Drive, Chip, Putt - Everything About Golf

The TaylorMade R7 CGB MAX is the newest driver to incorporate TaylorMade’s Movable Weight Technology™ (MWT). MWT provides you with 3 weights that promotes up to 35 yards trajectory change from side to side. This will allow a golfer to correct either a slight fade or an extreme draw off of the tee and provide better accuracy and distance. The picture below shows how adjusting the weights will change your shots.

With this club TaylorMade decided to buck the trend of making drivers with square club heads and went with a 460 cc triangle shaped club head instead. According to TaylorMade’s engineers, they chose to use the triangle shape because it promotes a far-from-the-face center of gravity and a high launch angle helping your drives go further. This club also comes with a very light 45 gram shaft stock.

When using this club, shots really do fly off of the face and the MWT technology is great at moving shots based on your skill level. However, you do need to be aware that if the weights are left in the neutral position, your shots will still move slightly from right to left.

All of the technology packed into this club places it on the pricier side of drivers. You can currently buy it for about $500 at Golf Galaxy.

The Ping G10 is the latest upgrade from Ping’s G5 Driver. According to Ping, their engineers used finite element analysis (FEA) driven by a Cray Supercomputer, to optimize the G10 Drivers’ crown, sole and face structure interaction to ensure maximum energy transfer to the ball.

The 460cc driver features a larger profile with a taller face and deeper crown that produces a higher Moment of Inertia (MOI) for greater forgiveness and increased ball velocity.  This club’s thinner crown and face (compared to the G10) provide discretionary weight which is positioned inside the club head to lower the center of gravity for reduced spin and higher launch.

All of that scientific engineering talk seems to translate to performance on the golf course!  This club has great forgiveness and packs a lot of power into a more traditional looking driver.  You can have mishits off of the heel or the toe and it will still go straight and far.  This club also seems to have the tendency to launch the ball at a high angle off of tee but it still provides significant roll.

If you’re interested in a new driver that looks more traditional than some of the more exotic drivers today, you can buy the PING G10 Men’s Driver for about $300 from Golf Galaxy.

Here it is, the update to the model that started the square head driver craze of last year! Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t deny that the square head driver is here to stay.

With the SQ SUMO 5900, Nike engineers have pushed Moment of Inertia (MOI), volume and impact efficiency to the USGA limits. The result is a driver that will hit the ball long and accurate off the tee. From last year’s model, the SQ SUMO 5900 has a deeper face, a convex crown, and redefined body shaping to increase ball speed and accuracy. Also, weight has been repositioned to the farthest corners of the Nike PowerBow design, optimizing head stability and delivering ultimate accuracy.

Whether you hit the ball of the toe, the heel, or the sweetspot, your drive will most likely go straight. This year’s model also has a more muted sound than last year’s “shotgun” sound. If you are used to working the ball of the tee, this club is most likely not for you. However, if you’re just happy to hit the ball long and straight down the fairway (sounds good to me!) this club will certainly work for you. If you pay the steep price for this 460cc driver you will really pound the ball. You know what they say - drive for show…

The Nike SQ Sumo Squared 5900 can be found retailing for approximately $400. If you’re interested you can get your own
here from Golf Galaxy.

According to Cobra, the LD (Limit Dimensions) driver has golf’s largest clubface. Pushing the limits of clubhead size set by the USGA help this club generate a massive Moment of Inertia (MOI) for faster ball speed and longer, straighter drives. The real benefit of a high MOI is reducing the dispersion of your drive from its intended target on a mishit.

The club’s high MOI, combined with Speed Tuned clubhead and shaft promote high launch with a slight draw bias for maximum distance and accuracy. This club also contains an increased Crown Slope which is responsible for moving the center of gravity lower and deeper in the clubhead for high trajectory and increased distance.

While this is a very good club, we feel that in comparison to the Cleveland Hibore XLS, it does not matchup in forgiveness and distance off the tee. Ultimately though, the decision rests with each golfer based on his or her own personal preference. If this club is the best driver that you have ever used, then great! The best advice we can give when evaluating different clubs is to try them all! There’s no harm in shopping around!

The Cobra Speed LD driver can currently be purchased here at Golf Galaxy for about $200.

The Cleveland Hibore XLS is the newest driver in Cleveland’s Hibore line of clubs. The club face is 17% larger than last year’s Hibore XL model. It’s Cleveland’s largest ever and among the biggest on the market. Cleveland’s Full Face Performance technology extends the “Hot Zone” across a larger area of the face creating more distance from both solid shots and mishits.

This club also features maximum USGA clubhead dimensions to push the currently allowed Moment of Inertia (MOI) limit. 5300 MOI represents a 13% increase from the Hibore XL. This higher MOI provides even more control off the tee for extremely straight drives even when the driver is off the heel or toe.

All of the technology that Cleveland has packed into this driver seems to have really paid off for golfers. It is one of the farthest and straightest clubs that we have hit. This club comes in lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, and 11.5 degrees. Draw versions are available in lofts of 9, 10.5, and 12 degrees. The Cleveland Hibore XLS retails for around $300 at Golf Galaxy right now.

The new 460cc FT-5 Driver is the latest driver utilizing Callaway’s Fusion Technology. The larger, more robust Titanium cup face is designed to the legal limit, as defined by the USGA Characteristic Time test, resulting in increased ball speed, distance and forgiveness — even on miss-hits. This club is in the same family as the FT-i driver but it does not have the non-traditional square club head.

Callaway’s Proprietary Fusion Technology creates an unprecedented 50 grams of discretionary weight which is strategically positioned for a high Moment of Inertia and precise lateral location of the center of gravity. This provides exceptional stability on off-center hits, while enabling ball flight customization for optimal individual performance. The 25-gram weight located at the rear of the driver lowers the CG for optimal trajectory.

Some players complain about the loud noise created when hitting the ball with this club but I think this is a minor point of contention that most players can deal with especially for the performance benefits this club gives you. The only other negative we can think of is the price - $430 retail. This price may be steep for the weekend golfer, but for more serious golfers, you get what you pay for. If you are interested in buying this club, you can get it here from Golf Galaxy.

Have a look at the list below for reviews of some of the most popular drivers to come out for 2008.

• Callaway FT-5
• Callaway FT-i
• Cleveland Hibore XLS
• Cobra Speed LD
• Nike SQ Sumo Squared 5900
• Ping G10
• TaylorMade R7 CGB MAX

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The Cleveland Launcher Ti460 is a 460cc driver that is one of the best all around drivers we have ever used. Although the club is not brand new to the market (almost 3 years old now) it is still a great club for golfers of all levels.

One of the great things about this club being a bit older is that its price has dropped significantly in the last year. This club is very forgiving on mishits and amazing on great swings. The large 460cc club head is also useful in reducing the likelihood of mishits. With this club you can definitely expect to add a few extra yards to your drive. This club is available in 7.5, 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5 degree lofts and comes with a Cleveland Launcher Silver Graphite shaft standard. If any of our readers have used this club, please let us know what you think in the comments.

If you’re looking to buy new clubs this year, we have some great advice on where to find great deals. Pretty much anywhere! If you’re not a professional golfer and you play the game just to have a great time and enjoy the game, don’t fall for the hype and purchase the latest and greatest models.

I was in the market for a new driver this year and I really enjoyed the Cleveland Hibore XL (which we reviewed here) but I also decided to try the Cleveland Launcher 460 Driver as well. I found that I hit the Launcher Driver almost as well as I hit the Hibore XL. With the Hibore XL I did get a few more yards out of my drives but I feel that I can make up those yards by hitting a well placed iron shot after my drive. Not only was the quality of the launcher similar to the Hibore XL but the Launcher was half price since it was last year’s model.

Many people will find the newest models of clubs (and the extra 10 yards or whatever other technical breakthrough is promised by the manufacturer) very useful and this advice is not for them. But, if you just enjoy the game of golf and need some new equipment, try out last year’s models and find yourself a great deal.

I’m currently in the market for a new driver and I’ve already tried the Nike Sumo2 and the Callaway FT-i so I decided to give a more traditional driver a shot. I tested the Cleveland Hibore XL Driver with the Fujikura shaft and I absolutely loved it.

It doesn’t exactly look like a traditional driver from the top view but it is much closer to a traditional driver than the new square head clubs. But, who really cares about looks if it helps you improve your game? I was hitting the ball further and straighter much more consistently than I usually do. The club was also very forgiving on mishits, just as Cleveland advertises. I also loved the sound of the driver - it wasn’t ridiculously loud like the Sumo2 but you could really tell when you hit the ball well by the audible feedback of the club. If you’re in the market for a new driver, you can buy the Cleveland Hibore XL from eBay. If you want some general advice for buying clubs on eBay, read this post first.