Iona Stephen’s new woods give each long shot a different job

Iona Stephen wanted a driver flight that held up better into the wind. Her new Titleist setup also had to cover approaches into par fives, long par threes and the gap above her five-iron. In her October 12 unboxing video, she explains where each of four new clubs belongs.

Stephen filmed the reveal at Sunningdale Heath after a fitting in San Diego with Titleist’s Chloe Robinson. The clubs arrive with their wrappers still on. Before hitting them, Stephen talks through the shots she expects them to produce.

Her driver is a 10-degree GTS4. Stephen says her previous driver could produce spinny flights into the wind, and that the fitted replacement brings the flight and spin down. Those are her observations about her own setup; the video does not provide a launch-monitor comparison proving a particular gain.

Titleist positions GTS4 for golfers who need to reduce spin. Its official launch materials also describe the fitting adjustments available across the GTS driver family. Stephen’s choice illustrates why a model’s role matters more than assuming the same head will suit another golfer.

The next club has a different task. Her GTS3 fairway is marked 16.5 degrees, and she describes roughly 205 yards of carry, with rollout varying by conditions. She expects to use it from the tee on links courses and for longer approaches. Its slight draw is part of the decision: she points out that overhanging branches on the right could make that starting flight unsuitable from a particular tee.

Then comes the 21-degree GTS3. Stephen calls it her high-launching five-wood, while acknowledging that others may call it a seven-wood. Titleist’s current specifications list the GTS3 in 15, 16.5, 18 and 21-degree lofts. The number stamped on the head is more useful here than settling the naming argument.

Her GT2 hybrid supplies another option between those woods and the five-iron. Stephen describes a carry of about 185 yards and a mostly neutral flight that can fall slightly right. She gives the fairways and hybrid different uses rather than treating them as interchangeable ways to hit the ball farther.

The shaft choices also show some continuity. Stephen says she has retained familiar shaft preferences in parts of the new setup, even while changing clubheads. She then hits the clubs at Sunningdale Heath and discusses their sound, appearance and flight.

For a golfer preparing for a fitting, that is a useful level of detail to bring along: the yardage gap, the lie and the shape of shot the club needs to handle. Stephen’s driver problem was especially specific. She wanted a flight she trusted when playing back into the wind.