2024 New Drivers - What Is Your Favorite?

[chisag]

4 hours ago, Randylahey said:

Morikawa is playing the new QI10 max is he not?

 

... So is Nelly Korda. 

[Fred Mitchell]

Survey completed. I game the Ping 430 Max now so I am not sure the new Max would be a game changer. I dont trust TaylorMade's driver head durability. I dont have access to try the PXG unless I travel just to do that so it may or may not happen. I played Cobra irons for years and my son still uses them their new driver is worth my time to try but in the past for me  mishits were punished much more than some other brands even though the shots hit in the screws came out smoking hot I would rather give up a little distance on well hit shots for much better results on mishits [ que in my Ping driver lol ] The Callaway smoke driver intrigues me the most. One hitch in the plan is that when i bought the Ping I was steered towards the TSR1 instead of the 2 or 3 , I was post op on some major hip and leg surgeries so a Titleist redo test on the TSR2 and 3 would happen before buying again. 

[stevegp67]

I also completed the survey. I am intrigued by  a few of the new drivers. I currently play the Ping G430 Max and it performs well for me. I am really interested in the new G430 Max 10K. Because a few nagging injuries and aging have slowed me down a bit, I  also would like to check out the new Cleveland and XXIO releases.

[yanger1994]

Had a chance to hit some of the new drivers....

Currently game a G430LS

QI10 (all three versions) - really liked the Max - very straight, launch was a tad high but spin numbers were good - going to try again with some other shafts.  Got along with it much better than the Stealths

G430 Max 10k.... had high hopes, but I didn't see too much difference from the current G430LS (using the same ventus black shaft in my gamer) .... launch was a bit higher but ball speed numbers didn't change much.  

Went into thinking QI10 was gonna be my next purchase....then just for giggles because it was sitting there I hit the Cobra Darkspeed LS with a LINQ Black.  Never really tried a Cobra driver before but really liked that driver from the first swing... flight was solid, thought spin was going to be too low but it was fine. 

Setting up another session (once the snow melts) to hit them all again but the Cobra impressed me....

 

[ZackS]

After seeing more of the reviews I am starting to me most intrigued buy the Ping G430 Max 10K as it seems it's the spin is not as high as you would expect from a driver like that. 

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Today, I made it to the golf shop to check out the new releases. I tried all 3 of the Taylor Made QI10 heads on a Tensei Black 1K 65g S shaft. A ping G430 10k Max with the ping tour Stiff. The Cobra Dark Speed LS & Max with a HZRDUS Smoke Black Stiff. And lastly, the Paradym Ai Smoke TD and Max with a Denali Black 60 Stiff. 
 

The Max heads were all far too spinny for me, with the Ping being the worst. I really liked the QI 10 LS, followed closely by the Paradym Ai Smoke TD and the Dark Speed LS. I think I may have liked the Dark Speed LS better with a different shaft but overall, it was a lot of fun and has left me with some things to ponder prior to the start of the season. 

[EnderinAZ]

I like the looks of the Smoke the best. As for the rest of the specs, meh... They don't mean a thing until I can hit the club and develop my own specs.

When I was fitted last April I tried the latest and greatest Stealth and Paradyme drivers and stacked what I could do on trackman vs my current Sim 2 Max. Paradyme 10 shots. Consistent results, nice ball flight, 6 yards longer than my current driver. Stealth 10 shots. Tended to hook on me. 4 to 7 yards longer than my Sim. 

Not enough increase in distance or accuracy in either club to make me want to drop 650 bucks on a new club and an additional 2 hundred on a different driver shaft.  

I honestly believe these new "10" drivers would do little to improve my game. Not to say I wouldn't jump at the chance to use one I just can't justify the cost for distance gained disparity to make the purchase. 

[Shrek74]

15 hours ago, GolfSpy_BEN said:

Today, I made it to the golf shop to check out the new releases. I tried all 3 of the Taylor Made QI10 heads on a Tensei Black 1K 65g S shaft. A ping G430 10k Max with the ping tour Stiff. The Cobra Dark Speed LS & Max with a HZRDUS Smoke Black Stiff. And lastly, the Paradym Ai Smoke TD and Max with a Denali Black 60 Stiff. 
 

The Max heads were all far too spinny for me, with the Ping being the worst. I really liked the QI 10 LS, followed closely by the Paradym Ai Smoke TD and the Dark Speed LS. I think I may have liked the Dark Speed LS better with a different shaft but overall, it was a lot of fun and has left me with some things to ponder prior to the start of the season. 

Did they not have the Dark Speed X or AI Smoke models available? Those "middle ground" models look to have almost as low of spin as the LS models do, at least from the various reviews I've seen.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Just now, Shrek74 said:

Did they not have the Dark Speed X or AI Smoke models available? Those "middle ground" models look to have almost as low of spin as the LS models do, at least from the various reviews I've seen.

They did. We started with the Max models for each OEM, and worked our way down. I tried the Ai Smoke in Max and TD, there isn’t much difference in the Max and Max D, beyond a draw bias. So I didn’t bother with it. Probably should have given the Dark Speed X a go, but there is always next time. 

And because my swing is different than yours, or any one else’s YMMV.

[RonnieB]

I did a fitting yesterday and after all the swings I went with the Qi10 Max. It was cold with the bay door open and I never got to peak performance, but it seemed to be the best for my swing. @GolfSpy_BEN can attest that if I get too excited and try and kill it my over the top is rough! A nice smooth swing without over doing it and this guy with limited mobility was able to carry the ball 250-yds which isn't too bad for me. I look forward to getting it within the next two weeks to start putting in some work on the TopTracer. 

[Javs]

9 minutes ago, RonnieB said:

I did a fitting yesterday and after all the swings I went with the Qi10 Max. It was cold with the bay door open and I never got to peak performance, but it seemed to be the best for my swing. @GolfSpy_BEN can attest that if I get too excited and try and kill it my over the top is rough! A nice smooth swing without over doing it and this guy with limited mobility was able to carry the ball 250-yds which isn't too bad for me. I look forward to getting it within the next two weeks to start putting in some work on the TopTracer. 

Smooth is fast and fast is smooth and long. 

[RonnieB]

@Javs it has taken me a long time to learn that the smoother the swing with technique is optimal over muscling it!

[Javs]

1 minute ago, RonnieB said:

@Javs it has taken me a long time to learn that the smoother the swing with technique is optimal over muscling it!

I feel your pain! I think that all of us tend to over swing at some point. It’s a hard lesson to learn that that a smooth takeaway and smooth long swing are big factors in consistency and power. It also doesn’t mean a slow swing. Swinging within ourself is the key. Speed increases over time when one has a good solid swing foundation that allows for increased club speed. I actually have found swinging a heavy club daily for 100 swings has increased my speed without having to over swing. 

[Rob Person]

22 minutes ago, Javs said:

Smooth is fast and fast is smooth and long. 

That's a similar quote I use with new officers in developing reflexes and building their abilities 

"Slow is smooth, smooth becomes fast, fast becomes natural"

[Javs]

2 minutes ago, Rob Person said:

That's a similar quote I use with new officers in developing reflexes and building their abilities 

"Slow is smooth, smooth becomes fast, fast becomes natural"

We used that quote as well in close quarters combat training. 

[chisag]

1 hour ago, Javs said:

I think that all of us tend to over swing at some point. It’s a hard lesson to learn that that a smooth takeaway and smooth long swing are big factors in consistency and power.

 

... I like to post this every now and then as it was a turning point with my driver. In his prime Davis Love III was one of the longest drivers on tour. His dad, an excellent instructor, had him do a drill where he would hit 10 drives using a full but slower swing and starting at 150yds, all drives had to be in a grid and then he could move to 200yds and repeat, 250, 300 and then 350yds. What he found was his best drives came at 300 when he was swinging smoothly and most importantly finding the dead center of the face. At 350 he hits some huge bombs but some wild shots when he missed the center swinging at max speed. 

... He said the thing that changed my driving "When I absolutely need a big drive, I slow down my swing just a little concentrating on being smooth as I can swing and hitting the center of the face" He went on to say if he could risk a miss like on a crazy long par 5, he might use his 350 swing going at it as fast as he could swing because he had a wide fairway with no hazards and a miss wouldn't hurt so worth the risk. But again if he needed a big drive like a long par 4 or reachable par 5 he used his 300 yd smooth swing. 

... Once I slowed down my driver swing just a little and concentrated on contact not distance, I started hitting it longer and straighter on average and watched my index drop. Duh. 

Edited January 17 by chisag

[Javs]

58 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I like to post this every now and then as it was a turning point with my driver. In his prime Davis Love III was one of the longest drivers on tour. His dad, an excellent instructor, had him do a drill where he would hit 10 drives using a full but slower swing and starting at 150yds, all drives had to be in a grid and then he could move to 200yds and repeat, 250, 300 and then 350yds. What he found was his best drives came at 300 when he was swinging smoothly and most importantly finding the dead center of the face. At 350 he hits some huge bombs but some wild shots when he missed the center swinging at max speed. 

... He said the thing that changed my driving "When I absolutely need a big drive, I slow down my swing just a little concentrating on being smooth as I can swing and hitting the center of the face" He went on to say if he could risk a miss like on a crazy long par 5, he might use his 350 swing going at it as fast as he could swing because he had a wide fairway with no hazards and a miss wouldn't hurt so worth the risk. But again if he needed a big drive like a long par 4 or reachable par 5 he used his 300 yd smooth swing. 

... Once I slowed down my driver swing just a little and concentrated on contact not distance, I started hitting it longer and straighter on average and watched my index drop. Duh. 

Perfect! My Dad had me do similar drills when I was a kid. He also had me hit iron shots with my feet together just taking it half way back and through. Then slowing moving the feet out and making the swing longer. Made my shots smooth and I could find the center quicker. Great stuff thank you for the post!

[GolfSpy_APH]

Looking for 20 or so more responses to the form above! 

Have your chance at being quoted in the next MGS article! 

Thanks to all for the support with these.

[funkyjudge]

57 minutes ago, chisag said:

 

... I like to post this every now and then as it was a turning point with my driver. In his prime Davis Love III was one of the longest drivers on tour. His dad, an excellent instructor, had him do a drill where he would hit 10 drives using a full but slower swing and starting at 150yds, all drives had to be in a grid and then he could move to 200yds and repeat, 250, 300 and then 350yds. What he found was his best drives came at 300 when he was swinging smoothly and most importantly finding the dead center of the face. At 350 he hits some huge bombs but some wild shots when he missed the center swinging at max speed. 

... He said the thing that changed my driving "When I absolutely need a big drive, I slow down my swing just a little concentrating on being smooth as I can swing and hitting the center of the face" He went on to say if he could risk a miss like on a crazy long par 5, he might use his 350 swing going at it as fast as he could swing because he had a wide fairway with no hazards and a miss wouldn't hurt so worth the risk. But again if he needed a big drive like a long par 4 or reachable par 5 he used his 300 yd smooth swing. 

... Once I slowed down my driver swing just a little and concentrated on contact not distance, I started hitting it longer and straighter on average and watched my index drop. Duh. 

Fantastic advice, and right on the money, too!

As I am pretty sure you know, I competed on the ReMax WLD circuit for several years from age 41 to about age 49. Of course, during that period, I was capable of hitting the ball 375-385 yards, but I didn’t take that competition swing to the golf course (I played to a single-digit handicap that ranged from 6 to 8 at the time). In my rounds of “real golf”, I used my “fairway finder” swing (slower and much more deliberate than my competition swing, but still above 110 MPH).

These days, at just two months shy of age 75, a “really long” drive for me is in the 270-280 yard range, but that only happens a few times a year and generally only in the warmer months. Typically, I feel that I have hit a real “bomb” if my drive rolls-out to 260-265 yards (245-250 yards in winter months). Virtually all of my longest drives happen when I smooth-out my swing, and almost never when I “swing out of my shoes”.

I realize that I am very fortunate to hit the ball as far as I do at my age, and I am reminded of it frequently by my playing partners and golfing teammates. Last week, in miserable conditions, I came within a few yards of driving the green on a 283-yard dogleg par 4 by cutting the corner. One of my playing partners commented that power sure does have its benefits.

[KC Golf]

The new driver testing video clip on X is Awesome!  Can’t wait to see the results!  The new Cobra looks killer!  Will it beat my TSR3….

[cnosil]

35 minutes ago, KC Golf said:

The new driver testing video clip on X is Awesome!  Can’t wait to see the results!  The new Cobra looks killer!  Will it beat my TSR3….

I just like looking at all the putter lined up along the walls     

[Javs]

5 hours ago, funkyjudge said:

Fantastic advice, and right on the money, too!

As I am pretty sure you know, I competed on the ReMax WLD circuit for several years from age 41 to about age 49. Of course, during that period, I was capable of hitting the ball 375-385 yards, but I didn’t take that competition swing to the golf course (I played to a single-digit handicap that ranged from 6 to 8 at the time). In my rounds of “real golf”, I used my “fairway finder” swing (slower and much more deliberate than my competition swing, but still above 110 MPH).

These days, at just two months shy of age 75, a “really long” drive for me is in the 270-280 yard range, but that only happens a few times a year and generally only in the warmer months. Typically, I feel that I have hit a real “bomb” if my drive rolls-out to 260-265 yards (245-250 yards in winter months). Virtually all of my longest drives happen when I smooth-out my swing, and almost never when I “swing out of my shoes”.

I realize that I am very fortunate to hit the ball as far as I do at my age, and I am reminded of it frequently by my playing partners and golfing teammates. Last week, in miserable conditions, I came within a few yards of driving the green on a 283-yard dogleg par 4 by cutting the corner. One of my playing partners commented that power sure does have its benefits.

I agree that summer months are best for better distance. Hey, you are still very long!

[Wheelieb]

I need to remind myself when swinging with my driver is staying connected. Have a habit when I get way to overconfident that I go all out cause “What’s the worst that can happen?” It’s called ball OB. 

[GaDawg]

Due to the terrible weather, our course is closed until next week. Was bored today so I headed out to the PGA Store to check out the new drivers.

I hit both the Callaway and TaylorMade.

I hit the Callaway Smoke, both Triple Diamond and Max very similar to my current drivers (TSI3 and Stealth).

I hit the TaylorMade Qi10 Max and Reg, Did not hit LS due to my spin numbers being good with the Max and Reg. I hit the regular Qi10 first and was surprised with the positive numbers. I then hit the max with the same shaft and was getting about the same numbers, but could not get used to the head size. Went back to the regular head and actually started hitting a few draws and that's a first for me.

Planning on going back in early February and doing another session to confirm the correct shaft, etc.

I really want to wait and see what and if Titleist comes out with in late fall, but don't know if I can resist the urge. 

Edited January 18 by GaDawg
spelling

[dlow206]

Appears to be a lot of good drivers out there this year, gotta go try them out soon

[chisag]

4 hours ago, GaDawg said:

Due to the terrible weather, our course is closed until next week. Was bored today so I headed out to the PGA Store to check out the new drivers.

I hit both the Callaway and TaylorMade.

 

... Me too! Although I had a fitting with the TM rep. I keep thinking I can hit indoors and gleam something from the experience. The only 'gleaming' I did was a reminder that it is a waste of time for me. My golf swing is target and trajectory oriented. I look where I want to hit my shot and on what trajectory and then swing, thinking of that target. There is no target indoors. There is no trajectory. I have always been really bad at swinging indoors and today was no exception.

... I was carrying the ball around 192-202.   Playing right after the fitting there is a dogleg drivable par 4 with a lake guarding the front. It is a 215yd carry to clear the water and my drive pitch mark was pin high, so a carry of 235. The only thing todays fitting told me is the Qi10 Max is very forgiving on miss hits, felt and sounded good and like you, I found the head quite large and it will take some getting used to. 

[funkyjudge]

Although my local Golf Galaxy doesn’t have all of the new 2024 driver models in stock yet, they do have a few of them available for demoing on the simulators in-store. On Monday, I got to hit all three of the new Cobra Dark Speed drivers in various lofts, plus the standard and LS versions of the TM Qi10 and the new Ping G430 10K.  I was hoping to demo the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke driver, but that one won’t be available to hit until late next week.

in a nutshell, here are my initial impressions based on that in-store experience:

Cobra Dark Speed - although I was expecting good results from these drivers, I could never really get them dialed-in. I set them aside and hit the other new drivers (plus some fairway woods) and came back to the Cobra drivers later, but still had trouble finding the center of the faces on any of them, so results were not at all good, which is as expected.

TM Qi10 - the standard model was better for me than the LS, but neither was a standout, and neither gave me improvements in any of the driver metrics when compared to my current gamer (Callaway Paradym X with PX HZRDUS Black 4G 6.0 shaft).

Ping G430 10K - Best of the bunch, and comparable to both my Paradym X and the 2023 G430 Max driver that I own (and am currently trying to sell, because I am more consistent, and thus have more confidence in, the Paradym X).

I am certainly interested in hitting the new Callaway AI Smoke drivers, and will do so once they become available to demo.

[Wheelieb]

I will try to see if I can get to the Golf Galaxy in VB sometime soon to hit the new heads. Rough part is work and then having to drive through the tunnel to get back home. May see if the Golf Store in Yorktown has any in yet to test, but I don't know if they carry those or just sell the new clubs. I'll check on that and see.

[funkyjudge]

40 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I will try to see if I can get to the Golf Galaxy in VB sometime soon to hit the new heads. Rough part is work and then having to drive through the tunnel to get back home. May see if the Golf Store in Yorktown has any in yet to test, but I don't know if they carry those or just sell the new clubs. I'll check on that and see.

If you want to also hit the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke models, you need to wait until after next Wednesday (January 24). I was told that Golf Galaxy won’t have those 2024 Callaway clubs to hit until then.

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, Wheelieb said:

I will try to see if I can get to the Golf Galaxy in VB sometime soon to hit the new heads. Rough part is work and then having to drive through the tunnel to get back home. May see if the Golf Store in Yorktown has any in yet to test, but I don't know if they carry those or just sell the new clubs. I'll check on that and see.

Per their website: https://addictedtogolf.com/current-promotions/

New demos Here! – Ping G430 Max 10K Driver, Callaway Paradym Smoke Driver and irons, XXIO drivers and irons

Demos Coming soon – Taylormade Qi10, Cobra and More!