When I finished my round on Friday afternoon and went into the pro shop afterwards I was delighted to find out that my new 718 AP2 irons and 818H2 hybrid had arrived. After hitting a few shots on the range I was faced with a dilemma, should I out them into play for my club tournament this weekend or wait until I had some time to get more familiar with them?
Our fall member-member tournament was this weekend and, although I was excited to receive my new clubs, was hesitant to put them into play since I had never hit them before. My partner pointed out that the irons were the same setup as my current 716 AP2 irons (AMT Tour White X100, 2 Degrees flat) so putting them into play was a no-brainer and I should only think twice about the hybrid.
I am moving from the 816 21 degree H2 hybrid into the new 818 21 degree H2 hybrid but the big change was the shaft. For years I have played the Proforce V2 89g shaft in my hybrids and I am experimenting with a shaft change. The launch monitor numbers looked good for the Atmos HB Your Spec 8 87g shaft in an x-flex so I gave it a try figuring I can always go back to the V2 in the new head if I didn't like it. Needless to day, I wouldn't resist so I put the new hybrid into play for the tournament as well. One of the times I used it in the tournament was on Number 16 at my home course, which is a 542 yard Par 5. My drive was in the first cut on the left with 246 yards remaining to the pin. I used the new 818 21 degree hybrid and ended up pin high on the green putting for an eagle. The shot was like a laser into the green.
My partner and I ended up winning the two day tournament by one stroke. I think I made the right choice putting these clubs into the bag immediately. If you have a chance to play these clubs, give them a try, you will not be disappointed. Attached is a picture of the new setup so you can see "what's in the bag" and the hardware that came along with the win from the first two rounds I played with the new clubs! Thanks to Titleist for such great products and I am looking forward to the next round with these clubs at the Team Titleist Invitational at TPC Sawgrass later this week.