*Opinion: New Titleist Drivers, Ugly or New thing of Beauty?

[GolfSpy_APH]

5 hours ago, RetiredBoomer said:

If we're talking looks, how do you beat this?
Simple. Elegant. No moving parts.

I'll argue just about everything since bests that...

[Yaboyjermz]

Titleist is know for making fairly plain drivers and plain is a good thing. It captures more of the market. The most important thing isn't necessarily looks but performance and so long as it performs most people will end up bagging it.

[chisag]

15 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

I still think the best looking sole design in recent memory for Titleist drivers is the TSi3. It’s just freaking cool lol. 

I also was initially underwhelmed by the sole of the GT, but in hand photos look so much better and honestly every day I see it again I think it looks better and better. The GT2 fairway wood sole is absolute IMO.

Also, we never see the sole at address and their crowns are always a classic thing of beauty. Can’t wait to hit them when they become available and see how they compare to TSi

 

... We are on a golf forum with a bunch of fellow nerds so I get some have strong opinions about basically irrelevant aspects of any given product. Someone mentioned a Tux or Black dress never goes out of style. This is like a new black tux/dress but people don't like how their under wear looks with it? It really should be simple, if you can't see it when it counts then it is irrelevant. How any club looks at address is very important to me, but how the sole or cavity looks has never been on my radar. (Same can be said for the name of a club when some refuse to play it because they don't like the name  but I digress)

... I like a glossy finish, a pear shape and a subtle alignment aid. A mid size head is nice too as I found the Qi10 Max too big of a footprint and the standard Qi10 was just right. So the GT3 looks great to my eye and I will hit the GT on a demo day but having found my Holy Grail with the std Qi10 I don't expect better performance. 

Edited June 5 by chisag

[RCGolf]

They look clean and fast. They look like a Titleist. But I can’t take anyone seriously who thinks that a big loud toaster with fins called “Turbulators” on the crown looks cool, or a driver with writing and multiple materials on the crown looks ok, (or ALL 3 in Ping’s case!)but thinks these Titleist drivers are too clean and shiny!!?? They will flat out perform, and I will still be hitting last on approach shots! Looks are subjective… to a point.

Edited June 5 by RCGolf
Misspelled

[Quigleyd]

Titleist always kills the aesthetics game.

[funkyjudge]

15 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

I still think the best looking sole design in recent memory for Titleist drivers is the TSi3. It’s just freaking cool lol. 

I also was initially underwhelmed by the sole of the GT, but in hand photos look so much better and honestly every day I see it again I think it looks better and better. The GT2 fairway wood sole is absolute IMO.

Also, we never see the sole at address and their crowns are always a classic thing of beauty. Can’t wait to hit them when they become available and see how they compare to TSi

I agree completely.

[Imaxwell]

It’s kind of funny that most of the “fans” of how it LOOKS, are mostly talking about how they don’t care how it looks; just how it performs. 
This topic was started for opinions about the LOOKS of the new line. We all know the mad scientists in the lab will dissect it and break down all the performance numbers later. I’m sure it will be right up there as usual. 
It seems the LOOKS of the lineup is a “meh” at best. Even from the fans of it. 

[funkyjudge]

I also love the looks of the GT2 fairways, but nothing is going to replace my TSR2 4-wood, which I purchased after the face-to-crown weld seam finally failed on my original TS2 4-wood. I had that fairway wood in my bag for about 5 years and it probably saw at least 400 rounds of use.

[KC Golf]

I can’t think of a more interesting day than to tryout the new GT2 / GT3 at a range fitting.

[chisag]

3 hours ago, Imaxwell said:

It’s kind of funny that most of the “fans” of how it LOOKS, are mostly talking about how they don’t care how it looks; just how it performs. 
This topic was started for opinions about the LOOKS of the new line. We all know the mad scientists in the lab will dissect it and break down all the performance numbers later. I’m sure it will be right up there as usual. 
It seems the LOOKS of the lineup is a “meh” at best. Even from the fans of it. 

 

... We must be reading two different threads. I went back reading all the replies and almost everyone addressing the way it LOOKS at address have been positive. 

[GolferXY]

Looks? 

Meh.

I like the face and crown, dislike the "give us a kiss!" look of the back weight, and the sole is a big yawner.

Titleist drivers have that classic look to them and I like the black shine and no-seam look where crown and face join.  Face is tall which gives me a feeling of confidence when looking at it face-on, but over the ball the significant latitudinal curve has always made me feel like I had to hit it exactly on the dime and psyches me out a bit. 

The back weight looks like a mouth slightly open and creeps me out lol.

There is nothing about the sole that screams "new tech" and it actually looks a bit cheap to me, at least from the pictures.

Really, the bottom line for me is how it looks over the ball.  Does it instill confidence? Does it help me with alignment?  Does it line up open, closed, or square?  Those are questions I can't answer from a picture.

[GolferXY]

On 6/4/2024 at 4:53 PM, TJ Hall said:

Are you performing destructive testing on the Titleist models as well???

Like this?  For clarity, this is my Stealth 2 Plus that literally blew the @#$@ up today at the driving range.

Update: Taylormade warrantied the driver and sent me a Qi10 LS.  Way better club for me.  All's well that ends well.

Edited July 6 by GolferXY

[bens197]

19 hours ago, GolfSpy_KFT said:

I still think the best looking sole design in recent memory for Titleist drivers is the TSi3. It’s just freaking cool lol. 

Co signing this. 

[GolfSpy_BNG]

Some of these comments actually made me laugh out loud

[bens197]

Let’s settle the debate once and for all. The undisputed king of Titleist sole design. 
 

Bore thru

 

[GolferXY]

20 hours ago, KC Golf said:

it does catch a lot of dirt when I play it from the fairway.  

Yup.  I spend more time cleaning the grass and dirt out of those weight rails than I do cleaning my irons.

[GolferXY]

1 minute ago, bens197 said:

Let’s settle the debate once and for all. The undisputed king of Titleist sole design. 
 

Bore thru

 

6.5 degrees of separation!  Did you actually game that?  Wow.  I may have found my hero!

[bens197]

3 minutes ago, GolferXY said:

6.5 degrees of separation!  Did you actually game that?  Wow.  I may have found my hero!

Best I could manage in 2002 was an 8.5* trade in. I asked the manager if I could buy it for $10 above what they paid for the trade.  It cost me $70. Another $30 For a UST ProForce 75 X that went full bore thru. It was stout and my back hurts thinking about it. 
 

It was a machine. 

Edited June 5 by bens197

[GolfSpy_BNG]

9 minutes ago, GolferXY said:

Yup.  I spend more time cleaning the grass and dirt out of those weight rails than I do cleaning my irons.

Are you hitting it off the turf?  Not judging just asking. I don’t hit driver off the ground as I have never been able to consistently do it. That said I don’t ever have to clean grass or dirt out of any weight tracks in any drivers 

[TJ Hall]

30 minutes ago, GolferXY said:

Like this?  For clarity, this is my Stealth 2 Plus that literally blew the @#$@ up today at the driving range.

What did you do???

@GolfSpy_BEN had some rough experiences with the Qi10 during the test (a couple heads actually).  It was not nearly as bad as that, it just cracked on the back side, pretty much the same spot each time (I’m not convinced he wasn’t trying to hit it backwards!).

[chisag]

12 minutes ago, bens197 said:

Let’s settle the debate once and for all. The undisputed king of Titleist sole design. 
 

Bore thru

 

 

... Not sure if you remember the Hot Tour Set Up with the 975D that spelled the demise of the bore through head. Not many after market shafts back then and Graphite Designs was THE shaft. We cut off the shaft at the top of the hosel and drilled out the shaft from the hosel to a depth of 1.5" and inserted a YS6/7 one flex up instead of going full bore through. It produced a more active tip and higher ball speeds. Same was done with the original Proforce. That was my first indoor fitting and I got sham'ed into a Proforce out in LA that was just too tip stiff and nowhere near as good as my YS6 set up. I was told my ball flight on the course would be much more accurate and it would be longer than my YS6 once I got used to the feel. Ummmm nope. Early learning experience.  


PS. You have to do extra duty at the Firehouse for commenting on the sole of a club. 

[TJ Hall]

Just read this article on the GT woods:

https://golf.com/gear/drivers/titleist-gt-driver-memorial-tournament/ 

[bens197]

25 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... Not sure if you remember the Hot Tour Set Up with the 975D that spelled the demise of the bore through head. Not many after market shafts back then and Graphite Designs was THE shaft. We cut off the shaft at the top of the hosel and drilled out the shaft from the hosel to a depth of 1.5" and inserted a YS6/7 one flex up instead of going full bore through. It produced a more active tip and higher ball speeds. Same was done with the original Proforce. That was my first indoor fitting and I got sham'ed into a Proforce out in LA that was just too tip stiff and nowhere near as good as my YS6 set up. I was told my ball flight on the course would be much more accurate and it would be longer than my YS6 once I got used to the feel. Ummmm nope. Early learning experience.  


PS. You have to do extra duty at the Firehouse for commenting on the sole of a club. 

I don’t want to get too off track here but YS6 v ProForce is about as polar opposite as you can get. YS6 was an awesome whiplash and looked so good (since we’re talking cosmetics) in that metallic dark blue. 
 

Punishment fits the crime. Extra duty it is  

 

[NM01]

5 hours ago, Imaxwell said:

It’s kind of funny that most of the “fans” of how it LOOKS, are mostly talking about how they don’t care how it looks; just how it performs. 
This topic was started for opinions about the LOOKS of the new line. We all know the mad scientists in the lab will dissect it and break down all the performance numbers later. I’m sure it will be right up there as usual. 
It seems the LOOKS of the lineup is a “meh” at best. Even from the fans of it. 

Not what I have read in this thread

[chisag]

2 minutes ago, bens197 said:

I don’t want to get too off track here but YS6 v ProForce is about as polar opposite as you can get. YS6 was an awesome whiplash and looked so good (since we’re talking cosmetics) in that metallic dark blue. 

 

... No doubt. I learned not to trust the "experts" and do my own research. This guy had a good reputation so not sure how he fit me in to a shaft that wasn't a good fit for me. At all. I should thank him as it sent me down the road of becoming much more knowledgable about my equipment. 

[GolferXY]

1 hour ago, TJ Hall said:

What did you do???

I hit about 20 balls, heard a loud bang like a firecracker going off, and watched as $600+ went flying into pieces onto the range!  I started the warranty process with TM, we'll see how they handle it.

[GolferXY]

1 hour ago, chisag said:

You have to do extra duty at the Firehouse for commenting on the sole of a club.

In my department we merely require a half gallon of premium ice cream.

[bens197]

4 minutes ago, GolferXY said:

In my department we merely require a half gallon of premium ice cream.

Tillamook has made it’s way east…it’s become our groups favorite.

[climberboy2000]

They look good to me.  But bottom line is the feel off the face (and of course accuracy, distance, etc...).  I've been hitting the TSi3 for years and although I've been fitted for all the latest and greatest, each of the fitters confided that I should just keep my current driver.  No matter which ones I've tried (Paradym, Qi10, PXG), I really don't pick up any more distance or accuracy.  So if it works, keep working it.  But since I like Titleist drivers, I can't wait to try out this new one.

[chisag]

46 minutes ago, climberboy2000 said:

They look good to me.  But bottom line is the feel off the face (and of course accuracy, distance, etc...).  I've been hitting the TSi3 for years and although I've been fitted for all the latest and greatest, each of the fitters confided that I should just keep my current driver.  No matter which ones I've tried (Paradym, Qi10, PXG), I really don't pick up any more distance or accuracy.  So if it works, keep working it.  But since I like Titleist drivers, I can't wait to try out this new one.

 

... This should be Standard Operating Procedure for every forum golfer. Demo new clubs every year, especially drivers. If what you have is working as well or better, no need to make a change. But I have been surprised too many times in my many years with new clubs. Some I was excited to try but no real difference in performance and once in a while a club not even on my radar turned out to be better for me than what I was playing. 

... We all have our own unique swing producing specific spin, trajectory and distance and the only way to know if something is better for your unique swing is to try them all.