Equipment
Wunder: I’ve hit THESE new drivers this year…and this is what I think
During this lockdown, I have done quite a few “Friday Q & A’s” on my IG, and one of the questions I get asked constantly is “have you hit this?” That, and “whaddya think?”
So, in the spirit of organizing my brain, it seemed like the right time to share what new drivers I have actually hit this year…and this is what I think.
Now, it needs to be said that there is a lot of new gear out there, but, to be honest, I’ve only actually hit a select few enough to actually build an opinion. “Enough” in this case is at least 20 balls. Some of these sticks I tested during our pre-launch preview with the OEMs, at the PGA show, a friend has one, or I actually have it in the bag.
Here we go.
TaylorMade SIM
Setup tested: SIM 9 @8.25 w/ Mitsubishi Chemical Kuro Kage XTS 70TX
LOOKS: The best way to describe how SIM looks behind the ball is “comfortable.” TaylorMade has always made drivers that just look correct. The lines are clean, the shape inspires playability, and I dig the paint job. They hit a home run with this one for sure.
FEEL: Best sound out there in my opinion. Heavy, dense, and if you get one dead-nuts center, it lets you know. The feel at contact is just as TaylorMade drivers have always done, center strikes feel like Thor’s hammer and mishits don’t kill your good vibes.
VS THE M5: I get asked this a lot. I loved the M5. Still do. To be honest the two drivers data wise were legit apples to apples. The only difference is my stock shot with M5 was a low spin straight ball and with SIM its a slight draw with a touch more spin and slightly lower launch. I prefer that.
OVERALL: In my opinion, the TaylorMade SIM is the cool kid in high school for 2020. Last year it was F9 followed closely by M5. TM knocked it outta the park on this one.
TaylorMade SIM Max
Setup tested: Sim Max 9 @8.25 w/ Mitsubishi Chemical Kuro Kage XTS 70TX
LOOKS: It has a bit more of a longer face at address, which makes the head appear shallow which inspires a bit more confidence to turn it over. That’s the main thing I noticed with MAX. Other than that its a tried and true TM shape.
FEEL: Like its sibling, it has a nice solid hit audibly at the impact. So, overall its apples to apples with SIM. However, due to the front weight missing on the MAX, the actual strike doesn’t feel AS meaty as SIM. Not a negative necessarily just something I noticed.
VS M6: Both of these sticks I launched a bit too high versus the weighted versions. That’s why they never got any serious consideration to actually put in play.
OVERALL: As a high launch, more forgiving option, it’s an ace.
Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero
Setup tested: Sub Zero 9 w/ Mitsubishi Chemical Tensei Blue AV 65TX
LOOKS: To my eyes, the newer versions of the Callaway drivers have looked a bit more compact than its competition. To me, this always looked “low spin” for whatever reason. The Mavrik has the same shape which is good.
FEEL: They really fixed the sound. The Epic Flash sounded like a pop can to me, and the Mavrik Sub Zero sounds like a sledgehammer. The good thing here is the sound now matches up with what the hit feels like. I think the Mavrik is the best feeling driver Callaway has made since Epic.
VS EPIC FLASH SZ: To me, a complete improvement on all fronts. Sound, feel, and performance for me were all substantially better. Now I must say that the Epic Flash Sub Zero was a great driver, I always got great numbers out of it, but the sound took me out of it. I’m sure there isn’t that much difference audibly between the two, but in this game, even something minor can represent so much. Sound to me is huge.
OVERALL: In all honestly, I haven’t given a Callaway driver a real hard look to actually put in the bag since Epic. The sound got louder wit Rogue and Epic Flash. The Mavrik SZ however is a fantastic driver and will def get some more testing out of me.
Cobra SpeedZone
Setup tested: Cobra Speed Zone 9 @8.5 w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 7X
LOOKS: The F9 was a winner on all fronts. The only critique I had was optically it looked like the driver was a little too fade biased. The SZ with its milled in top line gives it softer look at address and for me, softer lines mean more workability, just what my eyes tell me.
FEEL: As with F9 and the earlier mentioned SIM, the Speed Zone sounds EXACTLY how a driver should sound. It has a very heavy hit audibly and that’s across the face. I love the sound of this driver.
VS F9: Apples to apples, it’s the same. Beyond the optics, it feels, sounds, and performs like the F9. Not a bad thing though, the F9 was the driver of 2019 in my opinion.
OVERALL: Nothing wrong with repeating an already awesome driver. SpeedZone will stand up to anything out there. If I’m being fair, I think F9 elevated things in 2019, and this year the competition caught up to it. Changes nothing about how good this driver is.
Cobra Speed Zone Xtreme
Setup tested: Cobra Speed Zone Xtreme 9 @8.5 w/ Fujikura Ventus Black 7X
LOOKS: Like the other drivers in this higher MOI category, it looks a little longer heel to toe.
FEEL: No different than the SpeedZone, sounds great, the impact is solid across the face, and even thin shots feel solid.
OVERALL: The Xtreme is the sleeper hit of 2020 and I’ve heard the fitters love this thing. It’s by far the easiest to hit and overall good time of any driver on this list. Is it longer? No. But is it Xtremely (no pun) playable and competitive? Hard yes. It’s a blast.
PXG Proto
Setup tested: PXG Proto 9 w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 6 TX
LOOKS: Slick. Like all PXG gear, the look is there. The matte crown and elegant lines make it very pleasing optically. I also appreciate that although it’s designed to look high tech. The lines inspire playability, and who doesn’t love a driver that looks like a stealth bomber?
FEEL: I only hit about 20 balls with the PXG Proto in the short time I had with it, but, wow, did this thing surprise me. The sound oddly enough is a bit higher-pitched than the others on the list but for whatever reason, it’s not a distraction. It actually adds to the experience of the hit. I typically detest that, but this sound matched up with the solid hit I was getting. I’m not sure if this is the final version since its a limited tour proto but what is happening is definitely interesting.
VS GEN2: It’s just better. Feels better, sounds great, more playable across the face. The Gen2 did one thing better than everyone else, it destroyed spin. The problem I had was control. The PXG Proto is still low spin but with the new 4 weight system (no intel on the tech yet) seems to add quality launch to the low spin profile and puts the player in a situation where very few to any sacrifices are made.
OVERALL: I was a fan of Gen2. No doubt. But it never flat out beat M5, F9, or SIM. The Proto has elevated PXG’s driver game. I don’t think its a matter of whether or not the driver stands up with the irons, I believe PXG is on the right track to having a driver that eliminates any “yeah, but…” to the conversation. That’s a huge leap since Gen1. These guys are trending hard.
I hope this was helpful.
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Whats in the Bag
Steve Stricker WITB 2024 (April)
- Steve Stricker WITB accurate as of the Zurich Classic. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Titleist TSR3 (9 degrees, C4 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 7.2 X
3-wood: Titleist 915F (13.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX
Hybrid: Titleist 816 H1 (17 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Motore Speeder VC 9.2 X
Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist T100 (5-9)
Shafts: Project X 6.5
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8 (46-10F @55), Titleist Vokey SM10 (54-10S @53), Titleist Vokey SM4 (60 @59)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold X100 w/Sensicore
Putter: Odyssey White Hot No. 2
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grip Rite
Check out more in-hand photos of Steve Stricker’s clubs here.
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Whats in the Bag
Alex Fitzpatrick WITB 2024 (April)
- Alex Fitzpatrick what’s in the bag accurate as of the Zurich Classic.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus TR Black 7 X
Hybrid: Ping G430 (19 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 10 TX
Irons: Ping iCrossover (2), Titleist T100 (4-PW)
Shafts: Fujikura Ventus Black HB 9 TX (2), Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (50-12F, 56-12D, 60-08M)
Shafts: Nippon N.S. Pro Modus 3 Tour 120 X
Putter: Bettinardi SS16 Dass
Grips: Golf Pride MCC
Check out more in-hand photos of Alex Fitzpatrick’s clubs here.
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Equipment
What’s the perfect mini-driver/shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss
In our forums, our members have been discussing Mini-Drivers and accompanying shafts. WRXer ‘JamesFisher1990’ is about to purchase a BRNR Mini and is torn on what shaft weight to use, and our members have been sharing their thoughts and set ups in our forum.
Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.
- PARETO: “New BRNR at 13.5. Took it over to TXG (Club Champ but TXG will always rule) in Calgary for a fit. Took the head down to 12, stuck in a Graphite Design AD at 3 wood length and 60g. Presto- numbers that rivaled my G430Max but with waaaaay tighter dispersion. Win.”
- driveandputtmachine: “Still playing a MIni 300. The head was only 208, so I ordered a heavier weight and play it at 3 wood length. I am playing a Ventus Red 70. I play 70 grams in my fairways. I use it mainly to hit draws off the tee. When I combine me, a driver, and trying to hit a draw it does not work out well most of the time. So the MIni is for that. As an aside, I have not hit the newest BRNR, but the previous model wasn’t great off the deck. The 300 Mini is very good off the deck.”
- JAM01: “Ok, just put the BRNR in the bag along side a QI10 max and a QI10 3 wood. A load of top end redundancy. But, I have several holes at my two home courses where the flight and accuracy of the mini driver helps immensely. Mine is stock Proforce 65 at 13.5, I could see a heavier shaft, but to normal flex, as a nice alternative.”
Entire Thread: “What’s the perfect Mini-Driver/Shaft combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”
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Benny
Jun 13, 2020 at 5:40 pm
Thanks JW. Loved the read and who cares what he thinks because it’s about us and making our decisions.
Well done!
tiger168
Jun 4, 2020 at 4:58 pm
Ping?
Michaele
Jun 3, 2020 at 3:02 pm
I think the review is very good. I like that it focuses on the “feel” factor more than just putting a bunch of stats out there and declaring a winner based numbers from trackman.
The concept of “best” in golf equipment just doesn’t hold water for me either. “Best” is totally subjective and a personal decision.
Good work Johnny.
ski_co
Jun 3, 2020 at 12:51 pm
Is there ever a driver you don’t like?
Martin
Jun 3, 2020 at 11:46 am
Oddly enough your friend Ian Fraser wasnt a big fan of F9. He said he wasnt comfortable fitting with it. Which strike me as strange considering all the love it has got, maybe not as forgiving and just long? But he do love the Xtreme a lot I understand. And the other ones you mention. Thanks for the test!!
Jario Bubly
Jun 2, 2020 at 10:28 pm
Can I hook that PXG driver up to my hose so I can use that state of the art sprinkler system?
Bryan
Jun 2, 2020 at 9:53 pm
No numbers? No opinion on which driver he believes is the best? Think he had a deadline on an article and cranked this one out in 20 minutes.
John Wunder
Jun 3, 2020 at 7:57 am
Nope. I stay away from “best” as each of these drivers could work for anyone. The goal here was to give people my thoughts on my experience with each. That was it. “best” is only something you can find for yourself. In my humble opinion
Andreas
Jun 2, 2020 at 7:03 pm
How about giving some actual feedback/info vs. this review? Can it get any worse?
John Wunder
Jun 3, 2020 at 7:59 am
If you are referring to numbers I stayed away from that part because it’s not in the spirit of what I was trying to do. I just wanted to inform on my experience.
Michaele
Jun 3, 2020 at 2:59 pm
Unnecessarily harsh.
Johnny describes his experience with each of the drivers and to me that is way more valuable than spouting trackman numbers and declaring a winner.
Dave
Jun 18, 2020 at 2:39 pm
Andreas-
What an asinine comment. Are you going to buy a driver based off of John’s trackman stats? I hope you have the same swing speed, AoA, swing plane, and general skill. Go google Rory’s or Tiger’s trackman stats and just buy exactly what they have. John wrote an article about the intangibles of his experience and opinion of a few select drivers. It was a great article. I have hit all of these and his opinions were on point based off my experience.
Reeves
Jun 2, 2020 at 4:01 pm
For me I got to try the Mavrik at a Callaway demo day just before course closed…tried several and a few adjustments…OK, but distance was not any longer then the Hogan G53 in my bag. With the adjustments it was somewhat straighter…just not $500 straighter for me.
Leftienige
Jun 4, 2020 at 3:24 am
As.the.R&A.have.limited.ball.rebound.speed.off.the.club-face.for.decades,,surely.all.distances.are.maxed-out,regardless.of.brand,model,etc.