Titleist drivers have found their way into the bag of seemingly everyone on Tour, as well as my own, since the TSi range was released back in 2020.
Since then they have won the driver count week in, week out with the TSi3 so the pressure was on to produce again for the next generation. How do Titleist improve on the best? Or more importantly, as one of their staff players said to them, 'don't mess it up'.
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The Tech
The TSR is the third and final generation of Titleist's Speed Project and seeks to cement their position as the tour preferred driver.
The TSR3 Driver was launched in to the professional ranks in July and enjoyed an incredible start to life with four wins in the first six PGA Tour events, including at The Open Championship. Most of the staff players have switched into the new model straight away, and it's clearly not letting them down.
Many tour pro's play the TSR3 and there are many amateurs who want to play it. Titleist found in their fittings over the last couple of ideas that the look was so good, that golfers were choosing the TSi3 when really they needed a TSi2.
The new TSR3 has the usual looks of the '3' model but is designed to be more stable in its spin numbers and ball speed, allowing it to cross over to a greater range of abilities in its performance despite being more geared towards the better player.
The biggest development in the head is called a Speed Ring VFT (Variable Face Technology) Face, with a conical face thickness that is focused on to the centre of the face to improve the sweet spot and generate maximum ball speeds on centred strikes.
New advanced aerodynamics feature subtle refinements which are designed to make the head travel faster through the air, with a boat shaped tail on the back of the head and a saving of weight in the shaft insertion.
The SureFit CG track system has also been cleaned up to make it easier to position and dial in the exact setup needed to generate maximum ball speed and performance.
Titleist say that the R has four core meanings:
- Refined - this is the conclusion of the Speed Project, so the looks and technology are only changing slightly.
- Repeatable - a club which performs over and over again on the range and on the golf course.
- Reputation - the TS drivers have been number one on tour in the last three seasons, and nearly 50% of elite amateur males use it.
- Right - the right driver for a greater number of golfers.
Titleist TSR3 Driver Review
Looks and Feel
Don't worry, they haven't messed it up! It's as beautiful as ever with the black shiny crown, which looks almost identical to the TSi3 driver head. Nothing has changed here.
The sole of the club is more streamlined, which adds to the looks and improves aerodynamics. There are less pieces cut out of the sole but the weight adjustment at the back still remains, which looks slick.
The feel is unbelievable and a big improvement on the TSi. I only realised the 'ting' sound that the previous drivers made when I hit it against this new.
This is the best sounding driver that I have ever hit, and the stability of the strike and performance was excellent.
Performance
I visited the Titleist Performance Centre at Woburn GC to undergo a full day of TSR driver testing, hitting hundreds of shots with the Trackman launch monitor and Pro V1x balls to work out which of the new models was best for me and if they could beat my current TSi3.
After trying a few different options I decided to keep the same shaft in the driver as I already had in the TSi3. I ended up knocking the loft by 0.5 degrees to 8.5 (D1 setting) which lowered the launch and spin a little and gave me my best results. I also left the SureFit weighting in the middle of the head.
My Trackman testing proved that this was the longest driver out of the family, even beating my own TSi3 by 5 yards with an average carry distance of 213 yards.
My max ball speed was an impressive 136mph and the head felt more forgiving than before, so I didn't feel like I needed to be perfect to hit the ball well every time. I was loving hitting this driver!
The forgiveness was proven by the better performance of the mis-hits too, as the toe strikes didn't drop the spin numbers too much so I still achieved carry distances in excess of 210 yards, with my best strike getting out to 217 yards.
Having a small gap between distances from good and poor strikes is really reassuring for me.
It's also exactly what Justin Thomas thought too: "It doesn't spin crazy high when I toe it, it's unbelievable in terms of misses".
Titleist TSR3 Driver Verdict
This club makes me giddy, which is exactly the feels you want in a driver.
My energy levels rose and my confidence sky rocketed straight away, even before I saw the first ball fly off the centre of the face straight down the middle.
It's 1% better in looks than the TSi, but 10% better in feel and performance. The gain in yards wasn't due to ball speed alone, it was also produced thanks to a more consistent launch and spin. The tweaks I got from the fitting made it an upgrade from the TSi3.
I was told that I was the first person in the testing not to see significant ball speed gains but even though I didn't reach the 140mph ball speed barrier it was still excellent considering my swing speed is nowhere near what it used to be. My club speed is 4mph down from my tour days but a 136mph ball speed is as good as it was back then.
For me that's a massive bonus, as it requires less energy on my part as the technology is there to help me out.
Who Is It Aimed At?
It is still a better player's driver due to the face technology being focused in to the sweet spot of the club, and the adjustability of the weighting. I'd say this best suits golfers who are single figures or lower.
Would I Use It?
Absolutely. I’ll be trading my TSi for a TSR.
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