Drivers

2015 Most Wanted Driver – (Distance Awards)

BY MyGolfSpy
Mar 30th 2015
Read all comments

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The Performance You Deserve.

THE LARGEST, UNBIASED, DATA-BASED DRIVER TEST EVER PERFORMED IN THE GOLF INDUSTRY.

We spent the past 365 days flying around the country, making conference calls, consulting with engineers, industry experts, statisticians, mathematicians. The end result of that collaboration is what we believe to be the largest, fully-independent, 100% #DataCratic driver test ever conducted.

This year’s Most Wanted Driver Test took months to complete. Our testing procedures were significantly expanded. Our test included more golfers, more drivers, and more data than ever before. 28 drivers have been put to the ultimate test. An industry standard 20 golfers just like you spent over 150 hours in testing.

Over 10,000 shots were captured, more than 250,000 data points scrutinized. All testing was conducted with a Foresight GC2 Launch Monitor with HMT. All testers used Bridgestone B330-RX golf balls.

Our goal is to empower the consumer with truthful and reliable information that will help you identify the best driver for your game. We celebrate all of you who love golf equipment.

This guide is for you.

For more details on our testing process, see our How We Test page

How We Consider Distance

For many of you, everything takes a backseat to distance. You’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of accuracy and some forgiveness on mishits for the satisfaction that comes from those select few drives that leave the rest of your foursome questioning what’s in their bag.

Our distance guide is for you.

What’s important for readers to understand is that our distance rank is not a reflection of the average distance across all shots in our test. Our distance ranking is based on a sampling of the best shots hit by each tester with each club during the test. Its intent is to best reflect how each driver performs on optimal hits.

Our test for distance is testing how far a driver can possibly hit a ball. Period.

2015 Overall Distance

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Double Black Diamond Test Report:

Produced longest peak distance (267.5 yards)
Produced longest single drive average (272 yards)
Among the lowest spinning (2419 RPM) drivers tested

Buy Callaway BB Double Black Diamond

Royal Collection SFD X7 Test Report

Produced the highest average clubhead speed (104.4)
Ball Speed (147.8) was more than 1 MPH above average
46” shaft and ultralight design contributes to distance

Buy Royal Collection SFD X7

Cobra FLY-Z+ Test Report

Produced above average peak distance despite 45” stock shaft length
Near-average launch (12.6°) with low spin (2441 RPM)
Lowest peak height (27.9 yards) of any driver in Top 5

Buy Cobra FLY-Z+

Tour Edge E8 Beta Test Report

Average launch with lowest spin rates (2304 RPM) of any driver tested
Only true compact head (440cc) head in the top 5
Produced 1.2° less dynamic loft on average

Buy Tour Edge E8 Beta

Cobra FLY-Z Test Report

Longest driver among low/back CG (high MOI) designs
Among Top 10 lowest spinning drivers tested
Highest launching club (13.5°) in the Top 5

Buy Cobra FLY-Z

For more data see the 2015 Most Wanted Driver Data Page

The Rest of the List

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Double Black Diamond Test Report:

More than 2 yards longer (297.7) than the runner up
Highest single drive average (301.6 yards) for higher swing speed players
Lowest spin to launch ratio for high 100+ MPH swing speed players
Those needing more spin should put gravity core up, and consider moving 7g weight to the heel

Buy Callaway BB Double Black Diamond

Cobra FLY-Z+ Test Report

Above average distance (295.6) despite shorter than average (45”) shaft
Lowest spinning (2242 RPM) for 100+ MPH swing speed players
To increase launch, spin, and MOI place Flip Zone weight to the rear

Buy Cobra FLY-Z+

Royal Collection SFD X7 Test Report

Highest launch and spin of any club in this group
Produced 1.6° more dynamic loft on average
Highest spinning club (2640 RPM) in Top 5 for 100+ MPH golfers
46” shaft is the longest within this group

Buy Royal Collection SFD X7

TaylorMade R15 Test Report

Second highest launching (13.4°) of any club in Top 5 for 100+ MPH golfers
Those looking for more forgiveness should slide weights to the edges

Buy TaylorMade R15

Tour Edge E8 Beta

Among lowest spinning drivers (2290 RPM) for 100+ MPH golfers
For those who prefer a smaller head, E8 Beta is the longest of the 440cc crowd

Buy Tour Edge E8 Beta

For more data see the 2015 Most Wanted Driver Data Page

Royal Collection SFD X7

Produced highest clubhead speed (92.8 MPH) of any club within this Top 5
Results suggest 46” is an option for those seeking maximum distance on best shots

Buy Royal Collection SFD X7

Cobra FLY-Z

Highest launch (14.0°) of any club in the Top 5
Highest peak height (26.2 yards) of any club in Top 5

Buy Cobra FLY-Z

Nike Vapor Flex

Lowest launching (11.7°) in this Top 5
More distance from roll than relative to other clubs on this list
Smallest footprint (~425cc) with shallow face Well-suited for high spin players who hit down on the ball
Well-suited for high spin players who hit down on the ball

Buy Nike Vapor Flex

Tour Edge E8 Beta

2322 RPM average spin was lowest in group by more than 200 RPM
Produced lowest angle of attack (-1.1°) and dynamic loft (15.3°) relative to other clubs in this group

Buy Tour Edge E8 Beta

Titleist 915 D2

Highest Ball Speed 132.2 MPH of any club in the Top 5
Single drive average only .1 yards behind leader for sub-100 MPH testers

Buy Titleist 915 D2

Don’t Miss

2015 Most Wanted Driver – Accuracy Awards
2015 Most Wanted Driver – Overall Awards

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MyGolfSpy

Driver Ping G30	Hybrids PXG 0317
3/4 IRON PXG 0311XF	5-GW Srixon Z 565
SW PXG 0317	LW PXG 0311
Putter EVNROLL

MyGolfSpy

comments

Join The Discussion

eric

9 years ago

Someone will always question the results, and this time it’s ME. How can the results find that the G30 and G30LS spin number (for >100mph) are identical? We know that the heads are identical except the weight has been moved forward on the LS. The G30LS DOES spin less. It’s pure math and physics- and not up for debate. And how is the 420cc nike flex the most accurate? We know that by it’s very architecture it’s NOT the most accurate driver. Not only that I’ve hit it and if you miss it slightly, it’s off the planet. All drivers are accurate when the face is perfectly aligned to the target. So what are we testing? (yes i read the test procedure). This all being said there are some findings that I agree on because I’ve hit most of these outside. The 915 is seriously over-rated in distance. It’s short.

Bildo Baggins

9 years ago

I find it very interesting that Bombtech Grenade is not in the longest group. No company has done more to make distance claims. Hmmmmm.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

That’s true. I find it interesting they are there as well, since my experience with BT is that they ARE longer than a lot of the drivers out there – apples to apples. Bombtech provides a custom built club with a 60 day guarantee. I don’t see any other manufacturers doing that so I think that says something about their sales and product as well as how happy their customers have been. Of course it’s the same with the big OEMs, they work for enough people that they can justify the price.

MILLARD MAHN

8 years ago

Yep looking at the chart overall they are within 2 yards of the top. Good club I have had one for a year.

Alex S

9 years ago

Am I missing something? Isn’t angle of attack and dynamic loft dictated by the golfer and his/her swing, and NOT the equipment? And doesn’t angle of attack impact how much spin and launch, both critical elements to distance with driver? Thus, a variable that is dictated by testers and results in angles of attack with ranges from 0.4 up to 1.9 would result in some skewed numbers???

steve c

9 years ago

Hi Tony,

I know your crazy busy, or just crazy. But, can you clarify a couple things:

2014 & 2015 Distance (the difference in calculations; seems 2015 clubs outperformed 2014, or did they? how was roll calculated in each year?)

2014 & 2015 Accuracy (seems 2014 out performed in yds off line…significantly, were 2014 and 2015 calculated differently–off line yardage is still offline yardage, yes?)

Was there a standard loft (ie, 10 or 10.5)?

Thanks, S.

gunmetal

9 years ago

It’s the Nike strategy. Make a driver that gets a lot of hype. Release to meh/so so reviews. 6-9 months later release version 2.0 that performs. Pretty sure we’ll see the Vapor 2.0 series sometime this year.

FWIW, the feel of the Vapor Pro is the greatest feeling driver I’ve hit in the past 10-12 years.

4green

9 years ago

please send me a list of each clubs degree of loft for this test.
Launch angle means nothing without this basic data.
How can I make a logical purchase without it?

LT

9 years ago

Wow, I can’t believe the 915 d2 is longer than the d3. Would not have guessed that.

chris

9 years ago

Even though it’s a touch down the list I must say I’m impressed with the overall performance of the Srixon 545. I would have thought the 745 the better player offering but the dispersion and bias doesn’t seem to bear that out. I’m a SRI fan so pretty biased but I wasn’t even considering this driver as an option before. As far as Cally’s DBD I’m still butthurt over the 5 bills I dropped last year on the never to be discounted Alpha so will not buy this driver at its MSRP no matter what. That’s probably childish but it’s my money

stevie c

9 years ago

Tour Edge, top 5 in both distance categories (above and below the 100mph swing) and # 1 accuracy for under 100mph. Don’t know how they did in over 100mph accuracy yet…but it’s seems like they are the Cinderella club in this test. Quite surprising.

And oh, it’s 440cc…smallest clubhead in test. ummmh

4green

9 years ago

There were 2 Powerbilt clubs tested.
Is the AFO DFX Tour the new 2015 head released about a week ago or is it the same 2014 AFO DFX standard head with the upgraded shaft?

Dave S

9 years ago

Was looking back at last year’s Most Wanted Driver results and I see that the “vs. Control” portion seems to have been left off this year… any reason in particular? Also, this is just nit picking, but I think the graphics used last year were better and easier to read. I realize you had to work in a picture of the GC2 in as many places as possible to give them the pub they deserve for sponsoring the test.

quidam

9 years ago

What about grips? In order to be able to really measure the performance, we would also need to know what grips were used on each shaft? I’m surprised nobody mentioned the grips… ;-)

All joking aside, I hated the feeling of the Vapor Pro during my fitting even though it was in my top 3 in terms of the numbers I was getting. Tried it with a different grip and LOVED it!

Doug

9 years ago

This must be difficult Brad…

bfarrell

9 years ago

What happened to the awesome -KRANK FORMULA 5 or the new 6 and CALLAWAY X2 LD….?
YOU STATED THAT “DISTANCE IS THE ONLY FACTOR” THEN YOU MISSED THE JACKPOT these heads are available with HOF shafts, BLACK OPS , FUJIKURA INERTIA TOUR or FIREWIRE LD to name a few examples not found or offered on major brands.
These drivers are not some obscure offering sold years ago
they are readily available today and matched with the best shafts in the business.
I own both drivers with HOF Prototype shafts and if i hit less than 300 I consider it short.
(yes acuracy is accounted for) -price wise they are the same compared to your “winners” list

M2C.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

You hit the nail on the head… those clubs are OFFERED with upgraded shafts. The stock shafts leave a little to be desired. The Inertia by Fujikura is a good shaft, but it’s made specifically for the Krank head and it does leave a little to be desired. I’ve hit a number of Fuji’s other shafts in the F5 and they absolutely kill it in terms of distance and accuracy.. The inertia Tour is a better shaft but it’s an upgrade. This test was about pulling the stock offering and hitting it. Having done that test myself, the stock Krank doesn’t stack up — that’s why i sell them with aftermarket options instead of stock.

4green

9 years ago

Don’t we need to know the faces loft degree for all these tested drivers?
As a consumer, the adjustables can be modified after purchase, but what about the non-adjustable drivers.
The pictures show most of the lofts but I wonder if the pictures actually represent the club that was tested!

Billy

9 years ago

I was thinking the EXACT SAME THING

Dave S

9 years ago

It’s a shame this test couldn’t include the Cally XR… it seems to be performing incredibly well in all other reviews I’ve seen (youtube, other golf sites, etc.). I know you couldn’t get it in time to test, but it’s kind of a bummer since it’s def on my short list and would loved to have seen it compared to all the others.

mygolfspy

9 years ago

You mean this comment? The one that if you scroll up is only about 5 inches away from the most current one you posted. Before you accuse someone of being full of crap you might want to read first.

“LOL. I preordered the bstone J715 back in december. played it for 9 holes and HATED everything about it…And I was all bstone bag fan boy… sold that j715 so fast before everyone realized it aint that good… went and bought 3 COBRA drivers. bio cell pro, plus and fly z pluS!!!! The best purchase I have ever done in my golf club buying… Cobra makes a great drivers!”

eric

9 years ago

Do you work for Bridgstone.? why was my comment deleted? LIke Why are any of my comments deleted? when no bad language is used, etc. you are editing the comments but act all uppity about the golf industry! R u editing or is there some weird computer bug that deletes my comments? COME ON MAN. I said nothing but that I dont like the 715 and like CObra, WhY IS THAT DELETED??? Ridiculous. You kinda of full of crap.

jack

9 years ago

You see that is the issue about everything in life we have a choice, I have the Bridgestone Driver and had it fitted with an Accra shaft and for me the club works very well. It is almost everything I want from a Driver. The way it sits, the looks, the feel, I hit it consistently well and my fairways hit have improved by 30%. I play off 2 handicap and will drop to scratch due to hitting more fairways and being more consistent. Mt Chipping is average so Hitting greens is important for me to score well, and the driver has helped my to improve my driving and hit miss less greens from the fairway. My point being, that I is a great driver, for me, not for you, so to make it out as junk,

Chris C

9 years ago

Again, I would like to thank the staff at MGS for their efforts in producing these test results. I need to study the charts on a screen larger than my Phone but one of the things I look for is consistency in results. If I use a 10 ball sample, I will hit 12 balls and throw out 2 outliers. I learned a long time ago to never base my club purchase on my “best” shot. I much prefer to go with the club that boringly produces drives of 225 to 235 yards vs one which produces drives ranging from 180 to 250 yards. I will gladly give up a chance at my longest drive of the month to avoid having to retrieve my ball from the creek cutting through the fairway.

james

9 years ago

Interesting study/test but the reality is that the right shaft fitting with loft and all the stats will produce different results for different people, especially given the fact that the gap is small. I use an Adams driver that is 3 yrs old, witted with and Accra shaft, that was done after almost 2 weeks of testing the latest drivers and 8 different shaft combinations. The final result was the Adams that I have used 2 yrs back fitted with the right shaft, not only gave me the most consistent driving distance but also an almost 30% better performance of fairways hit. So I would rather hit 30% more fairways, and hit shots that are between 1-3 yrds shorter and have control over my second shot than gain the 3 yrds but play 30% more shots from the rough. The main message for me is that all these drivers are very good and technology is now so consistently good that the key is to pick a head you like and then have the best shaft fitted that will give you the best results in terms of fairways hit and distance.

Gradius

9 years ago

Top 5 YARDS/DOLLAR
C BB DBD $499.99 0.53
Royal Collection $425 Head only!! 0.62
Cobra FLY Z+ $399.99 0.66
Tour Edge Beta $399.99 0.66
Cobra Fly Z $329.99 0.80

Out of these, seems like the Cobra Fly Z gives the most bang for the buck…LOL

Gradius

9 years ago

For some, price is an important factor and based on the driving distances, made the following interesting calculation:
CC BB DDBD

eric

9 years ago

LOL. I preordered the bstone J715 back in december. played it for 9 holes and HATED everything about it…And I was all bstone bag fan boy… sold that j715 so fast before everyone realized it aint that good… went and bought 3 COBRA drivers. bio cell pro, plus and fly z pluS!!!! The best purchase I have ever done in my golf club buying… Cobra makes a great drivers!

Xreb

9 years ago

Why in the world would you buy 3 drivers at once ?

David Canipe

9 years ago

Thanks

Huff

9 years ago

What about the power built driver.It was recommended by my golf spy. I would like to see how it did against the big boys.

Joe Golfer

9 years ago

@Huff
The Powerbuilt driver is listed.
Two different Powerbuilt drivers were tested:
AFO DFX STD and AFO DFX Tour.
They didn’t have room for every single driver on the main page, so they had links for the rest.
If you want to see the stats on the Powerbuilt, click on the link within the article that says
“2015 Most Wanted Driver Data Page”

CJ

9 years ago

Randoms:
-Completely agree that a delta of 1-5 yards on average can make a difference, even though it’s only roughly a difference of 0.5% and 2%, depending on the player and his/her total driving distance. But, I would simultaneously argue that differences in accuracy are likely to be of much, much greater magnitude and have greater impact on scoring. Put it this way — betcha the difference between the most accurate driver and a middle of the pack driver represents far more than a ~0.5% and 2% difference in fairway hit . . . and that that has a bigger impact on scoring. (And I say this as someone who actually prefers a bomb and gouge approach in practice, because I have more fun that way.)
-Which leads me to this — I’ll bet that when the accuracy numbers arrive, the Pings will more than make up for a slight distance deficit with their accuracy. I’m not a Ping fan boy, but I’ve hit the G30 LST, DBD, Fly Z+ and several other of the top distance drivers, and I think there’s a gap between Ping and those other, longer drivers in terms of accuracy — and the gap in accuracy is more significant than the gap in distance.
-I game Tour Edge woods and I’m not at all surprised by the E8 betas showing. One of these years, people will stop using words like “surprise” and “surprising” in connection with their drivers.
-My favorite drivers this year in terms of overall performance are the G30 LST, Fly Z+ (weight forward) and E8 Beta (115 SS). I expect them to be 3 out of the top 4-5 in overall, at least among high SS players. My least favorite were the Nikes. They FELT great, but then I’d look at the LM numbers and be blown away, and not in a good way. They’ll probably fare better in accuracy than they did in distance, but overall will be very disappointing.
-Huge thanks to MGS for doing this and doing it so well. Yeah, there are ways to improve the process, but almost all (with maybe the exception of a different ball for higher SS players) would involve unreasonable time, expense and/or complication.

Jimmy

9 years ago

Impressive performance from the E8 Beta, its actually pretty forgiving I thought when I tried it, especially for a 440cc head. I will be waiting to see how it performs the rest of the test. 4th for Under AND OVER. that is an all around beat. Not surprised the g30 didn’t do well. I hit it and it was WAY to high and spiny for me

Tomas

9 years ago

Where is Willson fg tour driver? Much better then d200 but no one test it…

Doug

9 years ago

Any idea how many entries were scrubbed with the incorrect guess for longest driver?

Large chris

9 years ago

Great test well done all concerned

Far as I know the BB double black doesn’t get much play on tour? I’m guessing the rest of the test show that it is not very forgiving, which I know sounds daft for tour professionals, but there must be a reason….

Beach13

9 years ago

Phil, Patrick Reed, Harris English, Freddie Jacobson, Andres Gonzales, colt nost, Danny lee, Sam Saunders, Kenny perry, and Lydia ko all use it on tour.

revkev

9 years ago

Tony – I know that the question could get buried in the other comments and I see that it’s been asked a couple of times. Are the distances carry only or carry and roll? If the latter how much roll was apportioned?

Chris C

9 years ago

I am actually a bit surprised by the results. It does not surprise me that the Callaway BB Double Diamond did so well. I am actually shocked that the Ping G30 LS Tec did so poorly and that Mizuno did so well. Anecdotally, the Ping was a beast while the Mizuno was notoriously short. It also appears that Bombtech’s Grenade and Geek’s Floyd are this year’s version of last year’s Krank, ie., shorter than what their reputation might lead one to believe. Again, thank you for this test. I am looking forward to the accuracy results.

Daniel Stone

9 years ago

Thanks, Interesting report. Some very constructive comments here that need taking on board regarding testing. By accident I came across a website that had a driver I had never heard of over here in Thailand. Or for that matter when I lived in the UK. The club in question was called Bang-O-Matic. It quite clearly stated that it had won the World Long Drive Championship with a drive of 539 yards in 2006. The Woman’s Long Drive record of 362 yards, and the Junior record of 400 yards. Any body out there have any knowledge of this club, and as to why no one talks about it ???. They still seem to be selling this club.

Rgds,

Daniel.

Dave S

9 years ago

Well, considering the longest drive to win a Long Drive Championship was under 500 yds, I’d probably take everything that website said with a grain of salt…

Doug

9 years ago

Ahh yes, the ol’ Banger

I got one of those about 15 years ago, and was promptly the longest guy around. I think it was one of the early 460’s, probably right on the edge of legal. I had it built with a Penley shaft, and it was stoopid long in it’s day. But I was young and strong, SS in the upper teens, and played a lot. I’ve hit it since, but my Jetspeed kills it now…

Ryan

9 years ago

I love these results and My Golf Spy’s approach to unbiased testing. I was a Bridgestone Golf ball fitter for 2 years and I love the fact the same ball was used for every shot. That’s the only way to get accurate numbers. Reminder to always take the ball you play and get fitted for clubs using that ball.

That being said I would have liked to see the players who swings more that 110 to atleast have used the Bridgestone B330. You would have definitely seen different numbers. With the RX being a 64 compression ball, whenever you get to higher speeds you start over compressing softer balls. The B330 isn’t drastically harder at 82 compression, compared to the other distance tour balls out there hovering around 100 compression, but it would have suited the higher swing speed players a lot better as far as numbers go. It may actually have changed the order of My Golf Spy’s results for the higher speed players as well.

Hopefully My Golf Spy can take this into account next year if they really want to get more accurate data for the higher swinging players out there.

Dave S

9 years ago

I realize the overall numbers might have improved for the higher swing speed guys, but I doubt it would have changed the order of MGS’ rankings b/c it’s safe to assume all clubs would have performed similar, relative to each other. It’s really the rankings we’re worried about. Also, wouldn’t switching GBs make it more difficult to compare all of the swings together like they had to do to get the Overall distance winner? And where do you draw the line? At an exact mph? Seems to unnecessarily complicate the testing.

Dave S

9 years ago

This is beating a dead horse, but I’ll say it again. The first company to come up with a sustainable business model that includes a personalized fitting session with the purchase of a new club (i.e. you get fit and if you like it, you buy the club and the fitting was free… if you don’t like it, you pay a small nominal fee for the fitting), will immediately capture a larger market share. I think there are a LOT of players out there who want to get fitted, but determine it to be cost prohibitive (in an already costly game). If this were an option, I most certainly would jump at it. And to be clear, I’m not talking about the “fitting” sessions you get at your local Golf Smith, etc… I’m talking about a REAL fitting with someone certified.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

Anybody around or near lancaster, PA — this is what i do with the heads and shafts i sell. I carry Grenades too! haha. Shameless plug.. But still, i’m with Dave on this one. Really, any place that wants to sell you a club should do this. I’ve had 6 people so far go through my fitting bag of Fujikura Shafts and a few different “no name” heads that I retail AFTER buying brand new clubs. 4 of them got something that outperformed what they had just bought – and they were pissed. 1 equalled his current driver but for $128 less. The last person couldn’t find something they liked. I’ll take those percentages every time. The large OEMs will never do this because they want their brand to stand out and demand that they know what is best for you. That’s why they offer “stock” shafts like they do- because that is what’s best for their brand.

Huy

9 years ago

I’m from Harrisburg, but I JUST bought a new driver. Maybe next time in the market for something. I was surprised at some of these results because I was fitted to R15 and I hit a bunch of drivers. Just goes to show you the importance of getting fit. (I’m not a shaft junkie, the head and loft are way more important in my opinion than the shaft).

Dave S

9 years ago

You’re right, empirical evidence has shown (I believe MGS did a test of this) that the head is more important than the shaft. Shaft junkies love to over-inflate shaft value; my theory being that it’s a much less well-understood aspect of the club and people love to sound smart :) It’s def important, but not as important as people make it out to be and certainly less important than the club head.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

To say that the shaft is more important than the head is not true. To say it is Less important than the head is also a gross inaccuracy. The shaft is neither less important or more important than the club head. They have to work in concert. To say that the head is more important than the shaft would say that if you had two identical heads and fit them with two different shafts of similar quality that the club would perform the same. That’s just not true. The shaft is what connects that head to your hands. It’s what transfers the energy from your swing to the club head and it’s what allows you to deliver the center of the club face to the back of the ball. They are equal and must have equal attention paid to them. And yes, MGS did a test of this http://mygolfspy.com/mygolfspy-labs-head-vs-shaft/ and if you had read it, i don’t think you would have formed your comment so smugly about “people who like to sound smart”.

Dave S

9 years ago

@The Club Nut – you are correct. I must have been thinking of a different article.

Jimbo

9 years ago

Nice work MGS! Lots of interesting data points. Looks like the pundits are right – driver distance technology is very similar for a lot of companies. Maybe we have reached the peak of performance. For example, if you exclude the top and bottom five drivers from the list, the overall delta in distance for the 18 drivers in the middle is only 3.6 yards. Those 18 models include a lot of big names.
Even more amazing to me is viewing this data in light of MGS’s recent review of independent golf ball models. Let’s see – 28 drivers yield a range of 12.6 yards; 5 golf balls yield a range of 15.1 yards. Looks like choosing the right golf ball is more important that choosing a driver, at least for distance.

Jimberley

9 years ago

It would be pretty cool to see which shaft was used for each of the drivers that have multiple stock shaft options. I know from looking at stuff in the stores that Titleist (for example), has at least 2-3 different shafts on their drivers in the rack. Most stores will let you mix and match from what’s in stock to get what you want/need. I’m guessing that shaft flexes were matched to the swing speeds/preferences of the testers. A little info there would be interesting too.

Max

9 years ago

This is the third independent review that I’ve seen where the Nike Vapor Pro gets subpar numbers. I also tested it against other clubs and got bad numbers. Great looking and feeling club, and was on my short list, but I think this is tha nail in the coffin for me. The one Rory plays must be super modified.

Dave S

9 years ago

Or Rory is just so good that he can overcome the club’s shortcoming with his ability. But yeah, I would say his has been tweaked to the Nth degree.

No Bad Pars

9 years ago

@Max Would hate to see you rule it out, man. The feel alone is worth the price of admission for me on this club. The gap between the shortest and longest drivers I hit year have been about 12 yards, with the Nike Vapor Pro being lower middle of that pack. The longest one I hit was the Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Black Diamond (longest name in the history of golf) and my average carry distance with the club was 274. The Nike Vapor Pro, despite having a 268 average carry for me, was so much tighter on dispersion and so much better on feel that I eventually chose it over the rest. It is absolutely laser accurate and sure, I may have to club up for my second shot but, as it stands I have a streak of 26 fairways hit in a row with it. I have, never in my golfing life, been able to say that about any driver I’ve bagged.

Dave S

9 years ago

Well, that’s what the Accuracy test is for. @Max, like NBP said, I certainly wouldn’t rule out a club simply bc it didn’t fare well in just the Distance test.

Vincent

9 years ago

Conclusion: for 99,9% of golfers, all the drivers are the “same” in terms of distance. Waiting for accuracy…

stevie c

9 years ago

I think there’s more variables in the distance test than you suggest..Cobra did well with shorter shaft, Tour Edge with smaller 440cc head and the actual distance variance is greater than you imply: ie, I’m considering Ping G30 but it came up 4+ yards shorter than Calloway…that would most likely impact my second shot on par 4s and 5s if distance difference holds true for me…also, some drivers performed well @ high and lower speed (which is important for those floating right @ 100mph).

All these are ‘data points’ are captured within the distance testing, and when they are combined can certainly change your selection of a driver.

Accuracy is certainly important, but I beleive these variables in the distance data are as well.

Hugh W

9 years ago

In all seriousness, is there any data/pivot table available comparing the 2015 model year results with the 2014 results? I’m curious to know if any significant improvements have been made. For example, if my faltering memory serves me correctly, last year’s Nike Covert 2.0 performed much more impressively than the current Nike Vapor crop of drivers.

No Bad Pars

9 years ago

I actually went from a Covert 2 Tour to a Nike Vapor Pro and never looked back. Distance wise, they’re almost identical. I didn’t gain much there. Where the Vapor came ahead was spin for me. The Vapor Pro spun about 500 revs less and side spin was almost gone entirely. It goes where I point it and I’ve never had as much faith in a driver as I do the Vapor. The real difference is the feel. The Covert 2, like all Nike drivers as far back as the VRS Pro, always had a bit of tinny feel. There was a pronounced clank off the face that made good contact sound and feel a bit hollow. The Vapor is a different beast. I swear hitting this thing feels almost spongy and, because of that, I’ve been able to judge where I’m hitting on the face with much more accuracy. I love the vapor and, because I intend to bag clubs for some time, was really picky about which one I ended up bagging. It’s worth a hit.

Shane

9 years ago

I really really hope they tested some of the better performing drivers from years gone by. At very least the SLDR and G25, maybe even the i20 (best review driver ever on mgs, you should update that btw) should have gotten a run. It would be a huge oversight to leave this out so can only presume they are saving that data for a later article.

Hugh W

9 years ago

2013: Callaway loves MGS and their testing process.
2014: Callaway hates MGS and their testing process. Vows never to speak with MGS again.
2015: Callaway falls in love with MGS all over again.

Who writes this stuff?

No Bad Pars

9 years ago

Ha! So true. I guess it’s hard to hate the guys who just sold you 500 drivers.

No Bad Pars

9 years ago

The results of these tests affirm to me that drivers are a very personal thing. When looking for a new stick this season, I jumped on monitors and hit most of the drivers in this test. The black diamond was up there, as was the Fly Z+ but the driver in ended up bagging was the Nike Vapor Pro because of its speed, accuracy and consistency. I know that these test results are almost entirely for distance but I’d hate to see some good drivers not get the consideration they deserve.

I know the preface outright says that the results are meant for golfers who are willing to sacrifice fairways for yards but I encourage everyone out there to go and hit as many of these drivers as you can before you go with the one that MIGHT gain you a few extra yards. I’ve never hit more fairways than I have with the Nike Vapor Pro. I know I gave up 4-5 yards of carry but the club has single handedly lowered my handicap by 2. I loved it so much I ended up getting the 3 wood and hybrid. Same result. Great feel, accuracy and consistency with a few yards sacrificed.

Dave S

9 years ago

I hate to ask this question if it’s already been answered, but how do you go about testing clubs like the Cally BBA DBD and Cobra Fly-Z+ that have two CoG options? I understand not testing every possible configuration in adjustable clubs, but moving the CoG to the front or rear really does create two entirely different clubs (it’s like comparing the Ping G30 to the G30 LS Tec).

David T

9 years ago

Kind of disappointed that the Bombtech Grenade wasn’t in top 5………i was waiting for results before buying one, but now I don’t think I will. I will wait for the accuracy results just to make sure.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

David, are you near Lancaster, PA? If so, give me a yell, I’ve got a demo head with your name on it.

stevie c

9 years ago

A few things:

I click on buy Royal Collection and it goes to globalgolf featuring Callaway BB Alpha 815 Double Black Diamond.

Much of this is a surprise, especially Tour Edge @ 440cc doing so well, Cobra with a shorter shaft finishing 2nd, the appearance of RC in general as well as lower performances of Ping and TM. Really, quite eye-opening…not surprised @ Calloway but interested that it performed well for all speeds (data chart a bit confusing…Calloway appears to be 2nd in low speed, is that avg. vs best swings?)

Tony Covey

9 years ago

@Steve C – Links fixed.

Regarding the data. I’m not sure exactly what you’re talking about, but I should note that as a curiosity point we included the average of the single best drive with each club for all testers in the table. That might be what you’re looking at.

stevie c

9 years ago

Thanks for links fix and for tests in general, much appreciated.

While reading the under 100mph data chart it seems to place Calloway 2nd (@ 234 yds) yet it doesn’t appear above for the -100mph swing category. My guess is the data chart has a different criteria or I need another cup of coffee (or both).

stevie c

9 years ago

never mind, i figured the data out…(had a cup of coffee)…I actually read the column headers in the chart…click a voila! Useful.

Adam

9 years ago

Really liking the new aesthetic and layout for these tests guys. Graph/data sheet is outstanding! These results don’t really surprise me given that its only the best shots and not playability or accuracy. I’m really happy to see some new names at the top of the list and to see Cobra fairing so well in this portion of the test. Knowing what we do about some(others I actually know relatively little) of these distance contenders educated guesses can easily be made about how the some of the other results will fall out. Cant wait for the next release!

@triestogolf

9 years ago

Interesting how AoA appears to be sightly positive for higher swing speeds and slighlty negative for slower swing speeds on average (if I understand the figures correctly).

Matt M

9 years ago

Not suprise Cobra was right up there at the top, they have been making great drivers for the past few years. Tmag lovers need a box of tissues now!! Lol always a great publishing in a totally equal and unbiased manner hats off to the crew.

Henrik

9 years ago

Are these numbers carry or overall distance (i e including roll)?

Tom54

9 years ago

Woo hoo, nailed the Longest Driver guess! Not too surprised on the Vapor Pro – a trip around YouTube showed it wasn’t beating anything in distance.

jim reif

9 years ago

Now factor in some unconventional drivers eg. The Polara & the stuff from TPF golf. Jim

Ted Doherty

9 years ago

Callaway Big Bertha Alpha Double Black Diamond gets 2 longest awards. One for longest driver and one for longest driver name.

Clay

9 years ago

You forgot to add 815, which doesn’t add much when typing the name but when saying the full name… ugh. I like this driver but am hesitant to buy it because answering the obligatory “what are you hitting?” will take half an hour.

Ron

9 years ago

Wow Nike……………just wow

Dave S

9 years ago

Well, a Nike driver finished 3rd in swing speeds below 100mph… which is a category most commentors would fit into (even if they don’t want to admit it). Based on the data, you could actually say that Ping (a past top performer) had a worse showing than Nike…

Ron

9 years ago

True but the Flex model of Nike drivers I thought was the better player version of the three. I have the vapor speed and I love it so I guess thats all that matters. I just root for Nike and I feel this year was a step backwards after the strong showing last year.

Dave S

9 years ago

Yeah I agree… but we haven’t seen the accuracy numbers yet. Will have to see how it plays out.

Regis

9 years ago

Note to self. DO NOT click the “notify me of follow up” button on any MGS articles that have a free giveaway. If all the posters threw in some money to the funding drive MGS would have a research facility that would rival NASA. Great work. I’ll have a week of reading when the package is complete. Now we’ll prepare for the criticism of the ball used, testing modality (Have Tony explain again why they don’t use Iron Byron)and the obligatory TMAG bashing (should be an epic this year) Thanks again.

Dave S

9 years ago

Yeah that’s a pet peeve of mine too on MGS… I really wish the “Notify me of follow up” button only notified me of follow-ups to MY comments… not every single comment on the article. I really wish this would be fixed… or at least add the option.

Dave S

9 years ago

Can people, for once, stop bringing up shaft combos and “getting fitted is the most important thing because what’s the best driver for one person isn’t necessarily the best for another” arguments? Just enjoy the testing. Most people don’t get custom fit and end up buying clubs off the rack… FACT. This test is for them. It provides them with a baseline of which clubs will LIKELY be the longest. That’s all.

Christian P

9 years ago

Well said Dave. My words exactly.

Regis

9 years ago

I’m with you. I have an SLDR and a BB Alpha (last years) with a number of shafts in my arsenal that I’ve accumulated over a lot of years and which I know work for me. (Thank God {or Taylormade}) for adjustable shafts and after market adaptors. But I’ve played with a lot of serious golfers and you just can’t convince them to get a real fitting. So this test is based on off the rack performance and despite MGS making that abundantly clear, the same comments keep resurfacing. I’d love to know the percentage of serious golfers (eg: those who maintain a handicap) that have ever played anything other than a stock shaft.

revkev

9 years ago

I’m guessing under 10 percent. I play with lots of people who are serious in that they have handicaps and good in that they have single digit handicaps and even very few of them have clubs that are fitted – not even the lies on their irons.

What’s scary to me is that I’m starting to see how a good fitting might save them strokes based on their ball flight and other factors. If whey won’t listen it’s more money in my wallet but at least I try talking to them. :)

Doug H

9 years ago

Ya baby, one down, two to go for the win!
Last year when testing clubs, the BB was tied for the longest for me, but too darn expensive, hence the Jetspeed in my bag. So, I knew it was long… I’ve never heard of many of these clubs tested…

station

9 years ago

Now you can buy that “last year” alpha for next to nothing at retailers….and I’m seeing them used for $155 at big box.

Oiler3535

9 years ago

Sorry if I missed it, but for the adjustable drivers were testers allowed to play with loft/angle before testing?

Josh

9 years ago

Think Callaway is glad you didn’t take no for an answer now?

steve B.

9 years ago

I’ve tested Big Bertha Black Diamond, R15, G30 LS, Titleist 915, and Tour Edge Beta. I’ve been in a trackman and used 3-4 different shafts with each club. Bottom line, there is no “longest driver”. There is a longest driver and shaft combination for everyone. Accuracy is also a big part of the equation obviously. It’s nice that you took the time to test all of the drivers. In the end, individual swing characteristics define the best driver. There is no “longest driver”. The shaft is a big part of the equation. If you’re hitting the wrong shaft in the right driver? Your results will say that the driver isn’t all that great…..
A generic test of straight up drivers is fine. But, this should not be used as a prescriptive solution for golfers. A detailed custom fitting that includes multiple driver-shaft combinations is the ONLY way to go….
The Ping G30 LS with a Black Tie shaft was the best accuracy and distance driver for me. This kind of test is fun. But, it should not be relied upon when purchasing a new driver. What’s good for one….isn’t remotely good for another. Two guys with 110 MPH swing speeds would likely require very different driver-shaft combinations.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

Curious – was the same shaft brand/ stiffness/ length used for the entire gamut of clubs or were these “stock clubs” at the length you would buy them in the store with varied shaft brands and lengths?

Dave S

9 years ago

The latter. It’s the only way to really provide good data for the masses. Most people aren’t going to go get fit and tack on an extra $200 for a custom shaft.

Tony Covey

9 years ago

@The Club Nut – The short answer is we test off-the-rack from the stock allotments. We always recommend that all of our readers be custom fit, but we also realize that our audience is comprised largely of golfers who buy off the rack with little concern for fitting and compulsive gearheads who take a do-it-yourself approach (ebay, tinker, tinker some more, ebay, tinker, etc.)

Our test is first and foremost for that audience, however, we also believe it can provide valuable starting information for those who plan to work with a fitter.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

That’s kind of what i was thinking. After studying the data, i thought it might be so since the ones that tended to win out are the ones that are a little more expensive and come with a higher grade (non branded) aftermarket shaft – at least in this area of the US anyway.

jbil8802

9 years ago

Surprised to see the Nike Vapor Pro finish dead last.

Dave S

9 years ago

Yeah, that was surprising. Equally as surprising was the Nike Vapor Flex, with a 425cc head, finishing 3rd for swing speeds BELOW 100mph. I have a feeling the Accuracy suffered tho. We’ll find out.

LMB

9 years ago

Obviously a lot work has went into this but for the vast majority of these results we’d still be hitting the same club for our 2nd shot. We’re talking about 1-3 yards difference. Only reasonable conclusion here is to buy the one that you feel looks the best and provides confidence – these clubs are pretty much the same!

Tony Covey

9 years ago

@LMB – as we were analyzing the data that’s something we considered quite a bit. We don’t totally disagree with your assessment, but let me offer up a different way of looking at it:

There is ALWAYS a point where distance matters. While we look at drivers inside a relative vacuum, think about what 3 yards, or even 1 yard could mean on any given hole on any given golf course.

First, there is a point at which one yard does become the difference between a 7-iron or an 8-iron. That’s one consideration. I’d almost always rather hit the shorter club.

Now consider the impact that same 1-3 yards on your second shot (regardless of the club you choose), and sometimes the shot after that. It could be the difference between hitting the green or coming up short. It could be the difference between clearing a hazard or taking a penalty stroke. It could be the difference between a 1 foot tap-in and a 10 footer.

3 yards…1 yard…in may not matter on every shot, but given enough drives, and enough holes, there is a point at which it probably does.

RevKev

9 years ago

I do have a question that fits here. Are these yardage carry distances or carry plus roll? If it’s the latter how was the roll calculated? If they are carry distances a yard makes a huge difference IMO. Thanks!

Teaj

9 years ago

also depends on decent angle. I assume this is overall as launch angle, spin and ball speed would have to be measured and will have different impact on carry distance and roll. just because I can carry the ball farther with one club does not mean that it will end up being longer overall.

Steven

9 years ago

I might be in the minority, but I think that an additional 1 or 3 yards between drivers isn’t that significant a difference for your second shot on a par 4 or 5.

Dave S

9 years ago

Well, if you’re talking about the Top 5 only, then yes, that’s true. But if you’re looking at ALL drivers, I’d argue that a 12 yd distance gap in today’s market (where driver tech has basically maxed-out) is pretty significant (see: Cally BB DBD = 267yds vs. Nike Vapor Pro = 255yds). I’d bet there are quite a few people who are considering those two clubs side-by-side when trying to decide which one to buy.

Also, you’re only considering Distance here… I have a feeling we’ll see even more separation when Accuracy is factored in.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

the 12 yd distance gap could be due to the shaft and the users. Both shafts are “mid kick” but the Callaway comes with the Aldila Rogue which has 1 degree lower torque than the Nike’s Diamana S+ and a different frequency curve. The whole list is all relative to what the player needs individually. I would love to see this test done with a robot and with the same shaft and specs for each head. then there would be a clear winner in who’s the “best” or “longest”.

Dave S

9 years ago

Yes, but there are 20 players hitting shots, so even if it is, in fact, the shaft that is adding the distance, it’s doing so for most players. Once again, this test is for those who do not get fit and who buy off-the-rack. You must take the clubs with the stock shaft the manufacturer CHOSE to include. If they chose to include a worse shaft and that ends up hurting the performance of the driver, then, well, that’s their fault and should be reflected here.

Beach13

9 years ago

The problem you have is there is no industry standard for measuring torque or stiffness. Therefore you cannot compare from one brand to the other. Secondly the oems will never manufacture clubs with the same moi, weight ect.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

Beach13, you prove the point perfectly. I never said that the test was completely without merit as it’s a good starting point for off-the-rack club buyers. I merely stated that it would be interesting to see the same test performed with the same brand and flex of shaft with a robot tester rather than real people. This would eliminate all other variables and leave only the head as the driving force for information gathering (pardon the pun). This non-standard for shafting in the industry is exactly the reason that if using the information to truly find the “longest driver” it may be a little skewed. Which head, when hit solidly/ toe/ heel actually produces the best result when all things are equal? That is really valuable knowledge and honestly, not very time-consuming all things considered – just a little expensive. I have a feeling that test would really throw some interesting numbers.

Beach13

9 years ago

Still your off base because the same shaft will not act the same in different heads. Example the shaft will act different in the SLDR head because it was very unstable then it would in say the xhot head which was one of the most stable heads produced.

The Club Nut

9 years ago

Beach, where are you getting that info on stability. On a hit on the CG of the face there is no twisting. Manufacturers just have different weighting methods. The stability you’re referring to is MOI and that comes into play on off-center hits – of which there would be none when using a robot unless you want there to be. The head does not have effect other than the weight, which may cause some fluctuation in the “stiffness” that the shaft plays. This is why SST PUREing works. The shaft will flex similarly regardless of if there is a head on the end or if there is a symmetrical tip weight on the end. It’s the amount of weight that makes a difference. It has been proven in testing. This is also why the same shaft is tip trimmed for fairways. To make it play the same flex, it must be made “stiffer” to compensate for the increased head weight of the fairway wood. You’re still thinking in terms of human trials where there are more variables. As long as the CG sweetspot is struck it will work.

LMB

9 years ago

In that sense, the results are more “which are the worst drivers” than which are the standouts. Which is still great information!

Bradley Young

9 years ago

I also believe a ‘portfolio effect’ is exhibited here. This test doesn’t give you the distances for the average tested golfer – it gives you an average of the distances of the tested golfers; there IS a difference. One tester’s furthest club won’t be another tester’s. The portfolio effect minimizes the difference between the clubs based on other variables (shafts, player swing type, etc). Therefore, for you, there could easily be a greater difference for you between your 2 longest clubs (which woudln’t necesarrily be #1 and #2 here). Bottom line, get fitted clubs. If that’s not a possibility, this list is very helpful – go demo the top 2 or 3 on this list, and compare your differences.

thomas murphy

9 years ago

That is a great observation Bradley. Bottom line is here is a decent set of data that you can observe but really you do need two other things: what works for you (some people need spin) and what makes you feel confident. Even with fitting there are some decent youtube demos of same player hitting R and S shaft options with …same results… ie I think fitting is good but part of the good really is making not only the “best arrow” but helping the “indian” feel confident about that arrow.

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