718/818 Team Titleist pre-launch event today 8/24/17 at Sleepy Hollow CC

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By David ARK

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  1. David ARK

    David ARK
    Long Beach, NY

    Today was one of the best golf experiences I have ever had. Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to receive an email from Cathi asking if I would be interested in attending this event which would give me an opportunity to hear information about and get fitted for the new line of 718 irons and 818 hybrids. Needless to say that was a quick response of YES! From the moment I arrived, I was treated extremely well. It was so nice to put names to faces and to speak to other Titleist enthusiasts like myself. We were shown the new lineup and got an overview of all the details/specs/technologies that went into each club head. I felt like a kid in a candy store! We were also given a Team Titleist goodie bag with a bunch of cool Team Titleist stuff. I was blown away by their generosity. They were so down to earth and nice. They truly made me feel proud to be apart of the team. Titleist has some wonderful people working for them! After the presentation it was time for our fitting. I have been a loyal AP2 golfer for the last decade but really tried to go into this fitting without any preconceived ideas of what would be best for me. I really wanted the Titleist expert fitters to lead me in a direction of what would be best for my game, not what I THOUGHT would be best for me. My fitting professional was Bob Keleher. He was one of the nicest professionals I have met in the golf business. I was not hitting the ball great today, but he really took his time with me and was very knowledgeable. We tried all the new irons and hybrids, mixing and matching a variety of different shaft options. Using the trackman, we dialed in which iron and hybrid would be best for my game. I was surprised that the winning combo for me was the NEW AP3's with KBS $ Taper shafts. Being that I was so used to my AP2's, it was kind of hard for me to let go of them and welcome the new AP3's into my bag. The AP3's were just longer and straighter for my game. Trackman showed 8-14 yards longer on average per club to be exact. It's amazing what a real fitting can do for you, and not the big box store kind. The AP3's were a tad bigger then the AP2's (not very noticeable and smaller then the AP1's) but the feel and sound were almost identical, which was the most surprising to me being they are not forged clubs. They are exactly as advertised, the very best of the AP1 and AP2 mixed together. 1+2=3!!!! To say that I am excited to get these into my bag asap is an understatement. Now, the biggest adjustment is going to be figuring out my new distances with each club. The lofts are a bit stronger on the AP3's so I will need to figure out where my gaps in distances are and will have to reconfigure my wedge lofts to even everything out. No problem because the new Vokey SM7's are coming...hint, hint. The best part of this experience was being told that if we wanted to place an order today for the clubs we were fitted for, they would build them immediately and ship them express to us and we can have them in our bags next week. A full month before they even hit stores. I was ecstatic and took out the charge card immediately. I called my wife on the way home and told her thank you for the early Christmas present...while also stopping at the flower shop, lol. I am posting some pics of the new irons that I took, but I am not able to post any pictures of the new 818 hybrids until they are released to the public. They are beautiful, fun to hit and I ordered one of those as well to fit the gap between my 15* 917 F2 and 4 iron. Just wanted to share my experience with all of you. If anyone has any questions about any of the irons that I hit, ask away as I would love to share what I learned today. I will provide more feedback on my AP3's when I get a chance to take them out on the course next week. I would especially like to thank Cathi D for the invitation to today's event and for being so nice and welcoming! I would also like to again thank Bob Keleher for providing a truly professional fitting experience! Titleist knows how to treat their loyal fan base and today was a prefect example. First class all the way!!! Thanks again, David A

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  2. David ARK

    David ARK
    Long Beach, NY

    More pics
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  3. Tyler H

    Tyler H
    Appleton, WI

    Thanks for the write up David. Like you, I too switched from the AP2 to the AP#3 after a recent fitting earlier this week.

    Like always Titleist hitting it out of the park when putting on an event.

    TH
  4. Speedy

    Speedy
    East Coast, NH

    great write up David!! Like you, I ordered my AP3s right away as well :) Cannot wait to get them in my bag... It was great to meet you, well briefly as I was driving away.. haha.. Glad you had a great time and yeah that goodie bag was very nice... Thanks for sharing!
  5. Ty B

    Ty B
    Nashville, TN

    Military
    Jealous!!

    Enjoyed reading about your experience and looking forward to seeing these products in action. Picking up the 917 D2 and 917 F2 that I ordered today. Slowly converting everything Titleist's way!
  6. David ARK

    David ARK
    Long Beach, NY

    You are going to LOVE your 917's, especially the F2! I have reached a bunch of par 5's in two this season because of it. Have fun with them!
  7. RBH

    RBH

    Sounds like a great day and a great experience. Guess I will have to give up the 716 and try the 718 earlier than anticipated. Thanks for the write up.
  8. Ben A

    Ben A
    Los Gatos, CA

    I should not be reading this stuff!!! I get to do this on Monday in California and am so excited. I have no expectations, especially since I'm playing some of my best golf ever with my 716 CBs, but I am always open to try new things!!!

    Can't wait!
  9. Robert C

    Robert C
    Maryland

    What a great experience David. Thanks for taking the time to write about it and share it.

    Oh and great call on the Flowers...Although I'm sure a nice dinner out this weekend is probably in order as well...ha
  10. RJohnson

    RJohnson
    Cleveland, Oh

    Military
    I went to the Columbus event, and agree with everything you posted. Fantastic day, and cannot wait for my 718 irons to arrive.
  11. Tim D

    Tim D
    kokomo, IN

    Great summary. I cannot wait to go to my fitting on Sept 14th. The AP3 look amazing.
  12. Steven P

    Steven P
    ALLIANCE, OH

    David,
    After playing the MB's for years in 2012 I switched to the 718 AP2 irons. Big change from the blades to cavity backs. Playing today, our club assistant asked me about a Titleist fitting coming on Sept. 20th. It took me about 2 seconds to say yes. He also mentioned the AP3 as a club to look at this time. Just a few questions for you.
    1. Did you like the look as much as the AP2 when addressing the ball?
    2. Was the added length a function of the technology or the lofts?
    3. How was the feel relative to the forged AP2?

    I have the TMB4 iron (and love it) and it is making me think about those instead of the AP series.

    Did you try the TMB and what were your thoughts.
  13. David ARK

    David ARK
    Long Beach, NY

    Steven P said:

    David,
    After playing the MB's for years in 2012 I switched to the 718 AP2 irons. Big change from the blades to cavity backs. Playing today, our club assistant asked me about a Titleist fitting coming on Sept. 20th. It took me about 2 seconds to say yes. He also mentioned the AP3 as a club to look at this time. Just a few questions for you.
    1. Did you like the look as much as the AP2 when addressing the ball?
    2. Was the added length a function of the technology or the lofts?
    3. How was the feel relative to the forged AP2?

    I have the TMB4 iron (and love it) and it is making me think about those instead of the AP series.

    Did you try the TMB and what were your thoughts.

    Steven,

    The AP3's are absolutely worth giving a look to this year...a very long look indeed! They are beautiful looking irons and I think the hype about these clubs are all true. You have some great questions.

    1. I do like the look as much as I liked the AP2. You can notice that the AP3 are marginally longer heel to toe, but other then that, they are almost identical to the AP2. Same thin top line which I prefer. (I also came from playing the MB for many years)

    2. The added length in the club head I believe is from the technology and being able to provide added forgiveness over the AP2.

    3. I thought the feel of the AP3 was CLOSE to, but not as soft as the AP2. They feel like a more explosive version of the AP2. The engineers dialed in the sound of the AP3 to keep them as close as possible. Being that I was playing the AP2 for the past ten years, I was unsure at first about deviating away from them as I had a lot of success with them over the years. While going through my fitting, I was alternating between both the AP3 and AP2. At times my fitter was doing this blindly with me, telling me to just focus on hitting the ball and not which club was in my hands. At times, it was hard to tell the difference. Based on my trackman numbers, they just performed better for me. Other people might have a different experience.

    4. I did hit the new T-MB. I must say they truly are beautiful looking clubs. They performed well for me, but getting an entire set of these are expensive. In my opinion, for me, they didn't perform $800-$900 better then the AP3. That's something to keep in consideration with the T-MB. Unless you have an unlimited budget, which I don't.

    Good luck and let me know how your testing goes. I'm curious if you have the same thoughts on the new clubs as I did.
  14. SKHANNA

    SKHANNA

    Amazing!
  15. Stephen B

    Stephen B
    Derby, NY

    I'll star out by saying Cathi is AWESOME. I was at Sleepy Hollow as well in the 10:15 fitting. Really awesome experience. I hit the ball high and was really thinking I was going to be fit into AP3. I also thought I would end up with a lower spinning shaft but was fit into mid spin PX LZ 6.0. I was hitting high with to little spin. Something I would have never known this without Tom Blumenthal and track man by my side. He really help work on my trajectory. Ironically it was the AP2 the gave me the better flight and numbers.
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  16. Mike C

    Mike C
    Dallas, TX

    Great write up and thanks for sharing your experience. Had to miss the scheduled Texas fitting to play in a tournament at Kiawah Island this week but sounds like you all had a great time. Enjoy the new AP3's and hit them well once they arrive! The Team Titleist folks really know how to take good care of us Titleist enthusiasts.
  17. David L

    David L

    I am looking forward to a fitting when I get back to Vegas. This Spring fit a new driver in the "31 swings" promo, bought, and am now hitting my drives straighter and about 25 yards longer than with my png G30. I have played png irons for forty years, but I'd like to try these new vintages of the Titleist irons. Send me an invite???!!!
  18. Tom M

    Tom M
    Red Hook, NY

    Does Titleist ever give an explanation for AP1/2/3 as to what type of golfer they are targeting? It would help me enormously to focus on which one is best suited to my game.
  19. Paul D

    Paul D
    Houston, TX

    What an opportunity - the 718s are gorgeous, and the new stock shafts will be really helpful to many folks. I've been over the moon with my 716CBs I fit myself with, and I'm really excited for the 818 release - looking to see if it's a marked improvement on my 915 I can bomb every once in a while.

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