Mini drivers are becoming increasingly popular on tour, with players like Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson choosing to use them. Until now, there has only been one competitor in this market space: TaylorMade, but could that be about to change with a new Titleist driver release?
New Titleist Driver
This morning, a new Titleist product appeared on the USGA List of Conforming Driver Heads. The model, labelled simply as Titleist TSR, seems to be a small header driver.
Titleist has recently tinkered with bigger, stronger, lofted fairway woods with the Titleist TSR2+ model (most recently being put to use in the bag of Anthony Kim). But a smaller-headed driver is a new product for them.
It is hard to ascertain scale from the initial USGA images, but it does look to have more of a deep compact profiling along the lines of the lower spinning TSR4 driver head.
As you can see from the USGA information above, this model will only be available in a 13-degree option. All other Titleist drivers on the conforming list are available in multiple loft options.
It will be interesting to see if this is a single prototype for a player or a product that Titleist are planning to bring to the wider market. Given they are nearly at the end of their two-year driver cycle, it seems like unusual timing to add a new model to their driver range.
I have reached out to Titleist for comment and will keep you up to date with their response.
Titleist 2024 Driver Line-Up
The brand’s latest TSR range of drivers are designed to be the best golf drivers for distance, while they also prove to be the most forgiving drivers that money can buy.
This lineup consists of the TSR1 driver, TSR2 driver, TSR3 driver, and, you guessed it, the TSR4 driver – each with their own unique characteristics to suit different players’ demands.
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Titleist Drivers: NCG Favourite
Titleist TSR2 Driver
Straight away I was blown away by this driver. I love how Titleist have made the club head more compact, it definitely has more of a player’s feel at address and makes you feel like you are going to be able to get the club head moving fast.
As it turns out, the re-shaping of the club head has made a massive difference in performance. I gained 3.5 mph of club head speed when moving from the TSi2 to the TSR2. That’s seriously impressive. It also meant I got some lovely carry distance gains.
The smaller design had less MOI meaning my off strikes weren’t as good as with the TSi2 and the spin was also quite low.
The TSR2 offers me the best of both worlds and one of the most impressive things was just how consistent my data was throughout testing. Ball speed, carry distance and direction was much more consistent than with my previous TSi3.
PROS
- Smaller more refined shaping
- Fast ball speeds across the face
- Forgiving on off centre strikes
CONS
- Not as workable as other models
- RELATED: Read our full Titleist TSR2 driver review
Right-handed lofts: 8°, 9°, 10°, 11°
Left-handed lofts: 9°, 10°, 11° (8° custom only)
Titleist featured shafts:Â Hzrdus Red CB, Tensei AV Blue with XLink Tech, Hzrdus Black, Tensei 1K Black
Premium shafts:Â Graphite Design Tour AD UB, Tour AD DI, Tour AD IZ
More information:Â Titleist website
