Equipment

Remembering the great club launches of 2011

Published

6 years ago

Apr 23, 2020

Golf clubs always feel bright and shiny the moment we first lay our eyes on them, but over time thanks to the endless pursuit of “the next best thing,” we are quick to forget just how revolutionary some clubs were.

Whether it be industry-wide, or a single OEM doing something for the first time, each club and each release has a story to tell and technology to help make the game easier.

2011 was a groundbreaking year for equipment releases across the board, and these are the most memorable.

Titleist 910 Series

After years of quietly ignoring the “when will you release an adjustable driver?” question, Titleist finally launched the 910 series to incredible fanfare. It was a massive success right out of the gate especially compared to the previous 909 and 907 series. The obvious measurement of the success was how quickly almost all of their tour staff upgraded to the new products.

It wasn’t that the previous two generations weren’t great, it was that the previous 905 series drivers were still sticking around and many golfers saw little benefit to upgrading. To be fair the entire 905 line was really really good!

The 910 series changed the perception of Titleist drivers being stuck in the past, much like how the recent TS series did again in 2018. The 910 driver was so good, it took until the 917 series for Jordan Speith to finally make a permanent switch out of his old faithful.

TaylorMade R11 driver

This is the driver that changed driver marketing for close to a decade, the TaylorMade R11 was completely different than any other driver on the market because it was (wait for it)…painted white, among other things.

It was such a huge leap in color, that the rumored story is TaylorMade had a contingency plan to re-launch it in black if consumers revolted. Long story short, they didn’t revolt and instead lined up to buy them!
It was touted as the world’s most adjustable driver thanks to the introduction of Adjustable Sole Plate (ASP) Technology, which allowed golfers to adjust the face angle independently of the loft.

TECH NOTE: It only changed the visual face angle when the driver was soled on the ground and had no effect on the measured loft of the club.

This technology lived on all the way up until the R1 (one loft driver) and certainly left its mark on the industry. TaylorMade even shut down Times Square in New York City so Sergio could pound drivers down 42nd Street when they debuted the club!

Nike Vr Pro irons

Nike had made blade and combo iron sets before, combo sets going back as early as 2003 (nice clubs, by the way) but the 2011 irons were a whole new ball game. The VR Pro series was the culmination of everything Nike had done up to that point including the introduction of their new groove, because of the 2010 rule change.

The VR Pro blades are a Mike Taylor masterpiece and have become the baseline for every single personal Tiger iron since. The VR Pro blades might even be more popular now then they were in 2011 thanks to Artisan Golf.

You also have the split cavity and the full cavity combo set—another treasure of the time. If you were in Japan you get even luckier because Nike did a 3-PW set consisting of just the split cavities and never released them in North America. Endo forged, extremely tight to spec, these irons still hold their own against any players iron on the market today, and they are getting close to their 10th birthday.

Ping S56 irons

Although technically released in fall 2010, I’m calling this a 2011 product since Ping operates on a strong two-year product cycle.

The S56 did what any Ping iron does, built off the success of a popular model and made it better. The previous S57 was the first in the S series to offer a tungsten toe weight (first found in the Rapture iron) to significantly boost MOI over the S58.

The S56 took that boost in MOI, improved on feel, improved on turf interaction—and boom you have a winning formula.

Ping also launched the Tour S wedge line in 2011, and with that introduced the first Ping wedge with an oilcan finish intended to rust hit the market—something many people thought the company would never do.

Mizuno MP-63 irons

The MP-63 followed the (you may have guessed it) MP-62’s in the Mizuno irons family.

What set them apart was the departure from a rounded or straight-across cavity design in favor of a diamond muscle to place extra mass behind the sweet spot of the club and remove it from the bottom corners of the club to increase MOI without sacrificing the “Mizuno Feel”

The MP-63 was a popular design, but what it really did was lead to the introduction of the MP-64, which goes down as one of the most well-revered non-blade Mizuno irons of all time.

TaylorMade Burner 2.0 irons

Trying to follow up one of the most successful irons launches of all time is not easy, but the Burner name was on fire heading into 2011 and TaylorMade took every step to improve on the popular Burner ’09.

The overall profile didn’t change much compared to the ’09s but what they introduced was stock flighted shafts, along with faces that got progressively thinner into the longer irons to increase ball speed and improve trajectory—it was their goal to build a full cavity set that played like a combo set.

Last but not least, a redesigned cavity and vibration dampening badge tied everything together to make the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 just that much better than its predecessor.

Adams F11 titanium fairway wood

There is potential to write an entire story dedicated to the F11 series fairway woods and the shockwave they caused in the golf industry as a whole, not just for Adams. From a technology standpoint, these fairway woods (available in both steel and titanium) were a huge technology leap forward for one reason: slots behind the face to increase rebound, especially on lower face strikes.

This revolutionized club design and also caused a personal reshuffle that can still be felt to this day.

Now for the history part of the show

If we look at the industry during the period when the F11 line came out in 2011, Adams was on a very sharp rise on tour and at retail. Adams Golf had built a very strategic plan thanks to key point here…CEO Chip Brewer wanted to build on the massive success of their hybrids and start taking over other segments including fairway woods.

As mentioned, Adams was growing exponentially and taking market share from everyone, especially from the OEMs that operated in the middle of the price point curve—at the time this was mostly dominated by previous generation products from the bigger OEMs, including TaylorMade—which at the time was the juggernaut of the golf industry backed by Adidas.

In 2012, soon after the F11s came out, the “fairway wood that changed fairway woods,” the TaylorMade RBZ (RocketBallz, a name that stills makes grown men chuckle) was released—with a sole slot. It was, per TaylorMade, 17 yards longer guaranteed, and once again people lined up to buy them. TaylorMade was even giving away cash—cash! During promotions around the country: $10 for every yard you gained compared to your current fairway wood.

Although it was never officially confirmed, Adams was apparently looking to file a lawsuit against TaylorMade to protect slot technology patents they had. TaylorMade, being the largest golf company in the world at the time, and with deep deep pockets, decided to instead make Adams Golf an offer they couldn’t refuse. So in March 2012, TaylorMade bought Adams Golf and all of its technology making both the shareholders and other parties involved in the company a lot of money. It wasn’t long after TaylorMade decided that there was no point operating a cannibalizing brand and Adams died a slow death a couple of years later.

But where did that leave Adams CEO Chip Brewer?

After the TaylorMade takeover in 2012, Chip Brewer left Adams after successfully making it a major player in the golf market and took a roll with Callaway, a company that struggled for years to find a CEO to set them on track.

Chip was just the man for the job and quickly made a number of sweeping strategic changes across the company. In what could be called the most impactful decision ever made there, Harry Arnett joined Callaway from Adidas and implemented a big shift in Callaway’s marketing strategy and image over the next 7 years. In those seven years, Callaway made its way back to the number one golf company and took over the number two spot in golf balls by a fairly wide margin.

All of this might not have ever happened if it weren’t for the Adams R&D team that came up with sole slots, however. How’s that for an industry changer?

Cobra S3 Pro irons

When Acushnet sold Cobra to Puma in 2010, there were some interesting clubs releases over the next couple of years as the design team settled in with their new parent company. How much the acquisition actually affected the products and release cycle I’m not sure, but what I do know is the S3 Pro irons are still to this day one of the nicest sets of clubs Cobra has ever made.

A simple combo set with almost perfect lines, a squared-off profile, and they came in satin chrome!
Although Cobra was still on its way to establishing itself as a company that could produce “players” clubs these irons certainly helped. Plus when you look back to around this time they truly had a tour staff stacked with stars including Geoff Ogilvy, JB Holmes, Camilo Villegas, and Ian Poulter.

Equipment

Why Rickie Fowler is switching to a shorter driver at the PGA Championship

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Alistair Cameron

In a golf world where players are looking to eke out every yard possible, usually by lengthening their drivers to add clubhead speed, there’s one player at the PGA Championship who’s going in the opposite direction. In fact, for Rickie Fowler, his goal off the tee is not about gaining extra distance or yards north to south, but rather about shrinking the misses from east to west.

Ahead of the PGA Championship and the week prior at the Truist Championship. Fowler mentioned to Cobra Tour Rep Ben Schomin that the driver didn’t quite swing feel the same as everything in the bag. As a result, and with Schomin’s suggestion to try and sync everything up with the big stick, Fowler decided to test out a shorter length shaft.

“He’s been at 45 (inches), and he’d been at 45 for a few weeks, 44 1/8 (inches) is really is where he is been living really for the most part, for the last couple of years, and is where he is been comfortable,” Schomin told GolfWRX. “It just felt like it was a little long and loose on him.”

Interestingly, Fowler ranks 40th in Driving Accuracy this year on the PGA Tour. It’s his most accurate season with the driver since the start of the decade. But sometimes for players, feel is more important than statistics.

“It was really more of a trying to get the swing to feel the fluidness from club to club to club to try to get it to feel the same,” Schomin added. “And so we took it down to 43 and a quarter, and it was a touch of a ball speed loss, just based on that overall club head speed. But honestly, he squared it up probably a little better. The right miss wasn’t nearly as far. So really, overall down-range dispersion tightened up a fair amount, and he felt confident in swinging it.”

The change in length had Fowler’s caddie, Ricky Romano, beaming at how well he had driven during Tuesday’s practice round at Aronimink. So much so, he was asking Schomin not to suggest changes anymore.

Fowler’s shaft-shortening is one of a few driver adjustments he’s made this season, and to Schomin’s credit, it’s thanks to the fact that he and the rest of the Cobra team had Fowler fit very well into three of the four heads in the Cobra OPTM lineup.

“He had three distinct drivers and the biggest decision was trying to decide which worked best at that time,” Schomin told GolfWRX previously. “He’s played the majority of the season with OPTM X, but has also played a couple of tournaments with OPTM LS. His overall driving stats have been good.”

At the RBC Heritage earlier this spring, Fowler switched drivers, changing from his Cobra OPTM X and into the Tour, low-loft Max K model that Gary Woodland used to win just a few weeks prior.

Now for the PGA Championship, Fowler’s back in the X head, but still using the UST Mamiya LIN-Q PowerCore White 6TX shaft, just a little bit shorter.

“Will he stay there? I’m not sure,” Schomin added. “Could we end up say at like 43 and 7.5 (of an inch). If it’s giving him the same feel of consistency through the bag, then I think we might end up just a touch longer. But if he likes where he is at, he’s confident where he is at, that’s really all that matters.”

If there’s more testing, though, just don’t tell his caddie.

Equipment

GolfWRX Launch Report: 2026 Titleist GTS drivers

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

What you need to know: As is customary for the Fairhaven-based company, Titleist officially announced today that its GTS drivers are headed to retail, following a successful tour release. The GTS2, GTS3, and GTS4 drivers will be available in golf shops June 11.

Since debuting at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, the new GTS lineup has quickly gained traction on the PGA Tour, with more than 50 players already making the switch to a GTS2, GTS3, or GTS4 driver. Among them are Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.

Justin Thomas’ Titleist GTS2 driver (Greg Moore, GolfWRX)

According to Titleist, the GTS series builds upon the performance foundation established by the GT Series, while introducing several major technological advancements, including a new Split Mass Frame construction, refined aerodynamics, and an updated Speed Sync face design.

2026 Titleist GTS drivers: What’s new, key technology

Split Mass Frame and thermoform body

At the center of the new GTS lineup is a redesigned internal structure: the Split Mass Frame. This technology works with a full-thermoform body made from Titleist’s Proprietary Matrix Polymer (PMP), a lightweight composite that enables engineers to reposition mass more efficiently throughout the head. Compared to the previous GT generation, GTS drivers feature nearly double the PMP material, increasing from 13 grams to 26 grams, while maintaining the sound and feel preferred by better players.

The weight savings from the thermoform construction allowed Titleist engineers to strategically separate mass placement inside the head. Specifically, more weight is pushed rearward to improve stability and forgiveness, while additional mass is positioned low and forward to optimize speed, launch, and spin.

In short, golfers are able to maintain ball speed and consistency across both centered and off-center strikes.

Faster aerodynamics

Titleist also refined the aerodynamic shaping of the GTS heads to help players generate more clubhead speed.

The tails of the new GTS2 and GTS3 heads have been raised compared to previous models, helping airflow stay attached to the crown and sole longer during the swing. According to Titleist, the improved airflow reduces drag and increases speed without affecting launch conditions or center of gravity placement.

Typically, aerodynamic gains can compromise forgiveness or launch characteristics, but the weight savings from the Split Mass Frame allowed engineers to preserve preferred CG locations.

New Speed Sync face

The new Speed Sync Face design is engineered to improve ball speed retention across a larger portion of the face. A reinforced perimeter structure helps maximize face deflection and COR on centered strikes, while the upper portion of the support ring is opened up to increase speed on high-face impacts, a common strike location for many golfers. The face also features a variable thickness design to preserve speed and performance across a wider impact area.

Expanded adjustability

Each GTS model includes a dual-weighting system to fine-tune launch, spin, and shot shape more precisely than previous generations. GTS2 uses interchangeable forward and aft weights, while GTS3 and GTS4 combine a rear weight with an adjustable forward track weight system.

Tour-inspired face graphics

The new lineup features redesigned high-contrast face graphics to improve alignment and framing at address, according to Titleist. Sharp visual lines are designed to make it easier to center the golf ball and to perceive loft more easily at setup.

Additional model details

GTS2

The GTS2 is the most forgiving model, designed for golfers seeking maximum stability and consistent speed across the face.
It produces high launch with mid spin and features a larger, confidence-inspiring profile behind the ball.
Standard weighting includes an 11-gram forward weight and a 5-gram rear weight, with additional fitting configurations available.

GTS3

The GTS3 is aimed at players who want more control over launch, spin, and shot shaping.
Compared to GTS2, the GTS3 offers lower launch and spin while featuring a more compact profile and deeper face design preferred by many stronger players.
The head features an adjustable forward-track weight system to further fine-tune center of gravity placement.

GTS4

The lowest-spinning option in the lineup, GTS4 is built for golfers looking to reduce excessive spin and maximize total distance.
Unlike previous “4” models from Titleist, the new GTS4 features a full 460cc profile that improves forgiveness and stability while retaining its low-spin DNA.
Like GTS3, it includes a forward track weighting system for precise fitting adjustments.

What Titleist says

“When we talk about driver design, it’s never about the one feature or benefit — it’s about all of them,” said Stephanie Luttrell, Titleist’s Senior Director of Metalwood R&D. “Ball speed, forgiveness, spin stability, adjustability, exceptional sound and feel… these are all attributes that golfers care about. It’s our job to design a lineup that elevates performance across the board without sacrificing in key areas, and we feel we’ve done that with GTS.”

“We know that forward CGs drive speed with great launch and spin characteristics, but you need to be able to do that with an inertial stability that still preserves ball speed, launch and spin consistency on off-center hits,” Luttrell said. “We’ve never before been able to hit these CG positions and inertia properties at the same time, and we’re achieving that because of GTS’ construction.”

Club Junkie’s take

I feel like every time there is a new Titleist wood release, I figure they can’t outdo their previous driver. And every year, I am wrong and impressed with the performance. The GTS fits right into that narrative again, as I didn’t know where Titleist could go from GT, but they pushed the limits again, and my fitting proved the smart people there found ways to improve.

My past four Titleist drivers have been a 2 series as my swing typically requires a little height, spin, and forgiveness so I figured I would just get a new GTS2 and be on my way. During the fitting, I was impressed by the new GTS construction, its added PMP material, and the advanced adjustability on each model. My fitter, Joey, got to work putting together a GTS2 and we started there. The launch and spin were great, and the consistency on misses was very tight. My average ball speed with the GTS went up a little bit as the new Speed Sync face creates more speed away from the center.

Joey then built up a GTS3 in 11 degrees, but I figured this wouldn’t have the stability I needed for tight dispersion on my miss hits. That thought was quickly erased after a few shots, and I really liked the more center start line and reduced draw on the misses I was seeing. We tried a few different settings and shafts to dial in the details in order to get the best fit. Having a forward and rear weight in the head allowed Joey to set up the GTS3 with a heavier rear weight to keep the launch and spin up, while the Sure Fit hosel set flat created a more center start line for me. My misses were not nearly as far left, and I was really impressed with the consistency on the spin and launch when I didn’t hit it in the center.

Titleist again created a wood line in GTS that delivers improvements over previous drivers while keeping the traditional look and feel you expect. More adjustability, better off-center speed, and 3 drivers that are playable over a wider range of players should make these extremely successful in fittings.

Pricing, specs, availability

GTS2 lofts: 8, 9, 10, 11 degrees (RH/LH)

GTS3 lofts: 8, 9, 10, 11 degrees (RH/LH)

GTS4 lofts: 8, 9, 10 (RH/LH)

Featured shafts

Project X Titan Black
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue
Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Red

Premium shafts

Graphite Design Tour AD DI
Graphite Design Tour AD VF
Graphite Design Tour AD FI

Available for fittings and pre-sale now.

In golf shops worldwide beginning June 11.

Price: $699 (standard), $899 (premium)

Equipment

Titleist launches new GTS2 and GTS3 fairways

Published

23 hours ago

May 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Titleist has today introduced its new GTS2 and GTS3 fairways.

Lower and deeper center of gravity (CG) positions, new adjustable heel-toe weights and advanced clubface innovations drive total performance in the two tour-proven models.

New GTS fairway technology:

Wraparound composite crowns: Unlock lower CG positions for higher launch and lower spin as well as more CG depth for added forgiveness.

Refined shapes and profiles: With two distinct setups, with GTS2 featuring a shallower face height and larger address profile compared to GTS3’s deeper face and more compact profile. Both models feature flatter sole designs for better performance off the turf.

Dual-weighting systems: The dual-weighting systems allows for personalized performance, with interchangeable heel-toe flat weights helping to fine-tune CG location across the face.

A forged L-Cup face design: The new face design is optimized for GTS and works to preserve ball speed, maintain launch conditions and enhance sound and feel on low-face impacts.

Tour-inspired polished clubfaces: To help players see more of the clubface at address.

GTS2 Fairway

The new GTS2 fairway is designed with a shallower face and a larger profile than GTS3, ideal for players with more sweeping deliveries with their fairway metals.

GTS2’s new face height, inspired by tour feedback, was designed shallower than the prior generation GT2 model and more in line with the GT1 fairway. Each loft in GTS2 leverages a shallower profile except for the 13.5-degree, which maintains a slightly taller face.

With its new dual-weighting system, the ‘2’ model now has heel-toe CG adjustability.

Lofts: 13.5, 15.0, 16.5, 18.0, 21.0

Dual-weight system: 11-gram weight in heel, 5-gram weight in toe (standard)

GTS3 Fairway

The new GTS3 fairway is designed with a deeper face and a more compact profile, ideal for players who hit down on the golf ball more with their fairway metals.

New to the GTS3 family is a 21-degree offering, giving players two distinct profiles in Titleist’s 7-wood loft.

Instead of the track weight system featured in prior generation ‘3’ models, GTS3 now benefits from adjustable heel-toe flat weights.

Lofts: 15.0, 16.5, 18.0, 21.0

Dual-weight system: 11-gram weight in heel, 5-gram weight in toe (standard)

Price & Availability

The new GTS fairways are available for fittings and pre-sale now and will be in golf shops worldwide beginning June 11 priced at $399 (standard) and $599 (premium).