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18 players switch to Titleist 917 drivers at Quicken Loans National

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Titleist debuted its new 917D2 and 917D3 drivers this week at the Quicken Loans National. After the first tee shots of the tournament were struck, 18 of the 28 Titleist drivers being used in the tournament were one of the new models.

See in-hand photos, and learn more about Titleist’s 917 drivers. 

There was an even split between Titleist’s 917D2 (9) and Titleist’s 917D3 (9), with the most interesting model change coming from Justin Thomas (917D2, 8.5 degrees), who was previously using Titleist’s low-spin 915D4 driver. This could indicate that the 917D2 is significantly lower spinning than past D2 models.

See who changed into what driver and what loft in the list below.

Note: Players who made the cut this week are bolded. Webb Simpson and Bill Haas both changed to the new driver this week and are 10-under par, five shots off the pace of Round 3 leader Billy Hurley III. 

917D2

  • Blayne Barber (9.5 degrees)
  • Erik Compton (9.5 degrees)
  • Bill Haas (9.5 degrees)
  • Charley Hoffman (8.5 degrees)
  • Mark Hubbard (9.5 degrees)
  • Andrew Loupe (8.5 degrees)
  • Peter Malnati (8.5 degrees)
  • Justin Thomas (8.5 degrees)
  • Tyrone van Aswegen (9.5 degrees)

917D3

  • Ben An (8.5 degrees)
  • Brendon de Jonge (9.5 degrees)
  • Chesson Hadley (10.5 degrees)
  • Morgan Hoffmann (8.5 degrees)
  • Patton Kizzire (10.5 degrees)
  • Ben Martin (9.5 degrees)
  • Webb Simpson (10.5 degrees)
  • Cameron Smith (10.5 degrees)
  • Cameron Tringale (8.5 degrees)
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15 Comments

15 Comments

  1. KK

    Jun 29, 2016 at 3:58 am

    Good question about the Justin Thomas switch from a D4 to a D2….I’m really interested to see what real changes Titleist made with the 917. Anyone here still playing the SLDR and think it’s the best driver they ever hit due to the ultra low spin design? I’ve never hit one, but I’ve heard that the tradeoff with the low spin (and distance) is a not so forgiving head. TM released the R7 Superdeep and that lasted about 6 months. I wonder if Titleist has somehow figured out high launch, low spin, and forgiving….we’ll have to wait until the Fall to see.

    On another note, I don’t care about paint color, graphics on the sole or the club face, or what tour pro is playing this club. If it’s the best club for me, I’m gaming it. I’m not really sure why every time a new club comes out, there are so many negative comments about the club before anyone hits it or even sees it in person.

  2. Ron

    Jun 28, 2016 at 10:20 am

    Hmmm, wonder how long before we see the SureFit CG Bar in Titleist Irons?
    Rox

  3. Rarebit

    Jun 28, 2016 at 3:24 am

    Yeah well, unless they start selling maximum allowable CT and COR, Tour-stamped versions on the retail shelves people will believe Titleist can only make decent balls based on other companies’ ideas on compression

  4. Mark

    Jun 28, 2016 at 3:09 am

    They really need these to sell. 915’s are still gathering dust in my area. TM and Ping have battered them out of the park.

    • Jackson Galaxy

      Jun 29, 2016 at 10:46 am

      Not really. Unless people suddenly stop needing new golf balls they’ll be okay.

      • cgasucks

        Jul 4, 2016 at 2:46 pm

        Yeah…their golf balls is their most profitable segment and what is keeping them afloat even if their clubs tanked (which is unlikely).

  5. Marshall Moyes

    Jun 27, 2016 at 5:24 pm

    I am 69 and now play to a handicap of 10.8. Having tried Callaway and Taylor made drivers, I still find the Titleist drivers longer and straighter. I cannot agree with C and T drivers being more forgiving or longer.

  6. the guy

    Jun 27, 2016 at 4:58 pm

    D2 made more cuts. Obvious choice.

  7. Steve

    Jun 27, 2016 at 9:18 am

    Honestly, unless you are a 4 handicapper or less, not sure knowing what the pros are playing means for most of us. Titleist (and I have played them over the years) has been known for making the best looking and purist feeling Drivers in the market. Their failure to challenge Taylor Made and Calloway seems to be rooted in their inability to gain traction in the “big box” retailers and the presumed more forgiving and greater distance offered by TM and C. It’ll be interesting to see if the latest offerings are more of the same. And oh….were they really serious about the new Titanium version priced at $ 1000? Great company, but beyond the Pro Vs….their marketing has been suspect.

    • 300 Yard Pro

      Jun 28, 2016 at 7:27 pm

      People buy what the pros play.

      • um

        Jun 29, 2016 at 3:24 am

        Exactly. They want to buy what the Pros play.

    • Jack

      Jul 20, 2016 at 5:19 am

      For sure the low spin options are not for most amateurs who have a SS less than 100. It’s always easy to get on a launch monitor and figure out what really works for you at a big box store.

  8. Pete

    Jun 26, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    Didn’t Haas get one of those C16’s earlier in the year?

  9. Matt

    Jun 26, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Zak would love to know what those guys were using head/loft wise before and if they changed shafts or went to something new.

    • Zak Kozuchowski

      Jun 27, 2016 at 9:20 am

      Agreed, Matt. We will get that info as new WITB photos roll in over the next few weeks/months. Still lots of tinkering happening.

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Whats in the Bag

Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)

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Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X

3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX

Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4

More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.

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Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?

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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 timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?

Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.

When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.

To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.

Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.

“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.

“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.

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Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird

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With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.

On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.

Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?

Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’

So that’s why I went back.

 

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?

It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.

Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.

It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.

Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.

Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.

So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?

Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.

Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play? 

Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.

There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.

It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.

Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.

And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?

Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’

If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’

My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’

I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”

And you’re going with it this week?

Hundred percent.

Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week. 

Thanks, man.

See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here

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