I suppose you can construe it as a compliment when a playing partner suddenly reaches into your bag and pulls out your driver and caresses it as if it were a long-lost, favoured heirloom. Time and time again, that's what happened to the Titleist driver that I added to my bag during the summer. And it certainly is a lovely club, with a great weight.

It's gorgeous to look at, and other people wanted to use it. My problem, however, is that, with the stiff shaft, I found I was getting to the ball too swiftly. When I connected, I hit it a long, long way - but I just didn't have the consistency that I like or need, and I'd have had to change the shape and style of my game if I was to hang onto it.

I discovered that it was necessary to swing a lot slower, especially because I have a tendency anyway to move the ball left to right. It was all very well to mix good shots with bad shots on the driving range, but in competition - and I've played quite a number of competitive rounds in the past few months - it was hard to give it a lash, and my old, familiar driver, which has a more flexible shaft, stayed in my bag for the important days.

The 8.5 degree loft which I used gives a low trajectory, not something I'm used to, and if you mishit it at all then you pay the price.

I can't stress enough what a lovely feel the club gives, and there was one occasion, when I was playing Adare Manor, that I hit a drive that I'd love to store and use over and over again.

As I've already stated, I tend to fade the ball - but, this time, I hit it really, really long and straight with a small bit of draw and it went 300 yards. I felt very good. Indeed, it is very fulfilling when you connect with the sweet spot, but I didn't find it as forgiving as my own driver, which has a 10.5 degree loft.