FIRST LOOK: Titleist 2023 TSR fairway woods – TSR3, TSR2, TSR2+
Titleist TSR Fairway woods
Ryan Barath
The new Titleist TSR fairway woods, much like the TSR drivers, sent the Titleist engineering team back to the drawing board to make every possible improvement they could from the already beloved TSi series. The results speak for themselves.
“Higher, farther and more forgiving” is the headline from Titleist, and the clubs deliver. There is much hidden (and not-so-hidden) tech that should have golfers excited to try out these clubs, including an additional third specialty model intended to fill a gap in a lot of players bags.
The TSR tech story
Before getting into the specifics of each model, we’ll highlight the enhanced features of the TSR fairway line that can and can’t be seen with the naked eye. The first is a lighter and thinner hosel sleeve construction that frees up more mass to be positioned deep in the head.
A dirty little design secret that engineers at every OEM know is adjustable hosels take up mass that could potentially be used around the head. The engineering challenge is it’s difficult to sacrifice a non-adjustable hosel considering the amount of fine-tuning they offer to the end user. Note: The Titleist fairway wood adapter remains unchanged, it’s only the head internals that have been redesigned to save weight.
Speaking of weight savings, you can say bye-bye to ARC — it had a great run for four generations, but as George Harrison sang “all things must pass.” To get the performance and center of gravity lower and deeper to boost MOI and launch characteristics, Titleist has removed its long-standing Active Recoil Channel from the sole behind the face. Even with the previous lighter fourth-gen version of ARC in the TSi, there was still too much unnecessary weight crammed toward the front of the head, and that needed to change.
With ARC gone — and the addition of adapter housing — the design team at Titleist put the extra redistributable mass to good use on the sole in two ways. First, they made the wider area of the head thinner and then made the lowest geometrical area of the head thicker to centrally locate the mass behind the sweet spot. This has improved both the sound and feel and made the center of gravity deeper in each model across the line. Now, let’s talk models.
Titleist TSR1, TSR2, TSR2+ and TSR3 Fairway Woods
TSR3 fairway wood
For the TSR3, the engineers took the chassis of the previous TSi3 and improved on every element of the design to enhance performance.
The most obvious visual design feature is the expanded SureFit weight track on the sole, which offers greater side-to-side adjustment leading to finer tuning for feel and ball flight. This came directly from feedback provided by Titleist fitters to improve fitting possibilities for each player — see, OEMs are listening!
From an industrial design perspective, the sole geometry and “graphic structures” of the TSR3, as well as the TSR2, have been minimized to subtly reduce ground interaction and help the club glide more smoothly through the turf. This isn’t so much a factor of ground interaction at impact but rather a feel thing for players when taking the club away on the backswing.
LOFTS: 13.5°, 15°, 16.5°, 18° in right and left-handed, (13.5° and 18.5° LH available through custom order only)
TSR2 and TSR2+
The TSR2 and TSR2+ mark a big shift in how this model has been crafted compared to the previous generation. Where adjustable weight in the TSR2 driver has been moved farther back in the head, the new fairway wood design has reversed course and the adjustable weight is now positioned in the lowest geometrical area of the head closer to the face.
The most interesting element of the new weight position is that even when placing the weight in the more forward location, the TSR2 still has a higher MOI than the previous version thanks to other weight savings around the head (as previously mentioned). This results in a lower and deeper center of gravity to increase launch and stabilize spin for consistent results shot after shot.
LOFTS: 15°, 16.5°, 18°, 21° in right and left-handed, (21° LH available through custom order only)
Now to the “big one”: the TSR2+. This fairway wood comes in at a whopping 190 cc (15 cc bigger than the TSR2 standard model), making it one of the biggest on the market — and the largest volume high-performance fairway Titleist has ever produced.
Although easy to hit off the deck, the TSR2+ is geared to offer low spin and extra forgiveness off the tee for players looking to have a club that fits in right after their driver.
The reason for this is that with the low-spin performance that’s attainable with modern higher lofted fairway woods (16°-18°), the TSR2+ — which comes only in 13.5° — helps players who need extra separation at the top end of the bag.
LOFTS: 13.5° in right and left-handed.
Shaft offerings
Again, just like with the drivers, Titleist doesn’t do “stock” shafts — they do featured shafts. And the featured shafts for the TSR fairway woods cover a variety of launch, spin and feel options, and the Premium Featured shafts from Graphite Design continues their strong partnership with the Japanese shaft manufacturer.
Featured:
Project X HZRDUS Black 4G: Weight: 70g (60/80g options available). Launch & Spin – Low/Mid with a firmer feel for high-speed players.
Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei AV Blue: Weight: 65g (55/75g option available). Launch & Spin – Mid/Mid with a smooth yet firm feel for players with a smooth transition.
Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei 1K Black: Weight: 75g (65/85g option available). Launch & Spin – Low/Low with a firm and stable feel for higher-speed players.
Project X HZRDUS Red CB: Weight: 60g (50g option available along with 40g version is ladies flex). Launch & Spin – Mid/High with a smooth stable feel for those looking to add distance.
Premium Featured from Graphite Design:
Tour AD DI: Weight: 70g (50/60/80g also available). Launch Mid/Hi with lower spin
Tour AD IZ: Weight: 70g (50/60/80g also available). Launch High with lower spin
Tour AD UB: Weight: 70g (50/60/80g also available). Launch Mid with lower to mid spin
Price and availability
Each TSR Series fairway woods are priced at $349 with featured shaft options and $549 with premium featured shafts options from Graphite Design
The Titleist TSR fairway woods will be available for custom fitting and orders at Titleist accounts starting Sept. 8. You will be able to find them on retail shelves beginning Sept. 30.
Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below.
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