Ode to TiSi Tec

I started play with Ping TiSi Tec fairway woods in 2002 IIRC. They have remained for 17 years then. Numerous other brands and models were demo’ed over the subsequent years. Very few were anywhere near as good in any way. Being left handed though, the hosels are no longer available, and replacement was sad but inevitable. They have provided me with fun, satisfaction, and memorable moments. In their memory, here are three 3 wood memories.

A local 9 hole track is short, tight, and heavily treed. I may hit driver twice, or don’t bother carrying it. I and a friend are paired with a single. He’s a typical, moderately skilled, bogeyish level player. On the 8th hole, a tight par 5, I tee off with the TiSi 3 wood as usual.

“Your driving is really good. Really precise. Have you considered one of the newer big-head drivers?”

“Like this one?” Shows him the TM R7 TP460.

“What the hell is that you’re hitting?”

“3 wood”

“Don’t to whether I should have an orgasm or a heart attack."

I’m with a good high school team player. Typically he hits the ball a long way. We’re on a 90 degree turn par 5. It’s about 200 yards uphill to the left hand corner, then downhill all the way to the green. The typical shot for a right hander in a long iron draw. He hits a 4 iron through the corner with a slight draw, a perfect shot. I pull the TiSi 3 wood.

“You hitting a wood?”

“3 wood.”

“It’s a 200 yard shot.” Half condescending, half question.

“Closer to 3”.

“That’s OB, dude”.

“Not if you go over the trees”. Whack!

“Uh, do you teach and stuff?”

I took lessons for a year from a Japanese man named Mr. Maeda. His teaching style was similar to Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid movies. It was several months before I hit anything longer than a gap wedge. After six months or so, he addressed the subject of fairway woods.

“You carry fairway woods. They are a risk from the ground, and rarely provide the best score. They are best used from the tee when distance placement is required.”

“Yes, but I have a magic 3 wood.”

“Ahhh, I see. Please demonstrate your magic club.”

“Thwack.”

“Again.”

“Thwack.”

“Again.”

“Thwack.”

“I will not instruct you with this club.”

I'm with you on those woods. The bag that I kept the longest was my Pings from that era . . . TiSi Tec Driver, woods and i3 irons. The driver was fickle for me, but the woods picked cleanly off the deck and were long. Later, when I went to Adams for fairways(around 2013), I was pleasantly surprised how much I got in trade. The sales rep said he had a customer that was, "looking for these".

Yes, the Grey TiSi Tec woods were so much better than the Black Tisi woods they replaced. The 12 degree 3 wood with the F2O (2 degrees Flat, 2 degrees Open) hosel was the shizzle.

Had a sweet 5 wood tisi fairway....

Might still be the goat. Ping wouldn't replace the hosel on mine when it cracked and I was inconsolable. Tried unsuccessfully to find a replacement for a couple years. The new 410s are the best effort since. REALLY good, and you can get them flat enough if you were a fan of the original F2O hosel.

I still play one (PING TiSi Tec 14* w/Graphite Design DJ-7s), and nothing can beat it.

This was Pings holy grail of fairway woods and way ahead of its time IMHO. Still longer and easier to hit from the fairway than anything out there. I totally understand what you mean when you say it is a "MAGIC 3 WOOD". The true definition of UGLY but effective, my buddies call it the UFO because it looks like a flying saucer.

P.S. Aftermarket hosels can be found at Billy Bobs golf and Golworks, but unfortunately they may be right hand only.

I have 3 of the 3-woods, the 5 and the 7! I think PING still says they are the best fairway woods they ever made!!

My 14 degree TiSi Tec 3 wood gave me more looks at eagle than any fairway I have played prior or since. Finally snapped the shaft, which was just the stock stiff. So hard to find that magic 3 wood that's just as good of the tee as it is off the deck. I do miss it alot, and am always on the lookout for another.

I've got 2 of them if anyone's wanting to grab one.

I have several fairway woods I like to play, but most often it's either a Ping Tisi Tec or PRGR Egg Spoon. Both are long and easy to hit.

Had that 3 wood and sold it for something that was supposedly longer and more forgiving. Fifteen years later, I have yet to find its equal. What beauties they were.

People really have no idea how revolutionary the TiSI was. You got mocked to hard for pulling out the 'black toaster of death' on the tee box. A few guys were still playing persimmon woods back then. No one laughed at the results. Had Ping figured out graphite shafts better they would have taken over completely. And the variable hosel was HUGE. I am very tall and played a short driver shaft (43.5") back then. The X-upright hosel was a godsend.

That last story cracked me up as I can totally picture it, hah!

I really really wonder what some PGA pros would play in that 3-wood slot if contracts didn't exist. I imagine there would be some pretty dang interesting stuff out there.

It is a sweet model club, loved all those I have had. That being said, I think the 2014 Rapture 3 wood beats it out on all levels, and the G410 LST has finally beat that out from an all-rounder perspective. I loved the TISI, but as a shatt ho, those were a total PIA to reshaft. The only club worse than the FT-3 in that category.

I wish PING would do a limited release of these with a standard hosel. They were really long, consistent, and forgiving...

I’m a lefty as well. I have a full set of the TiSi Tec fairways. A 12,15,17 and 21. I still use then frequently. The newest Ping fairways are close in performance to the TiSi Tecs but don’t surpass them. The 12 deg. is surprisingly easy to hit off of a fairway lie. It’s still the longest fairway wood I’ve ever used. There are still a lot of these in play. I’m sorry Ping stopped stocking the hosels. I mean how expensive could those plastic hosels be? Even if they couldn’t turn much profit on them they should have continued to keep a limited supply on hand to support their customers. I would happily pay to have all four of mine reshafted with more modern shafts.

I had Ping WRX reshaft my 12* TISI Tec with a Fuji Blur a couple of years back. Stopped playing it as I was have difficulty getting the ball up in the air.

The TiSi driver is what led the USGA to begin testing for face flexing and bring the limits on how much flex is allowable.

I have 8 or so of them kicking around still

I still recall two lifetime shots off the deck ... one w three and one w the five ... loved f10 hosels

MAJ played these forever