I went to the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside with a driver I absolutely love. I didn’t want or need anything from the session, which put pressure on Titleist Master Fitter and dear friend Lucas Bro to find more meat on the bone when I was already fully dialed. My goal was not simply to track raw ball speed; it was about finding pure comfort on the course, stability and a window that allows me to stand in the cargo box and just send it with complete freedom.
What I came up with is well documented. I’m playing a TaylorMade Qi4D (9@8.5) that is biased for pull, has a loss, and offers incredible launch numbers (162 mph, 12 launches, 2400 RPM spin). I’ve used it on tour, I’ve driven it better than I have in years, and most importantly, I TRUST IT.
At this point in the game, the word “trust” is big.
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adjustment
Lucas started by breaking down the serious engineering behind the new GTS line. He showed me the thermoformed body, which is essentially split-mass technology that puts all the weight at the extreme ends of the head. It gives you six independent center of gravity locations for each loft to play with, allowing you to manipulate spin up to 1000 RPM.
We started with the GTS4 head with the weight slammed forward to see the low-rev option. I was immediately drawn to the sighting address and the flight of the ball was a piercing and heavy bullet. But when Lucas put me in the GTS2 with the weight all the way down to show me the variance, it actually slowed me down. My clubhead speed dropped because I could feel the head trying to lift, forcing me to fight my natural release pattern. It’s the perfect example of why it’s important to be fit.
Custom GTS4 title driver
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From there, we migrated to the GTS3 and the numbers started to get staggering. I was seeing ball speeds jump up to 163 and 164 mph, as early as 49 and in the morning in Oceanside, California, the climate is not too shabby. Although I saw some higher ball speeds with the GTS3, my contact with the face on the center (ie hitting it from the optimized face) wasn’t as good as I’d like, and that aspect these days is enough to put me off. Honestly numbers wise the GTS3 was a tick better than the GTS4, and what really blew my hair was the forgiveness for off-centre hits. I’ve caught a few toe kicks that usually lose three to five miles per hour and fall into the abyss – but the GTS face technology held its own. I actually gained ball speed on a high toe shot, reaching 162.5 mph because of the way they structured the face topology.
There was just something about the GTS4
During the course of the build, my feelings, and more importantly my eye, kept coming back to the GTS4 and in the end it was the best setup for me. There is something to be said for optics and how they can affect how you react to a club. The GTS4 is extremely square to my eye and I feel comfortable drawing it, while the GTS3, although faster overall, has a slightly open look in a neutral setting, which for me means I have to work a little harder to turn it and keep it from going off to the right. Miss right is the bane of my existence.
To close in on the final build, we played around with the SureFit hose, ultimately taking an 8 degree head and running it up to the D3 setting to get 8.75 degrees of loft and a straight reach angle. We also put a heavier weight on the head because I have a lot of moving parts in my swing and need to feel the club through the entire transition. Getting it to a swing weight D4 only helped to ensure the consistency of my lane, which ultimately won the day against my player.
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In the end, this adaptation wasn’t about a magical blast at a distance; it was a victory of details. The GTS gave me extremely consistent tip height and a tighter standard deviation, but more importantly, reduced the physical toll on my swing. This setup requires a lot less manual manipulation from me to find the freeway.
On the golf course, that means a bad swing turns into a playable loss instead of a double bogey that kills the scorecards. I will take it. 10/10 Title, no further notes.
Final numbers:
Swing Speed: 109.2
Speed: 162.8 MPH
Departure: 12.7
Spin: 2301 RPM
Final specifications:
GTS4 8@8.75 (D3 Surfeit)
45 inches
D4
Fujikura Ventus Black Velo+ 6X (Total 0.5)
Golf Pride Tour Velvet 58R (2 sided DBL, logo below)
Fujikura Ventus Black Wood Shaft (Velocore+)
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