Searching for a really low spinning driver with forgiveness.

[scifisicko]

Thoughts after hitting K-15, G-15, i-15, LZ, S2, 909D3,D2,DCOMP, Wilso

A local golf retailer put on a demo session at the range last night, conditions were ideal for testing spin, with a 10-15mph cross head wind. There was a good selection of manufacturers present and i hit everything in the the thread title. I hit about 20-30 balls each with each of the drivers i liked, narrowed it down to a choice of three and then hit a few (used) tour iX balls with each. At each stage i was comparing the club i was trying to the one I game.

My current set up is a 9.5* 907D2 (measured at 10.2*) with 73x WB at 44.5, which gives me the following numbers on the LM: LA 12*, CHS 110, BS 160-165, Spin 3500+. I am not sure why the set up spins so much, particularly as i have a WB 73s in a 8.5* 905s that is a harsh judge but delivers a perfect flight on well struck shots. My path is about 2* from the inside and my club head is typically 2* closed. I hit 10/14 fairways, bad shot is left and i find it difficult to fade the ball. I am working hard on my game and my index has dropped from 12-7 in the last 18 months, i have a slow tempo and can usually play an s or x shaft.

The range has a 30 foot fence at 275 yards out, which was about 30 yards out of reach with my current gamer in these condition (ball came down almost vertically with about 1 yard of roll)

Ping i15 9.5* with the TFC stiff shaft (probably needed an x in this particular shaft but none available). Hit 6 balls with this, 2 came right out of the centre, 2 were an overlapping ballmark towards the toe and 2 an overlapping ball mark towards the heel. Looking at the marks on the face it looked like a pretty tight cluster all high on the face. The two out of the screws were high and spinny, about 10 yards longer than the D2. They didnt reach the fence and there was little roll out. The 2 "off the toe" were higher and 10-15 yards shorter. The 2 off the heel were 20-30 yards shorter. All 6 would have been on a wide-ish fairway. The shaft felt like mush and probably ruined the driver for me.

Ping g15 9* with TFC stiff. This is one i have been looking at and I really wanted to like. I hit about 20 balls and they were all high floaters landing about 20 yards short of the fence with no roll out. As others have noticed there isn't much of a loss of distance for off centre hits off the toe. The heel is a different story and similar to the i15 , but overall it is much more forgiving than the i15. I wont be buying this with a ping S shaft.

k15 9.5* TFC Stiff, really wants to go left and i gave up after 3 balls.

i15 8* with BB g4t 63s, better trajectory but still punishes anything not flush. This shaft felt very mushy in the mid section.
All in all disappointing, surprising that there was no G-15 available in a lower loft, and no shafts available that i could load properly.

Wilson 8* DX460 with Voodoo SV6 stiff. I didn't expect much, particularly as i have hated this shaft in other clubs, but this combination was a big surprise. Ball after ball on the bounce into the back fence. Nice traditional shape, surprisingly shallow face, very forgiving for off center hits, great feel, and most surprisingly i was able to fade it , even though the rep said it sets square.

Titleist 909 series. All 9.5*, all with Aldila Voodoo SV6 stiff, nothing inspired me to hit more than 3 or 4 balls. Everything high or left. No lower lofts or stiffer flex available to try. No where near the same feel as the wilson, even though the shaft seemed to be the same.

Cobra S2 8.5* Fuji Fit on Max 65s set 2.5* open. Up there with the DX 460, was able to hit a few bullets into the back fence. Very similar flight to the DX but not quite as forgiving, mainly on shots struck low on the face

Super Deep 8.5 set in fully open position (decreases loft to 8*) with RIP 70s. Nice club, center hits were as good as the DX but not quite as easy to come by. The shaft felt OK and was I able to load it. Good shots had a higher trajectory than i expected but was high with low spin. I did had to fight it to stop it going left. Feeling was this would be a good all round club and a well stuck shot would give better results in calm or downwind conditions

3 clear candidates emerged. SuperDeep, S2 and Wilson DX 460. All three were equally long, good trajectory and low spinning, the DX 460 was the straightest, most forgiving, easiest to hit and most traditional looking club of the three. Its about to be released here (Oz), apparently the retail will be 3/5 that of the SuperDeep. Based on the testing I will game DX with the stock shaft.

[Scuderia]

You should try ftiz as well as adams 9064LS. Both are low spin and pretty solid drivers.

[Vegaman]

Isnt this the Japanese Non US forum? Anyway, I bought a VEGA RAD-01 recently and its the best feeling driver I have ever hit. I have a Miyazaki 72X in it, and its a low spin, anti-left monster.

[blade_man]

I know it may never happen but I would like to see a head to head comparison of heads with the same shaft or freq of shafts so we could get a real idea of how the heads perform, I think most of us know the shaft is the engine in the club and we all have different AOA and SS so I guess the search continues!

[golfschnell]

Cally FT Tour low spin great looking nice feel, suprizingly forgiving.

[Asleep]

Tough to judge using wrong flex.

You need to only try X-flex, imo.

[Qegurezi]

A few points

The 907D2 is a HIGH spin head. Definitely not the head for you even with a great shaft like the WB. The 905s head is [i]miles[/i] lower spin.

The G15 wasn't available in lower lofted demo's because the 7.5* is tour only.

IMO it is a waste of time for a player of your stats and tendencies to be hitting TFC stiff shafts,and probably the XS too.

For a cheap experiment i reckon the 9015D with the correct type of shaft would hit bombs. The Ft tour was a good mention, the VR Tour with project x would be good to try too.

[rmiller_ny]

Ping Rapture V2 is reported to be a very low-spin driver

[newk]

The Titleist D2 spins like crazy and I had an 8.5* Adams 9015d and Nickent 4DX T-spec are great. I am playing a rapture V2 as I feel it is the best combo of low spin and forgiveness

[scifisicko]

[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1284964102' post='2705151']
A few points

The 907D2 is a HIGH spin head. Definitely not the head for you even with a great shaft like the WB. The 905s head  is [i]miles[/i] lower spin.

The G15 wasn't available in lower lofted demo's because the 7.5* is tour only.

IMO it is a waste of time for a player of your stats and tendencies to be hitting TFC stiff shafts,and probably the XS too.

For a cheap experiment i reckon the 9015D with the correct type of shaft would hit bombs. The Ft tour was a good mention, the VR Tour with project x would be good to try too.
[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. I bought a sound but battered  9015d head (for $30!) and am wondering how to put the whiteboard in...given the 907 is bore through...i suspect i may end up with some of the tip prep showing above the hozel on the 9015d, either that or tip it....any thoughts? i dont want it to play any stiffer. I dont mind if there is some tip prep showing, the head looks like a dog chewed it so the set up will have some character!


BTW the wilson club was the DXi (not the DX) and the shaft was similar to sv6...maybe s6v6.

[colby takushi]

i had the same probaly with my 909d2, had over 4000 rpms. i then got a 8.5 cobra s9-1 pro d with a oban devotion 7x and dropped my spin rate to 2500 rpms and picked up 30 yards

[Qegurezi]

Noway would you call that Pro D forgiving tho. Super low spin.

[MMB1500]

Surely these results are very dependent on the shafts in each respective club? For example the stock TFC shaft is a total spin machine IMO and doesn't necessarily reflect the true abilities of the Ping heads.

[Smoothduffer]

Seems funny to me that virtually everyone wants to make excuses why the other drivers did not perform as good as the Wilson Staff DXI.Someone posted the shafts were different,well they were all quality shafts and they were all stiff so,i do not believe that would make very much difference at all.I think everyone should give credit where credit is due and,W/S deserves the credit.Maybe its because the DXI is simply better than those others,thats what it sounds like to me.I talked to a W/S sales rep at edwinn watts last month and,he told me to keep my eye out for the DXI and that it would turn alot of heads when it came out.He said they put more R&D into it than they have put in any other driver they have ever produced and,that it was built on the same platform as the DD6 that Harrington won those 3 majors with. I will definantly be trying the DXI out when its available,i currently game the Smooth and,it would take a very good driver to knock it out of the bag.Maybe the DXI is that driver,i cant wait to hit it and find out.And to the O.P. sounds like you found a gamer to me,the DXI was the most forgiving,longest,and easiest to hit.I would be getting it if i was you.

Also to the O.P.

What shaft was in the DXI?

Was it the stock shaft and,if not do you know what the stock shaft is?

[Qegurezi]

You'd be unbiased with no agenda tho, with a complete bag full of Wilson

[alpsburner]

Give the Cleveland DST a try. D+FW+HY kicked out all my Cally-woods from the bag

CU

[Egan101]

They say the J33R 460 is very low-spin, though not as forgiving.. If anybody is interested in one, send me a PM. I got it wth a low-launch Graffaloy Prolaunch Red stiff shaft.

[BDoubleG]

I'm not sure if this happens too often, but I would suggest giving the Burner Superfast a go. I have always had trouble keeping the spin down...I usually have 3500-4500rpm with 17-18* launch with any driver I try. I hit the Superfast 9.5, bought it on the spot (despite its ugliness) once I saw the numbers. I'm hitting 12* launch with 2800ish spin, and my drives on the course yesterday really backed that up. Oh, and the forgiveness is off the charts!

It may work for you, it may not, but it's worth trying!

[Mizgoodie]

9015d period try that very low spin ,,,

[Ripken08]

So you hit your driver 250 ish and play an x flex shaft?

[Smoothduffer]

[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1287408666' post='2747942']
You'd be unbiased with no agenda tho, with a complete bag full of Wilson
[/quote]


First of all i have a full bag of Wilson Staff not Wilson,BIG DIFFERENCE.

And YES i am biased as hell i dont dispute that at all,i will tell everyone.....hello my name is terry and im a W/S ho.....is that better.I dont have any agenda tho simply calling it as i see it and i see that the DXI performed better than the rest.....simple as that.


The O.P. was not fit for any of the shafts and,they were all stiff.

He even pointed out that he hated the shaft in the DXI cause it has never worked for him in the past.

It sounds like the DXI was last on his list as he said he was not expecting much from it and,said he wanted to like some of the others but when done the W/S was the favorite.

He said the DXI:

Had the most forgivness-check

was the longest-check

easiest to hit-check

So tell me how me simply stating facts somehow means i have an agenda? I am biased towards W/S but,i like their stuff cause its good and it looks like its getting even better.Maybe you should just give credit were credit is due cause the DXI was more forgiving,longer,and easier to hit than all of the others,looks like it DOMINATED the rest to me.

[Smoothduffer]

[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1284964102' post='2705151']
A few points

The 907D2 is a HIGH spin head. Definitely not the head for you even with a great shaft like the WB. The 905s head is [i]miles[/i] lower spin.

The G15 wasn't available in lower lofted demo's because the 7.5* is tour only.

IMO it is a waste of time for a player of your stats and tendencies to be hitting TFC stiff shafts,and probably the XS too.

For a cheap experiment i reckon the 9015D with the correct type of shaft would hit bombs. The Ft tour was a good mention, the VR Tour with project x would be good to try too.
[/quote]

I reckon the DXI is pretty good too,seeing how it dominated the rest.
where is the luv?
What is your agenda?

[Qegurezi]

[quote name='Smoothduffer' timestamp='1287419102' post='2748185']
[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1287408666' post='2747942']
You'd be unbiased with no agenda tho, with a complete bag full of Wilson
[/quote]


First of all i have a full bag of Wilson Staff not Wilson,BIG DIFFERENCE.

And YES i am biased as hell i dont dispute that at all,i will tell everyone.....hello my name is terry and im a W/S ho.....is that better.I dont have any agenda tho simply calling it as i see it and i see that the DXI performed better than the rest.....simple as that.
[/quote]


The guy has 110mph clubhead speed, uses a WB73[b][size="5"]x[/size][/b] in his gamer, used stiff flex TFC shafts in all 4 Pings, said all 4 times he didn't like them and you think this should be used as good enough to purchase?

Realistically he has little real idea if he likes any of the Pings, and between the 4 models almost anybody will find one they like - a lot.

Agreed the Wilson performed better for sure, but for a proper perspective he'd need to hit different shafts in at least 4 of these heads.

If he's already happy with the Wilson in that setup well nab it by all means. Having said that it might be even better in x. There's a fair chance it may even remain his favourite no matter what shafts are used, and it's up to the OP if he has the drive or availability to go further.

I can see where you are coming from, less blingy brands often don't get their fair go. I'm a low spin driver man, i will be watching the reviews with interest. Sounds pretty good so far.

[pdaero]

The G15 with the right shaft is PERFECT. I am about to get one and put in a PX - DEFINITELY forgiving with super low spin.

[Smoothduffer]

Im sure the pings are great with other shafts all i am saying is you can make suggestions and you can give W/s credit for putting out a good driver also you can do both at the same time.And i am not trying to start anything i am just making a comment,I dont think Wilson Staff is less blingy than anybody else,their stuff is tour quality also and,i think its just as good and IS in the upper echelon of golf equipment.

[Arafel]

[quote name='shortgamehero' timestamp='1287416153' post='2748130']
So you hit your driver 250 ish and play an x flex shaft?
[/quote]

If you read what he posted he was hitting into the wind with too much spin.

[SoCalTitleist]

Do low spin and forgiving even belong in the same sentance.

[TLUBulldogGolf]

Hit an I15 with a shaft you like, and I think you will change your mind. Although still not gonna be much forgiveness there, but not much spins less.

[jonn443]

+1 for the TM Superfast, some find the stock shaft descent but I personally didn't see the magic until I put a motore 65 shaft in it , cut down to around 45.5". I still think I can make it better, thinking about putting a fubuki or axivcore black in it next.

[Qegurezi]

[quote name='Smoothduffer' timestamp='1287450113' post='2748891']
[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1287444001' post='2748730']
[quote name='Smoothduffer' timestamp='1287419102' post='2748185']
[quote name='Qegurezi' timestamp='1287408666' post='2747942']
You'd be unbiased with no agenda tho, with a complete bag full of Wilson
[/quote]


First of all i have a full bag of Wilson Staff not Wilson,BIG DIFFERENCE.

And YES i am biased as hell i dont dispute that at all,i will tell everyone.....hello my name is terry and im a W/S ho.....is that better.I dont have any agenda tho simply calling it as i see it and i see that the DXI performed better than the rest.....simple as that.
[/quote]


The guy has 110mph clubhead speed, uses a WB73[b][size="5"]x[/size][/b] in his gamer, used stiff flex TFC shafts in all 4 Pings, said all 4 times he didn't like them and you think this should be used as good enough to purchase?

Realistically he has little real idea if he likes any of the Pings, and between the 4 models almost anybody will find one they like - a lot.

Agreed the Wilson performed better for sure, but for a proper perspective he'd need to hit different shafts in at least 4 of these heads.

If he's already happy with the Wilson in that setup well nab it by all means. Having said that it might be even better in x. There's a fair chance it may even remain his favourite no matter what shafts are used, and it's up to the OP if he has the drive or availability to go further.

I can see where you are coming from, less blingy brands often don't get their fair go. I'm a low spin driver man, i will be watching the reviews with interest. Sounds pretty good so far.
[/quote]

Im sure the pings are great with other shafts all i am saying is you can make suggestions and you can give W/s credit for putting out a good driver also you can do both at the same time.And i am not trying to start anything i am just making a comment,I dont think Wilson Staff is less blingy than anybody else,their stuff is tour quality also and,i think its just as good and IS in the upper echelon of golf equipment.
[/quote]

I'm sure you would agree the WS has less prestige and hype than TM and a few other big names, which is what i meant by bling. I didn't mean quality, i'm sure it's fine.

I will try the driver tho, for sure.