Equipment
Spotted: Titleist 917 Drivers
Titleist is unveiling its new 917 drivers to PGA Tour players this week at the Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club, where we expect several golfers to put the new drivers in play.
Titleist 917D2
Titleist 917D3
As in previous launches, Titleist is testing two new models with Tour players: the 917D2 and the 917D3. Like Titleist’s 915 drivers, 917 models have an Active Recoil Channel, a slot behind the driver face that boosts ball speed and lowers spin. What’s new is adjustable weight technology, which is labeled “SureFit CG” on the photos.
SureFit CG debuted on Titleist’s $1000 Titleist’s C17 Concept Driver, and offered golfers three adjustable weight settings (neutral, draw and fade) through the use of two differently weighted bars that were positioned on the rear portion of the driver head. Because only 1,500 of the drivers were made, however, C17 models were not made available to Tour players. That makes the 917 drivers the first drivers with adjustable weights Titleist has released on the PGA Tour.
As with previous launches, expect the 917 drivers to be released to the general public in the fall. In related news, Acushnet, the parent brand of Titleist, announced that it has filed with the SEC for a proposed IPO.
Related: See more photos, and what GolfWRX Members are saying about the 917 driver in our forum.
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (4/18/24): Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made.
From the seller: (@DLong72): “Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made. ?: $1150. ?? 100% milled collectors item from the limited releases commemorating when Ping putters won every major in 1988 (88 putters made). This was the model Seve Ballesteros used to win the 1988 Open Championship. Condition is brand new, never gamed, everything is in the original packaging as it came. Putter features the iconic sound slot.
Specs/ Additional Details
-100% Milled, Aluminum/Bronze Alloy (310g)
-Original Anser Design
-PING PP58 Grip
-Putter is built to standard specs.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Ping PLD Limited Anser – 1988 Open Championship – #2 of only 88 Made
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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As you probably know by now, Collin Morikawa switched putters after the first round of The Masters, and he ultimately went on to finish T3.
The putter was far from the only change he made last week, however, and his bag is continuing to change this week at the 2024 RBC Heritage.
On the range of The Masters, Morikawa worked closely with Adrian Reitveld, TaylorMade’s Senior Manager of Tour at TaylorMade, to find the perfect driver and 3-wood setups.
Morikawa started off 2024 by switching into TaylorMade’s Qi10 Max driver, but since went back to his faithful TaylorMade SIM – yes, the original SIM from 2020. Somehow, some way, it seems Morikawa always ends up back in that driver, which he used to win the 2020 PGA Championship, and the 2021 Open Championship.
At The Masters, however, Rietveld said the duo found the driver head that allowed “zero compromise” on Morikawa’s preferred fade flight and spin. To match his preferences, they landed on a TaylorMade Qi10 LS 9-degree head, and the lie angle is a touch flatter than his former SIM.
“It’s faster than his gamer, and I think what we found is it fits his desired shot shape, with zero compromise” Rietveld told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the RBC Heritage.
Then, to replace his former SIM rocket 3-wood, Morikawa decided to switch into the TaylorMade Qi10 core model 13.5-degree rocket head, with an adjustable hosel.
“He likes the spin characteristics of that head,” Rietveld said. “Now he’s interesting because with Collin, you can turn up at a tournament, and you look at his 3-wood, and he’s changed the setting. One day there’s more loft on it, one day there’s less loft on it. He’s that type of guy. He’s not scared to use the adjustability of the club.
“And I think he felt our titanium head didn’t spin as low as his original SIM. So we did some work with the other head, just because he liked the feel of it. It was a little high launching, so we fit him into something with less loft. It’s a naughty little piece of equipment.”
In addition to the driver and fairway wood changes, Morikawa also debuted his new “MySymbol” jersey No. 5 TP5x golf ball at The Masters. Morikawa’s choice of symbols is likely tied to his love of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.
Not enough changes for you? There’s one more.
On Wednesday at the 2024 RBC Heritage, Morikawa was spotted with a new TaylorMade “Proto” 4-iron in the bag. If you recall, it’s the same model that Rory McIlroy debuted at the 2024 Valero Texas Open.
According to Morikawa, the new Proto 4-iron will replace his old P-770 hollow-bodied 4-iron.
“I used to hit my P-770 on a string, but sometimes the distance would be a little unpredictable,” Morikawa told GolfWRX.com. “This one launches a touch higher, and I feel I can predict the distance better. I know Rory replaced his P-760 with it. I’m liking it so far.”
See Morikawa’s full WITB from the 2024 RBC Heritage here.
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Equipment
Why Rory McIlroy will likely use the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper at the RBC Heritage
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.”
View this post on Instagram
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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Warren Schroer
Aug 21, 2016 at 11:38 am
If the 917 is longer but sounds and feels like the 913 series- than I will give it a try. The 915 just never sounded right to me- more like a TM sound and rarely felt solid like the 913.
kolfpro
Aug 6, 2016 at 3:20 am
Now that was sharp … ouch!
Willard L. Abernathy
Jun 28, 2016 at 7:08 pm
For all the negative comments, if you don’t like it, don’t buy it, problem solved! For those of us who love Titleist, I personally think it looks great and can’t wait to hit it. I currently game the 913 and have tested it against the Ping G30 and G and Taylor Made SLDR, R15 and M1/M2. Great drivers but, love my Titleist the most!
Jon
Aug 7, 2016 at 10:26 am
It really has the shape of the 913 and colour of 905s. Really good looking!
KK
Aug 25, 2016 at 8:43 pm
For all the negative comments about the negative comments, shut up. Problem solved.
Golfmaddness
Jun 24, 2016 at 6:34 pm
I was waiting for the new titleist guess I’ll go buy the M2 now
KK
Jun 24, 2016 at 5:59 pm
The weight adjustment seems really contrived and unsightly. Just do a diagonal slider and call it a day. Or at least a weight bar that doesn’t stick out so much.
setter02
Jun 22, 2016 at 10:26 am
Look how shallow and ugly those things look. From ‘classic pear’ to elongated ewww.
moses
Jun 22, 2016 at 2:39 am
Weights remind me of the R7 drivers. Titleist has caught up to TM from 10 yrs ago.
SNBD
Jun 29, 2016 at 4:12 am
The R7 had 2 movable weights on the heel and toe that adjusted ball flight to either a draw or fade bias, those weights had absolutely nothing to do with CG. This driver uses an adjustable hosel to affect fade and draw and this new surefit weight to adjust CG. Nice attempt at a dig against Titleist, but your comment is so inaccurate, its laughable.
Dave
Aug 30, 2016 at 1:17 pm
The weights do have an affect on draw and fade. Each club comes with a neutral weight and a second weight that depending on which way it is inserted affects fade and draw. There are also more weights available for purchase. Standard is 12G. The others are 8, 10,14 and 16.
LJB
Jun 21, 2016 at 8:29 pm
I think I will kept my current 975D.
Warren Schroer
Jun 21, 2016 at 7:15 pm
Looks bad- I have never liked my 915D2, try as I have- so I’m still hitting my 913D2 right down the middle every time and it keeps up with the others just fine. Long if needed, and straight when you have to have it. I’m convinced that there is not much left that will affect my game at this point- does someone have a better shaft that the Tour AD? I think not-
Eric
Jun 21, 2016 at 4:15 pm
I can’t wait till all the Titleist homer/Nike haters get a load of this! I feel like after the recoil channel in the 915, and the weight pod in the 917, we can safely assume cavity back technology will be there in the 919!
Rob
Jun 22, 2016 at 4:41 pm
Yeah because Cavity Back Technology is still in Nike Drivers…
I don’t see much of a cavity back in their drivers. Ever since they started with it, each season it gets filled in more and more…but yeah Just Do It
Jim
Jun 21, 2016 at 11:36 am
Guess club manufacturers are like our favorite sports team. I love titelist clubs, and hit them better than all others. New clubs every 2 years makes more sense to me than every 6 months as others seem to spit them out, but there again I’m a Titelist guy. We all love golf and our team, so hit what you like and have fun.
chad
Jun 21, 2016 at 10:52 am
love the grey. I’m sure this color will be a big hit with old school titleist fans
Mat
Jun 21, 2016 at 8:52 am
No disrespect, but I think we hit peak-driver with the G30/FlyZ+.
Large smizzle
Jun 21, 2016 at 4:08 am
I’ve tried loads of titleist equipment over the years, and I can’t get any of it to work for me. It makes me feel inadequate. Like I’m not good enough to play with the pros choice.
john
Jun 20, 2016 at 6:34 pm
LOL nawww titleist…. i thought things like slots and movable weights were just gimmicks that don’t work and that’s why titleist don’t have them? sounds to me like titleist thinks they’re far more important than they actually are – you don’t see callaway or tm paying the pgatour to list every player who plays a titleist ball on their leaderboard do you.
Power fade
Jun 20, 2016 at 8:03 pm
Correct. This not only looks gimmicky, but could be mistaken for Admiral Ackbar. “It’s a trap!’
kn
Jun 20, 2016 at 6:26 pm
Price? $500? $600? Priced just right for all those “new” golfers who are going to keep the game alive.
Tom Duckworth
Jun 20, 2016 at 5:17 pm
Titleist knows how to make great equipment they hardly ever put out bad stuff this should be a good driver. I don’t know how many pros would want moveable weights. Should be interesting to see how many move to this one right away. Other than the weight I don’t see a real difference between it and the 915. Is there anything new about the face?
I have had a 983 a 909 and a 910 D3 and they were all great drivers. That being said I have a SLDR right now that works fine.
john
Jun 21, 2016 at 2:21 am
somehow their ball reputation unfairly gets put onto their clubs. their clubs seem like they were designed on toilet tissue in lunch breaks inbetween design next years prov1 cardboard box – they use other brands as their “inspiration” and produce such greats as the speedslot copy and my favourite the scotty cameron odyssey #7.
golfraven
Jun 20, 2016 at 4:37 pm
Strangely the D2 looks more round shape and appears smaller then the D3. Not sure about the weights though, whole design looks more like a TM R7 driver. I am sure it performs and looks the part so may move other one they drop the price on those on ebay after a year.
Brian
Jun 20, 2016 at 2:06 pm
I’m sure this will be another in a long series of over-priced Titleist clubs… Oh, movable weight tech? Welcome to 2006…but I’m sure we’ll get a $500 price tag because it’s Titleist.
Erock
Jun 20, 2016 at 12:50 pm
Interesting color choice. Looks very similar to the gloss gray on the G15, G20, K15 Pings.
Jim
Jun 20, 2016 at 12:49 pm
I got c16 and added 20-30 yards once dialed in. Ordered a 2nd one! Had I know a cheaper version was coming I might have waited but the club is awesome! It’s first time a club actually lived up to the hype.
Chuck
Jun 20, 2016 at 7:04 pm
So Jim, I am presuming that you are not joking. If you are, shame on me.
What is it about new Titleist technology that is giving you that distance boost? What in your opinion (or to the best of your technical knowledge) makes the new Titleist design so good?
Not that it would determine what I do, but what can you tell us about the process of “dialing in” your C16? Did you switch shafts? Change hosel settings? Did you play with another Titleist before the C16?
I honestly don’t get the theory behind Titleist’s new weight thing, versus simple interchangeable weight screws as seen in so many other drivers. I’ve actually begun to wonder whether interchangeable weights is a patented design feature that is off limits to Titleist. Hard to imagine that, but it is all so odd to me.
mP
Jun 22, 2016 at 2:48 am
He was using a persimmon driver at 43 inches.
Adam
Jun 20, 2016 at 11:00 am
isn’t that just a recolored version of the C16 or whatever they called it?
Ti
Jun 20, 2016 at 11:11 am
Yes but the C16 had the more expensive special Titanium face, this one is the normal grade Ti
Brian
Jun 20, 2016 at 2:04 pm
@Ti
That’s the dumbest think I’ve read today.
Colin
Jun 20, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Says the guy that can’t even spell thing correctly
It
Jun 20, 2016 at 3:44 pm
http://www.titleist.com/golf-clubs/drivers/c16
Ti is right. SP Ti is expensive. They’re not putting that on the retail version. Brian is the dumbest
rymail00
Jun 20, 2016 at 10:12 am
It was released today so I’m sure Greg will post some pics. If your on Titleist’s mailing list they sent out a pic this morning.
http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/1351002-titleist-917-prototype-released-on-tour-today/
Joshuaplaysgolf
Jun 20, 2016 at 10:04 am
So…they added an adjustable weight, these will probably start around $450-$500 without upgraded shaft. For a weight. Can we all admit this is getting out of hand? You absolutely don’t have to buy a new club just because it comes out, but if all you came up with in your 2 year product cycle was a moveable weight, you should probably make that a 4 year product cycle.
Ian
Jun 20, 2016 at 8:56 am
Hmmm. Looks similar to this guy’s design. http://izulugolf.com/powertube-driver/
Jb
Jun 20, 2016 at 9:23 am
Yeah. That’s all Titleist can do now, these days, to steal ideas. They always have. Like the Pro-V, also stolen, from Japanese balls
Colin
Jun 20, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Yea no one else in the golf industry ever borrows ideas from any other club company. Every club that comes out is totally unique to that company. Keep hating. Maybe this is just smart business, isnt this what every industry does?
john
Jun 21, 2016 at 2:22 am
i love jumping on the titleist hate wagon, but this looks absolutely nothing like that… lol, but now that you’ve brought that to their attention they’ll be sure to sue him for copyright anyway.
Christosterone
Jun 20, 2016 at 8:49 am
Already did….very similar feel to Nike vapor flex…same tech but with a perpendicular aaa battery thingy..
Awesome club…like the vapor is was a bit spinny for me but he only had a few shafts and about 4 guys behind me when he took it out of his titleist bag…
I was more interested in the ’boutique’ c16 head…wow it was awesome..
I am historically not a titleist driver fan but will absolutely give the sure fit another try when I have more time to put less spinny shafts in it…but who knows when the titleist rep will be at PGA superstore again…
-Chris
Jwowzer
Jun 20, 2016 at 7:48 am
Let me know if you need anyone to test these!