Titleist GTS drivers make big splash with this surprising model | Tour Report

Welcome to Fully Equipped’s weekly Tour equipment report. Every Friday of PGA Tour weeks (plus other times, if news warrants), GOLF equipment editor Jack Hirsh runs you through some of the biggest news surrounding golf clubs on Tour, including changes, tweaks and launches.

Titleist’s GTS drivers are here — and they’ve already made a huge splash on Tour.

At this week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open, 24 players switched into the new GTS2 or GTS3 driver, which is nearly double the 13 players who immediately adopted the predecessor GT drivers at their launch two years ago at the Memorial. Albeit that was a limited Signature Event field.

It’s especially notable that Titleist has moved up its driver launch two months from previous years, as these drivers will be in play for the Masters. Titleist has gradually moved its driver launches up from the early fall to summer — and now to spring. They teased the GTS launch with social media posts earlier this month proclaiming “Finally, a driver faster than GT.”

The most notable number from the 24 early adopters of the GTS is that 18 of them were the presumably more forgiving GTS2 model. At the GT launch in 2024, the splits were 2 GT2s, 10 GT3s and 1 GT4 in the 73-man field.

Titleist’s “3” head used to dominate Tour usage, but that’s changed over the most recent releases, and especially with the GT release, with the GT2 and GT3 looking almost indistinguishable at address. Much of the split between GTS2 and GTS3 this week can be attributed to 14 GT2 players happening to make the switch this week.

There was one cross-model switcher this week in Tom Hoge, who went from a GT3 to a GTS2. Free agent Kevin Roy also went from a Ping G440 LST to a GTS2, one of six free agents to play the new driver this week.

That’s a trend for a while we’ve been seeing where companies are blurring the lines between the forgiving driver model and the faster low-spin model, and more and more players are seeking out additional forgiveness. While the GTS4 model — the “4” model has recently been the sub-460 cc niche model for ultra-high spin players — didn’t see action on the PGA Tour, two Korn Ferry players and one LPGA pro put it in play this week.

Across all three Tours, there were 53 GTS drivers in play with GTS2 the overwhelming winner, putting 31 in play. In fact, the GTS2 was tied as the most played driver model in Houston this week as Titleist again led the driver count with 27 additional drivers for a total of 51.

One of the six free agents making the switch at Memorial Park, Jeff Kang, was last on Tour in driving accuracy entering the week. But, armed with a new GTS2, Kang led the field Thursday with 11-of-13 fairways hit.

While he don’t have any individual performance gains or technical information yet from Titleist, it seems like the major changes involve customizable weighting. The GTS3 gained an adjustable back weight, while the GTS2 gained an adjustable front weight and GTS4 (3 went in play on LPGA and KFT) gained the GTS3’s adjustable front weight track.

Adding the plus to Red and Black

Fujikura launched its new Ventus TR Black and TR Red with VeloCore+ shafts, adding to the TR Blue with VeloCore+ launched at the beginning of the year, and saw two of the new shafts go into play immediately on the PGA Tour.

But what was more unique about this launch is that Fujikura launched the new shafts simultaneously on the PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour Champions in the same week.

Fujikura 2026 Ventus TR Black Wood Shaft (Velocore+)

Built for speed and control, the Fujikura VENTUS TR Black Shaft is engineered for players who generate powerful swings and demand maximum stability through impact. The shaft is powered by VeloCore+ technology, Fujikura’s advanced multi-material core structure designed to reduce twist and increase energy transfer throughout the swing. The result is a more stable delivery that helps aggressive players maintain tighter dispersion and consistent ball speed.

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“It’s something we’ve never done before, really, because anytime we launch a product, it’s primarily just on the PGA Tour,” Fujikura Tour Rep Marshall Thompson told GOLF. “So it was amazing to be able to hit multiple tours at the same time. We were able to cover more ground, and we had a lot of success.”

On the PGA Tour, both Aldrich Potgieter and Neal Shipley added the new Ventus TR Black with VeloCore+, while Min Woo Lee, a longtime OG Ventus Blue player switched to the previously released TR Blue+ in his Quantum TD driver after moving to a Ventus Black with VeloCore+ earlier this season.

On the Korn Ferry Tour, where Thompson was deployed this week at the Club Car Championship in Savannah, Georgia, five players tested the new TR+ shafts with three players adding the new TR Blue and two more players trying out the new TR Black.

Fujikura 2026 Ventus TR Red Wood Shaft (Velocore+)

Designed for golfers who need help generating launch and spin, the Fujikura VENTUS TR Red Shaft combines advanced materials and motion-capture driven design to promote a higher, more playable ball flight without sacrificing stability. At the core of the shaft is VeloCore+ technology, Fujikura’s latest multi-material bias core construction engineered to improve energy transfer and minimize shaft twist throughout the swing. This added stability helps maintain clubface control at impact while maximizing consistency from swing to swing.

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“Usually when we build stuff up, I expect it to go in bags in maybe a month, maybe a month and a half. But to have instant success and to have them go in bags immediately was very rewarding. It just shows the hard work that went into designing the shaft,” Thompson said. “It’s a good start, and we’ll see if we can get a few more in next week. But man, I will take any of them that go in play the first week. We’re smiling from ear to ear over here.”

Another handful of players, including Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh with TR Black, tested the new shafts on the PGA Tour Champions.

Woodland has A-game with C-Taper

Gary Woodland is finally seeing all the parts of his game come together as he’s opened up a four-shot lead heading into the weekend in Houston and it coincides with his second iron shaft change already this season.

It’s actually a change back to the KBS C-Taper 130 X iron shaft he’s used previously, including last year, but last summer, he switched to the Dynamic Gold X100 to get more feel as he was trying to neutralize his hard left swing path.

“So he was trying to neutralize his delivery a little more and not swing so left,” Cobra Tour Rep Ben Schomin told GOLF. “Some dynamics changing in there, and as his swing is becoming more neutral, the X100 was really good. He felt like he could hit a little draw, felt like he could hit a little cut.”

Woodland’s delivery dynamics impart a ton of spin on the ball, which is why he was in the C-Taper, but he felt that the shaft was too boardy last year. After some more testing late last year, one shaft that presented itself was the Nippon Modus 130 X and he fell in love with the softer feel.

He used that toward the end of the fall and early this year, but Schomin never thought it was his best option. The problem was Woodland had started swinging faster, as he now leads the PGA Tour in driving distance and clubhead speed at 41 years old.

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By: Jack Hirsh

That led him back to X100s because of that increase in speed in February. But then he still noticed some shots, especially into the wind, were coming up short because of too much spin.

“He’s like, ‘Man, I hit like four shots that I thought I hit really, really good. Like I flushed them, and I come up way short.’ So typically like into the wind, and his tendency is to spin it more,” Schomin said. “So X100 just is starting to feel a little bit too soft. And again, going back to C-Taper 130X is something he’s played with for a long time. Immediately, we knew at some point he was probably going back into them.”

Schomin was so sure Woodland was going back to the C-Taper that he kept a set of King MBs with the shafts on the Cobra Tour Truck for Woodland. But as fate would have it, Cobra Tour tech James Posey just sent those irons back to Cobra’s HQ earlier this month, so Schomin had to shaft up a new set this week.

While C-Taper typically has a harsher feel, with Woodland’s added speed, they feel a lot better than before.

“Now he’s like, no, they actually feel good,” Schomin said. “They don’t feel quite the same as X100, don’t get me wrong, but they definitely feel like I’ve got the speed now moving those things.”

KBS C-Taper Iron Shaft

The KBS C-Taper is packed with signature KBS technology that maximizes energy transfer for a crisp feel, while optimizing shaft diameters in the taper and tip areas for low trajectory and spin control. You can purchase the KBS Taper in the following flexes: regular, r-plus, stiff, s-plus, and x-stiff. You can buy the KBS C-Taper built to your required specifications. JOCKEY TIP: The KBS C-Taper is ideal for the player looking for a low launch, low spin shaft with a stiff tip section. This will be the lowest launching shaft in the KBS shaft family. 

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Check this out

This section is dedicated to cool photos we’ve snapped recently on Tour, but haven’t had a reason to share yet. For this week, check out Gary Woodland’s OPTM Max LS-K “Living Prototype” driver. Woodland leads the PGA Tour in driving distance this season.

Odds and Ends

Some other gear changes and notes we’re tracking this week.

Wyndham Clark continues to play putter roulette, this time adding a new Ping Scottsdale Tec Ally Blue Onset … Lydia Ko’s LPGA Tour career-low 60 came after a switch to a Scotty Cameron T12 prototype mallet … While not officially out on Tour yet, Johnny Keefer added Titleist’s GTS2 and GTS3 fairway woods to the bag … Adam Scott has switched again to a brownish/grey L.A.B. OZ.1i Broomstick, the putter he helped design … Aldrich Potgieter and Denny McCarthy became the latest players to adopt a TaylorMade Spider Tour X.

3 things you should read/watch

A selection of GOLF content from the past week that may interest you.

Connection at the Core: True Temper’s bold leap with the ICON golf grip – Jake Morrow takes you inside True Temper’s, the company known for being the No. 1 iron shaft model on Tour, first golf grips.

What’s it like building clubs for PING’s top players? – In the first episode of our new podcast, Tour Validated, Johnny Wunder sits down with Ping Tour Rep Kenton Oates and club technician Adam Harding on the new Ping Tour Truck.

Titleist Vokey WedgeWorks 2026: New SM11 grinds will dial in your short game – Vokey has added all six of the WedgeWorks exclusive grinds to the SM11 lineup to dial in your short game.

The author welcomes your comments at Jack.Hirsh@golf.com.

Want to overhaul your bag in 2026? Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.