Titleist’s new line of TSR drivers and fairway woods – which replace the former TSi series – launched on the PGA Tour at the 2022 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.

The previous iteration of TSi drivers remained hugely popular in the marketplace, and on the PGA Tour, throughout its life cycle. As Titleist reports, the TSi3 driver model was the most played driver over the 47-event PGA Tour 2021-22 season, with 19 percent usage. Titleist’s TSi drivers were noteworthy for the simplicity and effectiveness of adjustability, and for their fast 425 ATI Aerospace Titanium face inserts that produced higher speeds than previous drivers.

Although the TSR had big shoes to fill, Tour players switched in droves starting at the Travelers Championship. In the first week, 18 players switched into a new TSR driver, and 13 players switched into a new TSR fairway wood.

The momentum has only continued since then. Over the last several months, four players have won on the PGA Tour using a Titleist TSR3 driver model: J.T. Poston at the 2022 John Deere Classic, Cam Smith at the 2022 Open Championship, Joohyung “Tom” Kim at the 2022 Wyndham Championship, and Will Zalatoris at the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship.

GolfWRX spoke with Poston and Lanto Griffin to get their initial feedback on the TSR drivers and fairways, and we caught up with Zalatoris at the Scottish Open to hear his thoughts.

 

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The general consensus seemed to be that Tour players liked the new sound and feel, and they were finding distance gains compared to the previous TSi lineup. They also spoke highly of the increased launch in the fairway woods, without adding too much spin, and they liked the new full-faced grooves.

OK, so the pros are loving the new TSR drivers and fairways, and they’ve been switching into the new models quite seamlessly. Got it.

Now it’s our turn to try them out.

Recently, before the official retail launch of the TSR products, GolfWRX’s Brian Knudson and Andrew Tursky visited the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in Oceanside, California to get a full driver and fairway wood fitting, and to test out the new TSR products against their current gamers.

Here’s what happened for each of them:

Brian Knudson’s TSR fitting

Handicap: 9.9

Driver Swing Speed: 101 – 104 mph

Typical Driver Miss: Hook Left. Ball starts left of target and hooks with low trajectory

Previous Gamer Driver: Titleist TSi3 (9.0 degrees, set to C4 w/ Miyazaki Kusala White 61x, 45 inches)

New TSR Driver Model:  TSR 2 (10 degrees, set to B1, Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 60g 6.5, 44.5 inches)

Knudson’s Thoughts on the TSR Drivers: The TSR drivers really look and feel great, and the TSR2 gives you confidence that you can get away with a bad swing. I loved that on a less-than-perfect swing I saw really good ball speed and dispersion numbers. The TSR2 offered me better consistency on spin, ball speed, and launch compared to my TSi3 across all shots.

Previous Gamer Fairway Wood: TaylorMade SIM2 Max 3 wood (15 degrees, w/ Fujikura Speeder NX 70x, 42.5 inches)

New TSR Fairway Model: Titleist TSR2 (15 and 18 degrees, w/ Project X HZRDUS Black 4th Gen 70g and 80g 6.0, 42.5 and 42 inches)

Knudson’s Thoughts on the TSR Fairways: The biggest thing I noticed immediately was how easy the TSR woods are to launch. I don’t hit a high ball, and these easily got the ball in the air and went a long way. The 15-degree was set a little lower with the SureFit hosel, and I was still able to launch it off the deck with no issues. The 18-degree fit my gapping better than the 21-degree and still hit the launch window that I was looking for.

Andrew Tursky’s TSR fitting

Handicap: 2

Driver Swing Speed: 110-115 mph

Typical Driver Miss: A pull hook that starts left and goes left, and spin tends gets a little too high. Low-spin, fade-biased drivers are beneficial.

Previous Gamer Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS (10.5 degrees, Mitsubishi Tensei AV White 65X shaft, 45.5 inches)

New TSR Driver Model: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 75X shaft, 44.75 inches, +2 grams SureFit Weight, Toe 2 SureFit CG Setting, C1 hosel setting)

Tursky’s Thoughts on the TSR Drivers: “Within my first few swings with the TSR3, my immediate takeaway was that the face felt soft and springy, and the sound was a bit more muted than TSi3. I preferred the profile and performance of the TSR3 vs. the TSR2, because the TSR3 was offering a bit lower spin and launch numbers for me, and I prefer the more compact shape.

My fitter and I decided to go slightly shorter on the length for control, slightly heavier on the head weight, and we put the SureFit CG weight in the most fade-biased position; this helped me feel like I could really release the club face without losing the ball too far left. We also went to a midsize grip instead of standard with two wraps. Grip fitting is underrated, in my opinion, so in your next fitting, make sure to mention you want to try some different grip sizes.

In the end, I gained both distance – despite the 0.75-inch decrease in length – and accuracy compared to my previous gamer. Looks wise, the TSR definitely has that classic glossy black ‘Titleist’ look that’s appealing in its simplicity. Longtime Titleist users will love the clean profile from address, and the modern look of the soles. This is definitely an upgrade from the TSi drivers, which were all-around great performers across the board, and probably the best Titleist drivers of the last decade. They changed just enough with the TSR to make improvements, without messing up a great thing. I think that was the goal, and they achieved it.”

Previous Gamer Fairway Wood: TaylorMade AeroBurner TP (12 degrees, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 7X)

New TSR Fairway Model: Titleist TSR3 (15 degrees, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black 75X shaft, -0.25 inches, +6 grams SureFit Weight, Toe 1 SureFit CG setting, C1 hosel setting)

Tursky’s Thoughts on the TSR Fairways: “I wasn’t really in the market to replace my longtime AeroBurner Mini driver, because it’s been so reliable over the years. I mostly use it off the tee, but occasionally I’ll hit it from the turf when the time is right. The new TSR2+ blew the Mini Driver out of the water in terms of distance and accuracy, but it was actually going a bit too far and the profile was a touch larger than I wanted when hitting off the deck. Those who want something slightly larger and want to maximize distance/forgiveness will love this new option.

The TSR3 was right in my wheelhouse of looks, and it was offering a really easy launch off the deck. Somehow, although it’s 3 degrees weaker and an inch shorter, the TSR3 fairway was matching my max distances with the Mini Driver, even off the tee, and it offered way higher launch and forgiveness from the turf.

Compared to the previous TSi fairways, I already know everyone will like the full face grooves. And I do, too. They really help frame the ball properly and make aligning to the target a bit easier for me.”

Tech Talk: The new TSR designs

During GolfWRX’s visit to TPI, GolfWRX’s Andrew Tursky sat down with Stephanie Luttrell, the Director of Metalwood Development for Titleist, to learn about the new technology.

Here are the most prominent takeaways for the new TSR driver designs:

• There are 3 models: TSR2, TSR3 and TSR4, each with distinct designs (the TSR2 is built for speed and forgiveness, the TSR3 is for speed and distance, with a SureFit Adjustable CG track, and the TSR4 is for low spin, also with adjustable weighting in the sole)
• A new “boat tail” head shape is designed to improve aerodynamics for faster swing speeds
• Two different face structures are used within the lineup: the TSR2 and TSR4 use a “multi-plateau variable face thickness (VFT)” that’s designed for more forgiveness and constant CT (characteristic of time) across the face, while the TSR3 uses a new “Speed Ring” that focuses on centering max CT into the sweet spot to increase speed on center strikes
• The TSR drivers continue to use aerospace grade titanium face inserts, like the previous TSi drivers, and they have compatible SureFit hosels for lie and loft adjustments

And here are the most notable takeaways for the new TSR fairway woods:

• There are 3 models: TSR2, TSR3 and TSR2+ (the TSR2 has Titleist’s lowest ever CG for a steel construction and is made for high launch/mid spin, the TSR3 has a lower and deeper CG than the TSi3 and comes with an SureFit Adjustable CG Track on the sole; it’s made for mid/high launch and low spin, and the new TSR2+ has a larger profile, taller face, and the deepest CG to maximize distance and forgiveness off the tee)
• An “Open Hosel Construction” removes unwanted weight from the high-heel section of the head, which helps moves weight lower, deeper and toward the face center
• Zalatoris spoke on the new TSR2+ fairway: “This is an absolute rocket. I love this thing. It’s the best 3-wood I’ve ever had. It’s pretty cool to be able to have something besides driver that I can hit off the tee and basically hit it as far as I want. And then if I need to hit high and soft into greens, I can do that as well.”

To get the full picture of the TSR technologies, designs and improvements, head over to our TSR Tech article here, and see all of our in-hand photos of the new products in GolfWRX’s TSR Forum Photo Thread.