Titleist TSi2 & TSi3 Driver Review: Combining Speed ​​and Forgiveness

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Since its release in fall 2018, the Titleist TS Driver line has been one of the most popular drivers on the PGA Tour and beyond. The TS drivers have also firmly entrenched Titleist as one of the category leaders, eventually losing their reputation for making "slow and spinny" drivers. Not surprisingly, Titleist now wants to experience the wave of success from TS with the introduction of the TSi (Titleist Speed ​​Impact). The TSi2 and TSi3 drivers are available now, and I've had the chance to test them out in multiple customization sessions to see what types of golfers can benefit from the new technology.

The main focus

Titleist's word is that their engineers were focused on increasing ball speeds as they made a "MASS" move toward forgiveness. Moving the crowd … for forgiveness … See what I did there?

With the success of the TS Metals line, Titleist is greeted with the age-old problem of a difficult task to follow. So what to do? To quote another oft-used phrase, they mentioned the "Big Guns" of a metal company called ATI.

Who is ATI?

ATI is an American metals company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, specializing in commercial aviation and military-grade metallurgy. The ATI website reveals their products are used in everything from military-grade armor to reusable spacecraft. The ATI logo is proudly engraved directly on the front of the TSi drivers.

So what has ATI done for Titleist? The new ATI 425 titanium face insert used in the TSi metals has a 6% increase in strength and a 30% increase in ductility compared to conventional titanium alloys used in golf club construction. Formability basically measures how much the metal can be manipulated without losing strength, in this case diluted to create the fastest ball speeds possible.

Along with the face design, ATI contributed their aerodynamic expertise to reduce drag (15% less drag in TSi vs. TS) to increase clubhead speed.

* I will note that this is a challenging measure to quantify in fittings. I have personally not seen a jump in clubhead speed that I can attribute to the driver's form.

Speed ​​and Forgiveness

This all sounds great, but when it comes to drivers, you also have to be forgiven when there is speed. The most commonly used measure of forgiveness is MOI (Moment of Inertia), the club's resistance to twisting, which is especially important on off-center hits. Simply put, a higher moment of inertia equals right and longer misses. The key to moment of inertia is weight distribution over the head.

Think of a figure skater performing a spin. When the skater's arms are wide, they turn more slowly. Once they pull their arms towards their body, they can spin much faster. Greater weight distribution means less turning.

With this higher moment of inertia and the resulting deeper center of gravity, Titleist found more forgiveness and a slightly higher launch. The new drivers will be available in lofts listed below (8 degrees in both the TSi3 and the custom TSi2) to address this. When combined with Titleist & # 39; s 16 position Sure Fit hosel, you can play a TSi2 or Tsi3 with a loft of only 7.25 degrees.

Spin Stability and Why It's So Important

Titleist is one of the first companies I've seen that actually praised " Spin Stability " when I talked about forgiveness.

When fitting a client, I do everything I can to fine-tune the head, loft, weight and shaft to provide optimal launch and spin rates. Add high ball speed to the perfect launch and spin conditions, and you have the perfect formula for maximizing distance. It's furious when I set these starting conditions on mid-range attacks, only to see an accident that increases spin at 1100 RPM and leaks 30 yards of potential distance from a drive.

There has been all this talk in the industry about maintaining ball speed on off-center hits, but honestly, I don't mind losing 4 or 5 mph ball speed on a toe. As long as the launch and spin remain reasonably consistent, the ball will still be in the optimal flight window and the distance loss can be as little as 10-15 yards.

Sounds good in theory, but how is it performing for you?

My Fittings with the Titleist TSi2 and TSi3 Driver

As any club fitter will tell you, you have to hit them yourself to be sure. But here are some of the results I've seen since I started assembling the TSi metals a few weeks ago.

Billy (average driver swing speed 92 mph, angle of attack -2 *) was a 4 year old driver. His new TSi3 increased its average driving distance by 20 meters.
Nick P. (average driver swing speed 300 km / h, angle of attack -1.5 *) had a 7 year old driver. Its TSi3 increased its average driving distance by 12 meters.
Nick S. (average driver swing speed 114 mph, angle of attack + 1 *) was a 3 year old driver. Its new TSi2 increased its average driving distance by 11 meters.
Bobby (average driver swing speed 160 km / h, angle of attack + 3 *) had a 5 year old driver. His new TSi2 increased its average driving distance by 17 meters.
Dave (average driver swing speed 92 mph, angle of attack -4 *) was a 1 year old driver. Chose not to upgrade, his TSi fitting added an average of 4 yards.
Josh didn't get fit on trackman; he just took out the TSi3 head and put it on his shaft. & # 39; This thing is ridiculous; I want it as soon as it hits the store. Josh swings the driver in the 120 mph range.

While the range numbers are important and, of course, almost everyone is looking for pilot adjustments, 4 out of 6 also showed significantly tighter dispersion and consistency under flight conditions. They hit the ball in the fairway more often and had more consistent launch and spin rates. This is a BIG deal in customizing drivers.

Choosing between the TSi2 and TSi3

On the Titleist website they make a fairly general distinction between the TSi2 and TSi3:

"TSi2 Driver – Pure Distance: For players looking for incredible speed and accuracy across the face of the face."

"TSi3 Driver – Dynamic Distance: For players who create consistent contact and need more precise control over CG placement."

It is interesting to note that the adage of slower speed, less skilled players playing the "2" and higher speed, better players playing the "3" no longer seems to be the norm. Digging deeper, I made a few comments:

Faster players hit the ball further, and sometimes further offline. Many of these golfers want to hit it right, which the TSi2 does.
With shaft companies getting better at producing low-spin shafts, players aren't always forced to play low-spin heads. This means that the TSi3 is not always the best clubhead for players with a negative attack angle.
The numbers between the two heads are so close together that viewing preference can help the player decide without sacrificing much or no performance.
The movable weight of the TSi3 is a fantastic resource. The weight plus SureFit hosel allows the fitter to position the center of gravity behind the player's hitting point and straighten the hitting pattern.

Launch Monitor Results

If you're a number nerd like me, here are some results of my customization that put my gamer TS3 against the new TSi, giving me 5 mph faster ball speed (Note: The customization was done outside at Valhalla Golf Club with Titleist ProV1 range balls).

As you can see there were some significant improvements in speed and distance with the TSi2 versus my TS3 driver.

Here are some more figures from my first session where I hit my current new TSi2 driver on Trackman in my shop. As you can see, the numbers continue to impress. 22 shots, average hit 1.50… Wow.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, I am really impressed with the Titleist TSi Drivers. The most impressive performance factor is without a doubt the stability of the head. Not only does it maintain ball speed on off-center hits, but it's also very straight and delivers remarkably consistent spin numbers.

These drivers have a solid, aggressive sound (the sound was different between the TSi2 and TSi3 in particular) and still have the clean, classic look that has become synonymous with Titleist Drivers.

Shank choices are excellent and should offer many good options without spending extra money on exotics. If you like high-end shafts, Graphite Design shafts are available at a lower cost thanks to a special agreement with Titleist.

As always my recommendation, schedule an adjustment, ask questions, and don't skip steps. Finding the right driver for you is about the pursuit of performance, not marketing. Have fun driving!