Titleist

Titleist is owned by the Acushnet Company and is most famous for their golf balls like the NXT Tour, NXT, DT SoLo and especially the Pro V1 and Pro V 1x. Titleist is derived from the word titlist which means title holder. Acushnet owns other brands like Pinnacle and Footjoy. They used to own Cobra golf too but was sold to Puma in 2010.

Titleist used to have a slogan "Serious clubs for serious players" which in a way makes clubs for better players and you do not see many golfers carrying them unless they are quite proficient but this is no longer and not entirely true. Unlike other brand Titleist do not release a slew of products every time and each time they do they usually have two models. They would name their series as 904, 906, 909, 910, etc. Drivers would be 909 D2 and 909 D3 while the fairway woods would be 909 F2 and 909 F3 while hybrids are named 909H. The irons are AP1 and AP2 with AP meaning Advance Performance.

Titleist are also very famous for getting two of the world's most famous persons in making and designing wedges and putters in Bob Vokey who gives us the Vokey design wedges by Titleist and Scotty Cameron for giving us the Scotty Cameron putters by Titleist. Very frequently, Titleist will get top spots in reviews by top golf magazines for a host of their equipment in all categories most notably for performance and look/sound/feel of their clubs. Their ratings are often very favourable and top notch for drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, putters, balls.

I have never owned or used Titleist except for their Scotty Cameron putters which I can safely say will not be out of my bag for a very long time. This might change as the adventure continues. I found out early that fairway woods especially the 3-wood at 15 degree with a 43-inch shaft is never too friendly. Yet it is the stick that you can cleverly use for teeing off on a tight fairway fraud with dangers. However, when using the same off the deck on the fairway it becomes quite a different animal. So eventually I gave up using that for a few years now and have successfully switched to hybrids. If I were to put my second shots onto the green from a par 5 or long par 4, I would like a much lower lofted hybrid at 17 degrees or less. For some reason, they are just like a 15 degrees fairway wood - good off the tee but never as consistent on the fairways.

This gave me reason to ponder the "what ifs". Previous fairway woods I have owned were usually modern with bigger heads and regular flex shaft while the lower lofted hybrid have very small heads. Is there something in between that I could catch to see if it can make a difference?

Titleist 909 F2 Fairway Wood

The Titleist 909F2 fairway wood is a high performance fairway wood that launches higher and with mid spin as compared to its brother the 909F3. 909F2 comes in a rounded and larger extended face. The features are Tour-proven and the 909F2 is half a degree higher lofted than the F3 for easier launch and trajectory. It is constructed with a precision cast 17-4 stainless steel body and 275 carpenter steel face insert for a lively feel and to increase ball speed.

Increasingly, today's number 3 fairway woods are bigger than yesteryear's driver. It's like carrying a spade to work. So opting for this is nice - a smaller compact head with a clear and simple alignment aid of a small line and an arrow like a computer mouse cursor.

The shape is a bit like a traditional tear drop. Just hope that all these will not end in tear drops and then I have to sell it cheap.

It has a multi-relief sole which help to minimize turf resistance and to ensure the ground contact points forward therefore reducing bounce and skip during impact. A factory-installed screw helps position the CG deeper. I chose the 15.5 degrees. They came in two shaft option - the Aldila VooDoo or the Mitsubishi Diamana Blue 75. I opt for the latter.

The cover has socks to protect the hosel and the shaft. I like the colour plus it looks serious. You already look and feel like a serious player. Only thing left is the execution.

Mitsubishi Rayon - Diamana Blue

Mitsubishi Rayon makes some of the meanest golf shafts because they create them from scratch. They do not just make golf shafts but they manufactures all the critical materials like monomer, carbon and acrylic fiber and resin. They have thousands of resin formula and hundreds of fibers for optimum blend of power and stability and this will respond to adjustments made for specific shots. White Board has softer butt but stiffer tip. So what does Diaman means? Dia means Diamond and Mana is Hawaiian for "force". So, it basically means Diamond Power or Force. The Mitsubishi logo is a diamond.

Mitsubishi shafts are manufactured in Toyohashi in Japan. Red Board shafts have a stiffer mid-section but a softer tip compared to Blue Board. I am pleasantly surprised that the grip has just the right size - not too big and chunky nor too small. Like peanut butter, I like this smooth than chunky.

Result

I managed to use it twice on a par 5 and then a long par 4. Previous fairway wood I have used have much bigger heads. I found them difficult to use just by looking at the size of those heads even though theoretically bigger head means more forgiveness and a 43-inch club is not that easy to play with.

I did not take an opportunity to use it off a tee but surprisingly from the deck of the fairways I connected both times I used it. The trajectory is unlike the previous woods I have used that flew very high. This could be partly due to the stiff shaft I have selected. I did not particularly have good tee offs on both holes but managed to get myself back into play with good distance with a low shot. On the long par 4, my tee off was bad at only 200m and left with looming 190m uphill green against the wind which easily turned it into a 210m, I hit a good shot to land it just short of the green.

This is a do or die mission and no meeting half-way for me. This club is handsome. I feel fairway woods should look like this and it looks like a professional killer's equipment. Unlike other bulky but friendlier heads, this one is very playable as you can hit a lower ball. It makes a very pleasant sound in impact. It is solid and not thinny. Not loud but just the right tone. This is a no gimmicks club. No colourful decoration or distraction. Just aim-shoot-bang! Compact head-size can be a bit daunting and intimidating for some. Maybe among the smallest head for a fairway wood you can find but it sure packs a big punch. So it is not the size that counts but how you use it.

Golf as in life, play as it lies.