royalwulff
New member
Relax dude your doing great! thanks for the response on the headcover.
Cleveland CG Black Driver Forum Testing Review Thread
Relax dude your doing great! thanks for the response on the headcover.
royalwulff
New member
Thanks for the response. Its good to hear that it is not just a sewn on strap.
Smallville
#ICanHitADraw
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Me too. I can't wait for the on course testing to start!
VA. Vince
SC bound...
? for the testers, what is your normal ball flight with whatever driver you have been using? What is it now with the CG Black? I know this may take some time as you all are receiving the club but if you could answer this ? when ever you start feeling comfortable with the Black.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
Vince my normal ball flight with driver right now is pretty straight or a slight fade. I don't have the CB yet so I can't tell you what it is with that.
JConn
Proud 2013 MC Participant
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Great stuff c0ncept. I'm looking forward to everyone's thoughts on this.
I know it is early, so this question can't be answered yet, but I want to put a bug in the testers ears for when there testing this driver so I don't forget to ask! How is the spin compared to your current driver? Are you noticing more/less roll out than normal? Also, are you noticing more/less side spin (drawing/fading more)?
Thanks in advance guys! Have fun testing this beautiful club. I still can't get over how great this club looks, headcover and all.
I know it is early, so this question can't be answered yet, but I want to put a bug in the testers ears for when there testing this driver so I don't forget to ask! How is the spin compared to your current driver? Are you noticing more/less roll out than normal? Also, are you noticing more/less side spin (drawing/fading more)?
Thanks in advance guys! Have fun testing this beautiful club. I still can't get over how great this club looks, headcover and all.
VA. Vince
SC bound...
Cool, I will ask again in a couple of weeks.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Great start guys, I especially liked the side by side pics. I am really looking forward to what you have to say when you get this beauty on the course. You will have many of us following this thread closely, just relax, have fun and be brutally honest in your thoughts. We are counting on you and thank each of you in advance for being willing to give it your best.
10YardDraw
Ex Club Ho
Great pics cOncept! Looking forward to seeing how it works for you, to say I am jealous is a understatement haha.
sharkwrestler
One bad arse Dude
Excellent start with the initial reviews and awesome pics from the tester's that have received their driver's .Good luck with the round tomorrow concept I'm sure there will be many THPers awaiting at their screen waiting to read your feedback me included.
d_in_la
Not so in LA.
Cleveland Golf CG Black 10.5° Stiff Test
Test Date: 11.11.11
Where: Range
Purpose: Getting to know you CG Black
Comparison club: Taylor Made R7 460 10.5° Stiff
Weather: 65° (start) to 62° (end), some SoCal drizzle. (felt colder)
Tonight I made it out to the range for a "Getting to Know You" session with the Cleveland Golf CG Black Driver. My only real goals were to get warmed up, make some full swings, compare to my current gamer and then finish out my remaining balls with the CG Black.
As I started stretching, I was worried I'd have to end my evening before it started as we got a little SoCal Drizzle at the range. SoCal Drizzle is super light, thinly constituted drop rain that never fully wets dry pavement or even really gets your shirt wet. It might last for 2-7 minutes and it is only annoying enough that non-porous surfaces like the rubber holder for the balls sit in will have a bit of water pooled at the bottom. (Which, was pretty cool since I could look at the contact on the face every time by the splash marks!) The drizzle came by a few more times during the session, but only to say "hi" and remind us a storm is coming in this weekend.
I pulled my favorite warm up club, a Boccieri Golf Heavy 3 Wood, and could not find a good tempo nor could I finding the center of the club face. After taking a short break on a wet bench I started over and found a nice smooth swing and grooved a few down the range. I think wanted to finish before the storm rolled in (it still isn't here) and worrying about hitting the 46" CG Black got into my head so I was standing further back. I'm glad I worked it out!
Then I pulled the CG Black.
Swing #1 after-thought: "Ok, don't judge this by one swing."
Swing #2 after-thought: "..and I didn't even hit the center of the club face!"
Swing #3 after-thought: "Ok ok, it isn't perfect. And by 'it' I mean 'my swing.'"
Swing #4 after-thought: "woah, woah! what was THAT?!"
Swing #5 after-thought: "oh yeah! Chick-chicka-chicka!" (Some of you may recognize it from this: http://youtu.be/0af1bEGkxoA)
Essentially, rinse and repeat from there. Cleveland really has something with this bad boy. ok ok ... more details:
I had a hard time finding the center of the club face, but I wasn't off by much. Just not used to the extra length. I was a little, less than an inch or so, hitting off-center ... and I was still dropping bombs. Misses just off-center towards the heel or toe were not punished much at all. Center face resulted in rockets. I even hit two damn-near hosel shots that flew pretty straight but not long and one very thin that flew straight until a big fade, nearly slice at the end. Good tempo swings were well rewarded and the CG Black-Miyazaki shaft definitely swallowed up my poor tempo swings and threw out some pretty decent results. Of course, no club will hide a bad swing, so there were definitely some push-fades, some BIIIG push-fades and the very rare slice.
Now I won't say I'm more comfortable with the CG Black as I am with my good ole R7 460, but I have to admit, I wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I thought - and again, I wasn't hitting the CG Black on the sweetest spot yet! One of the things I love about my R7 is that I always know where the club head is and for the most part, the feedback from the head-shaft combo helps with those tiny adjustments you make unconsciously (and consciously) day-to-day. The CG Black was almost as good in the former - I always knew where the head was, and a little less responsive on feedback, but never so much that I was shocked where the ball mark/splash was. Now to be clear, the CG Black was clearly so much more forgiving, I had to really prepare another level of sensitivity to understand the feedback, because what my eyes were seeing didn't match my previous experiences with the R7 feel.
At first, I would say my R7 was a bit longer and definitely not as loud. However, once I found a nice groove, the CG Black started catching up and the closer I was to the center of the club face, the better the sound. Then a few things happened: 1) I started hitting the back of the range, on one bounce and I'm *sure* I hit the back net on the fly a few times. I put the net in the 270+ range, next time I go, I'm going to get a definitive distance ... because I was SHOCKED at how far I was hitting it. 2) this Miyazaki shaft is something else.
I found a little groove with the CG Black and started striping it down the range. Straight arrows, still a bit lower flight than I wanted, but hey, first time swinging right? Then all the sudden I feel this extra kick happen and the ball just ... explodes. I audibled a "what the eff was that?!" I found this extra gear on the shaft that just blew my mind - and repeated it for a few swings, then lost it, then found it, lost, found, and finally lost again. This sixth gear loaded the shaft and absolutely crushed the ball, extra height, distance and I'm sure the club head speed through the hitting zone. It was the purest thing I've ever felt in any golf swing I've made. An epiphany moment. The angels came down and sang a note.
I definitely need to hold my lag a little longer to get that extra gear on the Miyazaki, but at first blush, the CG Black head with that extra light shaft is something special because even without loading the shaft with that extra kick I was crushing balls further than I'm used to seeing them.
I mentioned previously that I like a larger grip but I really didn't notice it too much with this super light head-shaft-grip combo. This was not a result I was expecting. I will be paying close attention to this in future sessions and rounds. If I change it, I will definitely be looking to keep this light weight arrangement.
All in all, a pretty good GTKY session. I definitely understand why everyone who has hit this club loves it. I hope to get back to the range between rain breaks over the weekend - preferably in the sun - so I can see the distance difference between the CG Black and my gamer R7 and take some videos.
FINALLY, I still haven't settled on a nickname. On the forums, in my mind and from a few friends I've heard:
Black Beauty
Black Velveteen (great Lenny Kravitz song)
Haka (after the Maori war dance the All Blacks do before matches)
Magic 8Ball
Ace (of Spades)
Vader or Darth
Ninja
Trips (as in Triple Black convertible - black paint, black interior, black rag top)
Test Date: 11.11.11
Where: Range
Purpose: Getting to know you CG Black
Comparison club: Taylor Made R7 460 10.5° Stiff
Weather: 65° (start) to 62° (end), some SoCal drizzle. (felt colder)
Tonight I made it out to the range for a "Getting to Know You" session with the Cleveland Golf CG Black Driver. My only real goals were to get warmed up, make some full swings, compare to my current gamer and then finish out my remaining balls with the CG Black.
As I started stretching, I was worried I'd have to end my evening before it started as we got a little SoCal Drizzle at the range. SoCal Drizzle is super light, thinly constituted drop rain that never fully wets dry pavement or even really gets your shirt wet. It might last for 2-7 minutes and it is only annoying enough that non-porous surfaces like the rubber holder for the balls sit in will have a bit of water pooled at the bottom. (Which, was pretty cool since I could look at the contact on the face every time by the splash marks!) The drizzle came by a few more times during the session, but only to say "hi" and remind us a storm is coming in this weekend.
I pulled my favorite warm up club, a Boccieri Golf Heavy 3 Wood, and could not find a good tempo nor could I finding the center of the club face. After taking a short break on a wet bench I started over and found a nice smooth swing and grooved a few down the range. I think wanted to finish before the storm rolled in (it still isn't here) and worrying about hitting the 46" CG Black got into my head so I was standing further back. I'm glad I worked it out!
Then I pulled the CG Black.
Swing #1 after-thought: "Ok, don't judge this by one swing."
Swing #2 after-thought: "..and I didn't even hit the center of the club face!"
Swing #3 after-thought: "Ok ok, it isn't perfect. And by 'it' I mean 'my swing.'"
Swing #4 after-thought: "woah, woah! what was THAT?!"
Swing #5 after-thought: "oh yeah! Chick-chicka-chicka!" (Some of you may recognize it from this: http://youtu.be/0af1bEGkxoA)
Essentially, rinse and repeat from there. Cleveland really has something with this bad boy. ok ok ... more details:
I had a hard time finding the center of the club face, but I wasn't off by much. Just not used to the extra length. I was a little, less than an inch or so, hitting off-center ... and I was still dropping bombs. Misses just off-center towards the heel or toe were not punished much at all. Center face resulted in rockets. I even hit two damn-near hosel shots that flew pretty straight but not long and one very thin that flew straight until a big fade, nearly slice at the end. Good tempo swings were well rewarded and the CG Black-Miyazaki shaft definitely swallowed up my poor tempo swings and threw out some pretty decent results. Of course, no club will hide a bad swing, so there were definitely some push-fades, some BIIIG push-fades and the very rare slice.
Now I won't say I'm more comfortable with the CG Black as I am with my good ole R7 460, but I have to admit, I wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I thought - and again, I wasn't hitting the CG Black on the sweetest spot yet! One of the things I love about my R7 is that I always know where the club head is and for the most part, the feedback from the head-shaft combo helps with those tiny adjustments you make unconsciously (and consciously) day-to-day. The CG Black was almost as good in the former - I always knew where the head was, and a little less responsive on feedback, but never so much that I was shocked where the ball mark/splash was. Now to be clear, the CG Black was clearly so much more forgiving, I had to really prepare another level of sensitivity to understand the feedback, because what my eyes were seeing didn't match my previous experiences with the R7 feel.
At first, I would say my R7 was a bit longer and definitely not as loud. However, once I found a nice groove, the CG Black started catching up and the closer I was to the center of the club face, the better the sound. Then a few things happened: 1) I started hitting the back of the range, on one bounce and I'm *sure* I hit the back net on the fly a few times. I put the net in the 270+ range, next time I go, I'm going to get a definitive distance ... because I was SHOCKED at how far I was hitting it. 2) this Miyazaki shaft is something else.
I found a little groove with the CG Black and started striping it down the range. Straight arrows, still a bit lower flight than I wanted, but hey, first time swinging right? Then all the sudden I feel this extra kick happen and the ball just ... explodes. I audibled a "what the eff was that?!" I found this extra gear on the shaft that just blew my mind - and repeated it for a few swings, then lost it, then found it, lost, found, and finally lost again. This sixth gear loaded the shaft and absolutely crushed the ball, extra height, distance and I'm sure the club head speed through the hitting zone. It was the purest thing I've ever felt in any golf swing I've made. An epiphany moment. The angels came down and sang a note.
I definitely need to hold my lag a little longer to get that extra gear on the Miyazaki, but at first blush, the CG Black head with that extra light shaft is something special because even without loading the shaft with that extra kick I was crushing balls further than I'm used to seeing them.
I mentioned previously that I like a larger grip but I really didn't notice it too much with this super light head-shaft-grip combo. This was not a result I was expecting. I will be paying close attention to this in future sessions and rounds. If I change it, I will definitely be looking to keep this light weight arrangement.
All in all, a pretty good GTKY session. I definitely understand why everyone who has hit this club loves it. I hope to get back to the range between rain breaks over the weekend - preferably in the sun - so I can see the distance difference between the CG Black and my gamer R7 and take some videos.
FINALLY, I still haven't settled on a nickname. On the forums, in my mind and from a few friends I've heard:
Black Beauty
Black Velveteen (great Lenny Kravitz song)
Haka (after the Maori war dance the All Blacks do before matches)
Magic 8Ball
Ace (of Spades)
Vader or Darth
Ninja
Trips (as in Triple Black convertible - black paint, black interior, black rag top)
royalwulff
New member
Great write up D! I am interested in how the grip works out for you since I also play a mid sized grip. It sounds like this stick is a bomber from your first impressions, and looking forward to some on course write ups.
CharlieMoy
Well-known member
Great stuff guys..
Great first trip out write up d_in_la! Very enjoyable to read and easy to follow.
When you have a moment, can you elaborate on what helped you find that extra gear in the shaft? Was it something cognizant you did like waiting a tad bit longer at the top or ??
Thanks!!
Tappin' from my iPad!
When you have a moment, can you elaborate on what helped you find that extra gear in the shaft? Was it something cognizant you did like waiting a tad bit longer at the top or ??
Thanks!!
Tappin' from my iPad!
Idrops
Active member
Nice write up. Sounds like a love story.
TC
Keg Thrower
If I had a Black driver I may name mine "KIT", ie, Night Rider. Nice write up DnLA. Sounds like you just need to get fully familiarized.
Enjoyed the initial range session write up DnLA. Once again I stopped in GG to see if they might have this driver and none of them had even seen it yet. But in pictures. Lame. Look forward to everyone else getting their drivers and joining the fun.
TC
Keg Thrower
This one massively has your attention doesn't it?
FrankA
Catch ya on the flip side
- Joined
- Jun 17, 2011
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We are all getting in line on Tuesday I think. Do you have a distance that you have to make to pull the trigger?
Keen interest.
Not really. Im looking for one thing from the testers and its not as much about distance as it is about what kind of ball flight they see. Im concerned with high launch, high spin might equal not good for me.
- Thread starter
- Admin
- #75
Out of curiosity, why?