Equipment

Titleist’s 818 H1, H2 Aim To Be Golf’s Most Complete Hybrids

Published

7 years ago

Aug 31, 2017

A thread was started earlier this month in the GolfWRX Equipment Forum titled, “Anti-hook hybrids.” The original poster, JaNelson38, asked GolfWRXers for their recommendations for a hybrid with “little if any draw bias.”

“For the life of me, I can’t stop hooking the hybrids I play,” he wrote. “It’s starting to affect me mentally, as the 3-hybrid is an important club for me when I’m playing my home course.”

More than 60 comments later, JaNelson38 had countless leads from GolfWRX Members. Suggestions ranged from trying a handful of 5-year-old hybrid models to switching to driving irons. He was even offered swing advice.

Titleist’s new 818 H1 and 818 H2 hybrids were created with golfers like JaNelson38 in mind, and they’ll likely simplify future discussions. They’re the first Titleist hybrids to feature the company’s SureFit CG Technology, an adjustable-weight system that allows golfers to shift a hybrid’s center of gravity to encourage, or discourage, a specific ball flight.

The 818 hybrids are also loft and lie adjustable through Titleist’s SureFit hosel.

SureFit CG, which is also available on Titleist’s 917 drivers and fairways, uses a weighted stick to adjust CG. The stick is inserted through an opening on the side of the hybrids that runs from toe to heel and is secured with a screw. Every 818 H1 and 818 H2 hybrid is sold with two weighted sticks: one that’s evenly weighted to encourage a straight ball flight, and another that’s heavier on one end to create either a draw- or fade-biased trajectory.

Using SureFit CG, golfers can encourage a draw by positioning the heavy end of the weighted stick on the heel side of the hybrid; they can encourage a fade by positioning the heavy side of the weight on the toe side of the hybrid. The CG difference between the two settings is approximately 1.5 millimeters, which will create about 4 yards of trajectory bias, says Stephanie Luttrell, Director of Titleist Metalwood Development. The stock weight of the stick is 14 grams, but heavier and lighter weights are available to accommodate custom club lengths, shafts, and swing weights.

Gapping Recommendations From Titleist

25-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP1 4-iron for R-Flex golfers
23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP1 4-iron for S-Flex golfers
23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP3 4-iron for S/X-Flex golfers
21-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP3 3-iron for S/X-Flex golfers
23-degree 818 hybrid replaces AP2 3-iron for S/X-flex golfers

Learn more about Titleist’s 718 irons.

When the 818 hybrids were made available to PGA Tour players in July at the Quicken Loans National, Brendon de Jonge saw the benefits of the added adjustability first hand, Luttrell says. De Jonge had developed a tendency to hit his hybrid to the left, and at the time he had abandoned the 816 H2 hybrid he was previously using. Using the fade-biased SureFit CG setting in an 818H2 hybrid allowed de Jonge was able to fix the issue. He put a 19-degree 818 H2 in his bag that week.

The 818 H2 targets the needs of better players, with a compact, squared-off appearance. It’s the most popular Titleist hybrid on the PGA Tour by a wide margin. The vast majority of amateur golfers, on the other hand, will likely prefer the company’s 818 H1 hybrid. Although it’s smaller and more streamlined than the 816H1 hybrid it replaces, it has a larger, more fairway-wood like shape than the 818 H2 to offer a higher ball flight and more forgiveness.

According to Luttrell, golfers won’t notice much of a distance increase if they’re comparing the 818 hybrids to 816 models: maybe 1-2 yards. Where they should see a difference is in the consistency of the new hybrids, which is attributable to the movement of weight lower and deeper in the club heads. That boosts moment of inertia (MOI), a measure of forgiveness, by 10 percent over past models. It also boosts launch and spin of the clubs, leading to more “playable distance.”

“We weren’t looking to make these hybrids go significantly farther,” she says. “We wanted to deliver more consistent launch and spin.”

The 818 H1 hybrids are available in five lofts (19, 21, 23, 25 and 27 degrees). The 818 H2 hybrids are available in four lofts (17, 19, 21 and 23 degrees). They’re available for testing starting September 1 and will be in stores September 29.

Stock Shaft Options

818Hybrids-Group-Environmental

Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Red 50 Hybrid (L)
Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Red 60 Hybrid (A, R, S)
Mitsubishi Tensei Pro Blue 70 Hybrid (R, S)
Mitsubishi Tensei Pro White 90 Hybrid (S, X)
Fujikura Atmos HB Tour Spec Blue 8 Hybrid (S, X)
Project X Even Flow Blue 85 Hybrid (S)

Discussion: See What GolfWRX Members Are Saying About The 818 Hybrids In Our Forum.

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Equipment

Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage

Published

18 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Andrew Tursky

Although we spotted Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper last week during practice rounds at the Masters, he ultimately didn’t decide to use the club in competition.

It seems that will change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage, played at the short-and-tight Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head.

When asked on Wednesday following his morning Pro-Am if he’d be using the new, nostalgic BRNR Copper this week, McIlroy said, “I think so.”

“I like it,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday regarding the BRNR. “This would be a good week for it.”

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According to Adrian Rietveld, the Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, the BRNR Mini Driver can help McIlroy position himself properly off the tee at the tight layout.

Here’s what Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday:

“For someone like Rory, who’s that long at the top end of the bag, and then you put him on a course like Harbour Town, it’s tough off the tee. It’s tight into the greens, and you have to put yourself in position off the tee to have a shot into the green. It kind of reminds me of Valderrama in Spain, where you can be in the fairway and have no shot into the green.

“I’m caddying for Tommy [Fleetwood] this week, so I was walking the course last night and looking at a few things. There’s just such a small margin for error. You can be standing in the fairway at 300 yards and have a shot, but at 320 you don’t. So if you don’t hit a perfect shot, you could be stuck behind a tree. And then if you’re back at 280, it might be a really tough shot into the small greens.

“So for Rory [with the BRNR], it’s a nice course-specific golf club for him. He’s got both shots with it; he can move it right-to-left or left-to-right. And the main thing about this club has been the accuracy and the dispersion with it. I mean, it’s been amazing for Tommy.

“This was the first event Tommy used a BRNR last year, and I remember talking to him about it, and he said he couldn’t wait to play it at Augusta next year. And he just never took it out of the bag because he’s so comfortable with it, and hitting it off the deck.

“So you look at Rory, and you want to have the tools working to your advantage out here, and the driver could hand-cuff him a bit with all of the shots you’d have to manufacture.”

So, although McIlroy might not be making a permanent switch into the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper, he’s likely to switch into it this week.

His version is lofted at 13.5 degrees, and equipped with a Fujikura Ventus Black 7X shaft.

See more photos of Rory testing the BRNR Mini here

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Equipment

Spotted: TaylorMade P-UDI driving iron

Published

19 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

Brian Knudson

It seems like the RBC Heritage is full of new gear to be spotted, and you can add TaylorMade’s P-UDI utility irons to that list.

We spotted a 17-degree P-UDI 2-iron in Nick Dunlap’s bag yesterday, and now have some photos of both the 3- and 4-irons. Nick has his P-UDI 2-iron setup with a Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 105g TX shaft.

From what we can tell, this new P-UDI utility iron looks to have some of the usual TaylorMade technology as we can see the Speed Slot on the sole of the club for additional face flexibility. A toe screw is usually used to close off the hollow body design that will probably be filled with a version of TaylorMade’s Speed Foam that is present in the current iron lineup. This hollow body, foam-filled design should offer additional ball speed, soft feel, and sound, as well as an optimized CG for ball flight.

“Forged” is etched into the hosel, so we can assume that either the face, body, or both are forged for a soft and responsive feel. The club looks good from behind and at address, where we can see just a little offset and a topline that I would consider medium thickness. We don’t have the full details on what is under the hood or how many loft options will be available yet.

TaylorMade P-UDI 3-iron – 20°

TaylorMade P-UDI 4-iron – 22°

Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

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Whats in the Bag

Collin Morikawa WITB 2024 (April)

Published

20 hours ago

Apr 17, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

Collin Morikawa what’s in the bag accurate as of the RBC Heritage. More photos from the event here.

Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (9 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 60 TX (45 inches)

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Check out more in-hand photos Collin Morikawa’s clubs here.

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Limited 80 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P770 (4), P7MC (5-6), P730 (7-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Mid 115 X100 (4-6), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (7-PW)