- Staff
- #1
Hey there THP, how are you doing? Good?
Good.
Welcome to something a little crazy that Ddec and myself sort of came up with for our 'On The Tee Box' podcast on THP Radio, #BagBattles. Now, if you don't know what that means or what it is, check out our show that debuted the idea (here: https://www.thehackersparadise.com/tee-box-volume-7-cobra-connect-honma-golf-mizuno-fitting/) if you've got the time or the curiosity, it was a fun show. For those that don't, here's the rundown, in simplest terms we see a LOT of things come across our desk for reviews but when the dust settles its no different for us than it is for every other THP'er, we want the best equipment for our game in the bag, enter #BagBattles, a place where that journey can be chronicled and shared with all of THP for discussion...or even humor.
Here's the curveball I'm throwing out there to it all though, I think #BagBattles is something for ANYone or EVERYone here on THP. What better way to discuss the journey of your game and bag setup while getting some feedback, help, direction, or whatever else than putting it out there? Personally, I dig the title layout of this one, it makes it easy to find and identify, but that doesn't mean the thread shouldn't be utilized by others. The name of this game is boosting the golf discussion for one and all on the community, and maybe learning some things on the way. Plus, it seems so many long for those head to head comparisons as opposed to focusing just on a single club, so this could be an easy and clean way to do that too every so often. The name of the game is FUN, so lets have some fun, shall we?
The Contenders:
I've gone through pretty much every single driver on the market this season, I've reviewed a few for THP, but more than that I have bought many with my own moolah for the sake of finding what fits me best right now. Will this edition of #BagBattles end my journey? Come on, you all know me better than that, new and shiny is looming. BUT, at this moment in time that fight has come down to the two most popular driver lines on the market right now. So lets meet the contenders, shall we?
2017 Taylormade M1 - 12*
I'm a lower launch guy even as a high swing speed player, you'll see that in my numbers here later, so higher loft options attract me, enter the TM M1 12* head. Its nice to see the 12* base (non adjusted) option versus a 13.5* like Callaway offers because being honest the 13.5* thing messes with my head even as a high loft lover. No, that doesn't make sense, but dammit its my brain! Anywho, the M1 is attractive to me because as a tinkerer I love the adjustability it offers on the head more than the adapter and the shifting of the sliding weight tracks this year has made them infinitely more effective in my experience. Over the last month, the M1 had taken over my bag and I will 100% admit I have been in total love with the head. I've hit some incredibly long drives with it and settled into standard loft with the weights set to full draw and all the way back for maximum launch. More than that though, THP'ers have witnessed how comfortable I have been with the '17 M1 and for me with a driver that is a big damn deal.
While the spotlight is on this head for a moment, I want to throw out there that TM has DEFINITELY improved the playability of the M-Series woods this year, they are more forgiving than they were and they in my experience both produce more launch without an increase of spin or sacrifice of feel. That said, I'll also use the stage again to reiterate that I really hope we see TM change their driver face tech soon, they are just so far behind companies like Callaway, Cobra, and even Titleist in that regards that its a shame. Beyond that though, the distance potential in the M1 is big, really big, and to this date for me it is the BEST looking clubhead at address with the two town material look and this year the tweaks to the weight leadiing edge shape makes it just that much sharper to the eye.
So if you enjoy the M1 so much, why do this you might ask? Two-fold answer there. One, I love to tinker. Two, my gosh this makes for some AWESOME potential golf talk on the forum.
Entering the #BagBattles throwdown I had been playing the '17 M1 at 12*, full back, full draw, paired with a THCE Custom shaft (Kevin special) at 45" with my preferred D4 SW.
Callaway Epic - 10.5
First, for those that saw my Tweet yesterday (@Jman_THP
) you'll notice that was a pic of the SZ, whoops, thanks to twitter not allowing edits I couldn't fix it but I picked the wrong pic fro my photo gallery. The SZ is good, but far far far far too fade biased for me.
The Epic needs little introduction or discussion here on THP, or anywhere right now for that matter, but hey, I'm a wordsmith so hang in there with me anyways. It has been a very long while since we have seen a driver with this amount of buzz/hype/whatever and it is the big reason the company has indeed ascended to the top of the mountain in drivers this past year, crazy when you think about where things were just three years ago. That said, as touched on with the M1 segment, I'm a high loft driver guy and i own that, but for the Epic I went 10.5* because the jump all the way to a 13.5* option just wigs me out a bit (personal) so traditionally its an easy change with the Opti-Fit adapter because I can up the loft to the 11.5-12.5 range and still keep the face angle more where I want it, now, for this head to head things were done a little differently there to keep people from crying foul, but I'll get there.
The Epic has a look unto itself and it showcases its technology maybe better than any driver I have seen since the TM R7? From address you get the speed steps and more than that a smack in the face of the Triaxial Carbon used in the crown with the fade paint job. From the bottom, its all about the relocated sliding track to maximize its effectiveness and the visible "rods" near the face of the Jailbreak tech which is often hailed as either revolutionary by some, or hype by others. Facts are, if you find the middle of the face all the time you aren't going to see the real benefits from it, but if you are a mere mortal like myself and many others its everything it claims to be in forgiveness and is going to create a gap from Callaway to other OEM's in my personal opinion. Again on the sole, the Triaxial CF is showcased just like TM with their carbon sole, these are two drivers packed with tech and trying to show it off to the world. How freaking fun is that for us consumers? Really freaking fun.
But James, if you talk up the Epic so much, why did you stop playing it? Again, two-fold. One, I like to tinker (yep, repetitive answer). Two, I personally wanted a change and am of the belief there are GREAT options out there by every single OEM, so why not try them all?
Entering the #BagBattles throwdown I played the Epic at 10.5 N/S, sliding weight neutral, paired with UST Mamiya ATTAS PUNCH at 45" at my preferred D4 SW.
Good.
Welcome to something a little crazy that Ddec and myself sort of came up with for our 'On The Tee Box' podcast on THP Radio, #BagBattles. Now, if you don't know what that means or what it is, check out our show that debuted the idea (here: https://www.thehackersparadise.com/tee-box-volume-7-cobra-connect-honma-golf-mizuno-fitting/) if you've got the time or the curiosity, it was a fun show. For those that don't, here's the rundown, in simplest terms we see a LOT of things come across our desk for reviews but when the dust settles its no different for us than it is for every other THP'er, we want the best equipment for our game in the bag, enter #BagBattles, a place where that journey can be chronicled and shared with all of THP for discussion...or even humor.
Here's the curveball I'm throwing out there to it all though, I think #BagBattles is something for ANYone or EVERYone here on THP. What better way to discuss the journey of your game and bag setup while getting some feedback, help, direction, or whatever else than putting it out there? Personally, I dig the title layout of this one, it makes it easy to find and identify, but that doesn't mean the thread shouldn't be utilized by others. The name of this game is boosting the golf discussion for one and all on the community, and maybe learning some things on the way. Plus, it seems so many long for those head to head comparisons as opposed to focusing just on a single club, so this could be an easy and clean way to do that too every so often. The name of the game is FUN, so lets have some fun, shall we?
The Contenders:
I've gone through pretty much every single driver on the market this season, I've reviewed a few for THP, but more than that I have bought many with my own moolah for the sake of finding what fits me best right now. Will this edition of #BagBattles end my journey? Come on, you all know me better than that, new and shiny is looming. BUT, at this moment in time that fight has come down to the two most popular driver lines on the market right now. So lets meet the contenders, shall we?
2017 Taylormade M1 - 12*
I'm a lower launch guy even as a high swing speed player, you'll see that in my numbers here later, so higher loft options attract me, enter the TM M1 12* head. Its nice to see the 12* base (non adjusted) option versus a 13.5* like Callaway offers because being honest the 13.5* thing messes with my head even as a high loft lover. No, that doesn't make sense, but dammit its my brain! Anywho, the M1 is attractive to me because as a tinkerer I love the adjustability it offers on the head more than the adapter and the shifting of the sliding weight tracks this year has made them infinitely more effective in my experience. Over the last month, the M1 had taken over my bag and I will 100% admit I have been in total love with the head. I've hit some incredibly long drives with it and settled into standard loft with the weights set to full draw and all the way back for maximum launch. More than that though, THP'ers have witnessed how comfortable I have been with the '17 M1 and for me with a driver that is a big damn deal.
While the spotlight is on this head for a moment, I want to throw out there that TM has DEFINITELY improved the playability of the M-Series woods this year, they are more forgiving than they were and they in my experience both produce more launch without an increase of spin or sacrifice of feel. That said, I'll also use the stage again to reiterate that I really hope we see TM change their driver face tech soon, they are just so far behind companies like Callaway, Cobra, and even Titleist in that regards that its a shame. Beyond that though, the distance potential in the M1 is big, really big, and to this date for me it is the BEST looking clubhead at address with the two town material look and this year the tweaks to the weight leadiing edge shape makes it just that much sharper to the eye.
So if you enjoy the M1 so much, why do this you might ask? Two-fold answer there. One, I love to tinker. Two, my gosh this makes for some AWESOME potential golf talk on the forum.
Entering the #BagBattles throwdown I had been playing the '17 M1 at 12*, full back, full draw, paired with a THCE Custom shaft (Kevin special) at 45" with my preferred D4 SW.
Callaway Epic - 10.5
First, for those that saw my Tweet yesterday (@Jman_THP
) you'll notice that was a pic of the SZ, whoops, thanks to twitter not allowing edits I couldn't fix it but I picked the wrong pic fro my photo gallery. The SZ is good, but far far far far too fade biased for me. The Epic needs little introduction or discussion here on THP, or anywhere right now for that matter, but hey, I'm a wordsmith so hang in there with me anyways. It has been a very long while since we have seen a driver with this amount of buzz/hype/whatever and it is the big reason the company has indeed ascended to the top of the mountain in drivers this past year, crazy when you think about where things were just three years ago. That said, as touched on with the M1 segment, I'm a high loft driver guy and i own that, but for the Epic I went 10.5* because the jump all the way to a 13.5* option just wigs me out a bit (personal) so traditionally its an easy change with the Opti-Fit adapter because I can up the loft to the 11.5-12.5 range and still keep the face angle more where I want it, now, for this head to head things were done a little differently there to keep people from crying foul, but I'll get there.
The Epic has a look unto itself and it showcases its technology maybe better than any driver I have seen since the TM R7? From address you get the speed steps and more than that a smack in the face of the Triaxial Carbon used in the crown with the fade paint job. From the bottom, its all about the relocated sliding track to maximize its effectiveness and the visible "rods" near the face of the Jailbreak tech which is often hailed as either revolutionary by some, or hype by others. Facts are, if you find the middle of the face all the time you aren't going to see the real benefits from it, but if you are a mere mortal like myself and many others its everything it claims to be in forgiveness and is going to create a gap from Callaway to other OEM's in my personal opinion. Again on the sole, the Triaxial CF is showcased just like TM with their carbon sole, these are two drivers packed with tech and trying to show it off to the world. How freaking fun is that for us consumers? Really freaking fun.
But James, if you talk up the Epic so much, why did you stop playing it? Again, two-fold. One, I like to tinker (yep, repetitive answer). Two, I personally wanted a change and am of the belief there are GREAT options out there by every single OEM, so why not try them all?
Entering the #BagBattles throwdown I played the Epic at 10.5 N/S, sliding weight neutral, paired with UST Mamiya ATTAS PUNCH at 45" at my preferred D4 SW.
