Gear: Titleist TSR2, TSR2+, TSR3 fairway woods
Price: $349 each with Project X HZRDUS Red CB, Project X HZRDUS Black 4G, Mitsubishi Tensei AV Blue or Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip.
Available: September 23
Who it’s for: Golfers who want classic-looking, tour-inspired fairway woods that come in models designed to deliver more ball speed and stability.
The Skinny: The three TSR fairway woods look similar in the playing position, but the TSR2 is designed to maximize stability and deliver more height, the TSR2+ is intended as a driver alternative for better players and the TSR3 has been built to offer shot shapers adjustability.
The Deep Dive: When was the last time you heard a golfer who is in the market for a new 3-wood or 5-wood say that he or she wants to hit lower shots? Never. From tour pros to weekend golfers, everyone wants to hit their fairway woods higher, so that was a significant directive given to Titleist’s designers before they developed the newest clubs, the TSR2, TSR2+ and the TSR3. Make clubs that look great, that provide players and fitters with the ability to create the launch angle and spin rates needed to fill distance gaps, and for the first time, offer golfers a club specifically designed for performance off the tee.
All three fairway woods have a new open-hosel construction, so the stainless steel piece inside the head of the TSi fairway woods that helped to affix the adjustable Sure-Fit hosel mechanism is gone, which removes mass from the top of the club and creates discretionary weight.
Also gone is the Active Recoil Channel (ARC) featured in Titleist fairway woods for several seasons. The sole slot helped lower spin and improved performance on low-struck shots, but it also added mass internally in the toe.
Using that saved weight, and repositioning the sole weight more forward, increases ball speed. However, with the weight being lower in the TSR fairway woods than in the TSi models, the moment of inertia (MOI) stays high for stability.
The TSR2 is available in 15, 16.5, 18 and 21-degree models for right-handed players and 15, 16.5 and 18-degree versions for lefties (21-degrees is available through custom order). This model will be the easiest to hit high because of its low center of gravity (CG) location, and with the heel and toe areas pealed upward, it can effectively from a variety of lies. The standard sole weight is 9 grams, but fitters will have access to six other weights to allow them to increase or decrease the swing weight.
The TSR2+ is available only as a 13-degree model (right and left-hand models) and came to life after Titleist engineers heard from PGA Tour reps that many elite rarely needed a 3-wood from the fairway to reach a par 5 in two shots. They did, however, use their 3-wood off the tee, so why not make a 3-wood designed to be optimized for performance off the tee but that could be used from the fairway. The TSR2+ has the largest head size (190-cc) and is the largest front to back. The stainless steel face also has a low profile, and the CG location is extremely far back in the head. The sole is very smooth, so it can glide over the turf when used from the fairway.
Finally, the TSR3 is available in 13.5, 15, 16.5 and 18-degree versions (15 and 16.5 degrees left-handed, with 13.5 and 18-degree models available through custom order) and is designed to look like one of the most popular fairway woods Titleist has ever made, the 906F2. It has a compact, pear-shaped head with a relatively-short blade length, but what sets it apart is a five-position moveable weight in the sole (The TSi3 fairway wood had three positions). The weight comes standard at 13 grams, but other weights are available to fitters to change the swing weight. There are two draw settings, two fade settings and a neutral setting for players who like to work the ball both left and right. Compared to the TSR2, it produces a lower, more-piercing ball flight because its CG location is more forward.
