MY NEW DRIVER

So i've got a bag full of potential new drivers i'm looking at a driver that's going to offer a little bit more forgiveness. For me you might have seen recently i've had this driver in the bag for 18 months now the cobra f9 driver and i absolutely love this driver i said it was the best driver of 2019. And i continued to have it in the back for 2020 because for me on performance not much could beat it i like the look of it i like the feel of it i like the sound of it but the thing for me just at the moment is i'm struggling to hit the thing straight i'm struggling to find enough fairways. And that's not particularly this driver's fault but for me i feel like there could be a driver out there that's offering more forgiveness and i said at the start this year i would not replace a club in my bag unless it beat the performance of what i already had in the bag. And that's what we're going to look at today.

So because i have a lot of the new drivers and i've got my home simulator i thought it'd be a good time to test them all out criteria i'm not looking for a driver that's going to offer me loads more distance i want somewhere the same distance from any of the drivers i put in my bag. But the criteria i'm looking to get this time is forgiveness. And looking for a driver that's going to find more fairways. So at home i tested loads of drivers from loads of different brands and what i found using my launch monitor is that the distances were all very similar giving me around about 280 yards of carry. For 300 total yards but in this test this experiment for getting a new driver it wasn't about distance for me i wanted a driver that i sat behind the golf ball that gave me confidence and one that i found i could hit straighter and give me more forgiveness now i know the straighteners come down to me a little bit but if i can get a driver that gives me confidence that's going to make a massive difference. So i managed to whittle it down to just three drivers and these are the three i'm going to be taking on the golf course today.

To see if they are better than my driver. And to see which one could potentially go in the bag so three drivers that i willed it down to with these three the callaway maverick driver the standard version for me behind the golf ball this driver looks fantastic i was never the biggest fan of the bottom. But in the indoor testing this definitely offered me a lot of forgiveness which i was very happy about another driver of putting the bag. For testing on the golf course is this the cobra speed zone. And this is the speed zone extreme driver center of gravity is as far back as you can get the head size of this even though it's 460cc just looks massive behind the golf ball it definitely provided me a lot of confidence when i was hitting it indoor let's see what it does on the course. And then.

The final driver is this the mizuno driver this game is a bit of a surprise to me. So i've never had a mizuno driver in the bag before and this is the st200 this offered me a lot of forgiveness when i test the indoor i'm excited to give this one a test [Music]. So i'm excited to see which driver could potentially replace the f9 now there's two points i want to make first point this isn't a super scientific test this is a test out on the golf course in real life situation which of these drivers looks best behind the golf ball. For me which one sounds the best which one gives me the most confidence when i'm stood on the tee that's so important for me it's unreal regards to data i've done all the data i know these drivers when i test them at home give me the right spin rate the right ball speed the correct carry distance total distance this test isn't about that and then.

Point number two i know there's going to be comments down below where's the taylormade driver where's the ping drive driver titleist driver well all of those i did test at home. But out of all the ones that i tested these are the three drivers that i personally feel gave me the most confidence behind the golf ball. And for me i felt like i was hitting him straight when i tested it that's why they're in the golf bag right now right the first thing i'm gonna do is hit these drivers without warming up this happens to me quite a bit i might i've not played golf. For two weeks or i'm rushing to a tee off with my friends i've just not had a chance to properly warm up so what a driver for me it gives me confidence straight out of the blocks i've had drivers in the past that have been super long hitting once i'm warmed up i remember remember the taylormade sldr super super low spin driver when i was swinging at maximum speed was a monster. But trying to hit that on a cold day on the first tee without a warm-up it was a nightmare might as well have not bothered. So for me i want a driver that i know i can just stand there first tee no warm up. And it gives me confidence straight away let's see uh let's see out of these three which one does that straight off first driver is this the cobra speed zone xtreme that is a big head behind the golf ball it feels like i can't miss it which is good. For confidence right first shot no warm up oh that is perfect that's what i want a driver to do just literally without even thinking i've just popped it straight down the middle of the fairway very strong start. For the cobra okay next.

Up mizuno st200 again a good shape head looks very simple behind the golf ball it does give me confidence it doesn't feel like this is going to be a a low spin driver again that's pretty good second golf swing of the day. And another fairway hit i think with the mizuno let's go callaway next.

Okay callaway maverick driver a head shape that i am familiar with i've had callaway drivers in the bag before this does look nice looks generous enough let's see what the callaway does that's pretty good as well right you know what i'm going to do i'm just going to go. And play a few holes with these drivers just get a feel from see which one i like they were all good opening tee shots i'd take any of those on a cold first tee every day. So i found a nice quiet tee and i've got a load of golf balls on my back i'm gonna give these drivers a bit of a hit now it's not gonna be a smash fest i'm not just going to stand here. And try and hit it as hard as i can i've made that mistake in the past i'm not just at a driving range i'm out on the golf course. And as i mentioned i want a new driver that's going to get me in the fairway. And give me confidence it's absolutely key so i've come to a hole here which requires a good tee shot there's a bunker left the bunker right i've got to kind of draw it a little bit which is my natural shot shape. And what i'm going to do i'm going to hit a bunch of these driver shots. And just figure out which ones am i starting to like what do my good shots look like sound like feel like because that's still important. But also what do my bad shots come out like if i hit it low heel. Or high toe what's the result cause that's so important after this i might whittle it down to two or i might even have a full-out favorite or they might still all be in the bag but let's uh let's give them a hit and see what they are like in a real whole situation [Music] that's good [Music] when you hit the fairway like the ball just bound. So much more i think that's the problem i i think i could get more distance out of my driver shots if i land if i'm landing the ball in the fairway as opposed to in the rough that was a good one then.

Yeah that's a good drive really nice that one [Music] oh no okay i've whacked all those drivers. And there's one that i didn't get on with this one the callaway maverick i was hitting it offline i was hitting it in the trees i started hitting it more left which is my problem shot i just lost complete confidence with that driver. So that is out the bag. And now we're down to just two drivers could i be going back-to-back years with a cobra driver not what i expected. And even more of a surprise could i be going mizuno driver in the back both of these two impressed me in that little test i'm intrigued to know which one i put in the bag. So there's two things i've established so far number one the cobra f9 is going to get replaced out the bag. And number two it's not gonna be by the callaway maverick driver it's gonna be either with the speed zone or the mizuno and i'm i'll be honest i'm finding it really hard to separate these two drivers i like them both a lot they do exactly what i want a new driver to do. For me so i'm going to play this hole give them a hit. And have a little think about how i can decide between these two because they're both good i mean this. For example this cobra driver just looks so inviting behind the ball it's got a really lovely head shape it's a good looking driver and so far every time i've hit it and every time i've put that club behind the golf ball whether it was at the home simulator. Or out in the golf course so far i felt like i'm gonna hit a good driver shot might not be my longest ever but i feel like i can control the shot. And that is valuable. For me to help lower my score i need to find more fairways because if i can find more fairways i can hit more greens it's a lovely looking head. And just like that i mean it is middle of the fairway gorgeous. And then.

There's this the mizuno driver never in my wildest dreams did i think a mizuno driver would have the chance of going in my bag i just i've never had a mizuno driver in the back they've not been renowned. For drivers but as of last few years they've really up the game this driver's good st200 it's a very a much more traditional head shape what you get from the cobra kobe's a bit more modern where this is much more traditional pear-shaped it's got a bit of carbon it's a good-looking head. And again sitting it behind the golf ball just looks inviting like it looks friendly to hit oh not quite as good that time but [Music] you know actually that was a bad strike i hit that from the toe it started on the fairway. And just tailed off maybe just in that first cut of roof not disastrous i never walk down there let me let me have time to digest this because either one at the moment could go in the bag and i can't fully decide which both are very good. So after a bit of time to reflect and have a little think about which driver i prefer the one thing that's giving me a little bit of a guide i seem to be always wanting to pull the cobra out the drop bag first i feel like the one i'm more excited about i feel like i'm slightly more swaying towards that what's interesting look at these drives this is the mizuno driver i didn't hit that well it's found the fairway which is exactly what i'm looking. For on my miss strikes i feel like the driver i currently have or if it's a bit more of a distance driver with the same strike i feel like ball would have ended up in the trees i really do. So that's that's testament for its forgiveness level but i cannot look past the speed zone driver i absolutely smoked it middle of the fairway a one position and a lot of shots i've hit with that cobra driver have given me that same result i definitely feel like i'm swaying a little bit more this way i've got one more test to go the next.

Hole is a drivable par four i'm gonna have a little bit of fun hit a few with each. And see which one can potentially go closest to the hole maybe that will just give me the final decision to see which driver ends up in my bag okay one more fun challenge to finish things off a little bit of a decider i'm here at the 17th hole at marriott woodsy park a drivable par 4 at 290 yards now this shot. For me is the type of shot that i need accuracy with my driver i can easily reach there. But i need to be able to position it ideally on the green to give myself an eagle chance and at worst a birdie opportunity so i'm gonna hit three with each and see how i get on i'm gonna have three balls with a c on for cobra three balls with an m on to mizuno let's see which one ends up closest okay cobra first let's see how it does on this uh on this tricky little hole oh no oh no oh [Laughter] that wasn't the best opening shot. For the cobra and i must admit i don't think that was the driver that was down to me i felt like i uh i backed out that one a little bit i was ashamed that wasn't a great first shot with the cobra let's go mizuno next.

Oh that's really nice yeah it should be that should be green side there with the mizuno okay i need to concentrate a bit more on these because that these aren't magic ones just because they're forgiving drivers doesn't mean i'm gonna hit every single one of them straight a lot of it is still down to the uh to the user to the golfer to me that's really nice in the cobra just cut a little bit yeah that was good green side again i'm not sure if he quite got the total distance that was a very nice golf shot okay second shot with the mizuno i do like the look of this head it's just a very classic look i mentioned before about mizuno drivers if that was a little bit less shiny i think i'd really really be in love with the driver head. But i like now they've gone to the black design i think it just looks a lot smarter i could i could definitely put either one of these in the bag very nice very nice okay last one with each the cobra driver the speed zone definitely giving me confidence this driver oh that is beautiful that is a great golf shot first impressions from where i'm looking here that looks very good whether it's just quite got the distance. But that was unbelievably straightflighted okay last one with the mizuno st200 that's a really good shot wow okay that's going to be really interesting i'm going to have to get down there. And have a look which golf ball is actually closest because those last two shots from each were definitely the best ones just before we do that i'm gonna hit one more with my own driver the f9 just. So i can get a bit of a comparison inevitably it always happens on it i'll probably hit my best shot with that f9 right now. But i just want to see how it feels compared to these kind of bigger more forgiving heads let's hit one one more with my driver okay let's hit my current f9 driver the head shape is. So different now after hitting those two it's much more kind of streamlined a little bit more squashed it doesn't look anywhere near as forgiving like no wonder when i'm lacking confidence with my driver no wonder when i look down at driver head now i can kind of tell why potentially i'm not as confident. But let's hit one more with it it has been a great driver for me like i say inevitably i'll probably hit this uh super close to the hole but let's give this a hit ah that's that is. So true to the flight the performance of this driver that was not a bad golf shot one bit. But it just gives me the feeling that it's going to get distance. But not direction i feel like i'll just lose forgiveness i'm kind of glad i hit that last one just for that reassurance right let's get down to the green and let's see how close those driver shots were with the cobra. And the mizuno so i'm sure the eagle-eyed golfers out there will know that this cobra f9 does have two weights. And i could move that weight back to make it more forgiving and i have tried that i have moved that weight back to see if it offers a little bit more forgiveness and it does a little bit. But it's more it's more the shape of the driver i just don't feel like the shape when i sit behind the golf ball gives me that confidence and that's mainly what i'm looking for and that's what these two drivers definitely give me a lot more of this is exactly what i'm looking. For in a driver this is green side on this par 4. that's one of the cobra ones just at the front this is a mizuno one again pretty close we've got two right at the front here we've got one just short that bunker then.

One further right that first opening shot with the cobra which in fairness was the worst shot i've hit with it i mean look at these two as much as i know i could get a driver that could possibly give me the distance to get on the green if not a bit further i'm not getting a driver that's giving me that much consistency. And that is exactly what i want that one's the cobra that's the mizuno. For me it's very close it is it's super close between these two drivers. But the one that i feel most confident with and the one i'm gonna put in the bag is gonna be the cobra speed zone i think the cobra speed zone. For me behind the ball gives me the most confidence and that's why i'm gonna put this on my very own rickshield's head cover that is going to replace the f9. And believe it or not for the second year i'm going to put a cobra driver in the bag mizuno's out it was pretty good. But not quite good enough guys thanks for watching hope you enjoyed the video if you did make sure you smash like my new driver cobra speed zone extreme let's hope it helps me shoot better scores we'll see you next.

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