This past weekend, Titleist Brand Ambassador Jason Dufner (Pro V1x) played some inspired golf on a very demanding layout as he claimed his fifth PGA TOUR crown at The Memorial Tournament. Muirfield Village Golf Club pressured players with its length (7,265 yards, par-72), undulating terrain and narrow fairways guarded by thick rough. Driving the ball well is always critical at The Memorial and it was certainly a key to Dufner's success at this year's tournament.

At the end of last season Dufner made the switch to a new 917D2 driver (10.5°). He relied on his new 917D2 to average 299 yards off the tee for the week at Muirfield Village (ranked 29th in the field), with a long drive of 357 yards. He also found the fairway with 73% of his drives (ranked 7th), which paved the way to his leading the elite field for the week in Greens-In-Regulation (75%).

Since the initial seeding and validation process for 917 drivers in late June, players relying on 917 drivers have now captured 30 titles across the worldwide professional golf tours. Over 150 players have made the switch to 917 and as Josh Talge, Director of Marketing for Titleist Clubs told us, this early success and adoption by the world's best players has as much to do with the forgiveness of the new models as it does with the exceptional distance they deliver.

"Early in the 917 development process, one thing we learned very quickly was that the best players in the world are looking to improve their misses. Yes, they wanted to see some additional ball speed. But it was just as important to players to see more forgiveness. They wanted to be more accurate off the tee."

Why was forgiveness on the wish list of tour players? It's easy to understand when you look at statistics. The numbers below show how important it is on Tour to drive the ball in the fairway:

Even from 100-125 yards, there's a huge scoring advantage when players approach the green from the fairway vs. the rough. As Josh told us, "This idea that golf on Tour is now 'Bomb and Gouge' is very much overstated. Even the longest hitters like Adam Scott, Justin Thomas and Jimmy Walker understand that distance doesn't matter if you can't hit it straight."

Click here to hear more from Josh on 917 drivers in our recent On The Tee episode.

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If you're interested to see how 917 drivers and fairways perform for your game, visit our golf shop locator to find a certified Titleist club fitter or check our schedule of upcoming local club trial events, where you can experience for yourself the complete performance offered by new 917 metals.

And please be sure to share your feedback with us!

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TOUR SUCCESS WITH TITLEIST 917 METALS:

Including Jason Dufner's victory at the 2017 Memorial Tournament, players relying on 917 drivers and fairways have captured 30 titles across the worldwide professional golf tours including:

JASON DUFNER (PGA TOUR - The Memorial Tournament)
917D2 driver (10.5°)

DIMI PAPADATOS (Australasian Tour - WA PGA Championship): 
917D2 driver (9.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

JOSE TOLEDO (PGA TOUR Latinoamerica - Essential Costa Rica Classic) 
917D3 driver (9.5°)

CAM SMITH (PGA TOUR- ZURICH CLASSIC OF NEW ORLEANS) 
917D3 driver (10.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (16.5°)

D.H. LEE (Web.com Tour - United Leasing & Finance Championship) 
917D3 driver (9.5°)

JC RITCHIE (South African Sunshine Tour - Zimbabwe Open) 
917D3 driver (8.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

BERND WIESBERGER (European Tour - Shenzhen International) 
917D3 driver (8.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (13.5°)

RUSSELL HENLEY (PGA Tour - Shell Houston Open) 
917D2 driver (8.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

DANIEL PEARCE (Australasian Tour - Queensland PGA Championship) 
917D3 driver (9.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

MIKE HENDRY (Australasian Tour - New Zealand Open Championship) 
917D3 driver (9.5°), 917F3 fairway metal (15°)

JARRYD FELTON (Australasian Tour - New Zealand PGA Championship) 
917D3 driver (9.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

ETHAN TRACY (Web.com Tour - Club Colombia Championship) 
917D2 (10.5°) driver, 917F2 (16.5°) fairway metal

DIMI PAPADATOS (Australasian Tour - Victorian Open Championship): 
917D2 (9.5°) driver, 917F2 (15°) fairway metal

BRETT RUMFORD (European Tour - World Super 6 Perth) 
917D2 driver (9.5°), 917F3 fairway metal (15°)

JUSTIN THOMAS (PGA TOUR - Sony Open in Hawaii): 
917D3 (9.5°) driver, 917F3 (15°) fairway metal

JUSTIN THOMAS (PGA TOUR -  SBS Tournament of Champions): 
917D3 (9.5°) driver, 917F3 (15°) fairway metal

GAGANJEET BHULLAR (Asian Tour - Bank BRI-JCB Indonesian Open) 
917D2 driver (9.5°), 917F2 fairway metals (13.5°, 18°)

SANG-HYUN PARK (Japan Tour - Golf Nippon Series J.T. Cup )
917D3 driver (10.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (15°)

HUILIN ZHANG (PGA TOUR CHINA - Buick Open) 
917D2 driver (9.5°)

TAEWOO KIM (PGA TOUR CHINA - Putian Open)
917D2 driver, 917F3 fairway metal

HYUNGJOON LEE (Korean Tour - Caido Korea Tour Championship)
917D2 driver (10.5°), 917F2 fairway metal (16.5°)

JUSTIN THOMAS (PGA TOUR - CIMB Classic): 
917D3 driver (9.5°), 917F3 fairway metal (15°)

JUNGHO YOON (Korean Tour - DGB Financial Group Daeju Gyeongbuk Open)
917D2 driver (8.5°)

JAY HAAS (PGA Tour Champions - Toshiba Classic)
917D2 driver (10.5°), 917F fairway metals (16.5°, 21°)

GAGANJEET BHULLAR (Korean Tour - Shinhan Donghae Open) 
917D2 driver (9.5°), 917F2 fairway metals (13.5°, 18°)

JUSTIN HARDING (South African Tour - Vodacom Origins of Golf - Simola):
917D3 driver (8.5°)

WINNER (European Tour - Porsche European Open) 
917D3 driver (9.5°)

MIN-GYU CHO (Japan Tour - Fujisankei Classic): 
917D2 driver (9.5°)

JIMMY WALKER (PGA TOUR - 2016 PGA Championship) 
917D2 prototype driver (8.5°)

GREG CHALMERS (PGA TOUR - Barracuda Championship) 
917D2 prototype driver (8.5°)

#TeamTitleist