Equipment

Phase 1 vs. P7TW: An inside look at Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade irons

Published

6 years ago

Mar 30, 2020

John Wunder

At this point, the story of the development of Tiger Woods’ TaylorMade irons has been told and told again. There have been numerous articles, YouTube videos, and even a TV documentary on how they were made—and even a Tour Championship and a Sunday Masters telecast to validate both models.

But I wanted to know the differences and similarities of the two TaylorMade iron models Woods has played since signing with the company in January of 2017: the Phase 1, and the final masterpiece the, P7TW.

Fortunately, in this job, you become friends with a good number of R&D people, so I went to my buddies and TaylorMade Lead Engineers Paul Demkowski and Matt Bovee to fill in some blanks.

This is what they had to say.

Matt Bovee Sr. Manager Product Creation

JW: The Phase 1 iron was based on what previous iron of TW? What inspired it?

MB: The PH1 iron was based off of the set he was playing just prior, the TGR set. Inspiration for the P7TW is really founded in all the years of TW’s career. From the numerous victories, countless hours grinding, and all his majors… the P7TW is really a culmination of what he specifically wants in an iron design after years and years of being the best ball striker in the game.

JW: What was the testing process like going from his TGR into the Phase 1?

MB: The PH1 set was a collaboration between TaylorMade and Mike Taylor with a new cosmetic design we created. We didn’t want to change any significant performance attributes because the immediate goal was to get TW into a TM iron. We partnered with Mike Taylor to help with the creation of PH1 as well as the learning process required for the development of P7TW. For us, it was a learning experience as TW went through his testing protocol for a new set. Making sure everything was dialed in and felt right.

JW: What are the similarities of the two irons, PH1 and P7TW?

MB: There are a lot of similarities between the PH1 and P7TW from a performance perspective. It’s been said before, and I’ll say it again, TW is very, very specific in what he wants. Launch, spin, carry, look, feel…he has every attribute for each iron defined in his head. Nothing more, nothing less. They use the same lofts, lie, scorelines, essentially the same CG, etc.

JW: What kept PH1 from being the “Tiger Iron”?

MB: The PH1 irons were built from an existing forging profile. By using an existing forging he was familiar with it allowed us to minimize variables as we learned and dissected what works best for him. Even after the PH1 iron performance matched what he was looking for, TW requested the MG sole technology for his irons so he could replace them more frequently with much less testing from set to set. We needed to take this into account with a new TM forging design.

*The milled grind sole was designed specifically for this benefit. It has allowed TM to duplicate the sole of irons and wedges which in turn eliminates a number of steps during testing and/or mid season replacement.

JW: The name Phase 1 suggests a new version was to come, was that always a bridge iron into the current?

MB: Yes, we knew designing a TaylorMade iron for him from the ground up would take some time and we needed a “bridge” of sorts while the new design was in development.

JW: When TW began testing irons in the beginning, (knowing the challenge which is well documented) what was the original process like? Who was involved?

Tiger Woods matching things up at The Kingdom in Carlsbad

MB:

Participants: Tiger, Tomo Bystedt, Brian Bazzel, Keith Sbarbaro, Paul Demkowski, Mike Taylor, and Matt Bovee.
The development process was a longer road than we anticipated. Much back and forth between TM and Mike Taylor to start. We needed to unpack years of learning as to what works best for the Big Cat and what he likes. From that point, it was a lot of back and forth testing of individual sticks. Starting with the 6i and not moving on from that until we got it perfect. It actually took 7 different CNCs prototypes before we nailed the 6i. From there we added in the 3i and the 9i to serves as bookends for design. After these three SKUs got TW’s blessing we filled out the rest of the set.

JW: How many PH1 sets were made?

MB: As far as we know just the 1 set. Mike Taylor would be the only person who would know differently

JW: What are the differences between P1 and P7TW?

MB: The largest differences are:

Built from different forgings
Addition of MG sole—when Tiger needs replacements due to wear, the Milled Grind soles are exactly the geometry that he needs and so any opportunity for slight variations has been removed. That’s why the P7TW is ultimately Tiger’s gamer irons.
Milled channel along the back bar of the iron. Cosmetic was designed to fit with the PSeries.
Cosmetic design is different, the back bar geometry is slightly different the milled channel was used in 730 to reposition mass, TWs is a much smaller version of that

JW: Does TW only have input (R&D) on his irons or all the TM irons (forgings of course)

MB: TW’s R&D input on irons has been limited to his P7TWs up to this point…which was extensive. All the way down to a modified font for the sole number making it easier from him to read and therefore more confident he had the right stick. He has provided some input in other categories however, wedges most specifically.

JW: In your opinion is the P7TW the best muscleback TM has ever developed?

MB: “Best” is such a relative term that lies in the eyes of the beholder… It is certainly the most prestigious with the most design iterations and R&D development.

JW: If you could project into the future, what improvements if any could be made to a TW iron?

MB: Because that iron is specific to him and what he wants, there really isn’t any way we could make it better unless his swing or style of play changes. The P7TW is dialed in for TW’s game as it exists today.

Tiger Woods and Keith Sbarboro at The Kingdom

Paul Demkowski, Sr. Product Engineer was the person that worked the closest with Mike Taylor in the development of both models and this is what he had to say

JW: Are you still in close contact with Mike Taylor at Artisan? and if so is it more just to verify info or is it also for future R&D?

PD: Yes, I’m still in close contact with Mike T. He continues to build the irons for TW. He verifies all the specs as they are built and records the data.

JW: In regards to the CG placements between P1 and P7TW what is the difference?

PD: CG locations are very close. Couldn’t deviate too much as he would feel the difference and would see it in his ball flight.

JW: Random question but had to ask, did you ever attempt to make TW a specific driving iron?

PD: No, never made a specific TW driving iron. Only thing I did once make a slower P790 UDI for him. He said the standard one went too far. LOL.

It’s also noteworthy that TW’s specs don’t change much but as you can see current set up, the only real shift in his irons is lie angle which will go up one depending on his swing at the time.

Tiger Woods’ Current Iron Specs

All with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100. Irons tipped 1/4 inch, w/wooden dowels and SST Pure (Scott Garrison on Tour) at exactly 130 grams.

All lengths without grips. (Loft. Lie. Length. Swing Weight)

3-iron: 22.5, 59.5, 38 13/16, D4
4-iron: 25.5, 60, 38 5/16, D4
5-iron: 29, 60.5, 37 13/16, D4
6-iron: 32.5, 61, 37 5/16, D4
7-iron: 36, 61.5, 36 7/8, D4
8-iron: 40.5, 62, 36 5/16, D4
9-iron: 45, 62.5, 35 11/16, D4
PW: 49, 63, 35 11/16, D4

Another cool aspect of Tiger’s irons (rarely spoken of) are his shafts. The shafts are True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 with no labels, and they are sorted to exact weights (130 grams) and sent to Scott Garrison (@ScottEGgolf) to SST Pure, then over to David “DR” Richey at Artisan Golf to be built. Lots of cooks in the kitchen, but it’s Tiger, so no doubt totally worth it for all involved!

TaylorMade’s Keith Sbarbaro and Paul Demkowski look on at The Kingdom

Equipment

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

Published

1 day 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

1 day 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

1 day 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).