NEW Titleist 915D Driver, First Look

[Spyder]

Ok. I've been golfing with my 909 for a while now and have never had a reason to change. I'm not very long, but I hit about 270 avg.  and starting to wonder if I can get some length.  Just my opinion, but as much as I like Achusnet, Taylormade has always been the longest driver for me, so I prob should go that way, but TM always looks gimicky even if they are the longest...but the boys at the club are hounding about my 909.  Its the feel, crack and accuracy of the Titleist, even back to the 975D. Love it. Who really cares, why not tee up this new 915 and give it a shot at least. I'm due.

I can assure you that 270 is much longer than average. If you want to upgrade for the sake of having something shiney and new though, hell, go for it. You may pick up yards with the newer 913 or 915. Demo it first though, obviously.

[golfbarefoot]

Thanks. I do play close attention to my driver distance and I'm actually 266 avg to the button but 270 sounds better and it's only a few away.. Haha. It's taken a long time for me learn how to generate the club head speed without trying to rip it hard. I'm being told I could get 15 more yards out of a new driver over a 5 year old 909. Is that true?

[03SMURF]

My good drives with my 913D3 aren't noticeably longer or better then my good drives were with my 983E that I played for 10 years before. Overall I am more consistent with the 913 because the shaft fits me better and the 913 is more forgiving than the 983.

[mvmac]

I'm attending a Titleist media day tomorrow for the 915 line. If you guys have any questions post them in the thread and I'll do my best to get them answered.

[meenman]

The statement said they're still using the sure-fit hosel. So will existing shafts swap with no problem?

This would be my question - and will the head alone be available?

[Pretzel]

That's the first time I hear that 270 yards is not a long hitter, that's pretty long even for CO.

Unless, you're a collegiate player or pro.

It's not really. Most varsity high school players here can hit it at least 270. They might not do it with a high degree of accuracy (I placed fifth in a tournament today on a tight course because a lot of people spray their tee shots), but they can get it out there. The impressive part is when you get to 270+ consistently with accuracy.

Just as an example, one of the players that graduated from my school last year had an i20 driver for a bit less than two years. He had to replace it this summer because he cracked the face on it. Not a dummy mark on the crown, but he literally started to crack the face on the club. Watching his tee shots is a bit like watching a fighter jet take off (and he's going to the Air Force Academy, which seems fitting).

[mvmac]

This would be my question - and will the head alone be available?

I will ask but there's a good chance that won't happen.

[AllenEagledOnce]

Find out what you can on the 915d5! [quote name="mvmac" url="/t/75377/new-titleist-915d-driver-first-look/0_50#post_1039107"]I'm attending a Titleist media day tomorrow for the 915 line. If you guys have any questions post them in the thread and I'll do my best to get them answered. [/quote]

[mvmac]

This would be my question - and will the head alone be available?

Their answer is that they do sell the heads only and the shaft is included for free

Find out what you can on the 915d5!

Just a smaller head, 400 cc, probably won't be available to the public.

[AllenEagledOnce]

[QUOTE name="AllenEagledOnce" url="/t/75377/new-titleist-915d-driver-first-look/36#post_1039321"] Find out what you can on the 915d5![/QUOTE] Just a smaller head, 400 cc, probably won't be available to the public.

Shoot. Well thanks!

[boogielicious]

Article in Golf Digest. http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/10/titleists-sole-groove-is-centr.html

Titleist's sole groove is central to new metalwoods

By Mike Stachura

Titleist’s line of 915 drivers have been seen and heard at the PGA Tour level since June, even used in Geoff Ogilvy’s win at the Barracuda Championship in August. Now, they’re ready to make their official debut to the public.

What many have noticed right away in the family of drivers (the 460 cubic centimeter 915 D2 and the 440 cc 915 D3; $450, in stores Nov. 14) is a deep groove toward the front of the sole labeled “Active Recoil Channel.” But don’t think it is just about making the flex face at impact, says Dan Stone, Titleist’s vice president of golf club research and development. “What really hasn’t been explained in the marketplace is that the channel isn’t just about ballspeed,” he says. “It also changes the spin to launch ratio, and that’s a really powerful tool. So it gives us two pops: it improves off-center ballspeed and it reduces spin.”

The other benefit in the channel design is to produce a greater area on the face of both ballspeed and spin consistency. In short, it’s designed to make more shots perform in the neighborhood of perfect hits.

Those bonuses are not so easily achieved. Stone says the Titleist R&D; team solved a couple of problem areas that arose from having a flexible channel in the sole, particularly when it comes to center of gravity location.

“I think acoustics is one area that we spent a lot of time designing for because of the changes in the internal structure,” he said. “The other is weight. In a way you’re adding twice the wall thickness in a place where you normally have a flat section. We worked really hard at making that as thin as possible, so we would still have a CG location that was not driving it significantly low and forward because we wanted to preserve the moment of inertia.”

Stone says the value of increased moment of inertia for increased stability isn’t just for average hacks. He says the 915 drivers achieve similar measurements for moment of inertia (or off-center hit stability) as the 913 series.

“Tour players do tend to have a miss area on a driver that’s about the size of a nickel, as opposed to a half-dollar sized with a higher-handicapper,” he says. “But they do miss it, it just happens much less frequently. Of course, it usually comes with a shot under pressure. And with one shot meaning so much, that’s where inertia can help even them get more consistent ballspeed more often.”

Helping achieve a more stable head design and ideal CG location is the use of a lighter 8-1-1 titanium in the body, as well as a thinned out variable thickness face insert that Stone says “organically tapers” at the heel and toe to improve low, toe and heel shots.

Both the D2 and D3 offer a slightly higher launch angle and less spin than its predecessor. Compared to each other, Stone says the 915 D2 will have a slight draw bias, while the D3 will offer less spin.

The drivers once again will feature Titleist’s 16-way adjustable hosel that allows players to independently change loft and lie angle. Each head can move loft by up to plus-1.75 degrees and minus .75 degrees, while lie angle can be shifted 1.5 degrees upright to .75 degrees flat. The 915 D2 will be available in five lofts (7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 12), while the D3 will be available in four (7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5).

The drivers utilize five stock shafts, including the Aldila Rogue Black and Silver and the Diamana D+ White, S+ Blue and M+ Red.

The 915 line also includes completely redesigned fairway woods (915 F, 915 Fd) and hybrids (915 H, 915 Hd), each featuring the sole channel geometry. The channel is deeper, narrower and more forward on the fairway woods than the driver to control spin. A Carpenter 455 face insert is the thinnest ever for a Titleist’s fairway wood. In each case, the “d” models are designed to yield a lower trajectory and less spin.

The 915 F comes in five lofts (13.5, 15, 16.5, 18, 21). while the 915 Fd is offered in two (13.5, 15). The 915 H is available in four lofts (18, 21, 24, 27), while the 915 Hd is offered in three (17.5, 20, 23.5). Both the fairway woods and hybrids feature the same 16-way adjustable hosel as the 915 drivers.

[boogielicious]

More pretty pictures:

http://www.pgatour.com/equipmentreport/2014/10/01/golf-equipment-photos-titleist-announces-915-drivers-fairway-woods-hybrids.html

After putting their 915 drivers, hybrids and fairway woods through an extensive TOUR seeding and performance validation process for three months, Titleist officially announced the arrival of the clubs. (Jonathan Wall/PGATOUR.COM)

Titleist's 915 line has been on the PGA TOUR since the Quicken Loans National and was in Geoff Ogilvy's (915D prototype driver) bag during his victory at the 2014 Barracuda Championship. After putting the clubs through an extensive tour seeding and performance validation process, Titleist officially announced the arrival of its 915 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids three months after their TOUR debut.

915 DRIVERS

Titleist's 915 line of drivers comes in two models -- 915D2 and 915D3. The 915D2 is a 460cc pear-shaped head that's slightly forgiving and has more draw bias than 915D3; it also spins about 250 rpm more than the 915D3.

The 440cc 915D3 has a deeper, pear-shaped face that was designed for players who prefer to work the ball both ways and does not have a draw bias like the 915D2.

The big story with both drivers is the addition of Titleist's Active Recoil Channel (ARC) to the bottom of the sole. The channel runs from the heel to the toe of the head -- just behind the leading edge -- allowing the top and bottom of the face to deflect, increasing ball speeds across the entire face and reducing spin.

"It's really piece of technology that lowers spin and increases speed," said Chris McGinley, Titleist's vice president of golf club marketing. "It's really effective at doing both. It was initially designed to generate more speed, but what we found out is it's also an effective way at lowering spin. One of the interesting things we've observed through the PGA TOUR seeding process is that it was not only good at lowering spin in the middle of the club, but it's good at lowering spin all around the club. That provides a level of spin consistency as you move around the face."

When Titleist initially unveiled the ARC system in both driver, it actually worked too well, pushing the Characteristic Time -- also know as CT, the term the USGA uses to describe a club's spring-like effect – beyond the USGA's legal limit.

To slow down the speed in the center of the face, Titleist added a "Radial Speed Face," that includes a 6-4 titanium variable face thickness insert that's thicker in the middle and thinner in the heel and toe section to maximize ball speeds on off-center shots.

"The ability to manage and improve speed and spin across the face consistently really provides a level of performance we haven't had in a driver product before," McGinley said. "That really changes how energy is transferred from the club to the ball. The ball actually doesn't have the chance to grab as much rotational energy and come up the face with higher spin. So not only do we get that speed effect, but the ball comes off with lower spin."

Along with improving ball speeds and spin, Titleist worked on creating the ideal launch angle by lowering the center of gravity and moving it farther from the hitting area -- the ARC system added mass to the front of the sole, making the CG shift necessary -- with the addition of a lightweight 8-1-1 titanium crown, internal pockets and toplines/leading edges that were tapered to save weight.

The discretionary weight was then shifted to an internal weight pad in the back of the club head and an external weight in the sole that help give 915D2 and 915D3 a higher MOI and launch angle than its predecessor.

Both drivers will once again have Titleist's 16-way adjustable SureFit Tour hosel that allows players to change the loft and lie angle independently of each other. Loft can be increased by 1.75 degrees and decreased by .75 degrees while the lie angle ranges from 1.5 degrees upright to .75 degrees flat.

Titleist's 915D2 will be available Nov. 14 and comes in five lofts (7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 12 degrees). The 915D3 comes in four lofts (7.5, 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees). Both retail for $450 and come standard with Aldila's Rogue Black 70, Aldila's Rouge Silver 60 or Mitsubishi Rayon's Diamana D+, S+, or M+ shafts.

915 FAIRWAY WOODS

The 915 line also includes two fairway wood (915F and 915F.d) models. Titleist's re-designed 915 fairway woods feature an ARC in the sole that runs from the heel to the toe -- closer to the leading edge -- that increases balls speeds while also reducing spin.

“The channel is slightly deeper in the fairway woods, and positioned slightly closer to the face, than in the drivers,” McGinley said. “Compared to a driver, fairway woods have a lot more loft, and more loft creates more spin. So in order to have maximum effectiveness in terms of spin reduction, we needed to move the ARC a little more forward in the fairways.”

To increase balls speed even further, Titleist also added a Carpenter 455 face insert -- the thinnest the company has used for a fairway wood.

The 175cc 915F creates slightly more spin and a higher launch angle than the more workable 160cc 915F.d. To dial-in the swing weight, both clubs come with a weight in the sole that can be adjusted to a player's swing and shaft preferences.

Titleist's 915F is available Nov. 14 in five lofts (13.5, 15, 16.5, 18 and 21 degrees) while the 915F.d comes in two lofts (13.5 and 15 degrees). Both clubs retail for $280 and come standard with Aldila's Rogue Black 80, Mitsubishi Rayon's Diamana D+ White 80, Diamana S+ Blue 70 or Diamana M+ Red 60 shafts.

Each fairway wood comes with the 16-way adjustable SureFit Tour hosel that allows players to change the loft and lie angle independently of each other. Loft can be increased by 1.75 degrees and decreased by .75 degrees while the lie angle ranges from 1.5 degrees upright to .75 degrees flat.

915 HYBRIDS

The 915 line of hybrids (915H and 915H.d) includes Titleist's ARC in the sole that boosts ball speeds across the entire face while also lowering spin.

While lowering spin was important in the driver and fairway wood, Titleist recognized during testing that it didn't want to dial back the spin characteristics as much in the hybrid.

"Players hit a driver off the tee, and more and more often they’re hitting fairway woods off the tee,” said McGinley. “But golfers are hitting hybrids into a green primarily, so you want to make the ball stop. In order to make the ball stop, you’ve got to be careful about how much spin you take out. So the Active Recoil Channel in the hybrids is really more about increasing ball speed than taking spin down to a super-low level."

Titleist 118cc 915H generates slightly more spin and a higher launch angle than the 107cc 915H.d. Both hybrids have a high-strength Carpenter 455 steel face insert that's designed to deliver increased ball speeds.

The hybrids also come with Titleist's 16-way adjustable SureFit Tour hosel that allows players to change the loft and lie angle independently of each other.

Titleist 915H will be available Nov. 14 in four lofts (18, 21, 24 an 27 degrees) while the lower spin 915H.d comes in three loft options (17.5, 20.5 and 23.5 degrees). Both retail for $250 and come standard with Aldila's Rogue Black 80, Mitsubishi Rayon's Diamana D+ White 80, Diamana S+ Blue 70 or Diamana M+ Red 60 shafts.

See more detailed images of the new clubs in the gallery below.

PGA TOUR SUPERSTORE: Get Titleist equipment

[saevel25]

I am excited for the lower spin profile on these drivers. I am a HUGE fan of Titliest drivers going back to the 975D driver from the late 90's. I'll be seriously looking into these clubs when they come out.

[boogielicious]

I am excited for the lower spin profile on these drivers. I am a HUGE fan of Titliest drivers going back to the 975D driver from the late 90's. I'll be seriously looking into these clubs when they come out.

The best thing about new Titleist drivers coming out is the older models are real cheap in E-Bay.  I just picked up a 913D2 head for $110.  I already had another shaft.

[RangePro]

I was able to schedule a fitting for the new 915 at our local golf store (carls golfland) on Friday October 10th. The driver I am using currently is a R9 with a Alidila RIP x-stiff with a avg. distance of 270. My hope is that I get a few more yards with new tech, since my current driver is 19 TM models away from being new :).

[flopster]

I'm very interested in the 915 driver my local clubfitter says it will be close to a week after the 14th when they will get the heads

[Rustybearing]

I was able to hit the 915 last weekend. Titleist had a fitting at our course. I currently have the Taylormade RBZ adjustable version. I was hitting my driver 125 mph ball speed and 200 yards carry. I picked up 10 mph ball speed and 25 yards carry by the end of the fitting   I am sure the fitting had a lot to do with the results as the Taylormade was not fitted but the hits on the 915 were extremely smooth and consistent. Beyond sweet. Very easy club to swing. As another reference I am 5'10 and 61 years old.

[arturo28mx]

What I like most about Titleist drivers are two things:

1. They are 45 inches long. Most other modern drivers are 46". 45" for many of us means more control.

2. They come with weights you can easily replace.

a. you can change weights to achieve the swingweight you want

b. you can shorten or lengthen the shaft (to some degree) and still maintain original swingweight by changing the weights