Titleist reveal new 917 woods

Titleist reveal new 917 woods

If you haven’t noticed, Titleist dance to their own tune when it comes to product launches. Whilst golfs other major manufacturers like to reveal new ranges every year Titleist prefer to switch between driver/fairways and irons/hybrids on a two yearly cycle, as they believe it takes that long to make a better product.

Titleist’s last driver the 915 was launched in 2014, and since then technology’s moved on at an alarming pace. Others maybe talking up the benefits of carbon fiber for driver designs but Titleist firmly believe titanium as a head material is still the one to beat. The 917’s have been eagerly anticipated since tour seeding started in July 2016, this is their story.

Titleist say their initial goal with 917 was “Complete Performance” so their R&D team and engineers have focused on four key areas to maximise performance.

Faster Ball Speed 

To maximise carry distance you simply have to increase ball speed and Titleist’s face technology has come so far their lab boffins have had to slow down the centre of the face of the 917 to make sure it conforms. They’ve thinned the face thickness a fraction and really concentrated on maxing out ball speed from a larger area around the face to give consistent ball speeds and greater forgiveness. That’s not the only change either. Titleist’s previous 915 driver had an “active recoil channel” in the sole, but the 917’s taken the tech a step further by making the sole stiffer than the crown so the pair work together to spring back more energy to the ball at impact. MOI’s also been increased by a deep centre of gravity, but not so deep spin takes over and robs you of valuable yards of carry distance. So how much difference do the changes make? Well Titleist reckon tour players and amateurs have seen on average a gain of 1-2mph, with some seeing 3 – 6mph improvements which is pretty impressive.

Adjustability

Some manufacturers market CG adjustability as a slice or hook cure, Titleist don’t like to go that far. They see the new SureFit sole weighting bar as a way to dial in the particular shot shape you’re trying to hit. Each driver comes with two weight bars which can vary from 12g, 14g and 16g. Splitting the weight neutrally between both ends increases MOI where the heavier ended weight bar creates either a draw of fade shot bias. Titleist reckon they’ve spent 5 years working on where the SureFit weight system is positioned to give maximum effect on shot bias and spin. Believe it or not the weight system is trackless which saves a significant amount of ineffective mass compared to the competition.       

Sound

Titleist are well known for having a stack of tour players playing their products and they turned to guys earning their fortunes using their equipment for inspiration when it came to sound. They reckon they’ve deliberately targeted certain “acoustic frequencies” with the 917 to deliver a lower pitched sound which is preferred by decent players.    

Trajectory

Comparing 917 to 915 Titleist reckon they’ve lowered spin by 100-200rpm, which admittedly is tiny amounts but it is heading in the right direction. Titleist say this change helps optimise spin, flight and shot shape and if you want to lower spin further there’s the option of a 440cc D3 head which can lower spin by 250rpm compared to the rounder, wider D2.       

Shaft selection is absolutely vital when it comes to maxing out a drivers performance so Titleist have included 4 stock options. It goes without saying you’ll need to get fitted to find your perfect driver set up with such an adjustable driver but you can choose from the Mitsubishi Diamana Red and Blue, Aldila Rogue Max or Fujikura Speeder.

Details: Titleist 917 D2 / D3 drivers

RRP: £TBC

D2 Lofts: 8.5° / 9.5° / 10.5° / 12°  D3 Lofts: 8.5° / 9.5° /10.5°

Stock shafts: Mitsubishi Diamana Red / Blue, Aldila Rogue Max, Fujikura Speeder Pro

Adjustable hosel: Yes

How much loft change: +1.5°/-0.75°

There’s 917 fairways too…

Just like the drivers you get a choice of either a 917 F2 slightly larger and more forgiving head or 917 F3 with its more traditional pear shaped profile. Both have SureFit weighting in the sole and hosel adjustability just like the drivers, which Titleist believe delivers the best chance of fitting the 917 perfectly to your game.

Details: Titleist 917 F2 / F3 fairway

RRP: £TBC

F2 Lofts: 13.5° / 15° / 16.5° / 18° / 21°  F3 Lofts: 13.5° / 15°

Stock shafts: Mitsubishi Diamana Red / Blue, Aldila Rogue Max, Fujikura Speeder Pro

Adjustable hosel: Yes

How much loft change: +1.5°/-0.75