WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Titleist GT hybrids (GT2 and GT3) benefit from refined shaping and new internal and external weighting to push new levels of stability and forgiveness. It also results again in two distinct hybrid alternatives: a larger and higher-launching option in the GT2 and a compact, iron-like choice for shot-makers with the GT3. Each model features adjustable heel and toe sole weights.
AVAILABILITY & PRICE: $499, $NZ569. GT2: 18, 21, 24 degrees. GT3: 19, 21, 24 degrees. All heads with 16-way adjustable hosel. Available for pre-sale on February 5; at retail from February 21.
3 Cool Things
1. Forgiveness matters more in hybrids. While there is all kinds of discussion about moment of inertia in drivers, the new Titleist GT2 and GT3 hybrids use weight-saving technology to boost forgiveness in hybrids. And that matters more. The GT2 and GT3 hybrids use that freed up mass to create a more stable frame so off-centre hits rebound off the face with a similar velocity to centre strikes.

“When we set out to improve our hybrid lineup, one of the first things we looked at in terms of our design goals was stability,” said Tom Bennett, Titleist’s principal product manager for metal woods. “Hybrid forgiveness is particularly important because for most players, these are scoring clubs. Eliminating excessive distance drop-off is a huge benefit not just off the tee, but maybe even more so in approaching the green.”
As Bennett explains it, while the MOI of drivers is a much higher number than on hybrids, the amount of the effect of the same number of points of improvement in measured MOI in a hybrid is greater than a similar improvement in a driver’s MOI. In short, Bennett says more improvement in off-centre hit performance happens when the inertia is at the lower end of the scale, like it is in hybrids. Drivers are at the far end of the scale and the benefits of MOI start to dramatically taper off at the higher end, where most drivers today already exist.


GT2
Even with the GT2 and GT3 adopting sleeker profiles than their immediate predecessors from the TSR line-up, the GT2 shows a 10-percent improvement in measured MOI over the TSR2, while the GT3 shows a 15-percent boost in MOI over TSR3 despite being some six percent smaller. The total MOI, which measures how the clubhead twists on a mis-hit both in the horizontal and vertical directions, is highest on the GT2 hybrid and even higher than on the company’s maximum game-improvement hybrid, the recently launched GT1.

GT3
2. Weighting game. While Titleist metal woods have embraced its 16-way adjustable hosel for almost 15 years since the introduction of the 910 metal woods and that loft/lie manoeuvrability continues with the GT hybrids, what is new are heel and toe sole weights that allow a player to dial in ball flight. The GT2 and GT3 feature stock flat weights of 11 and 5-grams that can manage ball flight for a draw (heavy weight in the heel) or a fade (heavy weight in the toe).

“The next question we asked ourselves in the design process was, ‘How do we really optimise performance for the player?’” Bennett said. “We wanted golfers to unlock the best possible performance out of these models through the fitting process. We’ve added a considerable amount of customisation to each model, which will go a long way in dialling in launch conditions and ball flight.”

3. Ground control. Both the GT2 and GT3 made a change to a flatter leading edge, as opposed to having the front toe and heel regions rise up away from the turf. Essentially, this makes the leading edge on these hybrids more resemble the leading edge of an iron, better falling in line with the idea that these clubs are workable iron replacement clubs. Extending that low toe and low heel region also provides more face area for better deflection overall and more consistent ball speed and higher launch. The flatter leading edge mirrors the design of the GT fairway woods launched last August. As Bennett said back then, “We wanted to bring the low toe and the low heel closer to the ground. That does two things: it really provides a visual that the tour players really wanted to see. They wanted to see that, yeah, this is definitely going to get under the ball. It gives them a feeling that this is easier to hit and more forgiving. It also brings that face area down so that now when you hit it low heel or low toe, you’re making contact effectively higher on the face. That helps ball speed and helps control spin.”

GT2