| The names chosen by some
of the lesser known manufacturers sound intimidating and hyped
beyond belief, but, as they say, seeing is believing, and feeling
is the naked truth. And so it is with the top 7 drivers both on
the tours and selling in the stores. Similar claims and names
abound regarding balls and their distances.
This is primarily a man's sport, and therefore
ego rules. The driver is the ultimate symbol of that ego. Unless
you are playing a par 3 or a topographically difficult hole, 90%
of golfers feel the need to use their very expensive, very big
driver. And they are always looking for the ball that offers the
greatest distance. So a simple "consumer" test was devised
with the drivers and balls chosen after random samplings of 30
retail stores across the US and South Africa.
Each "tester" was given 10 balls per
driver from 5 different manufacturers – Titleist Tour Prestige,
Maxfli Revolution, Precept Distance, Taylormade Inergel Distance
and Kasco Rockets. All the balls were marked appropriately to
identify each tester and each driver.
All drivers were with standard shafts as found
in retail stores. The scratch golfers used "stiff" shafts
and flexes while the other 2 groups used "regular" shafts
and flexes. Lofts for the scratch golfers were 8.5 and for the
10 and 20 handicappers, 10 or 10.5.
There are a few caveats
to consider:
- This is not a scientific study as used by all the manufacturers.
- The 200 plus variables generally used by different manufacturers
are not considered or allowed for in this report.
- The conclusions reached can be interpreted by any person
or manufacturer to suit their own purposes.
- Readers advised to make their own decisions via actual demo
testing and professional fitting.
- Only right-handed drivers were used.
- All the drivers are expensive – in excess of $300.00.
- No specifics or features are included herein.
- Each group's tester's age was between 20 and 27 and 35 to
55 per category.
- The results included a dispersion factor.
- Ball flight patterns were not considered.
So, without further commercials and the millions
invested in R&D by manufacturers, here is what we found using
6 golfers – 2 scratch, 2 10 handicappers and 2 20 handicappers
in the US (San Diego) and the same parameters used for the South
African testers in South Africa (Cape Town ). The fields used
were flat and in excess of 500 yards at each location. Both sites
are at sea level.
The Drivers: Titlelist 975D – MacHenry
MetalsTour Pure - Ping ISI – Kasco VS Tour – Callaway
Hawkeye – Adam's SC Series – Taylormade Fire Sole
The results were based on a vote of the testers,
and an equal number voted for the two that tied for first place
and the fifth places.
The Number One Driver: A tie between the MacHenry
Tour Pure and the Ping ISI
The Number Three Driver: The Kasco VS Tour
The Number Four Driver: The Titleist 975D
The Number Five Driver: A tie between the Adams
SC Series and the Callaway Hawkeye
The Number Six Driver: The Taylormade Firesole
There was however, one noteworthy conclusion
reached by all 12 golfers – the Kasco Rocket ball was superlative
both in feel and distance with every driver used. The general
observation regarding the Kasco ball was that "it felt good
as my driver made contact with it, and it really took off."
The Number One Ball: The Kasco Rockets by unanimous
vote.
The Number Two Ball: The Precept Distance.
The Number Three Ball: A tie between the Titleist
Tour Prestige and Maxfli Revolution
The Number Four Ball: The Taylormade Inergel
Distance
Equipment technology is undoubtedly superior
compared to yesteryear. Manufacturers spend millions to hype their
products as "the best, the longest and easiest to hit".
The bottom line is simply: investigate and find what works for
you and take lessons regularly. As pointed out by James Achenbach
of Golfweek in a recent March issue "Why is the Kasco Rockets
the best ball most Americans may never see? |
The Top Seven Drivers and balls go further... 
