This is why we ‘test’ golf clubs differently this year | Fully fit 2026

Welcome to Fully fit 2026GOLF’s new platform that gives you real golfer insights on which 2026 equipment is best suited for your game. With this goal in mind, we gathered six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and put them through the gauntlet of six full-bag fittings (from driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, California. Our hope: that from one of our panelists you will see nuances of your own playing and gain some lessons and inspiration from their fitting experiences.

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Last year was a banner year for the new GOLF equipment team. We have what we believe is the best crew of creators, writers and producers in the industry; our content is better than ever (we hope you agree!); and the growth within our gear channels, especially around video and social media, has been tremendous. I truly believe that you, the golfer, have now done that the home base to answer all your equipment questions.

Part of that growth was getting honest about what worked and what didn’t.

Golf media and equipment have both changed dramatically in recent years. Gone are the days when the written word, indoor testing with numbers and chatter on forums were the only sources of information on how and why you should buy a golf club. These remain important platforms, of course, but now gear guidance is also flowing through a host of digital spaces, from YouTube and Instagram to TikTok and Reddit.

FULLY FIT: Completely appropriate hub page | Fit and test within 6 days | Browse 2026 Drivers | Browse 2026 irons

Our previous testing platform – “ClubTest” – was a massive effort, made possible by several golfers meeting at a host location to hit hundreds of clubs over two or three days. It provided insights and data, but the problem was that the testers had none of this equipment; it was more of a 35,000-foot view, where “best” really meant “best for a given tester on a given day.”

Why nothing is ‘the best’ anymore

When it comes to golf equipment, the word is best can and has had a negative impact on the sector. There is a best for it YouSure, but not for everyone. Every leading club maker operates at an elite level, and to think or say that one company is better than the other is not only foolish, but also a disservice to the consumer.

The biggest problem with rating clubs is that it says nothing about the club and only represents a tenth of the whole story. Even on Tour, the engineers working with the best players in the world are still in exploration mode for the first four months of a new product.

I feel the same way about testing robots. Sure, that data can be insightful and fun, but ultimately you’re not hiring a robot to hit the ball for you. So why would you buy a club based on robot data? That’s why club companies are both into robots And human testing before a club ever sees the light of day.

The truth is that every club that comes onto the market today scores a 10 out of 10. They’re all fast, forgiving, sound good, feel good, etc. The trick is to find the best of the bunch. for you.

Full disclosure: I worked at Callaway for over four years and loved a good “test” rating or score from an outside agency. There was a nice atmosphere in the office, while it worked to our advantage. . . but we also knew that it’s just not that simple.

Meet Fully Fit

With Fully Fit we wanted to do something different. We wanted a series profiling half a dozen golfers as they try to build a great bag for 2026 – one that not only performs, but also inspires the confidence golfers crave.

The GOLF team, consisting of Jake Morrow, Sean Zak, Jack Hirsh, Maddi MacClurg, Wadeh Maroun and myself, went on an epic nine-day quest from Phoenix to Carlsbad to Huntington Beach, California, visiting every major club company in search of the dream bag. At each stop, our team underwent full-bag fittings (with ball), with the goal of determining, on a performance and emotional level, which clubs would make the six hitters the best versions of themselves.

This not only gives you, the consumer, six different player profiles (also called archetypes) to identify with, but it also gives you a glimpse into the power and necessity of passing.

Our hope is that by the end of this series, which continues into the summer, you will learn something about how a club “should” end up in your bag, how each OEM approaches assembly and, finally, how to build a set that will help you achieve lower scores.

However, we go even further: fitting and decision-making play a major role in this, but it is the follow-up that will determine Real tell the story. So for this experiment, we’ll include an initial 36-hole playtest and a three-month check-in in mid-summer to determine each player’s status.

Each hitter had a purpose in this process, and it would be fascinating to have the platform to monitor progress and learn whether the club makers’ ‘stories’ and ‘tests’ make sense to the player.

I guarantee there will be something for everyone in Fully Fit, and at the end you will see our final bags will be all over the map. No one company will dominate the conversation, and there certainly won’t be any “best.”

Enjoy the show!

Ready to refurbish your bag in 2026, just like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.