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Final Reviews: SUB70 949x PRO Hybrid

Ratings Distribution

75%
25%
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Detailed Ratings

Accuracy
Foregiveness
Looks, Sound, Feel
On-Course Performance
Play It or Trade It?
Trajectory & Distance
Workability & Adjustability
Testers
Equipment Type: Hybrid
Vendor: SUB70

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When the SUB70 939X Hybrid was selected as a Most Wanted winner, we all took notice of this up and coming brand. Now they have updated the original with the 949X Pro and it's time to see if this new version lives up to it's predecessor!

The 949X Pro is aimed at the lower handicap golfer with heel and mid weighting to take the left side of the fairway out of play for those with a Draw or Neutral ball flight. With that, we'd like to get some fedback from MyGolfSpy readers.

Interesting in testing, reviews and keeping one of these hybrids? Signup at the link on this post.

**Note: This test is only open to US Members and RH Only - sorry to our LH and INTL Members, we have more tests coming soon!

The test applications are live until 4/23, so get your entry in now!

 

TESTERS ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to the following selected testers!
@AGutierrez7

@tommc23

@Lakeeriegolfer

@rkj427

Continue to use this thread for comments, questions, and your thoughts!

Looks, Sound, Feel
Trajectory & Distance
Foregiveness
Workability & Adjustability
Accuracy
On-Course Performance
Play It or Trade It?

 

Sub 70 949x pro hybrid – Official MGS Forum Review by Thomas McClafferty

Intro

 

First off I want to thank MyGolfSpy and @Sub70 for this opportunity to test this club. I am the typical armature I golf one to four times a month depending on things in life and trust me I have a lot going on with my life. I am currently training a dog for a hunt test in Iowa in September and dealing with a family member whom is sick, I will leave this out of here go check the got problems thread for the low down if you're interested. I typically score in the mid to low 90s with my bad scores recently being 98 or 99 but still under a hundred. My typical scores are right around 92 to 94 with this being a huge improvement from when I started in 2015, when a typical score would be 120 plus.

So I am the typical ex-powerlifter and strongman kind of guy I have large shoulder, large back muscles and tight hips. These things don't always allow me to play the best golf of my life, but they do let me hit the ball quite far, not as far of the longball guys on this forum but decent enough. I do not game a driver, cannot control them even in my fitting I couldn't find a combo I could control as well as I can control something a little shorter and smaller less area to mess up. I tend to be a fast swinger, tempo is quick, transition is quick, and my speed isn't slow I was having club head speed in the one-teens with the hybrid fitting I did for this test. I hope the video plays if not I'll have to mess with things again. If the video plays you can see how when I'm tight I cannot get a turn or my hips to move right. The day I took the video my back was a complete mess and I did not have time to go back to the course and with the family problems won't have much time to get onto the course coming up. 

I like to hit my 3w 240-260 which leaves me long irons or driving iron into the greens. I have only been gaming the driving iron for a year and I am on a love hate relationship with it. I need to have something that goes shorter than my 3w but further than my 4i, 200. So when they announced this testing opportunity especially for a club that has a fade bias, preferred shape, I was all over it. I wanted to see if I could find a hybrid I could actually use because I've tried a few brands and models over the years and never liked them. With me having longer irons into greens I typically need to be really good with wedges if I miss the green or if I have to lay up. My definite strength, until recent, was ball striking being able to hit my irons well has been what keeps my scores consistent. I mentioned I like a fade bias because that is my stock shot and I prefer to work with it, but if need be I can work the ball either way. I like hitting the ball high and it's something I look to be able to do with any club. I do like to flight balls down when needed, but that tends to take me some time to correct.

 

First Impressions

I got the email that the box was at my house and I couldn't wait to get home. The first thing I thought was the box looks great and damn they have a nice set up to make sure nothing happens in transit. I liked the little touches that they did with the added tees and the personal note. I got a personal note when I tested the Hogan equalizers years ago and that is a nice touch. I included a bunch of unboxing pictures previously so I'm not going to repost them in this final review, don't be lazy go looking through the thread and look at what we all posted we had some different pictures and they weren't all the same. I know I know we can't take time to read 4 or 5 pages that's too much but really we read more pages than that daily. Lets take some time to read what we've all said so far especially since that is a big part of what we come here for reviews by the average joe. My first impression was honestly crap that wasn't the shaft I asked for, but I'm no complainer I didn't mention it and I just rolled with it because the weight was what I asked for and the stiffness was correct. I had already purchased a hybrid shaft I was fit for just in case I didn't get along with the shaft I chose. 

Looks (5*) 

This is a nice looking club I looks like a typical hybrid but it sets up really square in my stance and with how I set up. I've never had a hybrid set up square before heck it is hard to get the thing to sit closed I mean hard. This is great for me because I like straight to fade and I hate to set up a club so closed, it messes with my mind a little. It is super clean on top no marks no fancy fins or turbulators, I don't like how they look. The thing is super clean and isn't too square for my liking. It looks great and it actually fits my eye. The fitting to my eye is HUGE and part of why it is getting 5 stars. I'm not a fan of hybrids but I like it and it doesn't look as chunky as my driving iron does, maybe that's why I don't hit it well. I know I'm a picky guy for looks when I haven't even broken 90 yet, but I'm a looks and feel guy so they are key for me. The bottom of the club is cleans too not much for dirt to cling to and the clean simple look is appealing. I didn't clean it after my last round so I included pictures of the club dirty and clean so ya'll can see how she looks dirty or clean.3E8A7623-53E4-4562-9FB0-50A1145291B5.jpeg

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Sound & Feel (4.75*)

Sound and feel are completely objective to everyone. I said I like to feel things and that I am a feel player. These things feel nice when hit well and when mishit. I like to feel when I mishit a club, I play muscleback forged irons, so when they feel good on every hit it confuses me. I love that I can hit it poorly and that it doesn't have a harsh feeling, this would probably get 5 star rating because of that but I'm stupid. I like to know when I have a shot on the face so that I can adjust for the next time and so that I don't creep into a bad habit or continue to do something that can cause my game to fall apart. This club feels like you hit it perfect even when it's not and that is a good thing for most but for me it takes off the slightest points. I don't mind looking at the face of the club to see where I hit it, but if you hit a beautiful shot and look down to see it was on the toe that can mess with me a little. The club has such a perfect sound that shows up on the video I have attached, hopefully. The only time that this club gives you a harsh feeling is if you hit near the hosel of club and the only reason I found this out was because I wanted to know so I tried it. They did a nice job with the feel and sound with this club, but I'm nit picking because I'm goofy.

Basic Characteristics (5*)

Man I couldn't wait to hit this club but I didn't want to be unfair to it right away and not try to dial it in first. I did the stupid thing and took it to the course right away but only hit a few shots with it on the 9 I played. I hit it well those two times the first trip out but wasn't a fan of the ball flight it went dead straight but really low compared to what I'm used to. Off to the range I went with all intentions of warming up nicely and then working with the hybrid to dial her in and do some head to head. I definitely put it head to head with my driving iron that day and once I got weight adjusted it was money.

Initial trajectory was dead straight to my fade but it was lower than all my clubs normal ball flight. I messed around with the weights that were included and I found out that the MONEY was the lightest weight in the toe and the heaviest on the middle. This made for some great shots as I described in the post about my range session so I won't go to in depth with that as it was already stated. I even got this bad boy to carry 240 a few times which is where my 3w typically lands on a bad day so it sometimes got too much get up and go, which is crazy to say. I landed it 230 once and watched it roll to the 250 marker on the range and I immediately stopped messing with the weights. I watch it land 220 consistently which is right where I needed and wanted. I have been able to launch this sucker super high and flight it down as needed, but I have not hit a fade with it on the course only on the range.

On-Course / LM Performance (4.8*)

 

So the course is where this club has really shined especially since I haven't been able to get to a launch monitor with it. I tend to keep score and track distances with my Golfpad app on my phone. I never remember to take screen shots of my phone so I slacked with that but I had multiple great days with this club. The only ding I gave it was because of the first day with the stock weights, but I was an idiot and shouldn't have hit it that day but it was there and hard not to. I have been hitting this club with a consistent carry of 218 to 229 with the average being 221. I have mentioned I had some longer carries with the club but they were the outliers. I haven't had a ton of shots below 215 though which is the furthest I could carry by driving iron.

The head to head with my driving iron on the course is where I really found to trust this club. I would drop a ball for the driving iron and I would hit an okay shot, but drop one for this beaut and no problems hitting it where I wanted and how far. If you look at the club head in the picture I posted I have been making solid contact without even trying to. This club has given me confidence every time I pull it out. With me being able to carry it nearly as far as my 3w I would use it when I wasn't hitting my 3w well and if you couldn't guess I'd end up in the fairway nearly as far as I would be. I have the utmost confidence with this baby as I typically do with my wedges or my 3w.

I have made this my go to club for a few holes on my local course where there is a huge dog leg right or where there is a creek in the landing zone for my 3w. Those have become the best holes for me on the course because I am in the right place and am not risking the rough or the water. The club I play at doesn't have long rough but the rough we have definitely effects the clubs, it grabs onto all clubs unlike anything I've ever played before that is so short. The 3h holds up pretty well it doesn't get as effected as my irons but it gets more grab than my 3w, which is odd you would think the smaller it is the less grab but this grass is a pain. I have been able to hit it to the greens a few times and the times I landed on the front edge it has held if I land it anywhere beyond the front it bounces off. This has nothing to do with the club I watched a 9i bounce nearly off the green and then spin back a little. The greens on my local course are super firm and fast so if you don't have a ton of backspin you're not staying on with anything.
 

Miscellaneous (4*)

I like the added touches they sent with the club, the tees and ball marker were nice touches. The hand written note is also a nice touch it shows they actually care. The one thing I wish I could have gotten the grips I typically play. I typically game Pure grips and they just weren't an option this is a complete nit pick though. I like to use to the white name for my grip line up to keep things consistent and not knowing golf pride I just selected one that others were. It is a good grip and works well it just is different than what I normally use and isn't a big deal just having a bigger grip selection would be nice. This honestly is the one thing I will change on the club is the grips. The shaft not being what I ordered actually turned out to work perfectly for me and I am no where near upset with it or the mistake because this club down right performs.

 

Play it or Trade it? (5+++++)

I think if you read this much into this review or read through the thread you know where I'm going with this!!!! I had mentioned in the thread that this had already kicked the driving iron out of the bag. This baby isn't going anywhere I have too much confidence in it to kick it out of the bag. The little things wrong are super minor and heck even one of the little dings was because I didn't adjust the club right before using it. That little ding I gave it honestly is on me but if you're like me and typically don't go to the range often having a club work right out of the box is what a bunch of people like. The shaft feels great I'm able to keep track of the head, I'm able to load up and let her go full bore and not feel whippy, and best of all the thing is easy to hit.

I had mentioned to @Sub70 in the sub70 thread that this thing has opened my eyes. Yea I've read about their stuff on here but being the kind of guy who likes to see it before I believe it I am now a believer. I am definitely looking their way for my next 3w especially with how well the hybrid has held up with range rocks, trust me they were rock hard. The few small scratches are from 6 range sessions in a few weeks and 5 rounds of golf, I know you retired guys do that in a week. I got an eye opener for sure and I knew they had to be good because sub70 has gotten some recognition by MGS. I think this is going to be in the bag for a while something special will have to kick it out of the bag or it will have to start to fall apart.


 

Conclusion

Sub70 has a demo program if you don't want to take the word of an average joe test one out. I am a guy who plays a lot of smaller brands or direct to consumer brands so I support that model. These guys are definitely on my short list for clubs in the near future. I have had great success and great confidence in the short period of time we've had these babies. I cannot say it enough that the simple and clean looks are very appealing. If you want to avoid a draw and want to try out a new hybrid this is where I'd go because It takes work to draw the ball with this club. It not only is a good looking club but it performs! With being able to hit the distance I want consistently without trouble makes this club easy to grab in the tough situations. I highly recommend this club if it is what you are looking for or if you are shopping for a new hybrid.

Conclusion is this is a great club and I am very thankful to have gotten to test it and will continue to game it for the future. I cannot wait for someone to have a question or want to know more about this because I am more than ready to answer any questions you may have.

 

 

 

 

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Link to review
Looks, Sound, Feel
Trajectory & Distance
Foregiveness
Workability & Adjustability
Accuracy
On-Course Performance
Play It or Trade It?

Sub70 949x Pro Hybrid

Intro

Hi there everyone!  I am Alex Williams (@LakeErieGolfer) and this is my review of the Sub70 949x Pro Hybrid.  I am 30 years old, living in Northern Ohio.  

·         I am generally a very feel based player.  I was resistant to buying a rangefinder for a while, and I still wish I could get it in 5 yard increments (rounded down).  I have only had a handful of lessons, back before college so around 13 years ago.  Self taught draw, which is probably why my miss is aggressively left.

·         Handicap is a 5 right now and has been for a couple years.  I have never shot under par, only been even one time.  

·         My swing speed for my driver clocks in around 105.  My general tempo is “quick”.  I have a tendency to not finish the backswing, and then have to try and save it on the downswing with my hands and it results in a left miss hook. 

·         Ball flight is high, miss is left.  

·         Strengths of my game are driving, long irons, short game.  Weaknesses are wedges and woods.  

·         Current gamer is a Rocketballz 3 Iron hybrid from a long time ago.  I was not fit.  Too much draw bias in it. 

·         I like hybrids anywhere on the course.  Getting a little more juice on punchouts, fairway finders, par 5 approaches.  

·         I LOVE taking aggressive lines.  Let me go over the trees blind anytime.  Future me will deal with the fallout later. 

·         I can usually get home on at least half of the par 5s on a course.  Unless there is a hazard or a huge fairway bunker guarding, I will try and get it inside 50 yards and deal with the pitch shot. 

·         I usually come into par 4s with and 8 or 9 iron. 

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First Impressions

From Sub70- “dislike about hybrids is the inability to easily shape shots with them, and the tendency for stronger players to over draw them.”

This is the main reason I was drawn into this club.  I have been looking for a hybrid that is neutral for years now.  

From Sub70- “the face angle is factory set at 1 degree open and a weight port has been added to the toe of the club

This is great for someone like me.  With my old hybrid my miss was a 30 yard hook, it spun so much and was draw-biased.  My current setup with the 949x is the 10g weight in the sole and the 7.5g weight in the toe and with my normal swing it goes straight, maybe a slight draw.  Which is good by me.  

Other things I was interested to compare were the launch and spin.  Rbz would launch high generally and be spinny, so into the wind it had a tendency to balloon, which anytime it was into the wind it would die and with the wind it would 

I have spent 3 range sessions with this club so far and about 5 rounds.  Probably hit it 2-5 times each round and a lot on the range.  As I have gotten used to the hybrid more its definitely worked its way into my game instead of out of it.  

One thing I have gotten out of this is an appreciation for shafts.  This is the first time trying a DTC brand and also my first non-stock shaft and I like the initial build of this club.  Having the option to get my grip, Golf Pride New Decade MCC, onto this to match my other clubs has been a nice little touch.  

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Looks  ★★★★★

General Shape:  The shape is great, on both the top and sole.  Its sharp, and I like that its smaller and more compact.  I love hitting my long irons and like my woods less, so having it lean towards an iron is preferable to me. 

Graphics: Sub70 definitely keeps it lowkey with their graphics.  Simple.  I don’t need anything on the top.  The shiny coating on top comes clean with a wipe of the towel so no water marks. 

The overall look of this is great.  It does the job and isn’t too flashy about it.  I am coming from a white crowned club, so this is wildly opposite and I really like it. 

Much more compact and subdued from other hybrids.  No graphics, no colors, nothing unnecessary.  Unless I told someone what it was and who makes it, no one could recognize it.  I kind of like that.

If there was anything weird, getting the grass out of the ports for the weights is kind of difficult.  Takes some digging with a tee to get it out. And since this club is used as much on turf as the tee, its going to happen a lot. 

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Sound & Feel  ★★★★

This thing sounds solid. A deep click is what I would describe it as. 

It kind of sounds like heavy metal on metal with no reverberation.  Like if you set a cast iron pan down on grill grates.

I would liken it to what my Epic 3-wood sounds and feels, but if it was in a smaller head. So everything is a little lighter, the sound and feel both. 

Mis-hits sound dull. Distance wise they are ok, obviously offline, but the sound you can tell its off center.

Some clubs you hit and it feels like nothing, this one does not quite get there for me.  But it is really close. You know when you hit one perfect, but just not the same as other clubs in my bag.   

The feedback is great.  I know without even watching the ball if it is doing what I want it to.   I think I get good feedback from any club in my bag, and that’s a good reason for me to keep them there.

Basic Characteristics (★★★★★)

Trajectory – Low.  Standard settings for my resulted in a lower ball flight.  With a little work (and the 10 gram weight in the sole instead of the 7.5 gram) I was able to get the launch to where I want it.

Workability – This hybrid is workable.  Which is good for me as I wanted a club to be able to work both ways and get out of trouble or bring it into a green from a certain side. 

Accuracy – Your ball flight is all on you with this club.  I never had something weird happen hitting this yet where it acted differently than I expected. 

Distance – I would say the max distance is a little bit less than my old hybrid, by a few yards.  However I believe this has more to do with the different shaft (Sub70 is 85 grams and my old shaft was 60 grams).  

Forgiveness – Off center hits do seem to go relatively straight.  There is a noticeable distance loss on off center hits, as there are with most clubs.

Adjustability – I added some weight to the sole and noticed a higher launch, which I have kept in there.  I also messed around with the toe weight, but went back to the 7.5 gram weight. . 

Pressure – I believe this club is going to become my absolute fairway finder.  Getting some more history with it and being in that spot will prove this, but I like this club enough to trust it now.   

The bias is so great.  Neutral is so welcome in a club after playing so long with draw-bias in my hybrid. 

I think one thing that will be a downside is going to be the face finish.  The black finish seems to me like it is going to wear off over time instead of “wearing in” like others and I hope this doesn’t affect performance.  

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On-Course / LM Performance ★★★★★

Swing Weight:  This feels a lot like an iron, where my old one felt like a wood. This is definitely a combination of the slightly heavier shaft than before and the similar head weight.  But I like that.  

My miss is still left, however its left fairway instead of left trees.  Left bunker instead of tee box to the left.  The side movement is softer, I guess that would be the best word to describe it. 

Launch angle ended up being about 2 degrees lower than the Rbz pretty consistently off a mat.  It can launch high off a tee, and it can land soft on greens off turf similar to my 3 iron, but much easier to do. 

I feel about the same confidence attacking long holes with this, it has roughly the same distance as the Rbz overall, but the straightness can’t be understated.

Very similar to other hybrids I have used out of the rough.  I am not sure there is much room for improvement here unless your swing speed is much higher than mine. 

Final Performance Comments:

I LOVE this club off the tee.  I have always trended towards my 3 iron over my 3 wood or hybrid as a fairway finder and that’s fine but I usually end up further back than I would like.  This hybrid bridged that gap.  It comes off the tee lower and more in control that my previous hybrid, similar launch to my actual 3 iron but just has so much more juice. 

I can do whatever I want with this club.  The only thing that is tough is hitting it really high off the turf, but I can get it up enough to land and stop on a green so its fine.  I can move it both ways, flight it low, and get it out there 230 if I need to. 

My impression of Sub70 has always been good.  This reinforces that and makes me interested in getting some more clubs from them.

I love the weights and the neutral bias the most.  Being able to throw a heavier weight in the bottom has allowed me to launch a little higher.  But if for some reason I knew I would need to hit a lot of low balls I could swap it back out.  

I think the finish on the face could use a little improvement.  It has decent wear on it for only being in my bag for a month and a half and I am worried about it long term. 

I think it has definitely improved my ability to attack par 5s when I couldn’t before.  If I need something that moves left to right and lands soft, I now have that shot.  I had that a few days ago, 230, downwind and trees on the right.  Needed to come in from the left and worked it beautifully (missed the putt though, of course). I think this club will continue to come in handy and save me strokes for a long time. 

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Miscellaneous ★★★★★

Shipment:  I have never gotten anything from Sub70 or through testing before, but I felt like the shipping was a little weird.  I got a call weeks before receiving the club telling me it would be going to the floor for build in the next 2 days, then it still took over 3 weeks to arrive.  Could have been COVID, could have been a miscommunication from the guy who called me, or anything.  The packaging is A+ though.  Good box, foam, wrap, no chance of damage.  

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Play it or Trade it? (★★★★★)

PLAY IT. And play it as much as possible.  I really do like this club and it has filled a hole in my bag that was duct taped together before.  Using my old hybrid, with a mid-size grip, a modified swing path, and still having a huge left miss, I was having to work harder on that shot than anything else in my bag.  This pro-style hybrid gets rid of that and lets me use my normal swing with normal results. 

I think the area of the market this club is in is perfect.  Sub70 being a DTC brand and being able to cut some costs makes this even more attractive.  For $150 this club is definitely worth giving a shot and it certainly holds up to the top level brands.  Especially with the customization afforded with every club being custom built.  

Conclusion

If I had to choose one word to describe this hybrid and Sub70 in general, I would say, “impressed.”  The quality of the clubhead and the total build is up to snuff with the big brands and this club belongs in the same class, but for 40% less cost than them.  I was always looking for a club to gap between my 3 wood (240 yards) and my 3 iron (210) and my previous gamer was a Rocketballz 3 iron hybrid.  It hit the gap perfectly distance wise but I could not move it left to right.  I had a huge left miss all the time, so much so that I had a midsize grip (all others standard) and also consciously swung it as if I was trying to hit a slice.  

The Sub70 949x Pro fills that gap perfectly.  The distance is very similar, the ball flight ended up being a little lower and lower spinning.  It is WORKABLE.  There is little to no bias in this club, which is great for me personally as I can force a draw or a fade on command (and sometimes not if we are being honest).

The look of this club is great.  I love the compact head, my 3 wood also has a slightly more compact head and this meshes great with that.  There is no visible offset, and the weighting is very similar to an iron, so learning to swing it was a little different as my old hybrid swung more like a wood.  I would completely recommend this club and Sub70 as a brand to anyone willing to branch out a little bit and try something new. 

Driver: Taylormade Rocketballz 9* Stock. 3-Wood: Callaway Epic Sub-Zero, 15*. Hybrid: Sub70 949x Pro 19*. Irons: Taylormade rac LT 3-PW. Wedges: Vokey F-Grind 52*, 58*. Putter: Rife 2-Bar Blade Putter.  Pro V1

Link to review
Looks, Sound, Feel
Trajectory & Distance
Foregiveness
Workability & Adjustability
Accuracy
On-Course Performance
Play It or Trade It?

Looks, Sound, Feel

I thoroughly enjoyed the look of this hybrid, the unique head shape really made the club in my opinion. The clean presentation of the logo and minimalistic design is smooth and is practically distraction-less. The sound of this club was smooth as well, no annoying ding whatsoever. You can definitely tell when it is struck well and when are you off-center. The feedback of sound is incredibly helpful for my mental game and I could tell how well I hit it before even seeing the ball flight. 

Trajectory & Distance

The overall trajectory of shots hit with this club were in that mid to high range depending on the strike, etc. When I hit it well it flew in that middle trajectory window which I prefer. I also was getting good distance out of this club; it flew about 10-15 yards longer than my 4H which fits the gapping nicely. 

Forgiveness

This is where I think the club lacks, which is to be slightly expected out of a "players" option. I will say that slightly off-center strikes did not vary too much in distance or trajectory, but I will say any hits farther off center tend to produce more of a fade. Additionally, this club is definitely an anti-left setup as claimed by SUB70, I really could not create too big of a draw with this club. 

Workability & Adjustability

I personally do not try to manipulate anything in my swing to create different shot shapes but I found that I was able to hit this club relatively straight or with a little bit of a fade. I can imagine that this club would be incredibly workable for the better player. There is also plenty of adjustability available for this club including a set of head weights to alter the weight in the toe of the club.

Accuracy

I was surprised with how accurate this club was and how little the ball moved from off the start line when struck well. I found it relatively easy to hit straight accurate shots with this club. The accuracy was comparable to that of my current gamer from Mizuno (CLK 2017).

On-Course Performance

I was not able to get the club out onto the course as much as I wanted to. I played three rounds with this club and I tried to use it as much as I could. I mostly played it for lay ups on unreachable par 5s. I found the turf interaction to be smooth and I really had no fear of hitting any shots heavy. I will definitely work to put the club into different situations and come back with further thoughts.

Play It or Trade It?

For now I think I will be putting it in the bag to experiment with a two hybrid setup. I am looking forward to the added distance from this hybrid and the gap that it fills between my 4H and 3W.

 

Thank you for the opportunity MGS! 

 

 

Most Recent Testing: :Sub70: 949x PRO Hybrid 

In my  :callaway-small: 2019 X-Cart Bag :  

:taylormade-small: M3 10.5* (TENSEI Blue 6R)

:benhogan-small: GS53 3W 14* (Review)

:mizuno-small: CLK 2017 4H 22* 

:taylormade-small: M6 Irons 4-PW (KBS MAX 85g Stiff Steel Shafts, Std Length & Lie)

AW, SW: :Sub70: Forged Satin 48*, 54* 

LW::vokey-small: SM6 60*

:wilson_staff_small:  Infinite Putter Michigan Ave 34"

:bridgestone-small: e6  

Current Tech:

:918457628_PrecisionPro: NX7 Rangefinder

:skycaddie: LX5 GPS Smartwatch (Review)

Link to review
Looks, Sound, Feel
Trajectory & Distance
Foregiveness
Workability & Adjustability
Accuracy
On-Course Performance
Play It or Trade It?

Intro:

I am Robert Jason, 67 years young, have played golf since early teen years, and have had numerous lessons over the years. My driver swing speed measured as 99 mph this spring, and my swing style, is wide arc, with quick transition from the top, similar to Nick Price. One important thing to note for me is that I am a left-handed person who plays most sports right-handed, so in golf, I typically have a strong left handed grip, and shot shape is typically a small draw, or big hook if I get too aggressive.

Initial Thoughts on Sub 70:

It was great to be selected for this test, as the club promised "anti-left" so common in hybrids from other OEM's. The club arrived with extra goodies thrown in, and a very nice personalized touch added by Sub 70.

The club is not the brightest, most colorful club on the market, and I appreciate that immensely! It should be about performance more than colors or looks.

 

Looks, Sound, Feel:

I thoroughly liked the look of this hybrid, the head shape really made the club visually appealing to my eyes at set-up in my opinion. The clean and minimalistic design is smooth and is practically distraction-less. The sound of this club was solid as well, no annoying ping noise. You can definitely tell when it is struck well and when are you off-center. The feedback of sound and feel is helpful and I could tell how well I hit it before even seeing the ball flight.

 

Trajectory & Distance:

The overall trajectory of shots hit with this club initially were for me, low to mid trajectory bullets. I did change the weights in the head, moved the heaviest weight to the center, and put a lighter weight in the toe, and it raised the trajectory up and increased launch as well. That made it easier to feel confident that shots into a green would hold the green and not release over it. I also was getting good distance out of this club; it flew almost as long as my 3 wood from both the tee and the grass. This presented me with a challenge for the top of the bag gapping, but I could carry this hybrid and add a 3 iron into my bag to eliminate that. For me at this time, it almost is too long to add to my bag with a 15 degree 3 wood included.

 

Forgiveness:

This is where I think the individual would be best testing this hybrid before making the purchase. Designated as a "player's hybrid" it is equal too the Titleist 818 I have played before as far as forgiveness goes, but I am certain that there are OEM's marketing hybrids to higher handicapper players that may offer more forgiveness. I haven't had any experience with the models designed to be more forgiving, so really do not want to make comments which may not be accurate. Additionally, this club is definitely an anti-left setup as claimed by SUB70, I really could not create too big of a draw with this club.

 

Workability & Adjustability:

I found that I was able to hit this club relatively straight or with a little bit of a fade, if I manipulated my grip to get the ball to land "softer" with that shot shape. I can say that this club would be very workable for the better player. There is also plenty of adjustability available for this club including a set of head weights to alter the weight in the toe of the club.

 

Accuracy:

I found it fairly easy to hit straight, accurate shots with this club. The accuracy was better than that of my current gamer as it eliminated the big left miss for me. I also let a friend try this club while we were playing, he seems to fight the dreaded slice with his misses, and he too did not seem to have major issues with his accuracy either, but it may also be that this head shaft combination fit him better than what he currently had in his bag?

 

On-Course Performance:

I was not able to get the club out onto the course as much as I wanted too., I played five rounds with this club and I tried to use it as much as I could. I played it from the tees on all the holes except the par 3's three rounds exclusively, and for second shots on the par 5s. I found the turf interaction to be smooth and I really had no fear of hitting any shots heavy. It was just as easy to hit from the fairways, as well as light rough.

One thing to note, is due to my crazy, long work hours, I spent quite a bit of time at the range with this club too, and that not only built confidence heading to the course, the results from the range and course were very similar.

 

Play It or Trade It?

For now I think I will be putting it in the bag to experiment with a driver / hybrid / 3 iron set-up. I also could put the 3 wood back in the bag, and use the hybrid in place of the 3 iron, just would need to work on my distance control and gaps before doing so.

For anyone who fights the dreaded hooks with a hybrid, this club meets or exceeds expectations. It will give you the results of your swing with some forgiveness. 

 

Thank you again to MGS for this opportunity, and if anyone has any additional questions, feel free to ask either in the topic or by message, and I will gladly try to answer them.

Driver & Fairway: :titleist-small: Titleist TSR3 10 degree - :Fuji: Ventus TR Blue & :titleist-small: TSR3 15 - :projectx: Project X Hzrdus Smoke Black 

Hybrid: :callaway-small: Callaway Apex UW 19 - :projectx: Hzrdus Smoke Black

Irons: :titleist-small: Titleist T200 3G (4) & T150 - (5-G) - :projectx: Project X LZ 

Wedges: :vokey-small: Vokey SM8 54, and 58

Putter: :cameron-small: Cameron Phantom X 7

Ball: :titleist-small: Pro V1 & :maxfli: Maxfli Tour

 

Link to review

15 Comments


On 8/12/2021 at 7:00 PM, MaxEntropy said:

difference in shape have any effect on you?

Yea it definitely did at first.  Kind of looks like its structured to have more mass out on the toe, but it doesn't act like it.  The face is so straight it makes up for any of the fake bias, aka, "looks like a hook" comments.  After hitting it like 10 times you quickly realize it will do what you want it to. 

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I don't know about the rest of the testers, but as I have gotten more and more comfortable with this club, I have absolutely started hammering it.  If I have it on a tee where I just need a fairway finder it is going so straight and with such little spin that its running out like crazy now that some courses are drying out.  I had a 290 ball on Saturday, but I also had some crafty shots with control around the course on par 5s. This thing can truly do it all. 

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2 hours ago, Lakeeriegolfer said:

I don't know about the rest of the testers, but as I have gotten more and more comfortable with this club, I have absolutely started hammering it.  If I have it on a tee where I just need a fairway finder it is going so straight and with such little spin that its running out like crazy now that some courses are drying out.  I had a 290 ball on Saturday, but I also had some crafty shots with control around the course on par 5s. This thing can truly do it all. 

I had some out distance my 3w during testing and that’s quite a difference in loft considering I game a 13* 3w. It is a beast one you get the weights right

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It honestly has me strongly considering a 2h version of it and dumping my 3 wood altogether.  If I can hit that just as far as the 3 wood but with way more confidence in the smaller head, why not?  I know guys that have a 2 and 3 hybrid and no woods. The only advantage of the 3 wood is that one magical shot every year that you're like 260 with an open run-up and you crush it perfect. Otherwise par 5s are either gettable under 240, or completely out of the question for another reason. 

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6 hours ago, Lakeeriegolfer said:

It honestly has me strongly considering a 2h version of it and dumping my 3 wood altogether.  If I can hit that just as far as the 3 wood but with way more confidence in the smaller head, why not?  I know guys that have a 2 and 3 hybrid and no woods. The only advantage of the 3 wood is that one magical shot every year that you're like 260 with an open run-up and you crush it perfect. Otherwise par 5s are either gettable under 240, or completely out of the question for another reason. 

I also have thought about this

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Has anyone checked their launch monitor numbers? I am thinking about switching a was wondering what some of the spin characteristics looked like? I am a higher spin player so I am hoping to find something that is a bit lower spinning

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I golfed my first round of the year yesterday and still hit this thing beautifully. Hit it out if some very thick grass and it didn’t get caught up in it at all. Such an easy club to hit well and heck even work the ball both directions.

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109 Comments




On 6/11/2021 at 1:14 PM, Lakeeriegolfer said:

Unfortunately I have not been able to hit it yet,

Update, I have hit it.  Went to the range last night and as much of a shame as it was to dirty up this beautiful club, it had to be done.  I tried to do a side by side comparison with my current hybrid and hit enough balls, somewhere between 10-15 each, to get similar swing feelings and see how the shot shape resulted.

Weight:  The 949x is much more of an iron and less of a wood (which the RBz feels like a wood, more weight in head than shaft).  This is definitely a different feel for me personally, but I do like it.  More balance between the weight of the shaft and the head.  15g heavier shaft than previous gamer. 

Look:  The head is great.  The face looks just like an iron to me instead of a small 3 wood.  Compact, and straight. 

Feel: Very solid hit, good feedback on the strike.  

Flight:  I haven't played with any weights yet, so its still on the stock setup, but it definitely flies lower than the Rbz.  The straightness is there.  I definitely know what I can do with the Rbz to induce a rather aggressive hook, and what I have to do to fight it. The 949x is much harder to induce the hook on.  I can easily hit a draw with it but the big left miss was not there.  Moving it from left to right consistently is usually a struggle for me, so I will have to work a little more to make it go both ways. 

Bonus Info:  One shot I have always been interested in is the hybrid bump from the fringe.  I am fully aware that it is "old man golf," but I have a tendency to get twitchy and make inconsistent contact with a wedge from the tight grass.  Its something I had tried before but never loved the feel.  I played around the putting green last night with the 949x Pro and its a completely different world.  The compact head, and the heavier shaft make it feel legitimately like a putter if I grip it all the way down.  Something I will continue working on, but if I am in short grass but too far to putt, this will be an option. 

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I had a really good range session today and the course was EMPTY! It hurt big time to just use the range and not golf, but this was needed and I actually got this hybrid set up perfectly. At the stock setting I was hitting my driving iron and the hybrid 190 with some roll on the 200 marker on the range. The range rocks were very hard today! I did notice this is kind of normal for me this this driving iron it goes shorter/same distance of my 4i.

I worked my way through the whole bag to get warmed up which was nice I haven’t done that in a while. When I got to my driving iron and the hybrid I went through a full bucket on them alone. The stock setting wasn’t horrible for me just short and taking lots of video I noticed I was setting it up with an open face unintentionally quite frequently. I fixed that but my normal fade was being shown and I’m perfectly fine with that I like hitting that and I set up for that and didn’t have an issue doing so with the hybrid. After some shots where it was hitting the same place as my driving iron it was time to mess with things.

First I simply flipped the two weights that were in place in this thing stock. Wow that was a no go started going fade which was not expected. Next I tried the heaviest weight in the toe just because I thought it would be funny. Funny it was man did that pull the face open and I was hitting HUGE slices. Next I put the stock toe weight back in the toe and the heaviest in the middle, this worked nicely. Started hitting it about 210 I was hitting the top of the 200 yard marker which was about 6 feet high so I figured it was 210ish. So I liked this and put the lightest weight in the toe and kept the heaviest weight in the middle/other hole, this was GOLD!!!! Landing every bit of 220 and had one that landed beyond that and rolled to the 250 marker. I repeated this a few times and hit one really high because I can and that landed right around 225. If I needed to get one to land softly I would definitely do this snd hit it high.

Made good use of my tripod I purchased today and got some up close and personal shots of the ball and got some nice ones of my feet. I knew my feet moved a lot on impact and this definitely showed me how much I was right. This video helped me realize I had an open face on set up and I was able to fix that. I also got some video I cut down for some GIFs because it’s one of my reviews I’ve done that for everyone I’ve ever done. Can’t wait to take her to the course after getting things dialed in today but it still hurt not playing a round.

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On 6/16/2021 at 4:33 PM, Lakeeriegolfer said:

Update, I have hit it.

Second update on club wear.  Here is the best shot of the face I could get to showcase how much the finish is affected by approximately 40 shots with range balls.  I tried to cherry pick the best ones, as you do when hitting a new club.  Edit: I have no idea why its upside down. It will not let me fix it. 

Screenshot 2021-07-02 00.08.23.png

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Going to walk a round first thing tomorrow morning the course has a 200 yard par 3 that can play longer so if it plays 210 it’ll be a nice head to head of the hybrid and driving iron 

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No video today but I will say that my driving iron lost it’s spot in the bag after my first full round with the hybrid. My goodness did it fly true and was my best club in the bag today. Definitely liked the weight set that I had found in my range session, this is one thing that I won’t be touching right now. 
I like how easy this hybrid is to hit and now I want to try a 3w by sub70. The shaft is working well with how I load up and is handling everything I throw at it. 

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OK, for me with my work schedule or hours being pretty crazy since mid May, and Michigan weather not cooperating on the weekends,  I have spent more time on the range than on the course.

 

Similar to @tommc23, I played around with the weights in mine. Originally they had 8 gram weights in the center and toe, but also provided me (2) 10 gram weights and a 5 gram weight. I put the 5 in the toe, and a 10 in the center, as I really wanted to increase ballflight and reduce the distance I was obtaining with this 3 hybrid compared to the 4 hybrid I played previously.

 

Honestly, for me, it is very easy to hit from the tee, from the fairway or light rough. My typical flight with clubs is a little 5 yard draw or fairly straight, more dependent on my grip as I tend to be fairly strong left handed.

 

The biggest surprise for me is just how far it goes, but that may also be due to less loft and increased shaft length compared to a 4 hybrid.

Almost as long as my 3 wood, but easier to hit perfectly than my 3 wood from any lie other than a tee.

Rained here 6+ inches since this past Thursday PM, but did get in a quick 9 earlier this morning on a shorter course near me. Used it off all the tees, except for the par 3's and was able to get a couple opportunities to use it both from the tee and fairway on the 2 par 5's.

Did not keep score, but for spending more time at the range than on the course, my game seems to be in mid season form, at least with all clubs except the putter at this time.

 

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14 hours ago, rkj427 said:

OK, for me with my work schedule or hours being pretty crazy since mid May, and Michigan weather not cooperating on the weekends,  I have spent more time on the range than on the course.

 

Similar to @tommc23, I played around with the weights in mine. Originally they had 8 gram weights in the center and toe, but also provided me (2) 10 gram weights and a 5 gram weight. I put the 5 in the toe, and a 10 in the center, as I really wanted to increase ballflight and reduce the distance I was obtaining with this 3 hybrid compared to the 4 hybrid I played previously.

 

Honestly, for me, it is very easy to hit from the tee, from the fairway or light rough. My typical flight with clubs is a little 5 yard draw or fairly straight, more dependent on my grip as I tend to be fairly strong left handed.

 

The biggest surprise for me is just how far it goes, but that may also be due to less left and increased shaft length compared to a 4 hybrid.

Almost as long as my 3 wood, but easier to hit perfectly than my 3 wood from any lie other than a tee.

Rained here 6+ inches since this past Thursday PM, but did get in a quick 9 earlier this morning on a shorter course near me. Used it off all the tees, except for the par 3's and was able to get a couple opportunities to use it both from the tee and fairway on the 2 par 5's.

Did not keep score, but for spending more time at the range than on the course, my game seems to be in mid season form, at least with all clubs except the putter at this time.

 

That’s interesting that we both found the best flight to be the weights in the same area. Once I adjusted the weights I was getting it close to my 3w every once in a while and my 3w is goes 240+.

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I am going to be getting in a couple rounds this weekend so I will have considerably more info come Tuesday or Wednesday next week.  Last couple rounds I played didn't afford me many shots into greens with it but I will be making a point to drop some and see how it performs.  

I can fully attest to this becoming my fairway finder though.  Having the "pro-ness" for lack of a better term and the lack of draw bias has taken out the big left miss and hitting a low bullet that ends up somewhere between 220 and 240 depending on roll is something I love.  A little more juice than my normal 3 iron and less spin than my old hybrid.  As much as I love the lower flight I am working on getting a little air under it.  

Still loving the solid feel of the strike and after getting used to the new weight distribution I am hitting it solid with ease.  The look of it still is great.  If you want a "pro" hybrid I am definitely in the camp of being able to promote this club.  Workable, adjustable, looks good. I will be working on the full writeup in the next week after these next rounds. 

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6 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

1.  That's a nice spot for a wear mark

2.  Looks like the finish is holding up well!

Can we get a little tease as to your final verdict?

Working on it now. The pictures you quoted will be in my final review I’ll have it posted in a little bit just got home from dealing with family emergency and forgot my computer I wanted it up already

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1 minute ago, tommc23 said:

Working on it now. The pictures you quoted will be in my final review I’ll have it posted in a little bit just got home from dealing with family emergency and forgot my computer I wanted it up already

No rush my man, I need something good to read with my morning coffee! 😂  Hope the family emergency was nothing serious!

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5 hours ago, TBT said:

How is this hybrid out of the rough? It looks like it has a center mass on the bottom that might help get the club through some thicker grass

I had no problems with it from the rough and I play with on a course regularly where the grass loves grabbing and making rough shots very difficult to begin with. It’s interesting that the kind of grass actually grabs more the smaller the club head is, so playing thinner soled clubs as I do it can be punishing to play from.

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30 minutes ago, Lacassem said:

@tommc23great review you can tell you hit that thing about 1000 times! Not currently in the market for a hybrid but Sub70 is sounding like a good option overall when I am ready for any club.

It held up well using the range rocks I did. I bet if I didn’t have range sessions in and just used prov1s it wouldn’t have a mark on it or not nearly as bad of a mark

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20 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

Nice review @tommc23!  Glad you found a new weapon to add to your bag.  @Sub70 already had a great value prob and its nice to see them deliver on the promise this hybrid set out to prove! 

 

Yes they definitely make me want to try other offerings from them that’s for sure. Especially if I carry a hybrid nearly as far as I hit a 3w without doing much but moving some weights around. I’m glad that they are easy to move and that they included a ice variety of weight options! 

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11 hours ago, TBT said:

How is this hybrid out of the rough? It looks like it has a center mass on the bottom that might help get the club through some thicker grass

I also hope a few others who are in this test are able to answer this question for you in their reviews or just by stopping by and posting an answer.

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