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Top 5 Drivers of 2013

SuperStroke
Top 5 Drivers of 2013

I believe I only hit 3 from 2013. I liked them in this order but non beat out the 910D for me.

1. RBZ Stage 2 (2013 or 2012?)

2. Amp Cell

3. Razr Fit Extreme



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Had a great year testing clubs out on the course. The ones that stood out for me performance wise:

Taylormade R-1

Taylormade SLDR

Callaway Optiforce

Ping G-25

Titleist 913 D3
 
Jman said:
1) Callaway Optiforce - Game changer for me, forgiveness, length, and a DAMN good stock shaft too. Not to mention the new Opti-Fit is easy and effective. Expected nothing going in but came away shocked, under the radar performer as the year closed and the rumblings of Bertha came along.

2) Cobra AMP Cell - The improvements on the E9 face were epic, the most cross face forgiving driver of the year, shaft tinkering was necessary to unlock distance though. Sleeper of the year, if you got people to TRY it, they were shocked time and again.

3) Callaway XHOT Pro - Best sounding/feeling driver put out in YEARS and the benchmark to what all drivers should sound like. Decent cross face forgiveness and good distance.

4) Cleveland Classic Custom - A nice step from the Classic, unique murdered out look, LONG for me, decently forgiving for my miss, and a unique sound.

5) Callaway RFE - Aesthetically blissful. Great sound/feel, long, lower spinning, not the most forgiving across the face for me. Needed some shaft help too for me.
Click to expand...

This^^^^^^^
 
1. Cobra Amp Cell - Forgiving, long, and adjustable in a format any golfer can understand.
2. Callaway Optiforce - Fast is the new long. This is design space that hasn't been fully explored yet in terms of aerodynamics, IMO, but it'll get there.
3. TaylorMade SLDR - Loft is the new long. Drivers have been adjustable for a while, but the combination of low-forward CG and sliding weight made this one radically so. Dialed in, this kid is long.
4. Cleveland Classic Custom - As pretty a driver as was made in 2013, amazing shaft options, and solid customization.
5. TaylorMade RBZ Stage 2 - Long, reasonably forgiving, at a stellar price point. One of the best values out there in 2013.
 
1. 913 d2 (tested a lot of them and this is my gamer)
2. X Hot (this line was a game changer)
3. Optiforce (not much time with this one but was a hit)
4. R1 (most adjustable drive of the year)
5. Covert (loved the cavity back approach, can't wait to try the v2)
 
1 - R1 , very forgiving and long for me.
2 - RFE , ball jumped but not as forgiving.
3 - SLDR , long but punishing also feel is different for me.
4 - Cleveland Custom , I feel I gave up on it too really looking back.

I also should hit the amp cell by all the high rankings.
 
1. Cleveland Classic XL Custom
2. Cobra Amp Cell
3. Callaway RFE
4. Cleveland Classic XL


These are the only ones I actually games outside of a sim.
 
1. Amp Cell
2. Xhot Pro
3. Classic XL
4. RFE
5. R1
 
Of the ones I spent time with/owned, by ranking would be
1. Callaway Razr Fit Extreme
2. TaylorMade SLDR
3. TaylorMade R1
4. Callaway XHot
5. Ping G25
 
1 - TaylorMade SLDR - This driver is what I like to consider a niche and nearly perfect beast.... for center of face strikers demanding reduced spin. I jumped right in, found a great shaft pairing, and launched bombs after utilizing the sliding weight port. While it didn't meet the needs of many, I'm not sure a driver from TaylorMade could have suited my game much better at a 9.5 loft.

Here's what is weird. Nothing else really screamed at me.

- I enjoyed my run in with the Fit Xtreme but I'm not certain they improved enough pieces of the Fit to make the list.
- I had about 10 minutes of 'fame' bashing a Callaway Optiforce 440 with an Ahina 70x in it (I should probably own it), but the head design isn't exactly 'opti-mized' for Canadan golf.
- The X Hot pro belongs on a list for how many people loved it, but once again, it didn't stand out to me.

Really, I am just so pleased with the potential of the J40 driver, that only the SLDR belongs on my list in terms of comparisons. The closest to suiting my swing might have been the Covert (which I found to be a ridiculous design and offered abysmal feedback on even the best of strikes). I can't give up 'pleasing to hit' for limited spin and limited forgiveness.
 
Razr Fit Extreme
G25
Tour Edge Exotics XCG6
Amp cell
R1
 
Here goes!

1) Cobra Amp Cell - this driver has changed how I look at my tee game. Even before finding the perfect shaft this driver was forgiving enough for my early troubles. Love the colors and the technology.

2) I thought the R1 was a great driver as well. Fit a lot of golfers and allowed for a ton of customization.

3) I didn't hit the RFX but I loved the look and the added customization.

4) Nike Covert - I started playing this driver in early march, but the low spin was not ideal for me. I think V2 is only gonna be better! The red is awesome.
 
1. Titlest 913d2 This driver is what I would use if I were a better ballstriker. It just does everything well from looks to sound/feel to performance and does nothing poorly. The only reason it's not in the bag is because the Amp Cell is like cheating. They took the forgiveness of the 910d2 and added to lower launch/spin characteristics of the 910d3 and made this an absolute winner.
2. Tour Edge XCG6 It's actually frightening how low spin this head is and the distance that can be seen is obscene. The face is so hot and gave me ball speeds that I don't think I'll ever match with another driver for quite a while. It is definitely harder to control and is one of those clubs where hitting the sweetspot isn't always enough.
3. Amp Cell This driver is the AD of golf clubs. Straight. Workable. All day. In blue paint with a Kusala blue it's a work of art. Those of you who know me are probably wondering why this isn't numero uno and that's because I just can't give the number 1 spot to a club with such a lousy stock shaft. This club head is number 1, but it NEEDS the correct shaft to unlock all the goodness.
4. Optiforce 440 I hit this driver on a few occasions and it gave me the closest numbers to the "Trackman Optimal" that I've seen for my swing, looks great in the black/white, and really holds a surprising amount of forgiveness in a smaller head.
5. Taylormade R1 I hit this club expecting to hate it like I did the R11S and R11 before it but came away quite impressed. At the time it didn't at all feel like a typical T-Mag driver (good thing). Similar to the Titleist in that it does everything well, and nothing poorly. Titleist wins any head to head just due to superior shaft options at the same price tag.


Going a step further I will say that the most disappointing driver of 2013 for me was the Razr Fit Extreme. I was the biggest fan of the 2012 Razr Fit and expected big things especially after the "Longest Driver in Golf" campaign and twitter release but this came up way short. The head just felt absolutely dead and achieving any kind of appropriate launch was impossible. Obviously this is a club/swing pairing issue but that's my take.
 
1. Covert Tour
2. 913 D2
3. 913 D3
4. X Hot Pro
5. RBZ Stage 2/Covert Performance
 
1. Callaway X-Hot Pro
2. Callaway RFE
3. Taylor made SLDR

(I only tried 3 drivers this year)
 
1. Callaway X-Hot
2. Callaway Opti Force
3. Cobra Amp Cell
4. Callaway RFE
5. Taylormade R1
 
I didn't really try too many drivers this year. I think I only have 1 to put on my list:

1. Taylormade SLDR

Echo a bit of Dan's post, this driver seemed to cause some unforgiving issues for some. But it just works great for me. Fairway percentages are up, carry distance is up, my normal miss is not hugely punishing. Just a win for me.

The other Drivers I tried: Yonex, Covert, Stage2, XHot. Out of them I liked the XHot the best but I think I would have preferred the XHotPro better but didn't get a chance to try it.
 
1. Titleist 913d3
2. Cobra Amp Cell
3. X Hot
4. R1
5. Razr Fit Extreme
 
Here are my top 5:

1- Callaway Optiforce 440: Long, great feel/sound, and simply gorgeous. Stock shaft was great but couldn't get the distance with the S+ like I did with the original BlueBoard. I feel this is a very over looked driver with the release of the Big Bertha and such.
2- Callaway RFX: I bought this right when it came out because of the great reviews on here. It was a fairway finder for sure and pretty long. Had to hit it on the screws though.
3- Nike Covert Tour: If the crown was black with a white swoosh, I would have loved this driver. Just hate the color red. Stock shaft was lacking a bit, but would have been great with a higher spinning shaft like a White Tie or AD-DI.
4- PING G25: Wish this was a 440 sized head. It just looked like i was swinging a dinner plate. Wasn't the longest, but it was the straightest.
5- Titleist 913 D2: Really loved the 910 and thought the 913 would be better, but it was the same if not worse for me when it came to distance. Looking back if I would have had a S+ or BlueBoard in it, I probably would have gamed it
 
well, I only got to hit 4 2013 model year drivers but here's my ranking:

1) Callaway RAZR Fit Extreme: It just works for me. Sounds beautiful and the flight is so penetrating. Not a huge distance gain just consistent. Black Tie shaft A+++
2) TaylorMade R1 TP: Would have liked more time with this one but it didn't belong to me. I hit it further than the RFE just not as straight. Maybe could have fixed that with adjustments and some range time but hit my RFE too well to drop money on an R1 TP
3) Callaway XHot: Hit it a good distance but mostly pull hooks due to shaft and closed face.
4) Tour Edge Exotics XCG6: This one never worked for me. Too light and tiny sweet spot. Just a bad fit.
 
For me:

Callaway XHot
Callaway OptiForce 440
Cobra Amp Cell
Ping G25
Taylormade R1
 
I signed up to PGA Superstore's players club plus program in Janurary 2013 (great deal if you have one near you!) and I think I hit almost every 2013 driver that the superstore carries either on the launch monitor, at the driving range, on the course golf course, or a combination of all three. These are my top 5:
1) Cobra Amp Cell - Straight distance, look, and feel.
2) Nike Covert - Pleasantly surprised everytime I hit it. Not quite as long for me as the Cobra
3) TM SLDR - I've only hit this on a launch monitor a couple of times but it's a great club. If I can play it as well on the course as I hit it on the launch monitor, it might be my top driver of 2013.
4) Callaway X Hot - For me, not the longest or the straightest, but still a good driver.
5) Wilson D100 - I'm surprised this isn't on more lists. I think it's the longest driver I hit all year but I was inconsistent with where it was going.

I'll be baggin' the Cobra sometime in the next month or so when I find the right price. I just couldn't bring myself to pay full price for it in 2013 since I'm such a cheapskate.
 
1 callaway x hot

2 Callaway razr fit Xtreme

3 cobra amp cell pro

4 Callaway optiforce

4 titleist 913


Lots of great drivers this year
 
Top Five Drivers in 2013:

1. Callaway XHot - I started to forget what hitting out of the short grass felt like until I purchased this one.
2. Taylormade R1
3. Cobra Amp Cell
4. Cleveland Classic XL/XL Custom - Being a Cleveland homer for so long it was difficult going with the XHot. Overrall feel and performance made that somewhat easier
 
From those that I hit:

1) Amp Cell
2) R1
3) XHOT
4) STAGE 2
 
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