Thanks for the thread Darius. Very interesting to read your results and I bet you can't wait for next season now to try out that new driver!

Congratulations Darius! Glad to hear that your session went very well. I could not get to the free fitting sessions -- Northview apparently did not have any openings and this was from the day that the announcement was made on TT! I guess word spread pretty fast at the club that all the bookings were made at the club!

So Darius, your distance gains -- were they across the board on nearly every shot or was there 1-2 shots that "pulled up" your average? Was the improvement mainly from "off centre" shots going further/straighter?

Also, did you find a specific weight/setting - I assume you did as part of the fitting. How did you like the added adjustability with the CG weighting system?

And, of most importance to me, how did you like the "feel"?

I already have the 915 D2 in my bag ... so I am really not sure that I want to go out and get the 917 --- yet! Hahaha :-D Ahh, the temptations of wanting to hit the tee shot a little better/straighter, etc.

Thanks for any feedback Darius! And glad you found what you were looking for. Now, if only you could let me borrow your "it" as I seem to have misplaced mine! But that is another topic!

Hi Dino,
We're sorry to hear that you were unable to schedule an appointment for the 917 Complete Performance Launch Event. There were 6 appointments available at each of the 15 events that we ran across the country. Northview, among others, sold out in a matter of hours. That said, no one from Northview was booking appointments prior to the Team Titleist Email being sent on 9/8.
As I believe you know, you can still book at Fitting at the Titleist Regional Fitting Centre at Northview but fees may apply.

All the best,
Mitch D

Hi Mitch! I'm glad to hear that the launch day went wonderfully well across the country -- and while I attempted to book an appointment for a fitting at Northview, it's okay. This way, others had the opportunity to either explore or discover the new 917 Driver! In my case, I already have my 915 that I really enjoy!

For me, the temptation however, will always be there to go and try it out and perhaps add it to my bag! :-).

Dino... Here is some additional feedback to your questions.

"Your distance gains -- were they across the board on nearly every shot or was there 1-2 shots that "pulled up" your average? "
-- The improvement was pretty well across the board. When I hit "good" shots with my driver compared to "good" shots with the 917, I gained at least 10 yds.
My best drive with my 913 was 250 and my best drive with the 917 was just over 260.

Was the improvement mainly from "off centre" shots going further/straighter?
-- I hit just as many shots close to the bottom of the face on both my driver and the 917. The result was similar on both of them until I moved to the final shaft. With that shaft the thin shots seemed to be better than average.

Also, did you find a specific weight/setting - I assume you did as part of the fitting. How did you like the added adjustability with the CG weighting system?
-- Interestingly enough. Tim did try a small change with the weighting, but the shaft ended up being the big difference. He has suggested my new driver be fitted with a neutral weight.

And, of most importance to me, how did you like the "feel"?
-- Over all, the look of the club was certainly different. I liked it. Appeared to be smaller, but that could be the colour change. The feel was good. This is where I can say that when I hit the good shots with both my 913 and the 917, the 917 felt smoother. One also has to remember we were at St. Andrews Valley and their range balls were old beat-up Pinnacles. I can only imagine how nice it would feel to have a softer ProV1 or ProV1x jump off the club face.

I was like you when the 915's came out. I had a bit of a vision problem - Just could not see myself spending the money so soon after putting the 913 in my bag, especially when I was in the market for a new Fairway Metal. This year I got the new 816 Hybrid and three new Vokey Wedges, so I think next year will be a good time to invest in the 917 D2. Can't say when I may be in the market to replace my 912 AP1's. I think I will have to check with the boss on that one :)

Hope that helps...
Darius

Hi Darius!
Thanks for the awesome feedback! It is great to hear that the new 917 was an across the board upgrade for you!

It sure reinforces the importance and benefit of having a proper fitting! You tried out different shafts and settings finally resulting in a combination that worked best/produced the best results.

That can only add to the confidence factor every time that you step up to the tee knowing that if you put a good swing on the ball that the club will deliver every time!

I get into these sorts of discussions with friends, fellow golfers, etc. all the time about fitting for the clubs. So many of them tend to agree, but cannot resist the temptation of buying OTR clubs that are deeply discounted so that room can be made for new inventory.

I liken it to buying a suit -- (assuming that one wears a suit to work, etc. anymore). One can go and buy an OTR (off the rack) suit from a men's warehouse or the can go and get a "made to measure" or a "tailor made" suit -- the difference in fit, feel, comfort, etc. is like night and day! I think the same goes with club fitting too!

Thanks again for the feedback Darius and congratulations on the fitting/new club! D.

Dino - SO glad I could offer feedback on my fitting. I personally feel it is only right that I provide feedback on the experience and my thoughts on the product given the fact that Titleist was kind enough to offer some free fittings across Canada and I was lucky enough to book one. As it turned out, the weather was wet and the fittings after mine were cancelled, so I was really fortunate. So glad my wife and I drove down early to make sure that should there have been traffic issues, we could take alternative routes and still arrive on time.
As for custom fitting, my experiences with all my clubs have proven to me that buying off the rack for me simply would not work if I want to get the most out of the club. With so many shaft offerings, what are the odds that I would select the right combination off the rack ? Sure, I would likely have still picked up a great club that would at worst match what I already have in my 913, but my goal ist to get something that improves my game, not simply something that is new and looks nicer :)
I had fittings for everything in my bag (except my Scotty) and am so glad I did so. Every time I went for a fitting, I ended up getting something that I never would have picked off the rack. The fittings by Chris at the National Fitting Center have definitely made a huge difference in my game and my confidence. In most of those cases I was moving from a competitors product to Titleist so one could say the improvement was inevitable. The benefit of doing a fitting was made even more obvious to me last week when I did my fitting with Tim for the 917 as this time I was comparing a Titleist product with a new release. These guys know what they are doing to help you put the right tool in your hands !!!!

Remember - I was fitted for my current 913 D2 and the shaft/head/setting/weight combination was dialed in to get the most I can get with my amateur swing. During the fitting, we put my shaft into a 917 head, and saw no improvement. I needed the change in shafts to see the benefits of the new 917. That cements the fact that the fitting process is key in getting the right combination.

Hey Darius, ... great observations! I think you summed it up perfectly in regards to the importance of fitting your clubs with the following statement:

Remember - I was fitted for my current 913 D2 and the shaft/head/setting/weight combination was dialed in to get the most I can get with my amateur swing. During the fitting, we put my shaft into a 917 head, and saw no improvement. I needed the change in shafts to see the benefits of the new 917. That cements the fact that the fitting process is key in getting the right combination.

That was a great point Darius! I do occasionally feel like a "lone voice" sometimes when I have these discussions with some fellow golfers. Of course, the biggest objection that I hear is: "well my swing is bound to change so why get fit for my current swing when I am working to improve on it?"

Well my friend, thanks again for sharing! I know that you will thoroughly enjoy the new driver in the bag for 2017 Season! Now ... if you could send me your "it factor" for me to borrow I would appreciate it!

Dino - I only need it for my closing tournament this weekend, so you can use this starting Monday !!! As of Monday, all my key competitive rounds will be done for the year and it will be time to focus on trying different things out on the course to see how they work.
I hope it brings you some good luck !

Scott,
It is great to hear that you experienced what so many others who have tried 917 have.
Yes, since we have fitting tools available earlier than ever, the Oct 21 availability date feels further away than normal. However, it's actually an earlier availability date than we typically have. A great thing given the Canadian climate! You should be able to get a few rounds in with your new 917 Driver and have it for any golf trips you have planned in the 'off season' ! ; )

We look forward to hearing more 917 Driver success stories from you once you get it officially into play.

Cheers,
Mitch D

Hi Mitch:

I know but the fitting and the on course results were so good, it is really hard to wait. Do have a trip planned for the US in November and the club will get a good work out. That I Promise!

I was in at my local Golftown last week and they had received a couple of demos. I have not compared it yet to my 915, but what I did notice with the 10-15 balls that I hit in the simulator was that my spin rate was down about 700 rpms, and the sound was just amazing. I normally use a R flex, and their demo was a S, so not sure if the spin rate was lower because of the shaft or the head, or a combo of both. My swing speed is in the 96-99 range, so maybe the stiff is what I need. I plan to get fitted properly to see what the experts suggest. Really looking forward to it!!

Hi Barry,
Great to hear that you got to try 917.
Moving from a Reg to Stiff shaft 'can' influence both launch and sometimes spin. With that said, we would both expect your spin to lower when you hit 917.
You should definitely consider booking an appointment at the National Fitting Centre at Eagles Nest in Maple sometime soon. A fairly manageable drive from your location and more than worth the trip! ; )
Learn more here.

Darius, good to hear you got such positive results. It will be an exciting day when you get the phone call that your new club has arrived.

Very interesting to hear about comparisons with the 913 D2 which is what I have.....Sounds like a great improvement....Can't wait to demo the 917