCG or a different material that the heads are made of. Its all the same . There are the A4 tour heads that are every bit Tour and worth 3 times what you are buuying them for and there is alot of Speedline drivers that people say are tour and are different and that the sole has a bigger round lump on the bottom but per the tour dept at Adams there is no difference from any speedline head to the next unless it is a prototype of a new Speedline head coming out. They do have speedline heads like I said above that have a bendable hosel with paintbreak so they can be adjusted more but besides that no difference.  This info is also direct from Sticky Willams ( if you do nont know Sticky is the main Tour rep for Adams on the PGA TOUR)

Thanks for the info!!!  I hope you will keep posting as I am acquiring just about an all Adams bag!!!

[Sillybodkins]

I'm glad I read this whole thread.

Having read it, I've determined that there would be no advantage for me in getting "tour" equipment. Because of the internal weighting (fade biased), i couldn't hit it anyway. Heck, i'm struggling to draw a component head, even tough I have no trouble drawing that company's previous offerings.

Now, i just wish there was some way in recovering some of the $$$ I spent on that other website.

Better titanium, better titanium alloys... I can wait a year until they make their way onto the market.

Shafts are a different story, but some of the very best shafts have come down in price so that a ho like me can afford them. And, I see that Steve Stricker, on the front of Golf Digest, is playing some sort of Proforce V2, and not the new Axiv model. Go figure. An $80 shaft.

No, until i figure out how to beat the chip yips, no sense in spending any more money on "tour" equipment.

Can someone tell me where I can find a Speedline Classic?....

[XtremeCruiser]

Can someone tell me where I can find a Speedline Classic?....

There is one for sale in the tour BST 

[The Winnipeg Blue Bombers!!!]

I have seen a lot of tour only Adams.    There are a ton out there.  I currently own a tour only classic and to say it compares to with the retail speedline is the farthest from the truth!