Bought a New Driver Tonight - after 12 years

[wolverine_man]

Okay, so my clubs are not exactly new or cutting edge. I mean they were. I bought the Yonex Super Adx titanium driver when Phil was using it back in the mid to late 90s. I was in high school at the time and I could crush that ball. The club head at around 250cc was huge for that time. I switched the shaft out to a Grafaloy Pro X-Stiff after a year as I was whipping the club like a fly rod.

Flash forward to yesterday. I hit golf balls on simulator at Golf Galaxy for over an hour. I hit only a used Tour Edge Exotics X - last years, which I thought I'd love, a Cleveland Launcher, a Ping G10, and an 07 TM Burner with the Fujikura and the TM shaft. I hit all drivers with stiff shafts and in 9-10.5 degree lofts when available. Last night, the best balls were being launched at 11-12* with a club head speed of 142-149 mph. They were going straight to an ever-so -slight fade and ranged from 240-258 yds on the machine. I was told to add about 10% in yards to adjust for real life results - who knows?

Anyway, I went back tonight and hit the new Adams Speedline, Ping Rapture, 2007, 2008, and 2009 TM Burner drivers, and a Tour Burner Driver - not sure of the year.

Two clubs I hit the best were the '07 Burner, 9.5* with TM Burner 50g Stiff and the '09 TM Burner, 9.5* with 49g stiff shaft. The Adams was a tad behind. I had less chance of a very tiny fade with the '09 Burner than the '07 however I had a tendency to actually hit a few wilder shots/mishits with the '09 - possibly a bit too long of a club. And the '07 produced the longest drives again. I hit one 259 machine yds with a tiny fade. As a comparison, I put my circa 1996 Yonex into the mix. Hit that thing straight almost every time despite being about half the club head size. However, the best I could do was 244 machine yards - probably 260 in real life.

So, I went home tonight with an '07 TM Burner with the 50g ReAx SuperFast Flex stiff shaft. Seemed to like it a bit better than the Fujikura branded shaft. No clue why. A little bit more whip in the shaft than I had thought I needed but I don't think I really need an X Stiff at 142-149 ball speed. You guys think I made a good choice???

[JGulkCG]

question. why is your 2 iron...which is the same model Mizuno as the rest of your irons separate from your irons (3-PW) why isnt it 2-PW?? that is just weird.

[wolverine_man]

question. why is your 2 iron...which is the same model Mizuno as the rest of your irons separate from your irons (3-PW) why isnt it 2-PW?? that is just weird.

Whoops! You are right, I have a couple different two irons, as I own a set of Mizuno GRADs too. Technically, the 2 iron does not number match the 3-pw, though. lol I gotta change that. Good eye!

[Jesh]

You made a great decision. Because cool kids use 07 Burners.

[mhodar13]

Gotta love the 07 Burner. I got the Driver 9.5 stiff, 3 wood 15 stiff, and 5 wood 18 stiff. I just pummel the ball with all three of them. It's gotta be one of the best clubs ever made.

[jrwingate6]

You should get on the long drive tour and you should be using a XX Stiff shaft with a 149mph swing speed. Also that's about 15mph faster than Tiger Woods. Maybe it's time for Golf Galaxy to recalibrate their machine.

[JGulkCG]

im thinking he means ball speed with the 142-149...not clubhead speed.

[wrx_junki]

A little bit more whip in the shaft than I had thought I needed but I don't think I really need an X Stiff at

He made a mistake at first and says ball speed at the end of his post.

You guys think I made a good choice???

No you made a horrible choice, the shaft is too light and the clubface is too closed but what I think won't matter. When you take it out for a spin and hit it great or bad, you will find out if you made a good choice.

[mhodar13]

The Burner is not horrible! *calms down* But, to each their own, lol.

[jrwingate6]

He made a mistake at first and says ball speed at the end of his post.

What do you think about the Burner TP model which has a 2deg. open face?

[mhodar13]

Never knew the tp was open. I love my reg. burner though, hits straight.

[wolverine_man]

Yes, I definitely meant to say ball speed. I had no idea I typed club head speed. I think my actual club head speed with the driver is probably right at 100 mph. I have a slow takeway, though.

I also didn't know the 07 burner driver was a little bit closed. I guess I thought the draw driver would be the closed one. Now that I think about it, I can't remember what about the tour driver I didn't like - I think it was a loss of distance.

[patriot07]

All of TM's non-TP drivers are a bit closed, but most drivers are like that anyway. Only a few manufacturers put out a neutral driver that isn't a "tour" version, because most of us need help getting the club face closed. The 07 burner is an awesome club. It's very forgiving, and very long, if the shaft you get fits your swing.

[wrx_junki]

What do you think about the Burner TP model which has a 2deg. open face?

If the Burner TP is anything like the Tour Burner TP then I would think it sits square rather than the 2º open like its advertised. The Tour Burner TP model in my opinion is great but since I am hitting my Speedline perfectly fine no need to go around messing things up.

I also didn't know the 07 burner driver was a little bit closed. I guess I thought the draw driver would be the closed one. Now that I think about it, I can't remember what about the tour driver I didn't like - I think it was a loss of distance.

If you didn't notice the closed clubface at address and you hit it well no reason not to get it. I noticed it right away and have a mental issue with closed clubface.

[wolverine_man]

Okay, so tonight I went to the driving range. I started out with my wedges and worked up to a 3-iron like I always do. I was getting excited to hit the new big dog. I first started with the 1996 9.5* Yonex Super Adx with X-stiff Graffaloy Pro Lite shaft. I used to kill this thing. First drive -- SHINK!! It went deep with an extremely long roll. Second drive, deep again. I started to get worried that I wasted my money. Then I pulled a couple a tad left, then some more deep and straight as an arrow. The ball flight with this club is a penetrating medium, then medium high pattern. All of the drives were going about 260 or so if the 250 sign was measured correctly -- who knows?

I then sat my new '07 9.5* Burner with TM Reax Stiff shaft next to the old, stand-by Yonex. Two words: Holy sh--! Damn, the Burner made the Yonex look like a trouble club. I mean, at around 240cc that Yonex was about as big as they came for its time. The 460cc Burner dwarfed it in comparison.

So I took some practice swings. I noticed the tad bit of extra length on the Burner shaft and definitely the huge difference in weight. I then covered the Burner in blue painter's tape in case I didn't like it, so I could take it back.

PINK! I hit the first ball deep. Higher trajectory by a bit, a bit longer hang time, and less roll than the Yonex. I hit some more; same thing. It was impossible to miss-hit this club. I did notice the slightly closed face on the Burner compared to the Yonex and I thought about it. Seemed a bit different but I think I got over it. The ball was flying very straight, sometimes with a tad draw or a very slight fade.

Impressions: I actually thought I was not hitting the Burner as far as the Yonex, especially with the great rolls I got with that club. And I do believe nearly 40 percent of my Yonex drives did go further. Could be mistaken, though. However, I preferred the higher ball flight on the Burner. If I had to describe the largest difference between the two clubs, I'd say the Burner took off and stayed higher in the air and had a longer hang time. The Yonex seemed to get out there much faster, if that makes any sense and hit the ground at more of a 45* angle. I did have more control over the Burner and I could swing faster with less fear of pulling or pushing the ball. (My swing speed is about 102 mph). That extra control is worth a ton to me. After all, we don't always bring our A game with us. I kept hitting the Burner to the point where I decided I would keep it, took off the painters tape and kept hitting it until I was convinced I was hitting at least the same distance if not 5-10 yards farther than the Yonex, including the roll. At only $140 I think I made a good choice.

[bIGwIRE]

If the Burner TP is anything like the Tour Burner TP then I would think it sits square rather than the 2º open like its advertised. The Tour Burner TP model in my opinion is great but since I am hitting my Speedline perfectly fine no need to go around messing things up.

Weather or not the burner sits square depends on your setup. If I move my ball position to slightly forward of my left heel and play my hands slightly forward it plays neutral, at least for my 09' burner.

[mhodar13]

Same here. You can definitely work it to be anywhere you want, rather it be neutral, closed or open, you just have to adjust.

[wolverine_man]

Anyone have any problems with this driver - quality issue wise? I got worried after reading that it was made in china. My Yonex driver, as with my Mizuno irons, is made in Japan and I have found the quality to be impeccable. Then again, I also paid $300 for that driver and it was a demo club. Maybe I shouldn't expect too much from a $140 club.

I remember getting a Cleveland VAS 1 iron and snapping the shaft during a high school tournament when teeing off on a par 3. There wasn't very good quality control on that thing. lol