The new Titleist GTS range.

That earlier driver test was not a fitting. It was a comparison. Since then, I’ve also done a more detailed follow-up with Callaway and bought the Cobra OPTM Max-K to test properly on course. The wider driver search is still moving, but the method is the same: try them against my gamer first, see if anything is interesting enough to justify the next step, and only then think about a proper fitting.

So this session had a very simple purpose: try the new GTS2, GTS3 and GTS4 heads against my GT2, using my current shaft, and see if anything stood out.

How we tested them

The session was with Adam Legg, master fitter at Auchterlonies of St Andrews, using their TrackMan studio. It was relaxed and informal, partly because Adam and I know each other well, and partly because he knows my swing well. That helps. The numbers are useful, but they need a bit of context.

This was a head-only comparison, using my current Fujikura Ventus Red 5S Velocore+ shaft throughout. That made the test cleaner. Same shaft. Different heads. Current gamer as the benchmark.

My GT2 is a 10 degree head, set flat, and I’m now using a JumboMax Zen Lite Extra Small grip (one size up from standard jumbo). My usual bad shot with driver is a low-toe snappy hook, so I’m always looking for a driver that gives me enough forgiveness without feeling too shut or too hard to manage.

The GT2 baseline

I warmed up with my 7 iron before moving to driver and establishing a baseline with my GT2. The starting numbers were:

• Club speed 92.8mph

• Ball speed 137.5mph

• Launch 15.6°

• Spin 2829rpm

Those are not bad numbers, but my current swing with the GT2 is a bit high in launch and spin. Not dramatically so, but enough for Adam and me to notice. It also reflects what I’ve been seeing on the course and suggests there might be a little too much dynamic loft in the delivery.

That could be down to a few things. Grip, posture, balance, orthotics, injury compensation, or simply the normal movement of a golf swing over time. I’m more stable through my feet now and more balanced at the finish, but I can also get a bit steep, especially with irons. I don’t want to overplay any of that, because this was not a swing diagnosis. It was just useful context for the test.

The GT2 was still performing well, but the numbers suggested it was worth checking whether the new heads could give me a better window.

The GTS range

Before getting into the individual heads, it is worth saying that all three look like proper Titleist drivers. That is a compliment. They are clean, classic and very good looking, both at address and in the bag. If you are expecting a dramatic visual change from GT to GTS, that is not really what this range is about. The GTS heads feel more like an evolution of the Titleist look than a reinvention of it, and I suspect most Titleist players will see that as a positive.

I’m not going to turn this into a full technology breakdown, because Titleist explain the construction and model differences far better than I can on their own site. The headline is that the GTS range builds on the GT family rather than ripping it up and starting again, with the new Split Mass Frame, Speed Sync Face and more adjustable weighting giving fitters more ways to fine-tune launch, spin and forgiveness. If you want the full technical explanation, Titleist’s own GTS page is the best place to start.

Titleist GTS2

The GTS2 is the “everyman” head in the range. It should suit the widest group of golfers and will probably be the safest starting point for most fittings. It is there for golfers who want speed, forgiveness and launch without feeling as though they are being pushed into something too demanding. Compared to my GT2, the new model now has front and rear weight adjustability, rather than only rear. That gives fitters more flexibility to manage spin and forgiveness.

We started with the GTS2 in a 10 degree head, but moved quickly into the 9 degree version because the 10 degree head was spinning too much for me on the day. That made sense given the GT2 baseline. I was not short of launch, so the obvious aim was to bring the spin down.

The GTS2 9 degree did that.

• Club speed 92.1mph

• Ball speed 135.3mph

• Launch 13.5°

• Spin 2474rpm

That was the lowest spin number of the session. The head felt good, and while it may have been a little louder than my own GT2, it wasn’t dramatically so. The feel was solid, familiar and very much within the Titleist driver family.

The issue was that the lower spin came with lower launch, slightly lower ball speed and looser dispersion. It did part of what we wanted, but it did not do enough overall to make me think it was a clear improvement over my current driver.

Titleist GTS3

The GTS3 was the most tempting of the new heads.

That probably should not be a surprise given my original Titleist fitting was for the GT3. It is the more compact, lower-spin, better-player option, and on numbers it was the strongest challenger to my GT2.

• Club speed 92.1mph

• Ball speed 136.1mph

• Launch 14.4°

• Spin 2678rpm

Ball speed was close to my GT2, launch was in a sensible window, spin was lower than my original GT2 setting, and dispersion was the next best of the group. If one of the GTS heads made the strongest case, it was the GTS3.

But I’m also conscious of my history with the GT3. When I swung well, the GT3 was excellent. The problem was that I had to swing well. It could produce the best results, but it was hard work when I was not quite on top of my swing. That was the reason I moved from GT3 into GT2 in the first place. I wanted more help.

In a fuller fitting, with shafts and settings included, the GTS3 would probably be the first new head I would want to explore properly. In this head-only comparison, though, it did not stand out enough to make me change immediately.

Titleist GTS4

The GTS4 may be the most interesting head in the range, even though it was the one that worked least well for me.

Historically, the “4” head in the Titleist line has been seen as the low-spin monster. Not impossible to play, but definitely aimed at a narrower group of golfers. Adam described the new GTS4 as something closer to a middle ground than the previous version. It now has more weight adjustability than the old GT4, and he has been surprised by how popular it has been and how many players have fitted well into it.

That made me curious.

Unfortunately, I struggled with it almost immediately. The GTS4 has a slightly different shape and, to my eye, appeared to sit somewhere between neutral and closed. That is not a criticism of the head. Plenty of golfers may like that look. My preference is different. I like a driver that sits neutral to fractionally open, and once I had seen the GTS4 as a little closed, I found it difficult to commit to the shot.

The numbers reflected that.

• Club speed 89.8mph

• Ball speed 134.6mph

• Launch 14.1°

• Spin 2559rpm

I’d be careful not to judge the GTS4 too harshly from those numbers. I don’t think I gave it a fair emotional audition. Once a driver does not look right behind the ball, I don’t swing freely, and the result tells you as much about confidence as it does about performance.

That is part of testing too. A club can be technically excellent and still not suit your eye.

Going back to my GT2

After testing the new heads, we went back to my GT2 and adjusted the loft down to 9.25° while keeping it flat. This was not the original purpose of the session, but it became the most useful outcome.

• Club speed 91.2mph

• Ball speed 136.3mph

• Launch 16°

• Spin 2660rpm

The spin came down from 2,829rpm to 2,660rpm, while launch stayed healthy at 16°. Club speed and ball speed were fractionally down, but that is normal within a hitting session and not something I would overanalyse.

The bigger point was dispersion. Both versions of my GT2 were the tightest of the group, which is hard to ignore when you are comparing drivers rather than chasing one isolated number.

One slightly better number from a new head is interesting, but a tighter pattern from the club already in the bag is harder to dismiss.

That does not mean I fully trust the GT2. If I’m being honest, I have always slightly struggled to trust my Titleist driver. It can produce some fantastic drives, and when I’m swinging well it is a very good fit, but I still feel as though I need to be on top of my swing to get the most from it. The GT2 has helped compared with the GT3, but it has not completely removed the feeling that the driver is something I need to manage.

Still, in this test, it remained the strongest all-round option.

The numbers

The TrackMan report from the session does not include carry or total distance, so I’m not going to pretend this was a distance shootout. That would be the wrong way to frame it anyway. This was a head-only comparison using my existing shaft, and the more useful numbers were club speed, ball speed, launch, spin and dispersion.

The GTS2 lowered spin the most, but gave up launch, ball speed and dispersion. The GTS3 was the best of the new heads for me and probably the one with the most potential in a proper fitting. The GTS4 is difficult to judge because I never settled over it.

The adjusted GT2 did not win every individual number, but it gave me the best blend on the day: launch, spin, familiarity and dispersion.

That is why it stayed in the bag.

Who should look at the GTS range?

If you are already in a current GT driver that has been properly fitted, the new GTS heads may not blow it out of the water. That was my experience. There was not enough difference on the day to justify changing, especially when my own driver still produced the tightest dispersion and could be improved with a small loft adjustment.

That does not mean the GTS range is disappointing. Far from it. I think the bigger gains will be there for golfers coming from TSR, TSi or earlier Titleist generations. If you are looking for a new driver, these should be on your demo list.

Drivers have been close to the legal limits for years, so the gains are not always about a jump in centre-strike ball speed. The improvements now are more often about forgiveness across the face, aerodynamic efficiency, easier speed and better fitability.

That last point is probably where the range excels. The GTS2 should work for a wide range of golfers. The GTS3 offers a strong better-player option. The GTS4 seems to have become more playable and adjustable than the old GT4. As a range, it makes a lot of sense, and there is something there for every player.

There were differences between the heads. Some were visual, some were in feel and sound, and some showed up in the numbers. That is exactly why this kind of comparison is useful before committing to a full fitting.

Verdict

In the end, none of those differences added up to enough of a performance gap to make a more comprehensive GTS fitting feel like the obvious next step. Some golfers will always want the latest models, and I can understand that. But the best result for me was actually a small adjustment to the gamer: down to 9.25 degrees and still flat. So, for now, the GT2 stays in the bag. Not because it is perfect, and not because the GTS heads were disappointing, but because none of them beat it clearly enough in this comparison.

If you’ve tested the new Titleist GTS drivers, I’d be interested to hear what you found. Did one of them clearly beat your current driver, or did you end up where I did, with a small adjustment rather than a full change?

Subscribe now

As always, if you enjoyed this post, please like, subscribe, and share it with someone else who is trying to make sense of the new driver releases without getting carried away by the launch hype.

Further reading

Why Do We Keep Buying New Drivers? Here

Five New Drivers for 2026: Here

Cobra OPTM Max-K: Here

Callaway Quantum Fitting: Here

I’ve played Cobra drivers before, having been fitted for the Fly-Z and F8 previously. My best results have generally come from their more forgiving heads (but I could find them spinny), making this a very interesting experiment.

When I saw this driver listed on eBay, including an interesting upcharge shaft in the Oban Isawa Red, curiosity got the better of me, and it simply felt like too good an opportunity not to buy it and try it out. I already had a quote from a well-known retailer for selling it again, so I knew my downside was limited.

Interestingly, the previous owner had been fitted for this by SGGT (presumably Chesterfield given their address) and the shaft had also been Pured. When I received the club, I messaged the seller to ask why they had sold it. The answer was interesting. They had been a long-term Ping player, and despite the Cobra performing better in the fitting, they just felt more comfortable with Ping and had decided to switch back.

That’s been an expensive decision, as they’ve taken a big hit selling this to me, but life is too short to play a driver you don’t have confidence in. It also highlights some of the issues I touch on in my note “Why do we keep buying new drivers”. If you are just not comfortable with a club, tell the fitter before you spend the money.

How did I test the Cobra?

Because I bought this driver, I had a bit more time than usual to test it. Given that I was recovering from my ankle injury, extra time was something I needed. Testing consisted of on-course play, range sessions and launch monitor data, with my Titleist GT2 as the benchmark. The GT2 is a 10° head, set flat, and I’ve adjusted the Cobra to be as close to that as possible.

FutureFit33: There’s a lot of unfair criticism about this technology, but it is so much easier to use than some reviewers make out. You can either follow their guided fitting process, take 5-10 shots, enter the flight details and take their recommendation, or use the fitting chart and adjust yourself. It really is easy. The only downside compared to the Titleist version is that your shaft orientation will change.

Looks/Feel/Sound: Personally, I think this is a great-looking driver. To my eye, it sits behind the ball perfectly, looking neutral to slightly open, and inspires a lot of confidence. I think it is much better looking than the Callaway drivers, and the leading edge is much less distracting. I’m glad they have moved away from the matte finish of the previous model, which I never really liked.

Sound and feel are both excellent. The head doesn’t feel harsh at all and makes a lovely, powerful sound when struck.

Performance:

On course: I tried the driver on the Strathtyrum and Craigtoun courses. On the Strathtyrum, I had the time to test it directly against my Titleist GT2, but on the Craigtoun, I was playing with others in an organised match, so I could only use the one driver.

Throughout the first round, the Max-K immediately impressed me. The sound and feel were excellent and much more pleasant than the G440K. The ball just wanted to go straight and, best-for-best, it appeared to be outperforming the GT2. The concern I had was that the shaft was possibly not quite right and felt a bit “looser” than the Ventus Red in the GT2. If I really went for it, I could lose it to the left. It’s a shaft that seems to benefit from a smooth, unrushed swing.

The second round was the Cobra only, and the left tendency showed up again. It got to the point during this round that I switched to using 3-wood from the tee, rather than risking the driver. I continued to like the sound and feel, but the second round introduced more concerns about the fit.

One other caveat is that I have just switched to JumboMax grips to see if they help with my tendonitis. This was my first couple of rounds using them, and they take some time to adjust to. As I have gotten used to the grips, the GT2 performance has improved considerably.

On the range: I had two range sessions, one using Toptracer at the St Andrews Academy and the other using my Garmin R10 on the range at Dumbarnie. Toptracer only shows ball speed and carry data and doesn’t provide spin. My R10 provides spin, but with a very strong tailwind on the day of testing, I don’t think it was very accurate. The initial Toptracer session suggested the GT2 was about 8 yards longer on average over the session and was also more accurate. The second session with the R10 put them absolutely neck and neck, with only 1 yard between them. I hit a lot more balls on the second session and think it is a fairer representation. The left-to-right dispersion was tighter with the GT2.

Auchterlonies testing: I had a fitting session booked with Adam at Auchterlonies, which gave me the chance to try the Cobra on Trackman. I’d really hoped he would have a Ventus that I could try too, but he didn’t. This session confirmed my suspicions from on-course testing that it spins too much! Even reducing the loft as much as possible, it was still averaging 3300rpm of spin. That was fine when hitting downwind on the Dumbarnie range, but it will struggle in the opposite direction. Interestingly, my swing was also 3mph slower with the Cobra. But this is intended as a fairway finding driver, rather than a bombers driver.

Shaft thought: The Oban Isawa Red has a lovely smooth feel, but it’s not as stable in the tip as the Ventus Red. Both are described as mid-launch, mid-spin, but it’s how that’s delivered that makes the difference. When my timing was right with the Oban, it really got the ball out there, but it needed care and attention, coupled with a smooth tempo, to get the most from it. Swapping from club to club, I preferred the feel of my own Ventus Red, especially when I wanted to swing harder.

Final verdict

The Cobra OPTM Max-K is an excellent driver. Performance was very close to my GT2, and it doesn’t just look good, it sounds and feels good too. After the first session on the Strathtyrum, I thought it was going to go straight in the bag. But over the rest of the tests, the GT2 fought back, and it was far from a one-horse race. I can’t help but wonder how the Max-K would have performed using my own shaft, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to test that.

A review of this driver wouldn’t be complete without mentioning price as this is where Cobra really differentiate. At £479 (or less), you are saving £100 or more over the equivalent Ping or Titleist drivers. That will buy you a couple of dozen balls or even a couple of lessons. As I said at the start, I bought this club second-hand, and at only £350, I think it was a total bargain. Especially with the Oban shaft upgrade and Pureing, which likely took the original price on this to around £650.

Fit verdict (for me)

• Would I game it tomorrow? I could if I had to, but my GT2 is better fitted.

• What would I change? The shaft. It would be really interesting to see if the Ventus Red could get any more performance out of the head.

• What have I learned? Driver fitting is about compromise. This driver found a lot of fairways, but I had to be careful with my swing. I couldn’t swing it as fast as my GT2, but if it’s finding fairways, then is that an issue?

• Who would it fit? Really, this should be on everyone’s must-try list in 2026. It looks great, feels great and performs well. Even without a proper fitting, it gave my GT2 a run for its money. Cobra describes it as their most forgiving driver ever, and I found that hard to disagree with. There’s a lot to like.

Have you tried the new Cobra driver range yet? Have you bought one? I’d be interested to know which model suited you best, what you switched from and why. Let me know in the comments section below.

If you enjoyed this review, please consider subscribing to The Clubhouse for more honest, everyday golf equipment testing.

Subscribe now

Related topics:

• Why do we keep buying new drivers

• Five new drivers for 2026

Not the best. Not the one I wanted to keep hitting. But interesting.

It produced some of my fastest swing speeds, spin was in a good window, and the numbers were very close to my Titleist GT2. The issue was that it also wanted to leak right, and I never quite loved the way it looked behind the ball.

That left me with an obvious question.

Was there more to find?

The first test wasn’t a fitting. It was a stock driver test, using the combinations available to me at the time. With a modern driver, especially one with as much adjustability as the Callaway, that always leaves a bit of doubt. A different shaft, a different setup, or a slightly different head could change things quite quickly.

So I booked a fitting with Mike Lander at the Callaway National Performance Centre in St Andrews.

Mike knows my swing well. I’ve used him for coaching before, and he had also read the original driver test. That made this a useful session, because we weren’t starting from scratch. He knew what I was trying to find out, and he knew the benchmark: my Titleist GT2 10° with a Ventus Red Velocore+ 5S shaft, playing at 45 inches.

The GT2 has been behaving itself.

No complaints. No crisis. No desperate need to change.

Which is exactly why this was a good test.

What we tested

This was a Callaway-only fitting. The aim was not to run through every driver on the market, but to see whether Callaway could improve on the result from my original test.

We tried the Quantum Max and the Max Triple Diamond, both in 10.5°.

The shaft was the Denali Frost Silver 60, playing at Callaway’s standard length. Callaway lists the Quantum Max at 45.75 inches, which is fairly typical of modern drivers, with many stock builds now sitting somewhere between 45.5 and 46 inches.

That was worth noting because my Titleist GT2 plays at 45 inches. Three-quarters of an inch doesn’t sound like much, but with a driver, it can make a real difference to strike location, face control and confidence.

The Quantum Max

The Quantum Max still didn’t sit comfortably for me.

At address, it looked square to slightly closed, and I couldn’t quite settle over it. Visually, I struggled with the shape of the crown where it meets the face. That curved line doesn’t suit my eye.

That might sound like a small thing, but with a driver, it matters.

A lot.

If I don’t like what I’m looking at, I tend to make small compensations. I try to steer it. I start reacting to the club rather than making my normal swing. Add a playing length that was three-quarters of an inch longer than my GT2, and centre contact became more difficult.

That seemed to be the real issue.

The right bias looked less like one single flaw and more like the result of two things working together: a longer standard-length setup that made centre contact harder for me, and a head shape that didn’t give me complete visual confidence.

Mike worked with me on gripping down the shaft and adjusting the tee height to see whether we could improve strike location and reduce the right miss.

It helped.

But not enough.

There may be performance in the head, but I wasn’t accessing it consistently enough.

The best shots were not as good as the best shots with my GT2.

The mishits were punished more.

And I never had that moment when I thought, "This could go in the bag”

The Max Triple Diamond

The Max Triple Diamond was more appealing.

Not only did I prefer how it looked (it appeared more open), but I also preferred the sound and feel. It seemed more natural to me than the Quantum Max, which is interesting because it should probably be the less forgiving option.

But that was also the problem.

The Triple Diamond felt better, but it was more erratic, and the bad shots were heavily punished. When I found the middle, there was something there. But I didn’t find the middle often enough. The overall performance wasn’t as reliable as the GT2.

That creates a familiar fitting problem.

Do you chase the club that gives you the most satisfying strike when you catch it properly?

Or do you stick with the club that produces the better average?

For me, my driver is not the place to be romantic.

I want to stand on the tee and feel that I can make a normal swing. I don’t need the occasional perfect one if the cost is more uncertainty on the others.

What did the fitting prove?

The fitting didn’t prove that the Callaway Quantum Max is a bad driver.

That would be too strong.

It proved that it isn’t the right driver for me.

That distinction matters. I can imagine plenty of players getting on well with it, especially if they like the look of the crown and are comfortable with the way the head sits. There is clearly speed there, and a good fitter has options to explore.

But the club has to fit the player in front of it.

For me, the right bias looked less like one single flaw and more like the result of two things working together: a playing length that made centre contact harder for me, and a head shape that didn’t give me complete visual confidence.

That also helped complete the picture from the original five-driver test.

At the time, the Callaway did enough to deserve a second look. It was quick, the spin was in a good window, and the numbers were closer to my GT2 than I expected. But the first test was not a fitting, and I said that at the time.

Now it has had the fitting.

And this time, I’d eliminate it.

That is useful.

Not exciting, perhaps. But useful.

It is also a good reminder of what a fitting can and can’t do. A proper fitting can get more out of a club. It can tighten dispersion, improve launch, manage spin, adjust shot shape, and sometimes turn an average first impression into something much better.

But it can’t always make the club right.

Sometimes the answer is still no.

Final verdict

The Callaway Quantum Max had enough promise in the original test to make me curious.

After this fitting, I’m no longer curious.

It didn’t suit my eye, the standard-length setup made centre contact harder for me, and neither the Quantum Max nor the Max Triple Diamond could improve on my Titleist GT2.

The Triple Diamond was the one I preferred for sound, feel and looks, but it was too erratic to be a serious option.

So the GT2 stays in the bag.

That may not be the dramatic answer.

But it is the honest one.

If you like the look of the Callaway range, I’d still recommend trying it and being properly fitted rather than judging it off the shelf. There is clearly performance there for the right player.

It just isn’t me.

Have you tried the new Callaway driver range yet?

I’d be interested to know whether the Quantum Max suits your eye better than it did mine, or whether modern standard-length drivers cause similar strike issues for you.

Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, please consider subscribing to The Clubhouse for more honest, everyday golf equipment testing.

Subscribe now

Thank you to Adam Legg and Auchterlonies for generously allowing me to take five demo drivers away for a few days and put them through their paces. Can any of the new offerings for 2026 threaten my current gamer?

Adam knows me well and selected several combinations he thought could be a good fit given my current setup: a Titleist GT2 10° with a Ventus Velocore+ Red 5S shaft. Only standard, non-upcharge shafts have been used for this test.

Fortunately, there was a good weather window for the testing.

The drivers:

Ping G440K with Denali Red 60, 6.0

Cobra OPTM X with Kai’li Dark Waves Red 50S

Mizuno JPX One with Denali Frost Blue 60, 6.0

Callaway Quantum Max with Kai’li Red 60, 6.0

TaylorMade Qi4D with Reax Red 50S

All drivers were 10.5° heads and all were set to neutral.

How were they tested?

Five drivers are a lot to get through, even with a few days for testing. The Quantum and Qi4D were first in the bag and I used them on The Old Course. The following day, the G440K, OPTM X and JPX One were used on the Craigtoun Course, with the OPTM X swapped out for the JPX One after the first nine. Conditions on both days were good, with warm sunshine and a modest breeze. The Craigtoun fairways are significantly softer than those on The Old Course, so that needed to be taken into account when assessing on-course performance.

After the course time, I booked a bay at the Centre of Golf Excellence in St Andrews to get some Trackman data. I’m not a big fan of hitting drivers indoors, as I always feel a little space-constrained, even though it has been demonstrated many times that I am in no danger of hitting anything. Still, it was useful to have some objective data to back up what I saw on the course. I used Titleist RCT balls to get better spin data.

A quick note on the use of data. My swing is unique to me, and my club and ball data will not be especially relevant to you. In this test, I’m looking for a driver that could potentially displace my current gamer, so I’m mainly using the numbers as a relative comparison against that club. However, these reviews are still a work in progress, and I welcome reader feedback on what you want to see.

How did they perform?

Ping G440K

I’ve always been a fan of Ping drivers and used a G430 LST before being fitted for my current Titleist. The looks will not be to everyone’s taste, but personally I like the turbulators and have always found that they help me when I am setting up to the ball. There is no denying that this is a large-footprint driver, as that is how Ping produces the high MOI. That alone may put some people off, but I found I could focus on the leading edge and ignore the long back.

On the course

GolfMagic described the G440K as a contender for the best driver of 2026, and I was interested to see how it would perform for me. Of the five drivers on test, this was not only the largest but also by far the loudest. Ping’s engineers have clearly worked hard on the acoustics, and each recent model has improved on the previous one. Even so, it is still a loud driver.

Performance-wise, though, it was excellent. On the Craigtoun Course, this driver really did want to go straight. It was also very forgiving and hugely confidence-inspiring on the tee. On the front nine it was up against the Cobra, and on the back nine against the Mizuno. Both of those drivers seemed slightly longer on average, but neither was as accurate or as reassuring. This was the one I wanted to keep hitting, which is why it stayed in the bag for 18 holes.

In the bay

I saw much the same in the bay. It was very straight and produced the best left-to-right dispersion on test. Despite giving me the slowest average swing speed of the group, it marginally out-carried my GT2. More importantly, it kept finding the fairway. Thinking back to my post about golf and getting older, a consistent fairway finder has to be better than the occasional bomber with no direction control. It was also impressive on mishits, where its forgiveness really stood out.

There was a downside though. At an average of almost exactly 3000 rpm, with several shots up around 3500 rpm, this was the highest-spinning driver on test. Average spin with my GT2 was 2525 rpm. That showed up in the total distance numbers, where the GT2 ended up longer despite carrying slightly less. There was very little wind when I tested at Craigtoun, and I don’t think the G440K would have done as well on a windy day on the links.

Price

This is the most expensive driver on test, with an RRP of £630. It can be found online for around £579.

Would I game it?

My only real concern is spin, and I’d like to try the 9° head to see whether that improves things. If it does, then yes, I could definitely game the Ping G440K.

Cobra OPTM X

I have several friends who use the 2025 Cobra to great effect, and it was also a strong contender when I was fitted for my current driver. Aesthetically, I much prefer the gloss crown of this year’s model to the previous matte finish. Cobra describes the OPTM X as being designed for accuracy and consistency rather than distance. That is an interesting positioning in a space dominated by distance.

On the course

This was a surprise. Great sound, great feel, great performance. It wasn’t quite as straight as the Ping, but it was close, and it seemed slightly longer on average. Remember that the Craigtoun fairways are soft, so drives were pretty much all carry with very little run. At address, this is similar to the Callaway in that the face is visually separate from the crown, with a join line between the two. I’m not a big fan of that look, although the colour contrast on the Cobra makes it easier on the eye.

In the bay

Again, the bay largely confirmed what I saw on the course. It was pretty straight and still sounded good indoors. Swing speed and carry were almost identical to the Ping, but the spin was much better, averaging 2300 rpm with no major outliers. If anything, there is a risk that this one could be too low-spinning, as several strikes came in between 1900 and 2000 rpm. Like my GT2, the Cobra had more run than the Ping and was 15 yards longer in average total distance. It was also 5 yards longer than my GT2.

For all that, I still felt more confident with the Ping.

Price

The bargain of the bunch at £479 online.

Would I game it?

If I lost my GT2 today, I would happily put this in the bag as a replacement. It did not inspire quite as much confidence as the Ping G440K, but it does everything well and I’m sure a proper fitting could make it even better.

Mizuno JPX One

I hope you like blue. This driver really pops in the sun and, while striking, the colour will not be to everyone’s taste. There are also blue accents on the clubface, and I really didn’t like those. It may fit the brand, but give me plain black every day.

On the course

This is another loud driver, producing a distinctive crack at impact. It feels solid, almost firm off the face, and it was the driver I liked least for feel. Hitting it at Craigtoun, it produced a couple of excellent drives, but it also felt as though it wanted to go left, and it was hard work compared with the Ping and Cobra. I really had to concentrate to get the best out of it.

In the bay

Even indoors, I found the Mizuno hard to like. At address, I think it looks a little closed, and that makes me immediately uncomfortable. I’m not a fan of the colour or the blue face either. Spin was also on the high side and right up there with the Ping, although the Mizuno’s spin was more consistent with less variability.

There could be some potential in the Mizuno, but it is not one I want to try again.

Price

The online price is around £529. That feels punchy for a brand that is not especially well known for drivers, and I struggle to see it getting much market attention.

Would I game it?

No. I don’t like the colour, sound, feel or price. It spins too much for me and also made me worry about the left side.

Callaway Quantum Max

If you have played previous generations of Callaway drivers, you will be familiar with the look of this one at address. It reminds me a lot of the Ai Smoke range. I find the top line a little off-putting. It is not horrendous, it just doesn’t quite do it for me, and I prefer the straighter look of the Cobra. There is a huge amount of adjustability in this head, so for simplicity I set everything to neutral.

On the course

It took me a while to get comfortable with this, but once I did the performance was quite impressive. As mentioned above, I had it set to neutral, but found that I was prone to hitting fades with it. Not slices, just a modest fade. That is not my normal draw shape, and it got me into trouble a couple of times. The sound and feel are very pleasant and I would go as far as saying they are the best of the group.

In the bay

I achieved some of my fastest swing speeds with this combination, which suggests that with more fitting input it could produce better results. Spin was in the right window at 2400 rpm and dispersion was quite tight, although it showed the same right bias I saw on the course. Across spin, carry and total distance, performance was almost exactly the same as my GT2. What the GT2 lacked in swing speed, it made up for in delivery efficiency.

Price

Another expensive one, with an RRP of £599 and an online price of £529.

Would I game it?

Maybe. I’d need to be properly fitted and see a clearer improvement over my GT2 first. I’m not a huge fan of the looks, but it feels and sounds very good.

TaylorMade Qi4D Core

This is like the bigger brother of last year’s R7 mini driver. It has much the same weighting system and a similar overall look. It is a good-looking driver behind the ball, and I didn’t think it looked as closed as the Qi35. I like the way the crown wraps around to the face, leaving none of the visible lines you get with the Cobra and Callaway. Like the Quantum, there is a lot of adjustability here, and fitting input would almost certainly help get the best out of it. For this test, everything was set to neutral, and the heavy weights were placed in the back to improve forgiveness.

On the course

Perhaps it was the shaft, or perhaps it was the way I had set up the weights in the head, but I couldn’t hit this with any consistency. It was by far the worst on test. When I say I couldn’t hit it, I genuinely mean that I almost missed the ball completely a couple of times. I wanted to like it because I really enjoyed trying my friend’s R7 mini last year and hoped this would give me something similar. It just didn’t happen.

In the bay

A similar, if slightly better, story in the bay. My swing speed was the fastest on average, but contact remained poor, and efficiency was down at 1.44. The good hits were impressive, but the dispersion was too wide. It felt like either great or dreadful, with very little in between.

Personally, I think the issue was more to do with the shaft than the head, and I don’t think this one got a fair run. The fact that swing speed was the highest suggests that a proper fitting could get more out of it.

Price

The online price is around £549.

Would I game it?

Not without a proper fitting. It is a definite improvement over the Qi35, though.

The benchmark: my Titleist GT2

It did not get any course time, simply because I already had too many drivers to hit and know broadly where I tend to put my drives with it on both courses. I did, however, take it into the bay to compare numbers. It remains a very well-fitted driver that works well for me. Swing speed was middle of the pack, spin sat right around 2500 rpm, and efficiency was strong at 1.47. It is familiar and consistent, but this test suggests it could be slightly bettered by some of the 2026 models. I’m particularly interested in trying the new GTS line when it is released, which I will hopefully do soon.

Conclusion

This was not a fitting, and it was not meant to produce a definitive winner. It was a chance to spend proper time with five of the new drivers for 2026 and see whether any of them made me question the Titleist GT2 already in my bag.

Two of them did.

The Ping G440K was the standout for confidence and forgiveness. It just wanted to go straight, and that has real value. The Cobra OPTM X was probably the best all-rounder, with strong numbers, good sound and feel, and a price that looks very reasonable alongside the rest of the market.

The Ping is the one that has really stayed with me, but only with a caveat. I would want to try a lower loft and see whether the spin comes down. If it does, it has a genuine chance of replacing my current gamer.

That said, this test also reinforced something important. At modern driver prices, buying off the shelf, without proper fitting input, makes very little sense. These were all stock combinations with minimal adjustment. A fitting could change the picture quite quickly, especially with heads like the Callaway Quantum Max and TaylorMade Qi4D Core, where there may be more to unlock.

For now, my GT2 keeps its place. But not quite as comfortably as it did before this test, especially with the new Titleist GTS line about to be released.

If you have hit any of the new 2026 drivers, let me know what stood out to you. And if you enjoy this kind of honest, player-level testing, you can subscribe below for more reviews like this.

Subscribe now

Links

For a fitting with Adam Legg, his email is: adam@auchterlonies.com

Why do we keep buying new drivers: HERE

Note on my driver fitting at SGGT: HERE

Auchterlonies new fitting studio: HERE

Thoughts about club fitting: HERE

There comes a moment in life when you have to start accepting the golfer you are now, is not the one you once were. The effortless power of your youth has gone, and you realise that golf does not get any easier as you get older.

We can’t all be like Justin Rose or Padraig Harrington, who have managed to find more distance as they’ve gotten older. For most of us, the job is simpler: accept what’s changed, then get smarter about how we play.

Drivers are a great place to start.

I’m not getting any younger. I do not have tour-level swing speed, and no amount of carbon, titanium or marketing is going to manufacture it. My body is changing, as bodies do, and that shifts what a good drive looks like. These days, I care less about the one perfect rocket and more about what happens on an average swing, on an average day, when there’s a narrow fairway and a bit of trouble waiting on one side.

That is probably why drivers hold such a powerful place in golf.

The story we tell ourselves

A new driver does not arrive as a piece of metal and carbon. It arrives as an idea. A new driver is not just a club. It is a small reset. The idea that the next one will be longer, straighter and easier. That it will make the tee shot feel simple again. That if this club works, golf itself might feel better again. That it might give you a little flashback to when the ball used to fly without quite so much effort.

Drivers are sold as progress. Not incremental progress, but proper progress. Ten more yards. Straighter ball flight. More forgiveness. More confidence. Fewer disasters.

And the story in our heads is usually some version of this:

If I buy this driver, then I’ll hit it better.
If I hit it better, then I’ll hit more fairways.
If I hit more fairways, then I’ll shoot lower scores.
If I shoot lower scores, then I’ll enjoy golf more.

That is not irrational. It’s just a lot to ask of a golf club. Especially when the limiting factor is standing over the ball, slightly tight, aware that your body has its own opinions these days, and wondering whether the swing you brought to the first tee is the same one you had on the range yesterday.

The problem is that the feeling rarely lasts. The first poor strike has a way of dragging you back to reality, and suddenly you are not thinking about materials and face technology. You are back in the same negotiation as before, asking the same old question: Can I trust this thing when it matters?

This post is the front door to my driver reviews. It’s not a “new drivers are a waste of money” post, or a “stop buying things” post, because that would be rather hypocritical coming from a gear nerd like me. It’s a more honest look at what we are really buying when we buy a driver, and the approach I’m building to test them in the real world.

What are we actually buying?

Sometimes we are buying genuine performance, especially if we are playing an older driver. Better launch. Better spin. A shaft that fits how we actually move the club, not how we think we move it.

But quite often we are buying something else:

• Confidence: the sense that this club will behave if we do our bit.

• Permission: a reason to stop worrying about driving, at least for a while.

• Hope: that golf will feel simpler again.

• A new story: about who we are off the tee.

None of that is shameful. Golf is hard. The tee shot is exposed. Everyone is watching, including the people pretending not to. A driver that makes you feel capable and confident is an easy thing to want.

The only problem is that hope can be short-lived.

When does a new driver genuinely help?

A new driver can genuinely help when:

• Your current setup is clearly fighting you on launch and spin

• Your miss pattern is predictable, and a different head or shaft genuinely compensates for it

• You have changed physically, and the old club no longer matches the golfer you are now

• Confidence has eroded, and you need something you can commit to again

• You play different courses, and what used to work no longer suits the golf you actually play

These are the questions that matter more as you get older. When you can no longer outmuscle a course, you start caring more about playability and positioning. It’s not glamorous, but it is effective.

How will I review drivers?

I’m not trying to run a tour van. I’m trying to answer a simpler question: Does this driver actually make golf easier for a normal, low-handicap golfer who knows he is not getting any younger?

When I say a driver is good, I do not mean it produced one huge number. I mean, it produced better golf for me more often. A tighter, less damaging miss. A more playable flight. A club I would happily take to the first tee when it matters.

What I see will not be what everyone sees. My swing, my strike pattern and my miss are mine. The point of these reviews is not to predict your numbers, but to share what held up in real golf and what earned my confidence.

If something I write makes you curious about a driver, the best next step is always the same: get properly fitted and try it yourself. Not just for ball speed and launch, but for the subjective bits too; how it looks behind the ball, how it feels, how it sounds, and whether you can actually commit to it.

The testing side of this is still a bit of a work in progress. I’ll keep refining it as I go, and I’m genuinely keen to hear what you’d find most useful in these reviews. More on-course context? More about strike and miss patterns? More fitting detail? More data? Tell me, and I’ll build towards it.

What will the testing look like?

Some posts will be built around fitting sessions or demo days, where I’ll usually have launch monitor data to help see what different head and shaft combinations are doing. Those sessions are great for clean numbers and quick comparisons. The downside is obvious: you rarely get to take the club away and see what it’s like on the course.

Other posts will come from time with a demo club, a second-hand find, or something I can actually take away and use. Sometimes that will be on the course, sometimes at the driving range, and sometimes both. It won’t always be as tidy as a fitting bay, but it will usually tell me more about what the club is like to live with.

I’ll always be clear about the context and how much time I’ve had with the club, so you can judge the conclusions appropriately.

What’s my benchmark driver?

Driver testing will be similar to my putter testing: everything will be compared to what I’m currently playing. For now, that’s my professionally fitted Titleist GT2. It is the club I know best, and it gives me a reference point for distance, dispersion and confidence. If it gets displaced through testing, then the new gamer becomes the benchmark. That’s how the process stays honest.

If you want background on the GT2, then the fitting session notes (and video) are linked below. I was originally fitted into the GT3 head, but after a few months, I switched to the more forgiving GT2. Same loft, same shaft.

Zooming out for a moment

Once you start paying attention to why drivers tempt us, you notice the same pattern elsewhere. In putters, wedges, gadgets, lessons, practice aids, and in many other areas of life, too.

Psychologists call it the conditional happiness cycle. If I can get this sorted, then I’ll be happy. Then becomes now, now becomes normal, and we start looking for the next thing to fix.

Golf makes the cycle easy to spot, and if there is one club where it feels most believable, it’s the driver. The one we all want to trust.

Where to go next

Driver reviews are still a small corner of the site, but I will be doing more of them.

When I test a driver, I’ll be clear about the context and the limits of what I’ve seen: whether it was a fitting session, a demo day, a range test, or time on the course. I’ll share what stood out, what held up, and what influenced my confidence.

If you enjoy thoughtful gear writing and honest reviews, you can subscribe below and follow the driver testing as it develops.

Subscribe now

Links:

SGGT driver fitting: here and the YouTube video: here

Auchterlonies new fitting studio: here

Thoughts on club fitting: here

Subscribe now

The recording of the session can be found HERE

What does a driver fitting with SGGT involve?

SGGT are brand agnostic, allowing you to find the optimal head and shaft combination for you and your swing, regardless of manufacturer. To get the most out of a session, you should go with an open mind and allow the fitters to do their thing. For more thoughts about how to get the most out of a fitting, please follow this link.

Your session will start with a chat about your current driver. How you feel it performs, good, bad shots, likes, dislikes and why you want to change. After you've warmed up, you will hit a few balls to provide the base data for the fitting. Then it's over to your SGGT fitter and you should trust them to do their job! They've conducted thousands of fittings and will have a good idea of what will or won't work for you just from watching your initial swings and the earlier chat.

The process usually involves narrowing down your shaft choice first, and then trying the best shafts in different heads. They will pick an alternative driver head to start with and then explore alternative shafts, narrowing the selection down through trial and error until they have a couple of contenders for the best shaft. You will then start trying different heads and go through a second process of elimination. It's amazing how differently the combinations will perform, so again, keep an open mind. By switching heads and shafts in and out, the fitters will try you with several combinations, fine-tuning all the time, until they come to a final recommendation. You will then spend some time hitting that one before comparing the data against your current club and coming to a conclusion.

Thoughts about my current driver

The Ping G430 LST is possibly the best driver I've ever played. Historically, I've been terrible at chopping and changing drivers, but this has stayed in the bag for almost two full seasons and I've had great success with it.

It is a 10.5° head, reduced to 9.5° and set flat. Despite my poor photo skills, the head sits slightly open at address, which I like with drivers and woods. It's fitted with a Kaili White 60s shaft and has a swing weight of D7.7. If you know about swing weights, that's heavy! I've never found the club particularly "easy" to swing, but as the Tangent data below demonstrates, it's been reliable. These charts are relative to a scratch golfer and are based on 140 rounds logged in the app. The most recent rounds have generally been in tougher winter conditions.

Tangent data highlights that my directional control is good, but I could benefit from improved distance and fewer mistakes. Distance is due to my swing speed and how well the club is fitted. Mistakes are a combination of poor course management, target selection and a few bad swings (we all make them). Overall though, there's not a lot to complain about and at 55 years old, I think I'm doing ok!

My fitting experience

Normally, the large TV screen in the studio displays all of the club data during your fitting, but today it was only Aaron and Jim that could see this information. In some ways, I found that to be a better experience and it definitely worked for what we were doing today. Sometimes, too much information can be a bad thing, and not seeing it allowed me to focus on looks, feel and ball flight. Indeed, that's what this section will focus on and the technical, data-driven chat is left to Jim and Aaron in the video. They can explain it all much better than me anyway!

The Heads

Titleist GT2 Titleist GT3 Ping G440 LST Cobra DS Adapt X Srixon ZXi LS TaylorMade Qi35 LS Wilson Dynapwr Carbon

The Shafts

Fujikura Ventus Blue Velocore+ Fujikura Ventus Red Velocore + Diamana Bluebird TPT Power 17 Lo Oban Isawa Gold

Sharp eyes will notice that the Callaway Elyte is not on the list above. I didn't like its appearance, either from below or at the address, so it didn't make the testing. However, it is performing well in fittings (and on tour), so don't let my biases put you off trying it. I prefer the visual appearance of the AI Smoke model from 2024 and you can read about my experience with the previous Max Triple Diamond head here.

You'll notice that we used several "low spin" heads. Historically, this style of head was often less forgiving than standard heads. If you caught them "out of the screws" you would get amazing results, but anything less than a perfect strike would be punished. That's not the case any more, with manufacturers now able to engineer considerable levels of forgiveness and lower spin into their heads. You may have noticed a shift in advertising that has moved away from just distance and more towards forgiveness and consistency. "Fargiveness". "Spincistency".

Thoughts about the shafts

My natural tendency is for a small draw, with my usual bad shot being a hook. If I don't rotate properly, I get a double-cross slice (normally when there's out of bounds over that side!). We were looking for shafts that would complement my natural shape.

I have a smooth swing tempo and transition, rather than being a "hitter". The intangible aspect of how a shaft "feels" is important to me. I have always tended to play shafts that would be described as "smooth". KBS in my wedges, Accra TZi in my irons, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI in my hybrids and fairway wood.

The shafts tried today were all at the standard SGGT length of 45". Many of the brands use shafts that are longer than this - Cobra, Titleist 45.5", Callaway, Taylormade, Srixon, Wilson 45.75", Ping 46". Some might even remember the Cobra "Long Tom" that came in at 48". However, there is a trade-off between speed and strike quality, and while physics dictates that a longer arc should produce a faster head speed, is that worth it if you can't find the middle of the club? You can find a good article about shaft length here.

Ventus Blue

First up was the Ventus Blue in the GT2 head. Ventus is probably one of the most recognisable shaft ranges on the market right now, finding favour with many tour players. It's almost as ubiquitous as the Graphite Design Tour AD-DI shaft that Tiger Woods used during his prime years. The initial results with this were so good that it was almost "one and done". I told you these fitters know what they're doing! However, the more we hit, the more I was prone to turning the ball over and finding the left side of the fairway. Close but not perfect.

Diamana Blueboard

This newly re-launched shaft is a recent addition to the SGGT fitting matrix. I seriously liked how this shaft felt. It was most definitely smooth! I liked how it loaded and found it easy to swing. But again, it was a bit too left-biased and probably more so than the Ventus blue was.

TPT - Power 17 Lo

TPT shafts have become more prominent in recent years and are certainly one of the more recognisable on tour. They are made in Switzerland and, as you would expect, are super high-quality. I also tried their iron shafts last year when I was fitted for my P770's. However, as I found with the iron shafts, they weren't right for me in the driver either. The feel was a touch too firm and I found it hard to swing smoothly.

Oban Isawa Gold

What a looker! Oban shafts always look great, but unfortunately, this was probably the least good option for me today.

Ventus Red

We saved the best for last. But being pedantic, if it hadn't been the best, then it wouldn't have been the last! This shaft found the sweet spot between feel and performance. I started it on a better line and either hit it straight or produced the small, controlled draw we were aiming for. It was swapped in and out of the different heads during testing, but was quickly the benchmark shaft.

Thoughts about the heads

Titleist GT2

This was the first one up. Having tried it before at the launch event (link), I already knew it could perform well for me, and it certainly did again. Like I said above, it was almost "one and done". Maybe it was just the contrast with my Ping, but I'm not the biggest fan of the shape of this head. I find it a touch too long from front to back. It is difficult to argue with the performance, though, and if I kept hitting it the way I did, I'm sure I would quickly get used to the looks

Titleist GT3

The shape of this model is much more to my liking. It's hard to see from the pictures I've used, but it has a distinctly more compact footprint. Having not particularly enjoyed how it felt at the launch day, my experience today was completely different. Perhaps it was due to the shafts we tried this time or from using premium balls rather than range balls, but the feel and sound were much better. The results with this head were excellent, generating impressive ball speeds while still delivering good forgiveness with less-than-perfect strikes. I thought the Titleist heads were the best looking on test. Just classic, clean heads with no fancy designs or gimmicks.

Ping G440 LST

I have to admit to a bit of bias, as this was the club I was most looking forward to hitting. Given I've had such a good experience with my own Ping, I felt that if they had improved the sound and feel, then it would be the immediate winner. Well, it wasn't quite that simple. Yes, the sound and feel are much better than the old model, but the performance couldn't quite keep up with the best of the other heads. Interestingly, Ping has made their standard shaft length 46" this year and I wonder if that is the real reason for their "faster" claims. I struggle with strike quality when using a shaft that long, and I'm sure I won't be the only person.

Cobra DS-Adapt X

While the Cobra produced some excellent results, I didn't like the way it looked. The shape is quite elongated, almost triangular, but it was the matt finish on the crown I disliked most. It made it look dirty or sticky. I wanted to wipe it with a cloth and give it a good polish!

Saying that, if you like the looks, then it did perform well and felt nice. It's a lower spin model rather than an out-and-out low spin model. I've had good results with that style of head from Cobra before (Fly-Z and F8), and this was no exception. While it didn't float my boat, I wouldn't put anyone off trying it.

Srixon ZXi LS

If only I could have hit this like Ryan Fox and Shane Lowry!

There was something very familiar about this driver - the sound. It is one loud driver. Louder than my G430, and possibly even louder than the older G425 head. That's a real shame, as I think it could put people off what is seriously a very good driver. This time, I liked the matte finish, and even though it's also quite long from front to back, it hides it better than some other heads. As with Mizuno, Srixon are better known for irons than woods, but this could be the driver that helps change that reputation. It's seriously quick and could surprise you.

TaylorMade Qi35 LS

This is a very attractive driver and the picture doesn't really do it justice. The shape, feel, and sound were all excellent. I didn't even mind the unusual colour of the crown which reminded me of the older SIM2 model. However, when addressing the ball, I felt it looked like it sat square or slightly closed. Possibly, because I play with a draw, a closed face is something I don't like. It makes me worry that I'm going to hit a hook. That possibly makes me subconsciously change my swing path to try to hold the face open, resulting in me pushing a few of these out to the right. That didn't help build confidence! So, despite a positive first impression and the guys saying it performed well, with good ball speeds and spin, I know I couldn't live with it.

Wilson Dynapwr Carbon

This was the surprise package of the session and could be the driver that finally gets Wilson back onto the "most wanted" lists. If you take a quick look on Google or YouTube you will see that it's getting rave reviews. I won't say anything here to take away from those reviews either. This is a really good club! Looks, sound, feel, and performance all stack up against the other clubs I tried today. The only thing I didn't like about it was the same issue I had with the Qi35. I thought it looked a bit closed at address, and that just won't work for me.

So, was there a winner?

The combination we kept returning to, and became the benchmark for everything else on test, was the Titleist GT3 with the Ventus Red shaft. Its higher swing speed (94.4mph vs 92.2mph) combined with greater efficiency to produce more ball speed (139 vs 135), carry (226 vs 213), and total distance (255 vs 250). I like its classic, simple look and how it sounds and feels. No drivers were massively longer than the others, as I am the real limiting factor in that equation, but the greatest improvements over my Ping were forgiveness on poor strikes and improved consistency. One key to low scoring is minimising the impact of bad shots, and that's where the GT3 excelled.

So there we have it, a new GT3 with Ventus Red shaft is now in the bag alongside the irons SGGT fitted me for last year (review here). Having played a few rounds with and a couple of range sessions, I am pleased to report that it's performing even better in reality than it did in testing. The range sessions below indicate further improvements in swing speed and distance as I become more comfortable with the club (and don't have the fatigue from a fitting), while the results on the course have been excellent too. Is this the year I get my club speed through 100mph? The GT3 ticks all my boxes and I'm a happy, grateful, golfer.

Thanks to the team at SGGT

This was a fantastic experience, and I must thank SGGT again for the invitation. It was the most exhaustive (and exhausting) fitting I've ever done and I came away with complete confidence in their final recommendation. If you are contemplating new clubs, now or in the future, and want an excellent fitting experience, I highly recommend visiting SGGT. You can contact them via their website https://www.sggt.co.uk/

Update: July 2025

Having played this driver for a few month, I have struggled with consistency. When I went along to the T-Series iron launch, I asked to try the GT2 head and GT280 mini driver. While I didn’t get on well with the GT280, the GT2 was giving me more consistent results than the GT3. While the best with the GT3 was longer, the worst with the GT2 was better than the worst with the GT2. It’s just a more forgiving and, hence, confidence-inspiring head. I have subsequently swapped to the GT2 head and sold the GT3 head. I am still using the same shaft.

Subscribe now

What's so special about it?

If you read the post about my Callaway Tour Truck experience last year (link here) you may remember that this particular head was a "tour only" model at the time and the rep took delight in teasing people with it, claiming that "numerous" tour players had demanded it and were using it. The only data I can find to back that up is that it was the 12th most-used driver on tour in 2024 (link). Callaway eventually released it to retail late in the season as a strictly limited edition club. As a result, there is little information about it online and very few reviews. I believe it got lost in the hype surrounding the launch of the new Titleist GT and was just missed. The theory behind the club is that it should provide the forgiveness of the Max head combined with the lower spin of the Triple Diamond head. Having been fitted for and briefly played an original Paradym TD, I know it was long when you caught it right, but it would punish anything that wasn't perfect. Fortunately, mine had a manufacturing flaw which resulted in me replacing it with my current Ping G430 LST.

Why did I buy it and what are my initial impressions?

It's a head that has intrigued me since my Tour Van visit, so when I saw it reduced to £349 in the end-of-year sales, I thought it was worth a gamble. Especially given it's a limited edition club and second-hand ones were selling for more on eBay. There seemed to be little downside in experimenting.

I've also been thinking about a driver change for a while. Although my current one has been a good fairway finder, the late-season experiences at the Titleist GT launch and the PXG fitting proved I was missing out on some easy performance gains. I'll generally take the fairway over 10 yards further into the rough, but it's an itch I needed to scratch.

While the sole is busy and not the most attractive, I find the crown more appealing than the Ping and prefer its clean look. While the "turbulators" on the Ping have helped me with alignment, I don't particularly like them. My Ping is a 10.5° head, lofted down to 9.5° and in the flat setting. The Paradym is a 9° head and in the standard setting. I went with the 9° head as I've always felt I hit the Ping a bit high and the recent Titleist and PXG fittings also put me into 9° heads. In fact, the Titleist fitter even reduced the loft to 8.25°. I actually think I ended up in this Ping spec because the fitter didn't have a 9° head to try at the time! The Paradym has a stock Denali Blue shaft and the Ping has a stock Kaili White shaft, both stiff flex and both 60g. The Denali is supposed to be a mid-launch, mid-spin shaft and the Kaili is low-launch, low-spin. The Titleist GT fitting saw good results with the Tensei Blue, which is close to the Denali Blue and also the higher-spinning Denali Red. I like the smooth "feel" of the Denali shafts.

From the very first swing with the new club, I immediately preferred how it sounded and felt. It has a lower-pitched thud and seems softer off the face than the Ping, which can often feel quite hard/harsh. It was also considerably easier to swing and, to my eyes, at least, looked to be longer than my Ping. It was certainly straighter! I like the range at The Duke's because it is open air and you have more control over tee height (as you use your own) than the St Andrews Academy range (rubber orange, black etc), but it has no launch monitors to measure performance. Unfortunately, the academy range uses TopTracer which doesn't provide spin data, so I took the club to the indoor "Centre of Golf Excellence, St Andrews" (link) to get Trackman data.

What did the numbers tell me?

First, some static specification data. From the Ping website, it should weigh 208g, be 45.25" long and swingweight at D6. Mine weighs 212g, is 45.25" and the swingweight is D7. Unfortunately, the Callaway website only provides the shaft length at 45.75", but I measured the head at exactly 200g and the swingweight at D3.5. Despite the 0.5" difference in shaft length and different grips on the two clubs, they both weighed the same, at 130g. The Ping has always "felt" heavy to swing and these numbers back up my unscientific "waggle test".

The Trackman data was interesting. I used a ProV1x ball for the testing. Like the session at the Titleist GT launch (here), there was little difference between the best shots with each, which isn't surprising given driver heads have been maxed out for years. But, on average, the Callaway just edged ahead and was less punishing on the bad shots, which is exactly the same as I found with the GT2. If anything, the data from the GT2 was better than either of these, but that testing was done outside on a nice warm day.

I'm not a huge fan of hitting driver indoors as I always feel a bit constrained. Which is odd, as I have no issue hitting irons! As soon as the weather permits, I'll get both clubs onto the course and do a proper head-to-head test there.

Conclusion

Given this driver has already been replaced by the new Elyte line, the only way I could test it was if I bought it. That may have been a bit rash, but I didn't see a huge downside given the price I paid for it. Especially as the new Elyte TD comes with an eye-watering RRP of £599 and the price quoted by Titleist for the GT2 was equally expensive at £591. If I sell either of the two clubs, I should recoup most of what I paid for the Callaway.

From the testing I've done so far, the Callaway has the edge over the Ping, especially when considering how it feels to swing and hit. However, if I had been able to do this testing prior to purchasing, I'm not sure it would have been enough to justify the change. A full custom fitting session with the Callaway would have been interesting, though, as I wonder if a different shaft could have produced even better results?

For the moment, I'll keep both clubs until I get more course time with the Callaway. I'll also take both along to any further fitting sessions I attend once all the new product ranges are available. Then I'll make a final decision.

UPDATE - 15/1/25

I've now managed to get the driver out on the course. Before doing so, I changed the grip to the same Lamkin Sonar grip as the Ping, as the Callaway grip felt too skinny. While I still prefer how it sounds and feels relative to the Ping, there is little real-world performance difference. I didn't have the chance to conduct head-to-head testing on the course, but my drives generally finished in the same places they usually do. That shouldn't be surprising, as the only way to generate significantly better distance is if I find more swing speed. From the testing above, while I did see the highest individual swing speeds with the Callaway, it was essentially the same on average. After all, I'm the limiting factor here. My current Ping G430 LST is by no means a poor driver and has been an excellent performer for the two seasons it has been in the bag. The big difference between the two is that I have more confidence in the consistency of the Ping, and that's enough to keep it in the bag for the time being.

Firstly, I must thank Adam Legg and Auctherlonies for inviting me to the GT release VIP event at the Fairmont, St Andrews.

Having recently attended a similar event with Callaway, it was interesting to see the different approaches taken by both companies. Today, Titleist sent their fitting experts from Footjoy for shoes, gloves, socks (Blair Taylor and David Guthrie), balls (Andrew Butter) and clubs (Roddy Spence), effectively showcasing their entire product line. Michael Baxter, the main Titleist rep was there too, along with Adam Legg from Auchterlonies, who is now a Titleist ambassador and was also conducting fittings.

Subscribe now

I've not worn Footjoy shoes or gloves for some time, so it was interesting to spend time with Blair discussing their options (including a sneak preview of new premium shoes for next season). I've got awkwardly wide feet, so I was keen to do a fitting, but unfortunately, the high-tech shoe fitting machine didn't work well in the sun. I plan to do a full shoe fitting in the Auchterlonies store later. When discussing gloves, I also mentioned to Blair that I found Footjoy options a bit long in the fingers, despite being a good fit over the palm. He recommended what he felt was the best size he had available and asked me to try it during my fitting.

Titleist have made several design changes with the GT line, most specifically introducing a new material into the head and claiming a "transformative shift in performance". I don't intend to go into any of the technical stuff in this blog, but instead direct you to the Titleist website here if you want to read up on it. There are also lots of YouTube videos available.

General comment on fittings

While I don't have a problem being fitted for clubs inside, I prefer to do it outside and off grass. This allows you to experience the club's interaction with the turf and see the actual ball flight (can the computer really model wind impact?). We were given a great area of the range to work from, with plenty of good turf available. Certainly better than the area we had on the Callaway day. However, like with Callaway, the main thing I would change would be to use real balls rather than range balls. Given I was also doing a ball fitting today, it would have been great to do that first and then have the chance to hit a few of the chosen balls at the end of the club fitting. At least then you could see if the performance was any different. When you're being fitted for a driver with a RRP of £579, sacrificing a couple of balls to the range seems a small price for Titleist to pay. Using real balls is one of the main benefits of fitting indoors.

So why was I here and how did I get on?

The data above is from the 87 rounds I have logged in the Tangent app and shows my Strokes Gained Driving relative to a scratch player. For information, I am a 55-year-old golfer with a WHS index of 4.1 and a driver swing speed in the 95-100mph range. I live in St Andrews, playing links golf on the town courses and heathland/parkland golf at The Duke's Course, just outside town. I've always considered myself to be good with my driver. I'm not the longest, but I'm pretty straight and a reliable fairway/first-cut finder. That's backed up by the tracking data above and, I hope, would be confirmed by regular playing partners.

My current driver is the Ping G430 LST fitted with a stiff Kaili White shaft. It's a 10.5° head and set at 9.5°, which makes it sit a little open, which I like the look of. I've been using this driver for around 18 months, and it's been a great club that's surprisingly forgiving and consistent for a low-spin head. However, I've always had a niggling suspicion that even on my best shots, I've not been getting the most out of it, hitting it high and with less run than my playing partners. But, given how consistent I've been with it, I've not worried too much. Therefore, today's challenge was to see if the GT drivers could deliver the same consistency, but help me get a little more distance.

I also wanted to take another look at my fairway wood. While moving to the G430 Max has been a big improvement over the G425 LST, I've found that I hit it lower than ideal and have a nasty habit of hooking it too, especially when I "go after it". My main gripe is that I think it looks a touch closed, and if I increase the loft then I worry that it will just accentuate that further.

So how did the fitting go?

Roddy asked me lots of questions about my current driver, what my good and bad shots were and what concerns I might have. We then got some baseline data from it. The Trackman data confirmed what I've been seeing on the course. I'm efficient, fairly accurate and have decent dispersion, but I hit it high and it spins a bit too much. Remove the low spinning pull, and the average was over 3000rpm. If I'm consistently hitting the fairway, then that's not too much of a concern, but a bit more run for a club or so less into the green with my second shot would help my approach shot performance too.

We then moved to the GT line of drivers. Comparing the two models side by side, I'm naturally more drawn towards the shape of the GT3. It's just a touch more compact and more appealing to my eye. But Roddy wanted to start with the GT2, and what a start it was. A bit like Ethan Katzberg winning the Olympic hammer-throwing gold medal with his first throw, it was almost "one and done" with the GT2!

The 9° head with the Tensei Blue shaft performed well from the first hit. My strike was efficient, launch angle was good, and, importantly, the land angle and spin were both better. From roughly the same swing speed and ball speed, we achieved both longer carry and total distances. Not stopping there, we moved on to try the GT3. It has a subtle but obvious difference in shape, sound and feel, producing more of a dull "thwack". It's not better or worse than the GT2, but it is noticeable. I liked it! Despite preferring the shape of the GT3 and having so many more adjustment options with it, we struggled to get it to match the performance of the GT2. I just didn't hit it as well as the GT2. Trying different shaft combinations with the GT3, the HZRDUS Black felt too heavy, but we saw good results with the new Project X Denali Red (YouTube link). Using that in the GT2 produced slightly better consistency of strike relative to the Tensei. There wasn't a massive amount in it but I hit fewer poor shots with the Denali.

With the benefit of seeing the results from adjusting the GT3 we also moved the GT2 setting to C-1, which is -0.75° loft and a flat lie angle. This produced a more consistent strike and the desired flight. Roddy also tried some different head weight options, but we saw no real benefit from going heavier or lighter; therefore stuck with the standard setting.

The picture doesn't tell the whole story. I'd hit a lot of balls by now, was starting to get a bit tired and club speed was dropping off, but the GT2 still produced good numbers. The most impressive aspect was its consistency and dispersion, which is surprisingly where it most outperformed my current driver.

Driver conclusion

This was an interesting session. My best shots with the Ping were every bit as good as my best shots with the GT2. The difference was that I hit my best shots more frequently with the GT2 and saw less punishment from my poor ones. I didn't see the same low pull that I can get from the Ping. The Ping can't be considered a bad fit though and the Tangent data above demonstrates that it's not hurting my performance, but it can be improved. Roddy is there to fit the GT drivers and not to optimise my Ping though.

The closest I can get to the GT2 settings is -1° and flat, but at 9.5° that's still a significant difference in loft against the GT2 at 8.25°. It can also go to -1.5° / 9°, but not in a flat setting. Perhaps the 9° Ping head would be a closer match but then I'm probably just as well switching to the GT2!

Given how closely the Tensei Blue and Denali Red performed (Roddy "Which colour do you prefer?") and that the Tensei Blue was a stock offering in the previous TSR range, it would be interesting to see how the outgoing TSR2 would perform in the same C-1 setting. Can I get similar results for £200 less? The GT2 was good but it wasn't a runaway winner. I'm left with things to mull over and talk to Adam about.

Moving on to the fairway

This might sound obvious, but I want a fairway wood that I can hit from the fairway. I also want it to work off the tee, but I'm not looking for a driver alternative. I like the low-profile shape of Ping fairway woods and find it makes them easy to hit from grass. Moving from the G425LST head into the G430Max has generally been a good decision, but I launch it lower than I'd like and can hook it when I try to hit it hard. This was confirmed when hitting balls to get the baseline data for comparison.

Starting with the GT2 head, I just didn't like how it looked and struggled to hit it so we quickly moved into the smaller footprint GT3. This head also gave Roddy more adjustment options. It was immediately more appealing to my eye and produced significantly better results than the GT2. We used the same Denali Red shaft and a 15° head set at B-4, which is +1.5° and flat, with the CG setting at Toe 1. While the face is still deeper than I am used to with Ping, I found it easy to launch with a better, more consistent performance than my G430 Max. Swing speed, ball speed and spin were almost identical with both, but launch angle and flight were better with the GT3, resulting in a few extra yards of carry. I didn't hook it either, no matter how hard I swung!

Having established the performance of the GT3 we checked the gap with my first hybrid and confirmed that it was fine. We then double-checked the gap from my 3H to my 4H and again confirmed that this was optimal too. Just as well given the work we've put into that this year already!

Fairway conclusion

Again, like the driver, while I can try to replicate the GT3 setting with the Ping, the closest I can get is +1°/16° and flat but it still looks closed compared to the GT3. Can I get over that? Ideally, I need to get to the range and test it out in the new setting (driver too). The option of trying the equivalent TSR3 with a Tensei Blue is also interesting here, but Roddy implied that Titleist made changes to the GT fairway to make it easier to launch than the old TSR, so maybe it's not such a good idea! From looking at the Titleist website the new GT range now has a flatter sole, with a lower CG location that enhances launch conditions. My G430 Max was only recently purchased so I need to chat this over with Adam before doing anything further.

Ball fitting

I've done work on balls previously, so this was more of a checkup to ensure my current choice is still optimal. Despite producing quite high spin numbers with my driver, I'm relatively low-spin with my irons. When SGGT fitted my P770 irons one aim was to help generate more spin and stopping power but SGGT suggested I also use the ProV1x ball to get a little more help. Hitting some mid and short irons for Andrew today confirmed that this ball is still suitable, but to help improve length he suggested I try the "left dash" model. We hit a few on the range and saw a good flight window and modest improvement in carry, so they gave me some balls to take away and try over my next few rounds. If I start hitting it too low, I should switch back to the standard X ball.

Glove fitting

Having discussed glove size at the start of the fitting, it was obvious at the end of the session that the standard Footjoy sizes were not quite right for me and I would be better suited to a Kadet due to my chubby palms and short fingers! The good news is that Auchterlonies stock this size so I will pick one up the next time I'm in the store. They are supposedly more popular in America than they are in Europe. Trust me to have awkward hands as well as awkward feet!

Overall conclusion on the GT range and fitting day

This was an excellent experience and I want to thank Adam Legg, Auchterlonies and Titleist again for the opportunity to come along. We were helped by having glorious (if a bit windy) weather and access to the grass range at Fairmont. I'd forgotten how fantastic the views are from up there (ignore the cars).

The GT range of woods is as excellent as you would expect from Titleist and the fitting highlighted that my current driver and fairway can both be improved upon. I was very impressed with the performance of both the GT2 driver and GT3 fairway wood and Roddy did a great job of optimising the performance of both.

However, while the GT line performed well, it didn't blow my other clubs away and there's still the possibility of getting more out of them with some fitting tweaks. But that's for me to do rather than the Titleist guys. I've always loved the look and feel of Titleist clubs, and these new models don't disappoint. They've also got the performance to match the looks. But like all golf equipment now, that performance comes with a hefty price tag, and at a recommended retail price of £579 for the driver and £349 for the fairway, you need to be sure these are the right clubs for you before buying.

If you know the brand you want to buy, then days like today (and the previous Callaway day) are excellent opportunities to be fitted by a brand expert where you can access more shaft and head combinations than you would from a standard fitting cart. But if you are brand agnostic, working with an independent fitter like Adam will let you access a much wider range of equipment.

At the end of the session, I received a very generous goody bag to take away. It included the balls I was fitted for, a hat, a pair of socks, my glove and a smart GT key ring. As for the clubs, I've come away with plenty of food for thought, but no final decision. My first action will be to alter the settings of my current driver and fairway wood to see how that impacts their performance, then reassess.

However, I can confidently say that I was very impressed with the new GT line. Look, feel and performance are all excellent and these should definitely be on the "must try" list if you are looking for new woods.