Titleist have had a fantastic start to 2019.
They’ve won the equipment count in nearly every category for the first two full-field PGA Tour events of the year.
It was a clean sweep at the Sony Open and then they were number on in every category apart from fairway woods at the Desert Classic.
They then backed that up by being the number one driver model at the European Tour’s season opener in Abu Dhabi.
Just had it confirmed that the Titleist TS3 driver is the No.1 model at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Champs. Great start to 2019 continues… pic.twitter.com/Qc2Fs16xDc
— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) January 16, 2019
We’re still waiting for the breakdowns of contracted and non-contracted players to get a real sense of how far Titleist have come in overtaking TaylorMade and Callaway in the driver count.
Either way, it’s still a reason for them to be excited about their 2019 product line.
And that includes brand new versions of the 718 AP2 and AP3 irons – in black.
Who would have thought a ‘traditional’ brand like Titleist would be so down with the kids?
Available from March, the new irons are finished with a sleek, high polish black PVD coating.
The limited edition models come with True Temper AMT Onyx shafts – with a powder coat matte black finish that helps minimise glare – and an all-black Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360 grip.
The development of AP3 Black and AP2 Black was inspired by requests from the PGA Tour. The finish on AP3 Black and AP2 Black will wear similar to the Jet Black coating on SM7 wedges.
More information can be found on the Titleist website.
Two new Scotty Cameron putters launched
Sticking with Titleist, the brand’s putter guru Scotty Cameron has introduced two new mid mallets.
The Select Fastback 2 was added to the line after players asked for a plumbing neck to be added the the 2018 Fastback model.
In addition to the new neck, subtle refinements have been made to the topline for a slightly thinner look, as well as a reduction of face height.
The Select Squareback 1.5 incorporates a new mini-slant neck that further squares off the overall shape and look at address.
Similar to the Fastback 2, Scotty shaved some topline thickness for a thinner appearance from address and reduced the overall face height.
“Extending the Select line was all about taking the feedback we got from players and incorporating it into new offerings,” Cameron said.
“Shortly after we introduced the 2018 Fastback and Squareback models on tour, players began asking for them with prototype necks.
“We are seeing more and more players gravitate to these nice, compact head shapes. They’re not blades and not exactly mallets. We call them mid-mallets.
“By creating the Fastback 2 with a plumbing neck, and the Squareback 1.5 with our mini-slant neck, we’re giving players everything they asked for and more.”
The putters will be available from February 15 with an SRP of £365.
PXG drop prices on on Gen2 drivers
I travelled down to Woburn this week to get fitting into a new PXG 0811 Gen2 woods.
Another fun and freezing morning @WoburnGC testing out the new @PXG 0811 Gen2 woods. I like them, a lot. pic.twitter.com/S5bImuUHxg
— James Savage (@JamesSavageNCG) January 17, 2019
Interestingly the brand have dropped their starting price for the new drivers – 0811 X and 0811 XF – to £550.
Yes, that’s a lot but it’s only £50 cheaper than the new TaylorMade M5 and Callaway Epic Flash.
You can go up to £800 with more premium shafts but for £550 you are getting a highly premium product, with a real deal shaft and a fitting which is second to none.
We’ve got a full review to follow soon but I was hugely impressed with the low-spin nature of these new models.
The dispersion was also very impressive, not to mention a fantastic sound and feel.
More information or to find a fitting event visit the PXG website.