Equipment editor James Savage has tested out the new TS2 and TS3 fairways. Find out which one is making its way into his bag
Review: Titleist TS2 and TS3 fairways
Our Titleist TS fairways review took place largely at Woburn but was followed by launch monitor and on-course testing at Leeds Golf Centre, Moor Allerton and Hillsborough.
Titleist TS fairways review: First impressions
Like with the new TS2 and TS3 drivers we have a super-adjustable model and a simpler, non-adjustable model.
Titleist TS fairways review
Both have very similar headshapes and the same black crown.
We can see that the SureFit CG adjustable weight has been moved closer to the face on the TS3 than on the 917 models.
We think this is a good move from Titleist as there will be some people out there who just want a simple 3-wood or 5-wood.
Others will prefer to get properly dialled in for a particular shot shape or to try and help straighten out a common miss.
Titleist TS fairways review: The technology
Titleist TS fairways review
We’ve got similar technology to the drivers which is all focussed on creating more club speed and ball speed.
There’s a thinner, lighter crown, a thinner, faster face with weight savings used for optimised centre of gravity placement.
Titleist have also tweaked the active recoil channel (ARC) which we’ve had in the 915 and 917 models.
It’s new design which runs up a bit higher behind the face to add even more flexibility and ball speed.
Titleist TS fairways review
We’ve no longer got the ARC in the drivers but Titleist said it remained essential on the fairways for shots which are struck lower on the face.
Titleist say the TS3 should launch a bit lower and with a bit less spin than the Ts2.
So that’s the lowdown on the new Titleist TS fairways, but how did they perform? See the results and James’s verdict on the next page…
Titleist TS fairways review: The results
I had previously used the 915 and 917 fairways and thought they were right up there with the best models on the market.
And ahead of my fitting I was pretty certain I’d favour the TS2 model over the TS3.
Titleist TS fairways review
But I was completely wrong. And this is why you should always go and get fitted.
I’ve not been carrying a 3-wood for the last three or four months in favour of a 2-iron.
This has been exclusively for use off the tee as a back up to driver.
And it has worked great for me this summer – particularly on fast and firm fairways.
Titleist TS fairways review
But maybe I would get a bit more versatility with a 3-wood? And actually hit it into the odd par-5?
Hopefully it will give me a bit more carry through the air as courses get softer?
Anyway, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. So I really struggled to get any consistency with the TS2 during my fitting. I was spraying it all over the place but mostly missing left.
So with a few tweaks of the hosel and the SureFit CG on the TS3 I was hitting the ball long and straight.
Titleist TS fairways review
Similar to the drivers, the fairways just sound and feel really hot off the face.
And there was a slight jump up in ball speed from the 917 to the TS models.
Titleist TS fairways review: NCG verdict
We think that the TS drivers are considerably better than the 917 models.
Do the fairways follow suit? I’m not sure the improvement is quite as great.
I think when people put the 917 and TS fairways head to head on the launch monitor they will see quite similar performance.
But the TS do look, sound and feel nicer. And the fact they have two models which are equally playable rather than one friendly model and one more compact model is a good move.
The acid test for me will be to see if the tweaks made by my fitter will continue to work for me out on the course or whether they were just correcting me on the day.
I’ll be putting the TS3 3-wood in the bag for a couple of competition rounds to find out.
Titleist TS fairways details
SRP: £299
Available lofts: 13.5°, 15°, 16.5°, 18°, 21°
Shafts: Kuro Kage Black Dual Core 55 (High launch, moderate spin),
Tensei AV Series Blue 65 (Mid launch and spin),
Hzrdus Smoke Black 70 (Low/mid launch and spin)
Even Flow T1100 White 75 (Low launch and spin)
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