By: John Steinbreder – Global Golf Post

Several years ago, Titleist executives asked members of the company’s Advanced Research Group what sort of breakthrough products could they produce if the constraints of materials, cost and time were taken away. And their answers were revealed this spring in the form of a new driver and iron line under the C16 moniker.

The “C” stands for “Concept,” and that is very much what these releases are, concept clubs offered in very limited editions at very top-of-the-line prices. They will provide some revenue for the company, and no doubt pleasure for the players who are able to purchase them. But their real value is in the technologies that were discovered in their development and the ways they can be utilized in future in-line offerings.

The key features of the C16 driver include a thin, high-strength titanium SP700 Cup Face, which is made to work with an Active Recoil Channel to produce higher speed with lower spin for more distance. In addition, a thin ATI-425 Titanium Crown and lightweight Ti 811 Cast Body construction enabled engineers to create a low and deep center of gravity, for greater distance and forgiveness.

Then, there are the C16 irons, which come with a forged, high-strength steel (K301) Cup Face in the longer irons (4-7) for better carry distance and increased ball speed, and a 1RK95 high-strength steel face insert in the shorter irons (8-PW), for more length there as well. Extreme high-density tungsten weighting was used to move mass to the perimeter and deep into the hollow-body construction, for better forgiveness and a higher-launching trajectory. In addition, a thin, cast 17-4 stainless steel welded body created discretionary mass that was repositioned to the heel and toe for lower and deeper CG.

The C16 driver is available in lofts of 9.0 and 10.5 and costs $999, while the irons are sold from 4-PW and go for $2,699 for a set of eight in steel shafts and $2,999 for a set with graphite shafts. Titleist officials recommend that golfers get professionally fit for these clubs, either at the Titleist Performance Institute in Oceanside, Calif., the company’s Manchester Lane Test Facility in Acushnet, Mass., or through newly instituted Titleist Thursdays fittings, which will be held at facilities nationwide on Thursdays through the end of June.

 

By: John Steinbreder – Global Golf Post