I'm happy that Titleist does release new club offerings ever 6 months, or so, like some of the other manufacturers. Who can keep up with all of that? Buy a new club that supposed to be the latest and greatest only to be told 6 months later it's obsolete? That's crazy.

I think my 915D3 is the best club in my bag. Could one of the others get me a few more yards? Maybe. But with a good fitting I've got a driver I don't miss many fairways with and it's plenty long. So why try to fix something that isn't broken? And who can afford to change clubs constantly?

The one thing, my 714AP2's and Vokey wedges are getting pretty beat up. They may need to be replaced soon. With my aging body, leaking a little distance, I may look at AP3's or even AP1's.

I don’t think Titleist drivers are behind other companies. I have the 917D3 and it’s as long or longer than the other companies, and I have tried Epic, G400, M3/4. For me, the 917 instills confidence from the tee and gives me the freedom to swing away.

Still looking forward to the new models, should be fantastic.

Wow Rex, guess you are entitled to your own opinion. Me too and my opinion is that Titleist drivers have always been great for me and my game. I'm glad that Titleist has always been thorough about testing prior to release and i have never appreciated the other big company's strategy of overloading the marketplace and making their older versions obsolete so quickly.

Geez, Rex I have to disagree with you. I have found that Titleist has been nothing but accommodating in any of my dealings with them. Our Titleist Rep in southern Alberta, Ken Arkle, has always been open and honest when I have questions. With respect to the other companies drivers I have always found it is not the arrow but the archer.

Not quite sure why you would say that Titleist is viewed as difficult and arrogant to deal with.
In all my dealings with anyone at Titleist, whether it be customer service , road reps, fitting people or anyone else, have all been extremely professional, knowledgeable, courteous, and respectful. Overall, always looking to please.

Well, to supply the contrary opinion, I don't feel the need to buy new equipment every year. While some companies bring new equipment like clothing companies bring out seasonal fashions, one has to keep in mind that no company can exceed USGA conforming rules. The journalists whose job is to promote news would really prefer all companies have releases multiple times per year. Just to make their jobs easier. How many trick developments have stayed the test of time? Square drivers? The upcoming releases draw upon a full solid year of experience with the last release to improve the next. Yearly releases only have a reliable 3-4 months of actual end-user experience in deciding what did/didn't work before finalizing a design and developing manufacturing specs. I vote to stay the course, and to note, part of my preference is not all the new whiz-bang 2 paragraph releases of promised 10 yards to buy off the rack products come with a full set of LH options. Only Titleist and png reliably take care of me in their mainline sets. My 917 still works great, and the archer's ability is still my best game improvement, not the arrow.
Fortunately we all have a right to our own opinion.

Not at all surprising to hear that other companies are saying things about Titleist by the way. I actually support people using other equipment companies so they don't find out how incredibly freaking awesome and addicting it is to use Titleist clubs. I think of them as the purist of the pure, no gimmicks, hacks or oddball crap in, on or around your clubs.
I think if you like that stuff then go for all the new marketing ploys and tactics. Titleist seems to know what works and not stray to far off that path and I know the professionals don't like too much change either because it works so gosh dang well.
I got your back TITLEIST!

I'm not surprised that there are fierce responses to my post. I will tell everyone that is interesting that I have done multiple on course comparisons of my 917 d2 with an upgraded tour shaft against the Rogue, 2016 M1 and the G400 lst and Max heads and my gamer is consistently behind all 4 models listed. This isn't trackman data. This is actual on course performance. My point is that I'm hoping that the TS series is better and that it is released pretty soon so that the Titleist enthusiasts can try and enjoy it THIS summer. I don't want any more hype or updates. Release the clubs and let us find out if they really are worth the hype. Also if anyone is interested the sales numbers show that Titleist equipment sales are sagging except for the Vokey wedges which are number 1. The pro v line is number 1 by a wide margin and Scotty Cameron is number 1 in the exotic putter line. Outside of that cally is leading almost all sales except they are number 2 in wedge and golf ball sales. Our favorite company has some work to do.

Not to be argumentative, well maybe to be a little argumentative, total sales leaders do not always equate to the best products. Take the auto industry... Volkswagen is the number one world sales leader in the automotive market. I don't think they have the best cars and knowing they are the sales leader doesn't make me want to head out and purchase a Jetta. If Titleist remains financially healthy and is focused on quality over quantity, I am good with that. I also don't have a problem with early testing and announcements of future releases as opposed to secret testing by other companies and quick releases. I don't see this as hype any more than i see the hype behind buzz word sales gimmicks like "jailbreak" and "twist face". I'm good with hitting my 917D3 this summer and making the TS transition at the end of the year, but that's just me...

Well said, couldn’t agree more!

+1

I'll take quality over quantity every time. Maybe Titleist isn't right for everyone, but over the last decade or so, my bag has been 100% Titleist, and I've had no desire to look elsewhere.

Well said, Dale.

If Dale were to actually hit his 917 d3 next to the Epic or Rogue driver I doubt he would call Jailbreak a gimmick. Titleist drivers are behind currently. I hit my 917 d2 and the Rogue subzero in perfect conditions last night and on course the 917 is considerably behind. 2 different golf fitters place the 917 drivers in fourth place. Again I will state that I really want to play a Titleist driver that is comparable to the Rogue. I hope that the TS really stands out. It's time to release the clubs so everyone can see if the hype is legitimate. Open your eyes Titleist Nation.

My last post on the subject. Yes, I have hit the other drivers and yes, all the companies are making good products and with the right shafts and weight settings, any brand can be made to work as shown each week on tour. I don’t doubt you have your driver dialed in best for you but don’t assume I haven’t hit others. I quit renting clubs on travel to golf courses because they don’t fit my game. You keep saying you want to play Titleist drivers but want to say they don’t work for you. Fine, stay with what you feel comfortable with but don’t use our site to bash Titleist drivers or their test and release process.

I'm amused that Dale V has taken personal ownership of these threads. If you consider my posts bashing then you can't understand the point I'm trying to get across. The current drivers are behind and I would like to try the TS line sooner than later. Don't just drink the koolaid and realize that there are differing viewpoints that are presented hopefully to help Titleist take a FRESH approach.

I think we would all like to try the TS line sooner than later, but Titleist has been pretty consistent with when they release their products. I would believe over the years, they have released them in the fall to the public. They usually start tour testing in the summer and then have them ready for the fall.

But I know what you mean and have tried those other drivers as well to see what all the hype is. I have seen some increase in yardages with some of the other drivers, but I always feel more confident with a Titleist driver, and I don't know why. It could be just because I've been so comfortable with it, the look, the sound and feel of it.

I'm sure the TS driver will be an improvement to the current line, but as everyone always mentions, once you get properly fit, someone can get really dialed into a driver that fits their swing and needs.

Here are my numbers in Germany last year when I got fit by Titleist Germany. Yellow is dialed in blue is not. I was on a flight scope gc quad last month and my club head is hovering around 124 now on average. cally doesn't warranty there heads when you swing that fast because they know the jailbreak technology isn't designed for that. If I where on tour they would have no problem giving me new heads every few weeks. I've been titleist for 15 years now and im still one of the longest hitters on the course. Haven't been out driven by a TM or Cally since the 910 came out.

Hard to take you seriously when you call Titleist...”titty”!

I’m new to the forums, basically new to the game, and fairly new to Titleist products. I can appreciate the desire to have one’s favorite brand/company producing competitive and preferabbly superior products, but this thread brings up a larger question I have been struggling with as a newbie to the sport. At the risk of alienating people on both sides of this argument, how much does the brand/product/innovation really matter to a person’s game? I mean... as a beginner, I am equally inconsistent regardless of what clubs I am playing. Tour players are equally successful playing any and all of the major brand offerings. Golf courses don’t change significantly every 6 months or even every couple of years, so buying a new product every few months/years in hopes that it will improve my scores on those same golf courses seems illogical and frankly expensive. At the same time... we aren’t still playing with hickory shafts and wound golf balls... indicating that innovation does in fact lead to better scores/performance.

I guess my real question is... how much innovation or capability increase is enough to justify a new purchase. For the OP, can you quantify the performance differences between the drivers you tested in some way (yardage gain, dispersion, etc)? For those who are pushing back a bit on the OP’s comments, can you identify what type of performance difference would be required before YOU would switch? I know that this is subjective and mostly a personal preference... but for those more experienced in the game than I (specifically those posting in this thread) at what point do you consider switching to something newer? Do you need to see a gain of 2-3 yards in distance or 20? And when you do make the switch, how much do your scores need to change to be happy with your decision? I am asking sincerely, since I am already questioning if the clubs I bought 3 years ago (a couple of them used) need to be replaced even though I am certain new clubs won’t help my game in the slightest :)

Hey Rex,

Just do what you have to do man. As much as I enjoy reading responses to posts, it can become very frustrating trying to get your point across, or make people understand what you're trying to say. I've posted before in hopes that the post would be seen/read by Titleist staff and considered, but instead, it was misunderstood by TT Members who responded. It would be better if a Titleist staff member would join in to settle any misunderstandings, or better explain the process.

I wish the TS clubs would be released soon too, but, Titleist does things for a reason, and I can appreciate their constancy. Plus, the timing of the TS release will make it easy for me to ask for them as a birthday or Christmas
gift.

Interesting topic for me anyways. This is from my personal experience and just sharing b/c i do understand where Rex is coming from. And I'm a nut job when it comes to driver, just ask a few of my buddies... It's all in the head, I know.. Anyways....

A few months ago while getting lessons, I ask my golf instructor can we do a driver test. I want to make sure the 917 driver is the right fit. There was something about the driver that gave me the thought of, "maybe it's time to try something else". Trust me this killed me b/c I LOVE Titleist ten fold but I need to do what's best for my game. Anyways, the instructor brought me 2 drivers; CLLY Sub Zero and a PNG G400 LST. For 45 minutes I was rotating between the 3 drivers. My swing was the same, nothing different. At the end, the CLLY and PNG out performed the 917 in 3 areas; ball speed (gained an extra 5-7 mph), spin rate (came down A LOT) and distance (maybe gained an extra 8 yards or longer). But what got me the most was the feel off the face, way different feeling then the 917. More solid? I just loved it. At the end i purchased the PNG b/c of the look..

NOW.. One of my buddy has the TS driver and played with him a few weeks ago. I posted about this. The look was beautiful, not gonna lie and was VERY impressed with the look. He was nice enough to let me take a few swings... Now his shaft and set up is different from mine so wasn't expecting to hit it good. But i will say this... The feel off the face was very similar to the PNG. I thought to myself, oh s**t what did i just do... And my buddy who I've played with for a few years now hits it long as it is.. Now with the TS, even longer. It was unreal to watch how much further he was hitting AND his swing was so smooth, like he was barely trying to hit it... I know from his fitting his ball speed went up but didn't ask about the spin rate..

I think the R & D team did an amazing job on this club and it's no wonder the pros put it in their bag right away especially at the U.S. Open. Which is kinda crazy considering you don't wanna be changing clubs at a major right?

I wish their new lines would come out in the Spring time versus Fall time for people in the Northeast but Titleist has a plan in place. I have A LOT of respect for Titleist and how they release their new clubs every 2 years, gives us a chance to enjoy what we have before a new line comes out. I hope everyone gets a chance to test the TS line against their current set up when it's finally available to us all. I think you'll be amazed how well the R & D team did this time around. And yes, i'm signing up..

I had the same experience with the Cally Rogue when i was fit for it earlier this year. It is a trackman monster when looking at distance, ball speed, and spin. On the course....hit some big ones but on average it was only 5 or so yards ahead of my 910D2 that was fit for me in 2010. I also my saw my dispersion expand with the rogue. I also couldn't work the ball as well with the rogue. I ended up sending back the rogue, saved myself $380, and find myself playing from the middle of the fairway more often with my trusty 910D2. Everyone will have different results. If you get a professional fitting, most of the drivers will be within a few yards of one another.

I'd like to upgrade from my 915D3 and fairway woods. I'm fortunate by being in California that a Fall release has no issue with me. I'm excited and looking forward to the TS line.

All the manufacturers are limited to head design in order to be conforming. The real engine of the golf club is the shaft. I play all titleist have for about eight years now and they are a great company to deal with feel like a family member. Recently went to fitting event with a buddy of mine he plays another brand and thats okay we drive different car companys too. Any way while there hit the new png 400 as well as the TM M3-4 and numbers on trackman were better slightly than my 917. And they were really trying to sell me a new driver based on the numbers over my Titleist. So I ask them if they could put the shaft I was using in my Titleist and they were hesitant to do so but after being very addiment they finally did. Well guess what now the 917 had best numbers so I go online get that shaft and have tuned up my 917 until the TS drivers are released. Apples to apples Titleist is the best for me just as my Ram truck suits me better than my buddies F-150. So Rex go ahead play your favorite and hope a problem doesn't come up cause thats when you'll wish you were playing Titleist.

Pretty funny thread. I got a good laugh at a bunch of your posts Rex. First off Titleist may not be for everyone. Same goes for all of the other manufacturers. Me personally, I get fit properly. I have total confidence with what equipment I have as I know it's optimized for me. People that buy off the rack don't have that luxury and when they have to deal with Titleist as a company it may be different from other manufacturers that actually sell equipment directly. Anyway, different strokes for different folks. If you have lost confidence with Titleist then maybe it's time to move on instead of being passive aggressive and saying what you did. If you were a Titleist enthusiast for over 20 years you would know the release cycle and how it goes. Not everyone may have a positive experience with Titleist as with any other company. I for one have never had an issue be it returning a incorrectly spec'd club sent to me or fitting. Hope you find aloha either with Titleist or another company. Seriously sounds like you have a beef with something or someone.

Every golfer is different and they find comfort/confidence looking down a different makes and models.

I really like the look of the new titleist metals and I trust in the brand, they have been doing this for years, step aside and let them do their thing.

team titleist!