As warm weather spreads across the United States and the Masters approaches, golfers everywhere are itching to head to their local courses. Many plan to make a stop on their way at a golf specialty store or pro shop to check out the latest drivers. Here are several new models with links to in-depth coverage of each club.
Bridgestone Tour B JGR, $399
“At address, it has a classic shape and black crown, but golfers will notice a pair of subtle lines just behind the seam where the hitting area meets the crown. That is the Boost Wave Crown design, and it acts like an accordion and allows the crown to flex more easily at impact to create a higher launch angle.” — Read more …
Callaway Epic Flash, Epic Flash Sub Zero, $529.99
“The titanium Flash face looks nothing like any other driver face on the inside. It has non-symmetric ridges and valleys, with thick portions next to very thin areas. Callaway said it delivers significantly more ball speed across a larger region than any other face Callaway has made. To ensure the faces are made precisely, they are forged, machined and laser-welded into place.” — Read more …
Cobra King F9 Speedback, $449
“The seam where the topline meets the crown has been rounded, as has the leading edge where the hitting area meets the sole. Aerodynamic trips have been added to the crown, and Cobra also gave the King F9 a squared area in the back it calls Speedback. It holds one of two moveable weights that help to pull the center of gravity down and away from the face. Using a larger carbon-fiber crown also shifts more weight to the lower half of the club to drive down the center of gravity.” — Read more …
Cobra F-Max Superlite, $299
“Cobra said the 460cc head is 6 grams lighter, the standard shaft is 5 grams lighter and the Lamkin grip utilizes a weight-saving rubber that shaves another 7 grams. The Superlite tips the scale at 287 grams in all, 18 grams lighter than last season’s model, so that with the same effort golfers should be able to generate more clubhead speed and distance.” — Read more …
Mizuno ST190, ST190G, $400/$500
“The face of the ST190 drivers is made from SP700 titanium, a material that is 10 percent stronger than the titanium that is typically used to make driver faces. It has a finer grain structure and snaps back into shape faster after flexing during impact, which helps to create more ball speed.” — Read more …
Ping G410 Plus, G410 LST, G410 SFT, $540
“The 455cc G410 Plus is the first driver in Ping’s history to offer a movable weight. The 16-gram piece of tungsten can be placed in three different positions in the back of the sole to create a draw or fade bias, or put in the center of the head in a neutral setting.” — Read more …
PXG 0811X , 0811XF, $575
“The previously released 0811X and 0811XF drivers had carbon-fiber crowns hidden under a glossy black finish, but in the GEN2 models the front portion where the crown meets the face has been reinforced. Inspired by the way American muscle-car makers designed the hoods of hot rods, the multi-level crown stiffens the front of the club at impact, so energy is redirected into the ball instead of being wasted in the deformation of the head. As a result, golfers should see increased consistency while creating more ball speed and distance.” — Read more …
TaylorMade M5, $549
“With the release of the new M5 driver, which replaces last season’s M3, TaylorMade is taking a completely different approach. The company designed each head to be slightly too fast, and then, right before they are finished, a computer-controlled system checks each M5 face in several different areas to measure how far it is over the COR limit. Using that information, an algorithm determines how much urethane needs to be injected into the heel and toe areas by a pair of syringes to bring the head into compliance with the USGA and R&A rules.” — Read more …
TaylorMade M6, $499
“Using lightweight carbon fiber in the crown helps lower the center of gravity and create discretionary weight. A significant amount of that weight was shifted to the back-center area of the sole in the form of 45-gram weight that TaylorMade calls an Inertia Generator. It raises the moment of inertia and helps create more dynamic loft at impact, which should promote a higher launch and enhanced stability.” — Read more …
Titleist TS2, TS3, $499
“At address, the TS2 and TS3 look like classic Titleist drivers, with mirrored black crowns and traditional shaping. However, they are sleeker than the 917 drivers, and Titleist said they create 20 percent less drag. With the same amount of effort, golfers should be able to swing the TS drivers faster. Titleist designers made the titanium crowns 20 percent thinner, which saved about 10 grams of weight that could be redistributed to other performance-enhancing areas of the head.” — Read more …
Tour Edge Exotics EXS, $299.99
“The 460cc Exotics EXS driver was designed in a more aerodynamic shape with a carbon-fiber crown and toe. This creates significant discretionary weight and helps shift more of the overall weight down, which lowers the center of gravity.” — Read more …
Wilson Staff Cortex, $499.99
“A significant amount of the discretionary weight went into the largest adjustable weight-track system ever used in a Wilson driver. Moving the 8-gram weight forward reduces spin and creates a lower-launching trajectory; affixing it more to the back of the sole boosts spin and promotes a higher launch.” — Read more …
Wilson Staff D7, $299.99
“However, the Staff D7 does have a composite crown made with a layer of Kevlar sandwiched between layers of carbon fiber. It’s very light and helped Wilson designers lower the Staff D7’s center of gravity, but at impact, the Kevlar absorbs unwanted vibrations to enhance the sound and feel.” — Read more …
XXIO Prime, $849.99
“Available only in 10.5 and 11.5-degree versions that come standard at 46.5 inches in length, the entire XXIO Prime driver weighs just 250 grams, which is about 40-60 grams less than most drivers. That should make it significantly easier for slower-swinging players to generate clubhead speed and more distance.” — Read more …
