Wwelcome to Full Fit 2026GOLF’s new platform to give you real-golfer insight into which 2026 gears might best suit your game. So far, we’ve brought together six GOLF content creators of varying abilities and sent them through a six-pack full-size golf bag (driver to putter!) at six major club manufacturers in Phoenix and Carlsbad, Calif. We hope that you may see the shadows of your game in one of our editors and learn something and inspiration from their relevant experience.
CYMI: Episode. 1: Ping’s G440 K driver makes an impressive first impression
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Day 2 of our tour among the great golf club builders took us from the Arizona desert to the California coast in Carlsbad, where we spent most of the tour. And our first stop on the California leg was TaylorMade Empire.
It’s also where our sixth tester, senior GOLF writer Sean Zak, joins the fray for his first taste of the gear life (complete with a 15-year-old Adams driving iron and a golf bag with more holes than the golf course itself).
On his fair putt, the tough Matt Simone quickly directed Adams to drive the iron to take over and fill Sean’s gap between his long iron and the fairway woods. It wasn’t long before they decided Sean needed an iron, TaylorMade’s PUDI, in his slot 4 iron, but with a lightweight steel shaft, very similar to what he had in his irons. That got him to the 200-yard mark, which started to make the rest of his bag click into place.
FULLY FIT: The Fully Fit hub page | That’s why we’re ‘testing’ golf clubs in a different way this year | Within 6 days of installation and testing | Browse 2026 drivers | Browse 2026 instruments
Elsewhere, Wadeh was continuing the process of finding more forgiveness with player distance and iron performance and Maddi was experimenting with different weights and shaft materials to see what made the most sense for him.
TaylorMade Qi4D Custom Driver
EFFECTIVELY DESIGNED The redesigned head profile increases ball speed thanks to improved aerodynamics created by advanced simulation. FACE FOR DISTANCE The 60x Carbon Twist Face™ is a technological cornerstone that offers weight savings, incredible ball speed and more consistency compared to titanium faces. ADJUSTABLE OPERATION 4° loft sleeve can be used to adjust loft, lie and face angle for improved flight. TOUR PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES The new and improved Speed Pocket™ cutter protects ball speed and reduces spin on low-face shots. Advanced CAD modeling creates a clean and powerful sounding design, the foundation of TaylorMade driver performance. Multi-Material Construction allows engineers to place weight in the head areas which maximizes performance, speed, and stability.
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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, TaylorMade
But the big story of the day was the new Qi4D drivers and fairway woods, which ended up in my bags, Jake Morrow and Johnny Wunder.
For Jake, who worked with State producer Duane Anderson, finding the 3-wood was a big surprise because he hadn’t played it in several years. But at the end of the measurement, he still had one that he couldn’t hit more than 255 feet from the fairway and more than 270 from the tee!
We also went inside to do a fit for TaylorMade’s Spider putters, and Johnny and I learned how the Pure Roll insert helps create more strike progression. I was also shocked when I picked up the Spider ZT and recorded a face angle of 0.01˚ on my first hit. Am I going to be a low torque guy?
TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT Custom Putter
LOW TORQUE DRAIN The KBS putter shaft has a straight toe bore near the CG at a 1° shaft angle with a 25mm offset behind the face allowing golfers to experience the benefits of a new, more stable design. UNIQUE SOLE DESIGN Uniquely shaped and developed to work specifically with this unique hosel configuration, engineers have worked hard to find new ways to improve accuracy from the moment the putter is placed behind the ball. The new curvature sole accommodates different types of players and ball positions, giving golfers the ability to achieve a consistent and repeatable stroke. SHAFT STABILITY The combination of thick stainless steel and low-density aerospace-quality aluminum provides the perfect foundation for a high-MOI design that allows for a shaft position that sits close to the face. MILLED TRUE PATH™ ALIGNMENT Based on tour player feedback, we were tasked with a new premium alignment system. Building on TaylorMade True Path™ technology, golf ball width milling lines have been added, helping golfers target the center face.
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ALSO AVAILABLE AT: PGA Tour Superstore, TaylorMade
At the end of the putt, Sean was packing his bag, going into a 3-wood with a 5-wood length to help improve his strike position, something he wouldn’t have thought of without the help of a setter.
“It doesn’t seem possible,” Sean said. “I know the rabbit hole goes very deep. Johnny is like Bugs Bunny, tearing me down.”
The day ended with Sean being presented with a brand new TaylorMade golf bag to use for the rest of the tour, much to the delight of us all, which no longer needed to be seen with his previous one.
Are you ready to get your wallet ready for 2026 like our Fully Fit panelists? Find a club fit near you at True Spec Golf.
