Agent Orange Driver from Sinister Golf – Review by SMRT

[SMRT]

Are you ready for the newest weapon in the war of longer, straighter drives? The guys at Sinister Golf have recently released their first offering and it is called the Agent Orange.

             I started buying component drivers shortly after I started playing golf because I was continuously denting the face of my PING G20 driver. Since then I have realized how good some of the driver designs are from these smaller component companies. Also, the price is usually lower than buying a new driver off the rack. Especially since there are not any stock shaft options that work for me.

 

For full disclosure, I did purchase the head, so this is not a review about a free club.

How I tested:

            I am testing the 9 degree option on a Black Ops Pearl LD shaft in 2X Flex and a Banshee shaft in 3X Flex tipped 2”. Both will be tested at the maximum allowed 50” length. (Measured per LDA rules)

Performance

The first day I hit this driver I went to a driving range that is long, flat, and consistent. I hit there a lot so I know my normal driver carry and roll pretty well.

The Agent Orange is supposed to be a low launch and low spin head and I have to agree. I did see lower launch on the range than I expected. I was hitting this 9 deg head about the same trajectory as my other 7.5 deg driver (Geek No Brainer). I had the same shaft in both drivers that day.

                I did hit the Geek driver farther that day but I did get some good distance from the AO as well. I was carrying the ball about the same distance with both but the Agent Orange did not seem to roll out as far.  Being the first day I hit the club I was extremely happy with its performance.

                The second day I brought the Agent Orange to the driving range I had re-placed the Black Ops shaft with a Banshee shaft that was a little stiffer and it should help increase the launch angle a little. The new combination did just that. I got a little better carry than the first day and also about the same roll. So I was getting closer to catching the No Brainer distance but I was not quite there.

Before I left the range I added about 12 grams of lead tape to the toe edge of the AO. This basically gave me the same weight in both driver heads. After a couple more swings I noticed the launch angle came back down and the roll out increased a lot. It is now time to go to the Launch Monitor to see what the numbers say.

                I went to my local Golfsmith to see what the launch monitor said about the performance of the Agent Orange. I typically need to hit about 100 balls before I really get warmed up and in my zone so I did that and then took the next 10 balls and that is the data shown here.

Launch Angle – 6.5 to 10 degrees

Decent Angle – 20 to 27 degrees

Ball Speed – 160 to 172 mph

Carry Distance – 289 to 314 yards

Total Distance – 329 to 346 yards

Yards Offline – 6.7 to 28.9 yards

                These are not my longest shots ever but I was very pleased with the distance I was getting. I also hit my other LD clubs and the Agent Orange was the longest of them all. (Only by 1 yard, but every yard counts.)

Subjective

            The first thing you notice with this driver is the bright orange color. It is definitely a little flashy compared to most other offerings but I like the fact that the crown is not cluttered with graphics. I was glad to see there is also no ball alignment marks. I never use the ones on other drivers I have used so it is nice to see a clean, single color crown. The black face is a nice touch that looks great while also helping you keep track of the ball strike location on the club face.

                I really like the shape while looking down on the club. It has a great classic shape that does not appear to be to large compared to some other 460 drivers.

                This driver has the tallest face I have ever used. At 60mm, there are only a few other drivers out there that are taller but it is not distracting or noticeable.

This driver is a little lighter than I am used to using. I did feel like I was swinging faster but the launch monitor testing showed I was not. When you hit the ball perfectly you can feel the ball spring off the face. It was pretty cool.

                The driver sounds great on pure hits. It is not loud or bangy. It is just a nice crack. On off-center hits, it is more of a dead thud so you know immediately if you miss.

Conclusion

            My overall impression of the Agent Orange driver from Sinister Golf is that they have released a very solid club. It looks great, sounds awesome, and performs very well. The only downside for me is that I like a heavier head so I will have to keep the lead tape on and will have to add lead tape when I order my next one, but I will be ordering another one as soon as I decide what loft I need to complete my long drive competition clubs.

The head cover is pretty nice too!

 

 

 

 

[Mr_Theoo]

Nice review SMRT! Crazy to see your carry distance longer than most of my drives with roll lol

[SMRT]

Nice review SMRT! Crazy to see your carry distance longer than most of my drives with roll lol

 

Thanks. I take the swing hard and hope mentality with my driver so with the extra distance also comes with a larger golf ball bill at the end of the day. It is a lot of fun though! I was surprised that my farthest off line was as low as it was. Normally I will have that nasty right hand banana flyer but this was a good day.

[fozcycle]

That would be a great club to have in your bag IF.......you are an Alumn from Clemson, Tennessee, Florida, Va Tech, etc.

[mlowrey23]

Wouldn't a little bit of hot melt solve the problem on the weight issue..as well as the ball flight?  Or are you waiting a little longer to get the feel of the driver before you do that?  From  my experience hot melting drivers makes them sounds a lot better also.

[SMRT]

Wouldn't a little bit of hot melt solve the problem on the weight issue..as well as the ball flight?  Or are you waiting a little longer to get the feel of the driver before you do that?  From  my experience hot melting drivers makes them sounds a lot better also.

 

I guess hot melt would work but I have always like to use lead tape. I can tweak location and weight easily until I get it dialed in and then it just stays put. I do not know about hot melt effecting sound. This driver already sounds perfect to me so I wouldn't want to change that.

If I run into any issues with my tape I will check out the hot melt.

Thanks

[SMRT]

That would be a great club to have in your bag IF.......you are an Alumn from Clemson, Tennessee, Florida, Va Tech, etc.

 

That would be a nice bonus!

[fozcycle]

That would be a nice bonus!

 

Hey, maybe they could get an NCAA licensing agreement and provide school logos on the Head.

[SMRT]

Hey, maybe they could get an NCAA licensing agreement and provide school logos on the Head.

 

If there was money in that idea one of the big boys would have done it a long time ago. I do think if NCAA Teams tried this head they would want their players to use it no matter what the color.

[silver & black]

This might be a dumb question but, is this driver only meant for Long Drive competition or is it perfectly at home on the golf course? Is it only for accomplished players or could the rest of us average players take advantage of it?

[SMRT]

This might be a dumb question but, is this driver only meant for Long Drive competition or is it perfectly at home on the golf course? Is it only for accomplished players or could the rest of us average players take advantage of it?

 

That is a great question.

The driver is meant for use in LD and on the course. They offer lofts ranging from 5 to 12 degrees. I let a friend of mine that is not an LD guy hit it and he really liked the feel and ball flight. Most of my other LD drivers seem to be a lot firmer until the face is "broken in" a little so they do not seem to work for slower swings. I do not think that is an issue with this one. It seems to hit great right out of the box.

I can only speak for beginning players, since that is what I am, but it works great for me. If I hear anything from more accomplished players I will share here.

[MrSinister]

Thank you very much for the awesome review SMRT! As for Silver&blacks question, I did design this to be used in LongDrive but wanted it to be something the average golfer could pick up and easily use. It is a lower launching driver but pair it up with the right shaft and it's dangerous at any swing speed. The best results we have found have been paired with the Fujikjra EXS series. As for the NCAA question, it would be cool to make drivers for those teams and would be easy enough to change to schools colors and logos but to be honest it would probably cost more to get done than I would sell. There are custom paint shops that can strip the Heads and add whatever you want though.

[SMRT]

It has been pointed out to me by some very opinionated posters on another website that the numbers I posted are worthless unless they are from Trackman or Flightscope. I apparently misspoke when I said "I went to my local Golfsmith to see what the launch monitor said". I should have said simulator. For this I apologize. I do stand behind the numbers as a good baseline to reference as I test different shafts and work on swing speed.

 

For everyone that has read the review, I am sorry if I misrepresented the information I provided.

[SMRT]

If you have been following the "2014 Most Wanted Driver Test" thread, you have noticed this driver will be included in the testing. I can't wait to se how it does against the rest of the field.

 

I have re-loaded mine on a 4X Black Ops shaft and have gotten much better control without losing distance. I just bought another head at 7.5 loft that is also going on a 4X shaft and will be tested soon. At least as soon as the snow goes away!

 

I will try to get some new pics and post some new data after the next test.

[Blade]

Most of my other LD drivers seem to be a lot firmer until the face is "broken in" a little so they do not seem to work for slower swings.

 

A driver face doesn't "break in". That would be metal fatigue. Once that happens, it's junk. That's when a face caves in.

[SMRT]

@ Blade

 

I agree and disagree.

I agree, that once it "breaks in" it is usually not going to last much longer before you break the face.

I disagree, because once it "breaks in" it becomes hotter and you will get the longest shots out of it because of the increase spring created by the weakened face.

 

I was talking to some others guys about what they have seen from other drivers and it seems that most of them come out ready to hit bombs where most agree that the Geek No Brainer gets better as it gets used. I have not broken a No Brainer yet but it definitely hits better now than it did when I first bought it.

[Blade]

Yea, I can see getting a few better shots out of one right before it collapses. But not an initial "break in" period where it loosens up for normal use after that.

[SMRT]

I actually hated my No Brainer for the first 100 or so hits. It just seemed stiff and dead. After that, it came alive and is still performing awesome. I have hit it probably close to 1000 times, +/- 100, and it has not broke yet. So, I feel this club needed that "break in" period to get loosened up. The Agent Orange came out of the box shooting bombs for me and still is. Maybe calling it a "break in" period is not the correct terminology but I am not sure what else to call it?

 

As in most things golf related, user perception is truth even if science and logic can prove them wrong.

[whiskey golf]

I know what you mean about a "break in" period. My R1 felt and sounded really bad when I first got it and then after a few range sessions it got a lot better. 

[Deadwalleye]

I sure think that this club looks like the 450cc Big Bang head.

 

http://www.banggolf.com/prodgroup.asp?id=W450

 

It is a touch bigger and without the face lines but very similar looking.

Wonder if it sounds as loud?

[Kor.A.Door]

i read trhough here, and didnt see it,

 

what is your swing speed? just curious.

 

i find that golfsmith is a good place to swing and get an idea of ballflight, but i dont really put a logt of stock into many of the numbers

[SMRT]

@dkvamme

I think it looks a lot like the Yeti also. I am not familiar with the Bang but I did not find this one to be loud at all.

 

@Lefty

I agree that the numbers are not much more than good reference but when comparing clubs it works pretty good. Also, it is really the only option I have for testing right now. I will get some real numbers next spring when we can get back at it.

 

My swing speed varies. Since my injury I have not gotten much over 120. During this test it was only around 115 or 116. Last year I was up to 136 (measured on one of the portable machines that measures SS, Ball Speed, and Spin I think. Not sure which one because it was not mine. They said it was usually pretty accurate.)  but since the neck injury I am having problems getting even close. I am hoping the winter golf hibernation will help heal everything so I can get back to that.

[LBlack14]

I sure think that this club looks like the 450cc Big Bang head.

 

http://www.banggolf.com/prodgroup.asp?id=W450

 

It is a touch bigger and without the face lines but very similar looking.

Wonder if it sounds as loud?

 

 

Open models are common place in the component world.

[MrSinister]

The Big Bang 450 is an awesome head, but.. Agent Orange although it shares a few characteristics is not from the same mold. Its hard to see from pics but put these heads side by side and you can see they are two different animals. The sound from the 450 is loud and powerful, with Agent Orange I wanted to take it back a little old school and get back to the sound of a Real wood head. Now being that it is metal we cant match the same sound but I think the powerful "Thwack" Agent Orange gives off is second to none. 

[ole gray]

Not a fan of anything called Agent Orange as that is linked to my prostate cancer from my time in Vietnam..         They could have called the driver Agent Blue Balls or whatever and it would have been better IMO.....

[null]

Zombie thread! Ahhhhhhh!

[RookieBlue7]

Coincidentally, the same company that makes this product makes Pooptech Grenades

[Mr_Theoo]

Coincidentally, the same company that makes this product makes Pooptech Grenades

Interesting....