Drivers

MGS Tested: 2017 Most Wanted – Driver For Your Swing Speed

BY MyGolfSpy
May 17th 2017
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What is the best driver for YOUR swing speed? We want to help find the best driver for YOU.

That’s the reason why, this year, we brought in 30 golfers and collected more than 7,300 shots. The more we know about how each of the 21 drivers in our test performs, the better we can help narrow your choices. Whether you’re an off-the-rack buyer, a guy who’s constantly tweaking your gear, or someone who is going to take the time to get fitted by a knowledgeable professional, we’re here to help you.

As we start to correlate your swing with our data, we’re able to provide more meaningful information to the individual golfer.

To that end, we’re breaking down the results of our 2017 Most Wanted Driver test a bit further to show you which drivers performed best within YOUR swing speed range.

HOW WE CONSIDER PERFORMANCE

Each year we work hard to improve our testing methodologies from the previous test. This year, we’ve beefed up our analytics to bring you TRUERank; a metric that looks at both distance and accuracy to find the drivers that put you in the best position to shoot lower scores.

For more information, check out our How We Test page.

For those interested in breaking out the individual components that make up total performance, we still provide you with club speed, distance (total yards and carry), and accuracy (offline/yards from center).

Be sure to check out the sortable tables at the bottom of each speed category.

RESULTS:

TRUERank: Swing Speeds (105-120)

Club	Club MPH	Ball MPH	Launch	Spin	Carry	Total	Offline	TRUE Rank
Srixon Z565	110.7	155.5	14.1	2330	269.3	286.1	17.6	1
TaylorMade M1 440 '17	109.6	152.9	15.3	1912	269.6	286.1	21.3	2
Callaway BB Epic	111.3	156.0	14.4	2433	269.3	283.2	20.6	3
Air Force One DFX Tour	109.8	154.2	13.6	2389	264.7	281.2	17.6	4
PING G	109.5	154.0	14.3	2426	265.3	281.2	18.2	5
Cobra F7+	110.0	154.3	15.0	2478	266.0	281.7	18.4	6
Srixon Z765	109.7	153.1	14.3	2244	264.8	280.9	19.3	7
TaylorMade M2 '17	110.6	155.0	14.1	2510	266.1	280.2	19.1	8
Callaway BB Fusion	110.9	155.0	14.6	2570	265.5	280.1	18.0	9
Callaway Epic Sub Zero	110.4	155.4	14.2	2462	267.4	280.9	20.7	10
Cobra F7	110.2	154.3	14.3	2446	264.2	279.0	20.4	11
Wilson Staff D300	111.5	154.0	14.6	2276	265.5	279.1	21.3	12
Wilson Staff Triton	109.8	154.5	14.5	2643	262.8	277.5	18.6	13
PING G LSTec	109.0	153.4	14.5	2400	264.5	278.4	21.0	14
Titleist 917 D2	110.3	154.5	14.1	2547	263.8	277.5	20.3	15
TaylorMade M1 '17	109.7	152.5	15.3	2379	263.2	277.5	20.3	16
Titleist 917 D3	108.3	153.3	14.5	2593	262.1	276.6	18.6	17
Air Force One DFX	110.4	153.9	13.8	2457	261.9	276.7	21.6	18
Wilson Staff FG Tour	109.5	152.8	15.3	2459	261.8	275.7	21.2	19
PING G SFTec	110.1	154.4	15.0	2845	259.6	273.6	18.9	20
Mizuno JPX900	109.5	153.4	15.3	2737	260.3	273.6	20.1	21

TRUERank: Swing Speeds (95 - 105)

Club	Club MPH	Ball MPH	Launch	Spin	Carry	Total	Offline	TRUE Rank
TaylorMade M2 '17	101.4	142.9	14.9	2362	239.0	254.9	17.5	1
Callaway BB Epic	101.1	143.5	13.8	2245	239.5	254.7	18.4	2
TaylorMade M1 440 '17	100.7	141.7	15.3	1988	239.3	254.5	20.6	3
TaylorMade M1 '17	100.4	141.6	14.6	2150	237.4	253.5	18.4	4
Srixon Z565	101.0	142.3	14.7	2229	237.3	253.4	18.5	5
Mizuno JPX900	101.2	143.1	14.5	2498	237.9	252.9	18.3	6
PING G LSTec	100.9	142.8	14.2	2260	238.2	252.5	20.6	7
Cobra F7	100.5	141.9	14.9	2458	236.3	251.5	19.2	8
Callaway BB Fusion	100.8	142.6	14.1	2292	236.4	251.2	19.4	9
Srixon Z765	101.0	142.2	14.4	2157	235.0	249.8	20.5	10
Wilson Staff D300	101.7	141.4	15.3	2151	235.6	251.0	18.8	11
PING G	100.1	141.6	14.5	2424	235.2	250.5	17.8	12
Titleist 917 D2	100.4	142.0	14.0	2483	235.0	249.8	19.2	13
Titleist 917 D3	100.2	141.3	14.6	2398	234.0	249.6	18.0	14
Cobra F7+	99.9	141.0	15.1	2339	235.5	249.9	20.6	15
Callaway Epic Sub Zero	100.0	141.8	15.3	2388	236.0	249.4	21.1	16
Air Force One DFX Tour	100.9	142.5	14.3	2356	235.1	250.2	20.5	17
Air Force One DFX	100.6	142.3	13.5	2407	233.8	248.6	19.4	18
Wilson Staff Triton	100.5	142.0	14.5	2495	234.6	249.5	19.0	19
Wilson Staff FG Tour	100.5	141.1	14.8	2418	234.5	248.0	19.4	20
PING G SFTec	100.1	140.6	15.4	2505	232.5	246.1	18.8	21

TRUERank: Swing Speeds (80 - 95)

Club	Club MPH	Ball MPH	Launch	Spin	Carry	Total	Offline	TRUE Rank
Srixon Z765	90.1	127.0	15.5	1920	204.4	220.3	17.4	1
Wilson Staff D300	90.8	126.6	15.9	2172	202.7	218.3	16.9	2
TaylorMade M1 '17	89.5	126.2	16.1	2024	202.9	218.6	16.6	3
Cobra F7+	89.7	127.4	15.5	2306	205.3	218.5	18.0	4
Mizuno JPX900	89.2	127.2	14.8	2166	201.7	217.4	17.2	5
Callaway BB Fusion	89.3	126.6	15.7	2311	202.6	217.4	16.1	6
PING G	89.8	127.5	15.7	2170	204.7	217.8	19.2	7
Titleist 917 D2	90.0	127.8	14.7	2324	202.0	217.7	16.9	8
PING G LSTec	88.9	126.4	14.9	2038	200.9	217.2	16.6	9
Callaway BB Epic	90.0	127.5	14.7	2079	200.2	217.8	16.9	10
TaylorMade M2 '17	90.1	126.8	15.7	2200	202.7	218.1	18.8	11
Callaway Epic Sub Zero	89.3	127.7	14.8	2025	202.6	217.5	18.1	12
PING G SFTec	89.3	126.2	15.3	2064	199.3	217.4	14.7	13
Srixon Z565	89.2	126.2	15.2	2173	201.9	216.5	18.4	14
TaylorMade M1 440 '17	89.3	125.9	16.1	2113	202.3	216.5	17.4	15
Air Force One DFX Tour	89.3	126.3	15.2	2191	200.6	214.1	17.7	16
Wilson Staff FG Tour	89.2	126.3	15.5	2430	201.8	216.3	17.0	17
Wilson Staff Triton	89.0	126.0	16.4	2349	202.2	216.2	18.6	18
Cobra F7	89.2	126.4	15.3	2260	200.1	213.8	21.4	19
Titleist 917 D3	89.3	124.7	16.0	2351	198.1	212.1	16.5	20
Air Force One DFX	88.3	125.5	13.9	2143	196.6	210.5	19.1	21

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comments

Join The Discussion

anthony byerman

6 years ago

what shaft was used on afo dfx

Alex

7 years ago

For the Top 3 drivers tested for swing speeds 105-120mph could you please indicate which shafts were fitted?

Mike Wales

What I found interesting is the difference between the “standard” and “low spin” club heads. For Callaway, it looks like the Epic subzero spun about the same as the “standard” Epic. In the higher swing speed category, the Ping LST spun basically the same as the standard.

Matt

I found it interesting that the Srixon Z565, which is draw biased and higher launch, was ranked #1 for high swing speeds and the Z765, which is fade biased and moderate launch was the winner for slow swing speeds. It seems counterintuitive based on the marketing profile for each club. What gives guys?

rick

Why don’t manufacturers (ball, shaft, club) use robots that can be calibrated for repeatable speed and contact. That way the numbers are true to the set up and not human capability, repeatability or feel. Seems the only way we will know what is real, better, different for a given set of conditions.

bert pit

Marketing, marketing, marketing.

Then we find out that all drivers of a certain category are about the same. Marketing wants to make us believe otherwise.

Todd Addison

My swing speed is 95-101. One point i would like to make here. I purchased the epic 10.5 earlier this year and had a project x Red 65 gram 6.0 shaft put in it. I purchased shaft ($300) from project x through my club fitter. Its been a great shaft for me. Stay with me… I just purchased the M2 from taylormade and i saw they offered a project x red with the same specs as my shaft for a free upgrade. I recieved it and took both clubs out yesterday- The Epic was 20 yards longer! I used same balls, etc. i was shocked! I swapped out the taylormade free upgrade shaft and put in a Project x black 65g 6.0 shaft I purchased last year to fit my M1. The M2 then started performing as stated on here. I actually out drove the epic a few drives. The accuracy was better than the Epic also. I then looked on ebay and noticed a bunch of those taylormade free upgrade Px red shafts forsale. There is no way those shafts are the same quality! The black ones with the red writing are junk. The solid red ones are the great performing shafts. Long story short, I believe those free upgrade shafts are not the same quality as the ones you can buy from the shaft company. I proved it yesterday. We need that test on here :) Upgrades. Are they really upgrades?

Nick

I second this. I also think that seeing shaft variability even between two shafts bought from the company would be interesting.

Jd Stocker

Nice to see Wilson Staff representing again this year. Although, it seems the performance in the top 5-10 in each category is negligible. Great job again boys!

Was the taylormade m2 dtype tested?

Myron miller

All well and good but what about us super seniors that are between 70 and 85 speed. there’s ton of difference between a 95 mph swing and a 78 mph swing. In fact, in my own personal opinion, there’s too much of a difference between 80 and 95. you have 95-105, but 80-95. Granted that 105-120 is a useful grouping as at those speeds, lots of other factors come into play.

But between 80 and 95, i’ll bet that the shaft differences will make more of a difference in the driver than the head. When i was swinging at about 95, I was using a Stiff shaft most of the time. At about 80, i had to switch to a regular shaft. And even then, the type of regular shaft made a lot of difference. low “fast flexy” kickpoint helped significantly. mid or upper flex was disaster. Actually worse than stiff shafts.

But there are lots of seniors/super seniors or super super seniors that have speeds between 70-80 or just above. What about them.

In fact, on your tests, i see that all the swing speeds were about 90mph. I’d be willing to bet at 80mph, you won’t see the same distances, spin or anything. And it might even change the order of the rankings around a bit.

I personally am at about 78 mph give or take a swing. (total carry + roll about 175-185 unless super hard ground). And I’ve found that if i get more than 14 launch angle, I seriously lose distance. 17-18 degrees are absolute disaster. about 12 is the max distance for me.

Also i do wonder whether one having a smooth swing pattern versus a slow/super hard downswing type would significantly change the patterns. Most assuredly the shaft flex would change at any speed. Ernie els doesn’t use the same shaft flex as Tiger did. both hit it a mile but with totally different style of swing. Neither better or worse, just different.

Doug Mael

Myron,

I believe that you make some extremely valid points regarding clubhead speeds. As a Professional Clubfitter, I generally group 75-82 or 75-85 MPH clubhead speeds together, as those are the clubhead speeds that I find in a vast majority of senior and super-senior golfers (not all “super seniors”, as there are a few like me who, at age 68, still swibgs at 108-110 MPH). Realizing that I am an oddball, i completely ignore what my swing speed and those of several of my fast-swinging senior teammates dictates.

The needs of those who swing their drivers at less than 82 to 85 MPH are dramatically different than faster-swinging golfers. These folks need more loft, higher-launching and higher-spin drivers. In addition Senior or S-flex shafts are an absolute MUST!

Doug Mael
Doug’s Custom Clubs/Tour Quality Golf
http://www.dougscustomgolfclubs.com

michael pasquill

I agree with you I understand fitting but I would like to see what drivers that would benefit us at that swing speed range.

Chris C.

I am curious regarding the number of low speed players that participated and their handicaps. The latter might account for the Z765’s dominance in the low speed category. Every review of this club ends with an admonition that the club is touchy; that it favors the right side ; that it is best left to low handicappers and ideally those with higher swing speeds. If your low speed testers were also low handicappers, it might account for these results.

I posted a message regarding the omission of the Tour Edge Exotics EX10 adjustable driver from your tests a few days ago, but I do not see a reply, so I am posting here.

I am a Professional Clubfitter, a big supporter of My Golf Spy, and user of your data. I have tested many golfers using the drivers in your 2016 and 2017 tests, and i generally concur with the results that you have published. I also love the Air Force One DFX Tour driver that came in at the #4 spot in this comparison for the 105-120 MPH clubhead speed group (i own one with a 757 Speeder Tour Spec shaft, and it works great for my 108-110 MPH clubhead speed, but it isn’t really very forgiving when my driver swing is a bit “off”).

The reason that I am inquiring about the omission of the EX10 adjustable driver from Tour Edge Exotics is because I have gotten excellent results in fitting this driver model for golfers with clubhead speeds from 80-85 MPH All the way up to 110-120 MPH. I personally have one, shafted with the new Aldila Rogue M-AX Red 65-S shaft, and it has earned the #1 spot in my bag!

Was the EX10 adjustable driver left out of your testing for any specific reason? I know that I would love to see how that driver would do against the ones in your 2017 tests.

Thank you, and kind regards.

Fozcycle

Again I am flabbergasted by the results. I have the Cobra King Ltd, AFO DFX and Wilson Staff Triton. The Triton is much longer than both of the others yet finishes close to the bottom. I am consistently getting 30+ yards more in the fairway with the Triton. Guess I am an anomaly. Thanks for all the great work guys!

I disagree regarding the Air Force One DFX Tour driver, and it’s performance vs. the Cobra King LTD and Wilson Triton drivers. I own a King LTD driver, played it all of 2016, and at the beginning of this year. It is currently my backup driver. I also spent about 90 minutes with Wilson Golf expert fitters and got the Triton dialed-in for me. This being said, I find the AFO DFX Tour driver to be at worst equal to or a bit better than the King LTD on perfect hits and much better on slight mishits. As for the Triton vs. DFX Tour comparison, there is none! The DFX Tour absolutely blows-away the Triton in every respect (on both sweet spot hits and slight mishits).

When my driver swing is “on”, no driver can come close to my AFO DFX Tour driver with a Fujikura 757 Speeder Tour Spec shaft in it. If I want more forgiveness and still very respectable distance, I will take the Tour Edge Exotics EX10 adjustable driver or my Cobra King LTD.

Of course, YMMV.

Best regards,
Doug Mael
Doug’s Custom Clubs / Tour Quality Golf

Adam Huckeby

Long time since my life has been slow enough to really get on MGS. Site looks great Adam. Really happy for you guys.

Srixon being new to the top of the pack I’d guess many readers would like to see a small write up on this brand alone. Of course I’d like a small write up on everything that piques my curiosity. At first I was surprised at the other end of the spectrum that the high speed players fared comparatively poorly with the 765 vs the 565. I assume this is strike based on a lower MOI head in your tests?

Anyway i take away what i always do from these great tests…

Our market is filled with great clubs. Each formulated to fill the niches for which they are designed.. go find your niche.

thanks guys….and good to be be back on the site

Jeff Moore

Thanks for the test I was thinking that low spin drivers would not benefit slow swingers I thought they need a lot of spin to keep ball in the air I really don’t know

Mike Hennessey

I guess I need a Srixon. Very surprised how low performing the titleist was.

Daris L. Cotton

I recently created an account with your forums and although I knew about your site and read it a lot, this is the first time I REALLY paid attention to what you do. This is so awesome! I know it take a lot of time and effort to do all of this testing, but I hope you guys with do this for the rest of the clubs in the bag. Many kudos and thanks for this! It is greatly appreciated!

chris b

Interesting results TBO. My Titleist 917 doesn’t rank as well as I thought. Oh well … works for me, so I guess that’s all that matters.

Stevegp

Thanks for the great review. Interesting results. I am happy to see that you ranked the drivers for swing speed. I find this more helpful.

Dan

Kinda bummed as I just bought Callaway BB. I’m in the 88 ss group.
Maybe I should trade?

xjohnx

Your driver averaged .5 more mph clubhead speed with all stock shafts. All that means is that the stock shafts in the drivers that went 3 yards further fit the test group better. If you got fit for your club and you’re hitting it well, this info provides absolutely no reason to reconsider.

I meant more ball speed*

Scott

Go ahead and sell me your Callaway for a third of what you paid for it and get you a new drive that might get you 3 more yards or not. Every year claims made for distant gained by Club company and club testing in the last 10 years ( 5. 10 yards with the new and improved BS driver ) I should be hitting my drives 320 yards instead of the same 220 yard . The best Drive is the one that keeps the ball in the fairway even if it 3 yards shorter. GOOD LUCK and lets make a deal on that Callaway.

Dave Rose

I note no senior shafts on even the slowest swingers. Are they not useful ?

Thomas

Wow, it appears a lot of data gathering analytical effort resulted in an out come that is one hundred and eighty degrees from the manufactures? Example: Srixon 765 is the club for slower swing speeds players. Only offered with lower two lower lofts and a heaver shaft (no senior shaft offered)

Jeff Aspeling

well my down swing speed is at 129.5 miles average on every swing and i use a titleist D2 915 setting d 2 playing with a addilla 70 3.0 x stiff shaft and it feels likw a regular shaft to me. o and spin rate is at a high of 4988 rpm for a 9.5 driver

Sean W. Hanley

Try the Taylormade M1 with the hazardous x shaft

STEPHANE MORENCY

Consider also your attack angle at impact.
Check with a radar. Hitting more on the way up may reduce spin by 1500 rpm.

Liam Downs-Woolley

Love a good Sirxon

Paul Smith

Is there somewhere on the website (I tried a search but did not find) where you explain the formula used for TRUERank? Here is the reason I ask: In your under 95mph table you rank the Srixon #1 and the Ping Gsftec 13, but the Ping is 2.7yds more online and the Srixon is less than 3yds longer. On a percentage basis it would seem the Ping to be way more accurate 18.37% will only being 1.33% shorter, so length must have a higher weighting or am I missing some other factor?
It is very interesting to see how the ranking of clubs vary according to swing speed. The other interesting thing is there is not a lot of difference between the number of many of the drivers suggesting we probably could not go too wrong with most of the drivers.
Thanks for the testing and all the data. Very helpful.

Why were all the smash factors averaging out to about 1.40 if real golf balls were used? it seems awfully low but then i would guess the the contact was spotty at best because those ball speed rating are way too low given that clubhead speed. Generally on center contact with a decent attack angle, the smash factor should be closer to 1.5 especially using Bridgestone golf balls.

Tony Covey

In years of testing amateur golfers I can tell you that these smash factors are right inline with expectations. 1.5 is tour pro level (and that’s the problem with a good bit of the data that it’s in the wild…it comes from the best players in the world and doesn’t translate to the rest of us). That said, even on tour, where elite golfers play, the average smash factor is 1.48.

It’s also worth nothing that smash factor isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. For example, if you bounce your club leading into impact you’ll actually produce a higher smash factor than you otherwise would.

Jeff

Excellent review as per usual.

Jon

I really wanted this analysis to help me narrow down the driver I want.

I want distance but to me accuracy is more important. I had been considering the M2. Looking for something so validate this choice. So this info is very timely.

The problem is my Driver swing speed is 95 MPH. So where do I fit?

If I fit in the 95 to 105 category I see that the M2 leads the hit parade at 17.5 off line. So far so good.

If I fit in the 80 to 95 category I see that the M2 drops all the way down to 15th at 18.8 off line.

Hmmmmmm………

Darren Tan

Jon, I’m with you on this as well. I’m averaging 95 MPH +/- and I’m not sure where to start looking. To be at the top of 1 category or the bottom of the other one?

Anyway I recently demoed both the 917 D2 and also G Driver and both felt similar although the recommended shafts were totally different. And I’ve been thinking that shafts were more important than the head. Makes me go hmm….

Regis

You may not want to hear this but…. Get fit. All these drivers cost $400-$500. All of them come with at least 2 or 3 premium shaft options at no upcharge and a handful more at additional charges in all flexes. Most fitters charge $75-$125 and credit most of that back if you make a purchase. So you can try all your candidates with different shafts on a trackman or similar diagnostic system and maybe you drop an additional $50 or you can trust your fate to a bunch of people who’ve never seen you swing a club

Pete S

M2 sounds like trash

Jamie

Great work as usual. One question for you about the results. Were the EPIC (non-SZ) version results come from testers mostly utilizing the standard setting? Do you have any idea about what percentage utilizing the “draw” adjustment on the face? I’ve been hesitant to try out the standard EPIC due to the noticeable dip in MOI with the club in the draw setting.

Mark

Love these tests as a starting point. Please don’t look at them as gospel. We fit lots of drivers and this year Epic/Sub Zero has won more often than not. Using GC2 with HMT, we have sold 100 Epic/sub zero drivers, next closest is M2 with 38. We usually take 3-6 drivers into a fitting that takes well over an hour and we usually see the numbers are distinct. 3-5 MPH ball speed gains. Doesn’t matter to us which one wins, most important thing is that the customer walks out with the driver that fits them best. Love all the data, but it just goes to show you, take a group of 30 people vs a different group of 30 and you can see vastly different results..

Eugene Still II

Appreciate your viewpoint. I have put the Epic head on a Recoil F2 and tested against two XXIO a new Titelist, m1 and m2 and the Epic is avg 16 yards longer INMYHANDS. of course I am 80 years old and swing speed 85-92. Hcp 6.6. All need to do their own test, but, Spy gives a good starting point.

joro

I just got the Wilson Triton and with the Ti sole plate and HZRDUS red R shaft and a little messing with the weights and shortened to 45 have picked up 15 to 20 yds at 78 yrs. And, I have missed 4 frwys in 4 rounds. I don’t know my SS but after a stroke I am sure I can’t break the speed limit in a School Zone. Went from 180/185 to several over 200. Nice Driver.

Carolina Golfer 2

You Go Joro!! I just hope I’m walking at 78 let alone able to hit a golf ball 200 yards, that’s phenomenal.

Love the line about swing speed and the speed limit, I’m going to steal that one..Well played!!

John Sears

Then how is the GBB #1 in golf now? I don’t care for Callaway, but the marketing engine must be a doing them a solid right now…

They’ve sold more? Pretty easy to figure out.

Clay

Or, thinking logically, it produced the highest ball speed in 2 of the 3 speed categories, and was within .3 mph on the third. Take that head with a properly fit shaft to get the launch and spin where you want it and it is going the be the best driver out there for a lot of people.

Keep in mind this test is done with off the rack configs, these are not fitted drivers.

MrHogan

Would also be interesting to see the data with various high end shafts in terms of what shaft/flex/torque/kick point nets the best results vs swing speed.

For those looking to purchase a new driver, it would be interesting to take this great data with them when getting fit. The data should give them a good place to start in terms of swing speed. Golfers tend to known what they want before they purchase or at least have a top 2 brand driver in mind when going to their fav retail or pro to get fit. It sorta opens your mind to other possibilities. Good stuff MGS. Thx.

Weston

No Cobra KING LTD data? Still a current offering!

GolfCodeWeekly

Love hitting driver, have always wanted to hit further, possibly neglecting other areas (SEE certainly neglecting other areas)

This is the best driver review i have ever seen, useful and comprehensive for each category of golfer.

Never would have bet on the Srixon being number 1 for faster swingers

Johnny Cowboy

M1/M2 > Epic

Ted Fletcher

Just wanted to say that MyGolf Spy is doing the Lord’s work here.

Kevin Howard

Hopefully the epic subzero is what he suggests being I just spent to much on one haha.

Dave

Great work, keep it up! Thanks.

I wonder how much influence the stock Miyazaki shaft in the Srixon had. My only complaint about the Epic is most of the no upcharge shafts are junk.

Also, it is hard to believe Titleist is at the bottom on these things every year, you would think they would try and do something about that.

Regarding the Z765 at the top of the list for low swing speeds; we see this year after year after year. What you generally get with these clubs is lower launch, lower spin, with a greater percentage of total distance often coming from roll..

It’s not necessarily the prettiest ball flight, and it can be problematic if the course calls for maximum carry, but by the numbers, we very often see swing speed spin guys get more total distance out of drivers often regarded for higher swing speed players.

ole gray

Yea I had to take a double take after seeing the Srixon Z765 in my swing speed group. I’ve lusting after the Z565 like a hound dog on a steak bone however this opens my eyes up to a new possibility. More run out and overall longer drives is a good thing. Not to mention keeping the ball flight lower in windy and adverse conditions could help keep more balls in play.

MGS keeps knocking the ball over the fence with awesome consumer information. I’m totally impressed as always!

Yet, in this case, the 765 launched higher and carried further than the 565. Argh! Nothing makes sense.

Jack

Tony:
since the parameters were “off-the-rack buyer” was the Srixon Z-765 for the slow swingers using the std shaft I.E. either Stiff or X-Stiff? Only options shown on the Srixon website?
Thanks

Horace Valentine Leslie

Awesome job in dicing/categorizing the results by swing speed….these results confirm Callaway’s increased ball speed claims from the Jail Break technology…..marry that with the right shaft and clubhead configuration i believe you have a bigger ceiling for increased distance…..anyways…..great analysis…..by the way….my swing speed is around 118 mph….thanks again

eric

I have the F7 +. I have several different shafts. One shaft was really bad for both the head and my swing. The other shaft was pretty good. The last shaft was just right. the shaft that was not good forced me to swing in a way that caused the ball to go right and short probably with a lot of spin. (outside testing on course). the other shaft let me swing without effort and felt like it was almost not there. Me likey this one and ball go farther. If I had the M1 or M2 in my bag, I would not like the looks and swing go bad for me. Cobra me likey the looks, makes me feel good. Like looking at my wife. Ball go deeper when I like the way it feels and looks. The 3 yards difference in test makes no difference to me. The way she feels and looks do make difference. I take looks and feels over data anyday.

Mat Tisdale

There are the figures I was waiting for! Great to be able to see where the #’s lie for each of our swings.

Andrew Han

Thanks as always and nice review/guide. Out of curiosity, do you guys use the same test candidates year over year? Would love to hear their feedback and the qualitative datapoints. Of course that wouldn’t and shouldn’t affect the ranking in this test.

Do you guys have a podcast?

There’s always some overlap, and then some new guys – that’s especially true over the last couple years as we’ve gone from 10 to 20, and now 30 tests.

There’s always subjective feedback collected over the course of the tests, but we don’t dig into it too much.

No podcast at this time.

Cool, thanks Tony

Jeremy

Can you tell me what shaft was in the M1 that you tested for the slower swing speeds? Flex and Brand of shaft? Thanks!!

Sam Robinson

The M1 460 was tested with the stock Kuro Kage Silver Dual-Core TiNi 60.

For slower swing speeds the tester generally fit into the regular flex shaft for this club.

Awesome! Thank u!

Wow 765 for lower swing speed…..interesting

robin

In the slow swing category were regular shaft used

We do “pre-fit” each tester prior to each testing session. That being said – generally my slower swing speed guys fit into regular flex shafts.

Daron

Why no xstiff testing for the highest ss testers? Most of us with ss’s of 115 mph and higher get lower spin and better overall results with the stronger shaft…

GilB

As usual, a very informative and surprising article. Great job GS.

Mike

Thanks for adding the middle category of swing speed! My speed is right a 100mph and was caught in the middle in past reports.

Wow, 765 won for 88-85?? Isn’t that suppose to be for lower handicap and high swingspeed?

Really Interesting results. Srixon keeping the No. 1 spot in both the high swing speed and Low Swing Speed categories. But with completely opposite drivers than I would have guessed.

I’m interested to hear any thoughts on why the 765 performed so well for the slower swing speeds. I’m right in the middle of that slower category, and was considering the Z565. But now sounds like I need to look at the 765.

Same with Cobra, I was thinking F7, but the F7+ performed so much better for the slower speeds.

I commented below. The results certainly defy the conventional wisdom, but if you look at our tests over the past 3 years, we’ve consistently found that slower swing speed players get more distance – often while remaining in the fairway – with heads generally regarded as being for higher SS golfers.

Thanks, and while it does defy conventional wisdom as you said, the same was proven true in my fitting for a 917 driver, as I was fit into a D3 when I thought going in it would certainly be the D2.

I’m totally with you on the 765 for slower swing speed puzzle. Hey stats don’t lie and this has opened up a whole new can of worms when it comes to laying down ya hard earned bucks.

Alan Gregory Comeau

Isn’t the shaft the key element when considering swing speed? I doubt the heads alone would lend themselves to one speed over another; although I guess if they were designed as low spin/high spin that could factor in, as well as what loft they are. Still, shafts are also designed to account for launch, spin, etc. Interesting to see what others think on this.

Glen Johnson

But they come with stock shafts I’m guessing the tests were done like that

MyGolf Spy

We test the way the majority of consumer buy. We test with what is available at retail and fit the testers accordingly. And both the shaft AND the head can impact results based on swing speed.

Balls too maybe but we all just wanna know which is the longest ?⛳️??always!! Keep up the best work ?

cgasucks

Not gonna happen. Ball distance are maxed out because of the USGA & R&A.

Brett Frimmer

All this obsession with shafts * I know they matter*. But people act like you could put an aluminum Walmart head on a high end shaft and hit 300 Yd drives.

Jake Taylor

Great job GolfSpy, finally someone took that step

Don

Let’s say your average swing speed is actually at 105. Sometimes it’s a bit higher and sometimes it’s a bit lower. Should you be inclined to look at the data in the higher bracket or the lower?

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