Piece
Tour Winner
Disclaimer: Wall of text - enter at your own discretion! 
:blah:
INTRO
I'm strongly thinking about changing my driver for this season. I've had my Titleist 910 D3 for several years now and it was professionally fitted for me by Precision Golf in Egham. My swing has changed a bit since then I as now draw the ball and occasionally hit a higher ball off the tee than I would like. I also can hook it unexpectedly, as those at Hayling last year will testify. I still like the driver but a newish era of low spin drivers is here and I'm keen to see what 2015 technology can do for me as I want to hit the ball lower.
My unofficial 'testing' was done over a few months to accommodate different swing days and, obviously, the release dates of the major manufacturers. These drivers were straight off the shelf from Silvermere, with no ounce of custom fitting, apart from me looking at the club in the shop and selecting what I think is the best stock shaft for me. You'll notice no Taylor-Made drivers (R15, AeroBurner) in my test; just haven't been enthusiastic enough to try them as all the TM drivers and 3Ws I've historical hit come with cr4p off-the-shelf shafts) - sorry! I will endeavour to try out the TM offerings soon, plus the Srixon and new Cobras when available.
So here's what I think, using feel/address/observed flight/weight as my 'judging' criteria, ranked in reverse order:
REVIEW
5. Ping G30 (not the LS version)
I've had several Ping drivers over the years: G5, G10 and i15. All nice bats that perform well with a good low launching shaft. The G30 off the shelf looked reasonable at address, even if it looks a bit large and flat, with the matt finish a nice touch. I would say the G30, for me, is less classical looking from what I have owned before. The turbulators weren't too distracting either. Sitting behind the ball, I got the impression it could be easy to hit. After bashing several balls it was clear that I didn't like the sound much; not a crack, more like a plastic, cushioned 'tunk'. Performance was solid enough, probably too high launching for me and coupled with feeling very light in the hands, it didn't really float my boat. OVERALL: 5/10
Since the review, Ping have a released a LS Tec version for lower spinning. I think that would suit me better and will try once I see one in the shop.
4. Titleist 915 D3
I really wanted to like this club and I bought into the hype in the summer of 2014 that this was the next best thing since slice bread, with the low spin ARC face, etc. As the current user of the 910 D3, my hopes were high. I have tested this club on four separate occasions over the winter, selecting the D3 head as opposed to the 460cc D2 head, hitting both the Adila Black 70 and Diamana D+White 70 shafts. Address wise, the club look near identical to my 910 D3. It sits well behind the ball and feels nice in the hand and to swing. The first session I had hitting the driver, I literally had to take headache pills after as the noise was sooo sharp and loud! Perhaps the range bay acoustics were to blame?! I also couldn't really feel where I was hitting the ball on the club face - the ARC face I guess is designed to do that? The flight was good and distance fair, but always in the back of the mind was the sharp impact noise. Believing it was the operator, I came back for more tests over the winter months, and sure enough, the same thing happened. I even cheekily put the 915 D3 head on my own 910 D3 shaft, but that made no difference. The end result is that I just couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to, get on with the driver. Sound is poor for me and the feel isn't great - imagine hitting a stone with thick enamel baking tray. :mmm: In the open air the sound would change but the feel wouldn't. OVERALL: 6/10.
Footnote: the 3 wood on the other hand is superb. :lol:
3. Nike Vapor Pro
It was either try the Speed, the Flex or the Pro. The Flex looked nice but felt head-heavy, maybe subconsciously as it's carrying that Flex capsule. The Speed and Pro look fairly similar and seeing as how I wanted to try and get lower spinny ones, I went for the Pro. Don't have a problem with the Volt lime green livery, in fact, I like it. Behind the ball, the Pro looks very nice with a good glossy glow and Nike Swoosh. The head is shaped nicely, more traditional looking. The grip is worth mentioning here - nice and sticky Winn grip giving plenty of confidence but I wonder how the grip would perform in the wet? The club length is very slightly longer than the Titleist and feel just as light. Performance off the tee, subject to custom fit confirmation, was average at best. :mmm: The shaft/head combo launched it a bit high, left and right, inconsistent; it just felt too light. Distance-wise, I'm sure its long and it looked it when the perfect ball was hit. This is a good club but one that would most definitely benefit from a custom fit. One other point - the quality of the paint...I've seen on vLog vids and also on Silvermere shelves that the paint-job on the underside of the club could be a bit questionable; tiny bits missing, etc. :mmm: OVERALL: 6.5/10
2. Mizuno JPX850
Waited a long time to hit this, after seeing all the publicity and selected forumers providing their feedback. I've never hit a Mizuno driver, based on the probably illogical thinking that Mizzy only really make good irons and not woods. The day after they appeared, I popped for trial in the Silvermere. There was only one shaft available to try, the Orochi stiff shaft, as the Speedster 6.3 was just there 'for show', staring disdainfully at me with its £499 price tag. First impressions are great - love the colour, love the look and head shape, love the white shaft and sits very nicely behind the ball. I was worried though that the performance and sound would be disappointing. Fear not! The sound is beautiful, giving a slightly muffled 'thump' that wasn't loud and rewarding. The feel was, and very happy to say as a Mizzy iron player, very Mizzy like - slightly buttery, could tell where on the face I hit and rewarding. :whoo: Performance too was excellent giving a good, strong flight and stable through impact. Before I end the Mizzy review, I will say one thing about the movable weights on the sole: they came loose twice during hitting, even after being tightened directly by the pro-shop. In fact, when I returned the club, the pro took off the masking tape to find that one of the weight had shattered! . Thought for one horrible moment I would be stung for it but he saw it wasn't me . A bit worrying though, all the same, to have loose weights that won't stay fixed. I will definitely try this club again and would love to try the range of shafts when the Mizzy fitting cart gets delivered (noting the significant upcharge on shafts though with this model :mmm. OVERALL: 8/10 (lost a point because of the weights issue).
1. Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond
I've never contemplated hitting a Callaway wood as they've never suited my eye and just haven't been 'into' them. Having watched Rick Shiels and Mark Crossfield's video on this driver over Xmas, I thought it was worth a bash, but only if I could find one as they are scarce. There's not much demand for a very, very low spinning driver. Luckily I had seen one in Silvermere and thought I would try it after the others. Over the weeks I checked the shop and it was always there, unwrapped, untouched and maybe unloved...so I took it out. At address it is a beautiful traditional shape and unusually, no line up mark. :thup: Looked to have a slightly smaller head and a pleasing deep profile. It is a long club, probably 0.25" or more longer than anything else I've tried. The combination of a dark head and white shaft also worked for me too. Prior to the first strike, the club felt beautifully balanced. After 30 mins or so of testing, I gladly declare this is the best driver I've ever hit. :clap: A noticeably lower, bulleting flight, with superb shape to it. Dispersion was low, obviously helped by the confidence factor. Looking at the marks on the masking tape, almost all came out of the middle. This surprised me as this weapon is a good inch longer than my current stick, deliberately cut down to help me fine the middle of the bat. Can't wait to get this bad boy on the GC2 and get fitted, as I think this is what I'm looking for. :whoo: Another great and appealing thing about this club (so I've read) is that there's ~12 or so premium shaft options/upgrades at no extra cost. OK, so its not the cheapest at £349, but compared to others above, what you see is what you pay, no matter the shaft on offer - please note other manufacturers. :thup: OVERALL: 9.5/10.
SUMMARY
If you've read this far, thanks & well done. :cheers:
I can't see myself getting a Ping G30 or Titleist 915 based on above. It's unlikely to be a Nike Vapor Pro, unless the fitting cart options change the game for it. It's really down to the Mizuno and Callaway for me, with the Callaway ahead because of its performance and cost off-the-shelf.
I will try to do other drivers so that I've got a fair spread across the market, but TM, Cobra, Srixon have got to come up with something amazing to compete.
The end message is that there's good gear out there for all levels and desires, so try what you can, even stuff you wouldn't think twice of before... :thup: The get custom fitted to maximise the performance.
:blah:INTRO
I'm strongly thinking about changing my driver for this season. I've had my Titleist 910 D3 for several years now and it was professionally fitted for me by Precision Golf in Egham. My swing has changed a bit since then I as now draw the ball and occasionally hit a higher ball off the tee than I would like. I also can hook it unexpectedly, as those at Hayling last year will testify.
I still like the driver but a newish era of low spin drivers is here and I'm keen to see what 2015 technology can do for me as I want to hit the ball lower.My unofficial 'testing' was done over a few months to accommodate different swing days and, obviously, the release dates of the major manufacturers. These drivers were straight off the shelf from Silvermere, with no ounce of custom fitting, apart from me looking at the club in the shop and selecting what I think is the best stock shaft for me. You'll notice no Taylor-Made drivers (R15, AeroBurner) in my test; just haven't been enthusiastic enough to try them as all the TM drivers and 3Ws I've historical hit come with cr4p off-the-shelf shafts) - sorry!
I will endeavour to try out the TM offerings soon, plus the Srixon and new Cobras when available.So here's what I think, using feel/address/observed flight/weight as my 'judging' criteria, ranked in reverse order:
REVIEW
5. Ping G30 (not the LS version)
I've had several Ping drivers over the years: G5, G10 and i15. All nice bats that perform well with a good low launching shaft. The G30 off the shelf looked reasonable at address, even if it looks a bit large and flat, with the matt finish a nice touch. I would say the G30, for me, is less classical looking from what I have owned before. The turbulators weren't too distracting either. Sitting behind the ball, I got the impression it could be easy to hit. After bashing several balls it was clear that I didn't like the sound much; not a crack, more like a plastic, cushioned 'tunk'. Performance was solid enough, probably too high launching for me and coupled with feeling very light in the hands, it didn't really float my boat. OVERALL: 5/10
Since the review, Ping have a released a LS Tec version for lower spinning. I think that would suit me better and will try once I see one in the shop.
4. Titleist 915 D3
I really wanted to like this club and I bought into the hype in the summer of 2014 that this was the next best thing since slice bread, with the low spin ARC face, etc. As the current user of the 910 D3, my hopes were high. I have tested this club on four separate occasions over the winter, selecting the D3 head as opposed to the 460cc D2 head, hitting both the Adila Black 70 and Diamana D+White 70 shafts. Address wise, the club look near identical to my 910 D3. It sits well behind the ball and feels nice in the hand and to swing. The first session I had hitting the driver, I literally had to take headache pills after as the noise was sooo sharp and loud!
Perhaps the range bay acoustics were to blame?! I also couldn't really feel where I was hitting the ball on the club face - the ARC face I guess is designed to do that? The flight was good and distance fair, but always in the back of the mind was the sharp impact noise. Believing it was the operator, I came back for more tests over the winter months, and sure enough, the same thing happened. I even cheekily put the 915 D3 head on my own 910 D3 shaft, but that made no difference. The end result is that I just couldn't, no matter how much I wanted to, get on with the driver. Sound is poor for me and the feel isn't great - imagine hitting a stone with thick enamel baking tray. :mmm: In the open air the sound would change but the feel wouldn't. OVERALL: 6/10.Footnote: the 3 wood on the other hand is superb. :lol:
3. Nike Vapor Pro
It was either try the Speed, the Flex or the Pro. The Flex looked nice but felt head-heavy, maybe subconsciously as it's carrying that Flex capsule. The Speed and Pro look fairly similar and seeing as how I wanted to try and get lower spinny ones, I went for the Pro. Don't have a problem with the Volt lime green livery, in fact, I like it. Behind the ball, the Pro looks very nice with a good glossy glow and Nike Swoosh. The head is shaped nicely, more traditional looking. The grip is worth mentioning here - nice and sticky Winn grip giving plenty of confidence but I wonder how the grip would perform in the wet? The club length is very slightly longer than the Titleist and feel just as light. Performance off the tee, subject to custom fit confirmation
, was average at best. :mmm: The shaft/head combo launched it a bit high, left and right, inconsistent; it just felt too light. Distance-wise, I'm sure its long and it looked it when the perfect ball was hit. This is a good club but one that would most definitely benefit from a custom fit. One other point - the quality of the paint...I've seen on vLog vids and also on Silvermere shelves that the paint-job on the underside of the club could be a bit questionable; tiny bits missing, etc. :mmm: OVERALL: 6.5/102. Mizuno JPX850
Waited a long time to hit this, after seeing all the publicity and selected forumers providing their feedback.
I've never hit a Mizuno driver, based on the probably illogical thinking that Mizzy only really make good irons and not woods. The day after they appeared, I popped for trial in the Silvermere. There was only one shaft available to try, the Orochi stiff shaft, as the Speedster 6.3 was just there 'for show', staring disdainfully at me with its £499 price tag. First impressions are great - love the colour, love the look and head shape, love the white shaft and sits very nicely behind the ball. I was worried though that the performance and sound would be disappointing. Fear not! The sound is beautiful, giving a slightly muffled 'thump' that wasn't loud and rewarding. The feel was, and very happy to say as a Mizzy iron player, very Mizzy like - slightly buttery, could tell where on the face I hit and rewarding. :whoo: Performance too was excellent giving a good, strong flight and stable through impact. Before I end the Mizzy review, I will say one thing about the movable weights on the sole: they came loose twice during hitting, even after being tightened directly by the pro-shop. In fact, when I returned the club, the pro took off the masking tape to find that one of the weight had shattered! . Thought for one horrible moment I would be stung for it but he saw it wasn't me . A bit worrying though, all the same, to have loose weights that won't stay fixed. I will definitely try this club again and would love to try the range of shafts when the Mizzy fitting cart gets delivered (noting the significant upcharge on shafts though with this model :mmm. OVERALL: 8/10 (lost a point because of the weights issue).1. Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond
I've never contemplated hitting a Callaway wood as they've never suited my eye and just haven't been 'into' them. Having watched Rick Shiels and Mark Crossfield's video on this driver over Xmas, I thought it was worth a bash, but only if I could find one as they are scarce. There's not much demand for a very, very low spinning driver. Luckily I had seen one in Silvermere and thought I would try it after the others. Over the weeks I checked the shop and it was always there, unwrapped, untouched and maybe unloved...so I took it out
. At address it is a beautiful traditional shape and unusually, no line up mark. :thup: Looked to have a slightly smaller head and a pleasing deep profile. It is a long club, probably 0.25" or more longer than anything else I've tried. The combination of a dark head and white shaft also worked for me too. Prior to the first strike, the club felt beautifully balanced. After 30 mins or so of testing, I gladly declare this is the best driver I've ever hit. :clap: A noticeably lower, bulleting flight, with superb shape to it. Dispersion was low, obviously helped by the confidence factor. Looking at the marks on the masking tape, almost all came out of the middle. This surprised me as this weapon is a good inch longer than my current stick, deliberately cut down to help me fine the middle of the bat. Can't wait to get this bad boy on the GC2 and get fitted, as I think this is what I'm looking for. :whoo: Another great and appealing thing about this club (so I've read) is that there's ~12 or so premium shaft options/upgrades at no extra cost. OK, so its not the cheapest at £349, but compared to others above, what you see is what you pay, no matter the shaft on offer - please note other manufacturers. :thup: OVERALL: 9.5/10. SUMMARY
If you've read this far, thanks & well done. :cheers:
I can't see myself getting a Ping G30 or Titleist 915 based on above. It's unlikely to be a Nike Vapor Pro, unless the fitting cart options change the game for it. It's really down to the Mizuno and Callaway for me, with the Callaway ahead because of its performance and cost off-the-shelf.
I will try to do other drivers so that I've got a fair spread across the market, but TM, Cobra, Srixon have got to come up with something amazing to compete.
The end message is that there's good gear out there for all levels and desires, so try what you can, even stuff you wouldn't think twice of before... :thup: The get custom fitted to maximise the performance.
