We’ve come to the end of yet another Golf’s Most Wanted Test. We owe tremendous thanks to our team of testers who together spend more than 40 hours helping us test these clubs. We’d also like to thank you, the reader, for your ongoing and often relentless support of MyGolfSpy. You are the reason we do this, and the reason why we constantly push ourselves to be better. Just wait until you see what comes next.
And of course, we’d like to thank the 15 different golf companies who, despite zero assurances of the results (good, bad, or otherwise), believe in their products enough to send them in for testing time and time again. Can I get a golf clap for the golf companies?
We’ll talk about it a bit more when we go beyond the Data in the next couple of weeks, but there is tremendous diversity in the fairway wood market right now. Whether you want something primarily (and now almost exclusively) for use off the tee, for total versatility, or something compact to launch rockets off the deck, there is absolutely something for you.
While we believe our Most Wanted 3-Wood of 2014 is the standout performer in this group, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t consider some of the clubs further down the list. Many golfers struggle the with the 3-wood off the deck, and what we learned during the course of our testing is that most golfers would be wise to trade a few yards or more to find a club that they can hit consistently well.
For most of our testers, Our Most Wanted 3-Wood offers exactly that, and does so while offering distance gains for most. Maybe you don’t have to sacrifice yards afterall.
Total Performance Scoring
Many of you felt that the method we’ve used to grade total performance previously (total yards – distance offline), while simple, skewed a bit too heavily towards distance.
For this, and future tests, we wanted to strike a better balance between the two, and while the new formula may slightly favor distance, it’s skewed significantly less than the old way.
Our new method considers total distance (relative to the control club), but also heavily weights the accuracy score (again, relative to control). While there are clubs that finished in the Top 10 largely because of extreme distance or extreme accuracy, the majority is comprised of clubs that beat our reference club for distance, accuracy and Total Performance.
Final rankings are based on the relative performance of each club against our control club, which was also hit by each tester in each session (Performance Score for a given club minus Control Club Performance Score).
To minimize fatigue while still allowing for the necessary number of shots to be hit, each of the 22 clubs in our test was placed into 1 of 3 club groups. No 2 clubs from a single manufacturer were placed in the same group, otherwise group assignments were randomly drawn.
The order clubs were hit each day was also determined at random, but to ensure fairness and balance, the order was different for each tester, and we took steps to ensure that each club was hit near the beginning, middle, and end of each group.
All shots were hit from a fairway lie. We did not test from the tee or from the rough. Given the emergence of clubs like Callaway’s 2 Deep, PING’s Rapture, and TaylorMade’s Mini Driver, future fairway wood tests will almost certainly involve a tee component.
Each club group was hit over the course of 2 sessions by each each of our testers. In each session we collected 6 good shots per club from each tester (12 total – 6 shots * 2 sessions).
Final rankings are based on relative performance against our control club which was also hit by each tester in each session.
Golfers were given adequate time to warm up. Once ready, golfers took 3 swings with each club before moving to the next club. After 9 swings testers were given a break. The process was repeated until 6 good shots were collected with each 3 Wood being tested in that particular session. Testers hit an average of 65 shots during each session.
Total Performance Rankings
Based on the distance and accuracy portions of our results, observant readers probably saw this coming. Callaway’s Big Bertha hit the board, and hit it often in each of our first two days, and now sits atop this list as our Most Wanted 3-Wood of 2014.
For those looking for a more detailed breakdown, shot for shot Big Bertha held its own with PING’s formidable Rapture, and is anything but a slouch where accuracy is concerned. Of the clubs we tested, no 3-wood offers a better combination of distance and accuracy with nary a hint of compromise where either is concerned.
Congratulations, Callaway Golf. Your Big Bertha 3-Wood is Our Most Wanted for Total Performance.
It’s fitting that a club that was nearly as popular with our testers as Big Bertha would finish 2nd. BiO Cell finished a solid 3rd for total yards (across the entire sampling of shots) while besting the control club for accuracy.
If for whatever reason you’re not a Callaway guy, you might want to think about being a Cobra guy. BiO Cell (and BiO Cell+ if you’re so inclined) is nothing less than outstanding.
TaylorMade’s 3rd place finish may come as a bit of surprise given that it didn’t crack the top 3 in either distance or accuracy. The thing about SLDR is that despite arguments that it’s unforgiving, it actually holds up exceptionally well against a larger sampling of shots.
As we hinted at earlier, while maybe its best effort isn’t as long as some others, it’s unbelievably consistent, longer than most, and seldom produces a sub-standard shot where distance is concerned. While not everybody hit it well, in the right hands, it doesn’t get much better.
PING’s G25 series continues to impress. We talked about the G25 not being the distance king, but none we tested were better at hitting the ball straight.
For those willing to sacrifice a few yards…and really that’s all we’re talking about here, to ensure fewer lost balls, and in all likelihood, more fun, we can’t oversell the G25. Despite the G25s reputation for being PING’s Game-Improvement series, it was actually our lowest handicap player that chose to put the G25 in his bag.
The simplest way to explain the Cleveland 588’s 5th place ranking is to tell you that it’s the best club we’ve ever tested from Cleveland.
Traditional looks, great feel, and absolutely outstanding performance. Fans of the brand should celebrate this one, while the rest of you should make a note to demo it as soon as possible.
PING’s Rapture lands at #6 largely on the strength of its distance numbers. While accuracy wasn’t that bad, it’s definitely a club better suited to the guy looking to maximize every bit of yardage.
The Rapture bested our control club by a total of 9.17 yards while posting the highest distance average of any club in our test. But perhaps most impressive is how easy it is to hit. Don’t be put off by the massive footprint, Rapture is extremely playable.
PING lands in the Top 10 for the 3rd time with its i25. In nearly every respect the PING i25 occupies the middle ground between the Rapture and G25. It’s longer than the latter, and more forgiving than the former.
While that might sound like a bit of a compromise, I’m certain that many (myself included) would have no reservations about choosing i25 over either.
Wilson Staff’s D-100 is the Anti-Rapture. It’s not in the Top 10 for distance, but it’s hard to argue against the accuracy. Bested by only the G25 in that category, the D-100 can hang in the middle of the fairway with the best of them.
Tour Edge’s Exotics CB Pro blends perhaps the most compelling technology (Slip Stream sole) with outstanding distance in an otherwise traditional package. Sure, it does come with a hefty price tag attached, but many will argue it’s worth every penny.
Rounding out the Top 10 is Nike’s VRS Covert 2.0. My unquestionable favorite for the test, the 2.0 put up solid results; besting the control club for both distance and accuracy.
Some will loathe the red, and the Nike name. If you can get past those things, the Nike VRS Covert 2.0 definitely deserves a look.
Bertha, Bertha, Bertha. What’s left to say about our Top Fairway of 2014? High Swing Speed players were long enough, while posting among their best accuracy scores relative to the control club.
Those who remember Callaway’s RAZR series of fairways with something other than fondness should probably reevaluate Callaway’s premium fairway offering. Bertha is different. Special even.
Not surprisingly TaylorMade’s SLDR is second on this list. Our high swing speed players produced their greatest distances (relative to control) with SLDR, even besting the PING Rapture.
Some might want for better accuracy numbers, but many will take the added distance and never look back.
Surprisingly, PING’s G25 is our 3rd choice for higher swing speed players. While still not the longest, it was by far the most accurate.
Some might want for a few more yards, but many will take pleasure in hitting their next shot from the short grass.
Most of you probably expected the i25 to make it into our Top 5 for higher swing speed players. That’s not surprising given what we know about the i-series. The fact that it finished behind the G25…well, you could almost call it a push. Those who’re willing to trade some accuracy for distance (and a smaller footprint) should happily choose the i25. For those who want a bit more forgivenes…well, you know.
I love having the chance to repeatedly talk about Tour Edge’s Exotics CB Pro. #5 on our list for higher swing speed players, the titanium-faced CB Pro was among the longest for the group, and while accuracy was off a bit, it’s only just barely, and certainly not to any level to set off alarm bells.
For higher swing speed players, the CB Pro is so good…so really good.
That’s right, Cleveland’s 588 is our top choice for slower swing speed players. While our higher swing speed crowd hit it well-enough, our slower swing speed players absolutely murdered the ball with it; besting the control club by nearly 15 yards.
Toss in an accuracy score that far exceeds the average, and we can’t come up with any even slightly-rational reason why you shouldn’t take a shot on a demo.
While the ultralight Wilson D-100 wasn’t a big yardage producer for our higher swing speed guys, it was much closer to the top with our lower swing speed group.
The D-100s accuracy score was 2nd to none, which suggests that its shaft more than holds up against slower swings. Have we mentioned how much fun this one is to hit?
We’re totally enamored with Cobra’s BiO Cell, and not just because you can get it in blue. Back in October the Cobra guys assured us that their fairway wood was as good as anyone’s, and while that’s the sort of thing everybody in golf says, our numbers validate the claim.
Between the standard and the “+”, 3 stock shaft options, and 5 different colors, if you can’t find a Cobra BiO Cell that will work for you, you’re probably not trying.
Hate Callaway? Fine…this is the last time we’ll mention the Big Bertha fairway. Love Callaway? Fine, Bertha just hit the board (again)?
Finishing off a dominating performance by showing its value to lower swing speed players, Bertha finished 2nd in total distance (and yards vs. control) while posting top-tier accuracy numbers for the same group. In the interesting of finding some fault with Callaway’s most excellent offering…I suppose the midnight blue paintjob might not be for everyone.
In some respects the Tour Edge Exotics XCG7 fairway tested the opposite of the driver. As you may recall our higher swing speed guys thrived with the Beta model.
This time around it’s the lower swing speed guys throwing a party with the XCG7. For those guys it bested the control club by better than 10 yards, while putting up more than solid accuracy score.
All of this reaffirms what we’ve known all along. Tour Edge is really good at making fairway woods.
Full 2014 Most Wanted Driver Coverage
:: Coming Soon – MyGolfSpy’s 2014 Most Wanted 3-Wood Test
:: 2014 Most Wanted 3 Wood – Distance Awards
:: 2014 Most Wanted 3 Wood – Accuracy Awards
:: 2014 Most Wanted 3 Wood – Overall Winners (this post)
:: 2014 Most Wanted 3 Wood – Tester’s Pick (coming soon)
:: 2014 Most Wanted 3 Wood – Beyond the Data (coming soon)
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ninetails
10 years ago
If the new “total performance scoring” were used for the most wanted driver test, would the outcomes be different than before?