New Titleist 917 driver: shot at the 2016 Quicken Loans National

[Bartin]

For those who've asked, the sound is waaaaay better! IMO

 

 

Greg

 

Great to hear.

 

Literally

[uramnich]

Will be at the Quicken this weekend and will be peeping players bags hard for these.... Interested to hear them

 

Initially I was praying for it not to be grey but it looks good in the pictures.. Not too light (in my opinion)

 

I've had every titleist driver for the last 15 years so can't wait to try this one

[2012BFT]

Any early feedback from the tour guys? I wonder who will have it in play this week...

[Punchdraw]

Does Justin Thomas switch from the D4?

[rymail00]

GREAT PICS!!! But.......was hoping to see comparison of 915 vs 917 from address.

[dadonkey]

That D2 is hideous

[MattyO1984]

Just viewed the pic's of the D2 that is on the home page, Ugly would be understated! The shape is disgusting to look at, and the face graphics look like a driver sold at Costco! Hopefully the D3 is better!

 

If one just changes the "D" for an "M" I would think that I am reading a TMAG thread!

The shape of the D2 is what bothers me, I'm not a hater'. I just do not like the shape, the face is growing on me though. I will probably buy the D3, no I will buy the D3, but I am a Callaway guy who is holding out for a 460 SZ. I am a GolfWrx ho' after all.

 

The M' series from TMAG are some of the best looking drivers I have seen in awhile, very long too.

 

 

I was the same way when changing from the 913D3 to the 915D2. Trackman numbers where better with the D2, but it didn't look right. However, after a few rounds, the shape did not bother me at all.

 

I was exactly the same. I had always been a D3 lover but switched over to the D2 after seeing the Trackman numbers and it's been a solid performer. I am looking at the 917D3 though and thinking it does look so much better.

[Thug Hunter]

That D2 is hideous

 

Well it's a golf club...so....

[cane700]

They look like drivers to me.

[MBA-J]

That D2 is hideous

 

Well it's a golf club...so....

 

Underrated post!

 

 

[Tony_Ireland]

I love the sound of my 915 D4, anyway its more about performance than looks or sound to me

[Stillboard]

Been waiting for the Congressional and this post to follow.

 

1: Is the crown the same color as the 816H hybrids? I don't mind white, blue, or most other colors, but for some reason found the 816H silver crown distracting.

 

2: Does anyone have address comparison pics?

[Weston003]

Yeah, I am curious about the reasoning behind the weighting system. What choice is there to move weight farther back (for more forgiveness and more spin) versus toward the face (for less forgiveness but less spin)?

 

I love the gray paint.

 

I wish the face was (more) plain stainless.

 

I am maybe most interested in how they got it to be more quiet than 915's.

 

They did reduce spin, but they wanted to still have an MOI that helps golfers. The Titleist Tech guy I spoke to confirmed that the axis of the weight bar allows the CG to be moved left and right without changing the MOI. The weight bar allows golfers to optimize a draw, neutral, or fade biased driver.

 

I have no doubt you and many others are aware of this, but low spin and less forgiveness as a result of low MOI is not actually the best option. Many great players on tour prefer the higher MOI models, like unto the Ping G series (the highest MOI available), which keeps them consistent. It's just us, the consumer's thirst for distance, that drives the idea of low spin equalling distance. And even then, the shaft has a huge say in what your spin rates will be anyway.

 

I even noticed DJ's M1 set up at the US Open had the weight all the way back to increase MOI.

 

I met with the for VP of Golf Clubs for Titleist a few years ago and we discussed current market trends with drivers. MOI and consistency are huge factors that Titleist still focuses on heavily, because they know most of us need it.

 

I was also told by Titleist that they created the movable weight on the new 917 to enable them to weight the club quickly for tour player preference. The tour van often had to internally weight the driver for specific players. This new feature allows them to do it quickly.

 

Of the club manufactures out there, it is my experience that Titleist really takes into consideration what tour players want, then implements that into their design process. I'd also claim that Titleist is the slowest to concede to consumer demand for the next and best, greatest, awesome feature. Not to mention the patent jungle they have to navigate.

 

Anyways, in short. Titleist's goal has always been to make a consistent driver.

 

With the 917, Titleist did lower spin, improved acoustics and still maintained a great MOI for longer, more consistent results. For that I'd say +1 to them.

 

Whether it competes well with the other offerings on the market is to be determined.

[PThomas]

Looks like the majority of guys have it in play today. Interested to see who keeps it in play for the weekend.

[Thug Hunter]

Looks like the majority of guys have it in play today. Interested to see who keeps it in play for the weekend.

 

Where are getting to see it in play? Are you at Congressional right now or am I missing something on TV?

[BdaGolfer]

Not a fan of the look with the bar weight, but I'm in no rush. I like my 915 D2 (yes I said it!), though I also have a 907 D2 at home in the closet so take what I say with a grain of salt. I also may have been dropped as a child.....

[PThomas]

Looks like the majority of guys have it in play today. Interested to see who keeps it in play for the weekend.

 

Where are getting to see it in play? Are you at Congressional right now or am I missing something on TV?

 

Just look at the Wednesday photos on golfwrx. J Thomas even switched.

[bama11]

Not a fan of the look with the bar weight, but I'm in no rush. I like my 915 D2 (yes I said it!), though I also have a 907 D2 at home in the closet so take what I say with a grain of salt. I also may have been dropped as a child.....

:cheesy:

[qwertyb22]

I really wish they'd have gone back to the old alignment aid... I'd have bought the club for that reason alone. On a whim I played a round today with my 913s which are set up with the same shafts and specs as my 915s and it struck me that the 913 head shape and alignment aid is so much more appealing and confidence-inspiring than the 915s, and I don't think I gave up more than a yard or two on any given swing. I'll be curious to see how the cup face changes my opinion, and how the fairway wood incorporates the same technology...

[hotspurs]

At least they kept the same hosel adjustment. That's been a winner since the 910.

[J13]

I talked to a few Titleist players on Tuesday and everyone is really enjoying the new 917. They were shooting some player reaction stuff at the Quicken loans this week as well which was funny to watch. Players trying to "act" lol. in any case the players I spoke with on course without anyone else around really enjoyed it.

[loupus]

Assuming/hoping the SureFit grip will be an option. Although attaching a GameGolf tag would be tough.

[HoganHO]

Still no one who can confirm if a 915 SureFit will go in to the 917??

[Yellow Jacket]

I was also told by Titleist that they created the movable weight on the new 917 to enable them to weight the club quickly for tour player preference. The tour van often had to internally weight the driver for specific players. This new feature allows them to do it quickly.

Does this mean they don't expect to be doing much hot melt in the future?

[oneaugusta]

Still no one who can confirm if a 915 SureFit will go in to the 917??

Yes it does, pro's were simply pulling their existing shafts out of 915 and installing in 917

[moonshine]

Anyone hear a street price yet?

[^m9]

They did reduce spin, but they wanted to still have an MOI that helps golfers. The Titleist Tech guy I spoke to confirmed that the axis of the weight bar allows the CG to be moved left and right without changing the MOI. The weight bar allows golfers to optimize a draw, neutral, or fade biased driver.

[...]

Anyways, in short. Titleist's goal has always been to make a consistent driver.

With the 917, Titleist did lower spin, improved acoustics and still maintained a great MOI for longer, more consistent results. For that I'd say +1 to them.

Whether it competes well with the other offerings on the market is to be determined.

 

Many of the design philosophies you wrote about is why I really like Titleist and Ping. These two OEMs have historically shied away from the movable weight race. They've also been a lot slower to jump on other adjustability because they don't want to sacrifice the weight costs associated with the adjustable hosels and weights (esp. Ping). Unlike TM and Callaway, these two take a much more paced approach.

 

You can see it here with the 917s: one weight plug that just inserts and has essentially 3 effects, neutral, draw, fade CG biases. They didn't really go for aggressive front to back weighting either. Maybe for the 919?

 

If you look at TM, they've gone very aggressive with MWT and hosel adjustability and now with their M1 you have two sliding weights and a carbon crown. Kitchen sink mentality. Callaway has two vertical weight ports in their Alpha 816 for combinations of draw/fade and vertical CG bias.

 

There's nothing wrong with the more aggressive approach, but I have to wonder if there are sacrifices made in adding all those features in there. The M1 and 816 would be great for tinkerers though. The other thing is perhaps too much adjustability could be bad for the average golfer. I see a lot of golfers on the range (and even on the course believe it or not) that can't stop changing the settings on their driver. It would drive me nuts if I had that many options. I like the lines of thinking "get fit, then forget it".

 

I like what Titleist have done with their drivers. Back when I started playing, I've always felt their marketing to be extremely snobby and aimed at the "better player" but in more recent years they've transitioned into making more forgiving, and like you say, consistent drivers with higher MOI. Their marketing seemingly reflects the attitude change as well showing mere "plebby scrubs" with AP1s on the course. Trying to catch up to the G series Titleist?

 

The 9xx series of drivers isn't quite up to G standards of forgiveness but really, what is? They've improved over their predecessors.

 

I do agree, the D2 looks bulbous in a weird way. Looks like they've pushed out the corners to bring the weight out to the edges. I have some pics which point out the areas on the D2 that look strange but the uploader is giving me issues so I can't add them here.

[Thug Hunter]

Anyone hear a street price yet?

 

My best guess is $449. I can't see it starting with a $5xx. If they do $499, the M1 will most likely end up in more bags than the 917 will. This of course is all speculation, considering I haven't hit the 917 yet.

[bob1sh]

I wonder if the Titleist reps will let me fit just the newest shafts into my 910/913 D2 and D3 at demo day? Lol I'm more interested in that kind of fitting than any of the new driver heads

[TheMoneyShot]

Anyone hear a street price yet?

 

My best guess is $449. I can't see it starting with a $5xx. If they do $499, the M1 will most likely end up in more bags than the 917 will. This of course is all speculation, considering I haven't hit the 917 yet.

 

I'm guessing it will be $499 this go around.