Review of ladies' drivers

ShortButCrooked

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My wife is shy and doesn't like to post online, so I will post for her. We went to a demo day today in San Jose. I will post my thoughts on men's drivers in the other forum, but here is a run-down on my wife's thoughts and decision to purchase a ladies' driver.

Here are the ones she tried:

Callaway FT9 Draw 11 degree
Nike Dymo and Str8 Fit 11.5 degree
Ping Rapture 12 degree
TaylorMade Burner 10.5 degree

First, a bit about my wife. She is petite, 5'1", about 112 pounds. She plays to a 16. She stands very upright, swings back to the inside, then copies the swing path back from the inside, and normally hits a nice draw. Sometimes she gets out in front of the swing and will push it right. Her current clubs are TaylorMade Miscela irons and hybrids and Callaway woods, including an old 12 degree Callaway Hawkeye VFT driver. She hits it well, carries it approximately 160-170, with total distance 180-190. Every once in a while, she will nail it over 200, but that's rare. While she's happy with her current driver, we have been thinking it's time for a new driver, and wanted to check out the current 460cc offerings.

First up was the Ping Rapture. It was ok for her, but she was pushing it to the right. To be fair, she hadn't warmed up, so I'm not sure it was fair to the club, but she decided to move on.

Next was the TM Burner. Unfortunately, someone had stolen the high loft (12 degreee?) driver. Unbelievable but true. So she swung the 10.5. She hit it ok, but it wasn't fantastic. I think she was disappointed because she likes to hit the ball high and was probably trying to help the ball up with the lower loft than she's used to.

At this point, I left to check out clubs on my own. But she found me a bit later and had me come to the Callaway area. She had hit the FT-9 and really liked it. So I watched as she slammed 5 or 6 drives straight down the middle with the tight draw she hits when she's swinging well. The only issue was they don't make the ladies' FT-9 in neutral, only in a draw. She wasn't too keen on that.

Last up was Nike, both the Dymo and Dymo Str8 Fit. She hated those. She couldn't get them in the air. I think the head might have been too heavy (they don't make a ladies' specific head). Nike needs to put a little focus on the fairer sex.

We decided to take a break and grab some lunch to discuss it. It was clear she liked the Callaway the most, but she was somewhat torn because TM was offering a great deal. (As I mentioned in another thread, she's value driven.) TM was offering 10% off (so $270 cost), with a free fairway wood and free pair of shoes. Also playing into this was her concern about the draw versus neutral head of the Callaway.

We went back and she hit both the TM and Callaway again. She did hit the 10.5 degree Burner pretty high, and the rep tried to convince her that she didn't want to hit the ball any higher, but in the end, she decided on the Callaway. It was more expensive, but it also came with a free fairway wood, so she feels like she still got a good deal. And she just couldn't miss with it.

In the end, I think the familiarity with Callaway was definitely a factor in her decision. She could have easily gone with the TM and we're sure she would have got used to it. The fact that they didn't have the high loft available for her to try was a bummer. But she's happy with her decision.

To me, this was another perfect case of each individual has to demo clubs because everyone has particular likes and dislikes.

Cheers!
 
Thanks for the all the info. So she was just demo'ing mens clubs correct? Because correct me if I am wrong, but the ladies Ping is called the Rhapsody and Ladies Burner I thought only came in 12* and higher.
 
Thanks for the all the info. So she was just demo'ing mens clubs correct? Because correct me if I am wrong, but the ladies Ping is called the Rhapsody and Ladies Burner I thought only came in 12* and higher.

I know the lady Burner comes in 9.5, 10.5 and 12.
 
My wife is shy and doesn't like to post online, so I will post for her.
Tell your wifey dont be shy, we are all mostly harmless. :angel:
Spoiler
Well, except for Harry...
 
Tell your wifey dont be shy, we are all mostly harmless. :angel:
Spoiler
Well, except for Harry...

Hey, I'm mostly harmless.

Spoiler
mostly.
 
Nice writeup, SBC. She should come online!
 
Thanks for the all the info. So she was just demo'ing mens clubs correct? Because correct me if I am wrong, but the ladies Ping is called the Rhapsody and Ladies Burner I thought only came in 12* and higher.

She was demoing women's clubs. You're right about the Ping; it was a Rhapsody. The Burner was definitely a ladies. She wanted to swing the 12* but they only had 10.5. The Nike clubs were unisex, or they were men's with a ladies' shaft. Those were the only ones she didn't like at all. All the others she could easily learn to play well with.
 
Nice writeup, SBC. She should come online!

Thanks Claire. I've tried to get her onto THP. But she's just not that into it. I've learned a fair amount about how my wife (and other women) feels about golf, both good and bad, and hope can contribute on her behalf.
 
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