Great video confirming that center strikes haven't changed a great deal, but the off-center hits have improved dramatically. I was 42 yrs young in 2006 and i wasnt playing Titleist drivers until recently. Back then i had Ping and mostly Callaway drivers. My TSR3 is currently in the bag after replacing TSR2 about a year ago. TSR3 is by far the best driver ive ever played and ive been golfing nearly 32 years. No need to move into a GT driver, ill look to switch out in a few years when i retire.
I went to a Club Champion for a fitting, don't recommend, but at the end it was time for my driver fitting. I took out my 983K and he kinda chuckled...then after a few shots my average with it was around 317 yards. He built me a Srixon driver with an upgraded shaft and it got me a whole 5 yards more. I just looked at him and told him my 983K was $30 off eBay and I didn't think a $700+ driver was worth the 5 yards gained. Love the vintage clubs. I have 2 of those and 2 Ping T-ISI 8.5 drivers that I like to bring out from time-to-time.
905T with blue grafalloy shaft for me absolutely one of my all time favourites. Used to knock that out of the back of the driving range as a kid, which I don't often manage as a 36 year old with my TSR3. Will check again when I visit home for Christmas lol
At 70, I don't hit the ball as far as I used to, so recently I replaced my 905T with a Ping G430 Max, but I haven't been feeling like I have gained anything. To test, I recently have been alternating rounds. I use a Shotscope V5, so I have actual data. The drivers have similar shafts, and both are 10.5 loft. From the last 15 rounds: 905T - Best 238, Performance Avg (Avg excluding bad hits) 220, Avg (includes bad hits) 186, Fairways 48% G430 Max - Best 249, Performance Avg 210, Avg 188, Fairways 45% This is late fall golf in the Midwest US, so cold and high winds up to 25mph, gusting to 50mph. It has been rainy, so carry matters because the ball doesn't roll far. My drives this time of year are shorter and less accurate than they would be normally, but that applies to both drivers. If you believe manufacturers, driver technology is advancing by about 1 yard per year, and clubs are more accurate and forgiving. I see no extra distance, forgiveness, or accuracy from the Ping. The only difference I see is that the G430 Max has a noticeable draw bias, and I miss left much more often with the G430 Max, sometimes badly to the left.
Great video with some very interesting results!! In fact, I’m now going to get my old Titleist 983K out of the loft and give her a spin next time I go to the driving range…..
Interesting. I have 2 drivers the same years apart, and love both of them. The newer one is slightly more forgiving on mishits, but I mishit the older one infrequently. Apples to apples, the total distances are quite close as well. From my experience and watching this demo, I'd never pay the high price for a new driver. By the way, the V2 is still widely available and still a very popular aftermarket shaft. Thanks Georgina and Golfalot for good content.
I had the yellow proforce shaft. I had it in my callaway steelhead driver. Man that driver was tiny! Looks like a mini driver today. All the guys on tour were using that shaft. My dad took me to a club building mom and pop store and they put the shaft in for me. I still remember it cost $100 back 20 years ago. Super high end for the time.
I put my 983k back in the bag last year. Was a bit shorter than the TSi but I hit way more fairways. This year I switched to a TM mini and love it. I’ll take the slight loss in distance for fairways every day
@@thomasmikel3566 it was/is beautiful. 360 cc head looks like a modern 3 wood. Easy to hit and long with a lot of roll. I put a new fujikura speeder shaft in mine and took the anew Tsi out of my bag for it.
The 905r was Titleist’s first 460cc driver. It was long but, as with all drivers of the era, pretty unforgiving if you didn’t hit the centre of the club face. I still have one which I take for an occasional outing, mostly when I need humbling. I’m impressed with how you hit this as i don’t think you fit the targeted user profile for a Proforce V2 shaft.
Great stuff Georgina, really enjoyed that. It’s definitely got me thinking. I’d love to test a Sonartec Hybrid against the new tech. Great video @golfalot
This just shows you how drivers really haven't improved that much in 20 years except for forgiveness. I played the 905r and 983k back then and could hit them 280 yards but you did have to catch them in them in the middle of the face. Really 2006 doesn't seem that long ago to me but here we have a young lady that was 6 years old when the 905r was the current club in the Titlest driver offerings. I'd say that club is still almost as long as anything Titleist has put out since if you hit it in the center. Definitely a legendary Titlest driver even though I was partial to the 983k.
You say except forgiveness as if that doesn’t mean much. Of course anything hit out of the sweet spot will perform very close but it’s about direction. It’s miles better with modern drivers. Distance wise it’s really about the golf ball which has drastically changed the game.
Forgiveness is definitely a big aspect - the drop-offs when you don't catch the old driver are definitely more noticeable than the GT3! Thanks for watching
Not sure how much if any the rules around the driver face have changed since the older Titleist was released but your test just perfectly illustrated the physics that are at play in golf. E.g. swing speed has an awful lot to do with how far the ball goes 😊.
When you consider the development of shafts as well, the overall difference from the heads is pretty minimal (maybe mostly around forgiveness). Thanks for switching on captions 👍
The 905R is still one hell of a driver, I used right up until the TSi3. Added with iconic Proforce V2 shaft it really was one of Titliest best ever peforming drivers
I am still playing with a 905R with a stiff shaft at 9.5*! Lol. I got back into golf when my son became interested last year. I know I need to upgrade because I don't have the swing speed, especially on the back 9, and I would like more forgiveness, but I really don't want to pay $500+ for a driver. I'm playing with even older irons so I need to upgrade those too! The 905r does great when I hit well but if I'm off, I'm really off. I'm intrigued by the ping g430 but really need to do a fitting... After some lessons to dial-in my swing first.
This also shows how on course testing is less different to indoor fitting. Imagine how little difference there is trying to compare a 4 year difference clubs rather than 20 year difference.
We always prefer to test golf clubs on the course wherever possible - it can make a big difference when you're in 'real' situations rather than just whacking balls into a screen/driving range! Thanks for watching
The 905 was available in three different heads R,S,and T if I remember correctly. You've got the R...which is the one I had with the Grafalloy Blue in X. Very little difference between this club and the new drivers. The one thing that I don't like with the new clubs is the colour schemes. I'm the opposite to you. I want to see the loft on the club. The contrast between the black crown and the silver face does this. When I look down at the TS I just see Black Black. It's really off putting for me
You didn’t state the loft differences and also the shaft flex differences. I play a TSR. Great driver as long as you have technically the same shaft flex installed. My older Titleist driver has a much heavier shaft, which also plays much stiffer because it is a bore through design.
@@GolfalotTV I like the drivers that have a face that is higher bottom to top too. I was hitting a Cobra LTDX driver and the face is quite a bit less in that measurement. Helps with my misses that are higher on the face.
The results are not surprising, in 2006 maximum CORR .830 was achieved by most drivers, thus not surprised that center hits were comparable. Variable face thickness technology and weight adjustment additions have increased MOI, increased ball speeds, reduced spin and improved off center hits.
Modern golf balls have made all legacy golf clubs relevant. I went back to my Ping Eye 2’s and loving them. If you tested modern clubs with 1990’s golf balls you’d see a dramatic reduction in performance. The bigger problem is these current era golf balls are outrageously overpowered and need to be rolled back about 25 years. I’m 64 and hit the ball further now than when I was a buff and fit 25 year old.
She has a great swing - that UST ProForce shaft is like a telegraph pole! This is why women have better swing mechanics than most men: better flexibility and more focussed on technique £300-400 for a 2024 driver or £40-70 for a twenty-year old driver which is just as effective? I know what I´m buying....
The English call them Tee Pegs. Not a big thing just weird to hear. We (Aussies) call them just “tees”. That’s it. Is that a reference to cribbage pegs perhaps? No biggy just an observation. But to your video. I have an aTM R 11 driver. I hit it around 260 270 metres. I tried my mates Q10. Same distances were hit with both drivers by both players. My mate is very pissed. He spent a $1000 to NOT it further. My driver is worth $150 now. I’m keeping my 13 yo driver.
In a good player’s hands, that old driver would be great. All marketing. Advances have to happen. The TSI, TSR and GT series are very pretty and new. You’re dying for the 905 to suck!! It doesn’t. Its perception.
we need to see your club speed without it ball speed is no use to us,i don't swing it that fast and think i could be close to your speed so would be handy for me when choosing clubs to try from your videos
I’ll never understand why anyone gives a damn about what a club “ sounds” like. If a club performs better I don’t care if it makes a clown horn sound when I hit it.
This is not reliable result due to insufficient club speed. Why? Consider the case where weak player hits every golf club but to the same distance. I believe that if the test is conduct by a stronger player, the result will be different. Typically, newer club with new technology outperforms older club about 10-30 yards.
Great video confirming that center strikes haven't changed a great deal, but the off-center hits have improved dramatically. I was 42 yrs young in 2006 and i wasnt playing Titleist drivers until recently. Back then i had Ping and mostly Callaway drivers. My TSR3 is currently in the bag after replacing TSR2 about a year ago. TSR3 is by far the best driver ive ever played and ive been golfing nearly 32 years. No need to move into a GT driver, ill look to switch out in a few years when i retire.
I went to a Club Champion for a fitting, don't recommend, but at the end it was time for my driver fitting. I took out my 983K and he kinda chuckled...then after a few shots my average with it was around 317 yards. He built me a Srixon driver with an upgraded shaft and it got me a whole 5 yards more. I just looked at him and told him my 983K was $30 off eBay and I didn't think a $700+ driver was worth the 5 yards gained. Love the vintage clubs. I have 2 of those and 2 Ping T-ISI 8.5 drivers that I like to bring out from time-to-time.
Your average up to Rory McIlroy...okay...
@@kravdraa7 just saying what the numbers said there. Don’t care if you believe me or not tbh. Helps when you’re 6’6” and 295lbs though….okay….
Still got my 983K......my first Hammer!
@@kravdraa7 guy’s average is better than tour level. Still he went to Club Champions for a fitting to get a better numbers.
905T with blue grafalloy shaft for me absolutely one of my all time favourites. Used to knock that out of the back of the driving range as a kid, which I don't often manage as a 36 year old with my TSR3. Will check again when I visit home for Christmas lol
At 70, I don't hit the ball as far as I used to, so recently I replaced my 905T with a Ping G430 Max, but I haven't been feeling like I have gained anything. To test, I recently have been alternating rounds. I use a Shotscope V5, so I have actual data. The drivers have similar shafts, and both are 10.5 loft. From the last 15 rounds:
905T - Best 238, Performance Avg (Avg excluding bad hits) 220, Avg (includes bad hits) 186, Fairways 48%
G430 Max - Best 249, Performance Avg 210, Avg 188, Fairways 45%
This is late fall golf in the Midwest US, so cold and high winds up to 25mph, gusting to 50mph. It has been rainy, so carry matters because the ball doesn't roll far. My drives this time of year are shorter and less accurate than they would be normally, but that applies to both drivers.
If you believe manufacturers, driver technology is advancing by about 1 yard per year, and clubs are more accurate and forgiving. I see no extra distance, forgiveness, or accuracy from the Ping. The only difference I see is that the G430 Max has a noticeable draw bias, and I miss left much more often with the G430 Max, sometimes badly to the left.
Great video with some very interesting results!! In fact, I’m now going to get my old Titleist 983K out of the loft and give her a spin next time I go to the driving range…..
It's definitely good fun to take some of the old gear back out and try them from time to time!
Interesting. I have 2 drivers the same years apart, and love both of them. The newer one is slightly more forgiving on mishits, but I mishit the older one infrequently. Apples to apples, the total distances are quite close as well. From my experience and watching this demo, I'd never pay the high price for a new driver. By the way, the V2 is still widely available and still a very popular aftermarket shaft. Thanks Georgina and Golfalot for good content.
Thanks for watching, really glad you enjoyed the video!
I had the yellow proforce shaft. I had it in my callaway steelhead driver. Man that driver was tiny! Looks like a mini driver today. All the guys on tour were using that shaft. My dad took me to a club building mom and pop store and they put the shaft in for me. I still remember it cost $100 back 20 years ago. Super high end for the time.
I put my 983k back in the bag last year. Was a bit shorter than the TSi but I hit way more fairways. This year I switched to a TM mini and love it. I’ll take the slight loss in distance for fairways every day
Golf is definitely more fun when you're playing from the fairway...
Well worth a watch Georgina - thanks for visiting.
Thanks for having us - what a fantastic venue 🙌
Wow this makes me nostalgic for my old Titleist 983k. I even remember wanting the 905R..
The 983k was a beast. I still have one and game it occasionally.
I have still have one. My favorite driver of all time. I game a TSR4, but take the 983K out to the range pretty regularly.
@@thomasmikel3566 it was/is beautiful. 360 cc head looks like a modern 3 wood. Easy to hit and long with a lot of roll. I put a new fujikura speeder shaft in mine and took the anew Tsi out of my bag for it.
The 905r was Titleist’s first 460cc driver. It was long but, as with all drivers of the era, pretty unforgiving if you didn’t hit the centre of the club face. I still have one which I take for an occasional outing, mostly when I need humbling. I’m impressed with how you hit this as i don’t think you fit the targeted user profile for a Proforce V2 shaft.
I remember having that I bought second hand in maybe 2007. It was my favorite driver until I bought a Big Bertha 454.
Love old vs new content
Thanks for watching - more videos like this coming soon!
I’d like to see old vs new GI irons to see if tech has improved. Also possibly players irons, though not expecting much difference there
Great ideas - more of this type of video coming soon so we'll definitely bear them in mind!
Great stuff Georgina, really enjoyed that. It’s definitely got me thinking. I’d love to test a Sonartec Hybrid against the new tech. Great video @golfalot
This just shows you how drivers really haven't improved that much in 20 years except for forgiveness. I played the 905r and 983k back then and could hit them 280 yards but you did have to catch them in them in the middle of the face. Really 2006 doesn't seem that long ago to me but here we have a young lady that was 6 years old when the 905r was the current club in the Titlest driver offerings. I'd say that club is still almost as long as anything Titleist has put out since if you hit it in the center. Definitely a legendary Titlest driver even though I was partial to the 983k.
You say except forgiveness as if that doesn’t mean much. Of course anything hit out of the sweet spot will perform very close but it’s about direction. It’s miles better with modern drivers. Distance wise it’s really about the golf ball which has drastically changed the game.
Forgiveness is definitely a big aspect - the drop-offs when you don't catch the old driver are definitely more noticeable than the GT3! Thanks for watching
Had that old one. Miss it, should’ve kept it. Ugh, here I come eBay. Lol. Gonna have to get another one.
We thought this video might tempt a couple of people!
Not sure how much if any the rules around the driver face have changed since the older Titleist was released but your test just perfectly illustrated the physics that are at play in golf. E.g. swing speed has an awful lot to do with how far the ball goes 😊.
When you consider the development of shafts as well, the overall difference from the heads is pretty minimal (maybe mostly around forgiveness).
Thanks for switching on captions 👍
Loved the v2 and my 905
I still play the Mamiya Poforce V2 shafts on my 2008 TM Tour Burner 3 and 5 woods, lol. I love the cool colour scheme and surface texture.
The 905R is still one hell of a driver, I used right up until the TSi3. Added with iconic Proforce V2 shaft it really was one of Titliest best ever peforming drivers
Absolutely, and can still do the job today!
I am still playing with a 905R with a stiff shaft at 9.5*! Lol. I got back into golf when my son became interested last year. I know I need to upgrade because I don't have the swing speed, especially on the back 9, and I would like more forgiveness, but I really don't want to pay $500+ for a driver. I'm playing with even older irons so I need to upgrade those too!
The 905r does great when I hit well but if I'm off, I'm really off.
I'm intrigued by the ping g430 but really need to do a fitting... After some lessons to dial-in my swing first.
This also shows how on course testing is less different to indoor fitting. Imagine how little difference there is trying to compare a 4 year difference clubs rather than 20 year difference.
We always prefer to test golf clubs on the course wherever possible - it can make a big difference when you're in 'real' situations rather than just whacking balls into a screen/driving range! Thanks for watching
The 905 was available in three different heads R,S,and T if I remember correctly. You've got the R...which is the one I had with the Grafalloy Blue in X. Very little difference between this club and the new drivers. The one thing that I don't like with the new clubs is the colour schemes. I'm the opposite to you. I want to see the loft on the club. The contrast between the black crown and the silver face does this. When I look down at the TS I just see Black Black. It's really off putting for me
Looks like you enjoyed Manchester GC , on its day with the wrong wind even the big hitters will go driver . A par is a good score !
For myself…..the huge change was going from a persimmon driver to my first titanium driver……since no massive increases
Nike VR 8.5 with a project x 6.0 shaft. Took me 15 yrs to take it out of play...My go back to it!!!!
You didn’t state the loft differences and also the shaft flex differences. I play a TSR. Great driver as long as you have technically the same shaft flex installed. My older Titleist driver has a much heavier shaft, which also plays much stiffer because it is a bore through design.
I still use a Callaway fusion FT-3 and my wood is a old Callaway steelhead plus ☺️
Just bought a Ping G25 10.5 stiff driver in excellent condition for $100.... straightest, longest driver I have ever hit....
Great driver! We might have to include that in a head to head soon...
@@GolfalotTV I like the drivers that have a face that is higher bottom to top too. I was hitting a Cobra LTDX driver and the face is quite a bit less in that measurement. Helps with my misses that are higher on the face.
I carried a 10.5* 905R for a decade. It was a good driver for the 2005-2015 time period.
The results are not surprising, in 2006 maximum CORR .830 was achieved by most drivers, thus not surprised that center hits were comparable. Variable face thickness technology and weight adjustment additions have increased MOI, increased ball speeds, reduced spin and improved off center hits.
I had one but is was pretty short hitting. I went to the Ping G15 which was a great driver.
I mean, unpainted wooden tees for the win!
I’m still playing with my 905. I tested newer drivers 3 years ago and did not get better performance than my 18 year old driver.
I couldn't use the old driver but the head cover rocked 😂
Modern golf balls have made all legacy golf clubs relevant. I went back to my Ping Eye 2’s and loving them. If you tested modern clubs with 1990’s golf balls you’d see a dramatic reduction in performance. The bigger problem is these current era golf balls are outrageously overpowered and need to be rolled back about 25 years. I’m 64 and hit the ball further now than when I was a buff and fit 25 year old.
❇️ the older golf ⛳️ drivers are still worth putting in the bag ✅ the biggest difference is using the right golf ⛳️ ball ❇️
proforce V2 premium shaft back in the day!
I have that shaft on my driver and three wood. You were 6? Maybe time I looked for an update - but maybe I'll watch the rest of the video first!
My TM 2007 burner goes as far as my driver
She has a great swing - that UST ProForce shaft is like a telegraph pole!
This is why women have better swing mechanics than most men: better flexibility and more focussed on technique
£300-400 for a 2024 driver or £40-70 for a twenty-year old driver which is just as effective?
I know what I´m buying....
i still game a 2005 Mizuno MX-500 and outdrive most. 300+ 345 best ... i should get a new one but idk
Hit in the sweet spot and in the end they are all just hunks of metal at the end a stick.
You didn't compare shaft length. Surely that will affect distance
The English call them Tee Pegs. Not a big thing just weird to hear. We (Aussies) call them just “tees”. That’s it. Is that a reference to cribbage pegs perhaps? No biggy just an observation. But to your video. I have an aTM R 11 driver. I hit it around 260 270 metres. I tried my mates Q10. Same distances were hit with both drivers by both players. My mate is very pissed. He spent a $1000 to NOT it further. My driver is worth $150 now. I’m keeping my 13 yo driver.
In a good player’s hands, that old driver would be great. All marketing. Advances have to happen. The TSI, TSR and GT series are very pretty and new.
You’re dying for the 905 to suck!! It doesn’t. Its perception.
Golf drivers are the biggest scam going in golf.
we need to see your club speed without it ball speed is no use to us,i don't swing it that fast and think i could be close to your speed so would be handy for me when choosing clubs to try from your videos
I’ll never understand why anyone gives a damn about what a club “ sounds” like. If a club performs better I don’t care if it makes a clown horn sound when I hit it.
This is not reliable result due to insufficient club speed. Why? Consider the case where weak player hits every golf club but to the same distance. I believe that if the test is conduct by a stronger player, the result will be different. Typically, newer club with new technology outperforms older club about 10-30 yards.
Still waiting for the shocking results...?
Would love to see a big hitting lad from that club play a few holes with you. 😛
Chapstick.
Hahahahaa not only do I remember that shaft I played that exact driver.