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What’s new? How much does it cost? And how does it perform? Jack Backhouse brings you the low down on Titleist’s new TSR1 driver
How does the most lightweight Titleist TSR driver perform? Find out in our Titleist TSR1 driver review.
The lightest driver in Titleist’s TSR lineup, this driver is brilliant for players who have a slow swing speed or need some help spinning the ball more off the tee.
Titleist have managed to keep their lightest driver as attractive as the rest of the TSR lineup and make this not just a club for high handicappers or slow swingers but one that anyone could use if it’s the right fit for their game.
PROS
CONS
I am a huge fan of Titleist’s TSR range, and the new TSR1 driver seems to round off the series nicely. As with all Titleist drivers, it feels like a premium product and really well-built. Behind the ball, it’s a confidence-inspiring shape, and with it also feeling so light in your hands, you get the impression that you can swing hard and generate some speed but still expect consistent results.
When I turned up at the Titleist Performance Fitting Centre at Woburn, I did not think I was going to get fit into the new TSR1 driver. I’d read about the high-launch, high spin, and as I don’t fall into the ‘moderate speed’ category, I’d pretty much written off having a go with it.
The magic of Titleist’s TSR range is that you go for a fitting for a TSR, not a specific model. This is because Titleist wants you in the best possible driver for your game and have no preconceived notions about what head and shaft combination that may end up being.
After a quick chat with the therapist fitter about my driving woes, he suggested I hit the new TSR1. My typical flight is pretty low, and bad strikes see the ball drop out of the sky quite quickly. I swing just shy of 110mph at the moment, so I was surprised at the offer. Naturally, I thought he was wrong but would have a go with it anyway so as not to cause offence.
After the first strike, I felt like an idiot. The ball came off the face pretty low, and where I would normally look to see the ball in flight, there was nothing there. The ball instead was about 30 ft higher than I was expecting and still in the air long after I thought it would be.
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I hit a few more shots with it and was really impressed with how easy it was to hit and how effortlessly I was able to get the ball in the air higher than I ever have. The first shaft I tried was the TSR1 specific shaft which is only 40g, and I loved it. The ball was spinning way too much to be optimal, but I didn’t want to stop using it as it was just so much fun.
The TSR1 is 40g lighter than any of the other TSR drivers, with weight savings in the head shaft and grip. This will allow players to move the club quicker and hit it further. It also has the lowest and furthest back centre of gravity, which provides the high launch and maximum forgiveness.
As much as I wanted to continue hitting the TSR1 shaft, the fitter wanted to move me into something more appropriate for my clubhead speed, which was an iteration of the Tour AD series. This immediately moved my spin down to about 2750 and my ball speed up to 166mph, which I am delighted with.
Generally, my experience of a club fitting is that because I swing the club quicker, I often am paired up with a low spin tour head, and I quite frankly have never got on very well with them despite hitting them further.
I loved that the Titleist fitter didn’t straight away jump to the TSR3 or 4, but wanted to know about what my bad shots were and what I was actually looking for in a driver, which for me is not more distance, but more tee shots in play.
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Overall this is a great addition to the TSR line-up; it will help slower players hit it higher and further whilst also helping low-spin players enjoy hitting driver more often. It won’t be for everyone, but it will help many golfers enjoy their games more.
Available: Now
RRP: £529 / $599
Right-handed lofts: 9°, 10°, 12°
Left-handed lofts: 10° (9° and 12° custom only)
Titleist featured shafts: Mitsubishi MMT SpeedMesh 40 (Men’s) and 35 (Ladies)
More information: Titleist website
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