Titliest 910 D2 Driver Review
Take this for what it is, one guy’s opinion, but Titleist has been lost in the driver doldrums the last several years. Don’t get me wrong, the 905 Series was fantastic. I still own a 905T, and it still holds up very well against many of the newer drivers on the market today. Then came the 907 series, and for many the release, particularly the D1 which marked Titleist first real attempt at a more forgiving driver, was a disappointment. The 907 was followed by the 909, which marked the first time, with their DComp model, that Titleist had produced a composite crowned driver. While my sense of things is that the 909 was generally well received (and anecdotally it was one of the longest drivers in recent memory), there really wasn’t much of what you might call buzz about it.
Enter the Titleist 910 Series:
Unlike the 909, the buzz leading up to the release of Titleist’s 910 series of drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids, was nothing less then deafening. Until TaylorMade’s R11 was announced, the 910 was THE hot club for 2011. And with the 910 series came some changes to the lineup. Like the triangular D1 before it, it appears that the composite DComp has disappeared as suddenly as it arrived. The D3 model is still around, and still features all titanium construction and a 445cc head. The D2 model we tested features a standard 460cc head. Both are .5° open. Titleist claims the 910 series it’s the most technologically advanced driver they’ve ever made (would you expect anything different). The literature says the face has a 15% larger maximum ball speed area, which we think means you don’t have to be dead center to be long.
As you might also expect from Titleist, the 907D1 not withstanding, the 910 features a traditional pear-shaped look, though the black PVD finish is something new and different for them. Of course, the all-black paint job isn’t the only thing new to the 910 series.
It’s Adjustable:
Like the two previous releases, the 910 brings yet another first for Titleist. This time it’s the company’s first crack at an adjustable driver. While we didn’t test ball flight variance as part of this review (we’re mulling over a possible supplemental review on the impact of adjustability), we did come out of the review extremely impressed by Titleist’s SureFit Tour Technology. Unlike most other adjustable drivers, the SureFit system allows for loft to be adjusted independently of lie (and vice versa). The idea is that you can now adjust your trajectory without altering the way the ball moves left to right, or right to left, I suppose. Titleist has also created an optional weight kit which allows the golfer to swap out weights in the sole in order to fine tune the swing weight, and adjust the feel with different shafts.
Speaking of Shafts:
One of the things I’ve always appreciated about Titleist is the quality of the stock shaft offerings. In addition to the Diamana ‘Ahina that came with our sample, additional stock (no upcharge offerings) include the Aldila RIP, Project X Tour Issue, Diamana Kai’Li, and Dimaman ‘ilima (the Diamanas being of the “Made for…” variety). Titleist, who usually offers the most reasonable upcharge prices in the industry, also offers another 20 or so shaft options (available in various weights), so there’s very little doubt that you won’t be able to find a 910 to suite your game.
Material Composition: Titanium
How We Tested
The 6 golfers for whom we collected detailed performance data were asked to hit a series of shots on our 3Track Equipped simulators from aboutGolf. As usual, testing was done at Tark’s Indoor Golf, a state of the art indoor golf facility located in Saratoga Springs, NY. Detailed data for each and every shot for which we collected data is now viewable in the interactive portion of this review. This data serves as the foundation for our final performance score. As a supplement to our 6 performance testers, a subset of additional golfers were given the opportunity to test the Titliest 910 D2 Driver and provide feedback in our subjective categories (looks, feel, sound, perceived distance, perceived accuracy, perceived forgiveness, and likelihood of purchase). This information, which we also collected from our performance testers, is used as the foundation for our total subjective score. All testing was done with the head in the standard position (9.5° loft, 58.50° lie).
PERFORMANCE SCORING
Distance
As we noted in our review of the PING K15 Driver, 46″ has quickly becoming the standard length for the modern driver shaft. At only 45″ long, the Titleist 910 is downright short by today’s standards. Of course, like the PING (and I believe there’s a lesson in here somewhere), the shorter shaft does not appear to have hindered distance in the least.
Only one of our 6 performance testers failed to post a distance score higher than 90. His numbers were easily offset by two of our testers (Dan and CJ) who manged to post scores over 95. The assumption was that our new testing protocols would actually result in lower distance scores, but thus far that hasn’t proven to be the case, and more importantly, raw distance averages are actually up across the board from last year.
Though two of our 3 core testers were actually fractions of points shorter with the 910 than the previous driver tested, overall the distance numbers proved especially strong.
MGS Distance Score: 93.13
Accuracy
If there’s been a knock on Titleist drivers over the years it’s that they were designed for better players. The implication, of course, being that higher handicap players would have a tougher time keeping the ball in play. To an extent this thinking has helped build Titleist’s reputation as THE brand for serious golfers, while at the same time it may have hindered the recruitment of new players to the brand.
While forgiveness will be discussed below, our data suggests that the Titleist 910 D2 should not be immediately discounted by higher handicap golfers. The slightly open face could prove an obstacle for the slicers among us, but on average, our testers didn’t have much trouble finding the fairway. You will notice from our shot chart that dispersion was much more balanced, meaning are golfers were just as apt to miss right as they were to miss left.
Though not a single one of our testers was exceptionally accurate (less than 10 yards from the centerline), not a single tester was obscenely offline either. With most of the raw averages below 20 yards, and adjusted averages (outliers trimmed) being better still, we found ourselves being pleasantly surprised to discover that the 910D2 is more than just a “players” driver.
MGS Accuracy Score: 89.76
Consistency
From golfer to golfer, the consistency of the 910, though much better than we expected, wasn’t quite as high as the last driver we reviewed. What I can tell you about my experience is that I sometimes struggled to get the ball in the area with the ‘Ahina shaft. This is actually quite remarkable considering that it wasn’t all that long ago that I struggled to keep my launch angle, with any driver, below 15°. Producing an average launch angle of below 8°, it’s clear that as much as I love the feel of the shaft, it’s not the right fit for me. As you can see on our interactive chart, when I was able to get the ball in the air, the results were extremely impressive.
Fortunately, most of our testers proved to be more consistent with the Titleist 910 than I was. Everyone else was over 90, CJ, our lowest handicap tester ever, posted the highest consistency score we’ve seen to date (97.98). The overall average fell somewhere between he and I which shows the overall the consistency of the club to be very solid.
MGS Consistency Score: 92.88
Overall Performance
With Titleist drivers, distance is seldom, if ever a concern. We expected the club to be long, but what we found most surprising was how easy it was to keep the ball in play – even for higher handicap golfers. Though my launch numbers weren’t ideal, my smash factor indicates the club is reasonably hot across the face, and most of our testers found it consistent from shot to shot. While total performance isn’t significantly better than the last driver we reviewed, we think the Titleist 910 D2 should appeal to a much broader range of golfers.
MGS OVERALL PERFORMANCE SCORE: 91.54
SUBJECTIVE SCORING
In nearly every category we track with our subjective surveys, the Titleist 910 posted some of the highest scores we’ve ever seen. Whether or not the actual performance backs up our tester’s impressions (and mostly it does), our testers, save the guy who told us “typical Titleist, can’t feel the head”, came away extremely impressed with the new Titleist driver.
Looks
Some talked about the all black design. Some talked about the traditional shape. Some mentioned the understated graphics, but almost all agreed that the Titleist 910 is one of the best looking drivers on the market today. We’ve never had a club receive so many 10s for looks. Those 10s (and all the 9s), more than made up for the low score (a single 7). Realistically, we don’t expect we’ll see many scores higher this season.
MGS Looks Score: 95.21
Feel
Again…just one guy’s option here, but the 910 is a bit closer to the feel of the 905 that I love so much. It’s not perfect, but it’s still very, very good. Our testers called it “firm”, “solid”, “powerful”, and simply “sweet”. Once again, allowing for the “can’t feel the head guy”, the ratings we received, including a couple more 10s, were extremely high. Once again, a single 7 on the low end wasn’t nearly enough to offset the majority opinion.
MGS Feel Score: 93.68
Sound
It’s a bit cliche, but there’s something to be said for “it just sounds like a Titleist”. While I wouldn’t say the same about the 909, or the 907, again, the 910 is a step closer to what I loved about the company’s earlier drivers. Though not perfect, overall our testers rated the sound highly. There were more 7s on our surveys, and fewer 10s, but when the results were tallied, the prevailing sentiment is that the Titliest 910 driver sound pretty darn good.
MGS Sound Score: 90.61
Perceived Distance
Unlike last time around, it seems our testers had a much better sense of what the realities were when comparing perceived distance to our actual data. Though one tester for whom we didn’t collect data rated the club a 5 for distance, a majority of testers actually rated it a 9. There was a single 10 (oddly enough from a guy whose numbers indicated he should probably have scored it an 8 or 9), and a few 8s and 7s, but overall, our tester’s beliefs are, for the most part, supported by our data.
Tester Perceived Distance Score: 90.61
Perceived Accuracy
As with distance, perceived accuracy ratings were more or less in line with the actual data we collected. We can’t explain why the numbers were so much better this time around, except to say that it appears that people’s perceptions about golf club performance sometimes have almost no correlation to reality. The Titleist 910, however, may be the exception, as once again, we think our testers were spot on in their evaluations.
Tester Perceived Accuracy Score: 90.61
Perceived Forgiveness
When we survey for forgiveness, we phrase the question like this; “How forgiving is the club on mishits? Do you feel it performs consistently from shot to shot?”. Sometimes we think our testers buy into the extreme fringes of some of the marketing that is out there. No club is going to produce dead straight shots for every swing. It’s just not reasonable. Still, our testers seem to believe that the Titleist 910 performed well enough. While it wasn’t rated extremely high for forgiveness, I wouldn’t call the rating extremely low either. As tester Mark put it, “slight mis-hits were still in play. Gross mis-hits are gross mis-hits, enough said”.
Tester Perceived Forgiveness Score: 82.93
Likelihood of Purchase
LOP consistently returns the lowest score of any of the questions we ask in our subjective survey. While in most categories, 80-85 proves to be the average, Likelihood of Purchase seems to consistently return results in the low 70s. This tells us that even if a tester likes a club, at least in today’s economy, there’s very little certainty that that tester is actually willing to part with his money.
In the case of the Titleist 910, that’s probably true, though perhaps a bit less so. While there were a couple of 4s (there always are), we also received a couple of 10s (which is highly unusual for this category). While many of the testers indicated they’d definitely consider the Titleist 910 before their next driver purchase, we had one tester emphatically tell us that he would “bag this driver in a New York second”.
Tester Likelihood of Purchase: 81.39
Given the affection our testers seem to have for the Titleist brand, and more specifically, the 910 driver, it isn’t surprising to see the highest subjective score we’ve posted to date. Granted it’s very early in the season, but our scoring system is one of the stingiest out there, and it’s extremely difficult for a club to even get a sniff at 90. For the Titleist 910 to not only get a whiff of 90, but to actually exceeded it, albeit by just a hair, we can’t help but believe Titleist has managed to create a driver with near universal appeal.
TOTAL SUBJECTIVE SCORE: 90.38
CONCLUSION
Before we even started testing with the Titleist 910D2, we were reasonably confident that it would prove to be a very solid offering for above average players. What really surprised us is how well our higher handicap golfers were able to keep the ball in play with this club from a manufacturer who has a reputation for producing product almost exclusively for more accomplished players.
While I’m not suggesting that high handicap golfers should run right out and buy the Titleist 910, what I am saying is there is absolutely no reason (based on our tests) why higher handicap golfers should stay away from the Titleist 910D2 either. By every reasonable measure it performed admirably in our tests, and did so across a range of handicaps. If you are in the market for a new driver in 2011, and particularly so if you’re looking for an adjustable model, the Titleist 910 D2 is well worth the time it takes to demo the club.
MGS TOTAL SCORE: 91.25
>> VIEW OUR NEW - INTERACTIVE REVIEW SYSTEM <<
Loading ...
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
If you were to use this personally, how would you change the adjustable part and why?
Sactown – If you’re asking what adjustments I might make if I were to game this club… Based on my personal experience during our tests, I’d probably boost the loft a bit to try and get the ball up in the air a bit more consistently (although on windy days, the stock ‘ahina might be perfect without adjustment).
What’s curious about the Titleist SureFit system is that it’s all about loft and lie, whereas with other adjustable drivers, the emphasis is more about face angle. Overall, I think that baring a true 3-way adjustable system, THIS is the better way. Better golfers manipulate face angle all the time. The trade off is, of course, more or less loft, but there’s no need to manipulate the natural playing position. It’s tougher to make loft adjustments (at lest those that don’t affect face angle), and lie adjustments, without manipulating one’s natural swing. The Titleist SureFit system, I believe, is more in tune with the type of adjustments that would actually be made inside a Tour Van.
I think all these tests should be done over or just scrapped altogether. As anyone who’s ANYONE (or, more specifically, most of those GolfWRX snobs) will tell you, Trackman is the ONLY launch monitor worth anything. All others suck. LOL- OK, the sarcasm’s over. I do really like the testing process, and I especially like how GolfSpy T writes his out. Doesn’t make me want to run out and buy anything, but I’d rather read these than any of the marketing schtick in the golf magazines.
Mr Golfspy,
I’m trying to decide between the 910D2 and the adams 9064LS (normal version). Can you make a comparison between the 2 in terms of distance, forgiveness and feel? They both look great to me.
Your review of the 9064LS is what turned me on to it last fall, but I wanted to wait til the beginning of the new season before getting a new driver but loved the 9064 when I tried it. I’m kinda glad I waited because we’ve had a lousy winter (no rounds played!) and I can now get the 9064 for around $300. The Titleist would run about $100 more.
I’d likely play the Titleist in the neutral setting as my numbers were best that way when I hit it on a simulator.
Do you think the 910 is better (and worth the extra $100) in terms of performance as your review process is different now? How would say the 9064 would rate under the new system?
Thank you for your help!
skip
One thing that doesn’t change as we update our scoring models is the raw numbers. On average, the 910 was the longer of the two drivers, but the 9064 was more accurate in our tests. We didn’t put a number of forgiveness/consistency when we reviewed the Adams, so all I can say is that I believe it to be very good.
My opinion only, I like the feel of the Adams a bit more, but paired with the right shaft, either head should perform big.
Skip,
I went from the 909D-3 (440cc) Damiana shaft to the Adams 9064 std. with the RIP shaft. Both are 10.5* and reg shafts (I’m 65). Was averaging +/-225 with 909 and slighly more-235 to 240- with (with an occasional 260) with 9064. The big difference is in my “spray” pattern, much tighter with 9064. I would, however, get 9,5* if I had a do-over. The 9064 really airs the ball and I tend to fade it slightly so there’s not a alot of rollout. I also like the looks and would recommend the 9064. Having said all this, it really is the Indian, not the arrow. My playing partner still uses wood “woods” and generally outdrives me.
I think I see an error in your scoring. In the “Tester Likelihood of Purchase”, the 910 scores an 81.39. In the paragraph directly below, you say it surpasses 90?
Would a score of 90+ in that catagory push the 910 into the “Bag It” zone? (it should be there anyway!)
Thanks,
Engelburger
That is referring to the “Overall Subjective Score” and “MGS Total Score”.
Ahhh, my mistake. By the way, Could you tell me which drivers have made it to the “bag it” catagory?
In tests where there is only one available shaft, it doesn’t make sense to ask questions like “which one is better/should I buy?” At least if distance is your criteria.
As was pointed out in the review, Titleist offers over 20 different shafts and some of those will fit you better/worse and be a bigger determinant in how the club works for YOU than will what manufacturer’s head is on the shaft. If you are going to purchase any clubs, get them custom fit, which includes shaft choice, for YOU. Loft and face angle are also very important for YOU. Any major OEM head in the right specs and right shaft will be better for distance than the random shaft in “the best” head.
But don’t take the above to mean I don’t like what is being done in these tests. They seem to me to be the best testing/data gathering that is being done and made available to the public.
I couldn’t agree more on the need to get custom fit. What’s unfortunate is that most OEMs still only offer one or two stock shaft options before you have to step up into an often costly upgrade ($80-$250), which is why most drivers are still bought off the rack. What’s worse, is that very often those stock offerings offer a choice between high launch and really high launch. For me personally, it’s often very difficult to lock in my ideal launch conditions with the majority of off the rack setups. Based on that alone, I think what Titleist is doing with multiple shaft offerings is absolutely fantastic. Wish more companies had the same type of offerings.
What would be more interesting to me is to be able to view each Tester’s results by club rather than each club’s results by Tester. That would allow me to choose a tester who seems similar to me and compare the results of each driver/club and make an informed decision on which club to choose. I love the reviews but it’s difficult to tell which club was best for Dan, CJ, etc. under the current format.
Jeff – It can be a little tricky since we’re not always able to use the same testers for each review (although we are trying to build some consistency there). I’m also looking at doing some sort of cumulative comparison page. I’m not quite sure what that will look like yet, but I do want to get one or two more clubs on the list before we put it out there.
Love it except for the alignment aid on top
I have the 910 D2 with a 10.5 head and the ahina shaft. Hands down the best driver I have ever hit. One of the guys in my normal group said I should never hit anything else. Not sure that will happen but, it will be a cold day in the bad place before this club leaves my bag.
It would be interesting to pair this driver against the Adams 9064LS. They seem to two of the higher scoring drivers in the last year or so. Incidentally, is there a summary page of driver reviews that list the drivers tested and their scores? It would be nice to easily see them. Now that I’m thinking about the driver comparisons, how cool would it be to compare the best of the 2010 against the best of 2011 in a head to head match. Or even do a editors pick between two of the higher rated club reviews and put the right shaft in that you would game and then do a comparison! Just think out loud.
I have never been a real Titleist fan until the 910. While the D2 is reviewed, I preferred the D3 when being fitted. Never been a REAL long driver of the ball but, I can consistently hit this D3 280 yds. Before switching I was lucky to get 250 our of drive.
Golf spy T: I’ve been given the opportunity to replace a defective driver with any in the same price range, $399. If you were in the same “predicament” and could get anything out there, including the new G20, which driver would you buy? I’m not kidding; I can pick any driver to replace mine! What to do? I live in a rural area with absolutely NO access to fittings…
I did go to a demo day 100 miles away in April. Ended up with the Srixon Zstar driver that now is defective. On Callaway trackman, I was swinging my FT Tour, Matrix Ozik XCon 6, 105 mph, putting ball 285-290 with roll… Chose ZStar due to distance plus tighter dispersion and adjustable… Anyway, what would you buy?
Paul – I won’t say I place sound and feel over performance, but am willing to accept a slight distance loss (never accuracy) for improvements in sound and feel. It should go without saying that everyone is different, but with a$400 credit, you should be able to get yourself a very nice driver, with a near idea shaft.
The 910 is a very nice driver with more shaft options than probably any out there. I’m still playing the Adams 9064LS, and while I did like the numbers from the Nike VR Pro, the only driver we’ve tested this season that I gave even a moments thought to putting in the bag full time was the Callaway RAZR Hawk Tour.
I’m a high-handicapper just starting a few lessons after 15+ years of trying “tips” from my buddies and everywhere else. I’m a short player, 5’5″ so the lie adjustment sounds good. This seems like the driver I should be seriously looking at, but wanted to get some opinions from others. Is this the one, or should I look at any others?
I’ve just been fitted for this (driving range, no trackman etc). Went with the 9.5 with stiff ‘ahina shaft (higher kickpoint to give a lower flight). Went with notion of trying the following: Callaway Octane and Razr, Ping G and K, 910D2.
Not an advanced test by any means, but had an experienced fitter watch me hit 15-20 balls with my own stick (Callaway FT5 Draw 9.5 stiff shaft). From that, his eye was able to suggest my ball flight was quite high, with a fade being my typical shape and a slice sneaking in occasionally.
Tried the Callaways and Pings, with some dispersion. Distance wise, all were pretty much similar – and if the difference is 10 yards between clubs I’ll take whatever is straighter/more accurate. I’d take fairway, rather than 20 yards further, behind a tree every single time.
Step up the 910D2. Tried the mid kick point shaft firstly, and had a relatively high flight. Set this to C2 (lie a bit upright to promote a draw, loft lowered to 8.75 degrees). Then changed to the ‘ahina shaft which gives a lower flight. Was scorching a powerful, slight draw exactly where I aimed 3 times out of 4. Flight really powerful, accuracy was pleasing and distance wise it looked good. Plus that flight will give me plenty of run.
The big advantage of this club is the adjustability – RAZR coming soon with this, other than that it’s really only the R11 that offers similar (ie beyond open/closed) – tried Nike in past, wasn’t impressed… And I hate that white finish – wouldn’t touch it.
As I improve as a golfer, I can adjust this to match a new shape. Presently it promotes a draw to straighten out a fade and reduce the chances of a wild slice. Over time, if my shape changes to a draw, this can be made more open. Over the summer perhaps the loft could be raised?
Ordered the 9.5 loft but came close to considering the 8.5. In the end went with what I tested, I can’t see myself every requiring a lower flight than I had in the testing.
In short – seriously seriously impressed. It’s not just the driver itself; it’s the shaft options. Found something that fitted me perfectly, and there are enough stock options (or upcharge choices) to fit any golfers game. The adjusting gives 16 combinations – throw in approx 4 shaft options plus reg/stiff/X etc and this has enough to give any golfer enough choice to find something perfect.
Head looks beautiful at address. Shaft is 1″ shorter than most other offerings which gives a bit more control. I’m sold.