Titleist TS3 Weight Setup

[Stephen Lee]

My typical miss with my driver is in on the heel. I VERY rarely miss out on the toe, maybe 1 in 100 shots if any. 60% are probably just a bit in on the heel, 20% way in and low on the heel, 20% dead center. That being said, usually I'll have days where typically everything is in the same place. I'm rarely missing all over the face. So i can play my miss. If i'm hitting it dead center, I can play a straight/slight draw and get maximum distance off the tee (315 or so) but i can work it either way if i want to. If I'm missing it with my typical just slightly off the heel strike, I play more of a baby fade that's super consistent but not as long (290ish). If I have the bid low and in on the heel miss going, I have to play a harder cut that kills any distance on it and I average around 265. I moved the weight into the back into the heel (D1 setup on the hozzle) and it makes my 60% shot of a little in on the heel more of a center strike maybe a little toey on the new "center" and it eliminates the big miss. It allows me to play a baby draw/straight ball more consistently. My problem is that even when i'm hitting the new "center" of the club, I'm only getting 290-295 on shots that feel like they should be closer to 315+. That being said, the big miss is gone so i think it's the right setup for me. But seeing as I am a 1.3 handicap and been dropping since i started 3 years ago, am I doing the wrong thing by essentially training myself that a slight heel strike is the "center" of the club now? Will my distance forever be limited by the fact that i have to move the weights into the heel? Or should I be getting the same distance as a center struck ball with weight in the center?

[mr.paintmaker]

The Titleist TS3 weight is designed to adjust the CG of the club, given more fade or draw bias. Draw bias helps the face close, fade bias stays open.

Impacting the heel, could be a setup and for sure a swing path issue. I have been there this year and well ...

Setup to close to the ball can force your path to be "out to in" because of lack of room back into the ball

If your not hitting the toe, try setting up away from the ball until you make toe contact. Then work your way back to center. Sounds hard to do but your mind and body will learn a toe hit. You already can find the heel, learn the toe and the center will be easier to find.

[Stephen Lee]

On 7/21/2021 at 10:06 AM, mr.paintmaker said:

The Titleist TS3 weight is designed to adjust the CG of the club, given more fade or draw bias. Draw bias helps the face close, fade bias stays open.

Impacting the heel, could be a setup and for sure a swing path issue. I have been there this year and well ...

Setup to close to the ball can force your path to be "out to in" because of lack of room back into the ball

If your not hitting the toe, try setting up away from the ball until you make toe contact. Then work your way back to center. Sounds hard to do but your mind and body will learn a toe hit. You already can find the heel, learn the toe and the center will be easier to find.

Yeah i understand all of that but my issue is my strikes are very consistent and not horrible so should i really be moving the weights back to try to find the center? Do I need that to maximize distance or is my distance already maximized with my new "center" now being where my strikes already are. 

 

So my main question is, do i need to move the weights back to center and go through a swing/setup change and find the center to maximize my distance or is it already maxed out with my strikes being there and the weights being moved to where they are

Edited July 25, 2021 by Stephen Lee

[cnosil]

11 hours ago, Stephen Lee said:

Yeah i understand all of that but my issue is my strikes are very consistent and not horrible so should i really be moving the weights back to try to find the center? Do I need that to maximize distance or is my distance already maximized with my new "center" now being where my strikes already are. 

 

So my main question is, do i need to move the weights back to center and go through a swing/setup change and find the center to maximize my distance or is it already maxed out with my strikes being there and the weights being moved to where they are

 

 

Ideally you want to hit the hottest sport on the face consistently.  I can't tell you that exact spot on your driver because each driver model is slightly different.  The weight changes seem to have impacted your swing and how you deliver the club to the ball.   The only way to answer your question would be to get on a launch monitor and hit shots with the various setups.  You could also change your swing or potentially change the length of your club to alter where you strike the ball.  I don't think there is a simple here is what you need to do type of answer to your question.  

[BNewton51]

I agree with the points that have been made, but I'd offer just a simple observation.  

If you are in fact seeing your HCP drop, and you're at 1.3 currently with how you're hitting the ball.. add in that you're getting very close to the 300 mark now; does it matter?

I say that tongue in cheek, obviously.  But, think about it.  Your overall game isn't suffering scoring wise.  You're shooting decent scores and having an above average distance standard with how you're striking it now.  What is to be gained, outside of course maybe consistency on flight and a few more yards, by searching for the magic pill to cure where you're striking it on the club face?

Now, keep in mind this year has been a struggle for me.  I've been having the same issue you are.  With driver mostly.  BUT, I'm hitting my driver probably on average only about 270.  There again, I say that tongue in cheek because frankly that's far above the average distance for a guy my age.  Yet, I've not shot a round above 79 in probably a month / month and a half.  I was neurotic in my search early this season to "fix" things.  I would hit balls till I couldn't hit them anymore.  One day I just realized what is to be gained by all this? I'm scoring and playing very well.  What am I gonna gain by hitting my driver 10-20 yards further on average?  I'll hit a PW to a green rather than an 8 iron?  I don't know that it would make a whole hill of beans different cause I'm playing pretty well now. 

I say all that to say this.  If you're hcp is going down, you're playing well and you're hitting that ball on average that far... I'm not sure you should beat yourself up over that.  You probably put it right, in my estimation, that perhaps focusing on this is what my new normal center of face is with that club and focus on playing that as your strength. 

Just my $.02 brotha.  Hope you keep improving and loving the game.  

[Stephen Lee]

On 7/26/2021 at 12:09 PM, BNewton51 said:

You're shooting decent scores and having an above average distance standard with how you're striking it now.  What is to be gained, outside of course maybe consistency on flight and a few more yards, by searching for the magic pill to cure where you're striking it on the club face?

Yeah that's pretty much what i'm searching for. I mean ideally what i'd like to do is just tighten it up a little bit. My issue is keeping it in play at times and that's when the big miss comes out. If i can produce a shot where my miss is ok and my well struck ball is good, i'd rather have that then a great ball when i hit it well and a penalty stroke when i don't. That being said, i don't want to get too comfortable with the weights set up for consistency and possibly be sacrificing 20 yards forever

On 7/26/2021 at 12:09 PM, BNewton51 said:

Now, keep in mind this year has been a struggle for me.  I've been having the same issue you are.  With driver mostly.  BUT, I'm hitting my driver probably on average only about 270.  There again, I say that tongue in cheek because frankly that's far above the average distance for a guy my age.  Yet, I've not shot a round above 79 in probably a month / month and a half.  I was neurotic in my search early this season to "fix" things.  I would hit balls till I couldn't hit them anymore.  One day I just realized what is to be gained by all this? I'm scoring and playing very well.  What am I gonna gain by hitting my driver 10-20 yards further on average?  I'll hit a PW to a green rather than an 8 iron?  I don't know that it would make a whole hill of beans different cause I'm playing pretty well now. 

I say all that to say this.  If you're hcp is going down, you're playing well and you're hitting that ball on average that far... I'm not sure you should beat yourself up over that.  You probably put it right, in my estimation, that perhaps focusing on this is what my new normal center of face is with that club and focus on playing that as your strength. 

Yeah sounds like we're in very similar boats. In the long run, it's not making any REAL difference but this game is of course a constant pursuit of perfection that will never end haha. Keeps me searching for every yard I can muster out of this 130lb frame!

[RickyBobby_PR]

On 7/24/2021 at 10:55 PM, Stephen Lee said:

Yeah i understand all of that but my issue is my strikes are very consistent and not horrible so should i really be moving the weights back to try to find the center? Do I need that to maximize distance or is my distance already maximized with my new "center" now being where my strikes already are. 

 

So my main question is, do i need to move the weights back to center and go through a swing/setup change and find the center to maximize my distance or is it already maxed out with my strikes being there and the weights being moved to where they are

Based on this picture you are hitting more towards the center of the face consistently but your consistency is in strike location vertically. Unless you find a way to add ball speed you are close to maxed out distance wise. Getting the strikes that are at center and below horizontally to be slightly above center then you will see more consistent distance in the 300+ range you reference. The balls at center and below are going to produce more spin than above it and that’s going to impact your distance..this would be where you are seeing your sub 300 and depending on path why you are seeing the bigger misses

From a shaft and head combo you seem to be in an optimal setup. But that would be something a fitting would be able to determine

[Mob]

Taking a step back, with your adjustment, you are hitting it 290+ and have eliminated your "big miss".  I assume your big miss costs you more strokes than going from a 305-315 drive down to a 290 drive.  You can do the math and figure it out.  While none of us want to lose 10-15 yards off the tee, if you are hitting more fairways and no longer fearing a drive that can go out of bounds, this seems like a no brainer to me.

[BMart519]

As the only non-single digit response feel free to take with a grain of salt... But I did manage to self-fit a driver in 2019 that fitters were not able to beat this year with 2021 models. And my SG off the tee are better than an average 5 HCP. 
- Consistency always comes at some cost to max distance, its how MOI works 
- Pictured impact bias is below center and heel side, raise strike on the face to gain distance with similar shape, work towards higher and slightly toe-side for max distance.
- In theory, moving the weights toward the heel should shift the CG, increase smash factor, and reduce gear effect if impact location stays the same.

You can ballpark every 10 yards of distance as roughly 0.1 SG off the tee, but this needs to be averaged across your whole round (and season). Giving up 20 yards AVERAGE distance on every drive is a loss of ~2 strokes for 10 drives. Meaning you need to hit it OB less than 1/10 if you can boost your total distance by 20 yards. You need to take averages by round to see which setup works better. If you hit it 315 once per round and now that shot goes 295, it is almost meaningless if your average driving distance is within 10 yards but the ball is in play more often. If the weight shift brings your "hard cut" from 265 up to 275, you've probably offset that 20 yards of distance on your best strikes. Long story short - calculate average driving distance with each setting (not best/worst) and compare with number of penalties to determine which provides best scoring potential. 

Off topic, but there are other drivers with lower CGs than the TS3 which is going to help reduce spin (and increase distance) with vertical gear effect up and down the club face. 

[Stephen Lee]

On 9/29/2021 at 6:15 PM, BMart519 said:

As the only non-single digit response feel free to take with a grain of salt... But I did manage to self-fit a driver in 2019 that fitters were not able to beat this year with 2021 models. And my SG off the tee are better than an average 5 HCP. 

- Consistency always comes at some cost to max distance, its how MOI works 

Long story short - calculate average driving distance with each setting (not best/worst) and compare with number of penalties to determine which provides best scoring potential. 

Off topic, but there are other drivers with lower CGs than the TS3 which is going to help reduce spin (and increase distance) with vertical gear effect up and down the club face. 

Agreed with everything. Seeing as my ball striking has been solid and my tee shots are really what is kicking me in the teeth, i've kept the weights in the heel for now to maximize consistency. I started keeping track of how many greens were missed because my tee shot was in a bad place. Usually, 4/8 of the greens I miss are due to my tee shot being left in poor position, not my actual ball striking. And for whatever reason, going to 3 wood or 3 iron has been finding the fairway even less than the driver with this set up. That being said, probably mostly a mental block there

[cnosil]

7 hours ago, Stephen Lee said:

And for whatever reason, going to 3 wood or 3 iron has been finding the fairway even less than the driver with this set up. That being said, probably mostly a mental block there

It is a misconception that hitting a 3 wood or iron will result in more fairways.   This really only applies if you really struggle with the driver and based on your posts you do not.