Golf Talk: 909 Fairway, 909 Hybrid, Spin Milled Wedges Episode

This week, a special edition of the Golf Talk Podcast as we talk with Steve Pelisek, General Manager, Titleist Golf Clubs, Stephanie Bezilla, Titleist Metalwoods Development Manager, and Bob Vokey (who needs no title) about the new 909 Fairway Metals, Hybrids, and the Spin Milled Wedges. Check out this exciting episode of Golf Talk.

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

Interviewees

Steve Pelisek
General Manager, Titleist Golf Clubs

Stephanie Bezilla
Metalwoods Development Manager

Bob Vokey
Director of Wedge Development

Handy Links

• 909 Drivers Home
• Titleist 909 DComp
• Titleist 909 D2
• Titleist 909 D3

909 Fairway/909 Hybrid Questions

• Let’s start with the fairway woods. Tell us briefly about the 906: the F2 model was released and then, nearly a year later, the F4. Why the gap, and was the F4’s release intended primarily for the the “aspiring” player?
• Is it safe to say that the 909 fairway woods are an evolutionary step, with small, subtle tweaks to the 906 models? If so, what are those changes and how will they help golfers? If someone has a 906, why should they upgrade?
• The 909F2 and F3 seem to be positioned just as the F2 and F4 were in the 906 line (albeit backwards numerically). The 909F2 seems suited more for the “aspiring” golfer who might use the club more from the fairway and wants a little more help getting the ball airborn to maximize their distance, while F3 seems suited for the more skilled golfer who doesn’t need the trajectory help to maximize distance who is more likely to use the club off the tee. In general, is that correct?
• The stock shafts match up quite nicely with the new driver shafts and are also a “by Titleist” shaft. You answered the question already in the driver podcast, but if you could summarize the answer again, please tell us about these stock shafts and what “by Titleist” means to the consumer.
• Moving on to hybrids, tell us a bit about the 909.H. What does it offer over the 585.H for someone looking to upgrade?
• Again going back in history a little, the 503.H was an iron-like hybrid, yet the 585 and now the 909 changed into much more of a wood-like hybrid. Does the 909.H accomplish everything the 503.H accomplished (or more) in its form factor, or might Titleist re-introduce an iron-like hybrid in the future?
• PGA Tour player adoption of 909.H?
• Forum Question: I felt like the 585.H is a bit harder to hit than other companies. Is the new 909 hybrid going to be easier to hit and more versatile?

Spin Milled Wedges Questions

• The new wedge line appears to be the most thorough offering ever available in a Spin Milled wedge. Lofts range from 48 to 64 degrees, separated by two-degree gaps, and nearly every loft has two to three bounce options and three finish options. We understand you’re calling this line your “Greatest Hits.” Tell us about this explosion of choice.
• There’s been some confusion about the grinds – some people have even mistaken the finishes, marked as “TC, OC, and BN” on the Titleist site – as being custom grinds. Set the record straight regarding language like “unique grinds” and what this all means for the Spin Milled Wedge line.
• So if a player is looking for a custom grind that’s not available standard, what are their options?
• Will the new black nickel finish wear quickly relative to the Oil Can or is it a bit sturdier?
• While we have you, set the record straight for us verbally. We have the quote from Bob Vokey and Titleist R&D, but every little bit helps I suppose: does rust increase spin? Isn’t Bob Vokey encouraging people to rust a club by offering his Oil Can finish, which is essentially a raw wedge?
• The 200 line didn’t see any changes: why might someone consider a 200 series wedge over the Spin Milled wedges?
• Clear up something else for us quickly: spin milling refers to the way the grooves are cut, not the “micro-texture surface,” right?
• Speaking of spin milling, how does Titleist intend to address the new groove rules in their Spin Milled line of wedges? Will spin milling become a thing of the past or will the grooves simply be spin milled to the new specifications?
• That being said, what’s your take – and Titleist’s take as a whole – on the groove rule? Will it succeed at placing a little more importance on accuracy? Do you foresee more players switching to the Pro V1 from the Pro V1x, for example?
• Forum question: There seems to be some tremendous demand, and backorders are piling up. Caught by surprise? What’s the wait and should that settle down soon?
• Forum question: How can different types of grasses affect the wedge choice? My wedges get stuck in bermuda grass quite frequently – would more or less bounce make bermuda play more like the bent or poa grass I play the majority of the year?
• Forum question: In your experience, should the average player even have a 60 degree wedge in the bag or does it cause more harm than good? What about a 64? Or maybe we should all just learn to lay the face open a little bit?

Colophon

This show was recorded with Audio Hijack Pro over a Skype connection. We then used Soundtrack Pro to edit the show and GarageBand to produce the AAC file from the AIFF file, to add the artwork, and so forth. Feeder was used to create the XML file.

Note: This is an AAC (MP4) file, an open file format. iTunes – free software – can play AAC files, as can numerous other players, though we heartily recommend iTunes.

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