Looks/Feel at Address = 10 Great look at address. Very nice clubhead shape. Somewhat square face, not rounded like alot of woods. Face depth is just right also, not too deep and not too shallow. Perfect club length. Sets up like a perfect 10 at address. First shot impressions = 9 Ball seems to just explode off the clubface, which is obviously good for distance, but is not so good for working the ball. After playing a few rounds = 7 The ball comes off with virtually no spin, the ball has a tendancy to just go like crazy when it hits the ground which makes shots that are within range but less than full strength hard to handle since the ball doesn't stop. When your swing path is poor and you hit a ball with this club, there is no coming back. It will go the way you initially strike it. If the swing is inside to out, its going out. If the swing is outside in, its going in. Very unlikely to see a return hook or fade on slight mis-hits. Add this to the fact that the clubhead is on the smaller side to appeal to mid-low handicappers, and you get a club that is unforgiving. All this adds up to a club that is hard to work for good players and equally unforgiving for poor swings. Kind of a grey area. Overall = 8 +'s = Great look at address, great distance 3 wood. -'s = Poor workability, unforgiving.Read full review
I'm a 7 Handicap and have always played Callaway fairway woods. Tried this club because I love my Titleist irons and have been very happy with it so far. It has a nice solid feel, ball jumps off of the club face. Very easy to hit off the deck, producing a nice boring trajectory. The only negative I have noticed is that the club tends to create a right to left drawing ball flight despite the fact that I play a slight fade on most of my other shots. I have hit several shots with the club back-to-back comparing it to my Callaway wood. This club is the only one in my bag the conistently draws the ball. Don't know, may be that mine is set up slightly closed at address, but the face appears normal when addressing the ball. Don't know if anyone else has experienced this. Despite that, I hit it well of the tee and can control it well enough on short par 4's to keep it in the short grass. Great club, I would buy another Titleist wood.Read full review
I am a Titleist devotee, so probably not the most objective voice of opinion. However, there is a reason for that. I carry a 4 handicap and hit the ball in the screws most of the time. So I can't testify to forgiveness. But this club, as is true for all my Titleist clubs, is a treasure. First, the feel is so good. I grew up playing persimmon, and this is the closest thing in a metal wood that I have ever hit to the feel of wood (with the performance of steel). It just gives such a solid yet sweet feel when hit properly. Second, this club is easy to work, and I love to work the ball. Most of the metal woods nowadays are engineered to force you to hit the ball straight (no spin). This wood is old school and refreshing in that it allows you to hit GOLF SHOTS. What a concept! Finally, the loft is perfect for those wanting to conform to the rules of golf and carry 14 clubs. If you carry a gap (52 degrees for me) and lob (60 degrees for me) wedge in addition to your pitching and sand wedges (and in my opinion you should if you want to score; see Dave Pelz), that leaves room for only one fairway wood in the bag. With the advent of hybrids, most people don't carry two fairway woods anymore. Now if you carry a 3-wood, there is a huge distance gap between it and your next longest club (usually either a 3-iron, like me, or a 3-hybrid). It's really only more useful than a 4-wood if you're going for a par five in two. Even then you can't control it (hit it a reliable distance—because of the roll) as well as a 4-wood, and the 4 is the loft of the old 1-iron, which means that you can grip down on it and cover the 2-iron distance, or hit it normally and cover the next distance up, but with a higher, softer shot because of the increased mass and lower center of gravity than the 1-iron. Many people say they can carry their 4-wood as far as their 3, but without the roll since it hits the ball higher, which makes it much more useful as an approach club, especially on hard greens. It is, for these reasons, THE club to carry if you can only carry one fairway wood. The Titleist 980 delivers on all counts. As an older model, it has the positive attributes of all older clubs, allowing good players to hit good shots and know it. Even Titleist succombed to the game improvement sirens in the models which followed this series. Don't get me wrong; the stuff that came later is good equipment. It just represents a slight change and compromise of the former values of catering to good players. In my opinion, this was the last series (of fairway woods) which really demanded but rewarded the best ball striking. I got mine to fill out my perfect set (with four wedges) and now the only thing I can't do is hit the extremely rare par five I would have been able to hit (with my best perfect shot) with a 3-wood. Everything else is covered, with Titleist quality. And that's as good as it gets. [And no, I don't work for Titleist.]Read full review
Having traded my incredibly good Ping G2 3-wood for the G5 in the hope of getting even better performance, I ended up with a club I didn't like. It had a much higher and shorter ball flight and was more difficult to hit off the turf...but that's another review. I intended to go to e-bay and get a G2, but apparently the club is in high demand and auctions were rare and the prices were soaring. I talked to a local pro who pointed me in the direction of the Titleist 980F fairway woods. He said that with the introduction of the new 904 series, the 980F had become plentiful and that most people who had gone for the new series wished they'd stayed with the older model. Price: The prices were great -- I got a 980F 15 degree 3 wood with a YS 6 Graphite Design stiff shaft. Prices for the woods range from about $30 (US) to $100 (US) with the 17 degree 4 woods apparently being the rarest and most expensive. Feel: The best attribute is the solid feel of contact at impact. Ping feel is like breaking glass, the Titleist is a solid "thunk". Workability, Hitability & Flight: It's easy to draw the ball with the 980F. It's harder, but not impossible, to hit a fade. The club face sets up just a bit closed like a Callaway Steelhead, which is not all that bad. Most mid-cappers have a tough time NOT hitting cuts, particularly with a 3 wood off the ground. The soleplate is almost like a Warbird and lets the clubhead speed through chucky and thick impacts. If you're worried about down-sizing, don't be -- the club is pretty much all sweet-spot. There's no problem hitting the 980F from any lie, tight fairway, long rough, whatever--with the smallish head, the club works like a utility club. Shaft options: When buying the club, get the shaft that fits you best. The 980F comes with a variety of shafts -- the most easily obtained is the stock Titleist 4375 graphite. It's a good place to start because the shaft was closely matched to the head and if you don't like it, you can easily obtain Pro-lite, Graphite Design, Fujikura and other shafts on ebay already tipped and trimmed for the Titleist bore-thru head and .335 diameter tip. These shafts can be expensive new, but on ebay, they run as low as $13 (US). If you intend to swap shafts, remember to get a graphite shafted club if you intend to stay with graphite, steel if you're going steel because the heads are weighted for different shaft material.Read full review
First, I normally do not carry any woods other than my 7.5 degree driver (also Titleist) I picked this up for a steal and tried it last weekend twice. It does not have an inflated head but no means looks undersized. I hit the first on a long par 3 - 260 yards within 18 ft pin high and the second from 240 on a long par five. I find this club easy to swing and has a large sweet spot. It is a great addition and will get much more use. Highly recommended.