FIRST LOOK: Titleist’s lightweight TSR1 drivers, fairway woods and hybrids
Titleist's TSR1 driver is 40 grams lighter than a standard build.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
Titleist’s TSR1 driver ($600; 9, 10 and 12 degrees), fairway wood ($349; 15, 18, 20 and 23 degrees) and hybrid ($249; 20, 23, 26 and 29 degrees) will be available for pre-sale Feb. 2, and at retail Feb. 23.
At roughly 40 grams lighter than a standard driver, Titleist’s 460cc TSR1 driver is exactly what you’re thinking — a lightweight product designed for slower to moderate swing speeds who want to pick up more distance (and launch) without making significant modifications to their swing.
To put a number on “slower to moderate swing speed,” Titleist conducted research that revealed one-third of golfers swing the club under 90 mph. Does that mean only golfers under 90 will benefit from the technology? Not necessarily. Nelly Korda, who swings it around 102 mph, made the switch to TSR1 — albeit with a heavier 60-gram shaft — and increased her ball speed from 152 mph to 154 mph, resulting in an additional 10 yards of carry distance (290 yards).
So while the ultra-light driver head is designed for slower golfers, it does have benefits for slightly faster speeds as well.
But back to the tech behind TSR1. Instead of blowing up TSi1 and starting over, Titleist made incremental changes to TSR1, beginning with a new multi-plateau face that originally debuted with TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4. The new variable thickness construction builds the springy face inward to create a constant CT measurement across the entire surface.
When combined with its aerodynamic shape, Titleist saw an increase of 1.5 mph more club speed during robotic testing, which translates to an additional 0.75 mph of ball speed.
With a higher crown than other drivers in Titleist’s lineup, the CG naturally wants to go higher. In this case, the higher CG is almost perfectly centered with the face, while still remaining deep to induce a high launch. (Compared to the other TSR models, the CG on TSR1 is 3mm (TSR2), 4.5mm (TSR3) and 6mm (TSR4) deeper.)
“By moving the CG higher, it allowed us to strengthen loft, maintain spin and get some ball speed,” said Stephanie Luttrell, Titleist’s director of metalwood development. “It’s really a fine-tuning of the design.”
Keeping the CG centered and pushing it deep within the head made it possible to retain some semblance of a draw bias, something golfers have come to expect from lightweight products. Just don’t call TSR1 a run-of-the-mill draw-biased driver.
“[The CG] is what differentiates TSR1 versus those draw-biased products in the marketplace,” Luttrell said. “It’s unique in that it’s not a specific draw product, but it’s really targeted towards optimizing launch, speed, spin and distance for the slower swing speed player.”
Titleist TSR1, TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4 Drivers
The TSR1 fairway wood is built around a similar lightweight design with a larger overall profile (180cc) than the TSR2. It’s also 20 grams lighter than the TSR2 with hosel construction that helps push the center of gravity deeper to promote a higher launch with more off-center forgiveness.
Refinements to the overall shaping and weighting result in a 15 percent higher Moment of Inertia (MOI) when compared to the previous TSi1.
“In designing TSR1 fairways, high launch was the top priority,” said Josh Talge, Titleist’s VP of golf club marketing. “We wanted to make the highest launching and most forgiving fairway we could. The result makes for a seamless transition from TSR1 driver through the top end of the bag.”
Titleist TSR1, TSR2, TSR2+ and TSR3 Fairway Woods
Continuing with the lightweight, high launch theme, the TSR1 hybrid features a larger “wood-like” profile that serves a dual purpose. The larger footprint is meant to be confidence-inspiring while allowing for a deeper CG to achieve a towering launch.
“Keeping with the increased demand for higher lofted fairways from players, TSR1 hybrids are the most ‘wood-like’ hybrids we have ever made,” said Talge.
For fitting purposes, it’s worth pointing out that the shaft accepts a .335″ fairway tip and is a half-inch longer than the previous TSi1. Longer and lighter generally leads to more speed and height, which is exactly what Titleist is going for with its lightweight hybrids.
Titleist TSR1, TSR2 and TSR3 Hybrids
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