Bobby Jones Black Driver - THP Preview

[hopnstop]

Matte Black looks pretty sweet, as do the headcovers.
I am surprised though that adjustable face angle is only "square to 2 ° closed", particularly in that 9° head. IIRC a lot of higher swingspeed guys like an open face

 

[golfinFF]

that mat black and red looks amazing I will be looking forward to your thoughts

 

[lopsta5]

Great start Dan. Is it just the photo or is the crown massive?

 

[Brianbigoats]

Looking forward to herring more about this driver very clean look love the matte black

 

[Canadan]

Matte Black looks pretty sweet, as do the headcovers.
I am surprised though that adjustable face angle is only "square to 2 ° closed", particularly in that 9° head. IIRC a lot of higher swingspeed guys like an open face

It's an interesting decision, I agree. With that in mind, after two range sessions, I'm not having much issues in terms of over-turning the ball left despite it being in the +1 setting. I am typically an open face playing a small draw type of player as well.

Great start Dan. Is it just the photo or is the crown massive?

460CC, but it sits a bit more flat on the crown than many of the other drivers on the market. The Ping G20 would be an example of a driver that is a bit longer from face to back with a reduced crown raise. Not comparing the two drivers or saying they hit the same, just trying to give you an idea.

Here's a pic of the club at address;

 

[majBC]

It's an interesting decision, I agree. With that in mind, after two range sessions, I'm not having much issues in terms of over-turning the ball left despite it being in the +1 setting. I am typically an open face playing a small draw type of player as well.



460CC, but it sits a bit more flat on the crown than many of the other drivers on the market. The Ping G20 would be an example of a driver that is a bit longer from face to back with a reduced crown raise. Not comparing the two drivers or saying they hit the same, just trying to give you an idea.

Here's a pic of the club at address;

I'm curious how this is working for you, as I remember you are a high ball, high spin (high spin I assume) player and most of the Bobby Jones clubs have been moon balls for me. Are you finding a very high ball flight?

 

[Puttin4Bird]

It's definitely a nice looking one for sure, I can't wait to hear some thoughts on it Canadan! Go break golf balls with that thing!

 

[Canadan]

I'm curious how this is working for you, as I remember you are a high ball, high spin (high spin I assume) player and most of the Bobby Jones clubs have been moon balls for me. Are you finding a very high ball flight?

I'm not really at the same level I was a year ago with this. Swing refinement has helped me become a bit more neutral with my driver, which formerly had me playing low lofts and adding a heap of spin to every swing I took regardless of shaft. I now hit closer to neutral rather than being -3/-4 on attack and that's really reduced my need for unique shaft/head pairings.

As mentioned in the excerpt from the Bobby Jones website, Ortiz notes the cup face design of the black reducing spin without limiting ball velocity. While I only have two range sessions under my belt with the club, I don't find myself ballooning the black all that much (but maybe our definitions of ballooning are different). The flighting is predictable for a mid spin, mid launch lighter shaft. Being that I've only been able to hit on range thus far, it's hard to comment on overall carry and rollout, however when I look at a driver, my focus is on whether it can stay in the fairway on both good strikes and poor strikes.

Shots off the toe promote a high draw, and shots off the inside promote a lower fade. Not seeing much distance decrease in the high draw, with maybe 10% in the low fade, but that should be expected for off center contact. Altering for small shot shaping adjustments (baby fades and tighter draws) are surprisingly easy as well.

 

[AMart]

Interesting driver this Blackbird is... very pleasing at address and the large face inspires confidence. The light swing weight helps to increase swing speed. I only took a couple swings so I really didn't get a feel for distance. The shaft holds up well for being so light. As Dan said, The headcover is fantastic! The sound was a little surprising though. I've definitely become use to the muted sound of drivers like the SLDR or BB Alpha.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[GregDan]

Great thoughts Dan. I am so happy you are getting that swing a little flatter and not having those crazy high ballon balls.

Driver looks fantastic and I am curious how it stacks up to some of the drivers you have liked in the past.

 

[Nebgolfer]

Here's a pic of the club at address;

I am digging that pic something fierce. The matte black with the red accents and red shaft just pop. Looking forward to hearing whether it performs as well as it looks.

 

[Scrap Iron]

Those pics you put up make the driver look much better than what I saw on the website. Does any store carry these or is it only online sales.

 

[Canadan]

I wanted to bump this as I close in on the completion of my review and mention how pleasantly surprised I have been by the Bobby Jones Black driver.

The review will explain in much better detail what I mean by this, but if you judge a book by the preface, you're missing out on good things. That is something I have experienced first hand probably 10-20 times in the last week and a half (most ending genuinely positive), and it leaves me confident that Jesse Ortiz and Bobby Jones have introduced some very solid technology in their Black line.

Also, with a bit of a wind helper, I hit this on the 18th hole of my home course on Saturday, a 450 yard par 4. The drive was GPSed at 310 yards and I had very few approach shot divots to contend with that far up the hole. Performance is absolutely there.

 

[TheDoctor]

I missed this previously, but I do like the look of that driver - the alignment logo symbol is a nice little techy-geek touch

Looking at your opening post pics, I got the impression that the alignment logo looked to be slightly more towards the toe, but after seeing the address pic it is obviously not. It just looks nice and simple with the matte finish on the crown with the graphics not being intrusive at all

 

[Nate]

Interesting looking driver with the black and red contrast. Looking forward to the review.

 

[Lockman850]

I'm really interested to read the review. This might be my next driver. I like clubs that make some people turn there nose and laugh, untill you rip it past them all day long.

swing your swing

 

[deuce]

I missed this previously, but I do like the look of that driver - the alignment logo symbol is a nice little techy-geek touch

Yep, that club definitely lets you know that it's "Game On!" when you address your first shot with it.

 

[tucsondivots]

Any idea how this might compare with the Cleveland CG Black? With a 200 gram head, it would seem to be as light as the CG Black. That would be a good thing for me.

 

[Lockman850]

Bump this thread. I'm jonesing for some Bobby Jones. Any updates or anyone got one in the bag? This and the new mizuno driver defiantly are at the top of my lust list.

swing your swing

 

[JB]

Any idea how this might compare with the Cleveland CG Black? With a 200 gram head, it would seem to be as light as the CG Black. That would be a good thing for me.

It plays a bit different for me. Similar launch but that is about where the comparisons end.

 

[ehamady.6]

I like the Batmobile color scheme.

 

[Lockman850]

It plays a bit different for me. Similar launch but that is about where the comparisons end.

JB, do you still have this in the bag? Any new thoughts about this club?

swing your swing

 

[JB]

JB, do you still have this in the bag? Any new thoughts about this club?

swing your swing

I was not the one the review this one although I did try it out. Solid driver head across the board.