Titleist GT Long Game - 2024 Forum Review

[GolfSpy_APH]

Titleist has introduced the GT Drivers and fairways, signifying Generational Technology, marking a significant shift in materials, construction, and performance from their previous TS models. Despite appearances suggesting minimal change, substantial advancements lie beneath the surface.

Titleist's goal was to enhance performance without altering the familiar look and feel. This approach ensures that players have a familiarity with their clubs year over year while hopefully experiencing performance gains. The GT models feature refined aerodynamics, with changes focused on the underside to reduce drag and increase speed, notably through the raised aft section.

Tony Covey and Chris Nickel have done full breakdowns and articles on both the drivers and fairway woods which can be found here drivers) and here (fairway woods). Here is a brief overview to whet your appetite.

The New GT Line

The introduction of Split Mass Construction redistributes weight to the driver’s perimeter, enhancing stability and optimizing performance. Additionally, the GT lineup incorporates a seamless thermoform composite crown, marking a departure from previous designs. This innovative crown integrates a Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), improving acoustics and mimicking the sound of titanium.

The GT drivers emphasize lowering the center of gravity, promoting consistent spin rates and enhancing forgiveness. Titleist’s Speed Ring with Variable Face Thickness (VFT) face technology aims to boost speed across the face, catering to off-center hits.

Titleist offers three GT driver models models (GT2, GT3, GT4) and two GT fariway wood models (GT2 and GT3)

Each model maintains a familiar look but with significant improvements in speed, consistency, and overall performance. Titleist's approach ensures that while much has evolved, the essence of the driver remains unchanged, catering to both average golfers and Tour pros. The new GT family embodies the philosophy of advancing technology without compromising the core attributes that define Titleist drivers.

Please welcome and congratulate our four testers!

@Golf2Much 

@RichL85 

@Rearviewmirror 

@GolferXY

[Golf2Much]

Titleist GT Long Game – Official MGS Forum Review by Golf2Much

Introduction:

I’m very excited to be part of the Titleist GT Long Game official MGS Review.  I hope I can provide some valuable insight for those who may be a little older, have a few lost yardage off the tee and rely on their driver and fairway woods to put them in position to score.

I live at the Southernmost part of the centennial United States in Key West, Florida.  This week not only included the announcement of my participation in this great review, but it also coincided with my wife and mine 42nd anniversary and my 50th high school reunion.  I guess good things can come in bunches of three!

  

My wife and I visited London, Edinburgh and St. Andrews two years ago.  On the flight back I asked her what she liked best and where she wanted to go back to?  Without hesitation she said St. Andrews!  One more reason I'm the luckiest guy in the world!

As a high school senior, a friend asked if I wanted to join our high school golf team.  My graduating class was 46, so they were desperate to field a team.   I’d never played before and didn’t have clubs.   Once he said we could get out of school early to practice I bought a $10 used Wilson Blue Ridge Sam Snead starter set (including the bag) and was on the team. 

Fast forward 50 years and here I am.  My index is currently 11.7 and has varied between 10.8 and 14.2 over the last year.

I’ve been active on MGS since February 2021. 

In Key West, we have one 18-hole golf course.  The Key West Golf Club is a classic Rees Jones design.  It has small well bunkered greens each with false fronts and narrow fairways with OB, water and/or mangroves on every hole.  I play at least three times a week and over 170 rounds a year almost exclusively at my home course. 

Compared to my fellow 10 handicap golfers, I struggle with my tee shots and approaches.  After a series of surgeries, a broken neck, new left knee and other physical limitations, I’ve had to reinvent my golf swing several times and have lost considerable distance.  

My drives range about 175 yards which leaves me fairway woods as approach shots to our par fours.  Though I rely on chipping and putting to score, I depend on top end of my bag to get me in the best position to score. 

Here’s what is currently in the top end of my bag:

• Driver:  Ping G430 Max HL (10.5 degree) with a Alta Quick 45 gram senior shaft
• 3 wood:  Callaway Epic with a Project X Evenflow Green 45 gram senior shaft
• “5-ish” wood:  Callaway GBB Epic Heavenwood (delofted) with a Mitsubishi Diamana 50 gram senior shaft
• 7 wood:  Ping G with a stock 65 gram senior shaft

The fairway woods are the oldest clubs in my bag and were purchased used.  Along with the driver they are some of my most trusted and most frequently used clubs so it will take some doing to replace them. 

How will I test these clubs?  Though I have a Rapsodo MLM launch monitor, here in Key West, my practice facilities are somewhat limited and I've had issues getting reliable data from their set up in the past.  So, I’ll likely relying on a trip or two up US1 to “Amerika” to get some early on reliable launch monitor comparison data.   I also have over two years of Shot Scope captured data on my existing clubs to compare the respective on course performance of these new beauties. 

What am I looking for?   I’d say the following (in this order): 

• Equal or better hitting fairways in regulation with the driver (currently around 75%) with an addition a few extra yards.  Our narrow fairways, trouble left and right and punishing rough makes hitting fairways essential for me.  When getting a few extra yards with a driver ever hurt?
• Reliable five wood performance:  mid to higher launch angle with consistent length and accuracy.  We have several obstacle squeezes and tree chutes that require accurate fairway shots.  I depend on my five wood-like Heavenwood on roughly ten holes every round and it will take some doing to displace it from my bag.  
• Better consistency out of my 7 wood.  For me, that’s my 150 yard club and hitting to our small, well protected greens I need accuracy to hit them and the height to help hold them.  I hate the sand traps that my current 7 wood often leaves me!
• Ability to replace some of my five wood shots with a reliable 3 wood to get those precious extra yards on long par 4’s.

What excites me the most about being picked for this review is being fit for and optimizing the top end clubs in my bag that I rely so much on.  Right now, it’s a random set of woods.  Each have different shaft manufacturers with wide ranging shaft weights.  Each was bought used and somewhat of a compromise when it was purchased.  So, the idea of having a full set of woods optimized for my (lack) of swing speed intrigues me to see how much of a difference it really can make in my game!

The strange thing is that with my 50 years of golfing, I’ve never owned a Titleist club!   I always had the impression they were meant for golfers beyond my skill level.   Listening to the hype these clubs have generated in the last few weeks gives me hope that maybe they could work for this older, slow swinging golfer.   Time will tell.  So, let’s see what happens!

Added content:  Why the Titleist GT Long Game review is perfect for my (lack of) game!

 

 

 

Edited August 19 by Golf2Much

[RichL85]

Greetings from the desert of heat that is central California. While all introductions should start with a joke to break the ice, don’t worry, my game is enough of a joke to entertain. I also apologize well in advance of my poor writing skills that "STEM" from my engineering background and necessity to write technical reports on a continuous basis.

First, I would like to thank the forum team to making all these amazing testing opportunities available, as well as the team at Titleist. The group of us have been waiting as patiently as possible for this announcement to be made, and by patiently I mean something like this.

For a little about me, I am a chemical engineer by day with an amazing (and stubborn) wife and two kids that keep me extremely busy. They don’t particularly understand my golf obsession, but it balances out because I don’t fully understand my wife’s Disney obsession. When they say that opposites attract, we are the poster couple for that. I’m the quiet, homebody type, and she’s the outgoing traveler who drags me out of the shell I hide in.

I started golfing in college because it was a way for me to earn some extra money from my job at the time and I’m not built to half-ass a job. In the process I learned to build and repair clubs, as well as some basic club fitting. There was an extended break from golf after college due to life circumstances, but I picked it back up shortly before joining MGS and while I don’t post as much as many around here, I am a frequent reader. That’s just a personality trait of mine where I overanalyze everything I say before I say it, so there will be times I rewrite a post multiple times and then end up deciding not to post it. The stereotypical nerd that hates public speaking, that’s me. I will fully admit to being much more comfortable around large spreadsheets worth of data and lab equipment on a daily basis for work as an Engineer, rather than the parts of my job that require interacting with other humans. You may have seen me around in the Cooking thread once or twice as my wife and I both enjoy cooking, her even more than me as she went to culinary school for baking and pastry. This would be an example of one of the cakes she helped to work on before I made her move out here to California.

In terms of my game, I’m always going to be a work in progress. I’m currently approaching closer to a 10 handicap, hoping to get into single digits. I’ve made it no secret that I have struggled off the tee from time to time, especially recently. That’s one of the main reasons my scores can fluctuate so wildly at times. The miss that has been the most problematic has been the low left hook. It’s hard to score well when your second shot is tucked in among the trees. I would say that I have what I call a lazy swing, so you won’t see any aggressive transitions that require extra stiff shafts or anything like that from me. My swing speed is usually around 102, but can go a little faster if the planets and star align in the proper orientation.

I was fit for my current driver and 3 wood two years ago, while the 5 wood was picked up to swap around with the 19 degree hybrid depending on the course. My swing has come along since I was fitted for the driver, and I have struggled with its consistency recently. According to Shotscope, my longest drive of the year was 290, but my average is only 251. I’m really hoping to tighten that distance variance. I can work on the left-right variance, but when you connect on a good drive and watch it drop out of the sky, it’s frustrating. I want to eliminate those kinds of shots, so the main thing I’ll be looking for in the Titleist GT driver will be really “consistent speed and distance” as the claims were put out. If they are able to achieve that, I am a perfect target audience for this line.

Looking at the data collected from Shotscope comparing against a 10 handicap, I need to work on tee shots, approach, and putting. These numbers only tell part of the story, because the majority of my problems on approach come from the fact that I’m trying to approach greens from 180 yards with a punch out of the trees. It’s just very hard to pull that off consistently.

While I’m a logical, numbers person in work, when it comes to golf, I’m much more of a feel person. As a result, I’m going to be looking at the numbers throughout the test to verify whether or not the GT line improves my performance, but I suspect the feel aspect is going to come into the fitting portion. Certain shafts especially just don’t feel right to me, but I’m more than willing to let the Titleist fitter prove me wrong if a certain option is the best for me. As an extra note, from what we testers have been told, Titleist will be fitting us into the best long game equipment for us, regardless of cost, so you may see some interesting shafts going into these GT clubs as well. I am comfortable playing a fade with irons, but tend to hit more of a draw with the longer clubs, which is why I can get into trouble with the hook when things are off.

So how will these clubs be graded, and what are they going to be graded against. The new GT driver will be going up against a PXG Gen 4 XF driver in 10.5 degree turned down to 9.5 degree, and slightly flat with a Motore X F3 6S shaft playing at 45”. While this driver has its good days, it also has a lot of days where the spin can get very high and shots wind up short. For being a more forgiving head design, it seems to lose a lot of ball speed on off-center hits. This is the main area where I am hoping to get some extra help from the Titleist GT driver. Instead of my drives ranging from 190 – 290, I would prefer a much tighter window in terms of length dispersion. If it can do that, it will earn the right to take over the prized bomb pop headcover.

The current three wood is also a PXG Gen 4 XF model 16 degree, turned down to 15 degree and slightly flat with a Diamana S+ 70g shaft playing at standard length, while the next slot in the bag alternates between a Callaway Rogue ST LS 18 degree with a VA Composites Slay 75g shaft at standard length and a PXG Gen 4 19 degree hybrid with an Evenflow Riptide 80g at standard length. The 3 wood currently is a solid performer off the tee, but doesn’t get much use off the turf, so I really want to find a 3 wood option that will work off the turf as well. When I do hit my current one off the grass, I have some difficulty getting height on the ball, so we will see if Titleist can address that. The next slot is not used very often, but needs to be versatile to account for the types of shots I will have to hit with it.

The Fitting:

For my fitting, I headed to Moorpark Country Club to meet up with Matt on a warm afternoon.

I started with warming up while we talked about what we were looking for in the new clubs. To summarize what I am looking for, we are looking for:

- Increase distance for the driver. Not so much on the good strikes but increase my average drives by raising the floor from the bad strikes.
- Reduce spin on the driver. On good days, I can keep my current driver around 2700 spin, but that’s about as low as I can get it. 3500+ is more typical for me.
- Gap any remaining woods to fill the spaces between the driver and my 22 degree hybrid. The longest wood will mostly be used off the tee to deal with situations where driver is too long.

So we start off with the gamer to get some baseline numbers. Took 4 swings hitting ProV1x to get our baseline numbers, with one shot not registering on the Trackman. Not being completely loose, the swing speed was in the 98-100 mph range to start off, with ball speed averaging around 139 with 250 yard total distance and spin being manageable at 2800. First thing Matt says is, we can definitely get more ball speed out of this. So we get started with the three heads to see how they look. Visually, the GT2 looks very, very slightly longer in the back compared to the GT3, while the GT4 definitely appears smaller. Nothing visually off-putting about any of the heads and no visual issues for me. We started with a 9 degree head in everything and pretty standard shaft that has worked decently for me in the past, the Tensei Blue, and first up is the GT2, averaging 143 ball speed, but only 248 total distance because spin was high at 3300. Moving onto the GT3 with the same shaft, and first swing we get 148.2 ball speed, 1970 spin, and 262 yards. We will take that. Second swing, 150 ball speed, 2400 spin, 269.5 total. Looks like I might be a GT3 guy? But first lets hit the GT4, because it’s there right? First swing with the GT4 gives me 151.2 ball speed. What is this? Unfortunately, most of the other information didn’t record, so I can’t say much other than it was roasted. We take a second swing, and quickly crash to reality.

So, basically, the GT4 is great when you absolutely hit the center of the face, just don’t miss it. That’s not me, so Matt and I talk for a few minutes about whether we try to reduce the spin on the GT2 because it is a little more forgiving, or if we try to rein in the GT3 a bit. We were talking about 5+ mph ball speed difference between the two, so we opted for the GT3 to see what could be done. We did have a few shafts to work with afterall.

Since the Tensei Blue was working, we swapped in the Ventus TR Blue to see how it stacked up. This is where it got interesting. Average distance with the Ventus TR Blue for 4 swings was 270 yards, 20 yards past my gamer, but we took the Blue out for one reason. Average spin rate of 1400. We tried a couple different lofts and ended up on the 10 degree head as our base in order to get some height because I was only getting around 60 feet of height from the 9 degree head and spinning the 11 degree head too much. From then on, we worked through a number of different shafts including: Ventus TR Red, VA Composites Drago, Project X HZRDUS Black, and then a collection of Graphite Design Tour AD shafts.

For Graphite Design, we first tried the CQ because we wanted to increase launch a bit, but that one only got up to around 65 feet, then we moved into the DI, which definitely got me height, all the way up to 126 feet, with 4200 spin. That’s not going to work. I did tell Matt ahead of time that I was probably going to be a challenge, so he says, “Ok, let’s go backwards then.”

He throws in a Graphite Design Tour AD VF 6S, you know, the “lower launch, low spin” shaft (Not going to debate, this is not the place, just saying what the manufacturer claims). Sure enough, 151.3 ball speed, 2500 spin, 105 height. Now we are onto something. Hit a few more, things are looking good, but Matt has more ideas. We tried the X flex of the Tour AD VF out of curiosity for some added stability, but didn’t really gain anything there, so back to S flex. Time to start working with the base of a GT3 10 degree head and the Tour AD VF shaft. First up we quickly found that the 45” length that I’ve been playing forever is more comfortable, so we stuck with it. Playing with the CG weight, we discussed that I’m going to be using it kind of backwards from its intended purpose. It was explained that the CG weight is primarily used to move the CG closer to the impact location to lessen the loss of ball speed for mishits, for example, my miss is towards the heel, so we tried the H1 position, but that was a general failure. The reason for this is that when my swing is off, I tend to come from way inside, as much as 10 degree in to out, and shut the face hard with my hands, so moving the weight to the heel just caused that face to shut down even faster. I don’t want to invite the snap hook anymore than I absolutely have to, so we moved the weight to T1 to help shutting off the face so much. Matt also ended up increasing the weight to +4g to offset some of the swingweight difference from the 45” length in addition to just a bit more weight to hold off the face.

While adjusting these other levers, Matt also worked to fit the right SureFit adapter setting for me, and we fell on C1, so turning the 10 degree head down to 9.25, and 0.75 flat. I absolutely don’t mind seeing a fade ball flight, so in some ways we’ve set up the driver to promote a fade even though most of my shots ended up being draws with the woods.

Driver TLDR: We went from 250 yards with the PXG Gen 4 XF driver, to 278.7 yards with the GT3. All said and done, we ended up with this for the driver:

Moving onto the 3 wood, we knew this was going to be mostly a club off the tee, but I wanted to be able to hit it off the turf as well. Hit a few with my current PXG 3 wood, and saw 228.7 yard average distance, which is a little lower than I would like. With the Tour AD VF shaft working so well in the driver, we started with it and compared the GT2 and GT3 heads in 15 degree loft. Once again, I get to be a bit of an anomaly, and with the GT2, I was hitting it with low launch, and then rising with a lot of spin, reaching peak height of 83 feet. The GT3 on the other hand, launched higher with slightly less spin, only taking two shots to determine it was the one. 240 yards off the turf, and 255 off the tee. As you can see, the GT3 blew away the other clubs. The fairways ended up mostly standard, except for the SureFit hosel going to B1, just to flatten the lie a little bit and slightly heavier with the shaft.

Three wood carry results:

The 5 wood was much of the same with the GT3 outperforming the GT2 and my current Callaway with ease. The only issue I had was with trying to hit it with the shaft because Matt did not have the Tour AD VF in a 5 wood length. I ended up trying to choke up on the 3 wood shaft and mentally that did cause some shots to be offline during the fitting. I was averaging 104 feet of height with a landing angle of 48 degrees from a 5 wood.

Now… we admire the collection of shafts that we tried along with just a few of the head options we went through while we await the arrival of the new clubs.

Edited August 27 by RichL85
Correcting Fitting Experience

[Rearviewmirror]

Intro

Hello fellow GolfSpies! Before we get stuck in, a huge thank you to the MyGolfSpy team, my fellow testers, and also to Titleist for giving us this massive opportunity to try out the new GT range in an unbiased test.

I’m Rearviewmirror and I’m very excited to be joining this test! I’ve popped up a couple of times before, as a semi-official Autoflex tester, and unofficial tester of the Ping G430 10K and LAB DF3.

I’ve been playing golf since I was 13 years old, and my primary claims to any form of golfing success are holing out from 120yds for an eagle at 16 (yet to be repeated), and breaking 80 for the first time last year. 13 year old me had a screaming slice with my woods, but was a pretty solid iron player.

Despite my early start, I’ve spent a large portion of the last two decades living and working overseas - where living out of two suitcases sadly didn’t include bringing my clubs! After 2020, and a very impromptu driving range trip with my father in law, I snuck out for 9 holes and found myself wondering what the heck I’ve been doing off the course for the last decade!

After some amazing initial rounds (hello 105 from the white tees), I have slowly clawed my way back down to some solid golf. I have also just started working with a coach for the first time in two decades (and before that I had precisely two golf lessons). Right now I’m hovering around a 15 handicap, but Clippd has me closer to a 10 handicap in terms of shot quality, so I’m hoping I can iron out those big misses off the tee.

I play most of my golf on the East coast, around DC/MD/VA with occasional trips out to CA.

My golf game

As mentioned above, I’ve spent the last year figuring out what’s working and what’s not. After a short game overhaul courtesy of Dan Grieve’s three releases book, and my official conversion to LAB Rat, the last piece to work on was my driving and approach play. 

My goal for this season is to claw my way down to a 10, and ideally get to a 9. I still have a lot of work to do, and right now big misses off the tee/OB are my primary weak point. Swingspeed on course is around 100mph, and had been up closer to 105mph when I was using Stack religiously. Right now I'm more focused on the swing changes I'm working on with my coach as opposed to raw speed.

Ignore my most recent putting stats, I’ve been playing on exceedingly slow/wet greens - no need to return that DF3 quite yet!

My current bag is as follows - the clubs in the danger zone are in bold:

Ping G430 Max 10K (10.5º) 
Ping G425 Max 3W (14.5º) 
Ping G425 Max 5W (18.5º)  
Ping G425 Max 4 Hybrid 
Ping G430 9-wood
Ping i230 6-UW - s159 54º (S-grind) and 58º (B-grind) 
LAB Golf DF3
Titleist Pro V1

My primary candidates for a switch are the driver (I’ll be really interested to see how the GT compares to the 10K having spent so much time with this head), my 3W (which currently doesn’t go any further than my 5W), and my 4 Hybrid which has caused a LOT of problems of late - I hit it where I’m trying to send it, but I can’t for the life of me get it to stop on greens.

I also just did a check in with my fitter (shout out to the amazing Kevin Kraft) so my current setup is as optimized as it’s going to get.

Here are my current driving numbers (first with the G430 10K and then driving in general from Arccos):

What I hope to bring to this test

I think Titleist clubs are absolutely beautiful, and I feel like they spend so much time thinking about golfer experience (if you haven’t watched this video, you should), but as much as I have always wanted to get on with them, I haven’t. I tried the T150s, and I couldn’t get the same performance as my i230s or Srixons. I tried the TSR2, but the G430 10K had it licked.

My poor old 1997 Scottie Cameron Teryllium face Titleist putter is sitting in a closet thanks to LAB.

Now… it’s payback time. I’ve spent the last two months working with a Golf Digest Top 100 coach (something I wish I hadn’t waited so long to do - so go get a coach!) and I am doing things I didn’t think I was capable of - including 250yd+ carry drives. 

At last, I think my swing may be good enough to give Titleist a fair shot in my bag. The GT line seems like a real evolution of their player look/feel into a juiced package that doesn't sacrifice that much on forgiveness.

I can promise you unbiased opinions, and right now the 10K is going to be hard to displace from my bag!

How Titleist might make it into my bag...

For the driver, it is going to need to produce similar dispersion (or a little bit looser) with more distance than my 10K. That's a tall ask given the 10K delivers so much on both fronts already.

For 3W it's a much easier task. While I hit my G425 Max well initially, it is now dwarfed by my 5W, and when it comes out of the bag it never delivers more distance/accuracy than that club.

7W is going to be a brand new adventure. While the 4H occasionally gets the job done, it has a tendency to launch relatively low, which means shallow descent angle and lack of "hold" into greens. 

Fitting Experience

My day started off with a reminder text at 7:30AM letting me know where to meet my fitter at the golf club. The fitting was at a private club, and their fitting studio is an open bay out to the range. I was a little disappointed the entire fitting wasn’t off grass, but that mainly impacts the fairway woods, rather than driver so I wasn’t too worried. I took some time to go through my usual warm ups, and felt great about how I was hitting fairway woods and driver.

The fitting itself was definitely not what I expected. I’ve been working with the same fitter for over a year, and so it was interesting to see what approach a different fitter took. His focus was very much on face strike location, which was quite different to what I have experienced in the past (where launch, spin, and ball speed tend to take precedent). 

One sad note - something went wrong with his Trackman and it didn’t save any of the shot data - so all the numbers below are what I saw/remember from 1-2 shots. I would have loved to have that data to understand how we ended up where we got to and be able to share it with you all.

Driver

We took a few swings with my current driver (Ping G430 10K) and I was pleased to see my practice range swing had shown up - with the usual 230-240yd carry/265yd total distances, and club speed between 100-102mph.

The GT2 and GT3 head definitely look very similar at address to the point where it was quite hard to tell which club I was hitting. I had very quickly hit the GT2 and GT3 at my baseline check in and was leaning more towards the GT2 from a feel perspective. It felt like the head required a bit less manipulation to square up (for me) and felt “cleaner” through the ball. I had also really liked the Tensei Blue 1K shaft over the Denali Red, which felt harder to “feel” the head in the backswing and square up. 

Sound and feel

The sound from both heads is quite different from the heads I’m used to - I played the G425 Max before the G430 10K and so I’m definitely used to more of an exploding trash can/metallic sound. I have also always found it really easy to tell where on the face I’m making contact. The GT drivers are quite different, with more of a muted “thwack” and no discernible sound difference on a pured shot compared to a bottom rail shot. I can’t say it was my favorite sound, but I was hitting in an enclosed bay, so it may be different on course. One piece I also found a bit odd was that I had a hard time “feeling” face contact. When you middle one, the face has an almost trampoline feeling, where it feels like the ball almost sinks into the face for a millisecond, before exploding off it. That feeling was very satisfying, but on mishits I often to watch the ball and wait to see what it did, rather than knowing exactly how it would turn out.

Choosing a driver head/shaft combo

Given the strike location focus, the fitter very quickly moved me into a shorter length of driver shaft (45”). It took me quite a few swings to get used to that feeling, and I felt like I was struggling to generate both swing speed and ball speed as a result. While my initial GT2/GT3 strikes had been going 235-240yd carry, with the shorter shaft everything was going 210-220yds max.

The fitter explained that he wasn’t seeing the spin numbers that he wanted out of the GT2 or GT3 (strikes were around 2000-2300rpm) and that I would be a great candidate for a GT1 (!!!). I was a bit surprised, as when I tried the GT2 I was getting amazing ball speed and spin numbers, even with a swing speed about 5mph lower than my usual (having gone through the whole top of my bag to map distances). This is where the review takes a bit of a detour!

He had me hit a TSR1 head in the Tensei Blue 1K shaft, and it was achieving a very high ball flight - which he seemed quite a lot happier with. To be honest, the ball flight did not suit my eye, and I wonder a little how it’ll hold up into 2-3 clubs of wind, which can be pretty common on some of my local courses. I asked if I could try a couple of other shafts and the fitter said that he didn’t think changing shaft would make a difference.

He then explained that a GT1 head would be coming out in the future, and it would make the most sense to come back and demo that once it becomes available. Right now there’s no timeline for that, and so I got fit for the TSR1 with a shorter 45” shaft. So I become the first GT tester to be fit into… a TSR1!

Fairway woods

This was without doubt my favorite part of the test as I got to just point and shoot without trying to adjust to a different shaft length. 

I was pretty gassed at this point as we had spent about 45mins trying to get to spin numbers that he wanted to see with the shorter shaft. So I was very surprised when I pulled out my own G425 3W and hit it perfectly on my first shot. It was great to only have to spend one swing on getting a “control” as I knew I couldn’t hit my own club much better than that.

We started out with the 3W and I hit both the GT2 and GT3. These are HOT clubs. My aim was to get a club that works consistently off the deck, so I only hit it off the mat, not teed up.

With both heads I was seeing numbers that were a LOT closer to driver numbers (a couple were hitting 240yds of carry/260yds total). My “feel” hitting both was that the GT2 felt a bit easier to hit and send on target, and also preferred the slightly more traditional look. The GT3 head looked visually quite small to me, but I ended up being fit into the GT3 with the weight moved slightly toward the toe (I do typically see an overdraw as my main miss with 3W). On good strikes it felt effortless, with a real trampoline effect feeling off the face. Bad strikes were still getting airborne with a good amount of height, and only missing 20-30yds offline.

The last club we tried out was the GT2 21º (7W) which I was hoping might be a replacement candidate for my 4-hybrid (typically 195-205yd club). I had recently put a 9W in my bag which has fast become one of my favorite clubs, and the GT2 21º did not disappoint. Similar to the 3W it has an extremely hot face, and I was quickly seeing 210-215yds of carry. We ended up in hosel setting B-4 to add an additional 1.5º of loft and get it more into that 200yd range. It really felt point and shoot, so I’m excited to add it to the stable and have another club that launches high and stops on a dime for long par 3s.

Final fit

Overall fitting experience

As I compare my experience to that of some of the other testers, I did come out of it feeling a little bit disappointed - particularly that I didn’t get a chance to hit any premium shafts in either the driver or fairway woods. This was the part of the fitting I was most excited about, and so from that respect it felt a lot more like a “regular” fitting instead of the really premium experience some of the other testers got to experience. It may be a good idea to see if you can talk to your fitter before your fitting, or get a recommendation from other golfers who have used them before to see if their fitting style is a match. 

The other piece that I found challenging was that I know my swing/game/gear pretty well, and this fitting felt quite on rails compared to some I’ve had before. The fitter didn’t ask that many questions around how the clubs felt or looked, and as I result I came out of it feeling kind of nervous and unsure of how my final fit will shake out. I felt more like a passenger in the fitting than an active participant, and if this had been my first ever fitting I might have walked away never wanting to do another fitting or feeling like something was wrong with me/my game.

That said - I very much tried to approach this from a “trust the process” mentality, so I will be really interested to see how the final build shakes out on the course, and I couldn’t be more excited to get the fairway woods out on the course!


More to come once I get the clubs!

Edited Thursday at 12:14 PM by Rearviewmirror
Added fitting details

[GolferXY]

A huge Thank You! to MGS and Titleist for this awesome opportunity.  I won the lottery with this one.  I also have to give a nod to the good people who show so much interest in this test.  Reviewing these clubs is going to be a BUNCH of fun, a little work, and a lot of responsibility.  I hope my review helps those who may be in the market for new clubs and I'll do my best to keep it readable, informative, and entertaining.  So please, take a seat!

 

My name is Charles, Charlie to my friends.  I'm a 64 year old public safety employee looking to retire next year and devote the rest of my life to my passion for golf.  I've been playing for over 50 years now - man that is so hard to believe - and was hooked on my first round.  I nearly got down to scratch but never broke through.  I'm hanging at a 9 currently.  My lowest round is a 72, but my most memorable round has to be a 74 at Gamble Sands where I started birdie/ eagle after driving the 2nd hole and making a snaking 50 footer.   Magic happens!  

I've played a few places around the country with Arizona and Palm Springs my favorite destinations.  Played a few rounds in Florida, Colorado and Las Vegas.  Most of my golf is in the Northwest where I live with my beautiful wife of 38 years, Terri,

who indulges my lifelong love affair with golf.  I have two kids, a daughter who is working toward a PHD and a son who's a firefighter/paramedic.  None of them golf.  Yes, that was a sniffle you heard there. 

 

But I have a bunch of friends who, like me, like to punish their egos on the golf course... and a few who can really play!

The very first club I ever bought for myself was a Ping driver.  A beautiful draw-biased, gloss black laminated wood head with a red plastic insert. When the Taylormade Bubble driver came out, I had to try the newfangled tech.  A few years later I went back to Ping with a G30 I found in a bargain bin.  I hit that club really well, but it was so loud that I was nearly banned from the covered range by my house.  Looking for a replacement, I wanted something that played well, had the tech, with great feel and sound.  I landed on an off-the-rack Titleist TS.  Then I was fitted for the TSI 2 in 2020, then the TSR 2 when I went looking for more distance.  I love the classic look of the Titleist drivers and have had a lot of success with them.

I'm currently gaming the Taylormade Qi10 LS.  Man, its a long story.  The [very] short version is I broke my Titleist, needed a driver for a tournament that weekend, and bought a Stealth 2 +.  When that blew up at the driving range earlier this year, Taylormade warrantied it with the Qi10LS.  I love the Qi10 and it should be a great battle for the bag between the GT and the Qi10.  Can't wait for the results!

The rest of the bag:

Calloway 3 fairway
Taylormade Stealth hybrid 
PXG 0317T 5- PW I was fitted into two weeks ago.  Wow!  I hope you PXG reviewers like yours as much as I like mine!
Vokey 50, 56, 60
L.A.B. DFS Broomstick - I'm a LAB putter fanboy, and I consider this the best putter ever.

So, if you've made it this far you can see that: 

A. I've had a lot of drivers - in fact I'm a driver junky who has had every iteration of the Titleist TS line 
B. I play as often as I can and enjoy the company of hackers and heroes alike.
C. I still have my TSR 2 [repaired]
D. My wife puts up with a lot!

TESTING CONDITIONS

For raw data on the driver, I'll be comparing the GT to both my TSR2 and Qi10LS with a Garmin R10 launch monitor at both covered and grass ranges.  

A recent range session with the TSR

The covered range is more sheltered and should produce more consistent conditions, while the grass range usually has a stiff wind blowing into my face, making a good comparison of clubs in windy conditions.  I'll also sneak in a few with my backyard net just cuz I like swinging drivers; and I can tweak settings in a more relaxed environment - or to be honest, less embarrassing!

After getting the data, I'll take it out to the course to see how it performs.  Does it work for me?  Will it work for you?  Does it have any bad tendencies for my swing and what are they?  If they do, I'll tell you.  If they don't, I'll tell you.  If you have specific interest in the clubs or want more information, please share with me.  I love discussing golf and really want to hear your questions and comments.

I expect that the driver will be similar in distance to my TSR, so my initial interest with that comparison will be sound, feel, and dispersion.  A guy can hope for a little more length, but life makes no promises. Lately I've been trying to be in the fairway more often instead  of chasing distance [and golf balls] into the woods.  

Ahh, you too, huh?  Hey, you know who you are...we've probably found the...same...set...of...trees!  Seriously, if you play golf on a Northwest muni, I can guarantee that a walk into the woods will reward you with a nearly new golf ball with a triangle identifier.  
Hit it/find it is no fun when the trees are thick and the shots are thin. 

Comparing the GT with my Qi10 LS intrigues me, though.  The best thing about the Qi10 for me is that high toe hits go a long way, and a flush center hit feels like punching a heavy pillow.  Soft, but with a feeling of power driving through the ball.  The downside is that I don't really like the sound.  This may be a bit nitpicky but it's a bit too tinny. Maybe "hollow" is a better description.  The TSR is longer than the TM on good hits, but a bad miss with it is golfer's hell.  My miss with the TSR has been hard left.  I'm talking Bob Gibson slider hard-left.  The TM has minimized this miss.  I still have to chase it some, but overall the TM has put me consistently closer to my target line than the older Titleist.  My hope is that the GT can meet or beat the TM's dispersion while maintaining the distance of the TSR, all while delivering that crisp thud of powerful contact.

For the 3 wood I'll be comparing a Calloway Epic Flash that has been in my bag for a few years.  It's a club that I hit very well from both tee and fairway.  It produces a good launch angle and low spin which makes it great for par 5's and tight par 4's.  The promise with the GT 3 wood is that it sits behind the ball squarely and makes set up easier, with a higher launch than Titleist's previous fairways.  I can't wait to see what that means because although I love my Calloway, it's getting long in the tooth and is sorta banged up. A sexy new 3 wood that checks all the boxes would be the creamy chocolate filling in the golf cake of life.

If the 3 fairway is the filling, a 5 or even 7 wood would truly be the icing on the cake.  I have a Stealth 2 Hybrid that I can't hit consistently.  On one shot I'll thin it, the next will be a low smash rivaling a good-miss 3 wood, and the next will be a high toe sky ball that goes basically straight up and down.  Hateful, hateful hybrid!

I'll also be following my fellow testers experiences.  These are discerning folks and I am humbled to be in the same group with them.  Check them out and continue the conversation!  

See you on the fairway!  [or in the woods....]

FORE!

 

Charlie

 

FITTING

Wow!  Fitting Day.  I’ve really been looking forward to this.  Weather was a perfect 76 ᵒ and sunny, and I hopped into the truck for the 20 minute drive to Harbour Pointe Golf Club to meet my fitter, Dave Melvin.  Great guy, very professional and courteous.  He graciously allowed my buddy Rick to take photos and video.  We talked golf for a while, found that we both played Chambers Bay recently – he shot a 76, a dang good score there from the tips – and I knew I was talking to someone who didn’t just know the equipment but also has game. 

Driver Summary

GT2 – The winner. Most consistent finding the middle of the face.  Highest launch. High spin. Best shot shape, a consistent baby draw with occasional high-right push. 

GT3 – Close but no cigar. Hitting mostly high toe. Longest drive carry and total. High launch. High spin. Inconsistent shot shape.

GT4 – Not for me. Mostly low heel, including a worm burner.  Mid launch even with loft jacked to 11.  Slightly faster swing speed but very inconsistent spin and shot shape.

Sound and Feel – all models

This is inconclusive and needs more testing.  The ball seemed to make a very pronounced “thock” sound to me, but on the video it sounds much more solid.  My initial thought is I don’t like the sound. 

Feel was hollow and I didn’t get that powerful “crushed it” feel even on center hits until we tried the Tour AD VF shaft (more below).  My initial thought is I don’t like the feel.

My current gamer is a TSR 2 at 9ᵒ with hosel setting D2 (draw biased), Tensei Blue stiff shaft.  It’s a mid-launch, low spin set up.  My distance is 220 carry/250 total, with spin numbers between 2500-2700.  I like the setup, but find that I have a brutal diving-hook miss with these settings.  Dave noted that my swing is inside-out and that I don’t have problem squaring the face so my D2 setting wasn’t necessary to achieve my desired baby draw ball flight.  It didn’t take him long to identify my tendencies and Rick said he could already see the wheels turning as I hit those first few shots.

Dave had me hit a few with each new model as he explained the differences.  Basically, the GT2 has balanced weight forward and back and is the most forgiving, the GT3 is adjustable with weight forward, and the GT4 is the smaller low spin model.   All have the “Surefit” hosel design that allows for loft, lie, and face angle adjustments.  I think this is the best hosel design in the business. 

The carbon crown on all models was nice to look at and blended into the face with no seam in sight just as advertised.  The alignment lines on the face were noticeable but not intrusive, and the shaping of the heads were typically Titleist, pear shaped and with the traditional look that I love.  The GT2 has a bit of hang-over in the back to accommodate the back weight, but isn’t obvious from address.  The bottom of the clubs are streamlined and very clean, without the gaudy colors and shapes found on models like the Taylormade Stealth/Qi10.  Dave explained that the clean sole plate is designed to minimize air drag and maximize speed. 

The GT2 was up first.  Dave set it up similar to my gamer with Tensei Blue Stiff but moved the hosel setting to a more neutral C1 and loft bumped up to 10.5.  I felt comfortable with this club as it is very similar to my TSR2 and had the same shaft.  The new alignment lines on the face are the biggest difference and I like them a lot.  Setting up with the ball centered on the face was easy with no guess work.  Bonus points to Titleist for this!  Lining up was quick and easy on every shot, and I admit I was surprised at how much difference it makes in feeling confident over the ball.  I hit 3 decent drives all ending up in a 10 yard dispersion – one dead straight, one slight push right, and one baby draw.  I immediately noticed the higher ball flight.  Dave must have read my mind or maybe just experience talking, but he explained that most people don’t launch the ball high enough.  His primary goal was to match launch and land angles, with spin a secondary concern.  This allows for max carry and roll.  After he adjusted the hosel to a more upright setting I started hitting shots consistently on path and in play.

On to the GT3.  I immediately noticed that the 3 felt lighter than the 2.  Dave explained that many golfers mention this and that with the GT3 having the weight forward it changes the swing feels.  I hit this club the longest and mostly straight, but I was having trouble finding the middle of the face.  Out of 4 balls I hit one slightly high middle and that ball just took off, carrying 250+ and rolling out to 275 and my longest of the day; one high-toe which curved nicely back to the middle but with a significant 15 yard penalty in carry, and two that were low heel and really spinny.  Like 3500.  Ugh!  They all stayed straight, but contact was all over the place.

The GT4 was an awful mess since I couldn’t find the middle with a map and magnifying glass.  Three shots and I handed it back to Dave with a sigh of relief.

I was finding the middle of the GT2 much more often so it was the clear choice of head and we moved on to shaft testing.  After seeing the spin numbers - this was the highest spin I got with the GT2 and the carry/total distance numbers were still looking good, with the launch and land angles what he was looking for - Dave had me hit a couple of ProV1x Left Dash and spin came down so I ordered a dozen for further testing.  I normally use the ProV1x.

 

 

Titleist provided a bunch of shafts and we tried 6 of them with the GT2 head. 

It came down to the Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6 and the Graphite Design Tour AD VF.  While I settled on the Ventus because it gave me the most consistent performance, I was and am intrigued by the Tour AD VF.  I hit a few with this shaft and it felt great.  Very different from any of the others, a more aggressive and powerful sound and feel.  I would have liked to choose this, but the numbers favored the Ventus.

Quick Shaft Breakdown – all shafts were Stiff and around 60 grams. All were mid/high launch and low spin except the Tour AD VF.

Fujikura Ventus TR Velocore Blue 6.0 Stiff 60g – The clear winner.  High launch. Consistent face contact.  Good spin and launch numbers.

Graphite Design Tour AD VF – Runner up. Mid launch. Changed the sound and feel of the club, totally different than any of the other shafts including other Tour AD shafts.  Charlie likes!  Alas, I didn’t hit it as consistently with this shaft, with pulled shots common.  Dave tried this one even though it’s a low launch shaft due to the GT2 launching higher with more loft.

Mitsubishi Tensei Blue – High launch and spin. Good looking shaft upgrade of my current gamer.  I had more trouble squaring it up at contact than the Ventus Blue.

Graphite Design Tour AD UB – Had trouble squaring it up.  Lots of high-toe misses.  Lost a bunch of shots high and right.

Graphite Design Tour AD DI – For some reason I found myself getting too inside out with this shaft and over-drawing it.

Fujikura Ventus TR Velocore Red –  Very inconsistent contact, some pulled some pushed.

So, numbers with the GT2/Ventus Blue were 230 carry/260 carry, a 10 yard increase from my gamer.  Spin was higher, between 2700 and 3000 but very consistent ball flight of a high draw.

Fairway Wood Summary

Gamer is a Calloway Epic Flash, 15 degree, stiff Tensei Blue shaft.  I use it from tee and fairway and hit it well from both.

The fairways look very similar to the driver without the line-up cues on the face.  Beautiful, shiny black with a slightly less pronounced pear shape. 

The fairway woods were hit only from the mat.  In my opinion that is a huge negative when fitting fairways.  Dave popped a GT2 3 wood head at 15 degrees on a Hazardous Black shaft because he didn't have the Ventus fairway shaft on-site, so further comparisons will happen when I get the new clubs in-hand.

We didn't spend much time on numbers except to ensure proper gapping.  I consistently got 210 carry, 230 total with this set up.  Ball flight was mostly low but honestly, I wasn't hitting the fairway woods worth a hoot and only managed a couple of representative shots.  Shots were low on the face but still manageable, and everything went straight.  At least I was squaring it up.

GT2 5 wood at 18 degrees was new to the bag.  We spent the time on gapping to the GT2 3 wood and my Stealth 2 4 hybrid, again using the Hazardous shaft.  I haven't been using a 5 wood since I got rid of an inconsistent Cobra several years ago, but I like the shape of this head.  The sole is flat and sits tight to the ball.  I like how this sets up.  With the narrower head top to bottom than the GT3, I expect I'll be able to hit this well from the fairway if I can find one!  I fear fluffy lies with this because it looks like it will be hard to get good contact but we'll see.  It should be good for digging balls off of inconsistent lies and bare spots.  

Finally, here are my specs from the fitting.  It was a great time and Dave took the time to really dial in the numbers.  Thanks again!

 

Driver: GT2 11°

Dexterity: RH
SureFit Hosel Setting: B-1
SureFit Weight: Use Default
Length: Standard
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6
Shaft Flex: Stiff
Tip Trim: Standard 0.5"
Grip: Standard
Grip Size: Standard
Grip Assembly: Standard
 

 

Fairway: GT2 15°

Dexterity: RH
SureFit Hosel Setting: B-1
SureFit Weight: Use Default
Length: Standard
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7
Shaft Flex: Stiff
Tip Trim: Standard 1"
Grip: Standard
Grip Size: Standard
Grip Assembly: Standard
 

 

Fairway: GT2 18°

Dexterity: RH
SureFit Hosel Setting: B-1
SureFit Weight: Use Default
Length: Standard
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 7
Shaft Flex: Stiff
Tip Trim: Standard 1.5"
Grip: Standard
Grip Size: Standard
Grip Assembly: Standard
 

Edited August 31 by GolferXY
Adding content

[GolfSpy_KFT]

GolfSpy_ KFT's Introduction

Greetings fellow MGS Crew! For those who don't know me, my name is Jason Noble and I am one of the moderators of our fantastic forum. I am in my first year as a forum mod, and have been a member since joining back in 2018; however, it wasn't until the 2022 season that I started to really get engaged here. It has been one of the best decisions I have made as I have made some very valued online friendships. My golf game has improved, too, but that is second to the joy and fun this forum brings me.

I am married to a woman who is well out of my league, and we will be celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary this September. We have two boys, ages 7 and 4, who keep us on our toes all the time and are constantly chasing around to various activities. Both enjoy coming out on the golf course with me, and my oldest son competed in the Drive, Chip and Putt competition for the first time this year. He finished 8th overall in the 7-9 year old division in our local qualifier and totaled the 4th most points putting. Both he and his younger brother have been big into baseball this year as well. I stepped back into the coaching ring with my oldest son's 7/8 year old baseball team this summer, which was a hoot. 

As mentioned earlier, my golf game has seen significant improvement since becoming a regular member of the forum. I've been a member at my home course the past two seasons which has also helped, and we bought a home on the course in December 2023. I currently sit at a 15.4 handicap, putting me squarely in the mid-handicap range. I started out last year as a 30.3, so improvement was fast last year but has slowed this year, which I expected. 

But enough about me, let's get into what you're really here for. I have the fortunate opportunity to test the Titleist GT line with a group of fantastic testers, and it'll be competing for spots in my bag against a Cobra Darkspeed X driver and two Cobra Aerojet Max fairways. The Darkspeed X has been very good to me this year as a new addition, kicking out a TSi3 earlier this year. It is equipped with a Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft, which I was not fit for. My current Arccos smart distance is 268 yards. On my best strikes, I can get the ball out into the 290s and recently crossed the 300 yard barrier. On poor strikes, it still performs well and has kept me in play the majority of the time. Below is some Arccos data for the DS X. I should note that the smart distance is 5 yards longer than my previous TSi3.

My AJ Max fairway woods both have stock Diamana Kai'Li White 60S shafts in them. These were fit during a fitting for my Cobra challenge test last year. I have LOVED these clubs. Below is smart distance for each.

I have been striking woods particularly well for me this year, so it is going to be very interesting to see if the GT line can move these clubs out of my bag. The hype around them has been as high as I can remember for a new release.

Testing Parameters & Expectations

Titleist is quite literally claiming "Generational Technology" with the GT line. With words like that, high expectations follow. Here's what I'll be looking for when testing the GT line against my current gamers:

1. Will distance loss be improved on non-centered strikes?

• I tend to miss slightly high toe or low heel. GT claims so far are that misses are less punishing in terms of spin and therefore, distance. the DS X and AJ Max woods do a pretty good job at this. 

2. Will I gain MORE ball speed and distance on well struck shots?

• With where my game and swing is currently at, I feel like I am nearly maxed out in terms of ball speed and distance. If the GTs are faster AND longer, it's going to be instant plug and play.

3. Can the GT driver be more forgiving than my DS X?

• I saw noticeable forgiveness improvement on mishits with the Darkspeed X coming from the TSi3. Balls that would have been off the planet with TSi are simply just in the rough but in play with DS X. However, that is not to say that shots don't get away from me with DS X, as I have seen some bad hooks recently. If GT is even better, I would be floored.

The majority of my testing will be done on the course as well as on the driving range. I have a Garmin R10 I should be able to borrow from a friend to collect data, and I plan on one or two Trackman sessions to get a more accurate comparison as well.

I am very excited to see what this line of clubs can do for my game. I have been a huge fan of Titleist since putting a TSi3 in my bag in 2021, so I am eager to see if they can earn a spot back in!

Titleist GT Driver & Fairway Wood Fitting

I completed my GT fitting on Monday, August 26th at TPC Wisconsin in Madison, WI. It was, to date, the hottest day of the year this summer - real temp. of 94 and a heat index well over 100. I arrived at TPC about 30 minutes early as I had never been there and wasn't sure where to go. I headed inside to where the player's lounge is and was met by their director of operations, who graciously gave me a ride to the driving range as it was a walk from the lounge. He then left a cart there for me so that I could drive back. 

I went out onto the range, which was mat only, and was slightly disappointed with that. Not a huge deal as I was hitting woods, but they had a grass area that was just begging to be hit off of. I later found out it had just been seeded in May, and not even members had used it yet. After getting loose, I met my fitter, Bill Byrne, and we got to work getting some baseline numbers with my Darkspeed X. I have been struggling with this club lately, but managed to get what have been better strikes for me as of late. I found out that it was spinning WAY too much, some into the low 3000s, and the best strike with it is pictured below. It is also on the lower side for peak height, so he wanted to try and bring that up.

First combination up for GT was the GT2 with stock Tensei 1k Black. Fantastic looking club at address and a MASSIVE improvement over the last "2" series driver from Titleist I tried at a fitting, which was the TSi2. However, it immediately was too spinny, and Bill quickly moved me into the GT3. Stayed with the Tensei 1k black, but again it was spinning too much. What amazed me was it was at this point that he said, "you've got 280 total in there, and we're gonna find it today." This was after watching me hit some decent but not great shots.

The next shaft that was plugged into the head was the HZRDUS Black. I have never been a fan of HZRDUS shafts, but it actually performed pretty well. However, it was STILL spinning higher than he liked. He seemed a bit surprised as well, but I've always been on the higher side of spin with driver. We moved into the Tour AD-VF next, and this brought spin down to where he liked it. The only problem was that it was bringing into play the pull hook miss I've been seeing with my DS X as of late. This shaft also felt like I had to really work hard to get it to kick, something I don't enjoy. We then moved into the Tour AD-XC, and this is where things started to click. It brought my peak height up to 90 - 100 feet, which I really enjoyed watching. I was thinking we had maybe landed on a winner, but when I would miss a little, it was prone to fading and going too far left. Bill didn't love that at the higher flight as it is more time in the air for it to get too far away from me. Other numbers were looking good, though! It was at this point that we took a break as it was crazy hot and I needed some rest. 

Once we got back into it, he handed me a GT4 just for the heck of it. It lasted about 5 swings and I gave it back  but was still fun to try it. 

The next combination for GT3 was with the HZRDUS RDX Blue. This is a shaft that I tried in my former TSi3 and absolutely hated it. My despise for it was confirmed when I hit three snappy hooks in a row and he got that thing gone! We tried the AD-VF again with a different setting, and then the Tensei 1k black again in a different setting, but neither performed well. As I was walking back with it to swap out for a different setup, I saw my next combo waiting for me. It was the GT3 paired with a Tour AD-UB. Bill explained as we took another short break that with the way the UB is set up, he thought it would work well with how I release the club on my downswing. I tend to release early, and this shaft can help me take advantage of that. I was skeptical as this is a shaft I'd NEVER assume would work for me...

And then I hit it. My jaw about hit the ground as I watched a piercing, tight draw rocket off the face of the club. I turned around and said to him, "It's over! We're done!" I hit two more balls, and the flight was ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL each time. A couple other fitters who had finished up for the day were looking on at this point, and I boldly made the claim "Alright, last one here. I'm gonna start it up the left side and bring it back right to the middle." Bill LOVED this confidence, and right on cue, GT3 delivered. The results, posted below from my best shot with GT3, speak for themselves.

He then threw the AD-UB in a 15* and 18* GT2. I hit three shots with each, and it produced a dead straight flight. I have been seeing over draws with my Aerojet Max fairways, and it has been making trusting the swing a challenge. I didn't hit them yesterday as we were running short on time and I was gassed, but I didn't need to. If I don't gain a single yard over those clubs, I feel strongly dispersion will be better. 

I was so zoned into those clubs at the end, that I forgot to ask Bill what we ended up in with adjustments to the SureFIT hosel and weight track. I was focused on just making a good swing, and didn't really want to know as I didn't want to compensate anything. In the photo you can see the weight in H1, but he was tinkering with different weights the whole time, so it may be different than stock. Once my order is submitted and in my Team Titleist account, I'll be sure to share those specs.

(my fitter, Bill Byrne, helping me with some photos for the forum)

When it was all said and done, it was HANDS DOWN the best fitting experience I've ever had. We got good numbers with the Tour AD-XC and Bill could have stopped there, but he genuinely wanted to get more out of the club for me. The other thing that I thought was absolutely fantastic about Bill was that he could tell when I was struggling with my swing, and would start talking to me about something completely unrelated to golf. It was like he could see me about to derail, and then pulled me back in. I can't speak well enough about how great he was. If you're in the WI/MN/IL/IA area and want to get fit with Titliest, he is the man you want to go see.

Now the wait begins for the clubs to arrive!

Stay tuned for more updates!

 

 

 

 

[GolfSpy_APH]

At this point most all of you know me fairly well, so I am going to cut right to the chase. 

My name is Jamie, I am the Forum Director here and have typical up and down golf game. Mostly my putting is pretty solid, iron game has become more of a strength and my woods are some of my favorite, minus driver. Not that I don't like it, more that it can be absolutely stellar or the reason my end fails to meet expectations. 

I am joining/adding to this review mainly because I got fit for the Titleist GT line a bit early and want to share my experience. 

On July 10 I had my fitting in Moossee Golf Park near Bern, Switzerland. 

There were five fitters there and I was fortunate to get Jannik who is the head fitter for well four countries in Europe. The guy knows his stuff! 

As normal I showed up way too early, helped them get setup, had a coffee, a little warm up throwing an american football around before hitting a few shots and then it was time for the fitting to start. 

I should mention that prior getting the fit we had a little demo and went over the new tech which at the time was all under embargo and they kindly asked for no photos. No biggy, I had an idea anyway and I was really there to get excited about the fit. 

I was/am playing a Callaway Paradym TD with the shaft of the day. For the fitting I had the AutoFlex Dream7 in play. It had been a solid shaft for me and one that was fun to use with some mega numbers at times. 

We hit 5 baseline shots and we saw 3 solid strikes with 2 of my typical misses. Which I was quite happy to see. There was a bit of rain so it was a bit tough keeping things dry and it did have a slight effect on the fitting and performance, but since I also play in the rain I didn't mind at all. 

After that we went into the GT2 head with a regular Autoflex to get a like for like comparison. Straight away I loved the look and how it sat at address. Just a sharp looking head which was easily appealing. After 3 or 4 shots we had some comparison numbers and we switched out to the GT3. 

In truth I kinda thought the GT3 was the GT4, maybe it was the darker overcast or the rain but yeah. Immediately I felt like the head felt heavier. No doubt this was due to the weight placement further forward in the head, but I felt like it was a bit more work. The sound and feel off the club head was the same or very similar. However the misses were more noticeable and there was definitely a bit of performance loss on those strikes compared to the GT2. 

Finally we jumped into the GT4, smaller profile and much higher pitch. Was fun to hit, but again even less forgiving. Not bad, but again compared to GT2 it was clearly not my fit. 

Having hit all 3 Jannik asked what one I would like to proceed with and I said it was pretty clear GT2 was the standout, he agreed and we then started with shafts moving out of the Autoflex and into the Graphite Design AD DI 6S. I actually have this shaft and have been using it since in my Paradym TD. The reason for this choice was to help with my path which has over the years gone from fairly in to out to very out to in. I have enjoyed playing a fade, but I have over corrected a bit and he wanted to find a shaft that would help mitigate this. 

My feedback again was it felt heavy and that it required a bit more effort to move, the strikes were okay but a bit out of the heel. Jannik noted that I was actually lining up or setting up towards the heel. This leads me into the other part which was tricky, we setup crooked on the range as we all needed to get max length with it being a shorter range. However we still had the ropes so it was a bit odd setting up. I should have probably taking some alignment sticks, but again we have to do this on the course with tee boxes so I left it be. 

After my feedback on the AD DI we moved into the CQ from Graphite Design. It was magic, felt great and things started to align quickly. We had found the shaft, now it was time to dial in the head, setting and weight. 

We tried various combinations, truthfully I didn't ask what most of them were I just took the club and hit it and then provided feedback. He is the pro and the one that knows his stuff, I didn't need outside influence on what the setting was or whatever to impact my swing. 

We ended up with an 8 degree GT2 head with Graphite Design AD CQ 5S, we also added 2 grams of head weight and were in C2 setting (up and draw). All of this helped improve my path by over 3 degrees and allowed for far better strikes as well as faster ball speeds and distance. To the tune of 6 mph ball speed and 14 meters of distance on carry... pretty huge. 

To scratch an itch, just before we  put the driver away we put in a Ventus Red to see how that performed, short version not for me. Looked great though. 

We then went into the 3-wood. My Cobra 3 wood is a machine and in truth the Titleist GT2 3-wood was basically the same. The big difference was I have greater ability to hit it higher, outside of that both were comparable on distance and performance. 

However the 7-wood was a different animal. My Cobra has a slightly deeper face leading to some inconsistency in ball flight. I can hit some very low 7 woods, but also some high however it really have to work at that. The advantage of the GT2 was a consistency of ball flight and carry that felt like cheating. 

We are probably a week away from them arriving  at my door and I couldn't be happier. I am thrilled to get these in the bag and see if I can start shooting a little lower with a little more consistency. 

A huge thank you to Jannik for his fit, time and efforts. It was a lot of fun and felt like we really got the best options for me and my game.  

[RichL85]

 

[hartrick11]

Congrats gents 

[SANDBGGR]

Congrats to the forum member testers.  Got to see the Titleist GT up close last round while Chris Nickel was blowing his drives 40-50 yds past mine(even on miss hits).  .   

[William P]

Congrats to a great group! Looking forward to your results and feedback!

Edited August 13 by William P

[Javs]

31 minutes ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Titleist has introduced the GT Drivers and fairways, signifying Generational Technology, marking a significant shift in materials, construction, and performance from their previous TS models. Despite appearances suggesting minimal change, substantial advancements lie beneath the surface.

Titleist's goal was to enhance performance without altering the familiar look and feel. This approach ensures that players have a familiarity with their clubs year over year while hopefully experiencing performance gains. The GT models feature refined aerodynamics, with changes focused on the underside to reduce drag and increase speed, notably through the raised aft section.

Tony Covey and Chris Nickel have done full breakdowns and articles on both the drivers and fairway woods which can be found here drivers) and here (fairway woods). Here is a brief overview to whet your appetite.

The New GT Line

The introduction of Split Mass Construction redistributes weight to the driver’s perimeter, enhancing stability and optimizing performance. Additionally, the GT lineup incorporates a seamless thermoform composite crown, marking a departure from previous designs. This innovative crown integrates a Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), improving acoustics and mimicking the sound of titanium.

The GT drivers emphasize lowering the center of gravity, promoting consistent spin rates and enhancing forgiveness. Titleist’s Speed Ring with Variable Face Thickness (VFT) face technology aims to boost speed across the face, catering to off-center hits.

Titleist offers three GT driver models models (GT2, GT3, GT4) and two GT fariway wodo models (GT2 and GT3)

Each model maintains a familiar look but with significant improvements in speed, consistency, and overall performance. Titleist's approach ensures that while much has evolved, the essence of the driver remains unchanged, catering to both average golfers and Tour pros. The new GT family embodies the philosophy of advancing technology without compromising the core attributes that define Titleist drivers.

Please welcome and congratulate our four testers!

@Golf2Much 

@RichL85 

@Rearviewmirror 

@GolferXY

Congratulations testers! This is an awesome test. Looking forward to your reviews!

[Glenmore5]

Congrats to all.....interested in your outcomes...

[Fazz]

Congrats to the lucky testers!!  I'm definitely thinking about upgrading my driver so I'll be looking forward to the testing & reviews

[yungkory]

Following this for sure, might be my next driver! Congrats testers hope you hit them well.

[sirchunksalot]

Congratulations testers! 

[Coulter]

Congratulations!

[IndyBonzo]

Congrats testers!  Watching with great interest. 

[CFreddie]

Boom! Congrats testers - this is gonna be a spectacular one!

[MattF]

Congratulations all.

[Rob Person]

Congratulations!

[Brian A]

Congratulations to all! Looking forward to some real in depth reviews 

[EBr]

Congratulations, the tests recently have been outrageous

[Yorkie07]

Congratulations to the testers. Great opportunity. 

[Willie T]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Titleist has introduced the GT Drivers and fairways, signifying Generational Technology, marking a significant shift in materials, construction, and performance from their previous TS models. Despite appearances suggesting minimal change, substantial advancements lie beneath the surface.

Titleist's goal was to enhance performance without altering the familiar look and feel. This approach ensures that players have a familiarity with their clubs year over year while hopefully experiencing performance gains. The GT models feature refined aerodynamics, with changes focused on the underside to reduce drag and increase speed, notably through the raised aft section.

Tony Covey and Chris Nickel have done full breakdowns and articles on both the drivers and fairway woods which can be found here drivers) and here (fairway woods). Here is a brief overview to whet your appetite.

The New GT Line

The introduction of Split Mass Construction redistributes weight to the driver’s perimeter, enhancing stability and optimizing performance. Additionally, the GT lineup incorporates a seamless thermoform composite crown, marking a departure from previous designs. This innovative crown integrates a Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), improving acoustics and mimicking the sound of titanium.

The GT drivers emphasize lowering the center of gravity, promoting consistent spin rates and enhancing forgiveness. Titleist’s Speed Ring with Variable Face Thickness (VFT) face technology aims to boost speed across the face, catering to off-center hits.

Titleist offers three GT driver models models (GT2, GT3, GT4) and two GT fariway wodo models (GT2 and GT3)

Each model maintains a familiar look but with significant improvements in speed, consistency, and overall performance. Titleist's approach ensures that while much has evolved, the essence of the driver remains unchanged, catering to both average golfers and Tour pros. The new GT family embodies the philosophy of advancing technology without compromising the core attributes that define Titleist drivers.

Please welcome and congratulate our four testers!

@Golf2Much 

@RichL85 

@Rearviewmirror 

@GolferXY

Congrats testers - gonna be a fun one.  This will be a great test for see how Titleist has upped their game in the driver/fairway arena.  

[arodrig29]

Congrats team, I will be watching this one closely. 

[TJ Hall]

Congratulations…looks like a great group of testers!  Looking forward to reading your feedback on these!

[Patrick Dawes]

Congrats if any of you are hitting an AI smoke or the Ping 430 as a gamer would be really interested to see how these stack up

[Swood1994]

What a solid group, Congrats testers!

[Josh Parker]

Congrats!  Awesome group!