Equipment
Made Only To Order: Titleist launches MOTO program
There’s a small, yet very vocal segment of the golfing population that desires highly specialized golf equipment that’s generally very difficult to obtain. Relatively few golfers actually need such clubs to perform their best, which is why they’re often not released to the public. But golfers who want them really want them.
Titleist’s solution to the problem is its new MOTO, or “Made Only to Order” program that will give golfers access to specialized metal woods and irons, as well as through 110 U.S. locations within Titleist’s Fitting Network and more than 3,000 fitting events held annually around the country.
MOTO will allow golfers to purchase Titleist’s 915D4 driver, which debuted on the PGA Tour in February and has been generating buzz among many better players ever since. The 915D4 uses the same technologies as the company’s 915D2 and 915D3 drivers, but is unique because of its more forward center of gravity that creates less spin, albeit slightly less forgiveness.
Through MOTO, golfers will also be able to buy an 18-degree version of Titleist’s 915Fd fairway wood. Both clubs are available June 15 through any Titleist golf club retail partner in the U.S.
Titleist 915D4 Driver ($549)
- Lofts: 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees (RH and LH)
- Headsize: 450cc
- Target golfers: Better players who need less spin that the 915D3 driver can provide, or those prefer its slightly more rounder appearance at address. According to Titleist, the 915D4 is approximately 250-300 rpm lower spinning than the 915D3 driver.
Titleist 915Fd ($279)
- Lofts: 18 degrees (RH only)
- Headsize: 160cc
- Target golfers: Players who need less spin that the 18-degree 915F fairway wood can provide.
Related
- Our review of Titleist’s 915D2 and 915D3 drivers
- Our review of Titleist’s 915F and 915Fd fairway woods
- Our review of Titleist’s 915H and 915Hd hybrids
- In-hand photos of Titleist’s 915D4 driver
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
…The Jailbird craze hasn’t really slowed down in 2024, either. According to Odyssey rep Joe Toulon, there are about 18-20 Jailbird putter users on the PGA TOUR.
Most recently, Akshay Bhatia won the 2024 Valero Texas Open using a broomstick-style Odyssey Jailbird 380 putter and Webb Simpson is switching into a replica of that putter at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Now, Fowler, who essentially started the whole Jailbird craze, is making a significant change to his putter setup.
Fowler, who has had a couple weeks off since the 2024 RBC Heritage, started experimenting with a new, custom-orange Jailbird 380 head that’s equipped with a standard 35-inch putter build, rather than his previous 38-inch counter-balanced setup.
According to Fowler, while he still likes the look and forgiveness of his Jailbird putter head, he’s looking to re-incorporate more feel into his hands during the putting stroke.
He told GolfWRX.com on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Championship that the 38-inch counterbalanced setup “served its purpose” by helping him to neutralize his hands during the stroke, but now it’s time to try the standard-length putter with a standard-size SuperStroke Pistol Tour grip to help with his feel and speed control.
Although Fowler was also spotted testing standard-length mallets from L.A.B. Golf and Axis1 on Tuesday, he confirmed that the custom Odyssey Jailbird 380 is the putter he’ll use this week at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship.
Head over to PGATour.com for the full article.
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- Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Max LS (9 degrees @7.2, 2 grams lead tape heel, 4 grams toe)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X (44 7/8 inches, tipped 1 inch)
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max (15 degrees @13.9)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X (43 inches, tipped 1.5)
Hybrid: Callaway Apex UW Prototype (19 degrees @17.8)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 10 X
Irons: Callaway X Forged UT (21 degrees) Buy here, Callaway Apex TCB Raw (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS $-Taper 125 S+
Wedges: Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S @49, 54-10S, 60-08C @61)
Shafts: KBS Hi-Rev 2.0 135 X
Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Split
Grips: Iomic
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
More photos of Akshay Bhatia’s WITB in the forums.
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- Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @10)
Shaft: Project X Denali Blue 60 TX
3-wood: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (15 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
5-wood: Cobra LTDx Prototype (18.5 degrees)
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Smoke Blue RDX 70 TX
Irons: Callaway Apex TCB (4-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Callaway MD3 Milled (46-08S), Callaway Jaws Raw (50-10S, 54-10S, 60-08T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Flatso 1.0
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Emiliano Grillo’s clubs here.
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Akshay Bhatia WITB 2024 (May)
Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos...
Emiliano Grillo WITB 2024 (May)
Emiliano Grillo what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Callaway...
Webb Simpson WITB 2024 (May)
Webb Simpson what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Keegan Bradley WITB 2024 (May)
Keegan Bradley’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. >14 clubs pictured. Obviously, Bradley will reduce that number to...
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Regis
Jun 3, 2015 at 6:00 pm
Weren’t the D2 and D3 released in November 2014? And how distinguishable is the Titleist Active Recoil Channel from the slots that that crap company introduced over 2 years ago?
Alex
Jun 2, 2015 at 9:09 am
So over the weekend i was at my local range and some guy was next to me who was a good player hitting balls. He was ripping these low drivers that kept hitting the back fence which is exactly at 245 yards (lasered with my range finder) but they had enough pace probably to carry out at about 280-290 with what i would assume be rolling out quite a lot on a sunny day. He was teeing it up really low, I could not tell if the club was any different from a standard D2/D3 titleist, all i could tell it was shorter. So i asked him what length of the driver is that. He replies, its a custom D4 driver at 10.5 left at 42.75″ length. He was telling me he has a D3 at 44.5 8.5 degree when he plays courses he needs to carry over 310, but 99% of the time he plays this D4 10.5 teed up really low and hits these low screamers.
It was impressive to watch.
KCCO
Jun 2, 2015 at 6:34 am
Will 716 T-MB be available through MOTO?
Large chris
Jun 2, 2015 at 5:45 am
Only 110 fitting locations and 3000 fitting events?? Wow not that exclusive then. Only straight off the tour van will do for me.
I don’t really see why Titleist is doing this, not convinced there is much difference to their normal (very good) custom / upgrade options. The D4 would have been made available retail if they hadn’t done This MOTO scheme.
Agree on the glued hosel comment, that’s an option I would go for.
vegasgolfandsneakers
Jun 4, 2015 at 10:50 pm
They’re really protecting this club for whatever reason. A guy I know plays on the Euro Tour, he can’t even get one as it’s a US-only product. If he wanted one, he’d have to buy it. And for the Club pros, they’re not offering any discounts, PUD, etc. You’re paying cost, even the staffers.
moses
Jun 2, 2015 at 1:29 am
Loft up boys. This is Titleist’s version of the SLDR albeit most likely more forgiving.
Mike Gomez
Jun 1, 2015 at 6:12 pm
I wear a Rolex and work as an FA. I have to have this MOTO driver to impress the clients. Costs money to make money.
KCCO
Jun 2, 2015 at 6:32 am
Interesting……maybe sarcasm, I hope
MHendon
Jun 1, 2015 at 5:05 pm
I’m probably in the minority here but I would like to see clued versions made available, particularly in the fairway woods and hybrids.
Max
Jun 1, 2015 at 5:04 pm
The D4 is what the D3 should have been when it was released last year. I’d wager that 90% of people who bought a D3 would have bought a D4 instead if it were available at the same time.
John
Jun 1, 2015 at 5:51 pm
90% of people wanted roughly 3-4 yards more rollout and lower MOI for almost twice the cost? Really?
Kyle
Jun 1, 2015 at 6:17 pm
449 vs 549 is twice the cost? And no, if the d4 came out as the d3, like I agree it should have, then it would have been their standard 449 price point
Earl
Jun 1, 2015 at 7:46 pm
I couldn’t disagree more.
The D3 spins low enough for 95% of golfers, and is a lot more forgiving.
The D4 would realistically only suit a real minority of the market
Max
Jun 2, 2015 at 3:14 am
My argument assumes the same price and applies to D3 purchasers only, not the entire golfing population. Kyle gets it.
Thomas Beckett
Jun 2, 2015 at 1:58 pm
I agree with Max and Kyle that the D4 performance should have been the D3 but I like the three driver lineup because now Titleist has a low spin model and three distinct choices to fit a golfer. I do think its stupid that Titleist is charging more for the D4, it should have been released at the same time as the D2.D3 and at the same price. Titleist was a little late to the high launch low spin party but I would bet that they have a 3 driver stock lineup in the next release with the 917.
John McClane
Jun 2, 2015 at 2:06 pm
Depends on what type of forgiveness you are referring to Earl. I can make an argument that my SLDR 430 is more forgiving than a Ping G30.
Earl
Jun 5, 2015 at 12:51 am
you COULD argue that, although you’d be wrong.
By forgiveness I mean the D3 has a much higher MOI than the D4 and dispersion will be much better on off center hits.
Thomas Beckett
Jun 5, 2015 at 4:35 am
Earl, MOI has nothing to do with the dispersion with directional misses meaning left or right of center line. MOI is simply ball speed retention on mishits. The left and right misses you speak of have more to do with loft, lie, bulge, roll, and swing path. Per head size the center of gravity in a driver can only be moved around in about a 1mm box therefore to make any significant increase to MOI companies made drivers bigger until the USGA put a limit on them because that was the easiest way to increase MOI which is why I would guess Titleist made the D4 450cc which is 5 larger than the D3 so it wouldn’t suffer much MOI loss if any, yet still have lower spin. Now for the second part Earl. When a golf balls spins it does so on an axis. Sometimes the axis is vertical giving a straight ball flight and sometimes it is tilted causing the ball to curve. Now imagine a ball with a really tilted axis spinning at 3500 rpm. That could be your slice into the other fairway. Now cut that spin in half with a ball on the same axis tilt and the shot will curve much less. I believe that the higher the MOI the better because thats more distance on mishits but if the driver creates more ball spin then all you have done is create a longer flying harder curving shot into the trees. One last thing Earl, are you a Titleist R&D driver designer. How do you know the D4 has a lower MOI. Have you measured the MOI’s or are you assuming because its weight is further forward than D3 its MOI must be much lower. The D4 may be lower in MOI but the fact is you don’t know you are only assuming so to make claims that the D3 has a much higher MOI is ridiculous so basically you know nothing and your arrogance and your ignorance is offensive.
Nate
Jun 1, 2015 at 4:27 pm
I hit the D4 over the weekend. For me it had a better feel then the D3. Also seemed to have a flatter ball flight aka bored better.
The prices in this article do not seem accurate because on the Titleist website the D4 is MSRP $625 and $299 for the fairway. I’ll have to see what my local retailer is actually selling the D4 for.
Zak Kozuchowski
Jun 1, 2015 at 4:36 pm
Prices listed are MAP
Nate
Jun 1, 2015 at 4:51 pm
Thank you for the clarification on the pricing. Just need to find out now what the shaft I prefer is going to run me.
storm319
Jun 1, 2015 at 7:07 pm
MAP stands for “Minimum advertised price”
matt_bear
Jun 1, 2015 at 8:19 pm
So who has the driver for sale at $549? All I see is $625. If the price includes any custom shaft, then not so bad. If still a +$200 shaft up charge for something like a tour ad di, then just ridiculous. Paying “tour only” price on a retail item. No thanks.
Nate
Jun 2, 2015 at 2:24 pm
I have not checked on the D4 but I know of a couple retailers in Oregon that sell the D2/D3 in store for $399, which is believe is $50 below the MAP.
I checked with Titleist yesterday at the D4 pricing is with the standard stock shaft options, everything else is an upcharge. I am a little disappointed to hear that, but since the D4 is not going to be mass produced (supposedly) like the D2/D3 I understand why they are charging a premium for it.
vegasgolfandsneakers
Jun 4, 2015 at 10:53 pm
That surprises me they’re offering it at $399. One, their margin isn’t much. Two, Titleist can cut your account if you’re selling brand new product for less than MAP. Hence the point of MAP pricing.
Dj
Jun 1, 2015 at 4:24 pm
The biggest thing about the d4 coming out is the supposedly and hopefully better sound. The d3 sounds terrible
Pipe
Jun 3, 2015 at 1:32 am
I am a Titleist Tech Rep and I hit it today finally. It is 200 RPM lower and the sound is what I can describe as slightly more “dull” I didn’t notice a significant loss of forgiveness. honestly 200 rpm lower can be achieved with a good fitting and the correct shaft/loft combo if you don’t feel like dropping the extra $100. Still better than the crap most other companies and churning out every 6 months
Regis
Jun 3, 2015 at 5:49 pm
Yeah the “Active Recoil Channel” is so much more innovative than those crap slots that that other company introduced 2 years ago. And the lower spinning D4 is a whole 7 months removed from the introduction of the D2 and D3. I’m with ya Bud.