#TeamCompleat was recently invited to an exclusive launch at CopperLeaf Golf Estate, home of Titleist’s fitting centre in Johannesburg where we had the opportunity to test the new D2 and D3 917 Drivers.
On arrival we were greeted with breakfast and refreshments and a personalised goodie bag for the day ahead. Acushnet South Africa Brand and Marketing manager Jesse Henney took everyone through a presentation where we got to see the technology which has gone into the new 917 metals range. Not only did this give us a good indication of what to expect on the range but also gave us better insight into what Titleist has been doing over the last 3 years to take their products to the next level, “The standard for complete performance”.
With a quick change and dressed to the nines we headed out onto the range to go through each area of the product so that we could experience this first hand. This showed us all how the tech talk converted into an actual experience of the product the result were astonishing to say the least. Not only have Titleist produced a quality range in 917 metals but have pushed the boundaries of technology to help ensure that the consumer gets better feel, better control and better sound when hitting these clubs. To give you a better idea we’ve compiled a couple of elements to give you a better idea of what we talking about. There are four areas of focus Titleist have focused on with the new 917 metals range.
SureFit Hosel
The SureFit hosel ensures players are able to dial in the new driver and fairway metals with 16 independent loft and lie settings. This allows for a precise fitting, so you can find a more consistent and ball flight on the course or even adjusted to the playing conditions. Always remember that you can only change any settings before the round and not during.
SureFit CG
There was more talk about the new SureFit CG technology that Titleist have been working on for the past 3 years. This weight system allows the CG to be moved from a back, heel position to a forward, toe position through interchangeable weights, optimising spin and launch conditions for every player.
There are a total of 5 different weights that range from 8 – 16 grams. In addition, to control the shape of the shot each of these weights come with a Neutral, Draw or Fade bias. In fact the Fade and Draw bias are interchangeable which means you can actually just flip the weight around depending on your shot shape you require.
Active Recoil Channel
To help reduce spin and increase speed Titleist have refined the thickness in the recoil channel. One point that was given to us which stood out was that when playing you need to keep this recoil channel clean at all times as it will not be effective if full of grass or dirt and as golfers we need every advantage we can get. Besides its good maintenance of your clubs to keep the clean.
Radial Speed Face 2.0
The last element to the design of these 917 metals is the Radial Speed Face 2.0 which has been enhanced with a thinner perimeter face width to help promote better ball speeds. This helps spread balance across the entire face of the club and is not just limited to centre
strikes.
The key for most brands now a day is to help players increase ball speed off the club face. In the situation with the new 917 metals we saw a distinct increase of around 3 and in some cases 5mph off the club face which is going to result in better distance guaranteed.
Summary
Overall we had an great experience with the launch of the latest range and know that Titleist hold true to their beliefs of launching a new product every 2 years only when they can better the product before. In this case they definitely have out performed the older 915 range.
As with all products, pay a visit to The Pro Shop when the 917 metals launch and take these for a test drive. With a recommended price tag of around R 7 999 for a driver you will quickly see, feel and hear the difference in quality of a top end product on the market.
