BEST DRIVER OF 2024! MOST WANTED

[Guest-0]

2 hours ago, bens197 said:

This is exactly how I've always interpreted the data.  And I chose the word data purposefully.

The margins are relatively close while respecting the number 1.  I know that I will not be able to hit a Cobra driver.  I cannot get that head to setup properly for my eye...but I will certainly respect its ability to perform.

 

And they have been this good for 7 years now!! We are seeing new marketing not clubs!!! I'm with you even though you are a Bears fan man!!! 

Just now, Marlin Dave said:

And they have been this good for 7 years now!! We are seeing new marketing not clubs!!! I'm with you even though you are a Bears fan man!!! 

 

Just now, Marlin Dave said:

Wrong post 

 

[quod erat]

I recently went through a full-bag fitting, courtesy of an off-season thief who thought that grabbing a bag full of old lefty clubs would be worth it. The AI Smoke Max D took the top spot; glad to see it's receiving high praise in this review.

[funkyjudge]

I got to do some extensive driver testing today (both indoors on the SIM and outdoors in 77*F cloudy and windy conditions).  Incliuded in this testing was the "Most Wanted" Ping G430 MAX 10K, plus the TM Qi10, Qi10 LS and QI10 MAX, and the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke, Smoke Max and Smoke TD models. For comparison, I had my Callaway Rogue ST LS TD, and Paradym X drivers and my 2023 Ping G430 MAX drivers.  Here's what I found:

1. The "Most Wanted" Ping G430 MAX 10K is certainly NOT my most wanted driver.  No matter what I did and what adjustments that the fitter and I did to this driver, IT WENT LEFT .... and pretty severely left on less-than-perfect hits.  The trajectory was also very high, even when the adapter was set to its lowest setting (it was a 10.5* head). We tried three different shafts in it and none of them helped this case of the "lefts".
2. Of the three TaylorMade Qi10 models, the MAX initially seemed to be the best fit for me, especially with the Fujikura Speeder NX 50-S shaft (clearly a made-for shaft model) in it. However, after hitting three consecutive "left" drives with the MAX the standard and LS Qi10 models started looking better for me with that same shaft in them, both in terms of distance and dispersion. I hit some other balls to the left with the Qi10 MAX head, but none were severely left and all stayed in play and would have been in the left side of the fairways at virtually every course I play. However, both my backspin and launch angle were too high with this MAX version.
3. Of the three Paradym AI Smoke drivers, the TD was just ever so slightly better for me than the standard AI Smoke model ... and there is absolutely NO WAY that I would consider the MAX version in this driver line. I hit a couple of really long drives with the AI Smoke TD driver (the only 10.5* head that they had -- there were at least (15) 9* and a handful of 8* AI Smoke TD heads but just one single demo head in 10.5* loft. However, I was somewhat inconsistent with the TD, while I was far more consistent with the standard AI Smoke driver, and I could hit the 9* head in this version.
4. In each of these three manufacturers' current drivers, the ones named "MAX" have a closed to VERY closed face angle (the TM Qi10 MAX was the worst at what looked to be about a 3* closed face angle (the fitter confirmed this by putting it on his club measuring gauge where he got between 2.5* and 3.0* closed face angle measurements).

I'm currently sticking with what I am playing in the driver slot (Callaway Rogue ST LS TD at 9.0* loft), and if I were to change drivers in 2024, it would be a difficult decision between the standard TM Qi10 and the Paradym AI Smoke TD model (distance nod goes to the Callaway; consistency goes to the standard TM Qi10).

[TG8]

Considering my ai smoke was delivered the day after the test results.. id say im pretty happy to see my new driver ranked 2nd and most importantly they raved about added forgiveness and thats why I skipped the paradym 

Edited March 15 by TG8
Typo

[Guest-0]

1 hour ago, funkyjudge said:

I got to do some extensive driver testing today (both indoors on the SIM and outdoors in 77*F cloudy and windy conditions).  Incliuded in this testing was the "Most Wanted" Ping G430 MAX 10K, plus the TM Qi10, Qi10 LS and QI10 MAX, and the Callaway Paradym AI Smoke, Smoke Max and Smoke TD models. For comparison, I had my Callaway Rogue ST LS TD, and Paradym X drivers and my 2023 Ping G430 MAX drivers.  Here's what I found:

1. The "Most Wanted" Ping G430 MAX 10K is certainly NOT my most wanted driver.  No matter what I did and what adjustments that the fitter and I did to this driver, IT WENT LEFT .... and pretty severely left on less-than-perfect hits.  The trajectory was also very high, even when the adapter was set to its lowest setting (it was a 10.5* head). We tried three different shafts in it and none of them helped this case of the "lefts".
2. Of the three TaylorMade Qi10 models, the MAX initially seemed to be the best fit for me, especially with the Fujikura Speeder NX 50-S shaft (clearly a made-for shaft model) in it. However, after hitting three consecutive "left" drives with the MAX the standard and LS Qi10 models started looking better for me with that same shaft in them, both in terms of distance and dispersion. I hit some other balls to the left with the Qi10 MAX head, but none were severely left and all stayed in play and would have been in the left side of the fairways at virtually every course I play. However, both my backspin and launch angle were too high with this MAX version.
3. Of the three Paradym AI Smoke drivers, the TD was just ever so slightly better for me than the standard AI Smoke model ... and there is absolutely NO WAY that I would consider the MAX version in this driver line. I hit a couple of really long drives with the AI Smoke TD driver (the only 10.5* head that they had -- there were at least (15) 9* and a handful of 8* AI Smoke TD heads but just one single demo head in 10.5* loft. However, I was somewhat inconsistent with the TD, while I was far more consistent with the standard AI Smoke driver, and I could hit the 9* head in this version.
4. In each of these three manufacturers' current drivers, the ones named "MAX" have a closed to VERY closed face angle (the TM Qi10 MAX was the worst at what looked to be about a 3* closed face angle (the fitter confirmed this by putting it on his club measuring gauge where he got between 2.5* and 3.0* closed face angle measurements).

I'm currently sticking with what I am playing in the driver slot (Callaway Rogue ST LS TD at 9.0* loft), and if I were to change drivers in 2024, it would be a difficult decision between the standard TM Qi10 and the Paradym AI Smoke TD model (distance nod goes to the Callaway; consistency goes to the standard TM Qi10).

Living proof of why fittings are needed. I hit a baby draw as my everyday shot and since getting the G430 MAX 10k I can barely hit the baby draw and now have a slight fade which iam enjoying. I have to try real hard to make it go left. I did hit the SFT version of that club and every shot was a snap hook for me. I was torn between Max10k and Qi10Max but bought the PING and love it.

[BIGGIE_090]

Reading now

[DukeStKing]

12 hours ago, BIGGIE_090 said:

Reading now

 

[DukeStKing]

I’ve always gone with Max drivers because I want the forgiveness- a ball that lands in the fairway has a much better chance of going further than one that lands in the rough. But with a negative or neutral AoA, I could benefit from low spin. Thank you Ping for providing the best of both worlds for me. I hit the 10k comparing it with the Ai Smoke Max and had better numbers because of the lower spin. I was also amazed to see the ball speed was faster with the Ping than the Callaway. My original session, I was unimpressed the the 10k, hitting it with the Hzrdus Red. The next time I used the Alta 55 and my numbers were perfect with higher ball speed. So back to Ping for me after owning a 425 and standard Paradym most recently. Looking forward to hitting more fairways. Considering the fact that the 425 has made it on the Most Wanted list, I would imagine the 430 10k will be in for a long run. 

[chisag]

On 3/17/2024 at 8:58 AM, DukeStKing said:

I’ve always gone with Max drivers because I want the forgiveness- a ball that lands in the fairway has a much better chance of going further than one that lands in the rough. 

 

... Maybe in NJ and my old home in the Chicago burbs, but here in Phoenix most courses produce more roll in the rough than the fairway.  There are several holes on my home course where landing in the rough just off the fairway and catching a downslope, can add up to 30 more yards. That said, you need to be even more accurate with the tee shot to hit that speed slot and a little too far from the edge of the fairway can put you in jail.

... What I find interesting playing golf all over the country, courses always seems to have trade offs. We get much more roll in the desert and with an accurate tee shot it is awesome, but pushing or pulling one a little too much that would just stop in the rough on most courses, here with fast hard fairways the ball just won't stop and rolls into the desert. 

[HikingMike]

On 3/13/2024 at 2:11 PM, chiguy said:

I was extremely shocked to see the AI Smoke MAX finish behind the Triple Diamond in almost every category! I have been going back and forth between those two and thought there would be a significant difference in the forgiveness numbers but doesn't appear to be the case! I am really curious to see the breakdown by swing speed and if there are any clear insights that jump out there.

I hit the Triple Diamond better than the Max (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke) ... so there's my anecdotal 2 cents. It was really good. Swing speed in the fitting was about 106-108 mph. 

Here was my best hit among the Ai Smokes, with the Triple Diamond, good center strike-

Looking back at the photos I took... I didn't take a photo on every shot, but it looks like I took 6 photos with the Max and all were higher spin than the TD, all but one over 3,000 rpm. We were trying different shafts and settings too.

Here's my longest one with the Ai Smoke MAX, which also is the only one with under 3,000 spin-

This fitting was in late January too, and I was definitely out of practice, so that can color the results.

[arodrig29]

2 minutes ago, HikingMike said:

I hit the Triple Diamond better than the Max (Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke) ... so there's my anecdotal 2 cents. It was really good. Swing speed in the fitting was about 106-108 mph. 

Here was my best hit among the Ai Smokes, with the Triple Diamond, good center strike-

Looking back at the photos I took... I didn't take a photo on every shot, but it looks like I took 6 photos with the Max and all were higher spin than the TD, all but one over 3,000 rpm. We were trying different shafts and settings too.

Here's my longest one with the Ai Smoke MAX, which also is the only one with under 3,000 spin-

This fitting was in late January too, and I was definitely out of practice, so that can color the results.

This is good stuff. I have heard/read from several sources that the new TD is much more forgiving than previous iterations. I am going to get fitted for it soon. Let's see how it compares to the Rogue ST Max.  

[HikingMike]

Oh yeah I forgot I had a decent Trackman report on this one!

Ai Smoke Max 9.0 with stiff shaft

Ai Smoke Max 9.0 with X-stiff shaft 

Ai Smoke Max 10.5 with stiff shaft 

Ai Smoke Triple Diamond 9.0 with X-stiff shaft... yup

[walkerdb7]

On 3/14/2024 at 12:52 PM, chisag said:

... All these drivers today are just so good, that a personal preference based on looks won't be much different than another. I doubt most anyone could be fit for the Qi10 Max 10k and Ping 430 Max 10k and with well fit shafts for their swing, find much difference between the two. Sure a few yards farther or shorter, or a little better or worse dispersion and of course a personal preference for sound/feel/looks can make one much more desirable than the other. But pure performance will be very close.

I think I suffered from some of this. Winter in Chicago, did a fitting in January, and so there was rust... Started with Callaway and Ping, got into a grove with the Qi10 Max and DarkSpeed X and then went back to Callaway and Ping. 

I instantly noticed all the different lines, colors, seams, and the turbulators more so than I normally would. I feel like subconsciously I might have messed with the with the face angle or alignment and that didn't help me swing freely. The Taylormade and Cobras looked like works of art side by side with the Callaway or Ping products. I previously played a Ping G400 and had no issues with the turbulators on course though... I think it's almost like buying a TV?

You notice the differences in the store side by side, but you don't once you are home? haha

Edited March 21 by walkerdb7

[daverain1]

On 3/13/2024 at 11:16 AM, d0m41n said:

I am super happy with the results as someone who just bought the AI Smoke Max. While it was the "worst" of the AI Smoke's, seeing the straight shot % at 51.9 is amazing and can attest. So many great options out there. Love all the hard work MGS!

I went to GOLFTEC to get fitted expecting to upgrade my Ping G425 Max to a 430 10K.  Surprise - the big winner was the AiSmoke Max (over Ping, TM, Cobra.)  The Ai Smoke Draw was just a hook machine for me - the adjustability in the Max was a difference maker.   I only played on round with it, but hit some drives 20 yards past where my good drives from the Ping would end up.    I also went to a softer/lighter shaft than the Vylyn 65 g stiff I was playing.   I had some mishits (blaming it on the different shaft) and the ball still carried well and in play.  At the fitting my swing speed jumped from 85ish to 95 ish with no loss in dispersion.   And the Cally was longer than the Ping 10K for me - I went back and tried the Ping again last just to be sure.

Edited March 22 by daverain1

[arodrig29]

22 minutes ago, daverain1 said:

I went to GOLFTEC to get fitted expecting to upgrade my Ping G425 Max to a 430 10K.  Surprise - the big winner was the AiSmoke Max (over Ping, TM, Cobra.)  The Ai Smoke Draw was just a hook machine for me - the adjustability in the Max was a difference maker.   I only played on round with it, but hit some drives 20 yards past where my good drives from the Ping would end up.    I also went to a softer/lighter shaft than the Vylyn 65 g stiff I was playing.   I had some mishits (blaming it on the different shaft) and the ball still carried well and in play.  At the fitting my swing speed jumped from 85ish to 95 ish with no loss in dispersion.   And the Cally was longer than the Ping 10K for me - I went back and tried the Ping again last just to be sure.

this is helpful as the two driver I was considering were with the 10k Ping or the Smoke Max. 

[StrokerAce]

the follow up to the article with an AskMyGolfSpy list of questions ...

https://mygolfspy.com/news-opinion/askmygolfspy-vol-43-most-wanted-driver-2024/

[HikingMike]

On 3/13/2024 at 11:31 AM, 03trdblack said:

Could possibly say that Wilson Carbon > Ping G430 Max 10K?? 

 

On 3/14/2024 at 8:47 AM, FightingScot82 said:

I feel like it should have been the Best Value winner because it performed MUCH better than the K Sig but is still a couple hundred less than the 430 Max 10K and most others. Yeah its list price is $499 but since Wilson Staff doesn't move product I'm seeing it discounted to $399 in several places.

I'm confused about the scoring because the performance comparison you show on here doesn't correspond to the scoring. There are some very small differences in stats but bigger difference in scoring to push the 430 Max 10K ahead of Dynapower Carbon.

I'm glad you guys pointed this one out. I would also agree, I'd like to see it in there as best value winner, or at least give the best value award to both the Wilson and the Kirkland. It looks like they put a Fujikura shaft in those too. 

This was intriguing to me so I decided to dig into the numbers more. Below are the tables for the MGS Scores (Distance, Accuracy, Forgiveness, Overall) with the Wilson Dynapower Carbon underlined. Looking at both these scores and the original measured numbers, it shows how close these really are. The MGS Scores spread them out a bit more. It makes sense, that's the way it should work. But like @03trdblack's screenshot, the Wilson Dynapower Carbon is really not far off the Ping G430 MAX 10K. I think their new stat for which drivers showed up as in the top 5 for the different testers factored in. I like that top 5 addition. 

The Wilson's worst showing was distance, and that is the highest weighted one at 40% of the MGS Score. It is in the top half though. And carry distance averaged almost the exact same as the Ping G430 MAX 10K, only 3/100ths off. It's also only 1.1 yards shorter than the carry distance of the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond, which got 2nd in distance.

The Wilson does great at Accuracy in 3rd spot, just 0.1 behind the Tour Edge Exotics E723. The Straight Shot % is just 1.6% below the Ping, though the Dispersion is smaller, and the 6th smallest of the whole group. The Wilson was in the top 5 for 20% of the testers in Straight Shot %. Despite their closeness in average numbers, the Ping has a top 5 in Straight Shot of 31.4% testers. The Wilson is also in the top 5 for 20% of testers for Dispersion, which is the same as the Ping.

It looks like the Tour Edge was in the top 5 for Straight Shot% for 22.9% of testers, so it gained a slight edge on the Wilson for the Accuracy rating that way, and it ended up as the Runner Up for Accuracy to the Ping. But looking at the other top 5 ratings, the Tour Edge is close but slightly lower than the Wilson in Dispersion, and much farther down on Carry and Total Yards. The odd thing is, when I go to the launch monitor data, both Dispersion and Straight Shot% are a bit worse on the Tour Edge compared to the Wilson. So I have to think that extra top 5 that the Tour Edge had in Straight Shot% made the difference. Otherwise the Wilson would have been Runner Up in Accuracy. The Wilson seems more well rounded though with a better ranking in distance and overall MGS Score. 

The Wilson's Forgiveness score is solidly above average for the group. I guess I don't have anything I can add from the launch monitor data table since those are averages. 

And the Wilson shows up as 10th in the combined MGS Score (out of 37). It had some good top 5 numbers too, though it didn't put up any really big top 5 numbers like the Pings or Callaways did. 

In summary, it looks like the Wilson Dynapower Carbon is damn good

What you can also see here is that the Ping G430 MAX 10K is a an accuracy monster. At 9.6, it's a full 0.8 points ahead of the next closest, the Tour Edge (with the Wilson just 0.1 behind). There is a Mizuno in there at 8.5. But after that, the next big manufacturer is Callaway with an 8.1 on the Paradym Ai Smoke Max. That's 1.5 points difference, which seems massive.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D is indeed a distance monster, not as huge of margin, but it's there with a 0.5 point gap to the next highest. 

Like several others have said, these are not the scores for you. They are the scores for a specific group of testers, a fairly large group. It's a great way to rate them and talk about them. But your results will not be the same. And we're not robots always hitting the same either

Ordered by Distance

Ordered by Accuracy

Ordered by Forgiveness

Ordered by combined MGS Score

Oh here's the weighting on Distance, Accuracy, Forgiveness scores too-

[StrokerAce]

11 minutes ago, HikingMike said:

I'm glad you guys pointed this one out. I would also agree, I'd like to see it in there as best value winner, or at least give the best value award to both the Wilson and the Kirkland. It looks like they put a Fujikura shaft in those too. 

This was intriguing to me so I decided to dig into the numbers more. Below are the tables for the MGS Scores (Distance, Accuracy, Forgiveness, Overall) with the Wilson Dynapower Carbon underlined. Looking at both these scores and the original measured numbers, it shows how close these really are. The MGS Scores spread them out a bit more. It makes sense, that's the way it should work. But like @03trdblack's screenshot, the Wilson Dynapower Carbon is really not far off the Ping G430 MAX 10K. I think their new stat for which drivers showed up as in the top 5 for the different testers factored in. I like that top 5 addition. 

The Wilson's worst showing was distance, and that is the highest weighted one at 40% of the MGS Score. It is in the top half though. And carry distance averaged almost the exact same as the Ping G430 MAX 10K, only 3/100ths off. It's also only 1.1 yards shorter than the carry distance of the Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond, which got 2nd in distance.

The Wilson does great at Accuracy in 3rd spot, just 0.1 behind the Tour Edge Exotics E723. The Straight Shot % is just 1.6% below the Ping, though the Dispersion is smaller, and the 6th smallest of the whole group. The Wilson was in the top 5 for 20% of the testers in Straight Shot %. Despite their closeness in average numbers, the Ping has a top 5 in Straight Shot of 31.4% testers. The Wilson is also in the top 5 for 20% of testers for Dispersion, which is the same as the Ping.

It looks like the Tour Edge was in the top 5 for Straight Shot% for 22.9% of testers, so it gained a slight edge on the Wilson for the Accuracy rating that way, and it ended up as the Runner Up for Accuracy to the Ping. But looking at the other top 5 ratings, the Tour Edge is close but slightly lower than the Wilson in Dispersion, and much farther down on Carry and Total Yards. The odd thing is, when I go to the launch monitor data, both Dispersion and Straight Shot% are a bit worse on the Tour Edge compared to the Wilson. So I have to think that extra top 5 that the Tour Edge had in Straight Shot% made the difference. Otherwise the Wilson would have been Runner Up in Accuracy. The Wilson seems more well rounded though with a better ranking in distance and overall MGS Score. 

The Wilson's Forgiveness score is solidly above average for the group. I guess I don't have anything I can add from the launch monitor data table since those are averages. 

And the Wilson shows up as 10th in the combined MGS Score (out of 37). It had some good top 5 numbers too, though it didn't put up any really big top 5 numbers like the Pings or Callaways did. 

In summary, it looks like the Wilson Dynapower Carbon is damn good

What you can also see here is that the Ping G430 MAX 10K is a an accuracy monster. At 9.6, it's a full 0.8 points ahead of the next closest, the Tour Edge (with the Wilson just 0.1 behind). There is a Mizuno in there at 8.5. But after that, the next big manufacturer is Callaway with an 8.1 on the Paradym Ai Smoke Max. That's 1.5 points difference, which seems massive.

The Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Max D is indeed a distance monster, not as huge of margin, but it's there with a 0.5 point gap to the next highest. 

Like several others have said, these are not the scores for you. They are the scores for a specific group of testers, a fairly large group. It's a great way to rate them and talk about them. But your results will not be the same. And we're not robots always hitting the same either

Ordered by Distance

Ordered by Accuracy

Ordered by Forgiveness

Ordered by combined MGS Score

Oh here's the weighting on Distance, Accuracy, Forgiveness scores too-

not to mention that the gains between this year and last year are nominal.

I'll agree with your assessment on the best value being the Kirkland; you can't try that in a bay, you can't change the shaft, you just have to take your best guess and hope you're right. Even at 200.00 that's still a big gamble. 

I'd like to see the best value club be one that you can at least demo in a bay, if not have a few diff shaft selections.

my understanding is that noticeable differences won't be seen until your driver is 5-6 years old. OF COURSE THAT VARIES AND IS NOT A FACT... but, to your point, the differences between some of the scores is very small and if you're looking for a club you shouldn't exclude the Wilson on name alone.

Also - and I learned this in the call yesterday - don't ignore the "Max" heads even if you're not a slow swing player... 

long story short: ignore the marketing and test them all !

 

Edited March 22 by StrokerAce

[chisag]

23 minutes ago, StrokerAce said:

not to mention that the gains between this year and last year are nominal.

my understanding is that noticeable differences won't be seen until your driver is 5-6 years old. OF COURSE THAT VARIES AND IS NOT A FACT... but, to your point, the differences between some of the scores is very small and if you're looking for a club you shouldn't exclude the Wilson on name alone.

Also - and I learned this in the call yesterday - don't ignore the "Max" heads even if you're not a slow swing player... 

long story short: ignore the marketing and test them all !

 

 

... Good stuff. I usually get a new driver most every year although sometimes every 2 years. Much more often than not there is little to no performance difference, especially more distance. More a look, a feel or a sound that is different and more pleasing. Obviously that is very subjective.

... As an example going from the OG Sim Max to the Sim2 Max on the premise of more forgiveness in the Sim2, I found zero difference. I did not get along with the OG Stealth as well as not liking the look at address, and played my Sim2 Max a 2nd season. The Stealth2 HD actually gave me a few more yards but was more accurate than my Sim2. I was very pleased with my S2 HD and only the promise of 10k MOI worth of forgiveness in the Qi10 Max prompted me to "upgrade". In my fitting that was indoors, I didn't hit the Qi10 Max or standard head very well which is normal for me indoors and the fitter recommended the Max.

... On the course I hated the Max right from my first swing. Looking down at the very large head did not fill me with confidence. For whatever reason, I hit very poor shots with too many big draws to out right hooks and after 5 rounds it was glaringly apparent the Max was not a good driver for me, even though on paper it should have been as well as being fit for the Max by a TM rep. Using the 90 day exchange, I swapped it out for the standard Qi10 and fully expected to play it a few rounds and then sell it and go back to my S2 HD. 

... To say I was surprised by the performance of the standard Qi10 is a huge understatement. I have gained 10+ yds pretty regularly which has netted as much as 25 extra yards because I am hitting downslopes I normally couldn't reach. And very forgiving for my swing, especially a little high toward the toe which is my normal miss that reduces the same yardage or even a hair longer than dead center. This is the first driver in basically forever that has been longer and more accurate and after a fitting recommending something different, I basically stumbled onto the best driver I have ever played. So as you said "long story short: ignore the marketing and test them all !" is some pretty good advice. 

[Canadoc]

Funny I used to love these articles. But now I think there is so much data that can be produced that can't be captured that the small differences between most clubs in the test are meaningless.

For example. I just got fit into an AI smoke Max. I got a 10.5* head lifted down to 9.5* Denali black stiff shaft.
This would never have been an option in this test. The stock lift 10.5*with the stock Tensei 55 gram stiff shaft would not have given me amazing numbers! Even trying the 9* head with same shaft led to very low spinning left shots and I would have never considered this driver.

I think in club head adjustments with weights loft adjustments and shaft options will have a much bigger performance then the composite average shot to shot variability.

Also for me the combo I got fit into have me launch of 14.5 spin 2300 and down range dispersion was excellent.

Chances are if I went with a taylormade or Cobra or Ping and tried enough loft head options and played saying with weights and sleeve settings I could make most work.

At end of day, I liked the look feel of the Callaway the most. I also believe that the face technology and off center hit performance was best in class except maybe the long which was more expensive with in my opinion an ugly appearance.



Sent from my SM-S918W using Tapatalk

[cnosil]

6 hours ago, Canadoc said:

For example. I just got fit into an AI smoke Max. I got a 10.5* head lifted down to 9.5* Denali black stiff shaft.
This would never have been an option in this test. The stock lift 10.5*with the stock Tensei 55 gram stiff shaft would not have given me amazing numbers! Even trying the 9* head with same shaft led to very low spinning left shots and I would have never considered this driver.

 

You purchased an upgraded shaft not one of the stock options.  There are more stock options than the Tensei 55 gram shaft.   You also tried the club and got fit which is the recommendation from the MGS team no matter what the results indicate.  

Edited April 2 by cnosil

[Canabuc]

1 hour ago, cnosil said:

You purchased an upgraded shaft not one of the stock options.  There are more stock options than the Tensei 55 gram shaft.   You also tried the club and got fit which is the recommendation from the MGS team no matter what the results indicate.  

Actually the Denali black is the stock option on the true diamond and is available for the Max no charge.

When you go into a store generally the Max is paired with 55gram Tensei and 3D with the Denali. Also my understanding is that when these clubs are tested weights and sleeve settings are not adjusted.bir are hit in stock setting.

[Canabuc]

What I am saying is the the in club adjustments have such a big impact in performance that it might overshadow the small differences between manufacturers at stock set ups.

[cnosil]

42 minutes ago, Canabuc said:

Actually the Denali black is the stock option on the true diamond and is available for the Max no charge.

When you go into a store generally the Max is paired with 55gram Tensei and 3D with the Denali. Also my understanding is that when these clubs are tested weights and sleeve settings are not adjusted.bir are hit in stock setting.

For the Max it is a custom option so it is not stock.   
 

as one of the most wanted testers I can assure you that the testers are ft for the best provided stock shaft that works for them and the weights and sleeve setting are also optimized for the testers.   

[Canabuc]

7 minutes ago, cnosil said:

For the Max it is a custom option so it is not stock.   
 

as one of the most wanted testers I can assure you that the testers are ft for the best provided stock shaft that works for them and the weights and sleeve setting are also optimized for the testers.   

I would love to hear more about that. I know my self it took close to an hour of testing with the 3 stock shafts and different lofts, sleeve and weight track to find a perfect fit.

If a tester has to do that for each driver it would take each tester upwards of 40 hours per tester to ensure a best fit scenario...

[cnosil]

7 minutes ago, Canabuc said:

I would love to hear more about that. I know my self it took close to an hour of testing with the 3 stock shafts and different lofts, sleeve and weight track to find a perfect fit.

If a tester has to do that for each driver it would take each tester upwards of 40 hours per tester to ensure a best fit scenario...

you need to understand the intent of most wanted testing.  It is designed for the person that walks into the store and buys off the rack or maybe spends a little time trying the clubs.   The results are designed to show which will potentially work best if that is your approach.   Based on your statements, that isn’t how you purchased your driver; which is more of an ideal approach.

as for fitting each driver,  the testers are mostly repeat testers and the team understands our needs and tendencies so the drivers are initially fit to what they think will work when we arrive.  Many of the testers are also fairly knowledgeable on what is needed. We warm up and then hit some shots with each driver to see how it performs.  Adjustments are made to get a better fit and into good launch conditions. if necessary.  No, it isn’t an in-depth fitting,  but adjustments are made when possible.  There are times that the stock options do not work for the individual tester and performance is less than ideal.    

[arodrig29]

3 minutes ago, cnosil said:

you need to understand the intent of most wanted testing.  It is designed for the person that walks into the store and buys off the rack or maybe spends a little time trying the clubs.   The results are designed to show which will potentially work best if that is your approach.   Based on your statements, that isn’t how you purchased your driver; which is more of an ideal approach.

as for fitting each driver,  the testers are mostly repeat testers and the team understands our needs and tendencies so the drivers are initially fit to what they think will work when we arrive.  Many of the testers are also fairly knowledgeable on what is needed. We warm up and then hit some shots with each driver to see how it performs.  Adjustments are made to get a better fit and into good launch conditions. if necessary.  No, it isn’t an in-depth fitting,  but adjustments are made when possible.  There are times that the stock options do not work for the individual tester and performance is less than ideal.    

that helps with clarity a ton, thanks. I was curious on the process as well. 

Edited April 2 by arodrig29

[GolfSpy_APH]

14 minutes ago, Canabuc said:

I would love to hear more about that. I know my self it took close to an hour of testing with the 3 stock shafts and different lofts, sleeve and weight track to find a perfect fit.

If a tester has to do that for each driver it would take each tester upwards of 40 hours per tester to ensure a best fit scenario...

Man of the testers have been there for a few years and Phillip is very good at identifying a golfers tendencies so they make the adjustments and once that is done with one driver they have a great baseline to work off of which helps cut down on the process. 

[Canabuc]

Thanks makes more sense.

Hopefully the message of getting fit gets through as that might be the most important thing. I know for me had I went with the stock shaft and loft on the Smoke Max I would not have purchased. My dispersion launch spin and distance were so much  better even without adding any upcharges to my configuration.

A cool feature if you use repeat testers would be a section of comparing to their own gamer. This way the audience could see if someone who plays a similar setup to them is deriving a bigger benefit and that data may be more applicable.

 

Eg the Max D scored better than Max but for me it just hit hooks all day and would be unplayable, but in someone's hands who fades the ball it might be Nirvana.

[nvizble1]

Nice shout out from Ping for MGS on the NBC broadcast today!

Big time exposure!