Xander Schauffele Driver Fails

If those three companies are fine, means it’s TM, Mizuno, Ping, or PXG. With one company making them hot and dialing them back, guessing TM may have had an oopsie as well.

That was marketing. No different than any of the others in terms of how they get to limits. Good marketing though
 
That was marketing. No different than any of the others in terms of how they get to limits. Good marketing though

Fair point. Amount of drivers in play, still guessing that.

Funny though that if Xander just hushed his mouth, how no one hears about this
 
It hurts to say because I like the guy, but is Xander a cheater then? Or is this sort of like speeding...everyone knows everyone else is doing it anyways ?

I’d also go with no, not a cheater. He (or someone) may have thought it was just passing when it wasn’t. When millions are on the line, you want to be at the extremes (IMO) and just at the edge of legal.
 
Shave the face wall on your club and let it rip. Thinner the wall, longer the travel but your driver wont last. Same aspect as bat shaving in baseball/softball. All drivers should be compression tested. I bet we would see a bunch of heads "cracking under the pressure".

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk
 
Bad form for Xander. Every "tour" head I have seen has a sticker on it from the OEM stating the exact specs of the head - loft, lie, CT, etc. The player has to trust what the OEM gives them, and Xander should have just shrugged his shoulders and moved on.

This does bring up a few questions for me though:

Do these tests have any variance from one testing center to another? Meaning does Callaway's test match what the R&A gets exactly or are there variables in play that can influence the test?

Do driver's CT change over time or with temperature, etc?
 
Do these tests have any variance from one testing center to another? Meaning does Callaway's test match what the R&A gets exactly or are there variables in play that can influence the test?


Is it possible? Yes. But the variance is very limited. Speaking with Michael Vrska about it, you are looking at 2-3 points max. If a driver came in right at that 257 number, it is possible that a variable is in play by the test, yet those would be very limited cases.
With that said, that is why there is some "wiggle room" with the number being set at 239 and 18 points of variance.
 
Is it possible? Yes. But the variance is very limited. Speaking with Michael Vrska about it, you are looking at 2-3 points max. If a driver came in right at that 257 number, it is possible that a variable is in play by the test, yet those would be very limited cases.
With that said, that is why there is some "wiggle room" with the number being set at 239 and 18 points of variance.

I'm guessing no tour player cares about the 239 and all they care about is being as close to the DQ limit as possible. 239 is essentially meaningless. That would be like posting a speed limit of 55 and then posting a disclaimer underneath that says, "tickets issued if you exceed 65".
 
Just watched Xander's interview and he stated that a PXG and TM driver also failed the test and that 4 player's clubs failed the test. He is pissed that this wasn't kept private by the R&A and I think he has a right to be upset with them. This will be entertaining to follow :popcorn:
 
I'm guessing no tour player cares about the 239 and all they care about is being as close to the DQ limit as possible. 239 is essentially meaningless. That would be like posting a speed limit of 55 and then posting a disclaimer underneath that says, "tickets issued if you exceed 65".

I would venture a guess that good OEMs don’t either. I can say however that there are a number of heads over the past few years that are not at that limit and closer to the 239.
 
I would think a tour van head would be a few points lower than 258 just so it's never a worry. Wonder if it just got mismeasured one way vs another, or the Callaway machine wasn't correctly calibrated or something. I'd assume that with every major brand, because no manufacturer wants to deal with this headache.
 
It's kind of wild to think about, honestly.

Wonder if this encourages any of the bodies out there to be more inclined to test, and at larger numbers.
 
Xander Schauffele Driver Fails

What’s really wild to me about this is (and I know you can’t really extrapolate a sample size this small)...

If they tested 30, and had 3-4 fail, then we could be talking about 10% or 15-ish guys in the field with hot drivers...

I didn’t like Xander’s reaction yesterday, but after thinking more about it he has a totally valid point.
 
Last edited:
Am I the only one who feels this is no big deal at all? Seems blown way blown out of proportion.
 
This speaks to another QC issue, unfortunately for the same company as the golf ball discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This speaks to another QC issue, unfortunately for the same company as the golf ball discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This isn’t a QC issue I’d argue. The hottest heads have ALWAYS been put into the Tour Van’s. This one simply tested too hot, it’s not like he went to the store and picked it up at a big box.
 
I would think a tour van head would be a few points lower than 258 just so it's never a worry. Wonder if it just got mismeasured one way vs another, or the Callaway machine wasn't correctly calibrated or something. I'd assume that with every major brand, because no manufacturer wants to deal with this headache.

Maybe. Or with how critical it is to find a competitive edge I bet they’re all very close to or right at 258
 
What we don't know is, of the 30 tested, how many were Callaway? If this is one failure out of 10 or more (given the number of guys playing Callaway) it is just a "one off". If it is one failure of 1 tested it is a totally different story. TM probably had many tested but if a PXG driver failed, given the much lower number of guys playing PXG drivers, wouldn't their failure be more significant? With an almost 15% failure rate in the 30 tested, either every driver should have been tested or at least every driver from an OEM whose driver failed.
 
I’d be interested to find out if the USGA tested it for CT, would the driver fail or pass?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I’d be interested to find out if the USGA tested it for CT, would the driver fail or pass?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They use the same CT test.
 
They use the same CT test.

But considering the club failed by one point do you think a different machine doing the testing might have it passing at 257?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
But considering the club failed by one point do you think a different machine doing the testing might have it passing at 257?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t know what it failed by, I’ve read nothing further. If it was one point, it could be as simple as the driver getting closer to failure, which CAN make it hotter.

These are all reasons that there are 18 points to play with. Nobody has worked better with those 18 points than Callaway the last 3 years. Just as Cobra's new milling of the face does as well.
 
Is there anyway that the driver was legal when he first got it, it was borderline...but legal. But, after use...it now tests illegal?
 
Apparently, two or as many of three other OEM's had drivers fail the test as well. From GolfWorld:

However, multiple sources have told Golf Digest that Schauffele was not the only player with a driver issue. At least two, and possibly three, equipment manufacturers other than Callaway had clubs deemed nonconforming.

Golf Digest reached out to OEMs on Friday evening and Saturday morning to see if their products failed the test. As of writing, no one would confirm or deny the results on record. UPDATE: According to a company spokesperson, no Titleist players' drivers failed the R&A's CT test. Srixon/XXIO also told Golf Digest that "all of our drivers passed."
In a follow-up to the R&A on the prospect of multiple failures, the organization replied it would not comment further on the process.

I had heard that 4 drivers of the 30 failed. Which surprised me and lends itself to Xander's response that they all should be checked.
 
This speaks to another QC issue, unfortunately for the same company as the golf ball discussion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm a little late to the party here. But, I am very much doubting that his driver failed by much. Also, why did his name only get leaked? If there were 3-4 others that failed, why would they keep those hush hush and have his name thrown out there?

Either way, my thoughts are this. With as far these OEMs push their limits these days, why not just test all drivers? I think a 10% + failure rate warrants that.

Also, for those saying he should have known, my question is this. Do other pros regularly have their own equipment tested over time after they put a club in play? Genuine question as I do not know the answer. If that's not the case, how else would he have known? If we're talking this thing was right at the limit initially and went up a couple points over time, that's almost a non factor in performance. 1mph ball speed? Maybe?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top