Boccieri Heavy Driver - Forum Testing Review
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
I love the X flex. If there was one complaint I had about my experience hitting the HD at the demo day it would have been that the shaft felt a bit weak for me. This shaft feels so good!
stryper
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I agree with the others, great review. That said, it seems you're predisposed to liking a back-weighted club to begin with, which might help explain why your reviews is so glowing. Nothing wrong with that, but now I'm curious: how did the balance-point compare to the back-weighted R11? Is it possible the difference in weighting just fits your swing a little better? Also, how much weight did you put into the R11?
Well I had this driver out yesterday at the range before league play. I was reflecting yesterday morning on something Mr. Boccieri said, which was that this driver was made for the person who swings with his body, not with his hands and arms. I combined that with some random drill I saw on golf channel, and it hit me, perhaps I was lifting my left arm on the back swing too much. Out at the range, after warming up, I make a strong effort to keep that left arm 'pressed in' (not sure how to describe it) and presto, a straight shot. The drill I'm reminded of is putting a towel underneath your left armpit (for right handers) and making sure you don't drop the towel until after you hit the ball. This was what I had in mind, and it fixed the heavy slice.
I was keeping that left arm squeezed in so much, it wasn't totally natural. And unfortunately, I only had about 5 minutes to work on it. However, I hit about 15 balls with very successful and repeatable results.
This weekend, I plan to game the heavy driver exclusively, which should get me over that final 'adjustment' hump. Plus, I have confidence that it is better than my burner draw. I'll say this about the minimal time I had to work on heavy driver yesterday...when I hit the heavy driver in the sweet spot and straight, I was getting about 30 more yards than my Burner Draw.
I was keeping that left arm squeezed in so much, it wasn't totally natural. And unfortunately, I only had about 5 minutes to work on it. However, I hit about 15 balls with very successful and repeatable results.
This weekend, I plan to game the heavy driver exclusively, which should get me over that final 'adjustment' hump. Plus, I have confidence that it is better than my burner draw. I'll say this about the minimal time I had to work on heavy driver yesterday...when I hit the heavy driver in the sweet spot and straight, I was getting about 30 more yards than my Burner Draw.
One-T
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Wow guys, a lot of really good reviews in here so far!
10YardDraw
Ex Club Ho
Some great reviews in here guys, keep up the good work
Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
Wow! What service! As you all know, I had my conversation on Tuesday morning and I received the new driver this morning. I'm off to the range as well as playing today and this one will go straight in the bag. Can't wait to get re-started on the testing/review. Should be fun.
TripleBogieTim
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Really good reviews so far....can't wait to hear more.
- Staff
- #260
Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
Me too! I'm sure it will be much closer. I have very high hopes.
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
I will say that I am very new to the whole back weighting phenomenon, but not as new as the others. I have had my driver back weighted for 3 weeks, so it hasn't been long, and the first back weighted club I ever hit was the Heavy Driver on May 20th of this year, and I loved it from the get go then. That being said I do believe back weighting works particularly well for me because IMO my biggest swing flaw is my tendency to get very fast at the transition. The back weighting forces me to slow down, which in turn helps me to stay on plane.
The balance point on my R11 is about a cm lower than on the HD. I added 50g of weight to the grip end, which is the same weight as is in the HD. I measured the swing weights and had the HD as a C4 and the back weighted R11 as a C7, to give you an idea the unaltered R11 is a D4.
Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
What a difference 2.5 degrees and 44 inch length makes. I had league this evening, so when I arrived at the course I headed straight for the driving range. Only had fifteen minutes to spare, so I just grabbed ten balls. I gave the new driver a few dry runs and then tee'd up.
I just went with my stock, slightly closed stance, normal grip and ball position. First shot was nice high slight fade that barely faded more than 10 yards out to the 250 marker. The next four were just about the same. I changed things up slightly and hit one of the best little draw shots I have hit in weeks, followed by four more nice tight draws. Each carried well up to the 250 marker with three of the five giving me a nice high kick from the dry turf, which added another 20 yards or so. I thought good enough.
I put my K15 back in truck and started league with only the DFT. Here is a short run down on the nine holes we played;
No. 1 Par 4, 291 yards. I set up down the left side and hit a perfect little fade that left me just 29 yards to the front of the green.
No. 2 Par 3
No. 3 Par 4, 330 yards. This time I set up aiming just right of the center of the FW to hit a draw. My swing was off slightly, but the result was another high and tight fade which left me 84 yards to the green.
No. 4 Par 5, 510 yards. I hit 3 wood here as we have a creek that cuts across the fairway.
No. 5 Par 4, 440 yards. This hole has a high elevated tee where you must hit a high straight shot over a valley with a creek and trees. I set up square and hit a great high fade that cleared all the trouble. Little shorter shot than the previous ones, as I was left with 205 yards.
No. 6 Par 4, 243. This is our easiest hole on the course, straight fairway with a fairly large green that slopes away. To be on here you need to carry somewhere around 210/220. I set up aiming down the left side and tried to lay off a little just giving it a nice easy smooth swing. Trouble was, the swing was so smooth with this driver, that I hit a baby fade that could not have moved more than 10 yards right, landing on the green and running off the backside. I was 22 yards behind the green, so the drive was around 265, which is above average for me.
No. 7 Par 4 379. Hit 3 wood as the hole has a creek across the FW.
No. 8 Par 3.
No. 9 Par 5, 510 yards. The tee box today was right of the fariway, so this one had to be a draw today. I aimed down the right side in my draw setup and hit it dead straight. I missed the fairway about 12 yards in the rough and used my GPS to measure the distance from the tee, which turned out to be 253 yards.
I could not have been more thrilled with any driver right out of the box. It is totally different than the 10 degree. Night and day different. I'm still not a big fan of the headcover, but that was the only thing today that I could find wrong with this driver. Steve Boccieri hit the nail on the head shaft wise I would say. I stayed with a regular even though he thought I could do well with a stiff with my 90 mph average SS. This regular was tipped so it is slighty stiffer than regular which I would say was dead on.
I didn't take the time this time out to return to the range as I was riding on high and I want to hold that thought until I play tomorrow. If this thing gives me these kind of results over the next few days, there could be a K15 listed for sale pretty soon.
I also gamed a new Boccieri putter for the first time today. I will make a thread about it in the coming days. This driver is the real deal.
I just went with my stock, slightly closed stance, normal grip and ball position. First shot was nice high slight fade that barely faded more than 10 yards out to the 250 marker. The next four were just about the same. I changed things up slightly and hit one of the best little draw shots I have hit in weeks, followed by four more nice tight draws. Each carried well up to the 250 marker with three of the five giving me a nice high kick from the dry turf, which added another 20 yards or so. I thought good enough.
I put my K15 back in truck and started league with only the DFT. Here is a short run down on the nine holes we played;
No. 1 Par 4, 291 yards. I set up down the left side and hit a perfect little fade that left me just 29 yards to the front of the green.
No. 2 Par 3
No. 3 Par 4, 330 yards. This time I set up aiming just right of the center of the FW to hit a draw. My swing was off slightly, but the result was another high and tight fade which left me 84 yards to the green.
No. 4 Par 5, 510 yards. I hit 3 wood here as we have a creek that cuts across the fairway.
No. 5 Par 4, 440 yards. This hole has a high elevated tee where you must hit a high straight shot over a valley with a creek and trees. I set up square and hit a great high fade that cleared all the trouble. Little shorter shot than the previous ones, as I was left with 205 yards.
No. 6 Par 4, 243. This is our easiest hole on the course, straight fairway with a fairly large green that slopes away. To be on here you need to carry somewhere around 210/220. I set up aiming down the left side and tried to lay off a little just giving it a nice easy smooth swing. Trouble was, the swing was so smooth with this driver, that I hit a baby fade that could not have moved more than 10 yards right, landing on the green and running off the backside. I was 22 yards behind the green, so the drive was around 265, which is above average for me.
No. 7 Par 4 379. Hit 3 wood as the hole has a creek across the FW.
No. 8 Par 3.
No. 9 Par 5, 510 yards. The tee box today was right of the fariway, so this one had to be a draw today. I aimed down the right side in my draw setup and hit it dead straight. I missed the fairway about 12 yards in the rough and used my GPS to measure the distance from the tee, which turned out to be 253 yards.
I could not have been more thrilled with any driver right out of the box. It is totally different than the 10 degree. Night and day different. I'm still not a big fan of the headcover, but that was the only thing today that I could find wrong with this driver. Steve Boccieri hit the nail on the head shaft wise I would say. I stayed with a regular even though he thought I could do well with a stiff with my 90 mph average SS. This regular was tipped so it is slighty stiffer than regular which I would say was dead on.
I didn't take the time this time out to return to the range as I was riding on high and I want to hold that thought until I play tomorrow. If this thing gives me these kind of results over the next few days, there could be a K15 listed for sale pretty soon.
I also gamed a new Boccieri putter for the first time today. I will make a thread about it in the coming days. This driver is the real deal.
SFCoach
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Well, I'm still playing some really solid golf. I shot an 82 today - 40 on the front, 42 on the back. Par and bogey golf - no birdies, no doubles (I just could not buy a birdie putt again - I've been a par machine lately).
The Heavy Driver is really starting to click consistently for me. I was struggling a lot with my Cobra today - I just couldn't get it going. The Heavy Driver just felt like a steadying force. It treated me well today. I've hit it well out of the box but I love to see it getting more and more dialed in.
I'm heading out for a bit now but I'll write up a full recap either tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm also playing 18 tomorrow - I think I'll exclusively use the Heavy Driver for an entire round and see how it goes.
The Heavy Driver is really starting to click consistently for me. I was struggling a lot with my Cobra today - I just couldn't get it going. The Heavy Driver just felt like a steadying force. It treated me well today. I've hit it well out of the box but I love to see it getting more and more dialed in.
I'm heading out for a bit now but I'll write up a full recap either tonight or tomorrow morning. I'm also playing 18 tomorrow - I think I'll exclusively use the Heavy Driver for an entire round and see how it goes.
Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
I did not do any head to head comparisons this time, but I think it was clear this evening that the Heavy is longer for me than my K15.
- Staff
- #267
I just read through all of the posts talking about conversations with Mr. Boccieri. I knew when the testing opportunity mentioned talking with the club builder that it was going to be a special round of testing for people. I know I have learned some things just from reading what you posted and I'm sure you learned much more from actually talking to him. I think it's cool that he is sending out clubs with some modifications for testers to compare too. I liked the info that HG posted about shaft length. Everyone seems to be hinting at a Boccieri driver get together with Mr. Boccieri himself, now that would be awesome! Great job everyone keep up the good work.
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Glad to hear the new driver is working for you HG 
I am intrigued by this driver and look forward to more thoughts
I am intrigued by this driver and look forward to more thoughts
I'm headed out this am to play 18 and plan to play the Boccieri Heavy Driver exclusively. I'm hoping my range game can transition to the course, I am most interested to see how the HD performs distance wise on the course, as my last few range sessions have been tough to gauge distance.
CharlieMoy
Well-known member
Good thoughts everyone. I can't wait til I an get back out there.
- Staff
- #271
HG, that is a huge turnaround and really goes to show the importance of playing equipment that is properly fitted for you. Kudos to Mr Boccieri for making sure you had the right equipment in you hands. Have to say that I really like this company and hope that they see success.
Golf 'N Gator
Formally HoosierGolfer
Yes, the turnaround was more than I expected really. I knew it would be better, but this driver is super straight. It surprised me as to how easy I could swing the club and get some distance with it. The club feels nice. The balance is very good and it makes for a nice smooth swing.
Dr. Teeth
Well-known member
First off some bad news... My call with Mr. Boccieri had to be rescheduled. The good news, hopefully I will get to talk to him tomorrow and I still love the driver!
After thinking about how much I liked the feel of the way the HD felt at set up and about something JB said to me at the demo day about shortening my driver, I decided to do it. I chopped 1/2" off the butt end of my driver, to bring it to 45 1/4". After this I was able to get out for a quick session and I approached it the same way as my last contest. So here it is Heavy D vs RXI Part Deux.
Round 1: As the challenger the R11 started off this round and as back with a vengeance. Three straight high long fades. Perfect! Heavy D was up to the challenge and came out of the gates with two super solid straight shots, but I got a bit greedy and got quick and I pulled the next one left. Round one goes to the R11.
Round 2: Heavy D repeated the results of the previous round, two solid straight shots followed by a hook. The R11 followed with two hooks and then a long straight drive. Disclaimer I was very quick at the transition on all three of the hooks, but that being said, Round 2 goes to Heavy D!
Round 3: R11 started this round and I hit the first one right and then two beautiful straight drives. Heavy D went super straight, then a terrible hook (this was the worst miss I have yet to have with the HD). I followed that shot with the best shot I have hit with Heavy D. I called this one a draw. I had a terrible miss with the HD but the good shot was sooo good that it made up for it.
Round 4: Heavy D came out of the gate with a push to the right, then a perfectly straight drive and finished up with pretty high fade. I love the way the high fade looks with this club. The R11 started this round shaky with a hook, but then finished so strong that it earned it the win for the round two super long straight drives. The second shot was the longest drive of the day. Round 4 goes to the R11
The Decision: the R11 wins this one but not by much. There were two rounds that could have gone either way. I am such a fan! I am also a fan of the shorter shaft on the R11. I have been choking up most of the time anyways, but this feels so much more controllable and placed the thicker part of the grip in my hands. This has been such a fun experience and I am loving every bit of it. I have to say that I am still such a fan! My mishits with the Heavy Driver came when I get too fast with my transition. This is always the case with my swing, but I am still convinced that my mishits are less punishing than they a with other drivers.
I am getting the chance to play tomorrow and on saturday at two of my favorite courses. They the Nicklaus and Fazio courses at Pronghorn Golf Club in Bend, OR. These two courses a absolutely amazing and are only topped on my all time favorite list by the two Bandon courses I have played. I am excited to get Heavy D out on these courses as they really require precision. Also, one of the rounds on Saturday is going to be a four man tournament, so I am excited to help my team using the Heavy Driver.
http://www.pronghornclub.com/album.php?aid=5ee25fa506b58ec2c05f3f40fc02d7b3&hide=1
http://www.pronghornclub.com/album.php?aid=42222f87904f794327f687fb80d03c37&hide=1
PS I wrote this late last night but forgot to post it
After thinking about how much I liked the feel of the way the HD felt at set up and about something JB said to me at the demo day about shortening my driver, I decided to do it. I chopped 1/2" off the butt end of my driver, to bring it to 45 1/4". After this I was able to get out for a quick session and I approached it the same way as my last contest. So here it is Heavy D vs RXI Part Deux.
Round 1: As the challenger the R11 started off this round and as back with a vengeance. Three straight high long fades. Perfect! Heavy D was up to the challenge and came out of the gates with two super solid straight shots, but I got a bit greedy and got quick and I pulled the next one left. Round one goes to the R11.
Round 2: Heavy D repeated the results of the previous round, two solid straight shots followed by a hook. The R11 followed with two hooks and then a long straight drive. Disclaimer I was very quick at the transition on all three of the hooks, but that being said, Round 2 goes to Heavy D!
Round 3: R11 started this round and I hit the first one right and then two beautiful straight drives. Heavy D went super straight, then a terrible hook (this was the worst miss I have yet to have with the HD). I followed that shot with the best shot I have hit with Heavy D. I called this one a draw. I had a terrible miss with the HD but the good shot was sooo good that it made up for it.
Round 4: Heavy D came out of the gate with a push to the right, then a perfectly straight drive and finished up with pretty high fade. I love the way the high fade looks with this club. The R11 started this round shaky with a hook, but then finished so strong that it earned it the win for the round two super long straight drives. The second shot was the longest drive of the day. Round 4 goes to the R11
The Decision: the R11 wins this one but not by much. There were two rounds that could have gone either way. I am such a fan! I am also a fan of the shorter shaft on the R11. I have been choking up most of the time anyways, but this feels so much more controllable and placed the thicker part of the grip in my hands. This has been such a fun experience and I am loving every bit of it. I have to say that I am still such a fan! My mishits with the Heavy Driver came when I get too fast with my transition. This is always the case with my swing, but I am still convinced that my mishits are less punishing than they a with other drivers.
I am getting the chance to play tomorrow and on saturday at two of my favorite courses. They the Nicklaus and Fazio courses at Pronghorn Golf Club in Bend, OR. These two courses a absolutely amazing and are only topped on my all time favorite list by the two Bandon courses I have played. I am excited to get Heavy D out on these courses as they really require precision. Also, one of the rounds on Saturday is going to be a four man tournament, so I am excited to help my team using the Heavy Driver.
http://www.pronghornclub.com/album.php?aid=5ee25fa506b58ec2c05f3f40fc02d7b3&hide=1
http://www.pronghornclub.com/album.php?aid=42222f87904f794327f687fb80d03c37&hide=1
PS I wrote this late last night but forgot to post it
SFCoach
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I love to see others having success with this club! I'm really starting to think it could be a permanent fixture in the bag - can't beat being in the fairway all the time.
Also, my phone call with Mr. Boccieri is this evening at 5:30 EST!
Also, my phone call with Mr. Boccieri is this evening at 5:30 EST!