New driver releases from Titleist are among the most anticipated in the industry. With a huge tour presence and an incredibly loyal customer base, a lot of people have been looking forward to seeing if the new GT2 driver can compete with, or even outshine, some of the best drivers in the game. I am one of the fortunate few who has had access to the GT2 for some time now and here are my thoughts…
WATCH: See what gains we experienced in our Titleist GT driver fitting
The technology story behind the GT range is an interesting one. Titleist was determined to make the GT range faster than its predecessor the TSR family, and it felt that the only way to do so was by moving away from all titanium construction. This led to the development of a material completely new to golf club design that Titleist refers to as a Proprietary Matrix Polymer to be used in the crown section.
Stephanie Luttrell, Director of Metalwood Product Development explains: “The density of this crown is approximately three times lighter than where we were in an all-titanium construction. By wrapping the crown down to the sole, we optimize the mass distribution throughout the head, allowing us significant advantages in designing to our center of gravity and inertia goals.”
This crown material is extremely interesting and having been through the product presentation at the Titleist Performance Centre at Woburn, and handled a cut out of the crown, it is full of surprises. When you pick it up, it is exceptionally lightweight and somewhat malleable like a credit card, however when you drop it onto a hard surface, it surprisingly clangs like you have dropped a knife at the dinner table, which contributes to the acoustics and feel that we will come onto later.
The GT2 is probably the most user-friendly member of the new family, offering as it does the highest MOI in the range, but speed has not been sacrificed to achieve this.
In terms of the looks, existing Titleist fans will be relieved to hear that despite what is now a multi-material crown, there are no joins or banner strips down in the playing position. Titleist has filled and polished the sections where polymer meets titanium and retained that familiar, clean Titleist aesthetic. From the playing position, the GT2 looks exceptional. The aforementioned minimalist finish is complimented by a beautifully proportioned, and nicely rounded 460cc head.
There is plenty of mass to inspire confidence but the familiar Titleist touches and sophistication prevent it from feeling cumbersome in any way. Following the lead of models like the Ping G430 Max 10K and the Qi10 Max, the head is actually a good bit longer from front to back, and the face a touch shallower, which was a look I really enjoyed.
Following on from tour feedback, Titleist has introduced some shading on the face that not only allows you to center the ball well but also highlights the face giving the illusion of more loft which will suit a lot of players' eyes and aid confidence at address. I am unfortunately the other way around, whereby I prefer to see less face, but my fitter cleverly worked around that with the head and loft combination we settled on.
My only slight disappointment would be with the shelf appeal of the GT range as a whole, and by that, I am specifically referring to the sole, which in my opinion could look more premium. I am all for minimal, but something about the sole doesn’t really do it for me and looks a touch basic. That said, this has precisely no effect on the performance and you rarely see your driver from that angle anyway, so this is something of a pedantic point.
In terms of the performance, I was very impressed. The GT2 model actually ended up being the head I was fitted into, which surprised me somewhat as a relatively high-speed PGA Professional, but that leads us to a point that should be stressed. The GT range is a definite change from Titleist norms, so don’t expect if you were a TSR2 player for example, that you would just be switching like for like into GT2, there are some different playing characteristics here that make custom fitting essential.
The most notable factors from a performance perspective were the sound and feel, which are nothing short of exquisite, along with the increased level of forgiveness. My miss with the driver tends to be low and off the heel which generally results in quite a significant drop off in ball speed, so I was pleasantly surprised every time I turned towards the Trackman 4 launch monitor after one of those misses, to see a very minimal effect on my ball speed and down range dispersion.
I was asked after my first fitting session with the GT range what most stood out to me, and after mentioning the two points above, I thought for a bit longer and somewhat reassessed my position. To be frank, nothing really jumps out as the headline of this product, its success (of which I am certain) will be down to the sum of its parts. Everything has just stepped up a notch here. Improvements in aerodynamics, acoustics, feel, and forgiveness allow me to confidently say this is a genuine upgrade from previous models.
The GT2 driver is available in 8˚, 9˚, 10˚, and 11˚ in both right and left-handed options. The standard length will be 45.5” and as you would expect there are a number of custom grip, shaft, and even head weight options to dial in your preferences. However, the non-up chargeable options are the Project X Denali Red, Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue and Black, and the Project X Hzrdus Black 5th Gen. The RRP of the full GT range will be £579/$649.
