Titleist GT1 driver

Gear: Titleist GT1 driver

Price: $649 with Fujikura Air Speeder or Project X Denali Red shaft and Golf Pride Tour Velvet Lite grip.

Specs: Forged titanium face with carbon/polymer crown, adjustable rear sole weight and adjustable hosel; 9-, 10-, and 12-degree versions.

Available: Feb. 21

Who it's for: Any golfer who needs more spin and height to maximize stability off the tee.

What you should know: Titleist enhanced the aerodynamics, used new materials and designed the GT1 to create a higher launch that maximizes carry distance for golfers who need more height off the tee.

The deep dive: For the past several generations of woods, Titleist has kept to the same naming conventions and made it very easy for golfers to get a good sense for what each driver is about. Clubs that end with a 2, like the recently released GT2, are designed to deliver a blend of stability and distance, while 3 clubs, such as the GT3, are made to blend left-and-right adjustability with enhanced ball speed. Clubs that get a 4 designation, such as the GT4, are low-spin offerings.

Now the Titleist GT1 joins those clubs, and like previously released drivers that have worn a 1 designation, it is designed to create more height and maximize stability for low-spin players.

To make that happen, Titleist designed the GT1 with a slightly higher crown piece and lifted the back section of the sole to make the head slip through the air more efficiently, as it did with the other GT drivers. And to keep the center of gravity low, designers used a thermoform polymer crown. It weighs less than titanium, but it is extremely strong, so the GT1 gets the benefits of better aerodynamics without elevating the center of gravity. In fact, the GT1 has the deepest center of gravity of any Titleist driver, and that results in it creating more spin and a higher launch angle.

The variable-thickness face of the GT1 driver is thin in the center with a thicker ring around that, then that region is surrounded by a very thin perimeter. That thin outer portion of the hitting area is key, because it allows the entire face to flex more efficiently and protect ball speed on mis-hits.

In the past, the TSR1 and the TSi1 drivers were thought of as drivers made exclusively for slower- and moderate-swinging players, but with the GT1, Titleist is trying to make golfers aware that is not necessarily true.

The GT1 driver has a single weight in the back of the sole, and the standard club comes with a 9-gram weight in that port that makes the head as heavy as the standard GT2. When combined with Titleist’s 16-position SureFit adjustable hosel system, the GT1 can help low-spin players at any clubhead speed achieve the high-launch, low-spin conditions that maximize distance.

Even players who may compete in the 2025 Masters. Evan Beck won the 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur using a Titleist TSR1 driver and is expected to change into the GT1 before heading to Augusta National in April.

Titleist is also making the GT1 available in a lightweight build with a 6-gram weight in the back. When that head is combined with one of the lighter shaft options and light grips, it will be about 50 grams lighter than the other GT drivers, so golfers who struggle to generate clubhead speed should be able to swing it faster for enhanced distance.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Titleist GT1 driver enhances forgiveness and stability