Equipment
New Titleist TS hybrids, U-Series utilities landing on Tour (updated with in-hand photos)
We just got word from Titleist: at this week’s Memorial Tournament, the company will begin the “seeding” process of the new TS Series hybrids and the U-Series utility driving irons.
Hybrids
For Titleist, the beginning of the tour seeding process is one of the final steps in getting new products ready to go to market, and based off what we have for images and based on typical products cycles from the company, these could be closer to retail release than we think.
It appears for Titleist that the 800 series branding for the hybrids is going the way of the dodo and being replaced with the TS moniker like the already-available woods to remain consistent in the line. If the numbers and supplied pictures are any indication, the TS2 will be higher launching and slightly larger vs. the TS3 hybrid, which looks quite a bit more compact front to back and also seems to have Titleist’s SureFit CG to fine-tune ball flight. Both feature the TourFit hosel for further adjustability.
Since the current images of the new hybrids already have the head covers and are taken with shafts (HZRDUS Smoke hybrid), I am quite comfortable making the assumption that the stock shafts for retail will be the Smoke followed by the full array of custom options Titleist is known for. We all know that OEMs and their staff players have the ability to do a LOT of in-house testing away from the prying eyes (and lenses of GolfWRX), so for these to be at this point with covers and the whole bit, I am also confident that after seeing these in players bags this week at Muirfeild a full release by mid-summer is only a formality.
Utilities
Already being teased on Titleist.com, the new U-Series utility irons will be the replacement for the current 718s which as always are some of the most popular on tour.
Notice any similarities to anything else?
Bueller, Bueller…..
I’m seeing a LOT of similar design characteristics from the Concept series CP-01 in these new utilities.
This is exciting since the Concept series was introduced by Titleist to test and prove “proof of concept”…see how they did that…with new technologies and materials. If you weren’t aware of what that means for the Concept line this is from Titleist:
“Visually articulated with equal imagination, to produce the world’s most satisfying ball-striking experience. With an ultra-thin face – measured and remeasured to ensure perfect uniformity – made possible through the use of a rare, super strong alloy never before used in club manufacturing.”
Whatever super strong alloy is being used in the Concepts seem to be making its way into these new utilities on tour this week. What does this mean for the consumer from a design standpoint? Most likely more discretionary weight saved from the face to move around the head, that equals higher MOI. Also with new materials, it would allow engineers to stretch the area of “maximum performance” from a ball speed perspective to a larger area of the face.
Will I be right about new materials being used in the Utility? I guess we will find out soon enough, but either way we’ll bring you more pictures when we have them.
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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.”
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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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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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- 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
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)
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-SB09, 56-LB08), TaylorMade MG4 TW (60-TW11)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400
Putter: TaylorMade TP Soto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 2.0
Grips: Golf Pride Z-Grip Cord
Ball: TaylorMade TP5x
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Ray
May 27, 2019 at 1:43 pm
can’t wait to see new iron series. Hope the new AP2 looks better this time around
Jordan
May 27, 2019 at 1:40 pm
Very nice looking. Hopefully minimal hosel offset on the u500s
Travisty
Jul 5, 2019 at 9:21 am
The U500’s are probably a carbon copy of the T-MB’s with updated looks and maybe some internal CG movement to increase MOI (the old T-MB’s were less forgiving than even the AP2).
Master P
May 27, 2019 at 12:01 pm
Pretty cool though if they follow the concept series the utility irons will probably ONLY set you back $500/piece and your first born son. Its like Craftsman vs Snap-on tools. Both have lifetime warranty and both do the same job but unless you make your living with them you wont notice any difference enough to justify paying the price.
JThunder
May 27, 2019 at 3:23 pm
How does a person “justify the price” on a hobby?
If you’re playing for a living, you probably don’t pay for clubs at all.
If you’re playing recreationally, then there is no justification, nor is one necessary.
Clay
May 27, 2019 at 8:24 pm
It’s always great when someone goes out of their way to be pointlessly argumentative.
JP
May 27, 2019 at 9:52 pm
Some people may consider being argumentative a hobby. But when it’s online keyboard warriors battling, how do they justify the time involved? Hahahaha
Boner
May 29, 2019 at 1:08 pm
Hey guys I took a big s hi t this morning!
Tyler Kushmaul
May 27, 2019 at 11:57 am
The U510 look at lot like TM P790 UDI to me
Dennis
May 28, 2019 at 7:45 am
Yep. My thoughts exactly. Same shaft and all.