What the Pros Play: Cameron Smith

Heading into this season, Cameron Smith had been using a 45-inch, 10-degree Titleist TSi3 fitted with a Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X shaft, and he used that club to win at TPC Sawgrass. While the stated loft was 10 degrees, Smith had SureFit adjustable hosel in the D4 setting, which keeps the lie angle the same but increases the loft by .075 degrees, so the playing loft was 10.75.

The TSi3 has a track to hold a moveable weight in the back of the head that allows golfers and fitters to shift the center of gravity location and set the club up with either a fade or a draw bias or create a neutral weight distribution. Smith put two weights in the track, one in the toe and one in the heel, according to J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s director of player promotions.

“It was about increasing the dynamic loft, to make the shape of a TSi3 act like a TSi2,” Van Wezenbeeck said. By adding more weight to the back of the head in both the heel and toe areas, the dynamic loft increases, along with the stability.

Before the start of the PGA Championship, Smith switched shafts in his driver, going from a Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X shaft to a Fujikura Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft. The TR version of the Ventus Blue shaft is slightly stiffer than the standard Blue, and produces less spin and a lower flight. It fits between Ventus Blue and Ventus Black, the stiffest, lowest-spinning and lowest-flying Ventus. Smith also had Titleist shorten his driver to 44 1/2″ in length for enhanced control.

The day after the U.S. Open, Titleist conducted a photo shoot with several prominent staff players, and that day Van Wezenbeeck showed Smith the final version of the new TSR drivers. Smith and seen and hit prototypes before, but immediately liked both clubs and started tinkering with them. He brought both clubs to Europe and put the TSR2 in play at the Scottish Open two weeks ago. After that event, Smith switched to the yet-to-be-released TSR3 because he felt like it allowed him to work the ball both left and right more easily.

Titleist TSR3 driver. (David Dusek/Golfweek)

“He like the like the ball speed he was getting from the TSR drivers in general, but the TSR3 just gave him some versatility that would help him open up the golf course,” Van Wezenbeeck said.

Smith TSR3 has 10 degrees of loft, but like his previous driver, the playing loft is 10.75 degrees and the finished club is 44 1/2″ in length.