Titleist GT Fairway Metals Feature Generational Technology

Every equipment launch is designed to invoke a sense of optimism in potential buyers. With that, Titleist believes its GT series (hello, generational technology) of fairway metals is a pronounced step forward from the TS (Titleist Speed) line.

Because Titleist isn’t one to loosely toss around superlatives and over-caffeinated marketing lingo, the promise of something demonstrably better is, at a minimum, intriguing.

We’ll get to the details in a moment but the tech story centers on essentially the same updates in the material and construction as the GT drivers.

At first glance, GT doesn’t look much different than TSR. That wasn’t by mistake. In fact, it was a key design objective. If you wanted to paraphrase feedback garnered from PGA Tour staff as, “Make it better, but keep it the same…”, that’s largely accurate.

In this case, better meant faster and higher without increasing spin and the status quo was, well, everything else (sound, feel, address profile).

Fairway woods don’t receive the same level of attention as drivers. It’s a textbook second-child syndrome situation. I guess part of the reasoning is that some portion of new materials and technologies applicable to drivers will trickle down into fairway woods (and possibly hybrids). As such, it’s rare that a fairway wood offers a compelling tech story markedly different than its 460cc sibling. But that doesn’t mean the technology is any less impressive. On the contrary, I applaud Titleist for carrying the signature features of GT drivers over to the fairway metals. And if we want to prognosticate a bit, I won’t be shocked if we see a similar approach when Titleist releases updated hybrids which I expect at some point in 2025.

All that said, my experience with the GT fairway woods suggests that massive ball speed gains or dramatic changes in launch and spin aren’t necessary to drive meaningful improvement. Sometimes little differences matter the most.

Straight from the Tour

Every product design cycle starts with a fundamental question: “What’s the primary objective?” As Tony Covey notes in the GT driver article, Titleist generally allocates resources across performance categories. As such, the company isn’t inclined to maximize ball speed at the expense of forgiveness – or push CG so deep/rear in the head that it increases dynamic launch and spin.

Effectively, the charge is to get a bit more of everything, without giving up too much of anything.

Generational technology

It’s a bold statement that applies equally to GT fairway metals and drivers. That said, there are several key differences between the two lines. Simply, fairway woods are already pretty damn aerodynamic given the smaller footprint and volume. Also, the surface area of the face is smaller on a fairway metal so the marginal benefit of VFT face topology isn’t as pronounced.

With the Titleist GT fairway metals, it all starts with the crown.

Seamless thermoform crown

For my money, the composite crown is primarily what separates GT from TS (and every generation prior to TS as well). It’s not only that Titleist is using composites (instead of steel) but the complexity of the crown design.

Some of you may be aware that composite materials are – in the most basic form – sheets of carbon fiber held together by glue (resin). Most often, composite applications don’t call for intricate designs or shapes. Enter thermoform.

This process involves multiple steps, the result of which is a part with extremely tight spec tolerances which is vital given the aesthetic requirements. Gaps aren’t good whether it’s between car panels (I’m looking at you, Tesla) or on seamless composite crowns. At address, it’s impossible to discern the use of carbon fiber or multiple materials.

And, yes, once again, that’s the point.

It sounds like…

Carbon can be a tricky material, acoustically speaking. However, its combination of strength/stiffness, weight and versatility is a good bit of why it’s ubiquitous in driver design.

To address the tenuous balance of sound/feel, Titleist uses a PMP (Proprietary Matrix Polymer) composition which alters the sound profile of the composite material.

The net result of this golf-industry-first application is a crown that looks and sounds/feels akin to titanium/steel but with the added weight savings of carbon.

Bear in mind that the bridge between mass properties and performance is CG (center of gravity) location.

So, where is it?

Freeing up a bit of weight is fine – it’s a bit like finding a new route to work that saves you 15 minutes every morning.

The question is: What do you do with it? With GT fairway metals, remember that the performance objective was higher flight with similar spin (actually, less spin in the GT2).

All things being equal:

Moving CG lower and rearward increases launch and spin Moving CG closer to the face increases ball speed but decreases forgiveness.

On paper it sounds simple – keep the CG low (in line with or below the neutral axis) and relatively forward in the head. But Titleist would tell you that such locations weren’t accessible prior to the use of PMP.

All that said, compared to TSR2, GT2 has a lower, more forward CG location. This yields higher flight with less spin. With GT3, the CG location is slightly lower which increases flight but maintains a spin profile similar to TSR3.

L-Cup forged face

The other notable change is Titleist’s use of a forged L-Cup face made from high-strength 465 stainless steel. At this point, I believe Titleist is the first major manufacturer to use this material in a fairway metal application. Improved resiliency of the material allows for a thinner L-Cup section leading to more ball speed retention and better feel on shots struck toward the bottom of the face (thin to win, right?).

Also, a less cambered sole (think more U-shaped and less V-shaped) allows a larger portion of the heel and toe sections to remain accessible on off-center strikes which improves forgiveness. At address, the modified sole shape allows the club to appear as though it sits lower to the ground which is an added benefit that you may not entirely appreciate until you have a forced carry off a tight lie and fractionally miss hit it.

Titleist GT fairway metals – Two models

GT2 or GT3 – Which is the better option?

The best way to get a definitive answer is through a proper fitting. But I get that plenty of golfers will still buy OTR or attempt to fit themselves.

Regardless, the salient query is, “What do I need this club to do?” Any answer should account for carry/total distance, trajectory (peak height, descent angle) and use condition (off the tee versus fairway/rough).

Titleist GT2 vs. GT3– Between the two models, the GT2 has a shallower face, higher flight and a bit more forgiveness. The GT3 offers a deeper face, lower flight (though it’s still higher than the previous TSR3) and the SureFit Adjustable CG Track System.

As you’ll note, only the GT2 is offered in 13.5 and 21 degrees which leaves me feeling slightly vexed. Plenty of touring pros and recreational amateurs have ditched long irons in favor of a 7-wood (and the occasional 9-wood). Add to that, the strong-lofted 13.5-degree TSR3 won’t have a direct replacement in the GT line. The omission leaves me wondering whether the sense is that too few golfers fit into the TSR3 13.5-degree to make it a viable retail option. Alternatively, perhaps Titleist has something else up its sleeve.

The Titleist GT2 is available in 13.5, 15, 18 and 21 degrees.

The Titleist GT3 is available in 15, 16.5 and 18 degrees.

Hands on

Fitting matters. You know that and I know that. But I’m going to keep beating that drum ad nauseum.

One of the reasons plenty of Titleist gear ends up in my bag is because I have complete confidence in the fitting process and result. The staff at TPI (Titliest Performance Institute) is top-shelf and the process closely mirrors what golfers will see on the course. I understand that indoor fittings are often a necessity. However, it’s hard to compete with Titleist’s setup in Oceanside, Calif.

Without further ado….

My bag: 13.5-degree GT2 with Graphite Design AD-DI 7X (B1 setting), 18-degree GT3 with Graphite Design AD-DI 8X (A1 setting), 21-degree GT2 with Graphite Design AD-VF 8X (B1 setting)

The overarching challenge during my fitting was to find appropriate distance gaps while maintaining a playable trajectory. With the GT2 3-wood, the target was a total distance (carry plus roll) equal to my driver carry distance. My 3-wood is a 50/50 club, meaning I use it nearly as often off the tee as I do from the fairway.

The 15-degree flew too high and we toyed around with bumping down loft to 14.25. As it turned out, the 13.5-degree head in the B1 setting (.75 degrees flat) did the trick.

From there, we had a good sense of where the 7-wood needed to be. With the higher loft (and the fact I play a draw), we maintained the flatter B1 setting but swapped the Graphite Design AD-DI for the AD-VF which is slightly stiffer throughout.

With the 3-wood and 7-wood as goalposts, my hope was to find a 4/5-wood I could hit high enough to hold a par-5 green on a second shot but with plenty of versatility.  For example, my go-to shot out of the rough on a long par-4 is to open the face of the 5-wood and chop out a low, running effort to get up near the green.

If I’m off the putting surface with an iffy lie, the 5-wood is a solid option that might not have your playing partners asking for a short-game lesson but golf isn’t a beauty contest – a fact I’m eternally thankful for (for so many reasons).

The 18-degree Titleist GT3 in the standard A1 setting proved to be best answer given my range of criteria.

My $0.05

So, should you buy a Titleist GT fairway wood? Maybe.

What if my current fairway woods are still relatively new? Well, possibly. Let me explain.

Performance only matters if it matters to you. Think of a coupon for a local eatery. If you dine at that location, it could save you money. Otherwise, you’re spending more to save a little which likely doesn’t make sense.

The point is that the Titleist GT fairway woods provide improved speed (particularly on shots struck low on the face) and less spin separation (more consistency in trajectory and spin). For some golfers, a fairway wood with a higher trajectory and a bit less spin might be just the ticket. For others, the squeeze won’t generate enough juice.

Specs, pricing, availability

The stock shaft offerings for the Titleist GT fairway metals are the PX Denali Red (high launch), Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Blue (Mid launch), PX HZRDUS Black (low/mid launch) and Mitsubishi Tensei 1K Black (low launch).

This year, the premium Graphite Design lineup includes the Graphite Design Tour AD VF, Tour AD DI and Tour AD UB.

A full catalog of additional shafts is available through custom.

Retail price for Titleist GT fairway metals is $399 with a stock shaft and $599 with one of the premium options.

Pre-sale and fittings are available now. Full retail availability begins Aug. 23.

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