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The most iconic Titleist drivers of all time

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With the new TSi Series Titleist drivers on the horizon, there is no better time than now to take a look back at the history of the company’s metal woods and discuss their most iconic drivers to date.

Only time will tell if the newest drivers will earn a spot, but if everything we are hearing about the TSi drivers stands true, we could be adding to this list very soon.

Titleist 975D – 1998

The 975D was the very first “serious golfer” titanium driver. It was made famous thanks to Tiger Woods using one in 2000 to win the “Tiger Slam”, and David Duval, who is famous for being one of the few golfers to ever take away the world number 1 ranking from Mr. Woods in his prime.

It was a small pear-shaped head with a bore through hosel and full-face scoring lines that packed a real “thud” at impact. If you were a “player,” you probably used this driver!

Titleist 975J – 2001

 

The 975J’s release coincided with one of the most important equipment releases of the last 25 years—the original Titleist ProV1, which worked in conjunction to help golfers pick up a lot of yardage with the high-launch, low-spin revolution. Although the 975J was quickly surpassed a few years later by the 983K, it was the 975J that changed a lot of golfers’ perception about Titleist woods—and how could we forget the historically cool headcover!

One more note on the succeeding 983K. Its 2003 release also came alongside the original Pro V1x, which helped Ernie Els tame a windy Kapalua for an eight-shot victory at the 2003 Tournament of Champions. Golf hasn’t been the same since.

Titleist 905R – 2006

This was Titleist’s very first 460cc driver and was so good Adam Scott used the same model for well over six years. It offered a familiar pear shape, but in the biggest head size possible.

The 905R came shortly after the original 905 series drivers were released, which included the 400cc 905S and 905T models. The “S” was the deeper face lower spinning head (my personal favorite), while the “T” was the next evolution of the 983K. Both were popular, but with almost all other equipment companies at the time touting 460cc heads, Titleist had to keep up, and that’s where the 905R came in.

Speaking to “next evolution” products, one of the stock shafts in the 905R was the UST ProForce V2, and when it comes to cult driver head and shaft combinations, this one is a first ballot hall of famer.

Titleist 910D3 – 2010

After the 905 series, Titleist released some good-but-not-great drivers with the 907 and 909 series respectively (funny thing is, the 907’s can’t even be found on Titleist’s previous model archive). If there was one standout from that time it would be the 909D-Comp (for composite), which was the first Titleist driver to utilize a carbon composite crown. It was Titleist’s first real attempt at a more game-improvement driver, and for those that got fit into a 909D-Comp, it was a pretty good head, but what came next was the real revolution.

The Titleist 910 series—specifically the 910D3—ushered in the next generation of low spin adjustability. It was the first driver with hosel lie and loft adjustability, and it was also the first in the entire industry to offer independent control of both parameters. Although the adapter has been refined to save weight, the adjustments themselves have remained unchanged, which I believe proves just how revolutionary it was at the time.

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Ryan Barath is a club-fitter & master club builder with more than 17 years of experience working with golfers of all skill levels, including PGA Tour players. He is the former Build Shop Manager & Social Media Coordinator for Modern Golf. He now works independently from his home shop and is a member of advisory panels to a select number of golf equipment manufacturers. You can find Ryan on Twitter and Instagram where he's always willing to chat golf, and share his passion for club building, course architecture and wedge grinding.

20 Comments

20 Comments

  1. Matt

    Oct 4, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    This is great content. Brings me back to all those legendary Titleist drivers over the years!

  2. duh

    Oct 3, 2020 at 10:31 am

    983 line more iconic than all apart from the 975D

  3. bradley v adams

    Oct 3, 2020 at 9:20 am

    It’s INSANE that Terry McCabe is not mentioned…..inconceivable and yes that word means what I think it does.

  4. Bruce

    Oct 2, 2020 at 3:57 pm

    983k needs to be on this list for sure! Still in my bag

  5. Bob Jones

    Oct 2, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    I still play my 975D.

  6. T

    Oct 2, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    Where is the 983K ???? That’s like leaving Larry Bird off the list of all time great Celtics.

  7. Bob Castelline

    Oct 2, 2020 at 11:35 am

    Where are the persimmon drivers? I used to have the most gorgeous amber Titleist driver that I could work either direction and sounded like a golf club was meant to sound. I loved that club almost as much as my own children.

  8. Mike Purcell

    Oct 2, 2020 at 11:25 am

    My wife still games my old 983K. We go to a demo day every now and then, she hits em all and says
    “nope, they can’t beat mine, I’m good.”

  9. Bri

    Oct 2, 2020 at 11:09 am

    Titleist PT? Hello…

  10. Golfinnut

    Oct 2, 2020 at 11:07 am

    What’s ridiculous is that I still have every one of these models mentioned in my bags. I just used the 905R this past weekend & realized why I had it in the bag … it was an awesome fairway finder!

  11. Paul Runyan

    Oct 2, 2020 at 10:41 am

    Love to see TXG’s Ian and Matty test the 905R against the new offerings from Titleist!

    Just mentioned in a discussion that at 70, yikes!, that I’m longer with the Mizuno ST 900G and Pro V1/B XS vs the 905R with the Professional Titleist wound and/or the first iteration of the Pro V1.

    I’m sure Mr Wunder can’t say that… ???? Tipped Ventus X … really?

    Something to do during the off season.

    • Anti-Old Cranky Rickheads

      Oct 5, 2020 at 12:37 pm

      We understand that you’re an old crusty curmudgeon that hates technology. Now I challenge you to have an even more outdated opinion.

  12. Ken

    Oct 2, 2020 at 10:40 am

    Still have my 905R and my 910D3 in my back-up bag

  13. Jbone

    Oct 2, 2020 at 10:29 am

    Graffaloy Blue >>> V2

    Still game the 905s with the blue

    • T.D.

      Oct 2, 2020 at 11:25 am

      This!! The Grafally blue X STILL stands up against today’s shafts, I don’t care what anybody says.
      Sadly, I just had to pull the blue out of my 905R this week and put it in my TS3. That combo was so good, but TS3 is just a longer driver and I’m sure I’ll have this combo in the bag for a long time.

      • Paulo

        Oct 3, 2020 at 9:59 am

        Shafts degrade after time. Be careful , it’s likely going to show noticeable performance issues if it’s been used too much. This is why stepson bought them wherever he could find them.

  14. Peter Uihlein

    Oct 2, 2020 at 9:34 am

    You left off the 983K which is arguably #1

  15. Jason Geraci

    Oct 2, 2020 at 9:18 am

    The 975 is the first club that Bob Vokey worked on after coming over to Titleist from Founder’s Club.

    I still don’t think that the TS line gets enough credit. It was the bridge to TSi and they are still winning in my fitting bay.

    • golfraven

      Oct 3, 2020 at 10:51 am

      I fully agre. I would add the TS to the mix as it was an evolution from the 91x models. I’ll keep my TS3 in the bag for the sake of the triangle alignment which got dropped with the TSi – I personally think its a bummer but hey what do I know.

      • Paulo

        Oct 3, 2020 at 2:31 pm

        In the eyes of the multi million dollar achusnet company and in particular their marketing and multi million dollar RnD departments , you sir, no precisely f all

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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