True Game Changing Drivers for Each Company in the Last Decade?

[Bubb]

I never owned one, but the first thing that came to mind was the Ping G25.

[vman]

I know this may be controversial but I don't think there's been any game changing tech in the last 10 years. Adjustability is convenient but it isn't really game changing. Titanium has been the biggest needle mover and the thinning of it, particularly in the face. The addition of carbon has let designers shift weight for stability, but all of this probably hasn't changed much at all in comparison to the Pro V1.

[Lip1337]

you have to be kidding.

twist face changed nothing...

[Myherobobhope]

Id agree with this, mostly... sldr brought low spin heads to the masses... since then, I don’t think there has been a single driver that has taken the industry by storm... now there is just more variety in club design and you can fit what works for you... I can’t think of a must have driver in the past five years... all the “famous” drivers are from decades ago... big Bertha, r9 / tp 540, Cleveland launcher... titliest had been tweaking the same driver design for years until the ts series, which is only slightly different.

[Ago0330]

For the Golfwrx Community...

the R9

The ability to have endless shafts we can test with just the turn of a screw is a complete game changer.

It also improved the resale value of failed experiments... helping us bring out our inner hoe

[doctorjedi]

Tm-m2 2016

Callaway-epic

Ping-g400max

Cobra-f9

Titleist-ts3

 

[getitdaily]

Last true game changer was the callaway erc, wasn't it? Didn't that driver lead to COR limits?

I may have dates mixed up...

[martinvan09]

Agreed. I think a more notable TM thing is the sliding weights. Yeah, others have since done that, but with the exception of that one Mizuno MP driver (correct me if I’m wrong here), TM pioneered what the sliding weights can do. What twist face should’ve done is made players realize that bulge and roll are their friend on a driver face.

[martinvan09]

definitely a good point, but continuous refinement is what eventually leads to breakthroughs. With limits in place, the breakthroughs/game-changers won’t be as significant, but with that said the new trend seems to be expanding the area of the face with the max COR, which is definitely a game changer for those who miss the center (myself, often, included)

[BWTgolfer]

For me it was the G400 MAX. I did get a bump in distance but what I really gained was playing in the short grass a who lot more than being 20 yards longer and in the tall stuff.

[jwhite86]

I know it's not really what this topic is about, but the 510TP was the ultimate game changer for me... a great driver with a true high end shaft... it introduced me into a new world, and set the bar for driver prices

[homergolf]

In response to the original post about drivers from companies that were "game changers", there were two drivers over my many years of golfing that stand out as drivers that made a difference in my golf life, other than the Cleveland Launcher 440, which was my first titanium driver.

1) Adams 9015d -- there is a lengthy thread about this driver buried somewhere in the archives of Golfwrx. This driver was stunningly good looking. It truly was the club that I could hit the ball the furthest with of any driver i'd ever tried. It was forgiving. It was accurate. The feel and sound were the best of any to that date.

2) Nike VR Tour. The stock shaft was the real deal original Project X Blue graphite driver shaft. Also an amazing driver at 430cc.

The technology that changed the driver forever was titanium

[cardoustie]

I still have my long drive heads of the 9015d and 9016d

[bdmiller61]

I gotta believe the Mizuno MP-600 with Fast Track was the first moveable weight technology. It’s the first I can remember anyway. I think it was 2007

[golfguru80]

agree with you on this one

[joshella]

I'm obviously biased - but some decent entries from Mizuno that influenced the industry (even if people don't realise).

Ti100 - first Ti mass production driver.

T-ZOID - first driver to address spin rate.

MP-001 - first mass production driver with graphite crown.

MP-600 - first driver with sliding weights.

 

 

[toofastlx]

Adams incorporating the slots was pretty sweet. The XTD was an absolute monster. not sure how innovative the slots were but there must've been something to it because Taylormade and a few others followed suit.

[NRJyzr]

 

The Ping TiSI was the driver that spawned the COR discussion. The ERC made noise because it exceeded the USGA limit, but it wasn't actually a game changer.

I agree with those who point to the R9. Adjustable clubheads is really the only true game changer in the recent past. Everything since then is just moving the CG around. They were all doing that anyway.

[MadGolfer76]

I've never had a driver change my game.

[Cons]

Can someone explain the "de-couple launch and spin" comment for me?

I recently heard a reference to the "low spin, high launch era" of drivers. It was said in a way that suggested we have moved past it.

Thought we were still in that era.. what have we moved on to?

[manima1]

It just means raising launch angle without raising spin.

[dcorun]

The Cleveland HiBore Driver. It was innovative and a really great driver IMHO. Cleveland has always been underrated except for their wedges.

[jc88]

M2 was really nice for me

[Argonne69]

Turbulators baby. Lol.

+1 to TaylorMade for the white crown.

[Valtiel]

To expand on what @manima1 said, spin and launch are linked when the ball is struck on the sweet spot. If you continue to strike the sweet spot, spin and launch will go up and down together. Decoupling launch and spin requires utilizing vertical gear effects e.g. striking slightly above the sweet spot which raises launch (due to the loft increasing "roll" in bulge and roll) and lowers spin (due to vertical gear effects). This is what they are referring to, and this becomes easier to accomplish with a lower CG as there is physically more area "above" a low CG on the face. This is nothing terribly new as there have been several very low CG drivers, but within the Taylormade line the CG has been rising with every M-series release, which IMO set the stage for one of the performance "gains" with the SIM series and its lower CG.

[WristySwing]

Taylormade --- my gut says R9 as that was the first driver really to push the full scope of adjustability at the time. SLDR and 2016 M2 of course just because of their cult status, whether or not they fit you was another story but they sure sold a lot of them.Callaway --- Epic with Jailbreak. It really does work.Titleist --- meh, nothing groundbreaking here really apart from being one of the first OEMs to offer true upgraded shafts for freeCobra --- F9 for sure. Fastest ball speeds of any driver last year definitely put them on the map. However some notables are the L5V, first mass-market OEM adjustable driver on the market and the AMP was one heck of a driver too. PING --- G30 LS or G400 Max. First truly high MOI heads that were low spin.Mizuno --- ST190 line. First Mizuno line ever that has taken market share away from the big boys. Our shop sold handfuls of them.Others (PXG, XXIO, Srixon, Cleveland, etc.) --- PXG = meh, XXIO = too niche, Srixon = 745/545 were under the radar bombers, Cleveland = SL series were groundbreaking because they were so light and fast, so good for the average player who can't turn the club over and needs extra speed.

[BigHook25]

This is probably the best list I've seen so far. I agree with most nothing completely groundbreaking, but considering the manufacturers are restricted I would say some fairly big steps with what they can do legally.

TaylorMade - 1a) SLDR just because of how low spin it was and for guys who struggled with spin. Obviously, for many it was a disaster, but it did go somewhere most brands at the time hadn't gone. It was also a disaster for some players like me who could bomb it and then mishit it and lose tons of distance or be on a part of the course that wasn't really the course (I play the ball from anywhere). 1b) The M1/M2 were there, especially M2 with being low enough spin but adding forgiveness.

Callaway - agree with above poster, epic with jailbreak started it for them

Titleist - agree again. The TS series was a big improvement, but it basically just allowed them to catch up with current OEMs. Nothing they have done with a driver has been groundbreaking.

Cobra - F9 somewhat being great, but would give a slight edge to the LTD with it being low spin and one of the most forgiving low spin drivers at the time.

Ping - G400 series, the max for being extremely forgiving and the LST for being low spin with ultimate forgiveness and still making it playable. So many low spin drivers become long on good strikes but unplayable, but Ping seemed to keep the ball in play.

MIzuno - ST190 line as above, although the new 200 line looks to be just as good if not better. Mizuno woods are very underrated.

Sleeper pick: Cobra bio cell series. The normal was very forgiving while the bio cell + was overlooked by many, but still low spin and quite forgiving at the time. Many didn't like the two tone paint, but it is interesting many praised TM when they did the same with the M1/M2.

 

 

[Halebopp]

JPX-850 was definitely a big jump for Mizuno, launching a new era in woods for them. The adjustments made a real difference to the ball flight and it ended up in a lot of bags for its performance - 3 of the top 5 in our club championships had it in their bag over whatever Callaway, TM and others had at the time. As great drivers as the MP-650 and its predecessors were, those weren't for the masses and the JPX-800/825 were pretty much only in some ladies' bags.

[BigHook25]

Funny you mention the 650 series, those things were as hot as anything out there. I believe at the time the RBZ got all the attention, but the 650 woods were actually slightly longer.

 

[Halebopp]

The ST180 replaced my 650 driver last year but I doubt I'll ever get rid of it, the fairways left my bag in 2018. The fairways were fantastic as long as you had the swing to launch them as they weren't the highest-launching ones out there.