I posted this up on GolfWRX the other day, but given that Titleist were good enough to treat me to this experience, I thought I'd share it with the TT community. Hopefully I'm not saying anything I shouldn't - I was told that discussing the experience was fair game, but I don't want to step on any toes.

OK, so I was invited to Titleist's National Fitting Centre on Saturday, August 25, where I was able to try out the new drivers.

I warmed up for about 20-30 mins, got a quick marketing rundown, then was able to hit the clubs. One thing I'll start with is that I respected how self-aware the people at Titleist were about their product and their perception. They knew that there were rumblings that their long clubs were spinnier and slower than the competition. While they maintained that their stuff could compete with anyone while properly fit (which has also been my experience), they acknowledged that they had some work to do to get back in line with their competitors in terms of perception. There was discussion about re-building from the ground up, weight savings and new abilities to relocate CG - I caught the jist of everything, but I was just excited to hit some clubs, so you'd be best off waiting for the official rundown from Titleist when the embargo lifts to get more details, which is September 6. I will say that I was impressed with what they had to say - it really is an entirely new product.

I first got some baseline numbers with my driver - my 910D2, HZRDUS 75 6.0 yellow, 45", D4.5 SW. Here were the numbers:

Ball Speed: 151.1 Launch 12.9 Spin: 3090 Carry: 248.8 Total: 268.1

First-off, I apologize for not having any more full specslike this - there was some rain, which led to a bit of a delay. The Titleist guys were terrific about taking care of us, but I ended up having to duck out pretty quickly for an appointment after the fitting. Anyway, I'll give you an idea of things based on memory - the numbers are a accurate, but I won't have as many specs as above.

Anyway, I had an opportunity to hit a few shafts, but I was really only interested in the Even Flow White ("EFW") and the HZRDUS Smoke ("HS"). I thought the HS was nice, but like the HZRDUS Black, I had some difficulty turning it over and was losing everything right. The EFW was a beauty - felt like my yellow, but probably a little smoother but also tighter at the same time - really not sure how to describe it other than that. Not boardy, but not loose either. I also found it much easier to turn over and keep straight.

I hit 4-5 shots with the TS2 and TS3 each with my shaft, with the EFW and with the HS.

The TS2 is a little bigger looking all around - face is nice and deep, has a Rogue-esque shape (the face, not the head), and has a 915D2 shape at address. The TS3 is very classic looking at address, and the face is still nice and deep. It is 460CC and not 440CC like the "3" series of old, but it's just a beautiful club to look down at. As I said, these are a new generation of products.

In terms of sound, both sounded terrific. One think that has kept me with my 910 for so long was the sound and feel. I would ay these were both like a slightly higher-pitched 910 sound. I was really on board with it!

Here's where things got interesting for me. I have been following these clubs closely since the info was first released, and I was absolutely positive I'd walk out loving the TS2. I think the shape just really got in my head. It's "modern", and it does have a pleasing shape, I wasn't as consistent with it as I wanted to be - it was definitely all between the ears. When I did put it out there, I was getting decent results (+3mph ball speed, -200 rpm), but I just couldn't trust myself to hit it straight.

Then I moved onto the TS3 - I was initially intimidated by the shape a bit, but it does look a touch friendlier than the D3s of eras past. However, that concern immediately disappeared once I started hitting - just straight bullets. I had a couple I lost off the toe, and they definitely would have stayed in play. When it was all said and done, after 4-5 shots I was looking at:

- 154.9 Ball speed (+3.8mph) - 13.0 Launch (+0.1) - 2350 spin (-740 RPM)

At the end of it all, I had a gain of 20.5 yards (289.6 total) with the TS3 with the EFW. I get that this won't be the case for everyone, and I 100% realize my initial spin numbers weren't ideal. However, I was definitely really impressed with what I experienced. I get my specs this week and I'll definitely be putting an order in ASAP.

One last ting I'll mention - I really like what they did with the TS3 weights. Instead of having 2 weights (draw and neutral), there's one weight with a moveable magnet on it. So basically if you have the magnet on one side, it balances with the fixed weight and makes it neutral, then if you switch the magnet to the other side, it doubles the weight on one end, and you get the draw-fade. Means two things - you won't be searching for your other weight if you want to fine-tune and I think it means the weight kits will cost less (though I'm not 100% sure on the second point).

Anyway, all-in-all, walked away incredibly impressed with what I saw, and I have no doubt that these drivers will be able to go toe to toe against anything Cally, TM or png puts out next year.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have!