Unofficial Titleist TSR3 Driver Review By ZMendle10

[ZMendle10]

Intro 

 

As it stands I am currently a 12 handicap and the best way to describe my game is the ball striking of a 5 handicap, the short game of 20 handicap, and the decision making of 10. With my short game being the biggest killer I have yet to break 80 with my best being an 82. I have had opportunities but missed it solely through 3 putts (ex 83 with 4 3-putts). By now you're probably saying to yourselves if you have the ball striking of a 5 HC and putting 20HC why wouldn’t you do a putter review? The reason being I like my putter but never practiced so you get out what you put in and I wanted to just try what’s out there. 

 

I live in somerset county NJ and as such I play a good amount of my golf at the somerset county courses with Green Knoll being my closest and home course. I played a lot of casual golf with the occasional tournament round to test my mental focus and give my competitive side a chance to come out.T

 

My previous driver was a 2021 Mizuno STZ with a Tensie 1K white 6TX and while I really liked it I felt like It was a bit too high and spiny which for my game I don't need much help with but, it was a fairway finder and what my game needed at the time. I was looking for something that doesn’t overspin on the misses as much and is very good in the wind with a bit more rollout. I was really intrigued by this year’s driver release schedule and was planning on getting a new one in February after everything has hit the shelves. However I was super intrigued by the TSR lineup and since there was a free demo day at Heron Glenn in September I figured why not get a head start. 

 

 

The Fitting

I told my fitter Kevin if all I see is a low fade with the driver I will be more than happy. I wish I could say everything that I tried but I did my best to stay in the dark. After going through a ton of combinations we had it dialed down to either a Ventus Black 6X or Graphite Design UB7X but I still didn’t know the clubhead yet. At the end of it all I was fit into the UB 7X in a Titleist TSR3 8* head, C2 hosel setting, and STD weight in T2. Since we were hitting range balls I was only concerned with contact and how the flight looked. We did drop a few Pro V1x’s at the end just to make sure and then we were on our way. 

 

I didn’t pull the trigger right away though. I hemmed and hawed a bit, got engaged a month later, and then early November realized why look for something that’s not gonna get much better if at all. So i pulled the trigger and on November 4th I received my new driver.

  

First Impressions

Opening the box this club was packaged just fine. Nothing fancy but when shaking the box there was no reason for concern. I thought that it was assembled incorrectly for a second but upon further reviewing my order form that’s on me since i ordered it wrong. This is more for the hosel settings though and something I should have paid more attention to. Once out of the box with my grip of choice installed I set this thing down on the ground and it lives up to the hype. It is as classic looking as you can get and just beautiful to look down at with that gloss crown and TSR alignment aide. For a 460cc head it looks smaller than most driver heads the same size but that suits my eye very much. I put it down next to my STZ and my STZ looks like an absolute spaceship compared to it. 

First Swings:

I took it to the indoor simulators and was immediately seeing the same numbers I was fit into. Just a super low peely cut that was averaging about 85ft in the air which is what I was hoping for. The STZ i had to fight to keep it at 100ft in the air and the TSR3 was the opposite and a much desirable change. Speed was up and so was ballspeed but this could have been due to the 1/2in longer shaft than my STZ. Overall I was immensely impressed and I couldn't wait to get on the course with it. 

First On Course Round:

The first time the driver was on the course was at Farmstead Golf and Country Club in Newton, NJ. I immediately was seeing the distance gains that come with the quicker club head speed even with the misses. Overcutting the ball previously was averaging about 265 yds at best and that day my misses were about 285yds with the same miss and strike. I had several drives over 300 yds and even a 320 yds poke to which I promptly went long on the wedge shot (classic).

Overall I am incredibly impressed with the driver at first glance. It performed exactly as what I was fit into and it looks, feels, and sounds perfect in every way.

 

Looks: 13 out of 15

Plain and simple this driver looks perfect from the top. There is not a single knock on it for me and I love how compact it looks for a 460cc head,  is taller, sits insanely neutral, and is so clean from the top view. Because of the weight track on the bottom it could be argued as a bit busy but that is solely because of the weight track. I have no issues with this at all and this is unavoidable with the weight track and I’m sure the people at Titleist who are much smarter than I will figure out a way to make it sleeker next iteration but I really have no complaints about it

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Sound and Feel: 15 out of 15

The driver just feels powerful and firm. It matches up fantastic with a firmer golf ball well and when you hit one out the middle you know and you could predict the flight and shape with your eyes closed. Mizuno may pride themselves on the best feeling irons and hope it bleeds into the driver but the TSR3 does it with no issues and blows mizuno out of the water. Nothing to complain about or have any notes of improvement on this front. 

 

On Course Performance: 30 out of 40

The TSR3 straight up performs on the course but it comes with the caveat of you get out what you put in. The best comparison that I could liken it too would be like your favorite set of players' distance irons. You get ball speed with a fantastic flight and a good amount of forgiveness but you still have to put in the work to get the most out of it. I have had the driver in the bag for the past 7 months and it is the first driver that I feel like I have a good amount of control over. The flight never gets too high or overspins and it is a pleasure to watch well struck shots. I enjoy the additional length of going from 45in to 45.5in as it gives more clubhead speed and thus more ball speed while the 7X rather than 6X allows me to still feel in control  due to being able to feel the clubhead. I have seen some of my longest drives with this club as well as reach some of my highest ball and clubhead speeds on Trackman. The reason for the detraction of points is that it could be a bit more forgiving of a driver at times. I don’t need to have my best stuff to have a good driving day but on my off days and especially my bad days the driver can be tough to get under control at times.

Miscellaneous: 10 out of 10

The things that I looked at here are the Titleist customer support and the build itself of the driver. Before pulling the trigger I spoke with the Titleist chat on their website about whether I should go 7X or 6TX with the shaft. They were very patient and helped explain the differences and guided me towards the right decision of 7X. The driver was also built correctly to spec after looking over the sheet that was included in the order and I do love the fact that the grip can be included without being installed. I like to use Pure grips but I hate the idea of having to cut off a brand new grip to put mine on.

 

Play it or Trade it?: 18 out of 20

Play it 100%. The looks, sound, and feel are all perfect. The ball flight is low and penetrating, but can still get high with low spin and is just all around a great driver. The extra length makes it a bit more unforgiving than the STZ but it still is well worth the change over. The okay days are as good as the great days with the STZ and the great days just blow the STZ out of the water. Overall the TSR3 has the ability to do things with ease that the STZ has an uphill battle to accomplish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 18 by ZMendle10
removed additional images

[Keviiic]

Hey guys! Trying to find help with this - is this normal or is my driver head broken….

if you take your driver head off and push the screw from the hosel up so it’s tight and blow into the part where the shaft goes does anyone else get our coming out the back where the slide weight is?