Titleist TS Series Driver Fittings: 5 and 16 Handicap Readers

Would two readers enjoy similar performance gains to many tour pros with the new TS2 and TS3 models in their Titleist TS Series driver fittings?

Titleist TS Series Driver Fittings

Would two readers enjoy similar performance gains to many tour pros with the new TS2 and TS3 models in their Titleist TS Series driver fittings?

Titleist TS Series Driver Fittings: 5 and 16 Handicap Readers

The driver may not be the most used club in the bag, but there’s no denying that it’s the most glamorous and the one that attracts the most clubhouse chat.

Earlier this year, Titleist’s new TS Series drivers caused quite a stir when they helped the brand top the Sony Open driver count, with 38 players using the new TS2 or TS3 models. It was the first time Titleist had topped a driver count for 18 years, so it understandably created renewed interest in these two late-2018 launches.

TS stands for Titleist Speed, with both models featuring multiple technologies making up a Speed Chassis, among them a more streamlined shape and profile, the thinnest titanium crown in the industry and a face that’s so thin the scorelines you apparently see are merely laser etchings.

The TS2 is engineered to launch a little higher, but the primary goal in both is increased ball speed. Every extra mile per hour potentially equates to extra yards, with tour pro after tour pro citing worthwhile gains. But would two Golf Monthly readers enjoy similar performance benefits?

Reader Nick Palmer finds out all about Titleist's TS2 and TS3 drivers

To find out, we took 5-handicapper, Nick Palmer, and 16-handicapper, Andrew Russell, along to Titleist’s National Fitting Centre in St Ives. Cambridgeshire, where James Robinson, product specialist manager for Titleist, conducted their in-depth fittings.

Nick Palmer Handicap: 5 Club: Hartley Wintney GC Fitted for: Titleist TS2, 9.5˚, Mitsubishi Tensei Blue stiff shaft, D4 setting, standard 45.5in.

Nick preferred the looks and performance of the Titleist TS2 driver

Fitter analysis Nick’s current 9.5˚ 915 D2 was pretty straight with reasonable launch conditions so we didn’t want to change much. We tried both heads and checked the numbers to see which performed best. Performance was similar, but Nick preferred the TS2’s visuals. Even with the standard shaft, ball speed immediately rose from 142mph to  145mph.

We tried a few shafts, and the Tensei Blue in stiff worked best with ball speed up to 147mph. We tried going one upright on the hosel to alleviate Nick’s occasional one leaking right but that encouraged more of a pull so we reverted to the neutral setting.

Titleist's James Robinson talks Nick Palmer through the fitting process

Nick’s on-course feedback I had been fitted for my previous driver but wasn't quite prepared for was just how much technology has moved on. My new TS2 has given me at least 10 more yards, which has significantly helped my scoring as I'm going into greens with at least one club less.

The set-up and spec are similar to my old driver so it's reassuring to see that my game has remained fairly consistent but now with added distance. Given the success I had during the fitting and out on the course, I’ve now purchased a TS2 3-wood, which has also resulted in significant distance gains.

Nick’s key stats Ball speed (mph) Before: 142.7 After: 147

Carry distance (yards) Before: 222.9 After: 236.2

Andrew Russell Handicap: 16 Club: East Berks GC Fitted for: Titleist TS3, 9.5˚, Project X HZRDUS Smoke 5.5 70g shaft, D3 setting, standard 45.5in.

Andrew Russell found that Titleist TS3 model offered the greatest performance benefits

Fitter analysis Andrew had a left-to-right flight and was carrying it around 190 yards with spin too high at around 3,500rpm. TS3 outperformed TS2 as it spins a little less. A heavier shaft helped too and we quickly found the right head/shaft combo so spent time fine-tuning the SureFit hosel and rear weight.

The lower-spinning TS3 helped bring Andrew's spin rates down significantly

We finished at D2 - more upright with a bit more loft - with the weight in the draw bias heel setting. His best drives were carrying 220 yards with spin nearer 2,500rpm and ball speed up by two to three miles an hour. There was still a bit of left-to-right but he was finding the fairway more often.

Andrew’s on-course feedback My driver was five years old and I was reasonably happy with it. I thought one driver was as good as the next and performance and distance were more down to the operator than the equipment, but there have been significant advances and I now have a Titleist TS3 that’s set up for my game.

Andrew was able to reduce his left-to-right shape considerably with his new Titleist TS3 driver

I’ve played a couple of rounds and my game has definitely improved. The way that James has set the weights and clubface has given me more distance and accuracy and improved my slice. It looks good and feels comfortable too - all I need now are a 3-wood and hybrid to match.

Andrew’s key stats Spin rate (rpm) Before: 3,632 After: 2,886

Launch angle (degrees) Before: 9.9 After: 12.5

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response