We are past the unofficial end of summer (Labor Day) and it's time to offer our humble opinion on the top drivers for 2013. The selection team for this list consist of 8 full-time club sales people that have at least 3 years experience in the golf industry and our most experienced rep has over 20 years of club sales experience. We are not golf professionals and do not have any affiliation with any of the equipment manufacturers. We are just regular golfers with handicaps that range from scratch to 25 that because of where we work get a chance to play with and test all the latest golf equipment. We also get a chance to talk to a lot of customers to get their feedback on the equipment and that also factors into the selection.
The driver stands tall and proud over any golfer’s bag. It is often the most expensive stick in the bunch and everyone loves to hit it. There has also been more innovation in driver design, materials, and manufacturing than among all other clubs. Some of those innovations later find themselves in other clubs. Multi-material construction used to be confined to drivers with stainless steel faces and composite crowns, but now you see multiple materials being used in irons with a stainless body, a polymer insert, and tungsten toe and heel weights in some models.
The biggest trend in driver innovation continues to be with adjustability. It used to be limited to minor adjustments in loft, lie, and/or face angle, but now we increasingly see wider adjustments. It is getting more common now to buy a driver that is fully adjustable. Golfers don’t buy a 10-degree driver, for example, that has adjustability allowing a few degrees of tweaking in one direction or the other. Rather, manufacturers are putting out one driver model that doesn’t come in different lofts but is fully adjustable to any loft needed – from around 8.5 all the way up to 12.5 degrees for some. That certainly makes it easier on golfers and easier on retailers, shippers, and manufacturers too. Imagine how much easier it is to manage inventory. As these and other innovations continue to come out on the market, you owe it to yourself to visit a retailer, talk to your pro, or visit a demo day and see what the new drivers can do for you.
Our Picks for the Top 3 Drivers For 2013 Season:
Cobra AMP CELL Pro Driver
The Pro model offers MyFly technology which allows you to adjust the loft on the driver from 7.5 degrees up to 10.5 degrees with a simple twist of a wrench. So now you can adjust your driver loft based on playing conditions, weather and how you're currently hitting the ball.
The Pro model head size is 440 cc which sets up well behind the ball and give you the confidence that you can work the ball left or right. It's available in two colors Silver, Orange, but what really sets this apart from the other available drivers is the premium Mitsubishi KuroKage shaft. This is not a shaft made for just this driver. It is the actual OEM shaft made by Mitsubishi that normally sells for $200.
The shaft, the head size, the adjustability and the cool looks all add up to a winner this year for the Cobra AMP CELL Pro Driver.
TaylorMade SLDR Driver
The new SLDR streamlines many of the driver features in an easy-to-use but powerful sliding technology that gives it a ultra-low and forward center of gravity which equates to higher launch angles and less spin - hence more yardage.
The SLDR driver comes in lofts of 8, 9.5, 10.5 and 12 with those being adjustable +- 1.5 degrees. So unlike the R1 driver where lofts were adjustable from 8 to 12 degrees, with the new SLDR you select the loft driver you prefer with still the ability to change the loft +or - 1.5 degrees.
The real "secret sauce" on this driver is the 21 SLDR weight position on the bottom of the club that allows for up to 30 yards of shot shaping adjustment. Our testing also found that the sliding weight track was surprisingly easy to use, and that it didn’t take long to find the favorite of the club’s 21 settings. Most golfers will “set it and forget it” after their initial fitting, but gear heads will enjoy the ability to add left or right bias to their drives when they’re struggling with their games or making changes to their swing.
Though it may seem like yet another TaylorMade gimmick to sell more drivers, we found the SLDR driver to deliver significant results. We like the more traditional look of the club and the ease of use in making adjustments. But most of all, we liked the results we saw when taking it out on the course and putting it through the real tests. TaylorMade has a real winner with the new SLDR driver.
Callaway actually came out with 3 new driver lines in 2013 which is more than what they normally come out with in a normal year. The three lines included the Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme driver, the recently released FT Optiforce drivers and the Callaway X Hot driver. All three are very solid drivers but to us one stood out over the rest.
The new Callaway X Hot Driver is the product that will appeal to most of the market as it is targeted at golfers at all levels ( form mid-handicappers to single-digit players). But by no means is this a one driver fits all product. Callaway has also come out with a X Hot Pro model targeted at golfers with more advanced skills and faster swing speeds.
The Callaway X Hot Driver is a speed demon with many of the technical features designed to increase club head speed while at the same time provide forgiveness on off-center miss-hits. Maybe it's because we are more traditional golfers we like the classic looks on this driver with the matte-grey- gunmetal finish. The driver checks in at 46 inches which is a half an inch to an inch longer than standard. It has a 460cc head and speed-frame face is made of titanium that is thinner around the perimeter and thicker in the center which optimizes the sweet spot and decrease the amount of distance loss on off-center hits. It also has the Opt-fit adjustable hosel which one of the easiest to use and most intuitive compared to others that you need a PhD to understand.
If you are looking for a driver that can bomb it out there with the best of them but also still provide the technology and adjustability to make it forgiving on miss-hits then this is driver you're looking for. Callaway's X Hot Driver is a product that will move Callaway back into the forefront of innovative, high-performance metal woods. It's a position that they once had and are now on there way back to obtaining.
The real "secret sauce" on this driver is the 21 SLDR weight position on the bottom of the club that allows for up to 30 yards of shot shaping adjustment. Our testing also found that the sliding weight track was surprisingly easy to use, and that it didn’t take long to find the favorite of the club’s 21 settings. Most golfers will “set it and forget it” after their initial fitting, but gear heads will enjoy the ability to add left or right bias to their drives when they’re struggling with their games or making changes to their swing.
Though it may seem like yet another TaylorMade gimmick to sell more drivers, we found the SLDR driver to deliver significant results. We like the more traditional look of the club and the ease of use in making adjustments. But most of all, we liked the results we saw when taking it out on the course and putting it through the real tests. TaylorMade has a real winner with the new SLDR driver.
Callaway X Hot Driver
The new Callaway X Hot Driver is the product that will appeal to most of the market as it is targeted at golfers at all levels ( form mid-handicappers to single-digit players). But by no means is this a one driver fits all product. Callaway has also come out with a X Hot Pro model targeted at golfers with more advanced skills and faster swing speeds.
The Callaway X Hot Driver is a speed demon with many of the technical features designed to increase club head speed while at the same time provide forgiveness on off-center miss-hits. Maybe it's because we are more traditional golfers we like the classic looks on this driver with the matte-grey- gunmetal finish. The driver checks in at 46 inches which is a half an inch to an inch longer than standard. It has a 460cc head and speed-frame face is made of titanium that is thinner around the perimeter and thicker in the center which optimizes the sweet spot and decrease the amount of distance loss on off-center hits. It also has the Opt-fit adjustable hosel which one of the easiest to use and most intuitive compared to others that you need a PhD to understand.
If you are looking for a driver that can bomb it out there with the best of them but also still provide the technology and adjustability to make it forgiving on miss-hits then this is driver you're looking for. Callaway's X Hot Driver is a product that will move Callaway back into the forefront of innovative, high-performance metal woods. It's a position that they once had and are now on there way back to obtaining.
Best Of The Rest
Titleist 913 D2 Driver: With Titleist you don't get all the flash like you get with the other drivers but what you get is flat out performance. No surprises here this driver just performs - you can't go wrong with this driver but make sure you have the game to handle it.
Nike VR_S Covert Drivers: Winner of the most radical design for 2013. The first cavity back driver looks normal on top but when you turn it over you'll notice the large cavity in the sole. This driver performed really well and if Tiger and Rory are using it then it should work for you.
I've tried most of them and I'm playing with a Ping G25. It's the best I've ever had.
ReplyDelete