Miller Time
Twitter - @joshmlr
You won the best dressed award yesterday, Freddie. I want that shirt and those shoes.
2015 Live Driver Test - THPers Give Feedback - Tampa Bay Area
You won the best dressed award yesterday, Freddie. I want that shirt and those shoes.
vFLASHv
Member
In 2-3 years I'm moving to either FL or CA...is it bad that after following this I kind of want to move to Tampa Bay lol
I would love to see this.
Great day yesterday playing with THPer's and testing all those Drivers, thank you JB and Mward for setting it up and allowing me to participate.
It was fun to try all those different heads and Shafts on a great course.
It was fun to try all those different heads and Shafts on a great course.
rjb01camaross
Active member
Sorry its taken me a bit to get the first half of my reviews typed up from yesterdays event. I can home to a sick wife and baby so I had to shift focus for a bit. Here is part 1. I hope to have part 2 with the other 9 drivers done later this evening.
Big thank you to JB and Wardy for taking the time to put this together and all the fellow THPers for coming out and making this a successful event. As always playing golf with THPers is always a blast for me.
Here is a little bit about my game: B/S-mid 140s on good strikes and mid-high 130s on bad hits. Big miss is a hook. My game driver: Callaway BBA 815 10dg loft, core up, neutral. Average carry: 240yd on good strikes.
Below is a culmination of the notes I took from on the range and the course testing.
Bridgestone
J715- The simple black finish with no alignment aid really makes this club look like a sleeper and one that could be overlooked easily in a crowd of drivers. The performance makes it worth finding if you are a pretty consistent ball striker. I caught this solid on the course and had a very respectable for me 252yd drive. On the range my best carry was 239 with 2600 spin, which is close to my average. Plenty of feedback from this club on how well you strike was, but not the most forgiving of drivers out there.
J815- I know when I first saw pictures of this driver I was like “holy cow that’s some in your face graphics” and they are, but do yourself a favor and give this club a shot. Even if you have to line up to the ball and close your eyes, do it. I found the club to be a little light for my taste, and a smooth swing was needed to provide the best results. When I put a good swing on it there was a mid-high ball flight that soared up into the air rapidly because of the spin @3600. This club didn’t break any distance records for me; however, there is plenty of forgiveness in this club.
Callaway
BBA 815 DBD- Clean looking deep face that presents itself nicely down by the ball. Not the more forgiving looking as it should be since it’s not very friendly in that department. I hit one on the screws and was provided with a mid-ball flight that stayed in the air awhile before falling at 242 carry. One of my longest hits of the day on the launch monitor. My spin dropped to 1900, which is crazy low for me. I wish we would have had this one in our group at some point to get some on course thoughts with this as well. I have a feeling the ball would run for days on the fairways at Lake J.
BBA 815- I have been using this driver for the past month and it’s truly been a game changer for me. The lateral forgiveness is just crazy good with this club and even my mishits aren’t high spinners compared to some. It’s not the longest driver for me but it has a great blend of performance in forgiveness and distance.
XR- I have to say first of all I’m not a fan of matte black finishes, but the graphics at the top make it quick and easy to get centered and aren’t as bad as I first thought from the pictures I saw. This club is long and feels every bit of 46inches or so, especially since I hit this right after the J715. When I hit this on the range, all I could do was hit big hooks. On the course the best I could do was a 232yds drive from a toe strike. I just couldn’t make good contact with this club for some reason. I’m sure this club will work great for some but it doesn’t get along good with me for some reason.
Cleveland
CG Black- This one surprised me a bit. I really knew nothing about this driver prior to today so when JB said “give this a shot” I had no idea what to expect. The first one was a bad pass by me but the second one I hit 144 B/S, 240yd carry, and spin 2600. Very impressed by that result, but I will say you need to be smooth swinger for this club. The 45ish gram shaft makes it very light and it seems longer length wise than most. This club has a matte black finish like the XR does so the more appealing to me at address, but this sucker performed well for me. This is another club I wanted to try on the course to see how well the performance translated over.
CG Black Custom- Since this driver is in the CG Black family I was looking for similar performance characteristics but quickly found out, the only thing they really have in common is the style and shaft length. I couldn’t get good numbers out of this one to save my life. Everyone I hit good seemed spin up high and fall violently from the sky. My best shot was (Forgot to write it down, my bad)B/S, 229 carry, 3400spin. There were 2 other shots I hit a little off the toe and the spin numbers didn’t balloon but the carry distance dropped 12yds on one then 9yds on the next. Not terrible, but considering my best was only 229, I can’t afford to even lose that much on most courses. FWIW, I feel this offering from Cleveland is aimed at the better player (which isn’t me) but it doesn’t provide a lot of solid feedback in the feel department like better player clubs do to me.
Big thank you to JB and Wardy for taking the time to put this together and all the fellow THPers for coming out and making this a successful event. As always playing golf with THPers is always a blast for me.
Here is a little bit about my game: B/S-mid 140s on good strikes and mid-high 130s on bad hits. Big miss is a hook. My game driver: Callaway BBA 815 10dg loft, core up, neutral. Average carry: 240yd on good strikes.
Below is a culmination of the notes I took from on the range and the course testing.
Bridgestone
J715- The simple black finish with no alignment aid really makes this club look like a sleeper and one that could be overlooked easily in a crowd of drivers. The performance makes it worth finding if you are a pretty consistent ball striker. I caught this solid on the course and had a very respectable for me 252yd drive. On the range my best carry was 239 with 2600 spin, which is close to my average. Plenty of feedback from this club on how well you strike was, but not the most forgiving of drivers out there.
J815- I know when I first saw pictures of this driver I was like “holy cow that’s some in your face graphics” and they are, but do yourself a favor and give this club a shot. Even if you have to line up to the ball and close your eyes, do it. I found the club to be a little light for my taste, and a smooth swing was needed to provide the best results. When I put a good swing on it there was a mid-high ball flight that soared up into the air rapidly because of the spin @3600. This club didn’t break any distance records for me; however, there is plenty of forgiveness in this club.
Callaway
BBA 815 DBD- Clean looking deep face that presents itself nicely down by the ball. Not the more forgiving looking as it should be since it’s not very friendly in that department. I hit one on the screws and was provided with a mid-ball flight that stayed in the air awhile before falling at 242 carry. One of my longest hits of the day on the launch monitor. My spin dropped to 1900, which is crazy low for me. I wish we would have had this one in our group at some point to get some on course thoughts with this as well. I have a feeling the ball would run for days on the fairways at Lake J.
BBA 815- I have been using this driver for the past month and it’s truly been a game changer for me. The lateral forgiveness is just crazy good with this club and even my mishits aren’t high spinners compared to some. It’s not the longest driver for me but it has a great blend of performance in forgiveness and distance.
XR- I have to say first of all I’m not a fan of matte black finishes, but the graphics at the top make it quick and easy to get centered and aren’t as bad as I first thought from the pictures I saw. This club is long and feels every bit of 46inches or so, especially since I hit this right after the J715. When I hit this on the range, all I could do was hit big hooks. On the course the best I could do was a 232yds drive from a toe strike. I just couldn’t make good contact with this club for some reason. I’m sure this club will work great for some but it doesn’t get along good with me for some reason.
Cleveland
CG Black- This one surprised me a bit. I really knew nothing about this driver prior to today so when JB said “give this a shot” I had no idea what to expect. The first one was a bad pass by me but the second one I hit 144 B/S, 240yd carry, and spin 2600. Very impressed by that result, but I will say you need to be smooth swinger for this club. The 45ish gram shaft makes it very light and it seems longer length wise than most. This club has a matte black finish like the XR does so the more appealing to me at address, but this sucker performed well for me. This is another club I wanted to try on the course to see how well the performance translated over.
CG Black Custom- Since this driver is in the CG Black family I was looking for similar performance characteristics but quickly found out, the only thing they really have in common is the style and shaft length. I couldn’t get good numbers out of this one to save my life. Everyone I hit good seemed spin up high and fall violently from the sky. My best shot was (Forgot to write it down, my bad)B/S, 229 carry, 3400spin. There were 2 other shots I hit a little off the toe and the spin numbers didn’t balloon but the carry distance dropped 12yds on one then 9yds on the next. Not terrible, but considering my best was only 229, I can’t afford to even lose that much on most courses. FWIW, I feel this offering from Cleveland is aimed at the better player (which isn’t me) but it doesn’t provide a lot of solid feedback in the feel department like better player clubs do to me.
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Great thoughts rjb.
cpljohnst
Go Jackets! Go Sun Devils
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Thought I'd post in more detail my experience with the drivers yesterday. I arrived a bit later than I'd like at Lake Jovita, so I didn't get to hit anything using the launch monitor. Got in a quick warm up and then grabbed a few drivers to hit on the range. I'm a slow swinger, right around 90mph and carry my gamer about 220ish with roll out to 240ish average. Mid to low ball flight.
On the range took a few swings with the Nike Vapor Pro, Cleveland CG Black, Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 DBD. Then hit the putting green for some rolls with my own putter and then some with JB's Cure.
Out on the course got to hit a bunch more drivers:
Callaway Bit Bertha Alpha Double Black diamond - Played this off of two tees. On #1 hole did not hit the center of the club face so lost some yardage but got a decent shot even though it was a push right. Ball was just off the fairway and short of the right fairway bunker. Roughly 230ish. Hit the DBD again on #7 and hit it very solid with a center of club face strike. Strong draw with this strike that almost found the lake left.
Nike Vapor Speed - I really liked the look of this driver at setup. Hit it on two holes. Hole #3 was my best swing with this one. A push right, just off the fairway and playable. Hit it again on #8 but had a very poor, fast swing that produced a low screaming hook. Would certainly consider hitting this one again to see if I could make it work.
Cleveland CG Black ? (forget if this was the custom or the regular, this was the one with adjustability) - Hit this on hole #5. My swing was a poor and way too quick, and produced a low heavy draw that just barely carried the fwy bunkers. Still ended up in the fairway since I had been aimed down the right side and the hole turned left a bit.
Cobra Fly-Z+ LZ - I think I'm the only guy that got this one to turn right. Hit a fade with a heel hit, but was playable on the par 5 6th hole. The off set on this one is very apparent at address. Since my common miss is a low draw/hook this was uncomfortable for me. For guys that struggle with a heavy slice, this is one you should really try.
Wilson D200 - Hit this on the #9th hole, and the club was Erky's gamer. Hit a big slice with this one and lead to my only penalty of the day and a blow up hole. This was a me issue and trying to compensate for the low loft setup that Eric has on his gamer. I hit his driver last fall when we got in a round together and hit it better then than this time. A light setup that I feel like would help me pick up some ball speed in the right setup.
Bridgestone J815 - The driver graphics have been covered, and they certainly are different. Hit this club twice. Low and left each time and both drives found fairway bunkers. Hit it on #10 and again on #16. This driver felt good at setup and during the swing. Was not in my top 3 that I swung but in the top half. I could make this one work for me pretty easily with more familiarity.
Taylormade Aeroburner - Hit this on #11. The best drive I had hit of the day to that point came with this one. The setup was familiar since I've played TM drivers in the past (Burner Tour, RBZ Tour, and SLDR). I like the white color and the paint scheme helps this driver stand out without being garish. I didn't even note what the loft was on this one, but my ball flight was mid-high and a very small fade of a few yards.
Yonex - Hit this on #12. Straight, low and a ton of run. One of the few drives of the day where I was past JB and Erky, though I did run into a fairway bunker. I'd like to hit this in the higher loft to see what I could do with it.
Cleveland Black ? (this was the non adjustable version) - Hit this on the #14th hole. Another low left draw/hook and found a fairway bunker. Driver felt ok to me, but similar results to the adjustable version.
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 - Took this out of JB's bag. Hit my two best drives of the day with this one on the #15th and the #18th. The drive on 15 left me 225 out and a chance to go for the green in two on a par 5. I was maybe 15 yards behind JB, and it was one of his better drives. Mid-high ball flight on each of these drive by me. Solid set up. Felt most comfortable to me, but that makes sense with my gamer being a Callaway.
Knueth (sp) High Heat - I hit this driver from just off the 18th green out into the lake. Straightest ball I hit all day. Mid-low. I wish I could have hit this off the tee to see if I'd catch a distance gain with it. Oh, and yes, this one is loud, and I rarely notice the sound of drivers when I hit them.
My top 3 performers in order - Big Bertha Alpha, TM Aeroburner, Big Bertha Alpha DBD
Two drivers that pleasantly surprised me - High Heat and Yonex. Hit both of these very straight but low. With some fitting adjustments I'd like to see what these two could do for me.
On the range took a few swings with the Nike Vapor Pro, Cleveland CG Black, Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 DBD. Then hit the putting green for some rolls with my own putter and then some with JB's Cure.
Out on the course got to hit a bunch more drivers:
Callaway Bit Bertha Alpha Double Black diamond - Played this off of two tees. On #1 hole did not hit the center of the club face so lost some yardage but got a decent shot even though it was a push right. Ball was just off the fairway and short of the right fairway bunker. Roughly 230ish. Hit the DBD again on #7 and hit it very solid with a center of club face strike. Strong draw with this strike that almost found the lake left.
Nike Vapor Speed - I really liked the look of this driver at setup. Hit it on two holes. Hole #3 was my best swing with this one. A push right, just off the fairway and playable. Hit it again on #8 but had a very poor, fast swing that produced a low screaming hook. Would certainly consider hitting this one again to see if I could make it work.
Cleveland CG Black ? (forget if this was the custom or the regular, this was the one with adjustability) - Hit this on hole #5. My swing was a poor and way too quick, and produced a low heavy draw that just barely carried the fwy bunkers. Still ended up in the fairway since I had been aimed down the right side and the hole turned left a bit.
Cobra Fly-Z+ LZ - I think I'm the only guy that got this one to turn right. Hit a fade with a heel hit, but was playable on the par 5 6th hole. The off set on this one is very apparent at address. Since my common miss is a low draw/hook this was uncomfortable for me. For guys that struggle with a heavy slice, this is one you should really try.
Wilson D200 - Hit this on the #9th hole, and the club was Erky's gamer. Hit a big slice with this one and lead to my only penalty of the day and a blow up hole. This was a me issue and trying to compensate for the low loft setup that Eric has on his gamer. I hit his driver last fall when we got in a round together and hit it better then than this time. A light setup that I feel like would help me pick up some ball speed in the right setup.
Bridgestone J815 - The driver graphics have been covered, and they certainly are different. Hit this club twice. Low and left each time and both drives found fairway bunkers. Hit it on #10 and again on #16. This driver felt good at setup and during the swing. Was not in my top 3 that I swung but in the top half. I could make this one work for me pretty easily with more familiarity.
Taylormade Aeroburner - Hit this on #11. The best drive I had hit of the day to that point came with this one. The setup was familiar since I've played TM drivers in the past (Burner Tour, RBZ Tour, and SLDR). I like the white color and the paint scheme helps this driver stand out without being garish. I didn't even note what the loft was on this one, but my ball flight was mid-high and a very small fade of a few yards.
Yonex - Hit this on #12. Straight, low and a ton of run. One of the few drives of the day where I was past JB and Erky, though I did run into a fairway bunker. I'd like to hit this in the higher loft to see what I could do with it.
Cleveland Black ? (this was the non adjustable version) - Hit this on the #14th hole. Another low left draw/hook and found a fairway bunker. Driver felt ok to me, but similar results to the adjustable version.
Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 815 - Took this out of JB's bag. Hit my two best drives of the day with this one on the #15th and the #18th. The drive on 15 left me 225 out and a chance to go for the green in two on a par 5. I was maybe 15 yards behind JB, and it was one of his better drives. Mid-high ball flight on each of these drive by me. Solid set up. Felt most comfortable to me, but that makes sense with my gamer being a Callaway.
Knueth (sp) High Heat - I hit this driver from just off the 18th green out into the lake. Straightest ball I hit all day. Mid-low. I wish I could have hit this off the tee to see if I'd catch a distance gain with it. Oh, and yes, this one is loud, and I rarely notice the sound of drivers when I hit them.
My top 3 performers in order - Big Bertha Alpha, TM Aeroburner, Big Bertha Alpha DBD
Two drivers that pleasantly surprised me - High Heat and Yonex. Hit both of these very straight but low. With some fitting adjustments I'd like to see what these two could do for me.
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- #335
Great info as well cpl.
Pkielwa
New member
Not much info on the 545 out of the groups, save for one or two comments... Were the Callaways, Clevelands, Nikes, Bridgestones, and Kneuth, all better??? Seems absent from comments... Curious of how the others stood out more significantly.
golf4life
Grip n rip
Guys, really enjoyed this thread. Great feedback! Not gonna lie, the Aeroburner was a driver I probably would have ignored this year if not for Freddy, Barry and other's feedback here. Now will absolutely give it a go.
One follow on question, the Bridgestone 815 is higher launching than the 715? More forgiving too?
One follow on question, the Bridgestone 815 is higher launching than the 715? More forgiving too?
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- #338
In my opinion, yes.
These write ups are fantastic. Well done everybody.
emart2173
#journey2017
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love the updates in here from today...really good info. you guys killed this thread with the information...anyone looking for info could make an educated decision on what to try or maybe include in there list of drivers they may have not considered.
THPers and live updates rock.
THPers and live updates rock.
Wake
Active member
Edit: to better help others, I decided to describe myself as a golfer. I swing between 105-110, I have a negative angle of attack and therefore tend to launch the ball low. I have a fairly neutral swing plane that can be a little out to in at times, meaning a two way miss. I tend to miss high and low on the face more than left to right, so I look for forgiveness vertically on a driver.
Range thoughts- I hit quite a few drivers on the range, on and off the monitor, and these are some of the ones that stood out both good and bad.
Nike Vapor Speed
I was excited to hit this one, and it was the first I grabbed. I knew I wanted some forgiveness and a pretty high launch, and expected this to provide what I was looking for. It was my first swings of the day, so I know I wasn't hitting the center right off the bat, but you couldn't tell it by watching the ball flight. There was obviously some forgiveness in play here. It was a consistent flight and looked pretty good to the eye. I was excited to jump on the monitor with this driver. The results on the monitor were a little disappointing. Ball speed was good at 159, but the launch was low in the single digits to low teens, the spin was a bit high which helped the low launch. Distance wasn't bad at right about 250 carry, but I knew I was leaving some on the table.
Callaway XR
I asked JB what was a good bet if I needed higher launch and he listed off a few, but then the XR sounded like it was right up my alley, boy was he right. From the first swing my numbers jumped up. Launch was much better at around 13, spin was very good as well in the mid to high 2000s, although it did get high on my misses. Carry ranged from 269-275. It wasn't the best sound and feel out of all the drivers I hit, but the numbers were by far the best for me.
Callaway 815 Alpha w/ Handcrafted PX 6.0
JB let me his his 815 Alpha with the same shaft as the XR, and while the feel improved with the alpha over the XR, the numbers were not quite as ideal, with launch being a bit lower. I wish this had been the perfect fit but it wasn't.
W/S D200
This was another of the Drivers JB recommended for me, I hit it off the monitor and while the ball flight was nice and high, I wasn't hitting it straight at all. It was just so light I think it would take some getting used to, but it wasn't working for me off the time.
High Knuth Big Blue Whale
I had heard so much about this, I couldn't wait to hit it. I grabbed it and immediately jumped on the monitor expecting to see monster numbers. My first thought was that better have gone far because it sounded like ****. There are drivers that are not pleasing to the ears, but who cares right? This wasn't just unpleasing to the ear, it was borderline painful. Loud does not begin to explain the sound. Once the ringing subsided I looked down to see the numbers, and much to my delight the numbers were not good. Launch was low, spin was high, and distance was shorter than anything else I hit. It may have just been a bad swing, but I wasn't going to stick around to find out. I wasn't swinging that beast again.
After some great time on the range it was time to head to the course. My group started with the Bridgestone J715, Nike Vapor Flex, Callaway XR, and Cobra Fly Z+
Bridgestone J715
I didn't expect much out of this, since I had hit it on the range a couple months ago, although I am not sure it was the same setup. Much to my surprise my first drive with this gave a great high launch, and just carried out there to the middle of the fairway. The same thing happened on my second hole with hit as well. The club was EXTREMELY pleasing to look down at at setup, and had a great sound and feel to it as well. I wish I had hit it on the range, because this could be a contender for me. It wasn't the longest on the day, but I wouldn't scoff at the distance if it found the fairway everytime like it did for me on the 2 holes it was used for.
Nike Vapor FLex
AFter watching CJ MASH this one, and listening to how well it sounded I was stoked to hit this one. It was gorgeous at setup, and man was it a pleasing sound and feel when it was hit. Unfortunately I never got good results with it. Whether that was from the driver or I just put a series of bad swings on it I'm not sure, But I never got great distance or direction out of this one. It is definitely a good setup to the eye though.
Callaway XR
After crushing this one on the range I was more than excited to bring this to the course, and it didn't disappoint. I already knew it would fly, I had learned that on the range, but the biggest thing I saw on the course was a HUGE amount of forgiveness low on the face, which is really big for me, as I tend to miss low and high on the face often. I caught one EXTREMELY low on the face, I mean we are talking not far from being topped. Immediately I expected to see it flying 50 feet off the ground, but was shocked to see a nice ball flight, it definetly was launched a little lower than idea, but it was not out of norm for me with other drivers in hand even on a well struck shot. Even with the good looking ball flight I expected to find it in the 230 range, but further to my surprise it was 245 yards out there, which is only about 10-15 yards off of what I was seeing with the other drivers.
Cobra FLy Z+
This was one of the more disappointing drivers of the day for me. I hit it on the launch monitor, and my numbers weren't great but I assumed that was because the weight was flipped forward, and I know that wasn't the ideal setup for me. When we had it on the course we flipped it back, but results still weren't great, distance was below average, and it was army golf for me. I hit it 3 times, twice to the left and one way to the right. NEXT
On the Back we had the Wilson Staff D200, TM R15, Nike Vapor Pro, and Srixon 545
Taylormade R15
I had hit this one before on a monitor, and it is a straight up rocket launcher for me. My first driver with it confirmed that. Dead down the middle with a beautiful high baby fade. GPS'd at 270 with a headwind... I LIKE. My second go with it showed the flip side of it, weak slice into the woods. If I was a little more consistent of a ball stiker this would be in my bag in a heartbeat, but its still a bit too penal when not struck on the screws.
Srixon 545
I was really excited to hit this one, I have heard so much positive about this driver, and it is just beautiful to the eye. CLassic shape with a beautiful black crown with no markings, that is exactly what I like. However the results just weren't there. My first go with it launched really high with alot of spin and was by far my shortest of the day. No doubt it wasn't a perfect swing, but this wasn't a result a like to see. My follow up attempt was better, but still lacking in distance and was off target. I wouldn't mind trying it again sometime but it failed to impress.
W/s D200
This thing will boom the ball out there. It produced a beautiful ball flight, high and far. Unfortunately for me it went HIGH and FAR towards the left OOB marker everytime. I think it was just the superlight head was throwing off my timing. I bet if I used it for a whole round I could have gotten it dialed in but alas, I didn't have that chance.
Nike Vapor Pro
This one stole the show on the back 9 for me. I used it on 3 holes, and never missed the dead center of the fairway. My longest measured drive of the day came on 18 with this driver, at damn near 290, which I don't see often these days. The most impressive drive came with my first one, when I hit one off the toe and the first words out of my mouth was "that felt yucky". Despite it being an inch off the sweet spot it got out there over 250 to the center of the fairway. I was surprised to see that level of forgiveness out of a "pro" model. This was definitely the biggest surprise of the day for me. After not enjoying the flex I almost wrote this one off, man would that have been a mistake. The results were definitely there, and it provides a gorgeous package at address along with a great sound I don't at all expect out of Nike.
So what was the result of the day? I am on ebay right now checking out prices on both the Callaway XR and the Nike Vapor Pro.
A huge thanks to THP for putting this awesome day together for us.
Range thoughts- I hit quite a few drivers on the range, on and off the monitor, and these are some of the ones that stood out both good and bad.
Nike Vapor Speed
I was excited to hit this one, and it was the first I grabbed. I knew I wanted some forgiveness and a pretty high launch, and expected this to provide what I was looking for. It was my first swings of the day, so I know I wasn't hitting the center right off the bat, but you couldn't tell it by watching the ball flight. There was obviously some forgiveness in play here. It was a consistent flight and looked pretty good to the eye. I was excited to jump on the monitor with this driver. The results on the monitor were a little disappointing. Ball speed was good at 159, but the launch was low in the single digits to low teens, the spin was a bit high which helped the low launch. Distance wasn't bad at right about 250 carry, but I knew I was leaving some on the table.
Callaway XR
I asked JB what was a good bet if I needed higher launch and he listed off a few, but then the XR sounded like it was right up my alley, boy was he right. From the first swing my numbers jumped up. Launch was much better at around 13, spin was very good as well in the mid to high 2000s, although it did get high on my misses. Carry ranged from 269-275. It wasn't the best sound and feel out of all the drivers I hit, but the numbers were by far the best for me.
Callaway 815 Alpha w/ Handcrafted PX 6.0
JB let me his his 815 Alpha with the same shaft as the XR, and while the feel improved with the alpha over the XR, the numbers were not quite as ideal, with launch being a bit lower. I wish this had been the perfect fit but it wasn't.
W/S D200
This was another of the Drivers JB recommended for me, I hit it off the monitor and while the ball flight was nice and high, I wasn't hitting it straight at all. It was just so light I think it would take some getting used to, but it wasn't working for me off the time.
High Knuth Big Blue Whale
I had heard so much about this, I couldn't wait to hit it. I grabbed it and immediately jumped on the monitor expecting to see monster numbers. My first thought was that better have gone far because it sounded like ****. There are drivers that are not pleasing to the ears, but who cares right? This wasn't just unpleasing to the ear, it was borderline painful. Loud does not begin to explain the sound. Once the ringing subsided I looked down to see the numbers, and much to my delight the numbers were not good. Launch was low, spin was high, and distance was shorter than anything else I hit. It may have just been a bad swing, but I wasn't going to stick around to find out. I wasn't swinging that beast again.
After some great time on the range it was time to head to the course. My group started with the Bridgestone J715, Nike Vapor Flex, Callaway XR, and Cobra Fly Z+
Bridgestone J715
I didn't expect much out of this, since I had hit it on the range a couple months ago, although I am not sure it was the same setup. Much to my surprise my first drive with this gave a great high launch, and just carried out there to the middle of the fairway. The same thing happened on my second hole with hit as well. The club was EXTREMELY pleasing to look down at at setup, and had a great sound and feel to it as well. I wish I had hit it on the range, because this could be a contender for me. It wasn't the longest on the day, but I wouldn't scoff at the distance if it found the fairway everytime like it did for me on the 2 holes it was used for.
Nike Vapor FLex
AFter watching CJ MASH this one, and listening to how well it sounded I was stoked to hit this one. It was gorgeous at setup, and man was it a pleasing sound and feel when it was hit. Unfortunately I never got good results with it. Whether that was from the driver or I just put a series of bad swings on it I'm not sure, But I never got great distance or direction out of this one. It is definitely a good setup to the eye though.
Callaway XR
After crushing this one on the range I was more than excited to bring this to the course, and it didn't disappoint. I already knew it would fly, I had learned that on the range, but the biggest thing I saw on the course was a HUGE amount of forgiveness low on the face, which is really big for me, as I tend to miss low and high on the face often. I caught one EXTREMELY low on the face, I mean we are talking not far from being topped. Immediately I expected to see it flying 50 feet off the ground, but was shocked to see a nice ball flight, it definetly was launched a little lower than idea, but it was not out of norm for me with other drivers in hand even on a well struck shot. Even with the good looking ball flight I expected to find it in the 230 range, but further to my surprise it was 245 yards out there, which is only about 10-15 yards off of what I was seeing with the other drivers.
Cobra FLy Z+
This was one of the more disappointing drivers of the day for me. I hit it on the launch monitor, and my numbers weren't great but I assumed that was because the weight was flipped forward, and I know that wasn't the ideal setup for me. When we had it on the course we flipped it back, but results still weren't great, distance was below average, and it was army golf for me. I hit it 3 times, twice to the left and one way to the right. NEXT
On the Back we had the Wilson Staff D200, TM R15, Nike Vapor Pro, and Srixon 545
Taylormade R15
I had hit this one before on a monitor, and it is a straight up rocket launcher for me. My first driver with it confirmed that. Dead down the middle with a beautiful high baby fade. GPS'd at 270 with a headwind... I LIKE. My second go with it showed the flip side of it, weak slice into the woods. If I was a little more consistent of a ball stiker this would be in my bag in a heartbeat, but its still a bit too penal when not struck on the screws.
Srixon 545
I was really excited to hit this one, I have heard so much positive about this driver, and it is just beautiful to the eye. CLassic shape with a beautiful black crown with no markings, that is exactly what I like. However the results just weren't there. My first go with it launched really high with alot of spin and was by far my shortest of the day. No doubt it wasn't a perfect swing, but this wasn't a result a like to see. My follow up attempt was better, but still lacking in distance and was off target. I wouldn't mind trying it again sometime but it failed to impress.
W/s D200
This thing will boom the ball out there. It produced a beautiful ball flight, high and far. Unfortunately for me it went HIGH and FAR towards the left OOB marker everytime. I think it was just the superlight head was throwing off my timing. I bet if I used it for a whole round I could have gotten it dialed in but alas, I didn't have that chance.
Nike Vapor Pro
This one stole the show on the back 9 for me. I used it on 3 holes, and never missed the dead center of the fairway. My longest measured drive of the day came on 18 with this driver, at damn near 290, which I don't see often these days. The most impressive drive came with my first one, when I hit one off the toe and the first words out of my mouth was "that felt yucky". Despite it being an inch off the sweet spot it got out there over 250 to the center of the fairway. I was surprised to see that level of forgiveness out of a "pro" model. This was definitely the biggest surprise of the day for me. After not enjoying the flex I almost wrote this one off, man would that have been a mistake. The results were definitely there, and it provides a gorgeous package at address along with a great sound I don't at all expect out of Nike.
So what was the result of the day? I am on ebay right now checking out prices on both the Callaway XR and the Nike Vapor Pro.
A huge thanks to THP for putting this awesome day together for us.
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Wake
Active member
I just covered it in my writeup, but for me it was a bit of a disappointment. Honestly I don't think it was touched as much as some of the others simply because it had been hit already by quite a few of the attendees. Some of the other drivers released in the fall didn't get as much love on the range.
Pkielwa
New member
Thanks! I read your feed back on it. I was just shocked to see a couple comments about how great it performed, but then not be in the final ranking for the same folks. Thanks for the heads-up!
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I like the driver a lot, as did a few others, but many felt it was just not in their favorites. For me its solid, but I like others more.
My thought on what I tried through the day.
Wilson D200
This was the one I used on the 1st couple of driving holes and found it to be just too light for me, the appearance was nice but just could not get any performance out of it. Hit it all over the place, left right and short.
NIKE Pro
I like the smaller head at address and hit it quite well on a couple of tries, the stock grip far too slippery for Fl. conditions. Not a big fan of the graphics, but it was not an issue over the ball. Mid ball flight and slight fade.
Cobra Fly Z
Again this just seemed very light to me and the stock Stiff shaft was very whippy IMO, hit it once only for a screaming low slice
Bridgestone J715
My favorite of the day, very nice feel and appearance at address. With the Speeder 661 shaft, I felt in control and hit it well with a slight planned mid / high fade.
Callaway XR
My second favorite of the day, light but with the LZ Shaft felt very solid. High and straight ball flight
TaylorMade R15
Had good feel but noticeably shorter for me than the other ones that worked for me.
I hit my own Callaway 815 twice with the Speeder 661 and hit the 2 best drives of the day for me. Love the 815, covers up my misses and long (for me) when hit correctly.
I did not hit the Srixon 545 as I have owned it recently and knew its performance which is solid but needs a good strike to work well.
Wilson D200
This was the one I used on the 1st couple of driving holes and found it to be just too light for me, the appearance was nice but just could not get any performance out of it. Hit it all over the place, left right and short.
NIKE Pro
I like the smaller head at address and hit it quite well on a couple of tries, the stock grip far too slippery for Fl. conditions. Not a big fan of the graphics, but it was not an issue over the ball. Mid ball flight and slight fade.
Cobra Fly Z
Again this just seemed very light to me and the stock Stiff shaft was very whippy IMO, hit it once only for a screaming low slice
Bridgestone J715
My favorite of the day, very nice feel and appearance at address. With the Speeder 661 shaft, I felt in control and hit it well with a slight planned mid / high fade.
Callaway XR
My second favorite of the day, light but with the LZ Shaft felt very solid. High and straight ball flight
TaylorMade R15
Had good feel but noticeably shorter for me than the other ones that worked for me.
I hit my own Callaway 815 twice with the Speeder 661 and hit the 2 best drives of the day for me. Love the 815, covers up my misses and long (for me) when hit correctly.
I did not hit the Srixon 545 as I have owned it recently and knew its performance which is solid but needs a good strike to work well.
I'm enjoying these write-ups. What comes to mind is what does not work for one person may work for another and there are a ton of solid drivers on the market right now.
Mango Smash
Active member
Just sold my SLDR 430, Launch Lab 8*, and working on moving my Launch Lab 9.5* and 9032LS now. Definitely going to pick up an 815 alpha after hitting it this weekend.
JB, what was the loft on yours again?
JB, what was the loft on yours again?
Mango Smash
Active member
Also, when shall we go ahead and change my handle over to Mango Smash?
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<------ Look to your left by your post.
Tadashi70
Well-known member
I found the Wilson D200 to be light but still very sturdy. Very easy to get through the hit zone with a nice high launch. Can't recall the address position but I know it did not deter me from hitting the club. Let's just say that nothing stood out.