GolfTEC has partnered with True Spec Golf as part of its efforts at expansion and innovation. Amid an overall brand refresh and updates to existing centers, the leader in golf lessons is bringing True Spec in as a fulfillment partner, massively upgrading the company’s fitting capabilities and making GolfTEC one of the premium custom-club fitters in the world.

The company will carry out updates to 30 locations in the first half of 2017, and the rest of the 190 by the end of 2018.

“Our growth trajectory is unmatched in the industry because we’ve always stayed true to our mission to help people play better golf,” said Joe Assell, Co-Founder and CEO of GolfTEC. “We took our recent success as an opportunity to move even further ahead and we’re not slowing down.”

Assell told us the company it coming off “the strongest year in the history of GolfTEC by far” by all metrics. However, “there’s a big but” in discussing the success.

The “but”: With Golfsmith’s bankruptcy last September, GolfTEC lost 50 locations. “We were in 81 Golfsmiths…30 locations are staying open,” Assell said.“That triggered a lot of work for us, but we’re able to handle this”

The timing of the Golfsmith closures may actually work in GolfTEC’s favor in the long run. “If Golfsmith had gone under a year ago,” we would have built 35 GolfTECs the old way,” Assell said, referencing the updated locations.

With respect to those updates, GolfTEC is focusing on four key areas.

Brand Refresh and Updated Logo: Pretty self explanatory, GolfTEC has updated its logo and brand materials.

New In-Center Design: “We want to be people’s club away from their club or course,” Assell told us. The new locations are designed for “total golf immersion,” offering students new amenities, game-improvement products and services, an extensive digital experience and comfortable furniture in common areas.

New In-bay Technology: All new, state-of-the-art cameras and lighting provide enhanced high-resolution video for both in-bay playback during lessons and online viewing post-session. The cameras are custom-made for GolfTEC and integrate with the company’s updated and proprietary motion-measurement TECswing system. Current locations will be retrofitted with the cameras throughout 2017 and 2018.

Enhanced Club Fitting: Of particular interest to GolfWRX readers, GolfTEC has joined with True Spec as a fulfillment partner for their expanded club fitting. Previously, GolfTEC had been limited to manufacturer-provided fitting carts.

“The consumer is going toward custom-fit,” Assell said. “We want to offer a better experience and a better fit beyond the 20-30 shafts that are offered by the OEM. There are hundreds of shafts out there. We want to be able to offer the full variety, just like a Tour player has access to. The same with heads.”

We also spoke with True Spec Golf CEO Hoyt McGarity. McGarity told us golfers are becoming more aware of club fitting and more tech savvy in general. Club fitting has been portrayed as something you do in 10 minutes at a big box store, but that perception is changing. Now, “people want to know why they’re buying this equipment.”

Breaking down the partnership, McGarity said, “We’re their warehouse, their shipping. We do the fulfillment. We aren’t training the fitters. It’s not called True Spec; we’re more of a support system for them.”

Thus, it’s important to note that True Spec remains committed to its own brand, planning to open 10-20 locations in the next 2.5 years.

“We want to have a part in how people are being fit for golf clubs, but to also grows True Spec,” McGarity told us amid a company relocation to Scottsdale, Arizona.

We’ll follow the brand refresh and the substantial uptick in the availability of top-quality throughout 2017.