After more than three years of designing, developing and enhancing technologies, the Titleist golf club R&D team recently made the trip to Congressional Country Club to test the latest Titleist 917 driver prototypes with some of the world’s best golfers on the PGA TOUR.
Player testing is an essential step in the product development process as the feedback received along the way helps the team evolve the product along every step of the prototype phase. Ultimately, this ensures that before any club hits the shelves the very best golfers have validated its performance. Among the players on the range at Congressional trying the drivers were Charley Hoffman, Andrew Loupe, Blayne Barber and Scott Stallings. More players were fitted throughout the week, and 18 players in all put a new driver into play. Nine used the 917D2, and nine used the 917D3.
The most noticeable technology is in the sole of the club – an adjustable weight cartridge system. Labeled SureFit CG, it resembles the adjustable weight system that is found in the Titleist C16 driver. The C16 driver comes with two 10-gram weights, one that is balanced with 5 grams on each side to create a neutral setting and one that has 9 grams on one end and 1 gram on the other. Placing the heavy side of the second weight in the toe promotes a fade, and placing the heavy end in the heel encourages a draw. There were 8-, 10- and 12-gram weights being tested by various players at Congressional during their fittings.
The 917 driver also uses the Titleist SureFit adjustable hosel and Active Recoil Channel. The current SureFit hosel allows golfers to increase the club’s stated loft by as much as 1.5 degrees or reduce it by .75 degrees. It also lets players make the club up to 1.5 degrees more upright or flatten the lie by .75 degrees. The Active Recoil Channel helps the face flex more efficiently at impact to increase ball speed and reduce spin, which can boost distance.
Last year Titleist unveiled the 716 iron family at this event, and also the 915 woods here in 2014. Price and availability is not listed yet, but you can expect an October or November launch of the 917 woods. Stay tuned for more!
Source: Titleist
