By Ed Travis
The California Golf + Travel staff spends a week each January attending the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. in order to find the latest information about the equipment that will be in shops for the new season. Every major manufacturer is in attendance (with the exception this year of TaylorMade Golf) providing us with the opportunity to not only see and hit their clubs but also allowing us the chance to talk with top members of management and technical staff.
Should you be looking to purchase a new driver and build a short list of models you are interested in here is a rundown worth considering. And as we “preach” every year the most important step to buying a driver is getting a professional club fitting.
Tour Edge EXS 220 $350—Tour Edge continues to make top quality clubs at wallet-friendly prices and the EXS 220 proves the case with a unique thin titanium face using 42 thick and thin diamond shapes for hotter response and a larger sweet spot plus 20% higher MOI than 2019 model. Head shape is slightly elongated and has three areas (crown, heel and toe) made of carbon fiber. A 9-gram rear sole weight is standard (3, 6, 11 and 14-gram optional) as is the adjustable hosel which gives +/- 2° from nominal loft. An internal sound diffusion bar builds confidence by improving impact sound.
Cleveland Launcher HB Turbo $350—Cleveland’s Launcher HB Turbo game-improvement driver has a variable thickness cup face that provides higher rebound values over a larger area. The head construction combines a fixed hosel saving the extra weight of an adjustable hosel and the HiBore stepped core to lower the center of gravity and move it towards the rear for improved launch. The sole has one nonadjustable weight pad of 35 grams. The counterbalanced Miyazaki C. Kua shaft allows MOI to be increased by adding mass to the clubhead. Draw model also available.
Cobra Golf King Speedzone $449—Cobra Golf King Speedzone refines the highly aerodynamic shape of the King F9 Speedback making it even slipperier and adds a forged titanium wrap-around face with a larger CNC milled area. The carbon fiber crown wraps around to the sole with an internal titanium strap for added strength. With more than half of the head carbon fiber and weighting low in the rear Speedzone produces higher launch and lower spin. The game-improvement Speedzone has a traditional profile and the super game-improvement Speedzone Xtreme has a larger profile with added weight in the rear.
Honma Golf TR20 $650—Available in two clubhead sizes both for better players. The Honma Golf TR20 440cc head has a smaller more compact profile that rises slightly higher in the rear giving a traditional look. The 460cc has a rounded toe and is deeper front to back. Both have a titanium frame with carbon fiber crown and sole panels. Rather than the usual design for hosel adjustability an inner ring allows loft changes +/- 1°, face angle +/- 1.5° and lie <2° without altering the relationship of shaft and clubhead. Three changeable sole weights with a choice of five other weights between 3 and 15 grams.
Mizuno ST200 $400—The Mizuno ST200 is a game-improvement category driver, mid to low spin and high MOI, the players category ST200G ($500) has two sliding sole weights and is low spin while the ST200X ($400) super game-improvement is very lightweight with more loft, draw bias from heel weighting and 0.75” longer shaft. Each has a carbon fiber crown with interior ribs for added strength. The face is highly responsive forged beta titanium and uses the Cortech variable thickness design. The sole is Mizuno’s familiar Wave Technology that compresses and rebounds on impact.
Srixon Z 85 series—The Srixon Z 585 ($400) and the Z 785 ($500) are Srixon’s entries in the game-improvement and better player categories respectively and share several features. Both have 460cc clubheads, a carbon crown to moves weight towards the head perimeter and a Ti51AF titanium cup face that wraps the front of the sole and crown for better ball speed. The Z 585 has a fixed hosel with higher launch and more forgiveness. The Z 785 has a “Tour preferred look and profile” and adjustable hosel with the penetrating low spin trajectory professionals and low handicap amateurs want.
TaylorMade Golf SIM $550—The Taylormade SIM sole is asymmetrical to better direct air flow on the downswing along with additional weight in the rear of the head to increase the inertia. The curved Twist face reduces fades and draws and to keep face rebound within USGA limits heads are measured and then foam injected. SIM for better players has sliding sole weight and adjustable loft as do the game-improvement SIM Max ($500) and super game-improvement SIM Max D ($500). Comparative face sizes range from the SIM’s medium to large for the SIM Max and oversize for the draw-bias SIM Max D.
Titleist TS1 $499—Titleist’s TS1 rounds out the TS family since this game-improvement model is specifically constructed with lightweight components and winds up with an overall club weight including the stock shaft of just 275 grams. That’s a full 45 grams less than the next lightest member of the TS series. The crown of the TS1 is carbon fiber and the face according to the company has the fastest rebound they have ever made. The light weight, 16 adjustment hosel and deep CG location targets use by moderate swing speed players, seniors and ladies.
Callaway Golf Mavrik $499—successor to the 2019’s bestselling driver the Epic Flash and supercomputer—designed using even more advanced artificial intelligence. The game-improvement Callaway Mavrik, super game-improvement Mavrik Max and better-player Mavrik Sub Zero all have the Flash Face FSS20 design, a T2C Triaxial Carbon crown and Jailbreak internal rods. Standard model has a draw bias with mid-level spin while the Max is easy launch with extra draw bias and interchangeable weights. The Sub Zero is 450cc has a flatter lie with a low spin neutral ball flight.
Wilson Launch Pad $300—The lightweight Wilson Launch Pad design of this super game-improvement category driver includes a moderately offset hosel and 13 grams of weight near the heel plus a lie of 60° or 2° more than most drivers making this an aggressive anti-slice club. Weighing in at just 272 grams which is 30 to 40 grams less than previous Wilson driver models, it is one of the lightest drivers on the market and the lower weight promotes a faster swing speed for more distance. The face is engineered with a variable thickness and Wilson says it is their most forgiving face yet.
XXIO Eleven $650—The game improvement XXIO Eleven driver is very lightweight made expressly for moderate swing speed players featuring an internal rib structure called “Star Frame” supporting a cup face of just 45mm thickness. This construction freed up grams that were redistributed for additional forgiveness and higher ball launch. Both the Eleven and the better-player X model ($700) have XXIO’s “Weight Plus” counterbalancing technology, 13-grams of rubber and brass in the shaft butt end raising the driver’s balance point and helping to generate more clubhead speed and distance.
