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Titleist 905R Driver--A Classic Driver Just Got Bigger
Date of Review: Sep 1, 2006
The Bottom Line: The Titleist 905R Driver is an example of the Titleist tradition of excellence. Too bad it's not made for a hacker like me.
The Titleist 905R Driver is the is the company's first entry into the 460cc driver market. In my search this summer to upgrade to the perfect 460cc driver for my swing, I tried out several different drivers. I made the decision this weekend to demo the Titleist 905R Driver and then select which driver I wanted to permanently carry in my bag until the next driver upgrade. For my demo, I selected a driver with 8.5 degree loft and the stock Fujikura Speeder R Flex. After hitting the Titleist 905R Driver on the range and then on the course (where the true test really lies), I'd like to share my impressions with you about this driver.
Looks And Appearance
The Titleist 905R Driver simply looks like what a traditional driver is supposed to look like. It has the familiar Titleist pear-shaped profile, and retains all of the emblems of other Titleist drivers. It's really a no-nonsense club with a somewhat pedestrian gray and black appearance. It lacks the "melon on a stick" look and garish yellow color of the Nike SQ, and it doesn't have the "Darth Vader" look of menace that's present in the new Cobra Speed drivers. It's a classic club design that might not be as flashy as some of the other products that are out there, but it's designed for serious business, so it should have a business-like appearance, don't you think?
Technology
I don't think there in anything in the construction of this club that can be deemed to be revolutionary or innovative. Titleist has simply applied its "bore trough" design technology to a 460cc driver, depending more upon the design of the club than a retooling of the way the company builds their clubheads. The clubface is all titanium, and the face appears to be just a bit shallower than other 460cc drivers, but that just might be the way that the clubhead's pear-shaped profile appears. I don't really know much about the "bore trough" technology in these days of shifting weight and placing it lower and more behind the clubhead, but it's worked for Titleist for years and as I said earlier, might just be a triumph of design over technology.
Performance
The first thing I noticed about the Titleist 905R Driver was the excellent feedback from the titanium face. When I struck the ball in the sweet spot of the driver, I felt a satisfying, loud click that let me know I had hit the ball properly. Off center shots didn't have the same solid click, but there was no vibration when I didn't make good contact, probably due to the dampening insert that's built into the clubhead.
I didn't notice any appreciable gain in distance when I clocked the ball with the Titleist 905R Driver--I hit it about the same distance that I've hit the other 460cc drivers that I've tried out (The Nike SQ was the winner in the distance category, but I couldn't control it very well). Still, the distance was an improvement over the Wilson Pd5 400cc driver that I've been hitting for the past year or so, but there was nothing in the distance department that separated the Titleist 905R Driver from the pack.
Off center hits were not as forgiving as some of the other 460cc drivers, and I was penalized in the distance department just a bit when I didn't make solid contact. It wasn't an appreciable loss of distance, but on the course I struggle for every yard, so forgiveness is a big factor for me.
I found that if I took my time and executed my backswing properly, I hit the ball pretty straight with the Titleist 905R Driver. When I got too quick with the club, or executed another of my various swing flaws, the result wasn't good. My bad swings were magnified with this club, which sent me a very important message--the Titleist 905R Driver is designed for low handicappers who have good fundamental swing mechanics. I don't think it was designed for a mid to high handicapper like myself.
I'm gonna pass on the Titleist 905R Driver simply because I think it's not the right club for my game, although it's perfect for other golfers. I'm not saying it's not a great driver, I'm just saying it's not a great driver for me.
Thanks for reading.
