The Titleist 983k titanium driver has been around for years and since it’s release has gained many fans along the way. Given the amount of time that this club has been out, it has also been in countless player’s bags (allegedly most Titleist tour staffers had this club in their bag at one point). But given the fact that it has been around for so long, are it’s old features considered illegal by today’s standards?
For those who still use this club and are wondering if it’s legal to continue using it, I took a look at the USGA’s equipment rules and Randa’s equipment rules to find out if the Titleist 983k driver is still legal to use.
Is The Titleist 983k Driver Illegal? According to Randa.org’s conforming club database, the Titleist 983k is totally legal to use in any casual, high-level amateur, and professional games and tournaments. This means that all versions of the club are totally legal for any player to use.
Above is a photo from the Randa.org database. To begin, I typed in “Titleist 983K”, and then filtered for “Conforming Drivers”. What this did is only showed clubs with the name “Titleist 983K” that conformed to the rules of Randa and the USGA.
As you can see, both versions of the club popped up, which means that both of them conform to the equipment rules and standards.
Which Pros Have Used The Titleist 983k Driver?
As mentioned above, there have been so many players that have used this club since it’s release. I did some digging to find out which professional players have used the 983K on tour before.
- Mike Reid
- Adam Scott
- Phil Mickelson
- Ernie Els
Mike Reid
According to reports, Mike Reid had used this club to win the 2009 Wyndham Championship. The 983K, among other clubs, wasn’t in production anymore at the time of this championship. He not only proved that an older club can still win you a championship, but he further proved the strength of the 983k
Adam Scott
Adam Scott used the 983K to win his first TOUR back in 2003. At the time, this club was brand new and still in production. For Scott, this club holds a special place in his heart. Although it is not in his bag anymore, his win is still a testament to the club’s overall craftiness.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson switched to the 983K driver in order to start getting used to hitting stronger and more powerful shots out of the tee box. With this driver, Mickelson was able to hit his balls much further than what he was normally hitting.
Ernie Els
Ernie Els attributes the 983K driver for getting him some of the longest drives in his career. In fact, this club was able to get him in about 155 yards on a 555 yard hole. In other words, Els was able to hit the ball about 405 yards with the 983K driver, showing how powerful of a club it really is.
Titleist 983k Specs
It was a bit difficult to find all of the specs for the driver, but I was able to scrape up a few from a couple of videos and manufacturer pages. Below are the specs to the 983K driver:
| Feature | Spec |
| Volume | 365cc |
| Driver Head | Small |
| MOI | High |
| Shaft | Fujikura Speeder |
| Loft | 6.5°, 7.5°, 8.5°, 9.5°, 10.5°, 11.5° |
In terms of volume and driver head size, the Titleist 983k driver is significantly smaller compared to other drivers of its kind. The 983K driver is 365cc, whereas many other drivers are around 460cc. However, a smaller driver head makes it a bit more difficult to hit, as there is less surface area that a golfer has to hit from.
The MOI (moment of inertia) of the 983K driver is high, which means its resistance to twisting is high. A high resistance to twisting makes the club much more forgiving and easier for casual players to use. In other words, it is not as punishing if you don’t hit the ball in the center of the face.
Titleist 983k Release Date
After doing some research, it seemed apparent that many golf fans were curious about when the Titlelist 983k came out. In other words, most people have a hard time finding the release date of the 983k. After going through countless videos and news reports, I was able to find out the year that Titleist released the 983k driver.
According to reports, the Titleist 93k Driver was released back in 2003.
There is no specific date that I was able to find, but from what it seems like, the club was released in mid to late 2003, making it almost 2 decades old, depending on when you are reading this.
Titleist 983k Price
It seems as though the Titleist 983k has been discontinued on the official Titleist website, so it is hard to say exactly what the retailer price is. However, it is very easy to find this club on websites like Ebay.
Currency, many used versions of the club are going from anywhere between $35 and $119. The main factor in the price is the amount of wear that the club has on it. Given that most versions of this club that you will find have hit thousands of balls, most available 983Ks have seen better days.
Final Thoughts: 983k Driver
Despite being an old club, the Titleist 983K is still totally legal to use. While there are forums out there that do say it is illegal to use, they are most likely not well informed. Not only is the club legal, but it was a game changing driver that plenty of pros used back in the day.
It may be a bit harder to get your hands on one of them nowadays, but it is still possible. If you do happen to purchase one, then you are totally within your legal right to use it on a course or in a tournament. If someone does happen to call you out for using it, you can simply navigate to the Randa.org page and show them that it still does conform to all of the current rules.