Titleist is a traditional company, and with tradition comes a somewhat slower, more calculated pace. Though drivers have been capped at 460cc for a few years now, Titleist has made due with drivers measuring less than 400cc – the 905S and the 905T.
Late last year, PGA Tour pros began playing the rumored “905R” in significant numbers. Ernie Els and Adam Scott were playing the driver as early as one year ago, and “spy shots” were showing up on Internet forums. Speculation ran rampant, as it is wont to do, and the public was interested, to say the least.
In March, Titleist formally introduced the 905R. Considered by many a “bigger” version of the 905T, nearly every Titleist staff member playing a 905T switched, as did some playing Titleist’s 905S.
Until earlier this year, I was one of those 905S users. I had a chance to give the 905R a spin, and here are my thoughts.
Titleist’s Driver Line
Though you can visually compare Titleist’s three 905 drivers online, here’s a quickie cheat sheet:
905R 905T 905S
---- ---- ----
Head Volume 460cc 400cc 400cc
Face Height Medium Medium Deep
Front to Back Deep Medium Shallow
Launch High High -0.5°
Spin +150 RPM Baseline -200 RPM
Workability Good Good Very Good
Construction
Much like the 905S and the 905T, the Titleist Pro Titanium 905R is an all-titanium, pear-shaped driver. Described by many as “a bigger 905T,” the description is largely accurate. The R, like the T, is a shallower-faced driver that delivers a little more spin and a little more cut correction than the 905S.
The simple bottom markings are accentuated by the bore-through design and the acoustic sole plug.
Like the previous 905 models, the 905R incorporates a variety of materials. The main portion of the head is 6-4 titanium. A lightweight aluminum hosel tube guides the shaft through the clubface in a traditional bore-through design, but also saves weight. A thin beta titanium (SP7000 Ti) plasma-welded face insert creates a hot sweet spot. An acoustic multi-material sole plug completes the head.
The hosel tube, made of CNC milled 6061-T6 aluminum, upset some golfers when it was introduced in the S and T because Titleist recommends that only Titleist reshaft the 905 drivers, but the weight savings and stability gains necessitated its inclusion in the 905R. And, truth be told, those originally upset by Titleist’s recommendation have calmed down quite a bit.
The 905R’s 460cc head is 15% larger and offers 10% higher moment of inertia (MOI) for forgiveness on off-center hits. According to Titleist, the sweet spot is 35% larger than the S/T. The center of gravity (CG) has also moved further back from the face than in the T, resulting in slightly more spin and a more stable, higher launch. Some of that CG movement came from moving the acoustic sole plug, a multi-material plug that, in the S and T, is located closer to the center of the sole. In addition to moving the weight back just a bit, the plug helps to fine tune the sound of impact.
Esthetics
I’m a fairly traditional golfer, and Titleist is arguably the most traditional of the larger golf companies. Golfers from any decade in the 1900s would likely feel at ease looking down at a Titleist club.
In woods and drivers, tradition means “pear,” as in pear-shaped heads. Titleist’s 905R, like the 905S, 905T, 983K, 983E, 975, and every other model before it, has a pear-shaped head that appeals to the traditional sense. The white score lines, metallic grey finish, and simple triangle/line crown markings complete an austere look that harkens back to the persimmon woods of old (or at least to Titleist’s PT series of steel woods from the mid-90s).
Simple, effective, and stunning in its own way: Titleist drivers have never needed fancy style to look powerful.
Though I appreciate having 460cc of forgiveness, my eyes don’t like looking down at 460cc of metal. To that end, the 905R hides its bulk well. Never did I feel like I was swinging a large metal balloon at the end of a stick – a feeling I’ve had with some rounder 460cc drivers. I also prefer a deeper face, and though the 905R is not as deep as the 905S I used for more than a year, a simple adjustment to my tee height resolved the issue of face depth for me.
The 905R features a square face and a gently rounded sole designed to keep the face square at address. The metallic grey finish doesn’t extend to the sole, but two “pie slice” accents accentuate a sole that is both uncluttered and immediately recognizable. Though I’ve become accustomed to driver heads of all shapes and sizes this year (including the r7 425, the HiBore, the FT-3, and others), my eyes still favor a pear shape, and the 905R is as attractive a driver as exists.
Performance
As I wrote in last summer’s Titleist Science Van article, the 905S is a lower-spinning, lower-launching head without the heel weight (and thus leftward bias) of the T. As the T’s bigger brother, the R shares the same characteristics: higher spin, higher launch, and a little heel weighting to help close the face. I chose a UST ProForce V2 75 to try to minimize the spin, lower the ball flight, and keep the face open just a tiny bit longer.
My first round with the 905R did not go very well. I hit two fairways, and both were a result of bad swings that blocked the ball to the right. The other twelve drives were pulls to the left: the heel weighting had nabbed me. For 95% of the golfers in the world, this is a good thing. Unlike most golfers, however, my bad misses are left, and I typically don’t need any extra help closing the face of my driver through impact.
Though I tend to prefer a deeper face, a simple adjustment of my tee height allowed me to swing the 905R confidently.
After a small correction to my grip and a minor forward press to counter the “helpful” weighting, I began pounding drives with my normal small cut. I could feel the location of the head throughout the swing, providing a very connected feeling, and the results were surprising. Though I’m not a fan of changing a swing to suit a single club, the changes I needed to make to get good results from the 905R were rather small.
My ears have become well attuned to the solid sound my 905S makes on impact – as well as the slightly off-key sounds the same driver makes when impact is made outside the sweet spot. The 905R sounded like I would imagine a larger 905S or T would sound. Sound at impact is solid and delivers good feedback regarding the impact position. Miss low or high, towards the toe or heel, and the sound will tell you. Hit the sweet spot, and you’ll hear a lower-pitched, solid crack unlike most other drivers out there.
The sound of sweet spot contact is made even sweeter by a unique feeling the 905R provides. Contact on the sweet spot provides a unique “springy” feeling. The sensation my hands receive on solid contact is that I can feel the face of the driver flexing and then rebounding, followed by little post-impact shockwaves. Though I may lack the words to properly describe this feeling, I can assure you that it’s a good feeling, and a powerful one at that. On center contact, the golf ball rockets off the face.
The 905R’s simple esthetics, white scorelines, and austere crown marking promote good setup and alignment.
On off-center hits, the feeling is not quite as solid or powerful, yet the ball still travels appreciable distances. The 905R may not be quite as forgiving as the Nike SasQuatch or some other drivers with higher MOI, but then again Titleist drivers historically haven’t been built for golfers who miss the sweet spot by an inch and a half. My worst swings, or those that produced contact 3/4 inch or less from the center of the clubface, suffered minimal distance loss and still found the sides of my course’s extremely narrow fairways.
The trajectory on solid hits was rather impressive. The ball starts high and hot, but gets down the fairway rather quickly. Despite the lower-spinning, lower-launching shaft, I did experience a little ballooning on shots into the wind, but no more so than I saw with the 905T. Shots in calm conditions or downwind had a flatter trajectory and still managed to hit the ground running, providing a good amount of roll.
As suspected, the 905R was a tad tougher to work than my more neutrally weighted 905S. Draws turned into hooks a little too easily, and I had to work a little harder than I’d have liked to hit purposeful cuts. The average golfer who fights a slice will welcome the ease with which the clubface closes through impact.
Though I’m a big fan of proper driver fitting, and while I believe some drivers are much better suited for your swing than some others, I also know that nearly every modern driver hits the ball as far as equipment rules allow. If you’ve been properly fitted for loft, lie, and shaft, a signification portion of the decision between driver A and driver B comes down to esthetics and personal feel. Given the choice between another driver with similar performance and the traditional, classy 905R, I’d take the Titleist every time.
Specifications
Titleist’s 905R is available in lofts of 8.5°, 9.5°, and 10.5° for righties and lefties. Righties can also order a 905R with 7.5° or 11.5° loft. The lie and length are industry standard: 57° and 45 inches.
The 905R, like the S and the T, can be ordered with one of several stock shafts: the Aldila NV 65, the Graphite Design YS-6+, the Titleist/Fujikura Speeder, and the UST ProForce V2 75. Note that the stock ProForce v2 is the 75, not the 65.
If you custom order a 905R, you can get every weight ProForce v2, from 55 to 95. Or you can get the Aldila NV in several weights (55-105), the NVS 65, the Fujikura Speeder, Tour Platform, Vista Tour, ZCOM Six, or TW, the Graffaloy Blue, ProLaunch Blue, or ProLite, Graphite Design’s YS series, Mitsubishi’s Diamana, a Rifle, and about eight other shafts you can view at the 905R custom shafts page.
The standard grip is the Titleist Tour Velvet Cord. Finally the headcover, it’s worth mentioning, has even been improved, both in appearance and functionality with longer elastic sock that stretches further into the headcover for easy-on, easy-off performance.
Even the headcover has been improved. The 905R headcover, like the forthcoming 906F headcovers, does away with the silver found Titleist’s 2005 models.
Conclusion
If you’re a Titleist 905T user, the upgrade to the 905R is nearly a no-brainer: it provides more forgiveness, a larger sweet spot, and the confidence that comes with a 460cc head. If you’re one of the few 905S owners, approach upgrading to the 905R with caution, as the performance characteristics and face shape are different than you’re used to. Golfers coming from any other driver would do well to give the 905R a spin, if for no other reason than to see what a pear-shaped driver looks like.
Like nearly all of Titleist’s clubs, the 905R is not for the once-a-month golfer. Those golfers might be better served by a driver from Titleist’s sister company Cobra. The 905R is not the most forgiving club out there with the highest MOI. It doesn’t feature composite materials or movable weights. It doesn’t sound like a fungo bat, errr, FT-3 at impact.
But the Titleist Pro Titanium 905R is a traditionally shaped driver that packs a powerful punch for the better player. Though the 905R isn’t my gamer due to the heel weight and the extra RPM, I sometimes take it with me in practice rounds to check my contact and to feel that awesome “springy” feeling. It’s a feeling unlike any other, and if you find the center of the face often enough with your driver, the feeling alone may be worth the $399 retail cost.
I think the shape of the head is not as offensively “pear” as the previous models. The combination of the ProForce V2 and this head is a hammer no doubt. You’re absolutely right about the lack of forgiveness comparing to the other 460cc monsters, but if you have a swing for it – it’s a great club.
I’ll stick to my fungo bat 😉
I just bought the 905R and I’ve played with it twice now and i have found nothing wrong with it. On address, it doesn’t seem as big as a normal 460cc driver would look. I really like the feel of it, as in you know when you have hit a good shot. This being said, I think I’ll keep it.
Shelby, I didn’t find anything “wrong” with it, either. It’s a higher spinning, left-assisting driver. Those don’t suit my swing, per se, but that doesn’t make it “wrong” in any way.
Excellent club! I got the proforce shaft, 9.5º. I used to be a HUGE slicer, and I kid you not, in my last 3 rounds, I have sliced the ball no more than 5 times. Last round, I had 11 of 14 fairways. Unheard of for me. Also, I agree that the head doesn’t “seem” like a 460. I actually bomed it from the rough the other day about 250 to make up for my one bad drive with no problem.
The thing I love most is that it produces forward spin on the ball. My old driver flew a lot further but would stop dead in the fairway. This one rolls about 20 yards after it hits.
“NothingMan,” though I appreciate the sentiment, no driver puts “forward spin” on the ball unless you hit it horribly (i.e. top it).
I got the 905R when it came out in 7.5 with a 45″ Grafalloy Blue shaft to replace my 983E 7.5 with 44.5″ Fit on 11 Pro95 X shaft. Not a whole lot of noticeable difference in distance. It is made up for in straightness, which was a good and bad thing. The 905R is very straight but not very workable like my 983E was.
I just put a 46″ Speeder 757 in the 905R because I was used to a heavy driver. Now there is quite a difference in distance, perhaps 15 yards, but I still can’t work the ball. If I try to hit a cut, its more of starting right and continuing straight right perhaps 20 yards right of center of the fairway.
My thoughts are now the club is definitely worth the upgrade and with the shaft, its a monster. But I can’t work the ball with it.
Let me put it this way then. It produces a lot LESS backspin than my old driver did. Semantics aside, my point is that my old driver didn’t roll… this clubs lets the ball roll. Same loft, same clubhead weight, but I roll 20 yards with this club, my TourEdge stopped dead.
I am ready to upgrade from my 975D, 8*, 46″ with a Patriot X-stiff shaft. I am very happy with the club and routinely hit 290 straight, but I feel like I am missing out on 10-20+ yards and this is a lot on the long par 4s at the better courses.
Looking for something comparable in 905 series, R, S or T. I use a 975F 3W with a YS6 shaft that I also bomb, but it feels a little whippy sometimes. I dislike the Fuji Speeder. Suggestions on a 905?
I upgraded from a 983K, Graphaloy, Prolite, S flex to the 905R, UST, V2 75 S flex in May after a “commercial” fitting at a local Golfsmith where they measured my swing speed at 90. Average driver distance has dropped from 250 with the 983K to 230-235 with the 905R. I currently play to an 11 index, really like this driver and feel like I’m probably just not getting anything out of the very low torque stock shaft. I’m able to work the ball at will, either left or right, but really struggle on longer courses. I’m now looking for place to get a more proper shaft fitting to see if I can’t bring my distance back to where it was and maybe even
push it out there another 10 or 15 yards from the 983K numbers.
I really do not know much about MOI, Spin Rate, Launch Angles, or Larger Sweet Spots. All I know is that the 905r is long. Very Long. With a Great Sound at Impact. And a Super Feel. For golfers looking for a Long Distance with Forgiveness then the 905r is the Perfect Driver.
I recently bought the Titleist 905R this club is amazing it has given me another 30-40 yards on my drives and the even more amazing thing about this driver is that they are staying sraight. im not short of the tee averaging about 290 with my old TaylorMade R5 but now all of the adults at my local club are anoyed even more that i am driving it even further past them all. End of matter buy this club it’s brilliant. BEST CLUB IVE EVER HIT.
(ps. I’ve hit alot of drivers0)
I am just wondering why this driver is not mentioned in the Golfdigest Hotlists when it is one of the most used and the reviews are really good compared to some of the other drivers that are mentioned in that magazine.
f you are looking to replace a 975D you will want to go with a 983E or 905S. The 983E is a nice upgrade from a D with a little more size but the same neutral ball flight. The 905S is much larger than a 975 and would take getting used to the size difference.
Whats the difference between the Vforce shaft and the Fuji Speeder ? with regards to club performance, weight, flexibility ? thanks
😎 I just got the driver today and replaced my sasquatch it felt so good to be able to work the ball again I HATE THE NEW 2Sasquatch and the 905s and 905t and Ed1 the vforce is made for ppl with like90-100 swing speed and the fuji makes the club heavier meant for around 120-150 //The vforce (in my opinoin) makes the ball slice while the fuji makes the ball draw better. PS and The Vforce is more wobbly so if you hit stiif get X-stiff
Ok I’m really not sure which way I should go here. I use a 975j-vs and really like it, but am looking to upgrade. I would like a little more distance and still be able to work the ball. I have a natural draw and when I miss it’s a monster hook, so I really need no help going more left. I also like the heavier weight and have a swing speed of about 110-120. Please help!!!! 905r, 905s, 905t??????
Thanks Kevin,
I Had my 905r for over 3 moths now and I have to say that its definetly a sweet hittin driver. I ordered mine with a fujikura stiff and I agree it favors a right to left flight for me, maybe thats the only thing I did’nt like a bout it because Im not a big slicer to begin with . But if your a player that have a problem with slice 905R and a Fuji shaft is the combination .
I’m finally upgrading from the 975D and have the same concerns. I’m trying to decide between this and the Cleveland Hibore tour. The 3degree open face on the hibore tour sounds like it might fit me better ❓
I went to a demo and hit several drivers. The winner without a doubt is the Cleveland hibore xl tour. Found a brand new one on ebay and picked it up for $210. My only complaint is the grip (to slippery for me). Will have the new grip on tomorrow and be playing it this weekend. I did take it to the range and would have to say it is the easiest club I’ve ever hit and would recommend it to anybody that has the same swing characteristics and hooking issues as me. Happy duffing.
I played with a friend who just bought his 905R, it has the proforce shaft on it. I hit it twice and had great results both times, felt great, sounded great. I decided that I needed one as my driver was 5 years old technology. I bought my 905R with the NV shaft.
With this setup I am having lots of trouble hitting this driver straight! At first I was slicing it pretty bad. Now after some range work I have straightened it out mostly but I am all over the place with it. Am I wrong to think that maybe this shaft is wrong for me? I have a slower less agressive type of swing. With my friends driver I had two 260 plus drives, acorrding to GPS. I don’t do that with mine?? Any help or suggestions appreciated. I am not a shaft wizard so I am lost right now.
I’m a mid-handicapper who traded in a Cobra X speed 9.5 with a regular flex “X” shaft for the 905R with an Aldila NV 65 regular reduced to 44 inches. I tee the ball low and hit it fairly straight. The Cobra X was a long hitter; however, the consistency just wasn’t there. The 905R has solved a lot of those problems with consistency. The occasional bad hit will hook left. The pro at Golf Galaxy fitted me on a launch monitor with straighter, more consistent hits with the 8.5 degree, versus, the 9.5 and 10.5 degree with Aldila NV 65 stiff’s. I was hesitant going to a lower lofted driver with all the hype I’d been reading about high launch heads. Thank you Titleist!
What kind of shaft is the graffalloy blue? I have an EI-70 in my 975D and it is the best shaft I have ever hit..
Well, i really find your reviews very accurate and helpful, but i have a titleist 905R with a v2 75 gram shaft. When i close the face well i kill it a good 280, but i feel like the shaft makes me slice. I’m a low single handicap and when i hit good shots, i’m rewarded, but i also hit the occansional slice for no apparent reason. any advice?
Thanks
I just got my 905r, fujikara speeder stiff in the mail today after ordering it used (150) from golfsmith.com. I truly fell in love with my pro trajectory 975f 14.5* and was looking for something like that style, but with some forgiveness and driving distance. my 975f is also a stiff shaft and i play a beaty of a boring draw with it, and i hope the 905r will be similar. I havent had a chance to hit it because i just had knee surgery but the 460cc head isnt as big as i’d thought it would be, understated dark grey finish and pair shape is truly classic. love at first sight, once i hit it, it will become my bread and butter.
8.5* 905s with graffalloy blue stiff was too boardy, but very workable and long (280-300 yds.+) when hit on the screws. Difficult to swing when you’re tired or your not warmed up. Recently got 9.5* 905r with diamana g4t 83 stiff, and much more forgiving with a lazy swing, but not quite as long when hit on the screws (270-290 yds. +). Less able to work it and slight tendency to pull to left likely due to heel weighting, as well as higher trajectory due to higher loft and posterior center of gravity…may expalin the loss of distance. Must adjust tee height significantly to avoid skyballs, but overall not bad. When you pure it, you certainly feel the Diamana shaft kick and face explode, whereas the blue rarely kicked, likely as I wasn’t generating enough speed on a consistent basis. Both shafts can handle anything you give it, but the Diamana is smoother, and with the R head, not as long as the S. Would be interesting to switch shafts one day.
if its the pro vs j series its a draw head the most used titliest head on tour in those days its what i use and have got a ust pro force v2 75 stiff 2.2 torque this shaft has been the best combenation and very long my swing speed is 110 mph good luck heard good things about the new ( talormade burner ) real long
I bought a Titkeist 905R last summer. It was the best driver I had ever played. It was long and striaght. I had trouble working the ball. I can hit it long but can’t draw it or cut it. So i recently switched to a driver from Titleists sister company Cobra. I am now playing the Cobra H-S9. I actually hit it longer than the Titleist and I can work the ball with it. For the money you will spend on the 905R you can get a driver that is longer and more workable in the Cobra H-S9.
Really like this driver. Bought it used and it compares well to the new $400-600 drivers I hit. However, I would caution anyone who thinks they are going to gain more than 5+ yards by switching to a new CLUBHEAD. Those posters who claim to have gained (or even lost) 20+ yards with this driver….the majority of that is probably coming from having the right/wrong shaft paired with your head. This head may be more forgiving than previous ones, but it’s always good to take a 2nd and 3rd look at your shaft before clamoring to get a new driver if you are solely looking to add distance.
Hi
I used to use 983k and now i just got 905S. ( I have a question about 905S not 905R but i could not find any other place to ask, i figured alot of 905r users have used 905s.)
I am concered about the sound 905s makes, it is very loud compared to 983. 983 used to be muted but 905s is loud.
I get the similar sound to 983 if i hit is little high and little on the toe. When i hit dead center or little low it make loud tin can sound (almost as loud as cobra drivers). I am not really sure if 905 is just a louder driver or if mine is defective. Center hit feels like mis hit and mis hit feels like center hit compared to 983 anyways.
Any thoughts?
thanks
i find my 905r very good to hit, even off center strikes the ball travels a reasonable distance. a great club for the lower-mid handicapper
My brother bought a 905R with a v2 65 (yes 65 gm) Stiff shaft in it last year. I’m still hitting my old Calloway Big Bertha with a STRONG shaft and get chided about joining modern golf sometime soon. Yes I still have my Persimon Titleist driver in the basement. Anyway I ‘borrowed’ this club on about 10 holes and absolutely POUNDED the ball. I’ve read the standard shaft for the v2 is 75 grams iso 65 grams. Should I be worried about the additional 10 grams, look for an exact duplicate or ??? I’ve played golf for over 30 years and have a fairly good swing but with a broad chest I tend to swing flat and around my chest when out of practice. Causing blocks to the right or wide sweeping hooks to the left. Hitting the 905R as described was straight and long. I can see why people like it. If I decided to go to the new 907 series would you suggest the T1 or T2. Visual aspects lead me away from the TRIANGLE but…
I just purchased the 905R to replace my R7 460. I am hoping that it will give me a higher ball flight and more distance. Please tell me I have made the right decision. I hit a consistant 265-270 yard straight to slight draw drive. I would like to get up around 280. I hope this will help! what do you guys think about this club?
I have a Sasquatch 9.5* S and I hit it well — however my buddy picked up a 905R and I hit comp shots on a course we play a couple of times. A short 300 yard hole — have never reached it with the SQ, always 30 yards out with a short chip. Hit the 905R on two different trips there and stuck it in the middle of the green one time and about 3 yards short the next time. Took out my SQ and hit 3 more balls at the hole, all landed in the same spot give or take 5 feet in any direction. I have always felt like I crushed the SQ, but I’m sold on the 905 R!! It just bombs it out there — needless to say the 905R is going to be in my bag very shortly! 😯
Lefty Steve – is that the Sasquatch Sumo 460 (non-sq) you were using or regular Sasquatch 460?
I only ask cos I had a similar comparison result when using my Nike Sasquatch Sumo 460 (stiff) vs. Titleist 905R and 905 D2 (both stiff) drivers. I always thought I’d found the perfect driver in the Nike driver but I can outhit this with the Titleists.
I can only put this dowen to my swing-speed being more suited to the heavier shafts used in the 905R and 905-D2.
I am 17 playing of 4 i currently have the 905r and a few days ago was pounding my hi bore xl 280 continually. I love my Hibore and all as its such a great club always straight and high but i find the harder i hit it the higher it tends to go. What ive found with the 905r is 10 extra yards and the ability to go further if u need to the club head shape is to die for at address and spits confidence all over the tee box.
You get a better flight and a nice thwaaaaaping sound off the face when struck correctly as appossed to the ting of other drivers.
A traditional club for a low/medium handicapper
Ryno,
Just wondering what you went with. I currently have 975J and looking to upgrade to 905 S possibly.
I was given this driver with a rental in Austin Texas recently. I had been hitting a Ping driver and let me say this: I am buying this driver as soon as I can get a launch monitor on my swing to get the right shaft. This driver is REALLY good. I hit it farther than I have any driver I’ve ever hit even during local “demo days” when I’ve hit driver after driver and felt like I knew which I hit best. It had the speedster shaft and it felt too stiff so I did not have as much “feel” (felt too stiff), but the the ball shot off the face, low, rising flight and it was one of those days where I was waiting for the guys I played with to catch up to my drives. It was a feeling I can’t wait to reproduce with my regular golf buddies.
Recently purchased this driver,been using a Yonex ADX with power pendulem shaft to good effect, have tried other drivers found no reason to change.My 905R has the V2 75 stiff shaft 10.5 degree.Found the Titleist to be longer more forgiving but difficult to fade,but hits a powerful slight draw with good amount of roll ,you can hook with this driver if your timing is out. I personally could not slice it when I tried to got a nice fade.Fantastic feel and flight of drive when hit out the sweet spot.A long hitting driver.
Just wanted to chime in with my comments on the 905 R. This was my primary driver until I experimented with the 907 D1. I kept this driver in my stock primarily due to the fact that I changed drivers, not because of performance, but because the constant “grass is always greener” principle.
After about four solid months of using the 907, I have gone back to the 905. The 907 is a solid club, but for me, the 905 is just better in all categories of distance, feel and sound. Note that both clubs have the same shaft, Graphite Design YS 6+.
Distance: My misses are more up/down on the club face rather than left to right. The 905 is taller than the 907. The 905 plays better to my misses. The 905 has a little lower trajectory than the 907 so I am rewarded with a little extra roll. The 907 is high, but basically stays where it lands. Overall: 905 is longer.
Feel: I get more feedback from the 905. The ball feels like it comes off the face faster than the 907. With the 907, you almost get the sensation of delayed launch. Good, bad or indifferent, it just felt it felt. Some of my buddies would say that it just got me in the woods quicker. Overall: 905 feels hotter.
Sound: 905 muted thwack — I like that. 907 higher pitched thwack to tink — not as appealing as thwack. What I just wrote may sound like the stupidest comparison you have ever read and how you are supposed to get anything out of that is beyond me. But the sound is very different between the two. It’s like the 907 isn’t even a Titleist driver. Overall: 905 does not sound like a little league bat.
Looks: I did not put this in the categories above because I got used to the shape of the 907 fairly easily. The dark colors mask the shape well and only looks odd when compared side-by-side.
Forgiveness: You would think this category would be at the top as the 907 is touted as being more forgiving. Understand, 907 is more forgiving. But you sacrifice a lot of other aspects for this…besides that, it’s not THAT MUCH MORE forgiving.
In conclusiong, the driver is a basher club: The 905 goes further.
I just bought a 905r off of ebay to give it a try. It has the Porforce V2 shaft in stiff flex and 9.5 loft. I swing about 90 miles per hour and this is on the minimum side for that shaft but the ball carried really well. I usuall hit a low drive but not with this club, the ball sailed high and far for me ( about 230 carry) I have been playing a Super Quad with a slight draw setting and it has been ok, but I seem spray the ball more with the Super Quad than the Titliest 905r. The “A” players at my club have been going back to these clubs and i thought i would give it a shot. Good club 😆
I’m on the high school golf team and one of my coaches has this driver with a 9.5 degree loft and and it was a windy day so I said what the heck let me use that.
I must say because I shoot in the high 40s to 50s on 9 holes(I’m a very bad putter), I thought it would be hard as heck to hit but to my surprise it wen farther and straighter than my Ping G5.
So just to all those high-handicappers out there. Don’t be intimidated by Titleist if your a good ball striker. Just because your a high-handicapper like me because of your putting doesn’t mean you can’t use a Titleist club. 😉
i am 8 handicap. i had previously bought the 905r with a pro force v2 stiff shaft 76 g. i agree it favors the left to right ball flight whcich i did not like. the driver is just not very forgiving i just bought the new dymo2 and it favors the right to left ball flight and i hit it 10-15 yards further. all in all i would not consider this driver if you are not a trememndous ball striker do not get this driver.
so erik, would golfers be giving up distance if they went to the 905r than the 909d2 because the 905r is cheaper, but then again it was made in 2005 and the d2 was made in 2009, does this matter at all?
I have played every Titlesist driver since the 975 series, including the 909D2, and the 905R is the longest, best sounding driver Titleist has ever made! I have had about 5 of then with, all with different shaft and loft combinations and the 9.5 with the Proforce V2 76X is unmatched! I swing between 105-112 mph. If your in that range, try it, you’ll be blown away. I also have a 8.5 with a Motore F-1 that rips too. It spins a little too much for me but is excellent for the 90-100 mph range. Pick one up on ebay for $100 and you’ll be stoked!
Loved your review, even if it was written 4 years ago! Just bought a 905R in 10.5° loft and the Graphite Design YS-6 shaft, regular flex, at a yard sale for a mere $20! Actually got it about 4 months ago and love playing with it. Just sorry I didn’t get to the man sooner……he told me that only 15 minutes before he sold a set of Ping G10 irons for $100. Where are these guys when I’m looking for them?
Wow… where do you live? Where could I meet someone who is willing to sell a 905R for $20 and Ping G10 Irons for $100. Even in 2011 Summer, those are bargain basement prices!! I need to move to your town and visit all the yard sales… what a deal… what a find!!!