Titleist GT1 Alternatives

[narisong]

My first ever post here. Thank you in advance for all your replies.

I recently custom fitted a Titleist GT1 driver from a certified Titleist fitter at the golf academy where I took lessons. The fitting was free. It was one of the benefits they do for their students once a year I think.

I was pretty satisfied with the results. But the price was just way beyond my budget. So I'm hoping to find second hand older models (like 2020ish - 2024) that could perform similarly to the specs. It doesn't need to be Titleist. Any major brands are okay. In fact I'm leaning toward Callaway as I might be able to find a deal on Callaway preowned. I know they also sell other brands too.

For example, if I look for Mavrik, Epic or Rogue ST, what kind of specs would be the closest to GT1 with my specs? I guess shaft needs to be stiff with 60g, though Project X HZRDUS is not very common on Callaway preowned. What does SureFit Hosel C-4 mean? The fitter said he added weight on the toe and opened the club face a little to compensate my hooks. For the weight, if I buy the stock version of those models, can I add 6g to it myself? Do I need to buy add-on weight separately?

A bit more info about my golf game and swing. I don't have an official handicap. I usually shoot high 80s on blue tees with 6500 yards. My current driver is an off-the-shelf Ping G400, regular shaft. No other tweaks. My driver swing speed and ball speed is 95+ and 140+ on trackman. I carry 220-230 on good shots. My miss is hook, low hook. Sometimes I can draw but it usually is an over-draw. I rarely slice and never faded. I push straight to the right occasionally. While I'm still working with my instructor to fight against my hooks, whatever the fitter did during the fit definitely helped me not to over draw, and hit it straighter. It also goes higher and landing angle increased significantly from sub 20 to over 30.

Below are the specs. Any suggestions are appreciated. If you can find something on Callaway preowned, that will be great too.

Driver: GT1 10°

Dexterity: RH
SureFit Hosel Setting: C-4
SureFit Weight: +6 g
Length: Standard
Shaft: Project X HZRDUS Black 5G 60 GT
Shaft Flex: 6.0
Tip Trim: Standard
Grip: Golf Pride Decade Multi Compound +4 Gray
Grip Size: Standard
Grip Assembly: Standard
Quoted Price: $661.00

[ChetlovesMer]

Where is your current driver set? 

The PING G400 is relatively upright compared to the lion's share of other drivers out there. Normal setting is a 58 degree lie angle. The GT1 comes standard with a 59 degree lie angle. Your fitter may have lowered it up to a degree and a half so possibly 60.5 degree lie angle. Which is pretty flat. That may be part of what helped you avoid the hooks. 

Also if your PING G400 is the SFT model that's designed to fight the fade and promote a draw, which it sounds like you don't need. 

As far as getting weight out to the toe instead of the heel. A lot of drivers have that feature. Callaway Epic and Epic Flash are older models that certainly give you that ability. 

A Hzrdus shaft in 6.0, 60 grams is really pretty common. You probably won't get Gen5 but I'm not sure there's that much difference. 

For example: 

Callaway Golf EPIC FLASH 9.0* Driver Stiff Flex HZRDUS Smoke Black 60 Shaft

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Condition: 7 out of 10 - Good: These clubs/iron sets have been played in an appropriate fashion. The wear is typical for an item of similar model/age and has been well taken care of to date. Ball wear is visible only on the face...

Good luck. 
Let us know how it comes out.

Oh, by the way, welcome to the forum. 👍

[narisong]

  On 2/12/2025 at 2:02 AM, ChetlovesMer said:

Where is your current driver set? 

The PING G400 is relatively upright compared to the lion's share of other drivers out there. Normal setting is a 58 degree lie angle. The GT1 comes standard with a 59 degree lie angle. Your fitter may have lowered it up to a degree and a half so possibly 60.5 degree lie angle. Which is pretty flat. That may be part of what helped you avoid the hooks. 

Also if your PING G400 is the SFT model that's designed to fight the fade and promote a draw, which it sounds like you don't need. 

As far as getting weight out to the toe instead of the heel. A lot of drivers have that feature. Callaway Epic and Epic Flash are older models that certainly give you that ability. 

A Hzrdus shaft in 6.0, 60 grams is really pretty common. You probably won't get Gen5 but I'm not sure there's that much difference. 

For example: 

Callaway Golf EPIC FLASH 9.0* Driver Stiff Flex HZRDUS Smoke Black 60 Shaft

---

Condition: 7 out of 10 - Good: These clubs/iron sets have been played in an appropriate fashion. The wear is typical for an item of similar model/age and has been well taken care of to date. Ball wear is visible only on the face...

Good luck. 
Let us know how it comes out.

Oh, by the way, welcome to the forum. 👍

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Thank you @ChetlovesMer, (not sure if this actually tags you 🙂)

The Ping G400 is the standard model, not SFT. The hosel is in neutral and there was no adjustment when I bought it, so I guess the lie angle should be the standard.

"As far as getting weight out to the toe instead of the heel". So the process is moving the weight, not adding/removing weight from the head, right? That should be doable then. The Ping driver comes with a wrench. I can try it on G400 first. I don't think I will mess with the shaft though.

Thanks for the clarification on the shaft. I didn't know 5G meant the 5th generation. I found this Callaway Paradym Triple Diamond Drivers, that seems to match the shaft (gen 4 of course). 

10.5°

Graphite

6.0

Project X HZRDUS GEN 4 Black 60 Graphite

The standard lie angle of Paradym seems to be 57 degree. I found this graph on Titleist website about SureFit. C-4 means 0.75 degree flat which matches what you said about what the fitter did. I'm not sure if I can adjust the lie angle from 57 to 60.25. That sounds like a big gap. 57 seems to be the standard lie angle for all Callaway drivers 😞 Is it a no-no for Callaway drivers for me?

Again, thanks a lot for your time!

[ChetlovesMer]

I maybe should clarify that lie angle on one driver doesn't really equate to a lie angle on another driver. It is, however, a starting point. 

The Titleist chart you have does show that the flatter you make the driver the more fade biased it becomes. Your Ping will get flatter and if you are fighting a hook that may help. 
Here's the Ping G400 chart. 

 

[narisong]

  On 2/12/2025 at 11:08 AM, ChetlovesMer said:

I maybe should clarify that lie angle on one driver doesn't really equate to a lie angle on another driver. It is, however, a starting point. 

The Titleist chart you have does show that the flatter you make the driver the more fade biased it becomes. Your Ping will get flatter and if you are fighting a hook that may help. 
Here's the Ping G400 chart. 

 

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Paradym only has an option to change the lie angle 1 degree upright. I guess I could decrease the loft by 1 degree which would flatten it a bit? The loft is 10.5 and my spec is 10 so I guess decreasing the loft by 1 degree should be fine.

For the weight, the only option for Paradym is to swap the weight between the toe and the heel - using a heavier weight on the toe. I hope that has the same effect as adding weight to the toe on GT1 like what I was fitted for?

Sorry for asking so many questions. Just wanted to make sure I got the right driver.

[ChetlovesMer]

  On 2/13/2025 at 12:38 AM, narisong said:

For the weight, the only option for Paradym is to swap the weight between the toe and the heel - using a heavier weight on the toe. I hope that has the same effect as adding weight to the toe on GT1 like what I was fitted for?

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The standard Paradym has a sliding weight in the rear. It can be moved out to the fade setting. 

[klineka]

Welcome to TST!

First, IMO I think you would be better off saving up and waiting a bit to buy exactly what you were fit into rather than trying to guess at something different and hope it works to save a couple hundred bucks. 

But if you're dead set on getting something that you weren't fit into then there's some things you should consider.

Stock GT1 lie angle is 59 degrees. With you being in the C4 setting that means the new effective lie angle is 58.25 and effective loft is 10.75.

I would also keep in mind the head style that the GT1 is. Per Titleist it has the deepest CG in the GT lineup, and promotes high-launching and mid-spin carry. 

So when looking at other models, you definitely do not want an LS model, you're probably going to do better with "Max, 10k, etc" type models from other manufacturers. 

As far as that +6 grams, it sounds like that was done to bring the GT1 back in line with other models since the GT1 standard is a bit lighter weight than most. So I probably wouldn't worry about that too much

  Quote

As is standard in its “1” series of offerings, GT1 is outfitted with lightweight shafts and grips designed to boost clubhead speed and enhance launch conditions — both of which are welcome for players with moderate swing speeds. For those seeking a more traditional setup, the GT1 also comes in a standard build, offering a 15-gram (+6) headweight option along with conventional shaft and grip choices.

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I'm not sure what your fitter was referring to when he said that he added additional weight to the toe because on the GT 1 that is not an option as there is only one weight port and it is at the rear of the driver. 

 

The AI Smoke Max has a lie angle of 58 and you can get it in 10.5 loft. Keep in mind you can always buy a club from Callaway Pre-owned and then buy your specific shaft separately as well and try selling the shaft that came with the head for a few bucks back. 

TSR1 is an option as well, you can get extra weights for it too. This one is pretty much exactly what you were spec'd for but in a TSR1 not a GT1. Personally I don't think you're going to do much better than that. Also a perk of sticking with Titleist is in a year or two you could always just buy a GT1 head only and put it on that shaft since that's the right shaft model already.

Titleist TSR1 TSR 1 Driver 10.0 Degrees Graphite HZRDUS 6.0 Stiff RH S-143715

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SHAFT MODEL Project X HZRDUS. MODEL 2023 TSR1. The advanced technologies incorporated into this driver, including Titleist's renowned engineering, work in harmony to provide a noticeable boost in ball speed...

My vote is you get that one, play it at C4, get some aftermarket weight for the back to bring it up a bit like the GT1. That's going to get you much closer to the GT1 than going with another brand.

[narisong]

  On 2/13/2025 at 4:06 PM, klineka said:

Welcome to TST!

First, IMO I think you would be better off saving up and waiting a bit to buy exactly what you were fit into rather than trying to guess at something different and hope it works to save a couple hundred bucks. 

But if you're dead set on getting something that you weren't fit into then there's some things you should consider.

Stock GT1 lie angle is 59 degrees. With you being in the C4 setting that means the new effective lie angle is 58.25 and effective loft is 10.75.

I would also keep in mind the head style that the GT1 is. Per Titleist it has the deepest CG in the GT lineup, and promotes high-launching and mid-spin carry. 

So when looking at other models, you definitely do not want an LS model, you're probably going to do better with "Max, 10k, etc" type models from other manufacturers. 

As far as that +6 grams, it sounds like that was done to bring the GT1 back in line with other models since the GT1 standard is a bit lighter weight than most. So I probably wouldn't worry about that too much

I'm not sure what your fitter was referring to when he said that he added additional weight to the toe because on the GT 1 that is not an option as there is only one weight port and it is at the rear of the driver. 

 

The AI Smoke Max has a lie angle of 58 and you can get it in 10.5 loft. Keep in mind you can always buy a club from Callaway Pre-owned and then buy your specific shaft separately as well and try selling the shaft that came with the head for a few bucks back. 

TSR1 is an option as well, you can get extra weights for it too. This one is pretty much exactly what you were spec'd for but in a TSR1 not a GT1. Personally I don't think you're going to do much better than that. Also a perk of sticking with Titleist is in a year or two you could always just buy a GT1 head only and put it on that shaft since that's the right shaft model already.

Titleist TSR1 TSR 1 Driver 10.0 Degrees Graphite HZRDUS 6.0 Stiff RH S-143715

---

SHAFT MODEL Project X HZRDUS. MODEL 2023 TSR1. The advanced technologies incorporated into this driver, including Titleist's renowned engineering, work in harmony to provide a noticeable boost in ball...

My vote is you get that one, play it at C4, get some aftermarket weight for the back to bring it up a bit like the GT1. That's going to get you much closer to the GT1 than going with another brand.

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Thank you klineka!

"I'm not sure what your fitter was referring to when he said that he added additional weight to the toe because on the GT 1 that is not an option as there is only one weight port and it is at the rear of the driver. "

I think what the fitter said was probably just that he changed the front weight to +6g.

I'm contacting the eBay seller to see if they can change the SureFit settings to my specs before shipping. Is Mr Topes Golf dependable? I've read good things about them but just want to confirm.

[klineka]

  On 2/13/2025 at 4:49 PM, narisong said:

I think what the fitter said was probably just that he changed the front weight to +6g.

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There is no front weight on the GT1, only a rear weight.

 

  On 2/13/2025 at 4:49 PM, narisong said:

I'm contacting the eBay seller to see if they can change the SureFit settings to my specs before shipping. Is Mr Topes Golf dependable? I've read good things about them but just want to confirm.

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Do you have a wrench? You can do it yourself in under 30 seconds. If not the club wrenches are like $10 on ebay and you can use any brand wrench. You'd need the wrench to change out the weight anyway.

I haven't purchase something from that specific ebay seller, but they've sold 154,000 items and have a 99.7% positive feedback so I'd say they're about as dependable as they get.

Edited February 13 by klineka

[narisong]

  On 2/13/2025 at 4:57 PM, klineka said:

There is no front weight on the GT1, only a rear weight.

 

Do you have a wrench? You can do it yourself in under 30 seconds. If not the club wrenches are like $10 on ebay and you can use any brand wrench. You'd need the wrench to change out the weight anyway.

I haven't purchase something from that specific ebay seller, but they've sold 154,000 items and have a 99.7% positive feedback so I'd say they're about as dependable as they get.

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Ah, I see. I think I misunderstood what front meant and what rear meant in the context of a golf driver head 😞 I meant the weight on the tip of the driver head, away from the club face. I think you know what I mean

I have a wrench. I didn't find Titleist selling the extra replacement weight on their website, so I was more of asking if they carry extra weight so I can buy it in the same order.

Let's see what they respond, and I will need to look for that wrench in my garage 🙂 

[ChetlovesMer]

  On 2/13/2025 at 5:22 PM, narisong said:

I have a wrench. I didn't find Titleist selling the extra replacement weight on their website, so I was more of asking if they carry extra weight so I can buy it in the same order.

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If you have a decently equipped shop or set of tools you may have all you need. A golf wrench is just a T25 torx bit on a torque-wrench set to 40 in.lbs. 😁

[klineka]

  On 2/13/2025 at 7:22 PM, ChetlovesMer said:

If you have a decently equipped shop or set of tools you may have all you need. A golf wrench is just a T25 torx bit on a torque-wrench set to 40 in.lbs. 😁

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I've always wondered what those wrenches were set to. I'm sure I could have looked it up but I had never remembered to look it up. Nice.

[narisong]

I will most likely buy the TSR1 klineka mentioned, though they didn't respond when I asked the seller if they had the +6 weight. They only said the weight was the standard 9g. I contacted a couple of local pro shops, one said they would call Titleist on Tuesday (as Monday is a holiday) for me to order a +6 weight, but the one said Titleist wouldn't have it anymore since it's an older model. Anyway, I will probably buy an aftermarket weight from eBay. Any concerns around aftermarket weight on eBay? They are not cheap, like around $15.

[klineka]

  On 2/15/2025 at 11:58 PM, narisong said:

Anyway, I will probably buy an aftermarket weight from eBay. Any concerns around aftermarket weight on eBay? They are not cheap, like around $15.

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As long as it's from a reputable seller it should be just fine. Just make sure the picture of the weight looks the right shaped weight for that specific driver head. You can even weigh it yourself when you get it if you want to be extra sure.

Personally I don't consider $15 for something that can greatly change your impact and delivery characteristics to be "not cheap" but that's just my opinion. Especially since you know it's bringing it closer to what you were fit into and you're already saving a bunch of money by going the used/prior model year route too.