Titleist is unveiling its new titanium series of drivers -- to be known as the Titleist Titanium 983 -- that is built on the success of the company's Titleist Titanium 975 driver family, company officials have announced. Titleist, which along with FootJoy, Cobra and Pinnacle, is part of the Acushnet family of golf products, will begin shipping the new drivers to golf shops nationwide on Apr. 1.
The new series will consist of the 983K and 983E models, both of which already are being played on the professional tours -- Davis Love III won last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am using a 983E. They are, company officials said, two "distinctly different" drivers with common attributes of superior launch performance and optimum ball flight.
"The new 983 driver design optimizes current material and construction technology, while retaining the highly preferred Titleist 'true pear' profile," said Chris McGinley, Vice President, Titleist Golf Club Marketing Worldwide.
In the new drivers, company officials said, Titleist engineers developed an improved weight distribution and center of gravity location by carefully managing face and wall thickness gram by gram. A two-piece "face pull" construction, they explained, allows for a thin beta titanium face insert plate to be supported by an even thinner titanium face frame.
A revolutionary plasma face welding process provides for a cleaner, better weld that utilizes less weight and therefore improves the overall weight distribution.
The face insert, according to Acushnet officials, has been inset more from the crown, side and sole walls, allowing the entire face structure to perform more efficiently. These design and construction improvements optimize face performance and provide for higher ball speed and maximum allowable coefficient of restitution (COR) across a larger area of the face.
The Titleist Titanium 983K features a head volume of 365 cubic centimeters and, according to Acushnet, is targeted at serious golfers seeking a moderate spin driver with improved playability. The 983K is slightly longer heel-to-toe and deeper from front-to-back than its 983E counterpart.
The 983E has a 350cc clubhead with a deep face and more compact profile. It is designed for stronger or higher ball speed players seeking reduced spin. The smaller, deeper head and its shallower front-to-back size, they said, produces less dynamic loft for a flatter initial launch angle and downrange trajectory than the 983K.
Standard lofts in the 983K include 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5 and 11.5 degrees for right-handed golfers and 7.5, 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees in left hand. Lofts in the 983E include 7.5, 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees in right hand and 8.5, 9.5 and 10.5 degrees in left hand.
