Titleist 983e still wins !

[MGFluFan]

Dispersion was 8 yds. It is much easier to place the shot with a 43.5 shaft. The smaller head feels faster than the newer heads. I’ve got a little lead tape on the toe. I always know where this club is in my swing. The new equipment loses feel for me. Performance wise I lose nothing.

[MGFluFan]

The 905R will be played again this Xmas....YS6 Regular...

I keep hunting for a 983 E, but hard to find down here!

Still got the G5 to keep it honest!

[MGFluFan]

eBay - you’ll find one. 30.00 to 60.00

I’m a big fan of the YS6.

[MGFluFan]

Hmmmm.....my uncle has my old 983, maybe it's time to ask for it back??

 

It’s one of those clubs you don’t sell.

[MGFluFan]

2018 Club Champion driver fitting and my Titleist 983e still wins. 106mph/2652 = 267 carry. Still just a chugging along. Only down side - I wasted 150.00 on what I already knew.

 

I would have loved to see the face of your fitted when the results came in!

[MGFluFan]

He hit my driver a few times. Missed on the first 2 - then began to nail it. He laughed and said I need to leave before he started losing customers. He was quite impressed and proceeded to ask me how much I wanted for it. Not a chance.

[MGFluFan]

2018 Club Champion driver fitting and my Titleist 983e still wins. 106mph/2652 = 267 carry. Still just a chugging along. Only down side - I wasted 150.00 on what I already knew.

 

How was the dispersion with the 983e vs the other offerings you were hitting at Club Champion?

 

What loft is your 983?

 

8.5 YS6 stiff at 43.5”

 

That club reminds Jack Pearsall how much he loved the old ys6+ shaft by GD.

found a 983k with one of those shafts on offer up for pretty cheap. Maybe I should get it. Actually it's just a ys6. Color is black.

[MGFluFan]

Yep - great shaft. Smooth with feel. Very stable and predictable. It doesn’t swing itself you still have to do your part but when you put a good move on it - it goes forever.

[twidener]

I had a 983E, 8.5 with the stock speeder shaft when they first came out and I hit some of the longest drives I have ever hit. And the dispersion was minimal. I remember playing a short (355), straightaway par 4 once and I thought maybe I could get close to the green so I took a pretty hard swing and caught it perfectly. I ended up with about a 30 foot eagle putt. I couldn't believe it and the guys I was playing with couldn't believe it either. I traded it in a few years after that and I don't know why. The 983 series and the 905 series were nice drivers.

[RobotDoctor]

I have a 983K and agree with those who say it is a bit spinny. I, too, just picked up a 983E (9.5*) with a Fujikura 757 Speeder stiff shaft. I am going to reshaft it with a UST AxivCore Red 70g stiff shaft. I am not sure if I will do that as a full bore or blind bore (2 1/2 inserted). I'll do a comparison with my current driver (TM 2016 M1). I have two shafts (Graphite Design Tour AD DI 6S and a Mitsubishi Chemical CK Orange 70g stiff shaft) to decide which is better for me then I will compare. I remember hitting a lot more fairways with my 983K and was able to work the ball much better. We'll see in a couple of weeks.

 

After a very busy August where I wasn't home much, I have reshafted my 983E with the UST AxivCore Tour Red 79g stiff shaft. I ended up doing a 2" blind bore (the total bore through is 3"). I have also installed the adapter for the M1 on the Tensei Pro Orange 70g stiff shaft and have installed that to the M1. Now to compare. :)

[QuintupleBogey]

I've just got an immaculate 983k 9.5 with Aldila NV Xtreme (rare shaft) and I love it. I've tried tons of new 460cc drivers but never found anything that really worked better for me than my old 905t - I only got the 983 on a whim to see how it compared.

 

First round with it last weekend and missed 2 fairways (very good for me) and smashed a couple of absolute monsters past 320 yards. Similar to the 905T but somehow just better - more solid feel, crisper sound. I seem to be able to seriously unleash with this club and maintain form and consistency which I don't seem to be able to do with newer 460cc drivers.

 

Weirdly looking down at a smaller clubhead is more confidence inspiring for me, it seems to focus the mind. Same thing with my irons - I'm still playing a set of DCI 981's - tried newer, more forgiving irons and just lose consistency and feel.

[MWL]

I have been gaming a 983E 9.5 with YS6 for about five years. The thing is a sledgehammer... I also have the 913 D3 which is another sledgehammer. Since then the Titleist offerings have not looked good (no longer pear shape) and not felt solid... such a shame. I think they brought back the guy who designed the 907 D1 to design the 915 onwards. They need to get back to doing what they do best.. the best looking driver, with the best feel and most accurate.

 

Surely they can take the 913 d3 look, lower spin and increase launch and ball speed a bit.. that's all it needed. Its crazy to think that Taylormade now make the nice pear shaped looking heads with solid feel (m3) and Titleist make the frying pans on a stick that sound tinny... oh and don't even get me started on the ridiculous reverse triangle 'mistake' alignment aid... that makes me sick... the line and triangle were a brand.. and you don't just change it because some idiot in the R&D department can't operate the computer...

[MGFluFan]

12/26/20

Just finished another driver fitting and took my trusty 983e with me. I wasn't swinging well but my club head speed was 102 - 104 and getting 260 - 270 out of it. We tried 10 different driver and shaft combinations and my swing speed dropped to 94 - 95 obviously not hitting it near as far. They couldn’t beat me driver. I had the fitter hit my driver and he hit it 15yds further than his current driver. He couldn’t believe it. 2004 Technology still works. Stupid me - it cost me another $150 to figure that out again. 

[Red4282]

19 minutes ago, MGFluFan said:

12/26/20

Just finished another driver fitting and took my trusty 983e with me. I wasn't swinging well but my club head speed was 102 - 104 and getting 260 - 270 out of it. We tried 10 different driver and shaft combinations and my swing speed dropped to 94 - 95 obviously not hitting it near as far. They couldn’t beat me driver. I had the fitter hit my driver and he hit it 15yds further than his current driver. He couldn’t believe it. 2004 Technology still works. Stupid me - it cost me another $150 to figure that out again. 

How did you lose 8-9mph in swingspeed?

[Shupe]

13 hours ago, MGFluFan said:

12/26/20Just finished another driver fitting and took my trusty 983e with me. I wasn't swinging well but my club head speed was 102 - 104 and getting 260 - 270 out of it. We tried 10 different driver and shaft combinations and my swing speed dropped to 94 - 95 obviously not hitting it near as far. They couldn’t beat me driver. I had the fitter hit my driver and he hit it 15yds further than his current driver. He couldn’t believe it. 2004 Technology still works. Stupid me - it cost me another $150 to figure that out again. 

If you are losing almost 10 miles an hour club speed switching to a modern club, it isn’t the club.

I’d pay for a psychiatrist rather than a fitter.

[cbjuhr]

As a 983e fan and proud owner ( not in the bag though) I couldn't help but chime in here. For me the 983e is within striking range on distance but I still see more distance in modern drivers and dispersion is way better. You could certainly see increased club head speed with the smaller 983 versus a bigger modern day driver but the gap described above seems a bit large. Also, would be interesting to test the face on your 983E, given its age and use maybe the face is no longer legal and too thin? Just speculating, I thought I had read somewhere that if you are really pounding a driver you can wear the face thinner and hotter, until it goes. 

 

I think most folks, maybe not all, will see much better results with the newer stuff.   

[Shupe]

19 hours ago, NotThatGuyorAmI? said:

Amateur driver distance maxed out 15 years ago.

 

The rest is, apparently, hype.

 

How needs the psychiatrist?

Distance isn't the issue.  I have a few of the old Titleist bombers...  If the best a fitter can do is the dispersion level of a 15 year old club... I don't know how they are still in business.  

[drbonesvt]

350 cc’s of goodness 

 

used mine till it cracked 

 

400-500 at the time right ?? Even at 400 then with inflation around 500 in today’s dollars , incredibly expensive 

 

but , pre 2006 cor limit driver , 

[cgasucks]

On 12/30/2020 at 4:05 AM, drbonesvt said:

350 cc’s of goodness 

 

used mine till it cracked 

 

400-500 at the time right ?? Even at 400 then with inflation around 500 in today’s dollars , incredibly expensive 

 

but , pre 2006 cor limit driver , 

I remember the 983 series made so much buzz back then.  It was THE driver to get, especially after Ernie Els introduced the 983 by murdering the ball at Kapalua at the Mercedes Championship.

Edited August 22, 2023 by cgasucks

[ND2005]

17 hours ago, Shupe said:

Distance isn't the issue.  I have a few of the old Titleist bombers...  If the best a fitter can do is the dispersion level of a 15 year old club... I don't know how they are still in business.  

 

Dropping 10 mph swing speed means it is 100% in the head. He's just not swinging the same way with the new clubs. Any fitting will be pointless if he can't get over that mental block. Will affect dispersion too if he's not putting a normal swing on it. 

 

That being said, if he has a club he loves and puts a confident swing on it, and gets good results in real life, then there's really no reason to seek out different drivers. 

[Red4282]

On 12/28/2020 at 6:42 PM, NotThatGuyorAmI? said:

Amateur driver distance maxed out 15 years ago.

 

The rest is, apparently, hype.

 

How needs the psychiatrist?

On completely center strikes maybe. Manufacturing tolerances are better in todays drivers as well as off center speed retention. Not to mention higher MOI.

[Ri_Redneck]

The 983E is the low spin version of the 983K, so it would fall in line more with today's driver trends. It IS a 350CC head though which would tend to have a considerably lower MOI than today's offerings. Odds are the OP is a good ball striker with the driver, so the MOI difference isn't a huge deal for him. This club came out in '03 and the stock shafts were pretty good then. Not much in today's tech can make a big difference. For what it's worth, I have a 905R 9.5* with stock Speeder which I have re-weighted to suit my swing. It can stay right with everything else I have.

 

BT

[PixlPutterman]

4 hours ago, ND2005 said:

 

Dropping 10 mph swing speed means it is 100% in the head. He's just not swinging the same way with the new clubs. Any fitting will be pointless if he can't get over that mental block. Will affect dispersion too if he's not putting a normal swing on it. 

 

That being said, if he has a club he loves and puts a confident swing on it, and gets good results in real life, then there's really no reason to seek out different drivers. 

I can see this

 

On paper it makes no sense but on bigger heads I feel I cant square them like I can a smaller head, so my swing is more focus on impact than speed......

[DaveGoodrich]

After seeing this thread again, I took my 983e (9.5*, Harrison Saga stiff at 44") to the range yesterday, head to head against my M5.  I wasn't too surprised to find that I hit the 983e pretty much the same distance as the M5, just based on the spots I was hitting on the slope behind the range.   I didn't find it hard to find the middle of the face, or really notice any issues with control or dispersion with the 983e either.   Yes, this was a small sample size with no quantitative data.  I'm not drawing fundamental conclusions, or putting the 983 back in the bag based on this limited testing.

 

But I think that is where driver tech really is.  OEMs are making incremental improvements in ball speed across the face, and tweaking MOI to optimize launch conditions.  But we are well beyond the point of diminishing returns.  These improvements are "at the margins," they aren't fundamental to performance.   You would think that after so many years of these incremental improvements, I really would hit the M5 noticeably farther, or more consistently, than the 983e, but I definitely didn't see that.  

 

I'm not doubting that, statistically, over time, I will get better results with the M5, because its going to "help me" more on bad swings.  But that help will be a few yards here and there.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't "see" those better results without keeping detailed statistics, and I'd bet the magnitude of those improvements would be pretty small in handicap terms.  How much we are willing to pay for that small reduction is the question.  Apparently, it is a lot.  

 

A quality fitting, selecting from a good variety of used drivers, would probably do more to improve our scores than chasing state of the art technology.   But that's not where the money is, so good luck finding that service.  

 

[jkilla6152]

On 8/13/2018 at 6:02 PM, PixlPutterman said:

I have an 8.5 in both K and E in steel that come out from time to time. Love em

Man I've been looking for a D, J, or L-FE or a 983E with steel shaft to game in a throwback bag. Been scouring ebay. There is one 10.5* 975D in the UK with steel. Not having much luck as a lefty. Jealous of your set up.

[PixlPutterman]

1 hour ago, jkilla6152 said:

Man I've been looking for a D, J, or L-FE or a 983E with steel shaft to game in a throwback bag. Been scouring ebay. There is one 10.5* 975D in the UK with steel. Not having much luck as a lefty. Jealous of your set up.

 The E I gifted to a friend, but I do have a 9.5 K with S300 (never letting my 8.5K go 🙂 )

[vadersfather]

Hahaha! Great thread, I almost forgot I have 2 E's and a K! And I'm a Lefty! The E is the purest feeling driver head (except for maybe the jetspeed but I'm biased) when struck on the dime! I need to bust them out again✌️🍸

[MGFluFan]

Sorry - I haven’t checked back in to answer any questions on this thread. 
The speed difference is definitely feel for me. The larger heads feel lighter, thus I get out of rhythm and lose club head speed. I do strike the ball well and have little problem hitting the center of the club face. When moving to a larger headed club, I tend to get sloppy with my swing and have more off- center hits. My TS3 with Even Flow has a swing speed of 100-101. My 983e with NV65 is 104-106. The head size definitely makes a difference in speed. I play both equally well. I just have more shot options with the 983 with the size and can keep it a little lower - a big plus in the wind. 

[BallerNate]

37 minutes ago, MGFluFan said:

Sorry - I haven’t checked back in to answer any questions on this thread. 
The speed difference is definitely feel for me. The larger heads feel lighter, thus I get out of rhythm and lose club head speed. I do strike the ball well and have little problem hitting the center of the club face. When moving to a larger headed club, I tend to get sloppy with my swing and have more off- center hits. My TS3 with Even Flow has a swing speed of 100-101. My 983e with NV65 is 104-106. The head size definitely makes a difference in speed. I play both equally well. I just have more shot options with the 983 with the size and can keep it a little lower - a big plus in the wind. 

Better late than never right, Lol?

 

All about playing what works best for you…results are all that really matters at the end of the day!

[rbpwrx]

On 12/30/2020 at 8:32 AM, ND2005 said:

 

Dropping 10 mph swing speed means it is 100% in the head. He's just not swinging the same way with the new clubs. Any fitting will be pointless if he can't get over that mental block. Will affect dispersion too if he's not putting a normal swing on it. 

 

That being said, if he has a club he loves and puts a confident swing on it, and gets good results in real life, then there's really no reason to seek out different drivers. 

Not if the shaft lengths were different. He said 43.5" on the 983e (same as mine, with a stock X100 in it! They used to call me Magnet when I bagged that club, because it always found the 150yd marker, center of the short grass). If they were fitting him with 45" modern drivers (or more) that's the difference between a 7-iron and a 4-iron. You swing those with equal confidence? Totally different levers, angles, tempos, and sense of where the head is. Entirely possible to lose 10mph going to a longer shaft, no matter what the head is. He'd have had to train at that length to get any good at swinging it. Apples and oranges.