Driver Rankings 2023

[Jim Bourn]

Being new here I was wondering how much or if various swing speeds are taken into account when ranking drivers and other clubs and if clubs like drivers are ranked based on swing speed.

Or if swing speed maters at all in your opinions.

[cnosil]

10 minutes ago, Jim Bourn said:

Being new here I was wondering how much or if various swing speeds are taken into account when ranking drivers and other clubs and if clubs like drivers are ranked based on swing speed.

Or if swing speed maters at all in your opinions.

Can you clarify what you are asking?   Are you referencing the most wanted results that MGS HQ does?  Or are you asking how I rank the clubs I personally evaluate for myself?\

[Jim Bourn]

Most wanted test results in this case.  Although always interested in the process how others decide on such things.

[cnosil]

30 minutes ago, Jim Bourn said:

Most wanted test results in this case.  Although always interested in the process how others decide on such things.

There are two perspectives on this.

1.  The intent of most wanted is to give someone who wants to walk into a store and buy a club off the rack an idea of what clubs might work best for them.  Ideally they should try the top few to see what works best for them and how they swing the club.   It is more than just swing speed;  it also includes things like impact location, AoA, rate of rotation, launch angle, etc.

2.  For the player that is more into golf and wants the best fit for their game, most wanted might be of interest,  but they will hit and work to find what clubs work best for them.   For that player it may be the top driver on the list or the bottom driver on the list.  This is primarily the person that gets engaged in a forum like this as they are a little bit of an equipment junkie.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

We should also start to see Swing Speed breakdowns soon. 

Also worth noting that all the new drivers are in the TruGolfFit system so if you go there you can are able to get a free fit and suggestion on what would work best for you and your swing speed!

[Dules]

This is probably marketing but I am interested in an approach a company called Krank Golf uses where they make their drivers based on swing speed.   They supposedly offer different face thicknesses on their drivers based on where you fit on swing speed or your  average carry distance.  The theory being that all OEM drivers are based on 1 standard which is what the pro's paid to advertise the clubs use. OEM driver face thickness is constant &  if  Pro's swing speed is so much higher than most recreational golfers & OEM drivers are spec'd accordingly, than we mere mortals are not getting the benefits of the OEM driver we are buying off the rack. Anecdotally, I have read where some pro's will try a bunch of driver's looking for that 1 anomaly in a driver face that is just a bit faster & may fall outside of average tolerances of a conforming OEM product.  I have also heard of a company that will"shave" your club face for added distance depending on swing speed.  Most Krank Golf drivers are not on the conforming USGA list & also not on the non-conforming list.  They are just not submitted.  Unless we are playing in a USGA event, they think the potential advantages of more distance to recreational golfers are a huge benefit.  I am going to go down this rabbit hole when we open for golf in Wisconsin & see if there really is a benefit.  1 huge plus for Krank Golf, whether the science is true or not, is that they offer all their drivers/fairway woods in a plethora (!)  of lofts for lefty's which is a huge plus over OEM's.  The list price is high but they always run sales at about 30 to 50% oft making them more reasonable.  Limited shaft selection but decent shafts offered as stock.