Author: Erik J. Barzeski

Titleist 909D2/909D3 Driver Review

Titleist gets back in the driver’s seat with the 909 series. And yes, that pun was totally intended.

Titleist 909D2It seems to me that Titleist’s 909 drivers are the most eagerly awaited Titleist drivers since perhaps… well… in a long time. The retailers I’ve talked with are reporting good sales numbers, and PGA Tour adoption was awfully quick, with the majority of staff players switching before the first ball was struck in 2009. On a personal level, the number of emails, PMs, and IMs I’ve gotten from people anxious to read this review has been off the charts – and the 909H and 909F3 reviews only seemed to wet their whistles.

Titleist is the first to admit that the 907D1 and 907D2 – two drivers with near identical launch conditions but different looks and different MOI characteristics – were perhaps not the best pair of drivers for fitting a wide range of golfers. They’ve corrected that “one set of launch conditions” error with 909, offering three models: the composite-crowned (a first for Titleist!) 909D Comp, the “tweener” 909D2, and a low-launch, low-spin, 440cc 909D3.

Don’t get me wrong – the 907 was a great driver if you were the type of player that fit its launch conditions. I was able to, and switched to 907D2 after playing an r7 425 and an FT-3, and the 907 worked beautifully for me.

Now that I’ve had a chance to test both the 909D2 and 909D3, I’m ready to share my thoughts. Click through for the rest.

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Leupold Contest Winners

Congratulations to all who entered the Leupold giveaway contest.

Leupold GX-IFor the past two weeks, we’ve had a contest to give away a Leupold GX-I and GX-II laser rangefinder from our friends at Leupold. Today it’s our pleasure to announce the winners of the contest.

In total, 5867 people entered the contest. Winners were drawn randomly, one at a time, from the database, and here are the lucky (and smart!) winners.

First Place
Choosing to go with the GX-II as he “doesn’t play in tournaments that often,” Drew Patten! Drew is also known as drewdown in the forum.

Second Place
Steven Jones is pleased as punch to be the proud new owner of a Leupold GX-I. Steven goes by the username srjorion in the forum.

Third Place
Winner of a fine Leupold hat, John Bonner, a.k.a. Jeepthrills in the forum.

Congratulations to all three winners. More details (and the answers to the contest) below.

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Last Day to Enter Leupold Giveaway

The entry deadline is today! If you haven’t entered, do so now!

Leupold GX-IToday is the last day to enter the contest to win a Leupold GX-I or GX-II laser rangefinder (and three super-spiffy hats).

To enter, answer a few trivia and product questions on this page. Every answer can be found at the Leupold golf rangefinder site, our review, or elsewhere on the Web.

So far, we’ve received over 5,000 entries, and the contest ends today. Enter now.

Golf Talk [Episode 108]

This one’s about an hour later than normal, but you have the various NHL trade deadline tickers to thank for that.

Golf Talk PodcastTiger’s return lasts only two days, Geoff Ogilvy wins another WGC event, Titleist and Callaway go at it again, and some guy wins an alternate field event. Also this week, two new sponsorship changes on the PGA Tour and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 108 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Golf Talk [Episode 107]

Did you hear? Tiger’s back. Seriously, you didn’t hear? Is that even possible?

Golf Talk PodcastTiger is back, Michelle Wie finishes second, Phil Mickelson repeats at Riviera, Dustin Johnson wins in a rainout, the LPGA finds a home on the Golf Channel, and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 107 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Contest! Win a Leupold GX-I or GX-II!

Win a GX-I or GX-II laser range finder from Leupold and The Sand Trap .com!

Leupold GX-IWe’ve teamed with Leupold to give away a Leupold GX-I, a GX-II, and three super-spiffy hats.

To enter, we’ve setup a page at http://thesandtrap.com/contest with a few trivia questions about the Leupold GX-I and GX-II. Entering is simple: fill out the form, answering the questions correctly, and submit it. We’ll randomly choose from the correct answers to give away the prizes.

Every answer can be found at the Leupold golf rangefinder site, our review, or elsewhere on the Web.

Click here to visit our contest page. And hurry – the contest ends on March 11.

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Golf Talk: Titleist’s 2009 Pro V1 and Pro V1x

Between them, these guys have over 40 years of experience making and selling golf balls.

Golf Talk PodcastThis week we talk with George Sine, Vice President of Golf Ball Marketing and Strategic Planning and Bill Morgan,
Senior Vice President, Golf Ball Research & Development of Titleist about the new 2009 Pro V1 and Pro V1x. Some myths are dispelled, some fitting advice is given, and a whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 106 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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Titleist 909F Fairway Metal Review

909F3: welcome to a slightly more forgiving fairway wood.

Titleist 909F3Without even looking at my Titleist 906F4 review, I almost began this review the same way: “Fairway woods rarely get the credit they deserve…” Of course, that’s as true then as it is today, and as my game evolves and improves, I find myself relying on my 3-wood more and more, particularly from the tees of holes on which I used to hit driver.

I carry only one fairway wood. It’s a 15° 3-wood sandwiched between a driver and a 17° hybrid that serves as my 5W/2I replacement. Except my putter, you could probably remove any club in my bag without affecting my final score by much, but remove my 3W and I might lose between half a shot and a full shot every time I would have needed it.

The 3W may not have the versatility of a hybrid, the sex appeal of a driver, or the scoring impact of any of my wedges, but when I need my 3W – when I pull it from the bag – it’s often for a situation that only a 3W can handle: from the tee on a tight par four, finding the putting surface on that incredibly long par three, or setting me up for an eagle on a par five.

I’m picky about my 3W, and you probably should be too.

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Golf Talk [Episode 105]

For some reason I can’t get the theme song to Beverly Hills Cop out of my head…

Golf Talk PodcastTiger is practicing full bore AND had another kid, Nick Watney wins at Torrey Pines, the Tour considers cracking down on player appearance, and whole lot more in this episode of Golf Talk.

You can subscribe to the RSS feed for our podcasts here or download Episode 105 as an MP4 file. For those who want to subscribe to us in iTunes, click here.

For this week’s Show Notes – links to articles we discuss in the show and additional information – just read on.

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