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A little background about myself. I am a golf professional in Ohio and my true passion in the golf business is custom clubs and club fitting. I would consider myself an above average player that struggles off the tee at times, but hey I've passed the PAT twice 
. I've been as low as a +4.4 with scores ranging from 66-80 this season. The strongest part of my game is my iron play and driving is definitely the weakest. The last several years I've been a Titleist Staff Professional which leads into the background of my drivers. Before I was working on TrackMan or other high end launch monitors the 909 drivers were out and I ordered one with DI-7 because of the chart on the fitting manual that Titleist gives you as a dealer. It showed as higher launch than Whiteboard with similar spin so I ordered it. Not too long after Tiger switched and I've been on the Graphite Design bandwagon since.
910 came out and I ordered my driver, 9.5 D3 with Tour AD DI-8X at 44.75" because I've always liked heavier shafts. This driver was good, spun just a bit too much. My go-to shot is a push fade and the numbers with it were 14-15 launch, 2800-3100 spin at 160-165 ball speed. As I started to play a bit more golf and saw my swing improve I became pretty comfortable with this driver. I played it for over a year until I started playing quite a bit of golf with another rep. He always gave me a hard time that a guy so into clubs and fitting (and who does it for a living) would leave yards on the table so he offered to see if he could beat it. He worked in the tour department prior and made a few calls which got my driver approved because at that time the shaft he wanted me to play was not available yet. Enter 8.5 degrees with Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 Tour Spec.
As soon as I got this to the course I knew it was good. On TrackMan my ball speed was similar but swing to swing it produced an additional 1-2 mph of ball speed. However my launch was now between 13-14 with mid 2000's spin on the same push fade which gave me additional yardage. The head however was not something I was used to because I had played a tradtional looking Titleist for the last several years. I loved the driver and played it from March until September but I actually found that I had a hard time moving it right to left and now began using 3 wood on several more holes on my home course because driver was too much club unless I could turn it over. My only real gripe with this driver was the feel of the shaft. Don't get me wrong, it was good but the shaft is very stiff feeling and reminds me a bit of that Aldila RIP feel.
Well about a month ago my Titleist rep approached me and said because of my job (and boss) I would be getting a 913 early so I could pick out the specs. Seeing as I had just helped fit a top Division 1 golf team for their sticks and watched them hit every high end shaft on the market I knew immediately what I wanted. I ordered D3 8.5 with Tour AD BB-7X. I was like a kid on Christmas when it showed up the following week.
The first day I got it I hit one ball on TrackMan after work and got: 167 ball speed, 13.8 launch and 2190 spin...best swing I could make so I stopped there...
I've now had the driver for 3 weeks and have played about six 18 hole rounds with it. I would say the biggest improvement with it over 910 are the slight misses. Ball speed has improved and was every bit as fast as my other non Titleist driver. I put it to the test on my first round where the 9th hole at my home course is a 430 yard dogleg left par 4 that favors a draw if you can hit it past 260-270 or so. Anything more than 260 will be blocked out unless you can turn it over, which was a very difficult shot for me with the other driver so I began hitting 3 wood which left me anywhere from 150-180 depending on the conditions. Well I piped one that started right center with a small 5 yard draw that left me 122 yards to a front pin. That shot just wasn't possible with the other driver... The D3 is a no nonsense driver that looks great, feels great, and performs as well as anything out there properly fit.
The guys I was playing with could only play 9 so I took both drivers out and hit several balls with each one on different holes. I would say I hit both almost on top of each other (keep in mind this is 10-12 yards longer than my 910) until I hit one that almost looked like a pop up... very high and REALLY low spin. A shot that was not possible with my 910 combo. It was a good distance past the rest of the grouping.
I played a couple rounds of golf with some guys that I used to work with (and play a lot of golf with) this past weekend and they both said this is as good as they've ever seen me hit the driver. One guy is a HUGE PING fan and he even commented about how good the driver was which is surprising for him to admit that... Rob...
I decided to go with Tour AD BB-7 because the day I had all the new high end shafts at my disposal this is the one I was most impressed with... Not quite as low launch and spin as VC Tour Spec but VERY close with a much smoother (softer) feel. It felt very much like DI but with a flatter flight. So slightly less loft, this shaft and I was in business! I am definitely more comfortable with the look, sound, and feel of this head and now its just as long as anything else I've owned.
I've had the new fitting cart for 913 for a couple weeks now and so far so good with the fittings. They've improved the sound, ball speed, ball speed on off center contact and kept the classic Titleist look that their loyalists are drawn to... The very high speed player should not struggle as much with too much spin with 913 over 910 either. Excellent stock offerings and the most extensive exotic/upgrade shaft list of any OEM out there right. 913D2 has been a winner in a couple of my fittings because it allows more forgiveness and is much lower spin than its predecessor. D3 was the choice for the 1 handicap that I fit and a 2 handicap WRX member who chose D2 for his 2013 weapon. Titleist truly has a winner on its hands again this year with 913 and I think the biggest positive is the amount of excellent shaft choices available at no upcharge.... S+, D+, RIP, RIP Phenom, Diamana White 73, 83 and Blue 73 and 83 (yes, real deal x5ct White and Blueboards at NO upcharge) just to name a few. I honestly believe 98% of guys will not need to go upcharge unless they choose to or just want something "cool"... I could have went D+ and been happy myself.
Titleist seems to agree with my assessment of the BB as well. Here is their new updated shaft chart that I thought you guys would enjoy:
I'm sure I missed something and spelled a few things wrong so if anyone has any comments or questions, fire away. I hope you guys enjoyed!!
. I've been as low as a +4.4 with scores ranging from 66-80 this season. The strongest part of my game is my iron play and driving is definitely the weakest. The last several years I've been a Titleist Staff Professional which leads into the background of my drivers. Before I was working on TrackMan or other high end launch monitors the 909 drivers were out and I ordered one with DI-7 because of the chart on the fitting manual that Titleist gives you as a dealer. It showed as higher launch than Whiteboard with similar spin so I ordered it. Not too long after Tiger switched and I've been on the Graphite Design bandwagon since.910 came out and I ordered my driver, 9.5 D3 with Tour AD DI-8X at 44.75" because I've always liked heavier shafts. This driver was good, spun just a bit too much. My go-to shot is a push fade and the numbers with it were 14-15 launch, 2800-3100 spin at 160-165 ball speed. As I started to play a bit more golf and saw my swing improve I became pretty comfortable with this driver. I played it for over a year until I started playing quite a bit of golf with another rep. He always gave me a hard time that a guy so into clubs and fitting (and who does it for a living) would leave yards on the table so he offered to see if he could beat it. He worked in the tour department prior and made a few calls which got my driver approved because at that time the shaft he wanted me to play was not available yet. Enter 8.5 degrees with Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 Tour Spec.
As soon as I got this to the course I knew it was good. On TrackMan my ball speed was similar but swing to swing it produced an additional 1-2 mph of ball speed. However my launch was now between 13-14 with mid 2000's spin on the same push fade which gave me additional yardage. The head however was not something I was used to because I had played a tradtional looking Titleist for the last several years. I loved the driver and played it from March until September but I actually found that I had a hard time moving it right to left and now began using 3 wood on several more holes on my home course because driver was too much club unless I could turn it over. My only real gripe with this driver was the feel of the shaft. Don't get me wrong, it was good but the shaft is very stiff feeling and reminds me a bit of that Aldila RIP feel.
Well about a month ago my Titleist rep approached me and said because of my job (and boss) I would be getting a 913 early so I could pick out the specs. Seeing as I had just helped fit a top Division 1 golf team for their sticks and watched them hit every high end shaft on the market I knew immediately what I wanted. I ordered D3 8.5 with Tour AD BB-7X. I was like a kid on Christmas when it showed up the following week.
The first day I got it I hit one ball on TrackMan after work and got: 167 ball speed, 13.8 launch and 2190 spin...best swing I could make so I stopped there...
I've now had the driver for 3 weeks and have played about six 18 hole rounds with it. I would say the biggest improvement with it over 910 are the slight misses. Ball speed has improved and was every bit as fast as my other non Titleist driver. I put it to the test on my first round where the 9th hole at my home course is a 430 yard dogleg left par 4 that favors a draw if you can hit it past 260-270 or so. Anything more than 260 will be blocked out unless you can turn it over, which was a very difficult shot for me with the other driver so I began hitting 3 wood which left me anywhere from 150-180 depending on the conditions. Well I piped one that started right center with a small 5 yard draw that left me 122 yards to a front pin. That shot just wasn't possible with the other driver... The D3 is a no nonsense driver that looks great, feels great, and performs as well as anything out there properly fit.
The guys I was playing with could only play 9 so I took both drivers out and hit several balls with each one on different holes. I would say I hit both almost on top of each other (keep in mind this is 10-12 yards longer than my 910) until I hit one that almost looked like a pop up... very high and REALLY low spin. A shot that was not possible with my 910 combo. It was a good distance past the rest of the grouping.
I played a couple rounds of golf with some guys that I used to work with (and play a lot of golf with) this past weekend and they both said this is as good as they've ever seen me hit the driver. One guy is a HUGE PING fan and he even commented about how good the driver was which is surprising for him to admit that... Rob...
I decided to go with Tour AD BB-7 because the day I had all the new high end shafts at my disposal this is the one I was most impressed with... Not quite as low launch and spin as VC Tour Spec but VERY close with a much smoother (softer) feel. It felt very much like DI but with a flatter flight. So slightly less loft, this shaft and I was in business! I am definitely more comfortable with the look, sound, and feel of this head and now its just as long as anything else I've owned.
I've had the new fitting cart for 913 for a couple weeks now and so far so good with the fittings. They've improved the sound, ball speed, ball speed on off center contact and kept the classic Titleist look that their loyalists are drawn to... The very high speed player should not struggle as much with too much spin with 913 over 910 either. Excellent stock offerings and the most extensive exotic/upgrade shaft list of any OEM out there right. 913D2 has been a winner in a couple of my fittings because it allows more forgiveness and is much lower spin than its predecessor. D3 was the choice for the 1 handicap that I fit and a 2 handicap WRX member who chose D2 for his 2013 weapon. Titleist truly has a winner on its hands again this year with 913 and I think the biggest positive is the amount of excellent shaft choices available at no upcharge.... S+, D+, RIP, RIP Phenom, Diamana White 73, 83 and Blue 73 and 83 (yes, real deal x5ct White and Blueboards at NO upcharge) just to name a few. I honestly believe 98% of guys will not need to go upcharge unless they choose to or just want something "cool"... I could have went D+ and been happy myself.
Titleist seems to agree with my assessment of the BB as well. Here is their new updated shaft chart that I thought you guys would enjoy:
I'm sure I missed something and spelled a few things wrong so if anyone has any comments or questions, fire away. I hope you guys enjoyed!!
Edited by J.W., 25 October 2012 - 11:17 AM.
