Popular Post Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2021 Todays 6/3 Callaway Epic MAX 10.5 Shaft HZRDUS Smoke IM10 5.5 50g Sliding weight played in the stock neutral position. This wasn't on my original list, but due to some request and the MWT results I was able to put it in. Gotta give the people what they want. I have personally never really found a Callaway driver that lite my fire and I've either had or tried all the recent ones. Spoiler alert this one really didn't' either. As luck would have it, I actually had some range time with this before the round. And I didn't notice anything outstanding or horrible on the range, it was just ok. It seemed to favor my natural shot shape of a fade. With an occasional accidental draw. But I felt good enough to go to the first tee with it. Stats: 4/10 6/13 fairways One hole I used 3 wood. I will say I had maybe 2 dead solid straight shots that if there had been a straightest drive contest, I would have walked away with the prize and ironically they were on two of the tightest driving holes of the course. Distance wise though just right in the pack with everything else I've been hitting 185 to 200. I did have my SX500 back in working order for this round, so I tracked every drive. There were no record long out of the blue drives. The prevalent shape was the fade, maybe not as high as I hit with the Srixon. But high enough to be effective. No draws on the course, but I did have 3 or 4 dead pulls, which were definitely generated by a quick OTT move. Comfort: 5/10 I actually hit a great tee shot on the first hole a Par 5 that does have a pretty generous fairway, but gives you zero room to miss left or right if you stray form that fairway. So we were off to a good start, But the 2nd hole was one of those quick OTT moves that I mentioned above. Same thing on the 4th hole, so needless to say by now I had some doubts in my mind on what was going to happen each time I was ready to pull the trigger. The rest of the round was just that, hit a fairway, miss a fairway. To be fair, only one of those misses off the fairway resulted in a lost ball/penalt stroke but the other misses left me in less than ideal positions for my 2nd shot, one of the led to a lost ball penalty on the 2nd shot which was probably a result of trying to recover from the poor position it was in off the tee. So it was disappointing to say the least. Sound: 8/10 Nothing here to rave or complain about, as most are familiar the composite crowns of the Callaways lead to a more muted sound the crack of a bat sound that I prefer. But if the results had been great, I certainly would have been fine with the sound. Overall: 5/10 So nothing about this driver changed my previous experience or opinions of Callaway drivers. They just aren't for me. I can't argue against the MWT results and the many other golfers who rave about the driver and how it works for them. That is what it's all about. As Adam always likes to say, "There is no one driver for everyone, but there is one driver for everyone" I'm not saying I won't give this another round some day just to see if anything changes. Just as I will the TSi1 since I tried it first out of the gate coming back from a long time off. Rickp, daviddvm, GolfSpy BOS and 9 others 12 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy BOS Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: It seemed to favor my natural shot shape of a fade. With an occasional accidental draw. Oh good! Now I know we have the same “preferred” shot shape as well! Haha Sad to see the Callaway not match up well for you, but we thank you for giving it a try. I agree with you that there are some brands/designs that just do not suit my eye or feel and I never hit well with them. MaxEntropy, Golfspy_CG2, daviddvm and 1 other 4 Quote Epic Max LS 10.5 - Motore X F3 6X | Speedzone 5-wood - Ventus Blue 8S | TSi3 20* Hybrid - KBS Proto 85S SMS Pro 4-PW - Steelfiber i110S | MG3 Raw Black 50.09, 54.11, 58.11 - DG TI S200 ER2B | Pro V1x | NX9 Slope | Jones Trouper R | CaddyLite EZ v8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBT Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 3 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: Todays 6/3 Callaway Epic MAX 10.5 Shaft HZRDUS Smoke IM10 5.5 50g Sliding weight played in the stock neutral position. This wasn't on my original list, but due to some request and the MWT results I was able to put it in. Gotta give the people what they want. I have personally never really found a Callaway driver that lite my fire and I've either had or tried all the recent ones. Spoiler alert this one really didn't' either. As luck would have it, I actually had some range time with this before the round. And I didn't notice anything outstanding or horrible on the range, it was just ok. It seemed to favor my natural shot shape of a fade. With an occasional accidental draw. But I felt good enough to go to the first tee with it. Stats: 4/10 6/13 fairways One hole I used 3 wood. I will say I had maybe 2 dead solid straight shots that if there had been a straightest drive contest, I would have walked away with the prize and ironically they were on two of the tightest driving holes of the course. Distance wise though just right in the pack with everything else I've been hitting 185 to 200. I did have my SX500 back in working order for this round, so I tracked every drive. There were no record long out of the blue drives. The prevalent shape was the fade, maybe not as high as I hit with the Srixon. But high enough to be effective. No draws on the course, but I did have 3 or 4 dead pulls, which were definitely generated by a quick OTT move. Comfort: 5/10 I actually hit a great tee shot on the first hole a Par 5 that does have a pretty generous fairway, but gives you zero room to miss left or right if you stray form that fairway. So we were off to a good start, But the 2nd hole was one of those quick OTT moves that I mentioned above. Same thing on the 4th hole, so needless to say by now I had some doubts in my mind on what was going to happen each time I was ready to pull the trigger. The rest of the round was just that, hit a fairway, miss a fairway. To be fair, only one of those misses off the fairway resulted in a lost ball/penalt stroke but the other misses left me in less than ideal positions for my 2nd shot, one of the led to a lost ball penalty on the 2nd shot which was probably a result of trying to recover from the poor position it was in off the tee. So it was disappointing to say the least. Sound: 8/10 Nothing here to rave or complain about, as most are familiar the composite crowns of the Callaways lead to a more muted sound the crack of a bat sound that I prefer. But if the results had been great, I certainly would have been fine with the sound. Overall: 5/10 So nothing about this driver changed my previous experience or opinions of Callaway drivers. They just aren't for me. I can't argue against the MWT results and the many other golfers who rave about the driver and how it works for them. That is what it's all about. As Adam always likes to say, "There is no one driver for everyone, but there is one driver for everyone" I'm not saying I won't give this another round some day just to see if anything changes. Just as I will the TSi1 since I tried it first out of the gate coming back from a long time off. I always wonder how our like or dislike of a certain brand can play into your results. I’m not saying you’re being biased, but confidence with clubs definitely plays a part in results at least in my opinion. back when Callaway first released the heaven wood everybody was raving about how easy it was to hear and how long they hit it so I went out and bought, the first rain session I had nothing but snap books so I immediately decided that I couldn’t hit Callaway fairway woods. Anytime anytime a callaway fairway word is given to me I am mediately have a picture in my mind of hitting big snap hooks. Just food for thought Golfspy_CG2 and GolfSpy_SHARK 2 Quote XR Driver Matrix Ozik 8m3 Black Tie Shaft King F7 3W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 5W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 4 Hybrid Graphite Designs Tour AD-HY 95 Shaft PXG 0211 DC 5-PW Mitsubishi MMT 80 Shafts RTX ZIPCORE 50*,54*,58* UST Mamiya Recoil 95 Shafts Metal X Milled #7 with SuperStroke 2.0 grip MTB Twitter: @timldotson Instagram: timldotson Facebook: TimDotson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 23 minutes ago, TBT said: I always wonder how our like or dislike of a certain brand can play into your results. I’m not saying you’re being biased, but confidence with clubs definitely plays a part in results at least in my opinion. back when Callaway first released the heaven wood everybody was raving about how easy it was to hear and how long they hit it so I went out and bought, the first rain session I had nothing but snap books so I immediately decided that I couldn’t hit Callaway fairway woods. Anytime anytime a callaway fairway word is given to me I am mediately have a picture in my mind of hitting big snap hooks. Just food for thought I get that. But I honestly don’t dislike Callaway drivers—for the reasons you might think I would. I just never seen to have long term success with them. Now maybe the previous lack of success creeps into my mind with them and affects my swing. But I wouldn’t say it’s a feeling of disliking them. MaxEntropy, GolfSpy_SHARK and PMookie 3 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post cnosil Posted June 4, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted June 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: I just never seen to have long term success with them. Rob, to have long term success with a club you have to have it in the bag long term. I am enjoying your driver reviews though. Peaksy68, Rickp, MattF and 8 others 2 8 1 Quote Driver: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven Fairway: TS3 15* w/Project X Hzardous Smoke Hybrids: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 915H 24* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype Irons: TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite Wedge: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite Putter: TM-180 Testing: Backups: Milled Collection RSX 2, mFGP2, Futura 5W Member: MGS Hitsquad since 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 16 hours ago, cnosil said: Rob, to have long term success with a club you have to have it in the bag long term. I am enjoying your driver reviews though. Hmmh. Maybe success could equal long term fixyurdivot, Rickp, JohnSmalls and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBT Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 16 hours ago, cnosil said: Rob, to have long term success with a club you have to have it in the bag long term. I am enjoying your driver reviews though. SHOTS FIRED! MAN DOWN! sirchunksalot, Rickp, cnosil and 3 others 6 Quote XR Driver Matrix Ozik 8m3 Black Tie Shaft King F7 3W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 5W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 4 Hybrid Graphite Designs Tour AD-HY 95 Shaft PXG 0211 DC 5-PW Mitsubishi MMT 80 Shafts RTX ZIPCORE 50*,54*,58* UST Mamiya Recoil 95 Shafts Metal X Milled #7 with SuperStroke 2.0 grip MTB Twitter: @timldotson Instagram: timldotson Facebook: TimDotson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Golf Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 On 6/4/2021 at 12:34 PM, Golfspy_CG2 said: Todays 6/3 Callaway Epic MAX 10.5 Shaft HZRDUS Smoke IM10 5.5 50g Sliding weight played in the stock neutral position. This wasn't on my original list, but due to some request and the MWT results I was able to put it in. Gotta give the people what they want. I have personally never really found a Callaway driver that lite my fire and I've either had or tried all the recent ones. Spoiler alert this one really didn't' either. As luck would have it, I actually had some range time with this before the round. And I didn't notice anything outstanding or horrible on the range, it was just ok. It seemed to favor my natural shot shape of a fade. With an occasional accidental draw. But I felt good enough to go to the first tee with it. Stats: 4/10 6/13 fairways One hole I used 3 wood. I will say I had maybe 2 dead solid straight shots that if there had been a straightest drive contest, I would have walked away with the prize and ironically they were on two of the tightest driving holes of the course. Distance wise though just right in the pack with everything else I've been hitting 185 to 200. I did have my SX500 back in working order for this round, so I tracked every drive. There were no record long out of the blue drives. The prevalent shape was the fade, maybe not as high as I hit with the Srixon. But high enough to be effective. No draws on the course, but I did have 3 or 4 dead pulls, which were definitely generated by a quick OTT move. Comfort: 5/10 I actually hit a great tee shot on the first hole a Par 5 that does have a pretty generous fairway, but gives you zero room to miss left or right if you stray form that fairway. So we were off to a good start, But the 2nd hole was one of those quick OTT moves that I mentioned above. Same thing on the 4th hole, so needless to say by now I had some doubts in my mind on what was going to happen each time I was ready to pull the trigger. The rest of the round was just that, hit a fairway, miss a fairway. To be fair, only one of those misses off the fairway resulted in a lost ball/penalt stroke but the other misses left me in less than ideal positions for my 2nd shot, one of the led to a lost ball penalty on the 2nd shot which was probably a result of trying to recover from the poor position it was in off the tee. So it was disappointing to say the least. Sound: 8/10 Nothing here to rave or complain about, as most are familiar the composite crowns of the Callaways lead to a more muted sound the crack of a bat sound that I prefer. But if the results had been great, I certainly would have been fine with the sound. Overall: 5/10 So nothing about this driver changed my previous experience or opinions of Callaway drivers. They just aren't for me. I can't argue against the MWT results and the many other golfers who rave about the driver and how it works for them. That is what it's all about. As Adam always likes to say, "There is no one driver for everyone, but there is one driver for everyone" I'm not saying I won't give this another round some day just to see if anything changes. Just as I will the TSi1 since I tried it first out of the gate coming back from a long time off. I had the same problem with the Epic Max. It looks great and sounds pretty good but doesn’t go very far for me. It doesn’t have the slight fade that my Titleist TSI3 or my old TM M3 have. It is more of a draw with a lot more spin. I also had problems getting it square in the middle of the face so my smash factor was quite low. I do have to admit I didn’t spend a lot of time on the GC Quad trying to fix the spin and draw problems. It was surprising since it did really well in the MGS tests. Quote TSR 3 9.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TSi 3 15.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TS3 21 Hybrid Tensei AV Blue 65 HY Stiff U-510 19 Utility Iron HZDUS Smoke Black 6.0 Stiff 5-PW 101T Irons - KBS Tour Lite Stiff - Official Tester 2023 Vokey SM9 52 F - 12 Nippon NS Pro 950 Stiff Vokey Forged 56 M - 10 DG S200 MG3 60 - 12 NS Modus3 Tour 105 Stiff Scotty Special Select - Squareback 2 - 35” / Super Stroke Slim 3.0 Z-Star Diamond Players 4 bag Official Tester - 2021 & Loyal MCC Plus 4 Sensor User Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 This weeks Driver June 10 Mizuno ST-X Stats: 6/10 6/10 fairways. A few holes set up short and more designed for 3 wood than driver. It actually gets high marks for accuracy the 6/10 is a bit deceiving as the 4 misses were all very playable, not one bad drive really in the mix from an accuracy standpoint. All just barely in first cuts of rough and just about all had the same ball flight, didn't very much at all from my normal slight fade shot, no matter the line I started it on. However distance is what kept this from getting higher marks. It is without a doubt the shortest driver of the batch that I have it so far. It's well documented that I'm not a long hitter and even shorter since my recent return from COVID, but this was consistently 10 to 20 yards shorter than any other drives I have hit this year, I think the longest was 182 and I hit some very solid what looked to be good drives coming off the club and then got out there and they just didn't measure up. All were measured with my SX500 and we had dry firm conditions with no wind to speak of. Matter of fact my longest drive of the day came with my ZX 3 wood at 205 yards..(note that club will need a review of it's own...it's that good!) see below in comfort for some more thoughts on this. Comfort: 5/10 This driver feels and is heavy. It's head weight is 204 grams, which is a good 10 grams heavier than some other companies drivers. The X is a "draw" biased driver which other companies that offer that model typically offer it in a lighter weight as often the draw bias demographic is an older slower swinging crowd---hand raised. Mizuno does have the J Spec option in this driver with a bit longer shaft and lighter weight head, which I believe comes with a 194 gram head. So perhaps that is the route I should have gone. I would say the heavier weight might have helped with the accuracy of the driver, not that I'm in accurate by any means. Last weeks results not withstanding, but perhaps it helped keep the club path a bit more on plane and was partially responsible for the tighter dispersion I mentioned. But I need all the distance a driver can muster, so this one fell a bit short in that regard---no pun intended Sound: 8/10 No issues here at all, it has a nice sound for a carbon fiber crown construction. A bit more of a crack than the Epic but not what you'd get from the TSI--which is on a whole different level of sound than any other driver--IMO! Overall: 6/10 I would say if accuracy is your primary need you might really want to give this one a look, along with I'm sure the PING G425. As it shines in that area, I did like how I was able to count on the consistent flight it was going to provide, not so much in height but in direction. The lack of distance compared to some of the others in my lineup is a deal breaker for me. But for others that may not be an issue. If I have the time---and money, I may look at trading it for the Japan Spec model later in the year just to see. GolfSpy_APH, Rickp, russtopherb and 6 others 9 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GolfSpy_APH Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 2 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: This weeks Driver June 10 Mizuno ST-X Stats: 6/10 6/10 fairways. A few holes set up short and more designed for 3 wood than driver. It actually gets high marks for accuracy the 6/10 is a bit deceiving as the 4 misses were all very playable, not one bad drive really in the mix from an accuracy standpoint. All just barely in first cuts of rough and just about all had the same ball flight, didn't very much at all from my normal slight fade shot, no matter the line I started it on. However distance is what kept this from getting higher marks. It is without a doubt the shortest driver of the batch that I have it so far. It's well documented that I'm not a long hitter and even shorter since my recent return from COVID, but this was consistently 10 to 20 yards shorter than any other drives I have hit this year, I think the longest was 182 and I hit some very solid what looked to be good drives coming off the club and then got out there and they just didn't measure up. All were measured with my SX500 and we had dry firm conditions with no wind to speak of. Matter of fact my longest drive of the day came with my ZX 3 wood at 205 yards..(note that club will need a review of it's own...it's that good!) see below in comfort for some more thoughts on this. Comfort: 5/10 This driver feels and is heavy. It's head weight is 204 grams, which is a good 10 grams heavier than some other companies drivers. The X is a "draw" biased driver which other companies that offer that model typically offer it in a lighter weight as often the draw bias demographic is an older slower swinging crowd---hand raised. Mizuno does have the J Spec option in this driver with a bit longer shaft and lighter weight head, which I believe comes with a 194 gram head. So perhaps that is the route I should have gone. I would say the heavier weight might have helped with the accuracy of the driver, not that I'm in accurate by any means. Last weeks results not withstanding, but perhaps it helped keep the club path a bit more on plane and was partially responsible for the tighter dispersion I mentioned. But I need all the distance a driver can muster, so this one fell a bit short in that regard---no pun intended Sound: 8/10 No issues here at all, it has a nice sound for a carbon fiber crown construction. A bit more of a crack than the Epic but not what you'd get from the TSI--which is on a whole different level of sound than any other driver--IMO! Overall: 6/10 I would say if accuracy is your primary need you might really want to give this one a look, along with I'm sure the PING G425. As it shines in that area, I did like how I was able to count on the consistent flight it was going to provide, not so much in height but in direction. The lack of distance compared to some of the others in my lineup is a deal breaker for me. But for others that may not be an issue. If I have the time---and money, I may look at trading it for the Japan Spec model later in the year just to see. The Mizuno drivers over the past few years have really been to my liking. I haven't hit the new ones so nice to get some insight on what you feel these drivers are like. I would certainly be in the accuracy camp and will certainly have this on the short list to try in the coming month or so. Pretty sure the TGF had me into a mizuno as well... either way good write up and looking forward to what is next in line! JohnSmalls, Golfspy_CG2 and MattF 3 Quote as of Nov 6, 2023 (Past WITB) Driver: Paradym TD w/ GD ADDI 6X Driver Shootout! Wood: F7 3 wood 14.5* w/ Motore F1 Shaft Irons: T Series - T200 5 Iron T150 6-9 Iron T100 PW/GW Wedge: Toura Golf - A Spec 53,37,61 degree Putter: Mezz Max! Balls: Vice Pro Plus Drip (Blue/Orange) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMookie Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 9 minutes ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: This weeks Driver June 10 Mizuno ST-X Stats: 6/10 6/10 fairways. A few holes set up short and more designed for 3 wood than driver. It actually gets high marks for accuracy the 6/10 is a bit deceiving as the 4 misses were all very playable, not one bad drive really in the mix from an accuracy standpoint. All just barely in first cuts of rough and just about all had the same ball flight, didn't very much at all from my normal slight fade shot, no matter the line I started it on. However distance is what kept this from getting higher marks. It is without a doubt the shortest driver of the batch that I have it so far. It's well documented that I'm not a long hitter and even shorter since my recent return from COVID, but this was consistently 10 to 20 yards shorter than any other drives I have hit this year, I think the longest was 182 and I hit some very solid what looked to be good drives coming off the club and then got out there and they just didn't measure up. All were measured with my SX500 and we had dry firm conditions with no wind to speak of. Matter of fact my longest drive of the day came with my ZX 3 wood at 205 yards..(note that club will need a review of it's own...it's that good!) see below in comfort for some more thoughts on this. Comfort: 5/10 This driver feels and is heavy. It's head weight is 204 grams, which is a good 10 grams heavier than some other companies drivers. The X is a "draw" biased driver which other companies that offer that model typically offer it in a lighter weight as often the draw bias demographic is an older slower swinging crowd---hand raised. Mizuno does have the J Spec option in this driver with a bit longer shaft and lighter weight head, which I believe comes with a 194 gram head. So perhaps that is the route I should have gone. I would say the heavier weight might have helped with the accuracy of the driver, not that I'm in accurate by any means. Last weeks results not withstanding, but perhaps it helped keep the club path a bit more on plane and was partially responsible for the tighter dispersion I mentioned. But I need all the distance a driver can muster, so this one fell a bit short in that regard---no pun intended Sound: 8/10 No issues here at all, it has a nice sound for a carbon fiber crown construction. A bit more of a crack than the Epic but not what you'd get from the TSI--which is on a whole different level of sound than any other driver--IMO! Overall: 6/10 I would say if accuracy is your primary need you might really want to give this one a look, along with I'm sure the PING G425. As it shines in that area, I did like how I was able to count on the consistent flight it was going to provide, not so much in height but in direction. The lack of distance compared to some of the others in my lineup is a deal breaker for me. But for others that may not be an issue. If I have the time---and money, I may look at trading it for the Japan Spec model later in the year just to see. I think it needs an Autoflex thrown in it………… Golfspy_CG2, MattF, JohnSmalls and 2 others 1 4 Quote Driver: Ping G430 Max 9*, Ping Tour 70X Fairway: Ping G425 15*, Ping Tour 70X Hybrid: Ping G425 22*, Ping Tour 80X Irons: Ping i230 4-GW, TT DG X100 Wedges: SMS 50D/54V/58DModus 130 stiff, +1” Putter: EAS 1.0 Ball: Titleist 2023 AVX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnosil Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 @Golfspy_CG2 I didn’t pay that much attention to your earlier review but you point out in this on that even though you missed the fairway they were still playable. That is a key point and something that my coach has me look at. Fairways hit is a nice metric, it it is more important to look at drives that do not allow you the ability to make your next shot at the green. Might want to look and quality that fairway hit number a bit. MattF and revkev 2 Quote Driver: G400 Max 9* w/ KBS Tour Driven Fairway: TS3 15* w/Project X Hzardous Smoke Hybrids: 915H 21* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype 915H 24* w/KBS Tour Graphite Hybrid Prototype Irons: TR20V 6-11 w/Vizard TR20-85 Graphite Wedge: 54/12D, 60/8M w/:Accra iWedge 90 Graphite Putter: TM-180 Testing: Backups: Milled Collection RSX 2, mFGP2, Futura 5W Member: MGS Hitsquad since 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballplayer002003 Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Rob, first and foremost, I'm glad you are doing better! I've been away for a bit and I am just now seeing this. What a great idea. How did/do you decide what driver to play on a particular day? Why the Titleist first and not say middle or last? I think we may need a second opinion, so I can meet you over your way and pick up the drivers from you and run another test with a full write up if needed! cnosil and MattF 2 Quote Driver: Epic Flash Sub Zero Hzdrs Smoke x flex 70g 3 Wood: 917 w/ Diamana Whiteboard stiff 5 Wood : Epic Flash 18* Hzdrs Smoke stiff 4 Hybrid: TSi3 Hzdrs Smoke X flex Irons: 5-7 Apex forged 19 w/ Modus 120 X 9-A Apex Pro 19 w/ Modus 120 X Wedges: MD5 52&56 Jaws Dynamic Gold wedge flex Putter: Scotty Cameron Phantom 5.5 34" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 11, 2021 Author Share Posted June 11, 2021 4 hours ago, cnosil said: @Golfspy_CG2 I didn’t pay that much attention to your earlier review but you point out in this on that even though you missed the fairway they were still playable. That is a key point and something that my coach has me look at. Fairways hit is a nice metric, it it is more important to look at drives that do not allow you the ability to make your next shot at the green. Might want to look and quality that fairway hit number a bit. Yeah. In another post. Eithet in this thread or some other thread. I mentioned I created my own stat. RIGIR, basically it was the number of greens I had a realistic chance to hit in regulation. That takes two things into consideration. On a 400 yard par 4, no matter how good my drive is. I will have a very small realistic chance of hitting the green to looking at a 180 or more yard second shot even if I hit the fairway. Yet on the other hand, say I only have 130 yards left on a 340 yard hole but I’m literally 2 feet into the first cut. I have a realistic chance of hitting that green. To me those two different stats are more helpful than the typical GIR. I go over those in my head after each round. I probably should have made that an official stat to track in this challenge. Perhaps I will on the 2nd go round with each one. 4 hours ago, ballplayer002003 said: Rob, first and foremost, I'm glad you are doing better! I've been away for a bit and I am just now seeing this. What a great idea. How did/do you decide what driver to play on a particular day? Why the Titleist first and not say middle or last? I think we may need a second opinion, so I can meet you over your way and pick up the drivers from you and run another test with a full write up if needed! Thanks John. Why did I start with Titleist. Well it’s Titleist. Ha. Seriously. There has been no real scientific thought into the order of them. They will all get at least a 2nd chance on course and at some point each will get LM data. I’d love for you to head over and join in the fun. Just remember these don’t have rebar shafts that you’d need Rickp, MattF and cnosil 3 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 17, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 17, 2021 By popular request a new candidate will be tomorrow’s challenge club. Looks like DJ and Rory aren’t the only ones that will be teeing it up with a ejgaudette, PMookie, GolfSpy_SHARK and 7 others 10 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 A quick range session late this afternoon got my attention and earned it a spot in the tryouts! MaxEntropy, cnosil, Rickp and 3 others 6 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Golf Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 I really liked the Sim2, but generally the TSi3 worked better for me. Also it sounds and feels great too. I was surprised since I have loved gaming the M3 for a while now. My dispersion after dialing in (each for full 1 hour fittings) both clubs were very close. I tried stock and premium shafts with both as well, but ended up being fitted to stock shafts. The Sim2 actually flew consistently farther but it was less straight for me. The TSi3 was working well for me even on mishits. The face seems very hot across a wider area on the TSi3 even if the Sim2 is a Twist Face. MattF 1 Quote TSR 3 9.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TSi 3 15.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TS3 21 Hybrid Tensei AV Blue 65 HY Stiff U-510 19 Utility Iron HZDUS Smoke Black 6.0 Stiff 5-PW 101T Irons - KBS Tour Lite Stiff - Official Tester 2023 Vokey SM9 52 F - 12 Nippon NS Pro 950 Stiff Vokey Forged 56 M - 10 DG S200 MG3 60 - 12 NS Modus3 Tour 105 Stiff Scotty Special Select - Squareback 2 - 35” / Super Stroke Slim 3.0 Z-Star Diamond Players 4 bag Official Tester - 2021 & Loyal MCC Plus 4 Sensor User Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBT Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 I played with a Sim2 earlier this year, hit it pretty good but I tended to over hook the ball with it. Quote XR Driver Matrix Ozik 8m3 Black Tie Shaft King F7 3W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 5W UST Mamiya Chrome Elements 7F4 Shaft King F7 4 Hybrid Graphite Designs Tour AD-HY 95 Shaft PXG 0211 DC 5-PW Mitsubishi MMT 80 Shafts RTX ZIPCORE 50*,54*,58* UST Mamiya Recoil 95 Shafts Metal X Milled #7 with SuperStroke 2.0 grip MTB Twitter: @timldotson Instagram: timldotson Facebook: TimDotson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 6 hours ago, TBT said: I played with a Sim2 earlier this year, hit it pretty good but I tended to over hook the ball with it. Did you try opening the face? Quote Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyt1957 Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 On 6/11/2021 at 12:54 PM, cnosil said: @Golfspy_CG2 I didn’t pay that much attention to your earlier review but you point out in this on that even though you missed the fairway they were still playable. That is a key point and something that my coach has me look at. Fairways hit is a nice metric, it it is more important to look at drives that do not allow you the ability to make your next shot at the green. Might want to look and quality that fairway hit number a bit. Totally agree. FW's hit is a very subjective stat. I play in a league that tracks FW's hit. So you pull one in the trees and bounce off the trees into the FW, fairway hit. You hit a worm burner that goes 60 yards but rolls into the fw, fairway hit. Then you purposely hit a drive left on a dogleg right leaving you in perfect position but it rolls 3" into the first cut, no fairway. I use something like Rob's stat. I don't count any lucky fw's hit but I do count it if I hit it exactly where I aim it even if it lands in the rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Golf Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 1 hour ago, garyt1957 said: Totally agree. FW's hit is a very subjective stat. I play in a league that tracks FW's hit. So you pull one in the trees and bounce off the trees into the FW, fairway hit. You hit a worm burner that goes 60 yards but rolls into the fw, fairway hit. Then you purposely hit a drive left on a dogleg right leaving you in perfect position but it rolls 3" into the first cut, no fairway. I use something like Rob's stat. I don't count any lucky fw's hit but I do count it if I hit it exactly where I aim it even if it lands in the rough. I totally agree. This is PGA stat not really a mainstream golfer stat. With new technology. May be Arrcos can or may be it does… track avg distance from center of the fairway. This is similar to green in reg stat. I would rather be 10 ft from the pin on the fringe than 60 ft from the pin on the green. Total distance of putts made in a round would be a great stat. Golfspy_CG2, garyt1957 and tony@CIC 3 Quote TSR 3 9.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TSi 3 15.0 GD Tour AD - DI 6S Stiff TS3 21 Hybrid Tensei AV Blue 65 HY Stiff U-510 19 Utility Iron HZDUS Smoke Black 6.0 Stiff 5-PW 101T Irons - KBS Tour Lite Stiff - Official Tester 2023 Vokey SM9 52 F - 12 Nippon NS Pro 950 Stiff Vokey Forged 56 M - 10 DG S200 MG3 60 - 12 NS Modus3 Tour 105 Stiff Scotty Special Select - Squareback 2 - 35” / Super Stroke Slim 3.0 Z-Star Diamond Players 4 bag Official Tester - 2021 & Loyal MCC Plus 4 Sensor User Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russtopherb Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 2 hours ago, garyt1957 said: Totally agree. FW's hit is a very subjective stat. I play in a league that tracks FW's hit. So you pull one in the trees and bounce off the trees into the FW, fairway hit. You hit a worm burner that goes 60 yards but rolls into the fw, fairway hit. Then you purposely hit a drive left on a dogleg right leaving you in perfect position but it rolls 3" into the first cut, no fairway. I use something like Rob's stat. I don't count any lucky fw's hit but I do count it if I hit it exactly where I aim it even if it lands in the rough. Y'know, I track fairways too, but honestly for me it's how many penalties or punch outs do I need to take with a driver. If the number is low to 0, then it's going in the bag tony@CIC 1 Quote In my carry bag: ST-X 10.5* Kai'li Blue R Flex ST-Z 15* Kai/li Blue R Flex ST-Z 4h Linq Blue R Flex Launcher 5h Launcher CBX 6i-PW CBX 54* & 58* Huntington Beach #10 e12 Contact CURRENTLY TESTING - Mizuno Long Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 On 6/11/2021 at 12:54 PM, cnosil said: @Golfspy_CG2 I didn’t pay that much attention to your earlier review but you point out in this on that even though you missed the fairway they were still playable. That is a key point and something that my coach has me look at. Fairways hit is a nice metric, it it is more important to look at drives that do not allow you the ability to make your next shot at the green. Might want to look and quality that fairway hit number a bit. I like this - I could heal a driver 190 yards on a 410 yard hole and be in the fairway where as I might go after it and over draw it a bit and hit it 235 in the rough. I can hit that 9 wood on the green from the rough. I have nothing that this getting me there from 220 unless it's another driver off a tee that I sneak under it while no one is looking. MaxEntropy, tony@CIC, Golfspy_CG2 and 2 others 5 Quote Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 26, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 26, 2021 SIM2 MAX Week of June 17 and June 24 I didn't post an update last week, because well even though i took the SIM2 out for a round, my swing was like a rusted out garbage can. Nothing useful about it at all. So it wasn't fair to report on the driver performane. Other than to say, the results were far less ugly than my game that day. I somehow managed to shoot 97 when in actuallity it felt like 107. Putting was the savior there, I didn't miss a thing inside 5 feet all day nd make a couple form 10 to 15 feet. Six strokes lost off the tee on par 3 penalty shots. Played the par 3's in12 OVER PAR!! Mainly due to case of shanks that showed themselves on the par 3's and on one short par 4. I was really looking forward to that round as well as I had a brief range session with the SIM2 the afternoon before and it was solid shot after solid shot. I couldn't get any idea of real distance other than they were probably al in the 190 to 210 range, as our range is tough to tell if a ball lands 10 yards in front of the 200 marker or 10 yards behind it. And i didn't have my Rapsodo out. JUNE 24 So onto this week. While the score was not much better than lat week 95, it was again ruinned by one segment of my game that wasn't off the tee or on the green. I had a couple fairway wood approaches that totally ruined the round. One of the toughest par 5's that you have to cross an environnment area and carry at least 170 yards to do so. I hooked a 3 wood into the left trees even though it crossed. When taking my drop on the other side, II had 210 left to the green, not that i expected to get there, but wanted to get past some fairway bunkers that loomed ahead at about 150. So I took the 3 wood again, and determined not to go left, yep I pushed it dead straight innto the right hand trees. Walked off the hole wiith a 9. Anothher par 5 where I hit the fairway, I hit it TOO Far on the 2nd shot and ended up plugged into the upper part of a bunker about 30 yards short, took a triple there. Again putted lights out to manage to keep the score in double digits.. At least I'm doing some handicap building for my trip to Pinehurst in September Stats: 8/10 10/14 fairways and one very close miss, that like cnosil and Rev's post above reflect, it actaully left me in better positon fo the green than 2 of my fairway hit shots. However, I honestly think I can do better with this. I think an 11 or 12 out of 14 is not out the question at all, especially when I play our more open North course. We have been on our tougher and tighter South course for 3 weeks in a row for this league and it is the most penalizing course both off the tee and approach. So very happy with the accuracy. As for distance, I did have my SX500 to track the driving distance, and it was very good. A couple holes into a pretty stuff breeze only generated 180 yard drives. But the best of the day was 221, which actually was a bit of a draw that got a good bounce and decent roll. Longest drive I've ever hit on that hole, left me about 130 in when I'm usually 160 0r so. Most drives were still in the 190's more consistently than the other drivers and couple that snuck over the 200 marker. So I'd say it's consistently the longest driver so far this year, not by miles, but by a bit. Comfort: 9/10 Nothing but praise here. It feels really good. I attribbute a lot of that to the construction, using Carbon Fiber not only in the crown but in the sole as well. That allows the 24g tungston weight placed in the rear of the inertia generator to provide a high level of MOI. Coupled with the 54g Ventus (non velacore) shaft and 47 g stock Z grip it provides ann overall lighter weight driver than say the Mizuno ST-X I played a couple weeks ago. I like the looks of the carbon fiber top and the white leading edge of the crown. The blue acent around the rear edges of the crown, side and sole look very good to me. It's a driver that inspires confidence at address to me. Sound: 9/10 So far the 2nd best driver of the ones I've tested this year, only behind the TSi models. It's slighlty more muted than those but not much an definitely gives you confidnce that you've really connected on one when you hit it solid. A couple heel hits do let you know from the sound and flight (low and right) exactly where you hit it, but much improved over the original SIM in that regard. Overall: 8.9 of 10 I mentionned in a post earlier this was one of our Demo Clubs in the shop, not one I have purchased. But after two good range sessionns with it, and the very solid performance from it this week. I immediately contacted our TM rep for a personal one. The good news is this exact stock setup worked for me, no midsize grip, no upgrade shaft...whicih to be honest at my swing speed and level would be waste of money. So we determined, I would just take one of the stock ones we had in the shop and he would issue us a creditto get me my normal persoanl discount. So I dont' have to wait on delvery of it. You know how they always say if you find a demo you like and hit well, tell the dealier you want THAT club not order one just like it but that ACTUAL club. As we all l know even though they are the same specs, there can be minor tolerances that throw something off that may or may not make the club play like the demo you tried. So I'll probably keep the demo, I should say I am the only one to have hit this club. It stil lhad the plastic on it wen I took it from the fitting cart last week. Then we can just take the shop club and move it to the demo cart. Up next week might be the PING G425, I had brief range session with it last week, along side the SIM2 and it was just OK. But there has been so much said about it, I feel it needs to get a try. edingc, revkev, russtopherb and 8 others 11 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickp Posted June 26, 2021 Share Posted June 26, 2021 Just stumbled across this thread, have to backtrack and catch up tony@CIC, Golfspy_CG2 and MaxEntropy 3 Quote Rick Left Hand, Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior 5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr 7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr 5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2 Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2 Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56* Putter; Waaay too many to list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russtopherb Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 18 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said: Up next week might be the PING G425, I had brief range session with it last week, along side the SIM2 and it was just OK. But there has been so much said about it, I feel it needs to get a try. The SIM2 really seems to be geared towards amateurs with all of the real-world reviews I've seen on it. I'll be interested to see how it fares against the 425. Golfspy_CG2 and tony@CIC 2 Quote In my carry bag: ST-X 10.5* Kai'li Blue R Flex ST-Z 15* Kai/li Blue R Flex ST-Z 4h Linq Blue R Flex Launcher 5h Launcher CBX 6i-PW CBX 54* & 58* Huntington Beach #10 e12 Contact CURRENTLY TESTING - Mizuno Long Game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickp Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 21 hours ago, Rickp said: Just stumbled across this thread, have to backtrack and catch up Caught up!! Looking to the Ping G425! tony@CIC and Golfspy_CG2 2 Quote Rick Left Hand, Driver; PXG 0311XF Cypher 50 gr Senior 5 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr 7 wood; Ping 425, Senior Shaft 55 gr 5 hybrid; Cally Steelhead, Hazardous R2 Irons; Mizuno JPX 923HM 7-GW Recoil 460 F2 Wedges; Titleist S9 54*, Mizuno SW 56* Putter; Waaay too many to list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revkev Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Sounds like the Sim2 has made its way from waiver wire extra to contender. Golfspy_CG2, tony@CIC and PMookie 2 1 Quote Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60 Aldila R flex - 42.25 inches SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft Ping G410 7, 9 wood Alta 65 R flex Srixon ZX5 MK II 5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex India 52,56 (60 pending) UST recoil 75's R flex Evon roll ER 5 32 inches It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfspy_CG2 Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 2 hours ago, revkev said: Sounds like the Sim2 has made its way from waiver wire extra to contender. LOl. Yeah, that or an undrafted Free Agent revkev, Shapotomous and tony@CIC 2 1 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Golfspy_CG2 Posted July 3, 2021 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 3, 2021 SIM2 Max and PING G25 SFT July 1 and 2 Edittors Note: Long PreAmble----TLDR G425 surprisinglly good---you'll have to read to find out how...HA ok, it was a bit of a departure from norn this week, as play this week shifted to our North course which is my favorite of the two. We had been on the South course the past 3 weeks, it's a tougher course with not as many good driving holes. So needing to get as many points as I can to secure a higher spot in our season long points race for the playoffs...I'm curretnly 22nd, and top 32 spots make it, I wanted to go wth the known entity in the driver that has been doing well the SIM2 Max. But in typical Phil fashhion, I threw the G425 in the bag as well. Full disclosure when I grabbed it from our Demo Cart, I completelyy failed to notice it was the SFT versionn until I was on the rnge with it. And sure enough I hit a few snappers before the round. I adjusted my setuup a bit and was able to get back to hitting myy normal fade. Our first hole is a par 5 that isn't the widest fiarway in the world, but there's not a huge penalty for missing a bit to the right, left is wet, so that wasn't going to be an otpion withh the first swing of the SFT under pressure. I pulled the SIM2. One of the other guys in our group, asked if it was the SIM2 and how I liked it. I said, I'll let you know after this shot Sure enough right on cue I pushed it way way right and into the trees, i guess I was trying to over compensate for those left quackers on the range with the SFT. I turned to Phil and said, "Right now I dont like it" and we all got a good laugh. Next hole was a fairly benign par 4 and I figured I've got to hit the PING sooner or later, so why not now. Pefect, nice highh fade right down the middle. left me 110 yards in,,,,,(Driver interuption for a par description) Nice 9 iron a bit too left ofhte flag for left to right 30 foooter, rooled the putt two feet past and easily made the putt for par---I like THIS driver Ok, so our next hole was actualy Number 1 (we had started on 17) I decided I needed to come up wit a plan for these two drivers. The front 9 is the more open of the two and you can get away with more errant shots. so decided to go with the SIM2 there, and test the G425's high MOI and forgivensss on the tigher tree lined fairways of the back 9. So now is a good time to tell you my swing that was like a rusty water bucket a couple weks ago, well that bucket had more holes this week. Litteraly everything was a par or triple bogey. I'm not kidding, my front 9 card looked like this 8,4,7,4,4,3,7,6,7---I tihink that equals 50...YIKES First time I've been in the 50's since my first round of the year back in early May. I don't know how to explain it. I lost two balls on the approach to the par 5 1st, One more ball off the tee on the 7th and 9th. My fairway wood and short irons really let me down--for more of that find the One Lenth thread and I'll post the thoughts there. Anyway, the SIM wasn't as solid as it had been, but you have to consider the archer that was shooting the arrorw. So on to the ratings. Stats: 8/10 3/8 (includig hole 17 our starting hole) Those 3 fairways were al lin a rwo as well, I thoght I had found a grove with it, then I just went south. Nothing really great distance wise either. It was just a very disappoting day driver wise, as well as everything else. Comfort: 8/10 I still feel very comfortabale with this driver. Despite the erratic performance off the tee, I wasn't shaking or trembling wondering where it was going to go. I know if Iput a decent swing on it, the results are going to be very good, so I was just trying to focus on finding my swing and I didn't Of course post round I realize in most cases I wasn't completing my backswing, or transitoning too quickly. Why can't we realize these things on the 2nd hole and fix them Sound: 9/10 I'll still give this a 9, as even the several mishits I had with it sounded OK. Some drivers when you mis the sweet spot let you and everyone in the surrounding zipcode know about it. Overall: 8.3 of 10 PING G425- Back Nine Hole 10 starts with a short but tiight driving hole, only about 270, but fairway bunkers and trees down the left, and more trees just off the path to the right. I stepeed up confident that I was going to salvage the round with a very good back 9. It started that way with a high shot right down the left edge of the fairway flirting with the bukers, but flew right over those suckers and faded back to the center of the fairway. I just missed a downhill runway that would have gotten me anohter 20 yards likely, but stopped just on the top of the fairway. SX500 measoured it at 215....leaving me 84 yards in. Giddy up. Promptly chunked a GW 20 yards short of the green, chipped to about 10 feet and made the par putt.....OH wait this isn't the How did you play thhread....ha sorry. Ok great start for the PINGer Hole 11 they moved the tees, used to be a dead straight 320 yard par 4 with water right. They moved the tees back about 40 yards and you have to cut off the close end of the water to get the best approach. I smoked the drive, unfortunately I couldn't get a good line off the tee and was too far left, one bounce int the trees. But at the point where it bounced into the trees SX500 had it at 203. Another triple,so much for that salvaging the back 9 Ok so on to the scoring. Stats: 9/10 Hit 5/6 fairways. The niss above was the only one. Remember I hit the SIM on 17 at the beginning of the round, so the G425 only had 6 chacnes and nailed 5 of them solid as could be. I definitely figured out the flight of it. Didn't have a snap hook in the bunch, and the rest were all fades, there was one draw that snuck in there but it was fine. Certainly not planned, but I took it anyway...ha Most of the drives were over 200 in the 203 to 205 range. Tha's actually more in 9 holes than the SIM2 has in 18 sometimmes. Comfort 8/10 The only thing that keeps this from being a 9 or maybe even a 10 is the SFT factor and worrying that any moement a little hitch in my swing could result in a deadly snap hook. I've become pretty comfortable in setting up for my normal fade and trusting it. And the SFT does exactly what it's suppsoed to, it takes just a bit of that fade. it won't eliminate a slice, no club will, but it helps straighten the fades the slightest bit, to get you a few more yards or roll straight instead of to theright. I think that's a key factor a lot of people tend to overlook. Sound 7.5/10 It's a PING and we all know the knock on PING drivers is the sound. I had read a lot about that in other reviews and experienes with the G425 as well. To be honest, yes it's louder than the SIM2 and certainly the TSi, but not obnoxisouly loud, and by the 5th or so drive with it, I wasn't really aware of it. So it's not a deal breaker by any means Overall 8.2 of 10 July 2 Bonus 9 with the G425 I felt bad not giving the G425 18 holes to be judged like all the others. So I decided to take it out for an "emergency 9" today. Oh who am I kidding, it was a beautiful 77 degrees and huge drop in humidity for the first time this week, so I ended a bit early and got out. And boy am I glad I did. I went out on our North 9, the same 9 I hit the SIM2 on yesterday. Now I really should have palyed the same tees as yesterday (the gold) but I didn't. One reason , I was playing wiht 2 guys in their mid 30's who were playing the Blues about 6600 yards, our Whites are 6200 and Golds about 5800. I didnt' want to play 2 tee boxes up from them. As Iwas worried that would kind of mess up their flow, having to drive 40 yards stop wait and then get going again. A lot ofour whtie boxes you can walk to from the blues or park just far enough inf front of the blues, I can stip up onto them as they are walking off the blues. Also the wind was a different direction than yesterday, so it wouldn't have been an accurate comparison. I just decided to use the SX500 on each tee shot to judge it versus saying where it was compared to yesterdays' round. Stats 9/10 Hit 5 of 7 fairways. That's 71% for those keping track at home. Guess what the two misses, were left. onlyy one was a low snap hook, although it will got out to about 170 yards even at that. The other was a very nice big high hook, that if I had been playing down the right edge of the fairway would have been dead center, but playing for my draw, it drew into the trees, for my only lsot ball of the round. Now the giddyy up part. Of the 5 fairways hit, all but one was over 200 yards, I tried my first round with Arccos as well as the SX500. I think I can grab a sccreen shot or two, that I'll add in here later. But the best drive of the day was a nice high straight maybe a hint of a draw shot right down the middle and measured 221 I think on the SX500. The fairways today were very soft as we got a huge downpour last night. So that was pretty close to all carry. The only one less than 200 was into a pretty strong wind that also was definitly off the toe, when I got to it, it was 184 yards. That is a pretty good "miss" for me. That brings into the 5900 MOI I think this driver has. I'd have to go back and look at some specs. So some parting thoughts on this driver. I'll be honest, it went this late in the testing as I wasn't thrilled to try it out. Usually I LOVE PING drivers, but I have read and heard a lot of mixed reviews on it. Mostly talkng about lack of distance. The odd thng is I was hitting the SFT model, and PING itself has said the SFT isn't as fast as the G425 MAX. So I think somehow, somewhay I'll need fo find a G425 Max into the bag. But it was pleasing to look at address. Sure I know some hate the turbulators. But there's something abouut the crown of every driver that somone is going to complain about. There are even some tht complain about the tiny TSI logo onthe Titleist dirvers, I just don't get tha. There are only two drivers I haven't hit yet, and I think I'm going to do something different for them, as they are not mainstream drivers. The Ben Hogan GS53 MAX and the Tour Edge 220 ES (I think) I'm thinking of putting them in a direct head to head test in a seperte thread maybe called "Budget" drivers or something like that. The TE definntiely fits in that category and the Hogan is not far off at I think $349 or so. Anyway that's for a different day. This challenge isn'tover. I stil lintended to try and get some LM numbers on al lthem in the same day. So still more to come. But right now, it's safe to say the RADSPEED, TSii 1 and 2, SM2 and G425 are all very good drivers, and honestly someone at my swing speed isn't going to notice a huge difference, but the PING numbers today may dispute that. Oh and one interestng and fun fact. On the same North course from the White Tees today I shot 44, where shot 50 yesterday. So much for shorter being easier....ha Sorry for the exceptionally long post. I hope at least some of you found it helpful. Rickp, russtopherb, revkev and 10 others 10 3 Quote G430 Max 10K TSiR1 15.0 Aldlia Ascent 60g TSR2 18.0 PX Aldila Ascent 6og TSi1 20 Aldila Ascent Shafts R T350 5-GW SteelFiber I80 SM10 48F/54M and58K S159 48S/52S/56W/60B Select 5.5 Flowback 35" ProV1 Play number 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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