So I got the biggest surprise yesterday v.driver

So yesterday I walked into Edwin Watts (after getting permission from the wife ) with a goal of coming out with a new driver, either the Burner TP or the Sumo Tour. After getting a baseline with the FT-3 I started with the Sumo.

It was for sure not my first choice but for the price it was a liveable choice considering the spin rate and ball speed numbers I was getting from it. It was averaging around 155 mph ball speed on great shots but would fall off 5-8 mph on off center hits. The sound was fine, but it just felt real hard off the face but it was something I felt I could get used too. The clubhead itself was the question, it was just hard to get around the shape of the head.

Second was the Burner TP. Set up was great, club looks great, and the fact that when I borrowed my buddy's this past Weds in our 9 holes and blasted it 40 yards past the FT-3 (which started the whole need to get a new driver thing) I figured I would be walking out with this. Shaft was the only eh point...felt a bit whippy at times. Ball speed was averaging 158mph with off center hits dropping off slightly to 155. By this time, I was ready to walk to the cashier's and walk out $399 lighter.

Then the guy helping me at said would you be willing to try one more driver just to see how I would like it. He came back with a little smirk on his face and said here, try this without looking at it. So I set-up (and noticed that this thing looked very traditional and w/o all the gimmicky alignment aids), gave it a waggle, and did my usual swing which resulted in me doing :eek: when it came off the face. Ball just seemed to rocket off the face which was evident as to the ball speed registered 162. Hit a few more balls and it was the same effect. I hit the 5th shot was off center but the ball speed was still 156. This thing just felt like a rocket when coming off the face, while giving you that butter soft feeling. Although it was on a simulator, man was it easy to move the ball either way. I finally turned the club upside down and was very surprised at what I saw..... Nicklaus Dual Point 460 Driver :whatthe: .

Never in my life would I have ever thought to even consider the fact of trying anything Nicklaus, but the EW guy said it's one of the hottest, workable drivers on the market right now. In fact he was saying it's kinda funny, all but 1 of the employees are playing that driver even though they could play whatever they want. Ended up being that not only did I leave the store completely in shock but very excited, I left with an extra $100 as well which means this Sunday I'm going to be out on the course bashing the living crap out of those little round things. For anyone considering a driver, for sure try out and compare what you are looking at to the DP... you might just walk away just as surprised as me :thumbsup:

Wow, never even heard of that driver, good story! Suprising isnt it? You focus on all the name brades and are convinced they are the best, yet you try a little unknown driver and hit the best with it.

Yea I had a similar thing happen with the Srixon driver, still the Burner was marginally better for me. Now I want to try that Nicklaus driver

awesome .

That's a cool story. I never heard of it either. I should check it out.

Nice story on a club I'd never heard about. Weird how people just go for big names, when some not as well known brands obviously do good too.

Sounds nice. Let us know how it preformed on the course, that's the real test.

Well just got back from the range and the results are still positive. I was landing in parts of the driving range that I thought I could never get too. Shaping the ball is very easy mostly do to the fact that it's a traditional looking club which gives you that familiar, confidence-inspiring feeling. It kind of reminds me of the older Titleist 905T diver. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow!

Okay so I've finally have gotten some time to sit down and tell the battle field review of this driver. Due to my crazy work schedule, I never had a chance to take this thing to the driving range to get more familiar with it than the 40 or so shots into the simulator. Unfortuantely, I was running a little later than usual in terms of getting to the course so my warm-up session was shorter than usual, but still went through the routine as always. Worked my way up to the driver and bam, the ball just flew off the face with a slight draw. Hit a few more same results. Then I try the fade, line up, bam....slight little push fade but the club performed as it should have. Get up to the first tee (par-5), nice and relaxed, go through the pre-shot routine, bam 310 yard drive (buddy of mine has one of those handheld GPS devices)straight up the middle. Now keep in mind, it it cart path only which should give you an indication of how wet the course was. If you are not aware, the Austin area has recieved record amount of rain the past month which means it is very very very wet right now. The second hole was a 283 yard fade that found the middle, and the 4th was a slight mis-hit hook but still 279 yards.

So basically to sum up the round, I had 6 drives over 300 yards, which is a really weird feeling being that with the FT-3 I would get a 300 every once in a while. Also ended up hitting all but 2 fairways, and was in position to go for all par 5's in two. I know my mind started creeping into the mix a bit b/c towards the end I was starting to look a little father in the distance for a target which made my mind think the fairway was narrower than it really is. It's kinda weird to think about it, but seriously, this kind of distance on my drives is new to me and I caught myself trying to steer the ball. Once I realized what I was doing, I relaxed, re-adjusted, and started hitting the bombs down the middle again. It's not that I have changed anything in my swing, but I really think that the 45mins or so that was taken to get me properly fit for a driver was key.

For comparison, I was again playing with my buddy with the Burner TP and I again did a back to back on course comparison. I would have to say, putting as identical of a swing as I am capable of for both, the distance is about the same. The Nicklaus was no more than 4-5 yards ahead on all 4 tee shots (had a bit of time on our hands waiting for the slow group ahead). I would say that the TP is a little more forgiving on mis-hits, but not by a lot. Where the Nicklaus shines IMO is set up and feel...it's more of a traditional look with no crazy alignment aids (in fact there is none), and the feel of the ball coming off the face is just plain amazing. Only thing I don't like about the Nicklaus is the grip, but that's easy enough to fix. All in all, I am very happy with this driver, and with a little more familiarity, I think this driver will surprise a lot of people especially considering what you get for the price point.

It sounds as though this club would dramatically outperform the Dunlop Super Loco I just bought from Wal*Mart...of course, the $45 I spent on that driver is high end for me, so it will have to suffice.

Awesome story, though. Keep the updates coming.

Great story, hope you like your new driver. Same type of thing happened when I bought my new irons, I was convinced at the last minute by the guy at the store after he listened to my choices. Good to see that the guys at the store actually know what they are talking about