Equipment
2015 Gear Trials: FAQ
There’s a running joke around the GolfWRX office during the winter months. Before he goes to bed, GolfWRX Founder and President Richard Audi reviews the incoming votes from our Gear Trials Panelists. At least once.
[quote_box_center]”During the two weeks we are receiving the votes of our Gear Trials Panelists, I’m all over Zak [GolfWRX’s Editor] to send them to me ASAP,” Audi says. “I’ll open up all six on my computer so I can review them all on my screen at once. That’s where my wife says, ‘Just stop it.'”[/quote_box_center]
What our founder is in search of, like many golfers, is insight into the best-performing new clubs on the market. What new driver will be in his bag in 2015? Is it finally time to add a new fairway wood? Or a hybrid to replace that pesky long iron? Or a larger, more forgiving set of irons?
These are the questions that keep GolfWRXers up night, and the reason we created our Gear Trials Club test.
We hold Gear Trials sacred, because we understand its importance and special place in the industry. There is no shortage of best clubs lists, but Gear Trials is the only test we know of that’s 100 percent based on the feedback of the top club fitters in the world, and verified by independent Trackman testing.
Image from Cool Clubs, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.
The golf equipment space is more confusing now than ever, with more new club models currently in stores than at any time in the industry’s history. That’s why we designed Gear Trials to cut through the noise, and give golfers a short list of the best-performing clubs in the following categories:
- Drivers
- Fairway Woods
- Hybrids
- Players Irons
- Game-Improvement Irons
- Blade Irons
Armed with our Gear Trials lists, golfers can narrow their new club search to just a few top-performing models. We hope that will save them time, money and most importantly, help them play better golf… or have more fun. Preferably both.
So what else goes into our 2015 Gear Trials: Best Clubs Lists? Here’s a list of frequently asked questions.
Who votes?
Image from True Spec Golf, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.
Our Gear Trials: Best Clubs Lists are created with the votes of our Gear Trials Panel, which includes six of the top golf club fitters in North America. Four of the fitters are on Golf Digest’s list of the best club fitters in America, while the other two (Modern Golf and True Spec Golf) are top international club fitters.
Our Gear Trials Panel includes:
- Carl’s Golfland (Michigan)
- Cool Clubs (15 locations in 4 countries)
- Haggin Oaks (California)
- Miles of Golf (Michigan, Ohio)
- Modern Golf (Canada)
- True Spec Golf (Bahamas, Miami, NYC)
The staffs of each Gear Trials Panelist perform more than 1,000 professional fittings each year — and more than 6,000 yearly fittings between them all. That level of experience is what we feel sets Gear Trials apart from all the other best club lists.
How the voting works
Photo from Gear Trials Panelist Modern Golf.
Each of our Gear Trials Panelists was asked to rank the top-performing clubs in three categories, which allows us to highlight the clubs that are the best for:
- Distance: The clubs that fly the farthest.
- Forgiveness: The clubs that are best on off-center hits.
- Best Overall: The clubs with the best blend distance and forgiveness.
Our editorial team tallied the votes, and the six models that received the most votes in each category made our lists. If there were ties — for example, a three-way tie for fifth place — our Gear Trials Editors acted as tie breakers.
Who are the Gear Trials Editors?
GolfWRX’s Staff reviews 2015 Gear Trials testing data at company headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
- Richard Audi, GolfWRX Founder and President
- Zak Kozuchowski, GolfWRX Editor
- Andrew Tursky, GolfWRX Assistant Editor
Was a club test performed?
Gear Trials Panelist Miles of Golf performed an independent club test at its facility in Ypsilanti, Mich., for the each of the Gear Trials categories:
- Best Drivers: 26 models tested
- Best Fairway Woods: 20 models tested
- Best Hybrids: 16 models tested
- Best Players Irons: 24 models tested
- Best Game-Improvement Irons: 14 models tested
- Best Blade Irons: 14 models tested
The club test, which was arranged by Miles of Golf‘s team of trained club fitters, took place over the course of four weekends. It included 41 testers of different ages and ability levels, and was performed on Trackman launch monitors to verify the performance of the clubs chosen by our Gear Trials Panel.
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- Kris Kim what’s in the bag accurate as of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. More photos from the event here.
Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 (9 degrees @7)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 60 TX
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 Tour (15 degrees @13.5)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX
Irons: TaylorMade P770 (2, 4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: Mitsubishi Tensei 1K White 80 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 X
Wedges: TaylorMade MG4 (50-09SB, 56-12SB, 60-11TW)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 WV 125
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord
Check out more in-hand photos of Kris Kim’s equipment here.
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TaylorMade is continuing its UDI/DHY series with the successor to the Stealth UDI and DHY utility irons: PUDI and PDHY (which the company styles as P·UDI and P·DHY). TaylorMade is folding the designs in with its P Series of irons.
TaylorMade outlined the process of developing its new utilities this way. The company started with the data on utility iron usage. Not surprisingly, better players — i.e. those who generate more clubhead speed and strike the ball more precisely — were found to gravitate toward the UDI model. DHY usage, however, covered a wider swath than the company might have expected with six-to-18 handicappers found to be bagging the club.
TaylorMade also found that the majority of golfers playing UDI or DHY utilities were playing P Series irons at the top of their iron configurations.
Can you see where this is going?
Matt Bovee, Director of Product Creation, Iron and Wedge at TaylorMade: “As we look to the future, beyond the tech and the design language, we are excited about repositioning our utility irons into the P·Series family. P·UDI is an easy pair for players that currently play P·Series product and P·DHY is an extremely forgiving option for players of all skill levels. It is a natural fit to give these players the performance in this category that they are looking for.”
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TaylorMade PUDI
TaylorMade PUDI technology cutaway (via TaylorMade)
Crafted with tour player input, TaylorMade sought to develop a confidence-inspiring utility iron that blends with the rest of the P Series irons. Also of note: Interestingly, the PUDI has a more compact head than the P790.
In comparison to past UDI products, the PUDI has a more traditional iron shape, slimmer toplines, and less offset with a little of the backbar visible at address.
TaylorMade PDHY
TaylorMade PDHY tech cutaway (via TaylorMade).
Larger in profile than the PUDI, the PDHY seeks to position center of gravity (CG) lower in the club for ease of launch. The toe height is larger and the profile is larger at address — roughly five millimeters longer than PUDI — the sole of the club is wider for improved forgiveness.
Club Junkie’s take
Golfers who feel like they are missing something at the top of the bag could find the PUDI or PDHY a great option. The look of the PUDI should fit the most discerning eye with a more compact look, less offset, and a thinner topline. If you want a little more confidence looking down the P-DHY will be slightly larger while still being a good-looking utility iron.
For being small packages both models pack a pretty good punch with fast ball speeds, even off-center. The feel is soft and you get a solid feel of the ball compressing off the face when you strike it well. Your ears are greeted with a nice heavy thud as the ball and club come together. The PDHY will launch a little higher for players who need it while the PUDI offers a more penetrating ball flight. Both utility irons could be the cure for an open spot in the top end of the bag.
PUDI, PDHY, or Rescue?
TaylorMade offers the following notes to assist golfers in filling out their bags:
- PUDI has mid-CG right behind the center face to create a more penetrating mid-to-low ball flight
- PDHY has a lower center of gravity to produce an easier-to-launch mid-to-high ball flight.
- Both PUDI and PDHY are lower-flying than the company’s hybrid/Rescue clubs.
- PUDI is more forgiving than P790.
- PDHY is the most forgiving iron in the entire TaylorMade iron family
Pricing, specs, and availability
Price: $249.99
At retail: Now
Stock shafts: UST Mamiya’s Recoil DART (105 X, 90 S and 75 R – only in PDHY)
Stock grip: Golf Pride’s ZGrip (black/grey)
PUDI lofts: 2-17°, 3-20°, 4-22° in both left and right-handed
PDHY lofts: 2-18°, 3-20° and 4-22° in both left and right-handed
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Equipment
Coolest thing for sale in the GolfWRX Classifieds (5/3/24): Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
From the seller: (@wwcl): “Has been gamed as pics show. 33.5 includes original h/c and grip. $575 includes shipping and PP fees.”
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: Scotty Cameron Champions Choice 2.5+ putter
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
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Jordan
Sep 16, 2015 at 3:29 pm
Thanks for the great review.. the same with bradford i want see real results during real game. Golf for me is a great sport to learn about…
Chris C.
Apr 8, 2015 at 4:53 pm
I agree with those who have expressed a desire to actually see the results of the extensive testing performed at Miles of Golf. All that effort spread out over the course of 4 weekends, thousands of shots and hours spent collating the myriad data points only to produce the numerical equivalent of gold and silver stars. This strikes me as a terrible waste of time and talent. You had the opportunity to actually provide details delineating distance( longest/average/mean/consistency). You had the opportunity to assess which clubs better suit different types of golfers( axis, launch angles, etc.). You had a chance to detail accuracy and consistency.Obviously, my critique applies not only to the driver tests but also to the fairway wood and hybrid tests. I spend WAY too much time reading club reviews so it frustrates me when I see such a wasted opportunity.
Golfraven
Mar 25, 2015 at 7:03 pm
ok, so where is the data from all those test? You have it on the table so why not sharing?
E
Mar 26, 2015 at 12:39 am
Agreed no relevant information is provided, I frequent the forums to get someone’s feeling on a club. Disappointed golfwrx is seriously lacking in the testing/review department compared to some other sites…
Non of the top 7 were close to the best preformer for me and Id like to see some numbers showing how they came to those conclusions.
Seems this is just a re-done golf digest hot list.
I appreciate the time and effort that went into the trials, just wish a better comparison was does with some evidence behind it.
8thehardway
Mar 25, 2015 at 5:15 pm
I’ve held my own Gear Trials since 2007:
Pre-trial goal – 10 more yards (dispersion not a problem)
Round 1 – Hit everything
Round 2 – Pit the best against my 2005 Ping G5
Round 3 – Re-grip Ping G5
cliche
Mar 25, 2015 at 4:17 pm
would like to see that with wedges
bradford
Mar 25, 2015 at 11:31 am
Looking forward to results. They will provide a great method of determining which clubs to choose for simulator golf. Unfortunately, without actual on the course testing, none of it will be very telling- as each club will behave differently for each person, especially under “real-golf” situations.