2020 drivers!

[perseveringgolfer]

Taking the SIM Max out for a demo round this Saturday, pro absolutely loved it 2 days ago, he missed zero fairways, he said he didnt get more distance just better dispersion, nicer sound and higher confidence- he shot -4

[yungkory]

7 hours ago, perseveringgolfer said:

Taking the SIM Max out for a demo round this Saturday, pro absolutely loved it 2 days ago, he missed zero fairways, he said he didnt get more distance just better dispersion, nicer sound and higher confidence- he shot -4

I'm trying to demo one sometime soon as well. Hesitant because the stock playing length is 45.75 and I'm already missing fairways with something not quite as long. Wondering if they have weights to bring the swingweight back up when ordered to play at 45" -- does anyone know? That's one of the coolest things about the tour length Cobra drivers IMO, they include the heavier weights when you chop an inch off. Might go try and demo a SpeedZone on the course even though it's not my preferred feel off the face, I could learn to like it if the performance is there!

[RickyBobby_PR]

7 hours ago, yungkory said:

I'm trying to demo one sometime soon as well. Hesitant because the stock playing length is 45.75 and I'm already missing fairways with something not quite as long. Wondering if they have weights to bring the swingweight back up when ordered to play at 45" -- does anyone know? That's one of the coolest things about the tour length Cobra drivers IMO, they include the heavier weights when you chop an inch off. Might go try and demo a SpeedZone on the course even though it's not my preferred feel off the face, I could learn to like it if the performance is there!

Taylormade will adjust the weight screw for shorter than stock.
 

Like most companies though if you order a specific swingweight they will try to get it but won’t guarantee it will be spot on

[Smellis745]

10 hours ago, yungkory said:

I'm trying to demo one sometime soon as well. Hesitant because the stock playing length is 45.75 and I'm already missing fairways with something not quite as long. Wondering if they have weights to bring the swingweight back up when ordered to play at 45" -- does anyone know? That's one of the coolest things about the tour length Cobra drivers IMO, they include the heavier weights when you chop an inch off. Might go try and demo a SpeedZone on the course even though it's not my preferred feel off the face, I could learn to like it if the performance is there!

Once you have it cut and know how much weight is needed, add some hot melt or lead tape it.  With the boat rudder, I say that jokingly because I actually love the look of the SIM, you could just put some tape along the sides.  Play it until you find what you like and then add the melt.  Or, just wait til TM releases weights.  Then again, weights used in the M3/M5 may fit it just fine.

[yungkory]

Went to the shop today because I forgot a hat and my face will melt off in the sun without one. Decided to peep the new sim max and wow, I can see why Rory plays a 10.5 turned down to 8.5 — it really looks shut at address. Love the shape and I definitely want to hit one against a Speedzone outdoors. 

[cnosil]

39 drivers tested for most wanted. My general assessment is that in most cases the drivers are pretty much equal with some exceptions where the club was a total misfit for me. When looking at the couple of mph difference I will attribute that to daily swing variances.

I still recommend swinging as many as possible to see what you like and what works best for you.

My biggest surprise was the Honma drivers. Top drivers were ping, callaway, and TM. Cobra was not as good as described,
Left me disappointed. I don’t have numbers from each driver but if I was looking ping would probably be my choice and then fit myself for the best shaft.

[fozcycle]

Still gaming the Cobra F8 and Wilson Triton......because the Triton stays in the fairway and the F8 has a fade tendency.


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[PMookie]

Before I left Dallas this morning, I went by a local store, Dallas golf, that had the Honma rep there today. I was able to go through a quick fitting for their new driver, hitting both the 460, and the 440 cc heads. My Callaway flash subzero was showing 168 ball speed, which is consistent with what I’ve seen on trackman recently. The Honma 440 with Ventus black 70 X shaft was hitting 170 consistently, and even getting to 171. The most interesting part about that ball speed was that I was not hitting the ball consistently in the center of the face! I hit a lot of heel, toe, and high face shots, all of which held ball speed pretty darn well! I have not seen 170, 171 ball speed in a long time! Even with all of the inconsistent strike locations, the dispersion was significantly tighter than it was with my Callaway!

 

The rep is coming to North Louisiana the last week of the month And he is going to get me out at one of the country clubs to hit the driver outside to confirm the ball flight and spin, etc. we were seeing. This driver head is legit!

 

 

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[cnosil]

Before I left Dallas this morning, I went by a local store, Dallas golf, that had the Honma rep there today. I was able to go through a quick fitting for their new driver, hitting both the 460, and the 440 cc heads. My Callaway flash subzero was showing 168 ball speed, which is consistent with what I’ve seen on trackman recently. The Honma 440 with Ventus black 70 X shaft was hitting 170 consistently, and even getting to 171. The most interesting part about that all speed was that I was not hitting the ball consistently in the center of the face! I hit a lot of heel, toe, and high face shots, all of which held ball speed pretty darn well! I have not seen 170, 171 ball speed and a long time! Even with all of the inconsistent strike locations, the dispersion was significantly tighter than it was with my Callaway!
 
The rep is coming to North Louisiana the last week of the month And he is going to get me out at one of the country clubs to hit the driver outside to confirm the ball flight and spin, etc. we were seeing. This driver head is legit!
 

I was really impressed with all the heads. Did you use the Vizard shaft or something else?

[PMookie]

 

I was really impressed with all the heads. Did you use the Vizard shaft or something else?

Ventus Black 7X, Diamana DF, and some royal blue shaft with a bunch of silver graphics. not sure what it was . Didn’t hit the Vizard at all.

 

 

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[Jbmullin]

39 drivers tested for most wanted. My general assessment is that in most cases the drivers are pretty much equal with some exceptions where the club was a total misfit for me. When looking at the couple of mph difference I will attribute that to daily swing variances.

I still recommend swinging as many as possible to see what you like and what works best for you.

My biggest surprise was the Honma drivers. Top drivers were ping, callaway, and TM. Cobra was not as good as described,
Left me disappointed. I don’t have numbers from each driver but if I was looking ping would probably be my choice and then fit myself for the best shaft.

I tried both cobra drivers tonight and I was not impressed by either of them. Callaway mavrik max was amazing, out did my g410 plus right off the shelf with out and tweaking.


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[GolfSpy BOS]

I got to take like 5 swings with the Speedzone (smoke stiff, not yellow smoke), SIM (smoke green) and Mavrik (riptide)

And they all felt pretty good. Overall best feel was the speedzone, but the rubber tee they had was obnoxiously high and I was not putting great swings on them.

I will say that there was evidence of people hitting that infinity face all over and I think it was a good move for cobra considering all the paint chips I saw on F9 demo clubs.

The Mavrik shape looked really good and compact to me. And the SIM looked really good as well.

I’m looking forward to spending some time with them and seeing what works best, but it was in ice to make a few swings.


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[Jbmullin]

I got to take like 5 swings with the Speedzone (smoke stiff, not yellow smoke), SIM (smoke green) and Mavrik (riptide)

 

And they all felt pretty good. Overall best feel was the speedzone, but the rubber tee they had was obnoxiously high and I was not putting great swings on them.

 

I will say that there was evidence of people hitting that infinity face all over and I think it was a good move for cobra considering all the paint chips I saw on F9 demo clubs.

 

The Mavrik shape looked really good and compact to me. And the SIM looked really good as well.

 

I’m looking forward to spending some time with them and seeing what works best, but it was in ice to make a few swings.

 

 

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Just got home from a fitting for the mavrik to see if last night was an anomaly.. it’s was not. Mavrik max with riptide 50 reg shaft for me was the best feel and performance I’ve had in years.

 

Tried the speed zone in same shafts and set up and the mavrik max was a monster.. both myself and the fitter were amazed at the difference.

 

Anyone that doesn’t believe in fittings is really missing out.

 

 

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[GolfSpy BOS]

Just got home from a fitting for the mavrik to see if last night was an anomaly.. it’s was not. Mavrik max with riptide 50 reg shaft for me was the best feel and performance I’ve had in years.
 
Tried the speed zone in same shafts and set up and the mavrik max was a monster.. both myself and the fitter were amazed at the difference.
 
Anyone that doesn’t believe in fittings is really missing out.
 
 
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Awesome! I did not get to swing any of the Max/extreme models this time, but I certainly will.

I reallly liked the riptide, which doesn’t surprise me since they billed it as a. Evenflow black with the feel of the blue, which I was debating over which I liked better haha.


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[HardcoreLooper]

On 1/2/2020 at 7:02 PM, Tarheelvolvo said:

While looks are one thing, I've always prescribed to the "function is fashion" ideology. So if I can hit it longer and straighter with a pink driver that has rabbit ears coming out the back, then so be it. 

Looking forward to trying out all the new and current models as I desperately need a new driver. 

Can't wait to see you mash it with something a litttle more recent.  Jay and Matt at Mulligan's/Bogeys are waiting for you 

[yungkory]

Demo'd a SIM today, outdoor range on GCquad. Unfortunately hitting range balls but at least there was something to show me numbers. Swing was trash, but my bad shots weren't as bad with a SIM Max. Also, it's kinda gross that they are calling that stock "ventus" a ventus, but the shaft itself feels pretty good to me, and performed well. I'm kinda meh on OEM fittings but we don't have much options on our little rock in the ocean. Hopefully this is my last club-ho adventure before I go to Truespec in October.

[RickyBobby_PR]

56 minutes ago, yungkory said:

Demo'd a SIM today, outdoor range on GCquad. Unfortunately hitting range balls but at least there was something to show me numbers. Swing was trash, but my bad shots weren't as bad with a SIM Max. Also, it's kinda gross that they are calling that stock "ventus" a ventus, but the shaft itself feels pretty good to me, and performed well. I'm kinda meh on OEM fittings but we don't have much options on our little rock in the ocean. Hopefully this is my last club-ho adventure before I go to Truespec in October.

I saw Fujikura comment on another forum about the ventus and that it was a joint venture that they worked with TM to design a shaft that would fit a wide variety of golfers and referenced the specs could be found on the TM site. When googling about the shaft prior to seeing that one of the hits came from a different forum that fujikura sold the ventus name to TM. Dont want to take this thread down the made for debate as there is a thread about this specific shaft already but figured since you commented on how it felt and performed I would chime in with what I found in my research on it  

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, yungkory said:

Demo'd a SIM today, outdoor range on GCquad. Unfortunately hitting range balls but at least there was something to show me numbers. Swing was trash, but my bad shots weren't as bad with a SIM Max. Also, it's kinda gross that they are calling that stock "ventus" a ventus, but the shaft itself feels pretty good to me, and performed well. I'm kinda meh on OEM fittings but we don't have much options on our little rock in the ocean. Hopefully this is my last club-ho adventure before I go to Truespec in October.

Do you have any of your numbers with this compared to your gamer?

[GolfSpy BOS]

I saw Fujikura comment on another forum about the ventus and that it was a joint venture that they worked with TM to design a shaft that would fit a wide variety of golfers and referenced the specs could be found on the TM site. When googling about the shaft prior to seeing that one of the hits came from a different forum that fujikura sold the ventus name to TM. Dont want to take this thread down the made for debate as there is a thread about this specific shaft already but figured since you commented on how it felt and performed I would chime in with what I found in my research on it  

I couldn’t find the Taylormade version of the Ventus on fujikura’s site, but in the Taylormade custom options it seems they’re calling the original Ventus “Ventus with Velocore”




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[yungkory]

3 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

I saw Fujikura comment on another forum about the ventus and that it was a joint venture that they worked with TM to design a shaft that would fit a wide variety of golfers and referenced the specs could be found on the TM site. When googling about the shaft prior to seeing that one of the hits came from a different forum that fujikura sold the ventus name to TM. Dont want to take this thread down the made for debate as there is a thread about this specific shaft already but figured since you commented on how it felt and performed I would chime in with what I found in my research on it  

Yeah, I had my opinions about that "stock" ventus when it first came out, but as some other forum members pointed out, only folks like us who frequent sites like these would even know or care. I thought it was just TM trying to pull a fast one on people, but looking deeper they're not really pushing the ventus as anything more than their other offerings. I still don't like it, but I'm less butthurt I guess.

Just now, RickyBobby_PR said:

Do you have any of your numbers with this compared to your gamer?

The numbers with my gamer were laughable, as I said my swing was pretty horrible to begin the fitting. Everything was just diving out of the sky, and it was a struggle. Swing path was back to 8* right -- getting stuck and flippy is my biggest flaw. I met the TM rep previously through a friend so he was helping me out and got my path on a more acceptable level and everything improved numbers wise. I should've hit the Flash again once I was warmed up a little more and swinging better, but I'd rather have equipment that performs better when I'm off, than when I'm firing on all cylinders. I'm just looking for something different behind the ball at this point, lost all confidence in Flash sadly.

[yungkory]

3 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

 

I couldn’t find the Taylormade version of the Ventus on fujikura’s site, but in the Taylormade custom options it seems they’re calling the original Ventus “Ventus with Velocore”




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I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try the actual ventus after hitting this one today. The "made for" version honestly feels really good.

[GolfSpy BOS]

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try the actual ventus after hitting this one today. The "made for" version honestly feels really good.

Purely speculation... but I would HOPE that the feel should be similar, but will be much more stable overall. That might be the only way I’m OK with them using the name.

Sort of like how the CK white and CK pro white felt similar to me, but the pro was much more stable in the tip.


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[yungkory]

1 minute ago, B.Boston said:

 

Purely speculation... but I would HOPE that the feel should be similar, but will be much more stable overall. That might be the only way I’m OK with them using the name.

Sort of like how the CK white and CK pro white felt similar to me, but the pro was much more stable in the tip.


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I'm going to see if I can track one down used and maybe save a little bit and experiment with it. I wanted to try shorter length but all of the rep's shafts were playing at TM stock 45.75 which IMO is way too long. Trying to hit these fairways man!!

[GolfSpy BOS]

I'm going to see if I can track one down used and maybe save a little bit and experiment with it. I wanted to try shorter length but all of the rep's shafts were playing at TM stock 45.75 which IMO is way too long. Trying to hit these fairways man!!

Yikes! All of the shafts at True Spec we’re set to be 45 inches.


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[RickyBobby_PR]

57 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

 

I couldn’t find the Taylormade version of the Ventus on fujikura’s site, but in the Taylormade custom options it seems they’re calling the original Ventus “Ventus with Velocore”




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As I mentioned in my post you have to go to the Taylormade site to see the specs. While it’s a fujikura made shaft the shaft belongs to Taylormade. If you customize a driver on the site and choose ventus blue or red (non velocore) you will get the specs

49 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

 

Purely speculation... but I would HOPE that the feel should be similar, but will be much more stable overall. That might be the only way I’m OK with them using the name.

Sort of like how the CK white and CK pro white felt similar to me, but the pro was much more stable in the tip.


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It’s going to probably feel different since the shafts ate completely different. Only thing in common is the name. It uses different material and different overall design. 

[PMookie]

In seeing Phil hitting less than a 1/3 of fairways, and yesterday, Rory hit just 5/14 fairways, are these driver heads REALLY more forgiving than the previous models? Wouldn’t we be seeing more fairways hit each subsequent year with the improvements? The TXG videos showed that Speedzone, SIM, and Mavrik had some advantages in dispersion and consistency vs the previous model. Curious as to when that will be noticeable on Tour.


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[RickyBobby_PR]

5 hours ago, PMookie said:

In seeing Phil hitting less than a 1/3 of fairways, and yesterday, Rory hit just 5/14 fairways, are these driver heads REALLY more forgiving than the previous models? Wouldn’t we be seeing more fairways hit each subsequent year with the improvements? The TXG videos showed that Speedzone, SIM, and Mavrik had some advantages in dispersion and consistency vs the previous model. Curious as to when that will be noticeable on Tour.


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Forgiveness doesn’t equate to more fairways. Forgiveness reduces the dispersion while keeping speed as close to on center hits. These guys don’t miss the sweet spot too often but at their speeds the misses are going to be a little more penalizing than a slower swing. A missed sweet spot with a face to path that’s just off will be a fairway missed regardless of head

The tour avg fairways hit is in the mid to upper 70% for the most accurate. Rory for the last several years is in the 60% range 

[PMookie]

Forgiveness doesn’t equate to more fairways. Forgiveness reduces the dispersion while keeping speed as close to on center hits. These guys don’t miss the sweet spot too often but at their speeds the misses are going to be a little more penalizing than a slower swing. A missed sweet spot with a face to path that’s just off will be a fairway missed regardless of head

The tour avg fairways hit is in the mid to upper 70% for the most accurate. Rory for the last several years is in the 60% range 

“Reduces dispersion.” Exactly. Thank you for confirming my point!!!

 

 

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[RickyBobby_PR]

6 hours ago, PMookie said:

“Reduces dispersion.” Exactly. Thank you for confirming my point!!!

 

 

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There are many factors that go into fairways hit. A bounce left or right sb they could be in the fairway. Some drives regardless of driver head won’t come back. These players hit those more often than people think. At their speed and consistency the dispersion on a mishit isn’t going to move as much as an amateur. The line they choose can impact if they get the fairway or not. DJ drive one long thru the fairway 

Lastly these guys are trying to hit is as far as they can and can hit greens from the rough with a shorter irons. Rory is usually mid 60s% of GIR which is about your avg. 

 

[PMookie]

There are many factors that go into fairways hit. A bounce left or right sb they could be in the fairway. Some drives regardless of driver head won’t come back. These players hit those more often than people think. At their speed and consistency the dispersion on a mishit isn’t going to move as much as an amateur. The line they choose can impact if they get the fairway or not. DJ drive one long thru the fairway 
Lastly these guys are trying to hit is as far as they can and can hit greens from the rough with a shorter irons. Rory is usually mid 60s% of GIR which is about your avg. 
 

It’s interesting, sometimes, to see your post and think that you really might believe you’re the sole source for the information you present... The “hit it longer, so therefore less fairways hit” mention was done in Golf Digest a few years back, even with imagery, showing how the further one hits it, the better the chances to hit “through a fairway”, or go further offline. Yep. Millions of us read this story. What is interesting is that you said exactly what I said, dispersion should be reduced, yet you come back almost going away from that.
Here’s the deal: DJ, Rory, Zach Johnson for that matter, all should be benefitting from the new tech in heads that helps reduce dispersion. If dispersion is reduced, more fairways should be hit. Period. We should be seeing an uptick, because let’s face it, these dudes know their targets. They know exactly how far they can hit driver. They choose the line off the tee with this in-mind. A more forgiving head, decreasing dispersion, should keep the ball on that line they chose more often, and, therefore, hit more fairways.
We’re not seeing it.
What could REALLY be the reason this isn’t the case for them is that a LOT of times, the heads they play are different than ours, SO, it’s possible that their “hot melt”, weighting, set-up, less “twist-face”, etc, are the culprit.



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