2024 New Drivers - What Is Your Favorite?

[Wheelieb]

1 hour ago, funkyjudge said:

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.

Well that’s highly disappointing. Have to find somewhere to at least try them all. 

[Wheelieb]

44 minutes ago, cnosil said:

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!

They are a lot closer to the house than what golf galaxy is. So that’s a plus. 

[TJ Hall]

2 hours 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.

Addicted has the 430 Max and at least one of the Cobras, did not have the new Callaway or TaylorMade yet.

[Njamison82]

Both either the Taylor Made or Callaway look to be impressive. I have the Stealth now and can't wait to swing either of these clubs 

[Wheelieb]

1 hour ago, Wheelieb said:

They are a lot closer to the house than what golf galaxy is. So that’s a plus. 

Well my hopes are dying fast with addicted to golf having them all that golf galaxy doesn’t have. Hahaha

[cnosil]

15 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

Well my hopes are dying fast with addicted to golf having them all that golf galaxy doesn’t have. Hahaha

You are just looking too early.  PGA show is next week; everything will be out shortly afterwards.

[Wheelieb]

31 minutes ago, cnosil said:

You are just looking too early.  PGA show is next week; everything will be out shortly afterwards.

That’s fair. I also have to remember that this isn’t a state that is golf friendly year round like Florida. 

[Wheelieb]

I've got to say, I am flabbergasted by the amount of comments on the post as I really was only thinking about the forgiveness of the drivers that are coming out that I've watched reviews on. For @GolfSpy_APH to make the survey and go above and beyond for this post is really awesome. This community is really great to be a part of and have those discussions and debates about anything golf wise or even the not golf related talks. I look forward to more debates and friendly banter and seeing others view points. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

32 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I've got to say, I am flabbergasted by the amount of comments on the post as I really was only thinking about the forgiveness of the drivers that are coming out that I've watched reviews on. For @GolfSpy_APH to make the survey and go above and beyond for this post is really awesome. This community is really great to be a part of and have those discussions and debates about anything golf wise or even the not golf related talks. I look forward to more debates and friendly banter and seeing others view points. 

In fairness I have a few secret tools at my disposal to give some added attention to threads  

However yes, this community is freaking awesome and to see it grow how it has and become such a vibrant active community is great. 

[Owengeorge13]

I would love to test /try any of these!  The ping wins for me on looks and reviews so far.

[ctg44]

Has anyone seen the videos of the main guys testing out and reviewing the drivers for 2024? I have to say I feel Cobra really took a step back based on the reviews that have come in so far. Where as callaway and Taylormade made their tour players drivers more forgiving, Cobra didn’t. Anybody have thoughts on that, maybe to the extent that Cobra should probably work on their driver line for a few years before putting out another driver line?

I did the free Golf Galaxy Cobra DarkSpeed fitting last night. In short, I was a lot more likely to buy the overpriced ($300...currently under $200 on CPO with a decent X stiff shaft) used Paradym Triple Diamond 5 Wood with a crappy HZRDUS shaft in it that I was hitting 230-240 than I was the $500 driver going maybe a little farther but rarely in the fairway.

Of note, I tried every head and shaft combo he offered and made sure he knew I was open to replacing my almost 6 year old Callaway Epic Flash Tour Certified (8.5* set to 7.5* with a tipped Tensei White 70G TX shaft) because I am fairly certain the day is coming where the face fails.

Fortunately, that's not today, because it is still giving me 108-111 clubhead speed and 157-160 ballspeed. The best I could do with any of the Cobra options was the LS with a Lin-Q shaft (not really a fan...overpriced junk in my opinion), and that was 104 clubhead and 152 ballspeed...and those were almost all left of center or dangerously far left (as is approaching OB left). Now, had their fitting cart had a Tensei White AV 70G TX or similar shaft, the Cobra might have had a chance to beat the Callaway....might...

[TheRealKimKong]

Well, I do have a full bag of Mizuno stuff, only the driver is Cobra (LTDx, now Aerospeed) - so I am curious about the new Darkspeed LS, but would also love to try the Mizuno ST-G 440. 

But for that I would need proper shaft options, that´s where it lacks mostly, even when willing to pay an upgrade here I barely get my hands on proper Fujikura shafts or similar. Mizuno is not a big thing here with woods, for Cobra I know a fitter offering proper shaft options so… tending to try some again and stick to the Aerospeed in the end

[ctg44]

Another note, I try again to find an Epic Flash replacement next Friday with the Ai Smoke fitting and the following week with the Qi10 fitting at Golf Galaxy. I figured that I don't really want them bugging me much anyway during the fitting, so for an initial tryout of the new clubs, the free hour on the Trackman when it's 19 degrees outside makes not having a fitter 100% dedicated to me is not a big deal.

[Indy_Oz]

Like @ctg44, I had a Golf Galaxy free Cobra Darkspeed fitting yesterday. The Cobra models were up against my Callaway Rogue ST Max LS 9* with Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft. The guy that did the fitting was good and absolutely not pushy. I told him up front I was also booked in next weekend for the Taylormade and Callaway driver release fittings, so that helped keep the sales pressure off. I would need a real standout performance from a driver for me to give any consideration to an upgrade... they're a LOT of cash to splash out, particularly when you've already replaced your entire bag in the last 18 months (some clubs more than once, ha ha). What I'm really looking for is for a consistent baby draw or fade (prefer fade) and come close to eliminating my 2-way miss. If I can get better dispersion without losing much/ any distance, I might dust off the wallet. But it would need to be GOOD.

I tested the Cobra Darkspeed LS and X drivers in 9* settings and initially with the same model Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft I play to give a good comparison. I tried a couple of other shaft combinations with the LS (Ventus Blue 7X and Black 6X, and a Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 Tour/XS), but came back to the Ventus TR Blue 6X as it felt better and gave me the best launch and control on the day. As and when I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new driver, I'll go to a fitter near me that has a large range of stock and premium shafts and do a proper shaft fitting alongside head to get the right combo.

I rotated which club I hit between the three through the session and was definitely tiring towards the end. I tweaked my lower back the day before the test, so I wasn't quite at 100% but felt fine for the majority of the session.

I found both Cobra heads to have a more open face at address than my Rogue and I was fading almost all my drives with them, compared to a straight-to-draw bias with the Rogue. Neither was notably different in dispersion compared to the Rogue. The Cobras are good looking clubs (to me) at address. I really liked them and wanted them to work well.

The X had a very slight edge in grouping dispersion, but I was consistently ~1.5mph slower on average swing speed and it felt like I needed to swing harder to get the same speeds as the other two. Swing speed was almost identical between the LS and my Rogue LS (109.4mph vs 109.7mph average). I found the Cobra LS to have very slightly higher spin numbers than my Rogue, which i liked to see. The X was just too high spinning for me. My bad miss with the Rogue is a low spinning pull that really dives left (I'm working on getting rid of a 2-way miss, unfortunately, ha ha- but the pull is the worst of the misses). My spin averages were 2997rpm(X) vs 2464rpm(LS) vs 2135rpm(Rogue LS). The X has two weights, front and back center- best combo for me was 12g at the front, 3g at the back (other way round the spin shot up over 3krpm). The LS has three adjustable weights- 2x3g, 1x12g. The setup that suited me the best (by a long way) was with the 12g weight in the front heel position. That gave me the best control and distribution. We also tried the LS moved to 10* loft to close the face a little, but I didn't like the numbers that resulted in.

TL/DR: The Darkspeeds are great looking drivers and the LS was the best fit for me out of them, with slightly better spin numbers than my Rogue ST Max LS. But carry was no better than my Rogue and dispersion/ control wasn't sufficiently improved over the Rogue for me to give any consideration to updating my bag.

I'm looking forward to trying the Taylormade QI10 and Callaway AI Smoke drivers next weekend. I also hope to try out the Ping G430s at some point.

[CFreddie]

2 minutes ago, Indy_Oz said:

Like @ctg44, I had a Golf Galaxy free Cobra Darkspeed fitting yesterday. The Cobra models were up against my Callaway Rogue ST Max LS 9* with Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft. The guy that did the fitting was good and absolutely not pushy. I told him up front I was also booked in next weekend for the Taylormade and Callaway driver release fittings, so that helped keep the sales pressure off. I would need a real standout performance from a driver for me to give any consideration to an upgrade... they're a LOT of cash to splash out, particularly when you've already replaced your entire bag in the last 18 months (some clubs more than once, ha ha). What I'm really looking for is for a consistent baby draw or fade (prefer fade) and come close to eliminating my 2-way miss. If I can get better dispersion without losing much/ any distance, I might dust off the wallet. But it would need to be GOOD.

I tested the Cobra Darkspeed LS and X drivers in 9* settings and initially with the same model Ventus TR Blue 6X shaft I play to give a good comparison. I tried a couple of other shaft combinations with the LS (Ventus Blue 7X and Black 6X, and a Tensei AV Raw Orange 65 Tour/XS), but came back to the Ventus TR Blue 6X as it felt better and gave me the best launch and control on the day. As and when I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new driver, I'll go to a fitter near me that has a large range of stock and premium shafts and do a proper shaft fitting alongside head to get the right combo.

I rotated which club I hit between the three through the session and was definitely tiring towards the end. I tweaked my lower back the day before the test, so I wasn't quite at 100% but felt fine for the majority of the session.

I found both Cobra heads to have a more open face at address than my Rogue and I was fading almost all my drives with them, compared to a straight-to-draw bias with the Rogue. Neither was notably different in dispersion compared to the Rogue. The Cobras are good looking clubs (to me) at address. I really liked them and wanted them to work well.

The X had a very slight edge in grouping dispersion, but I was consistently ~1.5mph slower on average swing speed and it felt like I needed to swing harder to get the same speeds as the other two. Swing speed was almost identical between the LS and my Rogue LS (109.4mph vs 109.7mph average). I found the Cobra LS to have very slightly higher spin numbers than my Rogue, which i liked to see. The X was just too high spinning for me. My bad miss with the Rogue is a low spinning pull that really dives left (I'm working on getting rid of a 2-way miss, unfortunately, ha ha- but the pull is the worst of the misses). My spin averages were 2997rpm(X) vs 2464rpm(LS) vs 2135rpm(Rogue LS). The X has two weights, front and back center- best combo for me was 12g at the front, 3g at the back (other way round the spin shot up over 3krpm). The LS has three adjustable weights- 2x3g, 1x12g. The setup that suited me the best (by a long way) was with the 12g weight in the front heel position. That gave me the best control and distribution. We also tried the LS moved to 10* loft to close the face a little, but I didn't like the numbers that resulted in.

TL/DR: The Darkspeeds are great looking drivers and the LS was the best fit for me out of them, with slightly better spin numbers than my Rogue ST Max LS. But carry was no better than my Rogue and dispersion/ control wasn't sufficiently improved over the Rogue for me to give any consideration to updating my bag.

I'm looking forward to trying the Taylormade QI10 and Callaway AI Smoke drivers next weekend. I also hope to try out the Ping G430s at some point.

Great write up @Indy_Oz- curious to see how the other drivers end up!

[Indy_Oz]

1 hour ago, CFreddie said:

Great write up @Indy_Oz- curious to see how the other drivers end up!

Thank you. Yeah, I can't wait to give the others a swing too!

[mynerds]

2 hours ago, Indy_Oz said:

I found both Cobra heads to have a more open face at address than my Rogue and I was fading almost all my drives with them, compared to a straight-to-draw bias with the Rogue. Neither was notably different in dispersion compared to the Rogue.

Fantastic write up, and a similar story for me today with my Cobra event. I saw +7 yards and maybe 200 RPM less than my gamer, but with a new push miss added to the dispersion. The fitter said that he was much more excited about the Taylormade and Callaway club this year, having already demo'd all of the available options.

Looks like a potential down year for Cobra - bummer!

[Wheelieb]

I love the way cobra clubs look. They just don’t perform well for me at all. With the exception of the F8 3 wood I had. At times I miss it, but then realize that my ability to hit a 3 wood up until now was not on par with hitting a 3 wood. Now I’m thinking of getting one back in the bag. We will see on that though

[Indy_Oz]

35 minutes ago, Wheelieb said:

I love the way cobra clubs look. They just don’t perform well for me at all. With the exception of the F8 3 wood I had. At times I miss it, but then realize that my ability to hit a 3 wood up until now was not on par with hitting a 3 wood. Now I’m thinking of getting one back in the bag. We will see on that though

I tried a couple of Cobra Darkspeed 7-woods when I was at the driver fitting. I play a Rogue ST Max 7-wood. I didn't get on with the Cobra woods- I tried the X and Max. My old Rogue was more consistent (carry and lateral dispersion) and had a better landing angle. I wanted to like the Cobras as, like the drivers, they look great at address.

[Wheelieb]

6 hours ago, Indy_Oz said:

I tried a couple of Cobra Darkspeed 7-woods when I was at the driver fitting. I play a Rogue ST Max 7-wood. I didn't get on with the Cobra woods- I tried the X and Max. My old Rogue was more consistent (carry and lateral dispersion) and had a better landing angle. I wanted to like the Cobras as, like the drivers, they look great at address.

I’ve got a pxg 7 wood. I can’t hit a 4 iron to save my life, but that 7 wood fits nicely between my 5 iron and 5 wood. 

[ZackS]

I went and hit some of the new drivers today. I hit the AI Smoke triple diamond, DarkSpeed LS, QI10 LS and the G430 Max 10K. I didn't get along with the DarkSpeed as it was to low launching for me and I lost a little more on mishits with it. I do love the mat black finish but I prefer a deeper face and it was not my favorite for looks. The QI10 I would say was my favorite looking down at the ball. I also get good numbers. The AI Smoke is defiantly the lowest spin of the group. Even with the heavy wight in the back I was getting 3 to 4 hundred less RPMs backspin. I ended up adding 1 degree and that brought the launch/spin in a good window. I also had my best dispersion with this driver in both setups. I did enjoy the looks at address other then it sit pretty open and since my miss is right I don't like seeing the face open. Lastly the 430 Max 10K I was surprised that I was getting the same launch/spin in a good window. My main thing with this is as mentioned before I like a deep face and despite teeing it lower I almost crowned a couple. I will point out that impressively the spin actually didn't fluctuate to much and because of that I didn't loose much distance on it. All that said I didn't see anything that I think will rustle my TSR3 out of my hands, as none of these had dispersion that was drastically different than my usual. And I pulled up my recent numbers from my driver to compare and I get better efficiency with my TSR3 with it being 1.49 to 1.5 and the best I had with these drivers was 1.48 with the AI Smoke and the other where all 1.47. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/we-asked-100-golfers-which-driver-theyre-most-excited-for-in-2024/

Results are in!

[CHINES63]

I hit the Dark speed LS, Smoke triple diamond, and Qi10 LS. 

Dark speed carry 273.3 ----- ball speed 160.8

Ai Smoke 277.3 ------------- ball speed 159.8

Qi10 LS 282.4 --------------- ball speed 162.2 

 

[Shifty]

I hit the AI Smoke Triple diamond, and Max D while I was in Palm Springs.  

The triple Diamond was a beast,  I would say is longer, and just seemed easier to hit than last years Paradym.  Can't wait to try it again, and side to side with my Paradym.

The Max D does what it advertised, it turned my draw into a hook.  Definitely 10 yards of help there for fade hitters.  I should of hit the Max, not the Max D.  But I ran out of time.

[HikingMike]

On 1/13/2024 at 12:26 PM, Indy_Oz said:

Golf Galaxy product launch fitting events. Did one last year for the Paradym drivers- zero cost and didn't buy a new driver.

Wow... I may just have to run to Golf Galaxy this weekend to hit some $600 drivers. Oh and TaylorMade is the next weekend. If you hadn't posted that I would have never known. It's 30 minutes away, but it's hard to beat free. It will be a good way to start off my driver search. I'd like to get a new one for this season. I'm going to do a fitting for sure, but then maybe buy used. I have only done a fitting once before, and not for driver, so this will help me get some numbers. I'm definitely going to hit my current gamer in there for baselining.

Edited January 26 by HikingMike

[HikingMike]

On 1/17/2024 at 3:42 PM, 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….

Wait, what is this? I don't see it.

[Indy_Oz]

1 hour ago, HikingMike said:

Wow... I may just have to run to Golf Galaxy this weekend to hit some $600 drivers. Oh and TaylorMade is the next weekend. If you hadn't posted that I would have never known. It's 30 minutes away, but it's hard to beat free. It will be a good way to start off my driver search. I'd like to get a new one for this season. I'm going to do a fitting for sure, but then maybe buy used. I have only done a fitting once before, and not for driver, so this will help me get some numbers. I'm definitely going to hit my current gamer in there for baselining.

Make sure you get booked in, if they have space. Hopefully this link works for the GG general 'in store events' page so you can select your store: https://www.golfgalaxy.com/s/golf-events-and-in-store-golf-demonstrations
Hope you manage to do a demo/fitting. I have Callaway this Sunday and TM next weekend booked. Should be fun!

 

[cnosil]

2 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Wait, what is this? I don't see it.

I believe this is what he was referring to:

 

 

[HikingMike]

4 hours ago, cnosil said:

I believe this is what he was referring to:

 

 

Thanks! Weird. I see that. But if I go to their X, it’s not there and the most recent post is January 8.

[Wheelieb]

7 hours ago, HikingMike said:

Thanks! Weird. I see that. But if I go to their X, it’s not there and the most recent post is January 8.

I stopped going to X to see their posts. They post the same thing on instagram. A lot easier to find posts like this on there