SW
Grinder
It's going to be Friday before I can get back out again. Sorry for the delay but it is busy season here, don't think I've run away from the review.
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Cleveland CG Black Driver Forum Testing Review Thread
d_in_la
Not so in LA.
You'd have to a crazy Morgan Cupper to do that! I felt the same way for a couple weeks there between moving and driving 800+ miles for three weekends in a row. I'm glad I'm back on the CG Black horse, although this past range session tells me I really need to work on my game.
(Which is why I'll be ranging it on Thursday if I can get out of work at a decent time.)
So I made it out to the range last night for some work with the top of my bag. After some warm up with a wedge, I moved straight up to my new 3W and then to the CGB. Felt like I made at least a little bit of progress last night. Talked the guy next to me into recording my driver swing for me so i could see if there was anything i could see off hand. Saw a couple of things. First, my feet were too close together. I'm ~6'2". There's no need for this, but it's one of my bad habits that I always fall back into. Second, I was leaning back which led to me finishing behind the ball. I'm guessing that this was contributing to my high ball flight... So those are the two things I spent the rest of my range session working on. Feet a little wider than shoulder-width, and finishing forward. It was dark so I would lose the ball as it got pretty far out, but after making the changes I definitely felt like I was making better contact. I was even able to start to go after a few, without paying a huge penalty. I'm hopeful that this will translate to a little more yardage on course. The forgiveness of this driver still continues to impress. I had to move around a bit to get to the center of the face last night but I was never severely penalized on mishits. I'm also starting to get a better feel for this driver. When I'm not bang on, I generally know where I missed before I even look at the face.
I was at a mats only range, so I didn't get to mess with the tee height too much... I will definitely look into that next time I'm on the course or at a grass range.
Supposed to snow today, then warm up again later this week, so I'm hopeful that I'll get some more range time to really groove the changes. Hopefully the work will pay off on the course!
I was at a mats only range, so I didn't get to mess with the tee height too much... I will definitely look into that next time I'm on the course or at a grass range.
Supposed to snow today, then warm up again later this week, so I'm hopeful that I'll get some more range time to really groove the changes. Hopefully the work will pay off on the course!
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Just checking in, I played in our weekly blitz today for the 1st time in several weeks. This club continues to be awesome, I hit 9/12 fairways that I used it. Only one was more that a few feet off the fairway and it was still only 15 feet off down the left side. I really went after it on all three of the misses and instead of the usual high right miss I have seen before, all 3 were hard hooks that went left. I was playing a draw so the effects of the hook were not too bad as I was playing the ball down the right side of the fairway anyway. Drives ranged between a 210 yard drive uphill that was not hit in the center of the club face to 3 drives in the 260 yard range, I am looking forward to gaming this driver for quite a while.
doc, have you tried choking down with the driver just a touch as some on here have mentioned? I tried it and my control certainly seemed to be better with no loss of distance. I am 6-4 so I was curious if you saw the same thing. Good thoughts in your write up buddy.
doc, have you tried choking down with the driver just a touch as some on here have mentioned? I tried it and my control certainly seemed to be better with no loss of distance. I am 6-4 so I was curious if you saw the same thing. Good thoughts in your write up buddy.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
Getting to the range in a bit. Gonna be cold!!
I have played around with choking down a little bit. My best results with this driver seem to come when I'm about 1/2" choked down. Definitely something I'll keep in mind though. Thanks!
chewie69
New member
Test Date: 2/8/12
Testing Club: Cleveland Black Driver 10.5* with C Kua 39S shaft
My Prior Club: Taylormade Tour Burner 10.5*, stiff flex
Ball Used: 2012 Bridgestone B330-RX
Environment: Mostly Sunny, 57*, 5-10 mph winds, Right ankle in brace
Played nine holes this afternoon, and had a great day with the CG Black. There were still a few soft spots on the course, and it is getting a little shaggy, but it is all good.
Hole 1 - 220 yds down the right side of the fairway. You will always get a kick with this play and end up right in the middle from the slope.
Hole 2 - 261 yds straight down the middle. Probably one of the best drives with rollout I have had on this hole.
Hole 3 - 244 yds down the right side of the fairway, just a 52* wedge into the green.
Hole 4 - Par 3
Hole 5 - Didn't flush it, but still ended up dead straight at 228 yds, and hit my hybrid 205 into the green.
Hole 6 - 228 yds with a little baby draw on it to end up on the flat part of the fairway.
Hole 7 - Par 3
Hole 8 - 235 yds uphill right on the left side of the fairway
Hole 9 - 242 yds right down the middle of the fairway
It is th first time since getting the CG Black that I have been 7/7 fairways, and man did it feel good. I think I have really found my plane with this club now, and I really like the consistency, and I definitely see my scores coming down once everything starts to green up.
Testing Club: Cleveland Black Driver 10.5* with C Kua 39S shaft
My Prior Club: Taylormade Tour Burner 10.5*, stiff flex
Ball Used: 2012 Bridgestone B330-RX
Environment: Mostly Sunny, 57*, 5-10 mph winds, Right ankle in brace
Played nine holes this afternoon, and had a great day with the CG Black. There were still a few soft spots on the course, and it is getting a little shaggy, but it is all good.
Hole 1 - 220 yds down the right side of the fairway. You will always get a kick with this play and end up right in the middle from the slope.
Hole 2 - 261 yds straight down the middle. Probably one of the best drives with rollout I have had on this hole.
Hole 3 - 244 yds down the right side of the fairway, just a 52* wedge into the green.
Hole 4 - Par 3
Hole 5 - Didn't flush it, but still ended up dead straight at 228 yds, and hit my hybrid 205 into the green.
Hole 6 - 228 yds with a little baby draw on it to end up on the flat part of the fairway.
Hole 7 - Par 3
Hole 8 - 235 yds uphill right on the left side of the fairway
Hole 9 - 242 yds right down the middle of the fairway
It is th first time since getting the CG Black that I have been 7/7 fairways, and man did it feel good. I think I have really found my plane with this club now, and I really like the consistency, and I definitely see my scores coming down once everything starts to green up.
10YardDraw
Ex Club Ho
Awesome stuff Chewie, glad its working that good for ya.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
So I wanted to expand upon this little post I made. During my lesson I was told to bend more at the waist instead of in the legs. Keep the legs straighter. This is very foreign to me and feels very weird. But it will stop me from coming OTT which is something that I do all the time. I thought I had a good video to show this but the dang thing is a jumbled mess. But I did want to talk about it some more.
I practiced the new setup with some wedges and irons and got it somewhat down. He also wants me to practice the right wrist bending like I'm holding a tray. That is really a weird move for me and I was fighting it. By the time I picked up the Black I felt like I had both moves down. I was worried that the longer length of the driver would give me some issues with the new swing. I was way off
First shot with the Black was a liner that was straight and long. 2nd shot was the same. I moved the ball a bit up in my stance and my next shot was higher. Moved it up a bit more and that was it. My next shot was a high soaring bomb. I decided to see what happens when I go after it and to my surprise the next shot was longer and straight as an arrow. This continued for about 20 more shots. I was choked up on the driver as well.
Not sure why the difference in setup changed the results with the driver so drastically. I am a little closer to the ground(I know I know) and my base was maybe a bit more solid? Whatever it was I just felt like once I reached the top of my backswing, I could just let it fly and the results would be good. I felt like I was really giving some good hacks with the driver and the ball was just going high and straight.
Obviously going to continue testing this new setup but the early results are very positive.
c0ncept
SFT
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Had my worst driving day with the Black so far today. I really think I might be pushing over the shaft limits now.
Went out to ASU Karsten and played the tips with a Penta. Stats were 2/6 fairways (hit 3w on one hole).
Basically seeing either a high shot with a slight fade on my hits or a crazy low pull slice on my two bad misses. Distance was pretty short today with a lot of drives ending up at about 200-210 yards and my longest only being 230.
I'm going to go to the range to see if it's just my swing because I was walking with a cart bag and my shoulder is in a lot of pain now.
On my two misses I could feel that the club head was quite a ways back from the rest of the shaft and seemed to just be overloaded.
I'll be back with more in the next few days hopefully one more writeup before my exams on monday.
Went out to ASU Karsten and played the tips with a Penta. Stats were 2/6 fairways (hit 3w on one hole).
Basically seeing either a high shot with a slight fade on my hits or a crazy low pull slice on my two bad misses. Distance was pretty short today with a lot of drives ending up at about 200-210 yards and my longest only being 230.
I'm going to go to the range to see if it's just my swing because I was walking with a cart bag and my shoulder is in a lot of pain now.
On my two misses I could feel that the club head was quite a ways back from the rest of the shaft and seemed to just be overloaded.
I'll be back with more in the next few days hopefully one more writeup before my exams on monday.
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
Just got this month's Golf magazine and they are very positive about the CG Black (listed under "max-improvement drivers"). The consensus of the 40 reviewer is that distance was increased significantly The new Classic driver is listed under "improvement drivers". The consensus was it was average in most all categories but looks and sounds awesome. I have the XL270 driver now, regular shaft. I am trying to decide which will work best for me. Driver swing speed is about 90 mph.
chewie69
New member
Test Date: 2/10/12
Testing Club: Cleveland Black Driver 10.5* with C Kua 39S shaft
My Prior Club: Taylormade Tour Burner 10.5*, stiff flex
Ball Used: 2012 Bridgestone B330-RXS
Environment: Mostly Sunny, 52*, Right ankle in brace
Played a quick 9 today, and I hit 5/7 fairways. On hole 5 I just got a little too quick on my backswing a yanked it. On hole 6 I flew it 225yds and landed on the uphill side of a fairway bunker. It was a good drive, just a little unlucky. I averaged about 240yds per drive today, with most of them pretty straight. Not much rollout, as there are still some soft spots.
I have now had this driver for 3 months, and I can honestly say it has changed my game and I am really lokking forward to the spring. The CG has given me confidence off the tee that I just did not have with my previous driver. I used to stp up to the tee and just hope for the best. Now, I have some confidence stepping on the tee and know that if I keep a good steady tempo on my backswing that everything else will fall into place. It is a great place to be now.
Testing Club: Cleveland Black Driver 10.5* with C Kua 39S shaft
My Prior Club: Taylormade Tour Burner 10.5*, stiff flex
Ball Used: 2012 Bridgestone B330-RXS
Environment: Mostly Sunny, 52*, Right ankle in brace
Played a quick 9 today, and I hit 5/7 fairways. On hole 5 I just got a little too quick on my backswing a yanked it. On hole 6 I flew it 225yds and landed on the uphill side of a fairway bunker. It was a good drive, just a little unlucky. I averaged about 240yds per drive today, with most of them pretty straight. Not much rollout, as there are still some soft spots.
I have now had this driver for 3 months, and I can honestly say it has changed my game and I am really lokking forward to the spring. The CG has given me confidence off the tee that I just did not have with my previous driver. I used to stp up to the tee and just hope for the best. Now, I have some confidence stepping on the tee and know that if I keep a good steady tempo on my backswing that everything else will fall into place. It is a great place to be now.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
I saw that article too, I pulled the trigger on a Black about a month ago and can truthfully say I am very glad that I did. I had the opportunity to demo one on the course before ordering mine and that was a great plus. I would think that living in Tucson you have stores to demo these drivers side by side, that is what I would recommend.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
You were instrumental in my demoing the Black and eventually buying it. Thank you chewie and all of the testers in this thread for doing such a great job. Your enthusiam for this driver has been evident through out your testing.
chewie69
New member
Thanks DD! It means a lot. I have just tried my best to express how I feel and how I play with this club.
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
After reading this thread (great information) I tried the CG Black 10.5* regular shaft on the launch monitor and it was showing better launch and spin numbers than my XL270. Distance showed about 8 yards longer, tight dispersion of shots, pretty darn straight and high ball flight. I decided to spend some income tax refund $$ and bought it. Tried it on the range and -- WOW -- so far I am really happy. I think I am the guy they made this for. I have about a 90mph swing speed and have a smooth tempo. The last four balls were some of the best drivers I have ever hit! Dead straight, high, and long -- without effort. I am playing tomorrow and will have a chance to see if this is just a honeymoon.
Chunkylover77
Proud JakeNation Member
I got out and hit some balls for about an hour. My hands need to defrost before I do my writeup. I'm killing this driver right now
chewie69
New member
Congrats on the purchase tucsondivots! Sounds like the CG is going to be a great fit for you.
tucsondivots
Fairways and Greens
Thanks. I think this is just what I needed. Great job with your reviews. That is what helped me make up my mind.
I didn't know this. It would explain why I was KiLLinG Chewie's and couldn't hit a fairway to save my life with my own driver after work Thursday. Pondering...
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Congrats on finding the club for you buddy, I too am squarely in the target group for this club 92-95 mph swing speed. Let us know how it works on course, and please don't try to kill it, overswinging is not your friend with this bad boy.
DawgDaddy
Old Coot
Seems like I mentinoned this last week, lol.
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Ole Gray
Mayor of the Woodshed
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I don't think you need to think too much more about this one. It's a no brainer dude so get er done :blob:.