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MyGolfSpy's 2013 ULTIMATE Driver Test


Tony Covey MGS

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Here's your brief update from yesterday:

 

Testing went very smoothly...100% according to plan. I haven't imported the data into the master sheet yet, however; my best guess as a participant and an observer is that the number 1 overall spot - MyGolfSpy's Most Wanted Driver - is going to be very, very close, and my belief at this point is that it's down to 2 drivers.

 

I saw nothing yesterday (again...eyeballs, no data yet) that alters my belief in the distance winners. Accuracy is perhaps a bit more blurry than I expected, but probably not enough of a change to alter the final results.

 

Consistency...honestly, I have no idea whatsoever.

 

Here's the story...

We are inside of the final 40 shots! By 1:00PM Eastern Time tomorrow testing will be completed.

When all is said and done, our testers will have spent over 30 hours testing clubs, and will have hit in excess of 3000 combined shots.

We're confident that this is 3 times over the most extensive driver performance test you're going to see this year.

 

GolfSpy X and will spend a good bit of next week organizing and preparing, and our goal is to publish results beginning Monday April 15th.

 

For reasons that have to do with space on the page, and not wanting to completely overload the casual reader we're not going to immediately publish all the raw data we normally include in a review. WE MOST CERTAINLY WILL PUBLISH EVERY LAST BIT OF IT...it's just that with so many clubs we have a metric s#%t-ton of data to sift through, so it's going to take me a little extra time to put those charts together. Obviously the most important thing is to get the initial (overall results) published. The raw data (launch angle, spin rates, ball speeds, etc.) will lag a bit behind, but to re-iterate, we absolutely will publish it.

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I know who the winner is...I know who the winner is.

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I know who the winner is...I know who the winner is.

 

Then get typing... We're waiting.

My Bag:
Driver - 
:cobra-small:  King F6+

3 Wood -  :callaway-small: XR16
Hybrids -  :srixon-small:  ZH45
Irons -  :mizuno-small:  JPX 850 Pro

Wedges -  :callaway-small: Mac Daddy 2
Putter -   :taylormade-small: Spider Tour Red
Bag - Ogio Grom Stand

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Drum roll please!!!! And the winner is........

 

Your arms are gonna be tired, because you'll be drum rolling for a week......

 

This is as exciting as Opening Day at the Ballpark (I was at The Trop with my bride) ....or The Final Four Games in Atlanta.....or the Semi-annual Two Day Golf Tourney next weekend at Pebble Creek(I run the tourney).

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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X and I have spent the last couple of days plotting the release of the results of our test. Because you guys have been following this from the beginning, I wanted to share with you the schedule.

 

Thursday 4/11 - Meet the Contestants (background, testing procedures, participants, specs)

Monday 4/15 - Distance

Tuesday 4/16 - Accuracy

Wednesday 4/17 - Overall [with link to massive data chart...I hope]

 

The following week we will be publishing testing notes, behind the scenes info...that sort of thing. The data is the data, and we believe strongly in that....but there are always details that can't be seen with a simple yardage number and score...I'm going to share that sort of thing.

 

Finally...we're going to provide mailbag links...essentially we're giving you guys the opportunity to ask whatever it is you'd like to ask about the test, the testers, the clubs, etc.. Depending on volume we may not answer everything, but we are definitely looking forward to the opportunity to fill in any information you feel like we may have missed.

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Awesome cant wait!

MY BAG-

Driver- Taylormade SLDR 12* (Speeder 7.2vc tour spec S)

3 Wood- Taylormade R11(bimatrix prototype S)

3 Hybrid- Ping I20(stock S)

Irons-Taylormade Tour Perferred MC ( C Taper S)

Wedges- 50, 54, and 58 SCOR4161( KBS)

Putter-Taylormade Ghost Corza.

 

All Left Handed!

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X and I have spent the last couple of days plotting the release of the results of our test. Because you guys have been following this from the beginning, I wanted to share with you the schedule.

 

Thursday 4/11 - Meet the Contestants (background, testing procedures, participants, specs)

Monday 4/15 - Distance

Tuesday 4/16 - Accuracy

Wednesday 4/17 - Overall [with link to massive data chart...I hope]

 

The following week we will be publishing testing notes, behind the scenes info...that sort of thing. The data is the data, and we believe strongly in that....but there are always details that can't be seen with a simple yardage number and score...I'm going to share that sort of thing.

 

Finally...we're going to provide mailbag links...essentially we're giving you guys the opportunity to ask whatever it is you'd like to ask about the test, the testers, the clubs, etc.. Depending on volume we may not answer everything, but we are definitely looking forward to the opportunity to fill in any information you feel like we may have missed.

 

 

Don't you just love it when a Plan comes together?

Driver: image.png.6ba1c8a254ad57aa05e527b74c2e04ba.png0311 XF 10.5* w/Project X Cypher 40 gram Senior shaft or 0811 XF 12* w/Evenflo Riptide CB Senior shaft

Fairways:  image.png.80321f01fc46450b6f428c7daf7b3471.png0211 5W & 7W w/ Evenflo Riptide CB  regular shaft and Tour Edge E521 9W w/Fubuki HD50 regular shaft

Hybrid: None in bag at the moment

IronsTitleist T300 5-PW w/Fubuki MV Senior graphite shafts w/Golf Pride Tour

Wedges: Edison forged 49*, 53* and 57* wedges with KB PGI Senior shafts(80 grm).

Putter: 33” Evnroll ER6R or  ER2 or Bellum Winmore Model 707,   or Nike Method Core Drone  w/Evnroll Gravity Grip

Bag: Vice cart bag(Black/Lime). 

Ball: Snell MTB Prime X, Maxfli Tour/S/X CG, Titleist Pro V1x or Titleist TruFeel

Using Shot Scope X5 and Pinned Rangefinder

 

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As a new member I can not wait for this so I have an idea of what to swing at my local shop!!!!!!

Driver: 2013 Ping Anser 8.5 Aldila Rip XX 47"

Fairway: Cleveland HiBore XLS 3wood 45" VooDoo XVS7

Irons: Taylormade R11's 4-AW KBS Tour X // 3 Iron Mizuno MP-58 KBS TOUR X

Wedges: Cleveland CG15 KBS X

Putter: Ping Zing Karsten 35"

Bag: Nike Navy Blue Carry

Balls: Bridgestone B330 Black & Taylormade Penta TP5

Tees: 4" Zero Friction 3-prong

Whiskey: Crown Royal Neat

Cigars: Gurkha Widow Maker Maduro

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X and I have spent the last couple of days plotting the release of the results of our test. Because you guys have been following this from the beginning, I wanted to share with you the schedule.

 

Thursday 4/11 - Meet the Contestants (background, testing procedures, participants, specs)

Monday 4/15 - Distance

Tuesday 4/16 - Accuracy

Wednesday 4/17 - Overall [with link to massive data chart...I hope]

 

 

Shoot, that's in two days! Awesome!

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Can't wait for the results, the next week is going to be huge, not only do we get the test results, the Masters is on and I am having a custom fitting session for new clubs at Callaway Performance Centre on Monday, its all happening! :)

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Can't wait for the results, the next week is going to be huge, not only do we get the test results, the Masters is on and I am having a custom fitting session for new clubs at Callaway Performance Centre on Monday, its all happening! :)

THAT sounds like the perfect week! Would like to hear your impressions on the Callaway fitting also. If there were any surprises and what you ended up leaning towards or purchasing. Have fun!

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Interesting related story to MyGolfSpy's Ultimate Driver Test. The "other" golf blog has a story about Edwin Watts doing some driver testing for their advertising and coming up with surprising results. Now, this is all off the rack drivers but they set up a robot to hit off various spots on the club face of all the drivers and posted the leaders in different categories like distance, ball speed etc.

It's a selling tool for Edwin Watts and has to be taken with a grain of salt, but what I found interesting is that the Wilson D-100 ended up with the leaders in many categories (ok, I'm a bit of a Wilson fan boy like many on here). Kind of dovetails with T's observation that his senior hitter had an outstanding day with the Wilson driver. Great ball speed and forgiveness...

The two sources makes me want to hit the club.

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THAT sounds like the perfect week! Would like to hear your impressions on the Callaway fitting also. If there were any surprises and what you ended up leaning towards or purchasing. Have fun!

Thanks mate, will certainly post my experiences after Mondays session, it's for irons & wedges but I am going to try the drivers and hybrids too, its not often you get this chance so im taking advantage of it :)

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I'm sure you've covered this already, but with the adjustable drivers, were they tweaked (face angle, weights, not custom shafts) for each person before the testing began? Or did you go with stock set-up for every driver?

Driver: Callaway Optiforce 440 9.5* with Diamama Blue S+ 62g Stiff shaft

3 and 5 wood: Callaway Big Bertha with Fubuki Z65 Stiff

Hybrid: Wilson FG Tour 4 hybrid

Irons: 5 iron: Cleveland Altitude Stiff; 6 -PW Callaway Apex Pro, KBS Tour-V Stff

Wedges: 51*, 55* and 58* SCORE with Genius Stiff

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Excellent... Up until last weekend I had no intention of buying a new driver, but this post has been making me antsy... Then I tried my brother in laws RBZ... I'm not g Nona say I LOVED it, but it felt so much better than the KZG driver I'm playing now... Once I read the results I plan to go out and try out some drivers...

 

Can't wait to see the results...

My Bag:
Driver - 
:cobra-small:  King F6+

3 Wood -  :callaway-small: XR16
Hybrids -  :srixon-small:  ZH45
Irons -  :mizuno-small:  JPX 850 Pro

Wedges -  :callaway-small: Mac Daddy 2
Putter -   :taylormade-small: Spider Tour Red
Bag - Ogio Grom Stand

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In the market for a new driver. Took my Cobra S9-1 (9.5, ProLaunch Red stiff) to a shop to compare against new drivers. The S9-1 gave me over 3800 in spin for a 105 SS. Was close to walking out with a X-Hot but we still had snow on the ground so I waited. I liked the F12 as well. Currenly have my eye on the Anser. Was at Dick's today and saw a R11s with a "TP" shaft for $249, with my $30 coupon it would have been $219 out the door....but I kept thinking of the driver test results and decided to wait.....patiently.

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  • 1 month later...

A question I have now that's its been a bit since results were published. Have any of the testers purchased their "best" for them driver and have they remained in play?

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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A question I have now that's its been a bit since results were published. Have any of the testers purchased their "best" for them driver and have they remained in play?

When I was fitted(prior to the testing), I went with the R1. My dispersion was best with the 913D2 and pro force V2 shaft combo. Averaged around 289 with that on the monitor. I averaged about 307 with the R1 phenom TP setup. Even though they told me the simulator is accurate within 3 yards I knew better. My yardage is prob closer to 270-275 on the course but I'm fine with that. I have been hitting driver well this year. I went with the R1 because of the distance but have actually been playing the Black Ops Pearl shaft in it. Tim from USPG was nice enough to ship me one and I love it! Feels more stable than the Phenom and yardage is similar. I can go after it a little harder with the Pearl as well and keep it in play. I really like the R1 and plan to keep it in the bag. I may experiment with an older club and have my brother sera coat it. He is a gun man and does that kind of stuff. Wanna try it out on a different club before I hit the R1 with it. I prefer black on the crown if I can get it there without hurting the club.

Driver: Titleist 915 D2 9.5 with Diamana Whiteboard S flex

3 wood: Titleist 915F 15*, Whiteboard S Flex

Titleist 915H 18* and 24* with Whiteboard SFlex

Irons: Mizuno JPX EZ Forged 4-PW with S300's

Wedges: Mizuno MP T4 50*, 56* with DG Spinner

Putter:MannKrafted Long Slope or Odyssey #7 Versa Metal milled or Betti Tour Stock;

Ball: Bridgestone B330 or Titleist NXT

Bag: Titleist 'Murica colored carry bag or

MyGolfSpy Tour Bag

 

RH, Western KY

 

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A question I have now that's its been a bit since results were published. Have any of the testers purchased their "best" for them driver and have they remained in play?

 

In most cases the results were not so absolutely cut and dry that I could definitively say "YES - this is most definitely the best driver for you". It really came down to where you place the premium...is it distance, accuracy, total driving, or even the nebulous consistency, which we have numbers for, but didn't include in our results (at least we haven't published that info yet.

 

Running down the list...

 

  • Brian played the PING Anser going into the test. He continues to play it today, although he was very interested in the Titleist 913.
  • Blake could have made a serious argument for the AFO, RBZ Stage 2, and the Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme. He chose the Xtreme and is hitting it very well. He's going back and forth between the 7m3 and a Talamonti LS shaft he picked up.
  • Joe chose the PING G25, which by my estimation was not anywhere near the ideal choice of him (I had it ranked 6th for him). I think he left some distance on the table, but he's cashing nearly every round so...
  • Lou was the one absolute "THIS IS THE DRIVER FOR YOU" in the field. He killed the XHot. He bagged it, and is consistently 20 yards farther than he was last year, and is seldom far from the fairway.
  • Mark settled on the Mizuno JPX-825 (after debating taking the Wishon 919THI). I haven't checked in with him lately.
  • Tony (me) Although it didn't give me the best numbers during the test I'm playing with the AMP Cell Pro right now, and experimenting with shafts (with solid results so far). The Stage 2 stood out for me, and I think there's probably some more accuracy to be gained. I may try a couple different shafts in that as well. The other curiosities for me (Nike Covert, Cleveland Classic XL, Wilson D100, and RAZR Fit) probably won't find their way to the course.

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In most cases the results were not so absolutely cut and dry that I could definitively say "YES - this is most definitely the best driver for you". It really came down to where you place the premium...is it distance, accuracy, total driving, or even the nebulous consistency, which we have numbers for, but didn't include in our results (at least we haven't published that info yet.

 

Running down the list...

 

  • Brian played the PING Anser going into the test. He continues to play it today, although he was very interested in the Titleist 913.
  • Blake could have made a serious argument for the AFO, RBZ Stage 2, and the Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme. He chose the Xtreme and is hitting it very well. He's going back and forth between the 7m3 and a Talamonti LS shaft he picked up.
  • Joe chose the PING G25, which by my estimation was not anywhere near the ideal choice of him (I had it ranked 6th for him). I think he left some distance on the table, but he's cashing nearly every round so...
  • Lou was the one absolute "THIS IS THE DRIVER FOR YOU" in the field. He killed the XHot. He bagged it, and is consistently 20 yards farther than he was last year, and is seldom far from the fairway.
  • Mark settled on the Mizuno JPX-825 (after debating taking the Wishon 919THI). I haven't checked in with him lately.
  • Tony (me) Although it didn't give me the best numbers during the test I'm playing with the AMP Cell Pro right now, and experimenting with shafts (with solid results so far). The Stage 2 stood out for me, and I think there's probably some more accuracy to be gained. I may try a couple different shafts in that as well. The other curiosities for me (Nike Covert, Cleveland Classic XL, Wilson D100, and RAZR Fit) probably won't find their way to the course.

 

Thanks, I was just curious as to how many switched from the results of this test. The ones that did switch, did you notice any favoring distance over accuracy, or did they go with new clubs based on which of the two were their weak points?

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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Thanks, I was just curious as to how many switched from the results of this test. The ones that did switch, did you notice any favoring distance over accuracy, or did they go with new clubs based on which of the two were their weak points?

 

Different for everybody. Brian is relatively young and hits it 300+, so he focused more on accuracy. Blake definitely favored distance. Joe basically tossed out the numbers and chose the driver he liked the feel of. Lou is 70 years old and usually doesn't hit it far enough to miss the fairway so he focused mostly on distance. Mark found a good balance with the Mizuno. I'm notoriously erratic with a driver, but even though I was most accurate with the Titleist, I'd never be happy knowing that best shot to best shot there are 20 yards left on the table. The RBZ 2 got me very similar (if not better accuracy) with less left on the table (and the feeling like a shaft change could get me even with the the longest in the bunch). The Cobra I love the feel of, and with the right setting I'm not giving up much of anything for distance.

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