Titleist 975D, 975J and 983K

Can I get some comparing/contrasting info on the three drivers listed above? I've read through the historical data on Tiitleist's website but was also looking to hear what you WRX'ers have to say about these clubs. I didn't list the 983E because it's only available in 8.5 or 9.5 loft and I really prefer a 10.5 loft.

975D was a classic the minute it came out, one of the all time great drivers if not THE all time great driver. unfortunately it is almost 15 year old technology (came out in 1997 i believe) and it was designed along with the wound golf ball (titleist professional was the ball back then) so it may not be the best performing driver to put into the bag nowadays. I got this driver as a teenager and used it into college, it was a great stick, even though i probably wouldnt game it i wish i had one for nostalgia reasons.

975J was a decent driver, i had this one too but it got kicked out of the bag by the 975D being thrown back in. it was tinnier feeling than the D, thats why i kicked it out of the bag. I believe this one came out in 2001 so it was brought out with the pro v1, it may perform better with the modern balls than the D.

the 983K was the driver that finally kicked the D out of my bag, i hit it way longer and it was way more forgiving. This driver is the one that is still relevant performance wise, its more of a modern driver. If I was choosing based on performance this would be the one I would pick.

Thanks, Thrillhouse. I picked up a 975D a few weeks ago at a garage sale. I know it's old technology but it was $10 and though it was lonely there in the corner next to the 8-track player, it was was clearly well cared for. It has a regular flex shaft which I simply can't play with but, I figured I could get it reshafted and still end up with a somewhat classic, very playable club. I think I'll pass on the J and move right on to the K next. I give away lots of yards to my playing partners, but I just can't afford $400+ every year for the latest and greatest.

The 975D is a great little driver. Solid feel and sound.

My experience with all three of these drivers (plus one other, the 975J-VS) is as follows:

975D - Probably my all time favorite driver. I put one in play in my high school golf days to replace a Ping TiSI that I just could not hit well. The 975D just clicked for me. It felt solid with the Grafalloy Pro Lite 35 (one of my all time favorite shafts, definitely in the top 2 for the ultra-light shaft category), was a dead straight hitter, and sounded better than anything else out there. I hit the ball a pretty good distance with this club (was getting me distances between 230-240 yards). It was just a solid performer. I still have one sitting in my basement and it finds its way into the bag every great once in a while when I need to be reminded what a REAL driver felt like.

975J - I played it with a Grafalloy Pro Lite 35 for a little under a year before reverting to my tried and true 975D with the same shaft. The 975J was a touch more forgiving, launched the ball a tad higher (both clubs were 7.5 loft with the same Grafalloy Pro Lite 35 S, which looking back was probably a touch firm for me at that time and cost me a few yards), the J was also a few yards longer, we'll call it 10 to 12 on average. The club just did not have the same solid sound and feel that the 975D had, that was what really knocked it out of the bag.

975 J-VS - I played this for a while with a Graphite Design YS-7. Felt a bit more solid than the 975J, had a slightly lower ball flight with the same loft (7.5, I'd say the lower flight was partly due to the heavier shaft, I'd call the launch right between the D and the J). Had a slight draw bias as compared to the J and the D, but still had the same weak not so solid sound that the J had. This did stay, however, until I went to the next driver...

983K - I played this for a LONG time with a couple of different shafts. I played this in a 7.5 loft with a Grafalloy Pro Lite 35 to start and had pretty good results with it, but got curious eventually when Aldila started popping up on the map with the NV, so I tried an NV 65 for a season. It performed similarly to the Pro Lite 35, launched a touch higher, maybe, and felt a little smoother than the Pro Lite 35. The next season, I turned around and got a Fujikura Vista Tour 60 in this club as I was REALLY starting to get curious about Fujikura shafts at this time (when the Speeder 757 and SIX were THE shafts on Tour). I opted for the Vista Tour because my college student budget didn't have enough give to foot the bill for a 757 or a SIX. The 983K was briefly replaced by an r7 Quad with an NV 65 in it, but soon returned. It was then displaced more permanently by an R5 TP with a Blue Board 83 which was succeeded by a Superquad TP with a Rombax 7W06 then a 909D2 with a White Board and now a 910 D2 with a Kai'li 70 or alternately an 'ahina 70. In terms of the 983K's performance, it was GREAT, I wish I still had mine with the Vista Tour in it. It felt almost as solid as the 975D, was leaps and bounds more forgiving, a good 15 to 20 yards longer thant he 975D as well. I was consistently driving the ball between 250 and 260 with that club through college. The 983K also had a GREAT solid sound.

The short of it is, of all of Titleist's driver offerings over the years, the 975D is my favorite in terms of appearance, feel, and sound. The 983K was a modernized 975D with a very similar appearance from address (albeit bigger), almost 975D solid feel, almost 975D solid sound, and far beyond 975D distance. The higher ball flight became a non issue after seeing how much farther the ball flew with teh 983K versus the 975D. The real trick to it is getting the right shaft paired with the club though.

[quote name='Thrillhouse' timestamp='1317862587' post='3631341']
975D was a classic the minute it came out, one of the all time great drivers if not THE all time great driver. unfortunately it is almost 15 year old technology (came out in 1997 i believe) and it was designed along with the wound golf ball (titleist professional was the ball back then) so it may not be the best performing driver to put into the bag nowadays. I got this driver as a teenager and used it into college, it was a great stick, even though i probably wouldnt game it i wish i had one for nostalgia reasons.

975J was a decent driver, i had this one too but it got kicked out of the bag by the 975D being thrown back in. it was tinnier feeling than the D, thats why i kicked it out of the bag. I believe this one came out in 2001 so it was brought out with the pro v1, it may perform better with the modern balls than the D.

the 983K was the driver that finally kicked the D out of my bag, i hit it way longer and it was way more forgiving. This driver is the one that is still relevant performance wise, its more of a modern driver. If I was choosing based on performance this would be the one I would pick.
[/quote]

Sums it up perfectly. I had all three until recently and would still take the 983K out every now and then. Still a great stick.

im just getting back into the game after an 8 year break. have been using an old hibore given to me from my dad and have been spraying it everywhere. just brought an old 975D which i was using before i quit and it as good as the day i first had one. Could only find an 8.5 would have loved a 7.5 degree.

i cant get over how odd the big heads on the new drivers look. Like swing a stick with a balloon on the end of it.

[color="#1C2837"][size="2"][quote] I didn't list the 983E because it's only available in 8.5 or 9.5 loft and I really prefer a 10.5 loft.[/quote][/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"][size="2"]You are mistaken, they were made in this loft. I own a 10.5, as well as two 9.5s. All with the YS-6 shaft.[/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"] [/color]
[color="#1c2837"][size="2"]I also own three 983Ks in 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 lofts with YS-6, NV, and Ys-6 shafts, respectively.[/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"] [/color]
[color="#1c2837"][size="2"]I bought all of them for anywhere from $17 to $80. Top quality clubs at this price gave me the opportunity to basically "demo" them in various lofts via Ebay, and then get to keep them on top of that. I now have options once my swing slows down as I get older.[/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"] [/color]
[color="#1c2837"][size="2"]I play them because I just do not like the look of 400+cc drivers at address. Not gonna happen. [/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"] [/color]
[color="#1c2837"][size="2"]I like all of the above clubs, they are solid and top quality. I prefer the E due to the deep face and smaller footprint at setup. I just hammered a bucket of range balls tonight with it in fact. The ball flight just bores a hole smooth through the atmosphere. When I pure one, it eats the wind alive and keeps going even with the YS-6.[/size][/color]
[color="#1c2837"] [/color]

Any significantly larger club head will give you more forgiveness, higher launch, and higher ball speeds. If you are considering playing one of these dinosaurs go with the 983K.

I absolutely love my 975D with Prolite 35 stiff shaft. I try newer and bigger but I cannot hit them as well and I do not like the size of the heads. I don't suffer for distance on mishits that much, getting them out to 240-250 yds.and further on perfectly struck balls. The trajectory I hit them on is really cool as others often comment on. I have tried the 975J and 983K and found them to be tinny and not as solid.

@mwink822 Agreed, shaft selection is important and there's likely double the number of options now than when these clubs were new. After I get fitted, and make my selection I'll let you know how it turned out.

@cheeks For some reason, the online Titleist Club Archive gave the 983E short shrift as compared with their other drivers when it came to listing technical data. I hadn't seen any 10.5 lofted 983E's but now that I know they're out there I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks for the information.

@storm319 Sometimes, to understand where we are going we have to understand where we've been first. Take a 42 year old Jaguar for instance...

I never hit the J or the J-VS, but would agree with the comments comparing the 975D and the 983K. Still think the 975D is one of the best drivers ever made.

And just for kicks (I also had a thread with these pics in the WITB forum) here's the 975D with its youngest cousin...

:D

Jebus, the 975 D looks like a super deep faced fairway wood compared to the D3.

I prefer the old classic look of those titleist drivers to any of these new white/hi tech looking drivers. I still have a 983K sitting around. I wonder how the 983k compares to the new 910 series?

The 975D is Bob Vokey's greatest work. I wish they had let him stick to designing drivers.

still bag the 975D, amazing driver.

Just got the ProLaunch AMP shaft today to go in my 983k.

I love my Ping Rapture V2...but I just don't feel I can work the ball with it...it feels too big, so I got the 983k to have some fun with and have found it to be far better feeling when I try to draw/fade with it.

I played the 975D and the 983K. I found the 983K to be longer and way more forgiving than the 975D. I would recommend going with the 983k. I have seen the 983k for around $50 at several places that sell used clubs like Play It Again Sports.

I still have a 8.5 degree 983k with a YS-6 stiff that I paid about $50 for and I will keep this club forever. For the last three years I have rotated between the 983k, a 9.5 905S with YS6+, and 9.5 R7 Quad. I have tried several of the bigger and supposedly more forgiving drivers but have not found any significant increase in distance or accuracy. And I find it hard to look at the non-traditional head shapes that are commonplace with the new drivers. Additionally, I have some reservations about dropping $300 to $400 bucks for a new driver when I can get a used one for less than $100. The trade off is that it is a few years old.

@storm319 Sometimes, to understand where we are going we have to understand where we've been first. Take a 42 year old Jaguar for instance...

Well if that is the case you should hunt down some hickory sticks and feather balls!

I've had all 3 and agree with many of the posts above. The 983K was the longest/most forgiving of the 3. Great driver, especially for the time period that it came out.

The 983e was available in 10.5* loft

I used one for a season.

Looked great behind the ball with a lovely compact deep face. Solid feel as well.

Not the most forgiving and pretty low launch.

Yep, I think I had all of these listed so far. My 983E with a graphalloy blue was my favorite by far. I strayed to the TM 5xx series for a few months, then back to the 983. Eventually upgraded to the 905, 909, now the 913D3. I have always loved titleist drivers - the 913 d3 reminds me of the 983e the most....

975D with, what we called the LA Lakers shaft. Remember the purple and gold ones? PT 3 wood and either Apex or Eye2 irons in the bag. Where does time go?

I'd get a 905. They're almost as cheap and way hotter. I played every 9 series there back in the gray paint days.theyre all good though. I've got a mint 905s I still play sometimes. 983k is by far a better club in my book than any of the 975s with the jvs being the best 975 to me.

This is a pretty old thread that got resurrected

I only gamed the 975D, and it was a great stick. I still have mine with a DG-S400 shaft in it. Played it through the early Pro-V1 days. Didn't care for the other drivers (J, VS or the 983) and stuck with the 975D until I eventually switched to the R510TP, used that for a couple of years and then moved to the Ping Rapture which is still in the bag today.

I haven't had a Titleist driver in the bag since the 975D, but I have kept their irons in the bag (681s) for the past 13 or so years.

983K its a great driver still bag it from time to time. If I just stuck with it as long as any driver out there today.

cant believe this thread came back and no surprise that im still gaming my 975D

I play a 910 D3 now but for me my old 983K is the best looking driver ever. Love everything about the way it looks addressing the ball, the color of the crown, the graphics on the back, and the feel. Also the speeder shaft in it feels great. I would love a new titleist driver that resembles the look of the 983.

Some of the best golf clubs ever made IMO

Threadmancy yet again!

Picked up a 975D for a whopping $15 at Play it Again in an attempt to find something between my massive toaster on a stick, and the persimmon woods that sound so sweet.

Anyone out there still gaming theirs? Mine is 8.5* with a Titleist R flex Graphite shaft.