Hey Team Titleist,
If you've been following along, you'd know it's safe to say that we're off to a fast start when it comes to the tour validation for the new TSR driver and metals. We're only two weeks in and the buzz continues to build — especially after J.T. Poston became the first player to win with a new TSR in his bag last week at the John Deere Classic. And as the saying goes, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Keep reading below for some more highlights from the past two weeks and make sure you stay tuned to the forums for all of the latest updates!
J.T. Poston became the first player to bring a NEW TSR driver to the winner’s circle, just one week after the new TSR2 and TSR3 models made their PGA TOUR debut at the Travelers Championship.
The Postman, who opened with a 62 for the second-consecutive week, posted a final-round 2-under 69 to win by three shots to become the first wire-to-wire winner at the John Deere in 30 years and just the second player to accomplish the feat this season on the PGA TOUR.
Poston, 29, was dialed in from start to finish, leading the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (+13.41) and SG: Around the Green (+5.95). He also gained 2.761 strokes off the tee (15th), and 4.697 on approach shots (10th).
Poston's Switch to TSR
Poston was one of the first players to get fit into a NEW TSR driver – the next generation of the most played drivers on the PGA TOUR – last Monday at TPC River Highlands. Working on the range with Titleist Tour Rep Jim Curran, Poston saw a 2 mph jump in ball speed with his TSR3 9.0° compared to his prior generation TSi3.
“That’s definitely farther,” Poston said after making contact for the first time. “I like the sound of that a lot. Feels great. Sounds great. Looks great.”
Poston went on to post rounds of 62-70-67-64 in Connecticut, recording what was then his best finish of the season (T2). This week at TPC Deere Run, Poston again opened with 62 on his way to a wire-to-wire, three-shot victory (62-65-67-69).
Over the course of the week in Illinois, Poston gained strokes off the tee in all four rounds, finishing 15th in that statistic (+2.761). He finished the week with 73.2 percent driving accuracy, 12 percent better than his season average entering the week.
26 TSR DRIVERS IN PLAY AT JOHN DEERE CLASSIC
A total of 26 players had TSR drivers in play at the John Deere Classic, including Titleist Brand Ambassador Cameron Davis, who led the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee – gaining nearly five strokes (4.69) on the field, his best driving performance of the season.
Davis, who plays a TSR3 8.0° (Fujikura Ventus Black 7 X), made the switch last week at the Travelers after seeing his ball speeds increase 1-2 mph.
TSR driver users have now led the field in SG: Off the Tee in back-to-back weeks.
Like Davis, Titleist Brand Ambassador Davis Riley also moved into a TSR3 8.0° driver at TPC River Highlands, where he averaged a career-best and tournament-leading 1.48 strokes gained off the tee per round. His 2.41 strokes gained off the tee during the final round in Hartford was also the best of his career.
Said Riley: “The overall look, the feel is awesome. It’s really good. The mishits are really good. I’m finding really consistent spin across the face no matter where I’m hitting it, so that you’re maxing out your carry numbers every time. It’s what you really want to look for. It’s not how good your good hits are. It’s, ‘How good are your bad hits?’ And just seeing that consistency across the face is really cool to see."
“I actually saw 1 or 2 mph increase in ball speed, which is really nice. Typically when you have a mishit, you see that number drop dramatically. But I noticed right away, I was like, ‘OK, I hit one of those a little high on the toe.’ And the numbers were almost identical to the center hit.”
NEW TSR DRIVERS IN PLAY (26)
Josh Creel: TSR4 9.0°
Cameron Davis: TSR3 8.0°
Lanto Griffin: TSR2 10.0°
Bill Haas: TSR3 8.0°
Chesson Hadley: TSR3 10.0°
Lee Hodges: TSR2 8.0°
Charles Howell III: TSR3 10.0°
Peter Malnati: TSR3 10.0°
Ben Martin: TSR3 9.0°
C.T. Pan: TSR2 9.0°
J.T. Poston: TSR3 9.0°
Omar Uresti: TSR3 9.0°
Vincent Whaley: TSR3 8.0°
NEW TSR FAIRWAYS IN PLAY (13):
Hayden Buckley: TSR3 13.5°
Cameron Davis: TSR3 15.0°
Tyler Duncan: TSR3 15.0°
Lanto Griffin: TSR3 16.5°
Lee Hodges: TSR3 15.0°
Hank Lebioda: TSR2 15.0°
Ben Martin: TSR3 15.0° & 18.0°
C.T. Pan: TSR2 15.0° & 21.0°
Roger Sloan: TSR3 15.0°
Callum Tarren: TSR2 16.5°
Omar Uresti: TSR3 18.0°
Richy Werenski: TSR2 15.0° & 18.0°