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Nicklaus ML4 Driver - Forum Testing Review

SuperStroke
Yoccos said:
Hahaha, I wasn't sure if you would but kinda figured you may tinker. This driver still intrigues me and I'm curious to see how it feels/works for you with the new shaft.

I don't know if I'd change it either! Buuuuuuuuut! I know how important it is for all major components of the club to fit.
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I understand that take completely, I just don't want it to be a trailer queen, I'm going to keep putting this sucker through the paces and get as much info and feelings about the head itself out there to you guys! That's what I signed up for in this, and since I have the capability to do club work myself, it will make that process alot better IMO.

The FEEL and SOUND of this driver are really what is intriguing me to push it a little more. I want to see just how it will hold up and react to different "engines" if you will. Thanks Yoccos!!!
 
Well I absilutly bombed it today, widen my stance, moved ball a little more to the middle and Dang, atleast 260 average.. wish I did this earlier!!

And I might just buy a head and find a shaft, cause like u said, this head is a beast

I tapatalk better then I golfatalk
 
MattyKrack17 said:
Well I absilutly bombed it today, widen my stance, moved ball a little more to the middle and Dang, atleast 260 average.. wish I did this earlier!!

And I might just buy a head and find a shaft, cause like u said, this head is a beast

I tapatalk better then I golfatalk
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It truly is, I really can't get over it. Amazed every time I put a swing on the ball.

Holler at Nicklaus directly if you decide to, they said they'd sell the head only for all the DIY'ers and tinkerers.
 
Jman, I have got to agree, the head w/o the sticker is absolutely beautiful. I would do the same if I had one.
 
DawgDaddy said:
Jman, I have got to agree, the head w/o the sticker is absolutely beautiful. I would do the same if I had one.
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Thanks Dawg, I think it REALLY lets the lines flow. Plus, being honest I really thought the sticker looked "cheapish" and took away from the just plain classiness of the design. Now it looks as it should IMHO.
 
Jman215 said:
Thanks Dawg, I think it REALLY lets the lines flow. Plus, being honest I really thought the sticker looked "cheapish" and took away from the just plain classiness of the design. Now it looks as it should IMHO.
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I LIKE the sticker! lol

I'm finally getting out tomorrow. I'll report the good, the bad, and the ugly.
 
Sean said:
I LIKE the sticker! lol

I'm finally getting out tomorrow. I'll report the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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And I can appreciate that thought, that is why cars come in more colors than black. I personally think a black car looks great, but I have never owned one, too hard to keep clean. I like the clean look, therefore no decal for me. :D
 
OK, a round and a half here to report on the ML4 with its scary looking Aldila RIP addition lol

Round 1: Undulating Course (Pull Driver about 70% of the time)
49/40 = 79 (+8)
7/10 Fairways Hit
1/3 Within 10 Feet of Fairway
1 Drive OB Left (DOUBLE CROSS!!!)
Long Drive = 290 Yards
Short Drive = 270
Average = 275-280 Range

This was the official first round with the shaft change...with NO range time prior to it. 7 of 10 fairways with the ML4? You got to be kidding me.

The first thing I notices is the club as a whole actually felt more stable to me now, I've played the RIP before and knew I liked it, it was just about how it was going to match up with the head. Well, we have a winner right now is what we have. The immediate impact was ball flight, the flight is now lower with more roll out for me, its truly a more penetrating flight, which says something since I would never say that the Fuji ballooned for me. With that the loading and unloading of the RIP for me made the heads hotness truly shine through. I'll say it again, forgiving and HOT as hell for me. The feel off this face lets you KNOW you struck it well. It fascinates me to this day that it does all I need still, forgiving, hot, immaculate sound, and I can work it. I don't care a lick if anyone thinks I'm just being a homer, I love this club, its underrated as hell.

Round 2: Undulating Course (Pull Driver about 70% of time)
41 (+5)
4/5 Fairways Hit
0/1 Within 10 Feet of Fairway
1 Drive OB Left
Long Drive = 290 Yards
Short Drive = 260
Average = 275 range

Should have been 5/5 with it on fairways, I brought out the old snap hook off the tee of a par 5 because of getting in a damn hurry with my setup and tempo and that let to a 10, yes that's right, a freaking 10. Other than that, 4 fairways hit and 4 GIR's on each of those holes. Again, the new flight is something I love and it really lets you see just how long the ML4 is when you have a shaft that fits your swing characteristics a little better. Long. Long, long, long. I'm loving this club still. Boom.


Cannot wait to get out again, hopefully I can get 2-3 more rounds in on it next week....

Maybe more lol
 
Jman, is that trajectory one that will work better year round for you? I know that here we have such a wet spring/early summer/fall that I can't count on run out. However, I know you are in a very different area than I am.
 
ML4 Update

It's been a while for me. I played 18 today. My home course is so narrow I won't talk about fairways hit but balls in play as there is no real rough to speak of (maybe a few yards either side of the fairway and then the ball is either OB or in a hazard). My stats are as follows:

42/40 = 82
ML4 Used = 12
In Play = 10 times
Two drives were pull hooks
Long Drive = 240
Short Drive = 200
Average = @220

Unlike Jman, I'm still hitting my drives very high, so I don't get much roll with the ML4 and that gets a bit frustrating. I don't feel I'm ballooning the shots, as the last time I was on a LM my spin numbers were fairly decent. I think it's my swing...being 6'5" I'm probably coming in a bit steep. In any case, the ML4 continues to perform better than previous drivers I owned in four categories: distance, forgiveness, feel, and sound. At this stage in its life cycle I'm surprised it hasn't caught on more. I've hit the Diablo Octane, RAZR Hawk, Launcher Ultralite, G15, R11, and the SuperFast 2.0, and none of these can compare to the ML4 in the four categories I mentioned. In addition, the ML4 has a traditional look that I find very appealing.

I'm not a big hitter like the other testers, and I've lost some distance since my heart attack and am still working on getting my swing back, but the ML4 is an all around solid driver at a terrific price point. And despite what Jman says, the sticker on the sole of the ML4 is quite fetching. :)
 
Sean, those are pretty great numbers for a guy that hasn't played in awhile (and gone through your health issues)! I know you've had doubts about the high ball, but it sounds like it hasn't affected your tee game negatively. At least that's the way I interpreted it?
 
Hawk said:
Sean, those are pretty great numbers for a guy that hasn't played in awhile (and gone through your health issues)! I know you've had doubts about the high ball, but it sounds like it hasn't affected your tee game negatively. At least that's the way I interpreted it?
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Thanks Hawk...I moved up a tee box! If I played from my normal tee boxes I don't think I would have come close to breaking 90. :)
 
Sean said:
Thanks Hawk...I moved up a tee box! If I played from my normal tee boxes I don't think I would have come close to breaking 90. :)
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Around 6,000?
 
Yikes. That's a solid slope. Nothing wrong with that at all.

I still am kicking myself for not hitting this driver in May.
 
Hawk said:
Yikes. That's a solid slope. Nothing wrong with that at all.

I still am kicking myself for not hitting this driver in May.
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I hope you get a chance to hit one. I've been to all the big box stores in my area, and I haven't found anyone that carries it. That surprises me.
 
Sean said:
ML4 Update

It's been a while for me. I played 18 today. My home course is so narrow I won't talk about fairways hit but balls in play as there is no real rough to speak of (maybe a few yards either side of the fairway and then the ball is either OB or in a hazard). My stats are as follows:

42/40 = 82
ML4 Used = 12
In Play = 10 times
Two drives were pull hooks
Long Drive = 240
Short Drive = 200
Average = @220

Unlike Jman, I'm still hitting my drives very high, so I don't get much roll with the ML4 and that gets a bit frustrating. I don't feel I'm ballooning the shots, as the last time I was on a LM my spin numbers were fairly decent. I think it's my swing...being 6'5" I'm probably coming in a bit steep. In any case, the ML4 continues to perform better than previous drivers I owned in four categories: distance, forgiveness, feel, and sound. At this stage in its life cycle I'm surprised it hasn't caught on more. I've hit the Diablo Octane, RAZR Hawk, Launcher Ultralite, G15, R11, and the SuperFast 2.0, and none of these can compare to the ML4 in the four categories I mentioned. In addition, the ML4 has a traditional look that I find very appealing.

I'm not a big hitter like the other testers, and I've lost some distance since my heart attack and am still working on getting my swing back, but the ML4 is an all around solid driver at a terrific price point. And despite what Jman says, the sticker on the sole of the ML4 is quite fetching. :)
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Sean, I'm just glad you're getting back out there buddy, and for what happened those are DAMN fine numbers ad stats.

Two things...

1) The shaft, for me, has really given me a much better flight and found about 10 or more yards because of it. I know what you mean about high but not ballooning, that's why I decided to tinker, it was a great decision for me so far.

2) The sticker is ugly. I think your heart attack effected your sense of looks :D


You know I kid...kinda...lol
Hawk said:
Jman, is that trajectory one that will work better year round for you? I know that here we have such a wet spring/early summer/fall that I can't count on run out. However, I know you are in a very different area than I am.
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Honestly, it will work much much muuuuuuch better year round for me, from this 115* crap tot he 40* rounds I love to play. We have the wet spring and fall too, not as much but we do, and though it will kill the rollout the distance gain I'm seeing hasn't really been as much from rollout than from the more penetrating flight I have now. I wasn't ballooning with the Fuji like I have some other shafts/clubs, but, I know for a fact now I personally was losing a decent amount of distance in the flight I had.

I wish you could find one to try Hawk. I played the ST all year last year and this one out performs it for me in so many ways. The ML4 really and truly is for real and I can't tell you how thankful I am I've been able to test it. Its changed my tee game completely.
 
Great updates. I'll be out tomorrow in Springfield , pa for league, I'm mote confident then ever with my driver

I tapatalk better then I golfatalk
 
Thanks Jman! I'm glad the RIP is working for you. From the sound of it you are getting great results. I just started using my old House of Forged HD Prototype shaft. It's brought my ball flight down a tad, but I still hit it high. I hit a drive early last week that went 260 with a nice mid-high ball flight, so I'm wondering if it's more to do with my swing than anything else. It's too soon to tell so I'll keep at it.
 
Sean said:
Thanks Jman! I'm glad the RIP is working for you. From the sound of it you are getting great results. I just started using my old House of Forged HD Prototype shaft. It's brought my ball flight down a tad, but I still hit it high. I hit a drive early last week that went 260 with a nice mid-high ball flight, so I'm wondering if it's more to do with my swing than anything else. It's too soon to tell so I'll keep at it.
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Good stuff, I love those HOF shafts, good stuff for sure. Can't wait to keep hearing updates!
 
Digging the updates guys. Like how the RIP helped you out JMan. It's such a solid shaft as I'm finding out myself.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
 
Yoccos said:
Digging the updates guys. Like how the RIP helped you out JMan. It's such a solid shaft as I'm finding out myself.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
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Thanks Yoccos, I know the RIP isn't for everyone, but it sure works well for me historically as its super stable for me. I'd still like the try a Miyazaki Black in this one though at some point.
 
Jman215 said:
Thanks Yoccos, I know the RIP isn't for everyone, but it sure works well for me historically as its super stable for me. I'd still like the try a Miyazaki Black in this one though at some point.
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Always the experimenter! :) Good stuff Jman!
 
I have a love/hate relationship with this thread, it is without a doubt my favorite testing thread on thp. I am happy with my current driver, yet I can't help but wish it had a tad more forgiveness. Enter this thread and the amazing feedback you all have given and I really begin pondering.

Thanks to each of you for being so thorough, and glad to see you back on the course Sean.

--
tapatalk
 
SW said:
I have a love/hate relationship with this thread, it is without a doubt my favorite testing thread on thp. I am happy with my current driver, yet I can't help but wish it had a tad more forgiveness. Enter this thread and the amazing feedback you all have given and I really begin pondering.

Thanks to each of you for being so thorough, and glad to see you back on the course Sean.

--
tapatalk
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I agree Danny, this is my favorite testing thread at this time too, I am like you I love the R-11, just wish it was a little more forgiving on those days when the swing stays home instead of going with me to the course.
 
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