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Golf is all about consistency but the reality of it is we can't always be as consistent as we'd like to be. We don't always land the ball in the middle of the fairway or an ideal area to make the best shot. That's when versatility needs comes into play. This year can certainly be said to be the year of the utility. While rescues, hybrids and utilities are nothing new, there are more and more to choose from with all different styles, designs, and to suit players of all levels.

When I'm not swinging the fairway woods well, I look to the utility as my go to second club. It shorter club length makes it easy to control and hit center and with many new designs today, you actually don't lose much distance going to a utility vs a fairway wood especially if you strike the center of the club more consistently on the utility. Its not uncommon to see players these days use a no fairway wood setup and go with strong lofted 16 or 17* utility. I've had Royal Collection utilities in the bag as gamers for nearly 3 years now and nothing has been able to knock them out of the rotation. As I've noted in several posts on the blog already, the TRC utilities are simply great all around performers with feel, ease of use, distance as well as stability.  When Titleist's new VG3 FW and UT where announced at February's Japan Golf Fair, I wondered if these would be able to compare to the RC's overall qualities. Since I play the Titleist VG3 Forged and don't like hitting a 5 iron, I thought I would get the VG3 UT 25* to test out.

At first glance, the VG3 H as it is called is rather simple looking and for many this can be a good thing. It's clean lines and shape are not distracting in anyway. However picking the club up you can feel its build and quality. Its a very solidly put together club. The VG3 H features the VG3 line's variable weight with tungsten weighting in the sole. This promotes squaring of the head and allows the player to catch the ball solidly on the sweet spot which is pretty large. The VG3 line afterall was specifically designed for the Japanese market and average golfer in a joint venture between Titleist USA and Japan. The VG3 line has turned out to be well suited for quite a broad range of players including lower handicappers wanting the most forgiving Titleist clubs up to higher handicappers who need clubs to grow with and advance to the next level. The VG3 H is no different as it has characteristics that many players will like.

At address the VG3 H was designed to set up like an iron type utility. I don't mean like a driving iron but rather a utility whose shape resembles the way an iron sets up at address with a taller toe area and clear view of the face. The VG3 accomplishes this with its slightly taller toe area and reasonably deep face. Like the TRC, the shaft lines up with the top line of both clubs making for a very nice appearance at address. I like the way the VG3 H flows along with the VG3 Forged 6 iron.

The above images shows the deeper face of the VG3 H and you can see how the toe is taller compared to the TRC Utility which is dubbed more of a fairway wood type utility thanks to its head and face shape.  The VG3 H also has a longer hosel/neck which places more mass over the top of the club actually raising CG and creating a more penetrating ball flight (which is of course more evident in the lower lofts). With its deeper face I'm looking forward to teeing off with it on those 180y+ par 3's.

I like the way the VG3 H feels in my hands, it is rated at D1 but it feels like it has a higher swing weight. Overall weight is much closer to my VG3 Forged irons with graphite shafts which is a good thing for consistency in feel.  Swinging the VG3 you can feel where the head is at all times. The Motore H stock shaft is not soft nor is it very stout. You can wobble the shaft and feel the head and its easy to load and release but not to the point where it is unstable. However aggressive swingers are probably best off going with one of Titleist's upgrade shafts for added stability. At address the the VG3 H sets up well and frames the ball with confidence. Its not a large head nor is it tiny. Feeling good about your club at address gets you off to a good and confident take back. While it does have a bit more of a tink sound at impact feel is rather crisp but soft similar to the 910H (it uses identical 17-4 stainless for the body and special 455 custon steel for the face) but with a bigger sweet spot.

The VG3 H is very easy to get the ball in the air.  The sole is pretty flat and really allows you to get under the ball. My VG3 H is a 25* so the trajectory is mid to higher but stable and still runs a little. So far with brief testing I have to say that is a very cooperative utility . As a 25* the shaft length of 39.5" is a touch on the longer side and this helps add distance. (the older 24* TRC was in fact 40.0" long) The additional length doesn't really make it any harder to hit as you can really feel the head unload to the ball. Sometimes I find with a longer club length and lighter head weight I can't tell where the head is which is a feeling I certainly don't like. Luckily this is not the case with the VG3 H. So far I'm pretty happy with how the club looks, feels and plays. For a midcapper its a great balanced performer between straight away distance and stable control. Its forgiving enough for the higher handicapper and at the same time that forgiveness is a draw for the better player wanting a - don't think just swing utility - that sets up favorably at address for the low handicapper.

As always the real test will be taking it out on course which I will next week at Manna's Gary Player Course!  Hopefully the VG3 Fairway wood will arrive in time to accompany it!

You can check out the VG3 H in the pro shop as it has already begun shipping.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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We've got some exciting news from Titleist Japan, we're going to be able to get our hands on a few very limited Ryuji Imada tour wedge sets! The Vokey Design wedges are exactly the same models, designs and specs that Ryuji uses on the PGA tour.  The three wedge replica set will consist of:

49* Vokey 200 Series Wedge (48.06)
53* Vokey Prototype Wedge (53.12)
61.5* Vokey Prototype Wedge (61-T)

All three wedges are shafted with DG Tour Issue S400 shafts and have the same grinds and stampings as the wedges in Ryuji's bag and are of course with conforming grooves.

The bad news is they are SUPER limited and cost 990.00 a set (which works out to 330.00 a wedge - I guess that doesn't sound too bad).

They begin shipping at the end of April and we cannot guarantee the exact number of sets we will get.  If you are interested please contact us to reserve your set.

UPDATE April 8th: Allocation of 2 sets! SOLD OUT!! - We are trying to get more.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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We don't typically review US Market gear let alone carry them on TSG. The skewed market here in Japan and exchange rate factor make pricing of US market release clubs very unbalanced. Of course Japan gets all the US models plus all their own brands and JDM only models from US brands.  Some of the US model releases even have varied specs and options in Japan that differ from the US. A few weeks ago I had requested demos of the new Titleist VG3c driver and VG3 fairway woods. Since they weren't coming out for another month, Titleist Japan sent over their new 910 series of clubs.

I decided instead of letting the clubs sit there I'd compare their 910F to the egg Spoon. Why? I thought it would be interesting to compare tradition which Titleist is known for, to unorthodox, which most people consider the egg Spoon. The Titleist 910F is compact, pear shaped and has a mid to deep face and high back.  While its shape screams traditional as we all know the 910's are Titleist's most advanced clubs yet featuring their Sure Fit technology. The 910F while maintaining the classic shape uses weighting to create an easy launch off the ground not unlike the ultra sleek and shallow egg Spoon. So more than anything, this was kind of a fun post at making a visual comparison between the two. I'll game the 910F this week but based on its design its probably a balanced and stable control FW unlike the Spoon whose primary role is a distance beast that scares your own driver.

The egg Spoon is not a huge club at under 160cc however the way it is designed makes it look larger at address. When you look at the face profile straight on though, its not any bigger than the 910F and its certainly much shallower. This is one of the reasons why the Spoon is a considered one of the easiest fairway woods to launch in the air. While the Spoon is more upright, it features a V sole which allows you to drop your hands, flatten the lie and still pure the ball.  The 910F has a very nice looking black satin face. It's the kind of deeper face you can use to tee off with confidence. The egg is a monster off the tee but you need to be careful with your tee height due to the very low face.

The original egg Spoon took a book out of the Cleveland Golf's pages and features a similar taper back to the Hi-Bore. The new egg Spoon took it a step further and literally scooped out the back. There pretty much is no crown which is why PRGR is able to spread the weight so low and far back.  On the other hand, the 910F on the left still looks classic though it does taper back a bit towards the rear. It achieves its low CG through weighting placed towards the back region of the sole. It is this scooped out back of the egg Spoon that gives it that aerodynamic SWOOOSH when you swing it. Some customers have said it sounds like a samurai's katana sword cutting through the air.

There can be two trains of thought when looking at the both clubs side by side at address. One, is that the egg Spoon is too weird looking, especially next to the classic pear shape of the 910F or... Two that the egg Spoon provides confidence at address and the scooped out back actually acts as an alignment tool, framing the ball as PRGR designed it to do. You can't go wrong with the 910F's looks, traditionalists will love it while higher handicappers may shy away with the perception that it is harder to hit.

I did quickly hit a few balls down the street at our range with the 910F and I thought it felt and sounded pretty good, surprisingly similar to the egg Spoon. The new egg Spoon was a huge improvement over the first generation model in both feel and sound as you can see, well actually hear in the video I made a few months ago in this post. It still amazes me that with head design like what the egg Spoon has that PRGR was able to improve both feel and sound. I guess its a credit to PRGR for listening to its customers and sticking with top notch premium materials to get it done.

Overall it was fun to take pics of the two clubs side by side. I just kept saying to myself, wow what a difference in looks. The 910F is pretty much the same club in Japan as it is in the US. The only difference is that the shafts are NOT "Made for Titleist" versions but the actual top grade aftermarket shafts installed. The 910F comes with the Diamana ahina 60 and 70, ATTAS T2 6 and 7, and the Tour AD DJ-6 and 7. Just something a little different to distinguish it from the US market model like the way Titleist Japan offers the AP2 Forged with milling marks on the face in Japan for more spin (if I'm not mistaken the US model doesn't have the milled face). So in case people are wondering we can get all the clubs that are US models with JDM shafts from the manufacturers here. Just because something is not listed in the pro shop doesn't mean we can't get it. All you have to do is ask as we have access to everything.

Off to Katsura tomorrow with both the 910F, 910H and egg Spoon in the bag... all just for fun. (^_^)

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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In 2 weeks TSG will be live at the 2011 Tokyo Golf Fair previewing some of the hottest new Japan Only releases. With speculation from GolfDigest Japan we can safely guestimate some of whats coming from the major OEM's. That said there are surprises in store that golf companies are just not willing to reveal yet.

As you can see on the chart below it highlights releases starting back in November with the TourStage 705 series, Srixon New Version Z-TX Driver, and new 2011 Yamaha Inpres X models followed by December Yamaha Inpres X utility woods, PRGR Egg driver and two new XXIO drivers.  This month (January)  the new Callaway Legacy APEX was released, XXIO VP Prime, and Srixon's updated GiE series.

The chart also shows some blacked out models coming in February,  To save time I'm skipping over new USDM releases because all that stuff is common knowledge and covered on most mainstream websites.  I'm pretty sure the woods from Nike are the U.S release VR Pro models yet there is usually something Japan only that we could see during the show.

Titleist will have a Japan Only TVD model wedge and Mizuno for the most part has kept hush on their new releases outside of the Japan only and Endo produced MP Craft 425 and JPX 800S Drivers.  The return of the T-Zoid has also been rumored since recently announcing their new T-Zoid utility club.

There will be a slew of Odyssey putters as well as a few designs produced exclusively for the Japanese Market along with  a couple of Japan only finishes. On the very right hand side of the Feb. line were assuming thats the Callaway Legacy APEX utility wood and  moving over to March there should be a new players model of the Tourstage 705 driver that could be named the 705R. Another unknown Callaway driver is also present on the list. The replacement to the Taylormade Burner along with the TourStage PHYZ series has already been announced yet is shaded in, could these be other new releases?  In regards to Taylormade we do know the Burner 2.0J (Japan Only) has already been announced.  More to come on that one this week.

We are aware of a handful of other  new releases that we were asked not to mention. So far that's all the news that the major OEM's are comfortable with officially releasing.

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Titleist Japan will be expanding it's VG3 club lineup in 2011 which currently consists of the forged VG3 driver and forged VG3 Irons. In March 2011, Titleist will release a new VG3 Fairway wood and a VG3 Utility. They've also added a new VG3C driver, a more compact 440cc VG3 Forged driver made for the better player wanting a more workable driver unlike the more draw biased VG3. At the press release they also showcased their new 910F and 910Fd Fairway woods with top Japanese upgrade shafts. Tourspecgolf.com is looking forward to trying them out and seeing them at the up coming Japan Golf Fair!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Since the Titleist VG3 irons were announced earlier this summer and since their release at the end of August, I've talked about the iron many times on the blog as its performance has been a hot topic here in Japan. Two months later, nothing has changed as it is  still the most in demand iron in Japan surpassing the summer's big seller the Ping Anser Forged.

All Around Performer...

I have to admit after demoing the VG3 iron for a couple of weeks, that it lives up to the hype. Most publications in Japan including Golf Digest, Golf Today, Waggle and others have given the VG3 stellar reviews and all around top ratings.  Looks, design, feel and performance all are top notch. After completing my iron shootout, I immediately contacted our Titleist rep asking for a set of irons for myself and was very disappointed to find out that October's allotment of VG3 irons has been sold out all across Japan!  The next batch is available in November. This must be the first time I haven't been able to get an iron I want and honestly it makes me want them even more!  The funny thing is I always tell everyone to pre-order and I didn't even do so myself... duh?!? Luckily my bag contains the Yamaha V Forged iron to hold me over while I wait.

Carefully thought out...

There are so many things that make the VG3 a wonderful iron that could satisfy any golfer. The VG3 would be my first Titleist iron ever as in the past I never really considered the brand. In Japan, it has always had the reputation of being an athlete level club especially the drivers and irons. Titleist USA worked together with Titleist Japan in their first ever joint venture to design the VG3 clubs for the Japanese market. They did not rush their efforts and took over a year just tinkering with design and testing, making sure it would satisfy not only the athlete golfer but also Japan's largest segment of golfers the average golfer (like myself).  For those who missed it this video shows some of the history behind the first VG3 club the VG3 driver, which all of the testing was actually done in the US (video is in Japanese though there are parts in English from Dan Stone, VP of Club R&D).

Variable sole weighting...

One of the key features on the VG3 iron is the variable weighting on the sole. VG3 stands for variable gravity design. On the driver there were 3 varying gravity design models varying between the 9 10 and 11* lofts. On the irons its the same 3 tier design with the long irons featuring dual tungsten weighting embedded in both the toe and heel in the sole of iron while the mid irons feature a single tungsten weight in the center of the sole.  The 3rd variable gravity design is the short irons where there is no tungsten at all.  This variable gravity design alters the trajectory by changing the CG on each iron. The dual tungsten on the long irons increases forgiveness and MOI while dropping the CG low for big carry and distance ball. The mid irons with a single tungsten weight allow for a higher ball to attack the green from a distance. The short irons with no weights have a higher CG point lowering the trajectory for a stable controlled shot and that touch around the greens.

Great looks and design...

Another aspect of the VG3 which stands out a lot is of course the irons looks. Not only the beautiful design and back cavity but the way the iron sets up. For a strong lofted iron the offset is considered less however where the design aspect actually takes place is the way Titleist shaped the heads. The long irons feature a very straight and sharp top line designed to create an image of going straight when lining up with the ball. The mid irons have a slightly curved topline and head shape for more workability and ball movement and the short irons are curved more like a wedge for control and pin point ball movement. You'll see more of this in the videos I post below.

Feel and ease of use...

The strongest points of the VG3 are probably feel from the Endo forged S20C head and ease of use thanks to what Titleist calls a pre-worn sole or a sole already designed to produce more clean impact thanks to its ability to move through the turf. So the VG3 excels in looks, design, feel, distance and ease of use. The one thing I wonder is how better players will adjust to the stronger lofts and more point and shoot nature of the VG3 Forged. The mid and short irons are certainly workable but the lofts are strong and will still provide more distance than some better players are used to. For example the PW is 44*, and this alone will force some players to alter their wedge lineup as those who carry a 52* may find the gap of 8* too large.

Update: Larger address picture. Offset amount is just right... beautiful flow from neck to head.

Custom Options...

Those who have purchased the VG3 Iron from us have all been different levels of golfers, from average golfers to single digit players and slower swingers to fast heavy steel players. Luckily Titleist offers custom orders for the VG3 including lie and length changes as well as custom shafts like PX, KBS Tour, DG, DG HL, DG SL, and even lighter weight steel like NS Pro 750GH Wraptech.  Some of the better players have told me that heavier shafts have brought the ball flight down for them and were happy in moving from the AP2 to the VG3 even with the stronger lofts of the VG3.  So like everyone else I have to wait for my set. If you want one I'd recommend ordering soon and waiting. After all good things come to those who wait!

Titleist Promo Videos...

In the mean time I've got 3 promo videos from Titleist Japan for the VG3 Forged. They are of course in Japanese but I'm sure you'll enjoy them anyway. They touch base on a lot of the points I noted and you get to see Titleist Japan Pro Nobuo Serizawa hit the irons. He's the guy who helped design the driver and the irons and is a top pro on the Japan Senior tour (and of course was a top pro on the JPGA men's tour as well).

Titleist VG3 Iron Part 1: Feel

Titleist VG3 Iron Part 2: Weighting and trajectory

Titleist VG3 Iron Part 3: Topline and performance

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Lotte Kasai Golf in Tokyo held a demo day for the new Titleist Japan VG3 Forged Iron. Like the driver which I have posted about many times here on the blog, the Japanese Market VG3 Irons are aimed at the average golfer and improving mid capper. The strong lofts (24* 5 iron) matched with low CG in the form of tungsten weights in the sole create a higher launch and more MOI. The interesting thing is that the VG3 features variable placement for the tungsten weights on the sole depending on the iron just like on the driver. I can't wait to hit the irons to see how the different placement affects trajectory, feel and control.

The iron is most likely premium Japan forged by Endo which typically does the advanced multi piece forgings and does manufacture the VG3 driver already for Titleist as well as most of Titleist Japan's forged irons. The VG3 is longer from heel to toe and features small offset with a mid sized top line and sole. Trajectory is on the high side and is made for distance and forgiveness which is typical for the average golfer target audience. We're looking at a late September release for the VG3 Forged Iron which will be available with 3 shaft choices initially, NS Pro 950GH, DG S200 and a Fujikura Titleist Motore 6.0i 3 axis carbon shaft.

I've already asked our Titleist Japan rep to send over demos which I will test along with the new Tourstage GR Forged.  Two very good irons made for the average to quickly improving golfer. Premium forged, and top notch peformance!

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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New 910 Driver and 910 Fairway Official!
June 21'st the new Titleist 910 Driver and 910 fairway woods were approved for play in competition.  Reported directly from the Titleist Tour Blog that they have begun testing and putting the 910 metal line in Tour players hands at the Acushnet Ocianside Test Facility in California.  Next week near Philly the AT&T National is where we should be seeing the new 910's  in the bag's of PGA tour players.

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New Titleist 910 D2 & D3 Drivers Revealed!

The New Titleist 910D2 & 910D3 Drivers are about to hit the market November 2010!  The 910D2 Driver is a 460cc head offering more forgiveness and a more shallow face when compared to its smaller more playeresque cousin the 910D3 which features a 445cc pear shaped head with a deeper face.  So far the new 910 series has eight PGA Tour victories under its belt and the club hasn't even gone public yet.  The big news is the Titleist Surefit system which is very similar to Taylormades FCT in the sense that it allows the player to make adjustments to the performance such as loft and lie and face angle.  Titleist is a bit late to the party but none the less it has arrived...

The Titleist 910 series has a thin titanium crown instead of the dcomp composite they used in the past.  The titanium is ultra thin and serves the same purpose as carbon lightening up the highest portions of the club head so more weight can be positioned toward the bottom for a lower center of gravity.  Adjustable weights will be available shortly after release via an aftermarket weight kit with 2,5,7,9, and 12g weights.  These weights can be changed by using the wrench provided with the 910 series metal woods.

The retail release of the Titleist 910D2 and 910D3 will be available in 8.5, 9.5, and 10.5 lofts.  TSG only has official Japanese specifications at this moment but it looks like some pretty amazing high end JDM shafts will be arriving like the Diamana 'ahina 60 & 70(D3 only), Graphite Design DJ6 & DJ7 UST Attas T2, and stock Fujikura Motore shaft.

Click "Read More" to view the only found info on these new early releases.

Titleist SureFit

The 910 D2 & D3 will both feature Titleist's fitting adapter called "SureFit" allowing the golfer to use interchangeable shafts during fitting sessions which help the player find the optimal shaft for his or her game.  To take advantage of this you will have to visit a Titleist fitting works account.  " Surefit" is a wrench based system and with a quick turn you can test a variety of different shafts.  It can get detailed at times but all the techno garble is the club technicians problem not yours.  In the end you get a print out and graph with the top selections based on your fitting results.

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Titleist Japan has long made some of the most popular stand bags on the market and now they are releasing their all new 2010 line of Tour, Staff, and Carry Bags. The most popular selling Titleist bag at TourSpecGolf is the always their carry bag.  This year the model name is CBS10 Lightweight Stand Bag and features a 9" opening with nylon construction. It features dual shoulder straps for comfort and durable stand legs. It also has an insulated pocket for drinks or hot foods and velcro glove holders. It's Available in 6 awesome colors!

In Japan Titleist produces some very attractive high quality bags that are not available in the U.S or other regions. They come at a slightly higher price point and also carry hefty shipping charges when sent via express air mail to TourSpecGolf customers. All of these new bags are currently available for Pre Order at the TourSpecGolf ProShop, The release date is at the end of  February 2010.

Below are some images that give a bit more insight on the new bag models, their features, and color options.

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Titleist VG3 Driver!
Titleist has a large following all around the world and very much so in Japan as well. But as an American brand in Japan they have not followed in the same footsteps as Taylormade and Callaway when it comes to releasing Japan only products. Besides a few putters and the recent Vokey TVD, most models of clubs were US models (sometimes with Japan brand upgrade shafts).

Last week however, Titleist bucked the trend by announcing its new Japan market only driver, the VG3 for 2010.  The new VG3 will be released in late February right around the Japan Golf Fair time.

The all new VG3 is a 460cc all FORGED Titanium Driver and features an all new Variable Gravity design based on Titleist Japan's research on typical Japanese golfers. Titleist worked to create a forgiving high performance driver that will help a golfer square the face and grab the ball with optimal impact. In their research, Titleist found that many golfers depending on their level and swing speed lose distance due to the inability to make pure contact or to grab the ball at impact squarely on the sweet spot.  The Variable Gravity design is used in the three lofts that Titleist offers which probably accounts for the new name VG3.

Each loft features a different CG point and sole weighting. The 9* loft which is typically for the faster swinger and better player features the shortest center of gravity and the smallest gravity angle. This allows for more workability left and right and a lower more stable trajectory. As the lofts move through 10 and 11* the CG moves further back and more towards the center of the club. This creates higher launch and allows the head to rotate quicker to square the face at impact.  More average golfers who go with higher lofts for maximum carry sometimes battle the right side with a glancing blow across the ball.  The VG3 works to eliminate those weak drives with the variable gravity design.

Another aspect Titleist address is the sweet spot area. The VG3 shifts the sweet spot lower and towards the heel where they found many golfers were losing distance.  The VG3's all forged design is made to provide wonderful feel and performance. It's head is not overly large like many high MOI 460cc designs these days but instead a rather Titleist traditional shape.

To suit the different range of golfers, Titleist is also offering a choice of 3 different stock shafts. A VG60 mid kicking low torque  60-64g shaft for the better more aggressive swinger, a VG50 low-mid kicking shaft in the 50-54g range for the smoother swinger. A third shaft, the Titleist Motore 5.0 is also available for those who want a lightweight mid kicking shaft that provides distance as well stability. Of course the best Japanese shafts will also be available as upgrades.

We look forward to getting a test model in here and speaking with Titleist on the performance aspects of the new VG3. According to Titleist there will aslo be a new Titleist Japan only VG3 Iron later this year.

Thanks to GDO here are some live pics from the press conference with Nobuo Serizawa.

Tario (aka gocchin) joined Tourspecgolf back in 2008 after spending over a decade in technology and business operation roles at a major Canadian financial institution. Before joining TSG and following his dream of moving to Japan, Tario and Chris (aka Tourspecgolfer) hit it off though their similar passions for Japanese culture. Chris hired Tario to manage TSG online operations, sales and marketing. While those are Tario's primary responsibilities, he has also taken up the role of blogger and custom club tester and fitter along the way. Tario's hobbies include golf (of course), gadgets and technology, cars, Japanese pop culture and idols, photography, sweets and walking the dog.

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Callaway FT-iZ in Play
Ernie Els became one of the first golfers to put the new Callaway FT-iZ driver to use in the Sony Open last weekend. The Callaway FT-iZ is set to release soon and features a triangle shape which the company claims to be their best driver ever produced. The FT-iZ features a woven carbon fiber body with Callaway's famous hyperbolic face, the forgivenss is enhanced big time by its high density rear weighting and aerodynamic design.

Ernie El's driver average has increased by 15 yards to an amazing 306 yard average at the Sony Open when combined with the new Callaway Tour i(s) ball.

Titleist Prototype <+---PRO V1x--->
According to Golf.com writer David Dusek Titleist has put a new prototype ball into play. Although most ProV1 users stuck with the standard and current version six players decided to put the ProV1 Plus Spin & Plus Trajectory models into play.

The Plus Spin is marked with <s----PRO V1---s> on it's seam while the Plus Trajectory has a <+---PRO V1x---> on its seam. Golf.com reports that Titleist that they are customized versions of the latest ProV1 and ProV1x golf balls to enhance results for a small handful of PGA Tour Players and that this in no way has anything to do with the new groove rule.

The Titleist Tour Rep Also Noted:
" These products are not in response to nor designed to address new groove rules and they are not planned to be sold commercially"

Taylormade XFT Wedge @ Sony Open
Retief Goosen became the first player on the PGA Tour to request a new face plate be installed in his Taylormade XFT face changeable wedges in 54* & 60*.  I guess all that practice and play wore it out, It would be helpful if Taylormade provided information on when he began testing it, how many shots hit and exactly how long that first wedge face piece lasted him.