MEMBER REVIEWS: Titleist GT Driver & Fairway Wood Member Testing | See What Members Are Saying

[AUTIGER07]

Grudge match round #2 on the TopTracer is complete.

 

Couple of observations / comments:

• Swing speed was definitely slower today. Apparently your stamina lessens as you get older (who knew?) and after a morning workout as well as a Stack session I was pretty much done by the time I got to the range.
• Numbers below are averages of 10 balls each. The pattern used was: TSR2 (5), GT3F (5), Cobra (5), GT3D (10), Cobra (5), GT3F (5), TSR2 (5).
• The GT3 driver continues to be an absolute bomber. Carry distance gains continue to be impressive, even though ball speed was down across the board due to the note above. Dispersion was much better as well as I'm starting to get more comfortable with the Riptide.
• The TSR2 was back to it's usual self and as you can see  it was basically a wash with the GT3. For anyone comparing the two (TSR or GT), I honestly think you could go in either direction and be happy with your purchase.

 

Edited October 12, 2024 by AUTIGER07

[stryper]

Got a couple more (unofficial) sim rounds in today.  Driver continues to perform.  Only one shot strayed uncomfortably right all day, but even that one stayed on course—the confidence level is high with the GT3 right now.  
 

Left miss is no concern at all. 

GT3 fairway is also evolving into a comfortable point-and-shoot option, which is a far cry from my 915Fd kryptonite days of late, where I dreaded pulling off the headcover there. 

[CanFred]

Was able to get away from kiddos this afternoon for a quick 9 with Pops.  

 

Unfortunately, his home course is VERY tight (driver is only in play on 2 holes on the front 9), so I wasn't able to get much out of the GT3 (more on that below).  However, I came away VERY impressed with the 7W - landed two shots on the green in very tight windows (think long skinny greens with trouble on both sides / in front) from about 210-220 out each time.

 

 

I've been traveling non-stop last week, but I was able to finally unbox my driver - as with the fairways, packing job was done well (even without the headcover placed on the head...oh well).  Looking forward to getting out on the range soon to put it through its paces - I hated not being able to use it much today.  

Edited October 13, 2024 by ChrisATL

[Scratcham]

Fitted and smashing GT Driver with good control. The only stat that matters?

[stryper]

TITLEIST TEST TUESDAY!!!

 

Today’s episode is titled, HEAD to HEAD.

 

Literally pitted the TSR3 head against the GT3 head for a true one on one battle, with all variables removed.  I used the shaft I was fitted for, Mitsubishi TENSEI 1K Blue 55 Stiff, changing clubheads only between the two rounds of six recorded shots, starting with the GT3.  Once again, an HD Golf simulator was used for this test.

 

This time a true winner did emerge.  For the key factors of distance, ball speed and smash, the GT3 came out ahead, in spite of a slight edge on club speed going to the TSR3.  Also to be noted, the TSR3 did push a couple of shots farther right than the GT3, giving the dispersion win to the GT3.  Launch angle and peak height also had a tighter, more consistent window with the GT3.
 

Summaries are below, with the GT3 on top:

 

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2024 by stryper

[adamwon84]

I hate how good the GT drivers are sounding in everyone's tests.....because the monkey on my back is whispering to my credit that its ok....

[CanFred]

@adamwon84 - you know what to do....

[adamwon84]

10 minutes ago, ChrisATL said:

@adamwon84 - you know what to do....

Yup...and thats the problem....haha

[stryper]

7 minutes ago, adamwon84 said:

Yup...and thats the problem....haha

Is it a problem…or an opportunity? 😉

[bigdriveandy]

Just wanted to drop a brief update in here for loyal followers:

 

I took the headcovers off the new GT woods for the first time today and hit about ~10 balls with each at the driving range (grass tees). For context, today it was about 58* and sunny with a pretty strong (~10mph) wind at my back. 

 

I wanted to share some thoughts on each club:

 

GT2 5 wood with Ventus TR Blue 7-S:

• Looks: what can you say here? This looks perfect to my eye. Classy, gloss black, smallish head, perfect medium face height. Not pear shaped exactly, as it has a little more roundness in the heel particularly. 
• Feel/ Sound: Nice medium pitched crack that feels dense and satisfying. Not tingy/metallic but also not wooden and dead like you get with some carbon FW at all, just such a fantastic balance to me. I don't know how much of the feel has to do with the Ventus shaft, but this is the best feeling fairway wood I've ever hit. The ventus loads and unloads nicely and you can really feel a pronounced kick. 
• Ballflight: High but not ballooning at all. I hit shots that were straight to slight fade, which is actually sort of opposite of my normal pattern. It felt as though the shaft had more to do with this pattern than anything about the head. The head when struck out of the middle is super neutral and provides a medium high trajectory with a mid spin. I am a great fit for a mid spin head so this is going to be a great weapon to attack par 5s with. Didn't get a good idea of distance because of the tailwind but this feels like it isn't losing anything to my previous gamer - M5 Titanium. I will say the spin profile and face feel is much more consistent and less "hot" than the M5. Titanium 5 wood wasn't my favorite and I think this setup is going to be way more user-friendly all around. 
• If I could think about something I would potentially try in the future is just tipping the shaft an additional 1/2" to add a bit more control.

GT3 3 wood with Ventus TR Blue 7-S

• Looks: compared to the GT2 this is definitely larger but more pear shaped, straighter in the heel to my eye. The face height is taller, and I would probably classify it on the verge of deep. The glossy, black makes the club look great, and hides the size a bit.
• Feel/Sound: A deeper more full throated thwack. The feel is also a bit more rich and full as well, more sort of a muted and satisfying crack when face meets ball.  Thin strikes produce a higher pitched sound and this head overall will offer more feedback on strikes off center. 
• Ballflight: Okay....this thing is a missile launcher. Lower spin, lower launch, flatter, and overall hotter. I am a lowish spin guy and even the mishits on the heel were manageable in terms of spin - no divers! Good shots are rewarded with insane distance though. I will say that the difference in low-high face forgiveness is noticeable between the GT2 and GT3 (GT3 being lower), however the heel toe forgiveness is rather similar. 
• The use case that my fitter had in mind when he fit me for these is playing out so far. I think the GT3 is best suited as a club for narrow tee shots or ones with a dogleg or hazard at a distance that would take driver out of my hand. I don't foresee a ton of shots straight off the turf with this club, though it performs fine out of the fairway without a tee. I feel a lot more confident hitting down a little on the GT3 off the tee whereas I think I would be afraid of hitting the GT2 too high on the face. 

GT3 Driver with Ventus Blue 6-X

• Looks: Stupid good. Texted my golfing buddies and told them this is the best looking driver I have ever had. It is a jarring aesthetic departure from my trusty G400 Max. Gloss black, perfect modern pearish-shape. Deep face, and I mean, you guys have seen the pictures online. It's just better looking in person.
• Feel/Sound: Titleist nailed it. Is anyone doing it better in the game today? I hit one that was just awful out of the low heel and it briefly sounded a little more brittle/metallic.  Out of the center there is just a euphoric crack and that feeling of a forged iron where you almost feel like you've missed the ball it comes off so pure. I don't have experiences with any prior gen Titleist drivers since 910 but this is loads better than the feel and sound of the G400 Max, which is much louder and harsher. I also have a Stealth 2 which feels good, but more on the dead and wooden side where as the GT3 has a more acoustic experience, a more melodic sound as if someone tuned it carefully like they do with a sportscar engine. 
• Ballflight: Well, I was hitting pushes with my driver today. Don't know what that is about. However, on the handful that I hit straight enough that it would have found a fairway, the ballflight was a towering cut with low-mid spin that flattens out quickly and just gets downrange fast. I easily put it beyond any place on that range that my G400 Max normally goes. It could have been exacerbated by the breeze at my back, but the impression that I got is that the ~10 mph of BS my fitter said I gained was not a fluke. 
• I would be remiss if I didnt mention that I do think the edge in forgiveness goes still to my G400. Could be just a function of being really comfortable with the setup of my gamer, and we do all know the legend of the G400 Max's forgiveness. I will say though that the GT3 seems plenty forgiving for most golfers. I did not try to play with the weight or adapter settings but this is probably something I will get around to doing to see if I can get any incremental gains in this setup. For reference my driver is setup at B1 on the hosel and Toe 2 on the weight track. 

[getair23]

On 9/8/2024 at 7:04 PM, AUTIGER07 said:

I had my fitting this morning and other than it being a little cold (low 50's) and windy the overall experience was top notch. I decided to follow Stryper's approach of going in totally open-minded and really paying more attention to feel and the results instead of immediately checking the shaft / surefit specs when being handed something new. Some will likely be surprised by the driver shaft recommendation, I know I was, but it was a pretty clear winner from the session. My fitter Billy was great to work with and I'd definitely recommend him for anyone located in the northern Illinois or southern Wisconsin area.

 

Driver fitting (5 swing average)

Baseline - Cobra Aerojet LS - 9* - Kai'Li White 60x

Swing Speed - 109     Ball Speed - 161     Spin - ~2,650     Carry - 264Y

 

Ordered Spec - GT3 - 8* - Even Flow Riptide 60x

Swing Speed - 109     Ball Speed - 164     Spin - ~2,275     Carry - 276Y

 

Heads tried - GT2 (9* / 10*)     GT4 (9*)     GT3 (9* / 8*)

Shafts tried - GD Tour AD VF (6/7)     Tensei 1K Black (65g)     Riptide (60g)

 

I came very, very close to going with the GT4 9* as the feel reminded me of a modern 983E. Sound is a little more "tingy" with the GT4 than the GT3 but the feel was about as good as it gets when hitting one in the screws. The GT3's extra forgiveness and sound (more of a "thwack") is why I decided to go in that direction but the GT4 was close to being the one. The surprising part of the order was the shaft spec. I previously played a Ping G410 LST with the Even Flow Black so I'm comfortable with that profile / feel but I honestly expected to end up with the HZRDUS Black or the Tensei 1K Black. However, once we moved to the 8* head moving to a mid-launch shaft brought everything into the right window.

 

3-Wood fitting (3 swing average; didn't hit as many due to time)

Baseline - TSR2 - 15* - Tensei 1K Black 75x

Spin - ~3,800     Carry - 242Y

 

Ordered Spec - GT3 - 15* - Tensei 1K Black 75x

Spin - ~3,350     Carry - 248Y

 

I knew the 3-wood fitting would be easier due to how good my TSR2 spec has been. It's always been on the higher end for launch and spin but it's been ridiculously consistent so any changes / tweaks should be minimal. The shaft was already a good fit for the fairway so it really became a question of tweaking the weights in the GT2 or moving to the GT3. The GT2 is great; very similar to the TSR2 and the launch was a little better overall. However, I knew within two swings the GT3 was the better fit. The launch window and spin were much better for my game which should help with reducing the frequency of the "balloon-ball" miss.

 

Sounds like the clubs should arrive sometime the week of the 15th. Happy to answer any questions in the meantime.

 

You went from TSr 2 fw to GT3. Have you noticed a big difference in launch and dispersion? The last few FW fittings I did put me in the 3 version. I'm considering blindly ordering a GT2 16.5 and ditching the TM mini (until the Titleist mini comes out).

[Cars]

Got fit today by a Titleist fitter. 

 

Tried GT4 and GT3. I've never been a "2" guy. 

 

First couple swings with the 4 and you do notice a sound and a feel difference. 

 

Launched GT4 at 9* at 11-12 with my Ventus 7x playing at 44.5" compared to the TSi4 I gained 3 MPH on ball speed (up to 166) and club speed (up to 112). 285 Carry running out to 310. B1 Setting. Might change to the B4 because I was unable to turn it over very much. They were straight low bullets. I even had a slight baby cut which was fascinating because I play a 12-15 yard draw with TSi but was unable to turn it over. Spin was 2100-2300 on pretty much every shot. I don't have a problem hitting baby cuts but it was odd to see them either go straight or little peeler cuts

 

Tried GT3 in 8 and 9 and could not consistently get the same numbers. GT3 was spinning at 2800 and launching similar but I wasn't nearly as consistent with GT3. I prefer the sound/feel of the 3 but just couldn't get it to work. I thought if any year was the year of me going into the 3 this would have been it, but I was longer, straighter, and most consistent with GT4. 

 

Felt TSi was more forgiving than GT which is saying something as TSi was one of the least forgiving drivers ever. There were a few swings where I felt like I hit center or was just a little heely that with TSi would have ended up drawing but with GT it cut. Not sure what was going on there, but there was a little left to right breeze, but there were strikes with GT4 that I thought were good that ended up being relatively spinny..something to monitor going forward. 

 

Tried TR Black 7x which was basically identical to my Black, felt pretty similar. Tried VF in 7x and hated it. Really heavy which was surprising to me compared to TR and felt very boardy. 

 

Hit a combination of Pro V1 and Pro V1x outside off a mat with Trackman. 

 

112 Club Head

166 Ball Speed

Launch 11

Peak Height 95' 

1.46 smash 

 

Will probably put it into B4 when I get it but as it stands right now the build is B1. 

 

Overall the Titleist Fitting experience is far superior to Club Champion

[CanFred]

After a couple targeted range sessions to put the new woods through their paces, I feel like we have a clear winner (hint - Titleist is on to something 😉 ) .  This testing consisted of 75 shots for each club, across 5 range sessions (5 shots with each club, 3 times in each session), and I've summarized the data below (note - this is a Top Tracer range, but I couldn't export data easily).   

 

Drivers: Titleist GT3 vs Callaway Paradym (same shaft - Ventus TR Blue in 6S)

- Of the three clubs, my gamer has been the most consistent over the last few rounds, so I knew the GT3 would have some competition.  And as I detailed in my fitting experience, we ended up going with the exact same shaft configuration, which should give us a great head to head.  

- My biggest takeaway - GT3 nails consistency & forgiveness.  While I've been fighting a bit of a fade recently (as you'll see with some ball flight figures below), the GT3 still kept the flight window much more consistent across a number of days / tests.  Furthermore, when there was an obvious mistrike, it was incredible to see how well the GT3 kept the ball playable.  For example, the "range" of shot trajectories (left to right) was ~47 yards, compared to ~98 yards with the Paradym.  This alone is an INCREDIBLE improvement in driver performance.   

- On top of that, distance-wise, I'm seeing material gains in ball speed / carry distance with the GT3 (~5 mph over Paradym) - its hard to explain but the GT face just feels "hotter".  This combined with the increased forgiveness has shown the GT as the clear winner here.  

- One other comment - I noted this at my fitting session, but one of my favorite features of the GT driver is the framing lines that Titleist put on the face.  Since the "GT" is quite small on the crown, I appreciate the lines on the face and being able to properly frame / aim the face against the ball.  

 

 

4/3 Wood: Titleist GT3 (Ventus TR Blue 7S) vs Callaway Paradym (Project X Hzrdus RDX Blue 7S)

- Moving on to the fairways, I did want to call out the differences in feel between my Paradym gamer and GT3 4W.  Since these are two very different shafts (RDX Blue is CB), there were some obvious differences in feel, so I focused more on ball flight characteristics (vs look / feel of clubs). 

- Regardless of these differences, the GT3 still performed admirably against the Paradym - flight was a bit more pronounced (launched 4 degrees higher on average) and consistency was a bit tighter (55 yards left to right vs 75).

- Most impressive was ball speed, with the GT3 seeing an increase in ~6 mph, equating to an additional 9 yards in total distance.  There was a bigger disparity in carry distance, but I'm guessing that was due mainly to improvements to launch.  

 

 

7 Wood: Titleist GT2 vs Callaway Paradym (same shaft configurations as other fairway)

- Finally, we get to the 7W, which has become my favorite club in the bag over the last few years.  As I've already chronicled in my last round, I've been thoroughly impressed with this club in a very short time. 

- As you can see with this data, the GT2 is providing more of the same results of the Paradym, especially across carry / total distance & ball speed.  

 

All-in-all, we can safely say the GTs are well on their way with replacing every club in the top of the bag.  More to come!

 

[stryper]

Got a few holes in today on the course.  Started off strong with a dead straight heater past anything I’d seen all summer.  Probably in the 250-260 range, which is really good for me.  (My wife/caddie was particularly impressed).  A few holes later—2 and 3 are not driver holes—another nice, canter-cut bullet, maybe a few yards closer than I’d been in recent memory.  Launch angle and ball flight on those two drives were as perfect and piercing as I could hope.
 

Had to skip around after that, which I don’t like, so the next couple of drives were somewhat erratic 🤮, but all in all I couldn’t complain, as this was only the second time the GT3 has been allowed outside.  
 

 

[geauxWRX]

Does anyone else feel the GT2 3wood sits really closed or hook faced at address? Even in the C1 setting? 

 

Same shaft as a TSI 3 and a TSR2 i had, GT is a hook machine

[stryper]

1 hour ago, geauxWRX said:

Does anyone else feel the GT2 3wood sits really closed or hook faced at address? Even in the C1 setting? 

 

Same shaft as a TSI 3 and a TSR2 i had, GT is a hook machine

Can’t speak for the GT2, but the GT3 does not appear that way to me.

[stryper]

Another very brief note:

 

I posted on the “other” site—and neglected to mention here—that through repeated sim and range sessions I’m starting to see a more consistent center-face contact pattern on the GT3 than I’d seen on any past driver that I’d played.  And since I doubt that my skill level has improved that quickly, I think I’ll have to chalk it up to the fitting that was part of this testing process.  
 

So, for anyone still on the fence, get fitted…by a Titleist fitter!!!

[Wonderboy]

On 10/21/2024 at 4:39 PM, geauxWRX said:

Does anyone else feel the GT2 3wood sits really closed or hook faced at address? Even in the C1 setting? 

 

Same shaft as a TSI 3 and a TSR2 i had, GT is a hook machine

I don't find the GT sits closed but there are some things I do not care for in the GT fairway woods.  I don't really like the subdued scoring lines on the face of the GT compared to the TSR.  I don't care for the sounds off the clubhead.  I know sound is super subjective but I much prefer the sound of the TSR over the GT.  This is just my own personal take away but because of these things I stayed with the TSR in the fairway woods. 

[bigdriveandy]

On 10/21/2024 at 4:39 PM, geauxWRX said:

Does anyone else feel the GT2 3wood sits really closed or hook faced at address? Even in the C1 setting? 

 

Same shaft as a TSI 3 and a TSR2 i had, GT is a hook machine

My GT2 is not closed at all. I have it in A1 and it lays perfectly square. 

[Cars]

One thing I forgot to mention in my post is I do not like how the GT2/GT3 fairway woods feel. 

 

To me, it was a very dull kind of thud and the feeling was really muted. My TSi2 feels lightyears better and I didn't get any performance increase compared to GT2/GT3. 

 

I am very particular about feel. I also didn't like the sound of GT. TM, Ping, and Callaway are making better FW right now and this is coming from a guy who has played Titleist woods since 2005 (I'm 33) so it pains me to say that. 

[stryper]

On 10/27/2024 at 8:18 AM, Cars said:

One thing I forgot to mention in my post is I do not like how the GT2/GT3 fairway woods feel. 

 

To me, it was a very dull kind of thud and the feeling was really muted. My TSi2 feels lightyears better and I didn't get any performance increase compared to GT2/GT3. 

 

I am very particular about feel. I also didn't like the sound of GT. TM, Ping, and Callaway are making better FW right now and this is coming from a guy who has played Titleist woods since 2005 (I'm 33) so it pains me to say that. 

That’s interesting, as I don’t have a particular “feel” bias with my GT3’s, either driver or fairway.  However, the sound is completely different between the two.  The driver being more of a solid “thwack”, the fairway being more of a “tink.”  The 915Fd that the GT3 replaced was much more “thwacky” too.  
 

Again, I’m not what to make of this, since sound and feel are very much related…I’m probably just not as sensitive to these things as others might be. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Edited October 29, 2024 by stryper

[CanFred]

12 hours ago, Cars said:

One thing I forgot to mention in my post is I do not like how the GT2/GT3 fairway woods feel. 

 

To me, it was a very dull kind of thud and the feeling was really muted. My TSi2 feels lightyears better and I didn't get any performance increase compared to GT2/GT3. 

 

I am very particular about feel. I also didn't like the sound of GT. TM, Ping, and Callaway are making better FW right now and this is coming from a guy who has played Titleist woods since 2005 (I'm 33) so it pains me to say that. 

Interesting feedback!  Curious on your feel comment - I'm assuming you are using the same shaft setup between the two?  I've never gamed a TSi, but I haven't sensed a ton of "feel" difference between my GT and Paradym drivers.  However, on the FWs, there is a marked difference in feel, but I attribute a lot of that to shaft differences (Ventus TR Blue to Hzrdus RDX Blue).  

 

On sound, I'm a huge fan of muted "twack" on the GTs - I've gamed a lot of woods that fall on the other side of the sound spectrum (Epic Flash being one of them) and I believe Titleist nailed this one.  But again, sound & feel are definitely super subjective here...

[bigdriveandy]

Played 18 on Sunday which was the first time taking the GT Woods on course. Long story short, not sure if my swing was off or if I need more time with the clubs to get used to them. I wouldn't call it a great honeymoon though. Not all bad though. I hit 50% fairways throughout the round. I hit a couple of awesome drives that would have been 10-20 yards by my old driver. I also hit some shots that I thought would be fine and they went nowhere. Particularly I had a couple of shots with the driver that didn't launch as high as I expected and the feel off the face was bizarre as it was so muted I actually wasn't sure where I hit the ball on the face, and the spin was so low that the ball would sort of dive at the end. One of them I did hit the fairway and it rolled probably at least 50 yards though.  The fairway woods are going to need some time. None of the shafts feel like they are particularly stiff enough compared to what I am used to but that could just be the kickpoint of the shaft (by design). I think I hooked every fairway wood shot at least 30 yards left of my intended target (probably 2-3 tee balls and 2 off the deck). Ended up just using my 4 iron off the deck after the 2nd hook. Going to try to mess with adapter settings and weights to see if I can literally straighten things out. Open to suggestions on what to do! 

[HackinNut]

Question for the testers .... how much, if any, increase have you seen in ball speed from your previous gamer? 

[bigdriveandy]

1 hour ago, HackinNut said:

Question for the testers .... how much, if any, increase have you seen in ball speed from your previous gamer? 

About 5mph

[stryper]

1 hour ago, HackinNut said:

Question for the testers .... how much, if any, increase have you seen in ball speed from your previous gamer? 

See Titleist Test Tuesday post above.
 

Measured that day, head-to-head, it was 4.64mph on average.  

[stryper]

Another edition of—TITLEIST TEST TUESDAY!!!
 

For today’s episode, we put the GT3 and 915Fd fairway heads against each other, both off a tee and off the deck. Two rounds of five shots with the GT3 and 915Fd off a low tee, followed by two rounds off the deck, this time starting with the 915Fd.  (This was done to mitigate any fatigue factors that may have crept in.)

 

As in our last shootout, the same shaft was used all four rounds, the Mitsubishi TENSEI 1K Blue 65 that I was fitted for.  Shots were again recorded on an HD Golf simulator.
 

First off a tee, GT3 then 915Fd:

 

 

 

 

Next, off the deck, this time 915Fd then GT3:

 

 

Edited October 31, 2024 by stryper

[CanFred]

6 hours ago, HackinNut said:

Question for the testers .... how much, if any, increase have you seen in ball speed from your previous gamer? 

 

On average across all three clubs and over 75 shots (each club), I saw ball speed gain of ~4.5 mph.  

[stryper]

36 minutes ago, ChrisATL said:

 

On average across all three clubs and over 75 shots (each club), I saw ball speed gain of ~4.5 mph.  

For me, ball speed was very close on the fairways, as shown above, with only a one or two mile per hour advantage going to the GT3.
 

But then, that might be why JT is still playing a 915Fd, when everything newer is at his disposal.  🤷🏻‍♂️

 

 

[stryper]

Played a couple of sim rounds today, and despite being off with driver, the GT3 still managed to keep it in the fairway.  Both rounds were on the front nine at Pacific Dunes.  (Had to a few demons to conquer after a weak first go-around 😉).