Two of the biggest brands in golf are Titleist and TaylorMade.
There is no deciding whether either of these brands is a good golf manufacturer, as we know they both are.
However, people have opinions about which is better, and these will vary depending on the type of player you are, what your goals are, and where you are headed in your game.
Both TaylorMade and Titleist have some great options on the market, but we thought you might be interested in which we think is better.
Let’s take a look.
Titleist Vs.TaylorMade (Which Is Better?)
In our opinion, Titleist is better than TaylorMade because of the premium components they use, the focus on player development, and its history of being the leading club provider for the best players in the game.
For many years, Titleist has been making golf clubs for the best players in the game.
The clubs that left the facility were always top quality, and those who demanded the most precision in the game were completely satisfied with what Titleist had to offer.
However, the company as a whole realized that they were missing a large portion of the golfing population and that it also makes sense to create clubs for golfers who are average or below average players.
Titleist now has a wide range of equipment that will work for players of all abilities.
Let’s take a look at the different areas of these two companies, how they differ, and which one you should look into when considering new golf clubs.
1. Drivers
Titleist Man Tsi1 Golf Driver, Black/White, 9.0
The Titleist vs. TaylorMade driver game is a tough one to choose a winner.
We like the lineup of the Titleist drivers as compared to the TaylorMade because it feels like there are more options.
You won’t have to be limited by the product selection of the company, but instead, you can look at the specific characteristics of your swing and decide which driver is best for your game, no matter the brand name.
The Titleist drivers are highly adjustable, and they have a very handy driver fitting chart that helps players understand adjustability and the impact it has on the equipment.
You can use this same fitting chart throughout the lineup of Titleist drivers, making club fitting simple.
TaylorMade has a brand new line of Stealth drivers on the market.
This is the first time that they have used a carbon material in the clubhead as opposed to Titanium.
The result is a high flying and hot club face with impressive overall technology and feel.
The TaylorMade and Titleist drivers are both designed to work for a wide range of players.
TaylorMade tends to be a little more cutting edge while Titleist appeals to the golf traditionalists, both offer great solutions for anyone who loves the game.
2. Fairways And Hybrids
TaylorMade M4 Hybrid (3-19, Stiff Flex, Left Hand)
Titleist and TaylorMade both have a range of fairway woods and hybrids.
Again, you will notice TaylorMade focuses a bit more on distance and forgiveness, whereas Titleist focuses more on playability.
With the Titleist fairway woods and hybrids, it is a little easier to attack pins, as opposed to just hitting shots straight down the fairway.
TaylorMade aims to get the golfers with mid to high handicaps plenty of distance and forgiveness.
Hitting a TaylorMade fairway wood or hybrid out of the rough is quite easy and will result in fewer large numbers on the scorecard.
Fairway woods and hybrids from both Titleist and TaylorMade offer impressive distance technology.
3. Irons
TaylorMade Stealth Iron, RIGHT HAND - REGULAR FLEX, Red
TaylorMade and Titleist each have an extensive line of irons to choose from.
The Titleist irons consist of anything from a blade to a cavity back iron, and so do the TaylorMade irons.
You can choose something like the TaylorMade P770 for better players or the TaylorMade Stealth for more of a game improvement feel.
However, the irons from Titleist have an impressive progression from scratch golfer up to the beginner player.
You can clearly see how each of these irons changes slightly to help the player they are working with.
The irons will range from really clean looking irons that are great for workability to something thicker and built more like a hybrid.
One of the things that really helps the Titleist irons stand out is the feel.
The irons have a unique feel that is a bit more buttery than other golf clubs on the market.
Titleist feel is often up there with Miura and Mizuno golf irons as this is a priority in their manufacturing process.
The irons that work best for your game are the ones that give you the best results, most impressive stats, and numbers that will make you feel like a more accomplished player.
However, if you are only trying one brand, you may be missing out.
Make sure to give both the Titleist and the TaylorMade irons a try as they each feature different technology.
4. Wedges
Titleist Vokey Design SM9 Tour Chrome Wedge 54 10
The Vokey wedge by Titleist is traditionally thought of as the best golf wedge in the game.
With the Vokey wedge, you can stop a golf ball on a green relatively easily and be very accurate with the shots you hit into the pin.
Vokey wedges have helped golfers who didn’t think they were capable of spinning a golf shot learn how to incorporate spin into all of their shots.
The wedges best suited for high handicappers may not be the Vokey wedges, but eventually, all players should learn how to play with a blade style wedge.
TaylorMade has the Milled Grind wedges, which have really helped players who are trying to control the flight of their wedge shots.
As great as the Milled Grind wedges are, the history and the reputation of the Vokey wedges help them to stand out from others on the market.
Regardless of the shaft, bounce, grind, or loft that you need, Vokey will have an option that works specifically for your game.
5. Putter Technology
Putter technology is a bit different from Titleist and TaylorMade.
If you have never seen a Titleist putter, don’t be confused.
Titleist produces their putters through another brand name: Scotty Cameron.
If you know much about putting and the importance of it in the game, you likely understand that Scotty Cameron is one of the highest regarded putters in the market.
These putters go through some extreme testing and tweaking to make them perfectly balanced and an acceptable option for golfers of all abilities.
TaylorMade has had some great putters through the years, but they knocked it out of the park with the Spider line.
As you may have noticed, if you want professional golf, the Spider putters did well on the PGA Tour for quite a few years.
This is a high MOI mallet style putter head that really stands out when it comes to performance and stability on the course.
When comparing the TaylorMade putter technology to the Titleist, we had a hard time saying one was better than the other.
Instead, expect to see some impressive performance from both brands and choose one based on your personal preferences.
6. Pricing
No golf equipment is cheap, and when you are purchasing from top brands like Titleist and TaylorMade, you can expect to pay even higher amounts.
The pricing for the TaylorMade products tends to come out high, and then after about nine to 12 months on the market, it drops considerably.
If you can wait until the pricing drops, or you don’t care too much about custom fitting, then the TaylorMade clubs can be an excellent deal.
Titleist golf clubs are also released at a high price, but they tend to hold their value just a bit longer.
With the Titleist golf clubs, you sometimes get a higher resale value as well.
This is seen with some manufacturers that focus on feel like Ping and Titleist.
Overall, when comparing the two brands, you still will be paying top dollar for the equipment as these are considered premium golf manufacturers.
The pricing of golf equipment will fluctuate a bit from year to year but expect to pay over $500 for a new driver from either of these companies.
7. Longevity
Have you ever heard golfers talking about their old DCI irons from Titleist or maybe a TaylorMade Burner?
These are golf club designs that came out many years ago, but the technology is still relevant today.
Golfers are very impressed with the longevity of both Titleist and TaylorMade golf clubs, and you can keep them in play for years to come.
One thing that we noticed about Titleist is that even when comparing a new product to a product from five years ago, you can still get that impressive feel and performance.
Of course, new products can sometimes fly a few yards further or be a bit more forgiving, but they will not feel entirely different.
TaylorMade golf clubs seem to drop in value a bit faster than Titleist.
However, the technology remains relevant.
8. Value
When you buy Titleist and TaylorMade golf clubs, you will be getting what you pay for.
Although these golf irons are both at the top end of the market as far as pricing is concerned, you also get a great product.
The value of the Titleist and TaylorMade golf clubs is quite good.
Titleist tends to feel like the better value simply because of the vision that goes into their development and the way you can use these golf clubs as your game improves.
If a mid handicapper invests in a set of Titleist golf irons, they can continue to use them for quite some time even as you become a lower handicap player.
The great feel of the Titleist irons makes them a strong fit even as your game improves and you demand more from your equipment.
9. Customer Service
TaylorMade and Titleist stand behind their products.
You can work with them should you find any issues that stand out.
Sometimes Titleist will offer tours of their facility in Boston, where you can see the golf balls being made.
This is a really interesting product, and as we all have come to learn, the amount of research and development that goes into a Titleist golf ball is quite impressive.
10. Technology And Advancements
The TaylorMade and Titleist brands focus on improving technology year after year.
However, when it comes to going out on a limb and bringing something unique to the market, TaylorMade is typically the leader.
TaylorMade has just released the new Stealth line, which makes it much easier for golfers who are looking for entirely new technology to get a unique feel on their golf shots.
The Stealth golf clubs are unlike anything else on the market, and TaylorMade seems willing to take risks.
In the past, when Titleist has taken risks and tried to come to market with a unique golf club, the results have not been as good for them.
Titleist does best by sticking to the clubs that golf traditionalists want and appreciate.
These are the options that will help players who depend more on feel and care about precision and accuracy.
11. PGA Tour Presence
Titleist and TaylorMade have a strong presence on the PGA Tour.
In fact, the most recent winner of the Open Championship has a bag full of Titleist golf clubs.
The TaylorMade and Titleist golf clubs are both powerful brand names and have plenty of quality to be used by professionals.
It is important to remember that professional golfers also have large contracts that pay them to play with specific equipment.
However, it’s interesting to see the players coming up through the ranks that may not have sponsorships just yet and how many of them choose to have Titleist or TaylorMade in their bags.
There is no question that the Titleist Vokey wedges are some of the most popular on tour.
In addition, players like the feel and performance of the Titleist irons.
However, the Stealth driver has had quite a few strong performances on the PGA Tour as well.
There are plenty of Scotty Cameron putters that amateur players can’t even get access to that are being used on the PGA Tour as well.
In the end, you will notice that many golfers like both of these products, and amateur players are not lacking any performance from either of these brands.
12. Golf Balls
Titleist Pro V1 Prior Generation
Golf balls are another product that both Titleist and TaylorMade carry.
Perhaps the most famous golf ball in the game is the Pro V1.
This is considered one of the top-performing golf balls and has the highest quality when it comes to both spin and distance performance.
If you are a player who cares about the type of golf balls you play with, the Titleist Pro V1 is worth investing in.
For many years Titleist has been the number one golf ball used on the PGA Tour.
However, even if you find the Pro V1 to be the best ball in the game, there are alternatives to this brand that can work for any player’s needs.
The Titleist Velocity, AVX, and Pro V1x are all choices that many players consider going with.
With TaylorMade, the highest performing ball is the TP5.
However, the new TaylorMade Tour Response has also been very highly rated as a higher-performing golf ball at a very fair price range.
TaylorMade has some good low cost golf balls as well, options that Titleist doesn’t have.
The best golf ball for your game is the one that matches your preferences and will help you get the spin and ball flight characteristics that you are looking for.
In the end, we felt like Titleist pulled out ahead again when looking at the golf balls.
Conclusion
At this point, you should understand what makes Titleist stand out from TaylorMade and why we chose Titleist as the better brand.
However, there are still so many positives about TaylorMade that we can’t count them out.
When you are shopping for golf equipment, being brand loyal can sometimes be a mistake.
When you are brand loyal, you could miss out on options that come to market that are unique and high performing, making it difficult to fill your bag with great golf clubs.
Try to be brand agnostic, think about each of the new releases, and go for a golf club fitting to ultimately decide which is best for you.
Overall, both Titleist and TaylorMade are great companies, and you will probably be happy with whatever you choose.
NEXT: Do Pros Tee Up Irons? (Explained)