Testing the Titleist 915 D3 Driver against the 913 D3 Driver

 

Titleist have just launched their latest driver, the 915. There is two models the D2 and the D3.

According to Titleist the driver's benefits are;

• More Distance Through  Higher Speed and Lower Spin
• More Distance on Off-Center Hits
• More Distance, More Often

Additional Player Benefits

• Premium Shafts provide high performance options to maximize your speed and timing.
• Solid Feel and sound from the higher standard of acoustic engineering.
• Great Looks from the pear profile and rich appearance.

Like every new driver launch a manufacturer claims it will be longer and straighter.

We decided to put these claims to the test. We compared a 915 D3 with a 913 D3. Both heads had 9.5 degrees of loft. We had two players testing. While hitting both players switched heads but used the same shaft. Player A used a Mitsubishi Diamana Kai'li 70 S flex and Player B used a Graphite Design Di-7 X flex. Player A used the Titleist Pro V1 and Player B used the Pro V1X.

Temperatures were around 9 degrees C and there was little wind.

Both players hit 24 drives, 12 with each head, in the order of 6 with 913, 6 with 915, 6 with 913 and 6 with 915. Results were recorded on a Trackman launch monitor.

Initial Observations 

 

Immediately noticeable is the different sound from the 915, it is louder. Secondly the ball seemed to launch higher and spin less and also seemed to have more stable flight. 

Results

Player A

 

Driver	Carry (yards)	Total	Dispersion (ft)	Club Speed	Ball Speed	Launch Angle	Spin	Height (ft)
915	233.9	252.8	33.77	101.2	150.1	11.2	2781	91.3
913	230.6	248.9	42.73	102.4	151.2	10.3	3034	86.5

Player B

Driver	Carry (yards)	Total	Dispersion (ft)	Club Speed	Ball Speed	Launch Angle	Spin	Height (ft)
915	256.8	277.6	33.44	113.7	163.9	10.0	2422	95.3
913	255.2	272.2	44.3	113.6	164.9	9.5	2987	105.5

Analysis

Both players got slightly more distance with the 915, Player A got 3.3 yards more carry and 3.9 more yards in total, player B got 1.6 yards more carry and 5.4 yards more in total. Both players were also more accurate with the 915, player was 8.97 feet closer to the target and player B 10.86 feet closer.

The extra distance was mainly due to the lower spin rate the 915 was spinning the ball 253 rpm less for player A and 565 rpm less for player B. For both players the launch was also higher but the ball speed was higher for both players with the 913. So the 915 is giving more distance through better launch conditions (i.e. higher launch and lower spin) mainly.

Conclusion  

Should these players get the new Titleist 915 driver? Yes, it's longer and straighter for them. The 915 does what Titleist says it does, it gives longer distance through less spin and is also more accurate. However, it's a slight gain for both players and not a 15 or 20 yard gain, the gain is through better launch conditions. If a bigger gain is achieved it's mainly because the golfer's previous driver wasn't suited for their game. 

Will this driver give every player more distance? again not necessarily, if a player already is hitting a driver with optimal launch conditions for their swing then a lower spinning head will lead to less distance. Ultimately every player should spend some time on Trackman or similar launch monitor finding a driver with optimal launch conditions for them. Nevertheless this new Titleist 915 will perform exceptionally well for a lot of players and is worth testing.

Any questions please ask.