Cantlay and Scott switched to the Titleist GT2 driver at the US Open.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
If you want to know what gear is trending in professional golf, take a look inside a few select loose bags from the equipment manufacturer. That's gearspeak for “free agents.” If you are willing to play something without compensation, it is generally assumed that the club has beaten all comers during the trial period. There is no reason to force a change.
Assessing the quality of professional golf takes time. Clubs must be tested on the course and varied before finding a permanent place in the bag. Of course, some clubs use a trial timeline.
Last week at the Memorial Championship, Brandt Snedeker, Denny McCarty and Patrick Rodgers put the Titleist GT driver right in the bag. They were three of 13 to do so before the opening round at Muirfield Village Golf Club. They also work for free.
Jonathan Wall/GOLF
While 13 driver conversions may not seem like a significant number, it's important to point out that Titleist saw 18 switch to TSR over the past two years at the Memorial – and that was before it became a limited event.
It's always hard to pinpoint club trends when a product is only a week old, but it's safe to say that the GT is already making waves, even with a small sample size. The trend continued this week at the US Open when Adam Scott (who is a “free agent”) and Patrick Cantlay added their names to the list by entering GT2.
Aussie gear habits are well documented, but the change still raises eyebrows. A pro rarely feels comfortable enough to change drivers at a major tournament, let alone a US Open on a punishing course like Pinehurst No. 2. For Scott, 2 mph ball speed and strong spin delta on mishits sealed the deal.
Cantlay saw similar numbers during testing and felt confident with the GT2 to bench the TSR2. For someone who doesn't often change clubs in their bag, the switch confirms something we've quickly learned about the GT since it arrived on Tour: The club is versatile enough for different types of players.
“If you have something good, you don't want to wait until the fall to get it out here,” JJ Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist's director of player development, told GOLF.com. “We're seeing better numbers in terms of misses and positive feedback in terms of formation. It's been amazing so far.”
During testing last week at the Memorial, Billy Horschel saw the GT's performance increase firsthand at the range. On the Horschel, low misses tend to increase revs from 2,200 to 2,900 RPMs, resulting in a dip in range in most cases. For someone currently ranked 93rd on Tour in driving distance, every yard counts when trying to clear the fairway under 300 yards.
But this low miss was out of Horschel's standard launch window (10-11 degrees) with 2,400 spin. (Horschel's clubhead speed increased from 115 to 116.5 mph and ball speed was noted from 173-174 to 175-178 during driver testing between the TSR3 and GT3.)
“When you have a guy like Rory [McIlroy] who is cruising in the high 180s [ball speed]you can carry stuff 300 yards whether you're spinning 2,200 or 2,800 [RPMs],” Horschel told GOLF.com. “That ball still travels 310 yards and more. For someone like me that carries a 295, I can carry stuff at 300 yards, but I have to be able to launch it and have the right spin.
Performance improvements are already working for Scott and Cantlay. The latter leads Pinehurst No. 2 as he seeks to win his first championship.
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