This can be a tough decision. There are so many good Drivers now available and they all have a different look and feel. (The Febuary 2008 issue of Golf Digest shows several studies on clubs and gives comments, prices, lofts and their rating of each.)We will take a peek at all of them. I used to play the Callaway Big Bertha for years because if was so forgiving. It seemed like you could hit the ball anywhere on the face and it would go.... and go straight.)Since I've always been a good Driver I played this club for years. Then one day I decided the old clubs were all out of good shots and I would buy a new one. Man, I didn't realize how many Drivers are on the market. I thought picking one would be easy- until I reached the golf store. I actually found it fun hitting some many different clubs. They are all big and expensive. Some look OK and some are square and look the size of a bucket. I just can't look down at a square Driver. It just doesn't look right. Nothing that really catches my eye when addressing the ball. I know that may not be very important, but I do think that when you look down at the ball in your Driver setup, the club should have an appeal to you- especially since they cost as much as they do. If I'm spending too much for a Driver, I want it to look good. (I remember the day when you could buy a set of clubs for the price of one of these monstors.)
The Driver...
All of the first group of Drivers were rated GOLD in the Golf Digest article:
Callaway FT-5 ............ expensive
Callaway FT-i.............. it's square. Refer to above.
Cleveland HIBORE XLS...........didn't look at.
Cobra Speed LD...........didn't look at.
Nike SQ SUMO2 5900.......... goodness, another square one.
Ping G10............just didn't do anything for me. It might you.
TaylorMade Burner........... Wow!!!
The second group of Drivers (rated Silver but I have no idea why)
Adams INSIGHT XTD......who came up with the square Driver idea anyway!
Callaway HYPER X.... good looking club but it wasn't rated very good
Cobra L4V........ didn't like the look so I didn't try it out
Mizuno MP-600................didn't feel good to me
Nike SQ SUMO 5000...... like swinging a shovel. Only T.W. can hit these.
SRIXON Z-RW........didn't try it
TaylorMade R7 CGB MAX...... felt like alot of other Drivers
TaylorMade RRR7 SUPERQUAD....good looking club and a great reputation, cost too much.
Titleist 907D1....nope
Titleist 907D2......nope
So there you have them. The one I bought... TaylorMade Burner. The article rated it very high and man do I agree. The best looking club by far when addressing the ball. Its light and really creates clubhead speed. I'm hitting the ball further with this club than I did ten years ago. Now I know why they rated the Burner Gold.
Fairway Wood...
Fairway woods are so important to your game you have spend just as much time as when choosing the Driver. If you are happy with your Driver, chances are, you will look first at the same brand for your Fairway wood purchase. Ask the golf shop if you can hit a few. Most have at least a net hitting area and you should never buy any club without hitting it. Cost wise, most are around $200 +.
Fairway woods....
- Adams- Insight XTD
- Callaway-FT
- Callaway-X
- Nike-SQ SUMO2
- Ping-G10
- TaylorMade-Burner/Burner TP (yep, I bought the 3 & 5 wood. Love both of them.)
- Bobby Jones-Players Series
- Callaway-Big Bertha
- Cleveland-HiBore XLS
- Mizuno-F-60
- TaylorMade-R7 CGB MAX
- itleist-906F4
- Wishon-949MC
- Tour Edge-Exotics XCG
I was reading a short article on hitting Hybrids and it said to use a sweeping swing just as you do with the longer iron it is replacing or a Fairwood wood. It said the Hybrid head is "designed to skim throught the grass like a fairwood wood". I've always been a sweeper anyway. I never could hit down on a long iron or Fairway wood.
I used to watch the old Bobby Jones videos on hitting a specific club or shot and always noticed that he hit down on his Fairway woods. The ball would take off like an F-16 and then rise majestically. I figured if Mr. Jones did it I should as well. I might as well have had a shovel in my hands. I also figured out, after trying it, there was a reason Mr. Jones was a world class golfer. Speaking of Hybrids, if you are so inclined, most manufactures of Drivers also make Hybrids.
When to Tee the ball up!
No doubt you have seen the pros tee up the ball for irons or even fairway woods on the tee box but never knew why. Every one says it is an advantage to hit the ball off a tee rather than off the ground. Sure, it makes sense that you probably won't hit it "fat" off of a tee but is that the only reason. It seems that by teeing the ball up, the ball flies further is due to spin rate. The center of gravity rests slightly higher than the CG (center of gravity) of a golf ball sitting on turf. Once you tee the ball, the CG of the ball and the club align, thus, decreasing the spin rate allowing an increase in the carry and roll distance.
Irons.....
Man, are there alot of Irons out there now. If you can't find a set of or combination of Irons that help your game, take up fishing. It is absolutely amazing the number of quality Irons available to us amateur players.
Adams-Idea A3 
Callaway-X 20
Ping- G10
TaylorMade-R7
Callaway-FT
Cleveland-CG Gold
Cobra-FP
Mizuno-MX-25
Nike-Slingshot
TaylorMade-Burner XD
Adams-Idea A30S
Callaway-Big Bertha
Cleveland-Hibore
Cobra-S9
Callaway-FT IBrid (here)
Cobra-UFI
Mizuno-MX-950
Nike-SQ SUMO2Hybrid/Iron Set
TaylorMade-R7CGB Max
Tour Edge-Bazooka Geomax
Whew! Told you there were a lot of them and actually there are more. I just got tired of typing them. If you can't find a club you like in these groups, golf is not your game.
Wedges.......
I think golfers feel closer to their Wedges and Putters than any othe club. I'm not sure why because if you can't get off the tee in good shape, the Wedge and Putter might be good only for door stops. But, thats another story.
Cleveland-CG12Cleveland-CG14
Titleist-Vokey Disign Spill MilledCallaway-X Forged
Mizuno-MP-T
Nike-SV Tour
Ping-Tour-W
TaylorMade-RAC SATIN TP
It is widely held that Cleveland and Titleist make the best wedges and I happen to own a Titleist Vokey Oil Can gap wedge. But everyone is different so you should swing and hit several before making a purchase decision.
Putting can save strokes or cost strokes. It is a completely separate game from all of the other shots made and clubs used in your round. With all shots equal, I guess the old saying" Drive for show and Putt for doe" is probably correct. Lee Trevino always said if your Driver doesn't put you in play (on the fairway) the Putter probably won't do you any good. I always agreed with that until Tiger came along then I had to re-evaluate my thinking. Tiger, it seems, is seldom in the fairway, always gets on in regulation (or less) and always wins. But, we're not talking about a mortal being when discussing T.W.Putters....
Nike-IC 20-10
Odyssey-Black Series 1 (all of the Odyssey Putters have great feel)
Odyssey-White Hot Tour
Ping-I-series (and so does Ping)
Ping-Karsten Series
Titleist-Cameron Studio Style
Mizuno-Black Carbon Series
Never Compromise-GM2 Exchange
Seemore-MFGP
Whitlam-Signature Series
Yes!-Abbie
Zen-RDE Premium Tour
This may not be all of the manufacturers but it has to be most of them and each maker has several models, shapes & sizes so take your time in choosing a Putter. The cost of putters can vary from $30.00 to $250 (yes, $250). You have to have a Putter anyway so enjoy going in the golf shops and putting with as many as possible.
You can purchase a great Putter for $100- $140. I was just given an Odyssey White Hot # 8 by my two beautiful daughters for my birthday and I love it. It falls in the $130 range and I don't believe another $100 is going to make another piece of metal better that my White Hot. If you don't want to spend this much at the moment, pick out a cheap one that you can live with for $30-$50 and use it for a year-then go purchase a better club. (Don't throw away the old putter. If you can't sell it in a garage sale, all those Putters standing up in the garage will sure make your friends think you know what you're doing. (I personally have more Putters in my garage than I care to count.) And, who knows. If you have two beautiful, loving daughters as I do, you might get a new Putter for your birthday next year.
The two-putt...
Many golfers miss "two-putting" greens because they do not make good lag-putts. If you are putting from 30 ft. and have little realistic chance of making the putt, you have to have an objective of getting the ball within a 3 ft. circle around the hole. You must hit the ball in the middle of your Putter face to make a good lag putt. Feel is everything in Putting so if you don't make solid contact with the ball, irregardless of whether you're hitting it soft or firm, you loose all sense of speed and distance.
Golf Club Grips....
When you purchase your first set or even second set of clubs you might not think about the grips. They're on the clubs when you buy them so they must be good, right? Maybe not. Your better golf clubs, in my opinion, put fairly good grips on their clubs anymore. And some manufacturers, like TaylorMade put specific Grips on certain clubs. For example, the TM Burner has a light weight Grip on their very light weight graphite shaft which is stuck into their very light weight club head. Since I own this specific club, I'll use this grip until it's worn out and then I'll buy another one just like it.
You local golf shop will have all of the Grips in one section so it will be easy to pick and choose. See how they feel in your hand. And, don't forget your Putter. The Grip on your Putter is probably more important to feel just right than any other club. I just had a big and I mean big Winn Grip put on my Odyssey and it really feels great.
Picking your golf ball...
Now we come to the holy grail of golf-the golf ball. Previously we saw how many Iron makes and models are on the market but that is nothing compared the the make, model and hype of the golf ball. Lets put them in three catagories: (1) Tour or Pro, (2) Performance and (3) Value.
(1) Tour or Pro golf balls are those given to the professionals free by the manufacturers and them paid to play them. All this just so you and I start thinking we can hit them as far as the flat-belly guys on Tour, go to the golf shop and pay outragious prices for a ball that we can't hit as far as a medium price ball. (Don't you just love this game) Here they are in order of pricing:
Titleist Pro V1- according to recent tests, this ball is 8 yds shorter than the NXT Extreme. The Extreme also cost about $20.00 less for a dozen. Yeh, I know, the Pro V1 does crazy 8s around the green for the Pros but $20 more a dozen? I have no interest in this one way or the other since I don't play Titleist balls, although I know they are good golf balls. I just prefer the feel and playability of Callaway.
Callaway Tour i
Nike One Black
Nike One Platinum
Bridgestone Tour B330
Bridgestone Tour B330-S
Srixon Z-URC
Srixon Z-URS
TaylorMade -TP Black-in the study I mentioned above, this was actually the longest ball off the tee with a 90 mph rebot swing machine. Longer than the PRO V1 or EXT Extreme.
TaylorMade -TP Red- This is a four piece ball, high spin, soft ball which is supposed to provide a more low-medium launch angle for distance. Great feel around the green.
All of the above mentioned balls cost from $40 to $50 a dozen. I wonder how many Pros would be playing these balls if they had to pay for them.
(2) Performance Balls... I can afford these balls and the ones I've tried were great.
Callaway HX Hot Bite-
Titleist NXT Tour- even this model outdrove the Pro V1 and they're $15 cheaper. Are you starting to get the picture.
Wilson Tx4
Titleist NXT Extreme
Bridgestone e5+-sounds like a math equation.
Bridgestone e6+
Callaway HX Pearl
Nike Ignite
Srixon Trispeed
TaylorMade Burner TP-I'm currently playing a dozen of these. So far, so good. Good distance and really stops on the green. This is a high spin ball. Actually a little longer, of the tee than the Callaway HX Hot. I've played both since I've had my TM Burner Driver.
(3) Value balls...we all have played some of these at one time or another. We find one somewhere that is like new so we play if until we lose it. It's kinda like free money. I wouldn't want to play one of them all the time because there is a difference in Value Balls and Performance Balls in length, durability and ability to work the ball, but for someone just beginning this once bitten-forget a-bout it sport, there is no need to spend anymore money than you have to until you stop loosing several a round.
the Value balls...
Srixon- AD333, Ladies Soft Feel and Soft Feel
TaylorMade- Burner
Titleist- DT SoLo
Callaway- Big Bertha and Warbird
Top-Flight- D2 Feel, Gamer, Freak, SL 5000 Super Long, XL Super Straight, XL Distance and XL Straight
Pinnacle- Platinum Feel, Ribbon, Platinum Distance,Gold FX Long and Gold FX Soft
Wilson- Luxe and Staff Fifty
Nike- PD Soft, Karma and Juice 312
Noodle-Noodle+ (how long it take some smuck to come up with this model) and the Noodle+ Lady (well, of course)
Precept- XDistance iQ 180 and Lady iQ180 ( math equations again), Laddie X
Volvik- Crystal (sounds like a car and a bottle of expensive wine instead of a golf ball)
The winner is: Top-Flight with (7) cheap golf balls in this group. Nah, I'm only joking, they're all cheap balls in this catagorie.
After all this, now you have to decide if you want a 4-piece, 3-piece or 2-piece ball!!! Are you friggen kidding me. By now, I don't even want to look at another golf ball. I need a drink!
Next, what are the differences in golf balls. No! Really!! You need to know this.
There are three important factors for golf balls, (1) distance, (2) spin and (3) hardness.
Distance...
Acushnet (Titleist):
NTX Extrere .................257.5 yds
MXT Tour------------ 254.2 yds
Acushnet (Pinnacle):
Golf FX Long---------254.1 yds
Platinum Distance---252.0 yds
Bridgestone:
Tour B330-S---------255.2 yds
Tour B330----------253.9 yds
Precept:
Laddie X -----------256.0 yds
Distance iQ 180----255.9 yds
Nike:
PD Soft------------255.9 yds
Juice 312----------254.5 yds
Srixon:
Ladies Soft Feel---253.1 yds
Soft Feel----------252.5 yds
TaylorMade:
TP Black----------259.1 yds (The longest)
TP Red-----------258.6 yds (Right there as well)
Noodle:
Noodle+ ----------259.00 (same as the TP Black)
Noodle+Lady-----2257.1 yds
Callaway:
HX Hot------------253.9 yds (I've plaged a ton of these balls. I like them)
Tour i-------------253.7 yds
Top-Flight:
Freak------------254.5 yds
Gamer-----------250.6 yds
Volvik:
Crystal----------248.5 yds
Wilson:
Luxe-----------254.2 yds
Zip------------252.7 yds
Spin Rate on golf balls...
Low Spin Balls:
Pinnacle Golf Fx Soft (lowest spin of this group)
Top-Flight Freak
Pinnacle Gold FX Long
Pinnacle Ribbon
Pinnacle Platinum Distance
Volvik Crystal
Callaway WarBird
Precept Laddie X
Pinnacle Platinum Feel
Titleist NXT Extreme
Callaway HX Hot
Nike Ingite (highest spin for this group)
Medium Spin Balls:
Noodle+ Lady (lowest spin for this group)
Srixon Soft Feel
Top-Flight XL 5000 Super Straight
Srixon Ladies Soft Feel
Bridgestone d6+
Top-Flight XL Straight
Top-Flight XL Distance
TItleist DT SoLo (07' model)
Noodle +
Precept Distance iQ 180
Srixon Trispeed
Callaway Big Bertha
Precept Lady iQ 180
Top-Flight XL 5000 Super Long
Srixon AD 333
Top-Flight D2 Feel
Nike PD Soft
Callaway HX Pearl
TaylorMade Burner
Nike Karma
Wilson Staff Fifty (highest spin in group)
High-Spin:
Callaway Tour ix (lowest spin in group)
Top-Flight Gamer
Wilson Luxe
Callaway Tour i
Wilson Zip
Titleist NXT Tour
TaylorMade Bruner TP
Callaway HX Hot Bite
Bridgestone Tour B330-S
TaylorMade TP Red
Titleist Pro V1
TaylorMade TP Black
Srixon Z-URS
Bridgestone Tour B330
Bridgestone e5+
Nike One Black
Wilson Tx4
Srixon Z-URC
Titleist Pro V1X
Nike One Platinum (at least this ball come in first in something. Highest spin in group)
Softness and Hardness of Golf Balls...
softest balls:
Bridgestone Tour B330-s (softest of group)
Titleist NXT Tour
Titleist ProV1
Nike One Black
TaylorMade TP Black
Top-Flight Gamer
Titleist Pro V1x
Srixon AD 333
Callaway HX Pearl
Wilson Luxe
Callaway HX Hot Bite
Nike One Platinum
Hardest:
Volvik Crystal (softest of group)
Titleist NXT Extreme
Callaway Big Bertha
Srixon Soft Fee
Pinnacle Gold FX Long
Pinnacle Platinum Distance
Callaway WarBird
Precept Laddie X
Callaway HX Hot
Top-Flight Freak ( hardest of the hard)
Remember one very important thing when choosing your golf ball. Although logic would say that the hardest ball with no spin would get the most distance but this study showed the TaylorMade TP Red (which has very high spin and is soft is the longest ball hit in study). You need to understand your game (high-medium-low handicapper) and then find the ball that gives you the best chance to improve your score.
Until next time!
