Driver shopping.

[Miickster]

I've been looking at drivers for about 4 weeks and I'm pretty sure I narrowed it down to the Ping i20 10.5 ( get chills just typing it). There are 2 different styles in shafts the project X or TPC. Opinions? Also is there any other driver I should look into? Thanks for the help. Ive tried out the popular drivers at dicks/sports authority just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Thanks again :-P

[callawayboy]

Really..you cant go wrong with Ping IMHO..

I had a G10 draw with the UST shaft and it was a ripper..

Sold it on fleabay..still kicking my self LOl

[Miickster]

Much appreciated. I've been using the G 5 forever with the Alidia NV shaft. At the end of the day I'm a PING man.

[SVTGolfer]

Im contemplating the PING i20 myself now… I played the G15 for a while, and then went to the Titleist 910D2, but after hitting that i20, Im really thinking about making the switch. That i20 is badass!! And I dont like the TFC shafts personally. Im either going to go with a Project X, or put the Aldila RIP alpha ive been putting in everything else. I cant decide. But the Project X is not a "made for" so its definitely better than a TFC shaft.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

Im contemplating the PING i20 myself now… I played the G15 for a while, and then went to the Titleist 910D2, but after hitting that i20, Im really thinking about making the switch. That i20 is badass!! And I dont like the TFC shafts personally. Im either going to go with a Project X, or put the Aldila RIP alpha ive been putting in everything else. I cant decide. But the Project X is not a "made for" so its definitely better than a TFC shaft.

i20 is really good.  I will have a review out this month.  I hit it with the TFC in a store and didn't like it at all.  The review I'm doing is with the Project X and it works great for me, more torque than the TFC.

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by mvmac

i20 is really good.  I will have a review out this month.  I hit it with the TFC in a store and didn't like it at all.  The review I'm doing is with the Project X and it works great for me, more torque than the TFC.

Sweet! I look forward to reading it!

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by mvmac

i20 is really good.  I will have a review out this month.  I hit it with the TFC in a store and didn't like it at all.  The review I'm doing is with the Project X and it works great for me, more torque than the TFC.

I agree, I get to regularly test out new equipment and I gave the i20 a good work out a few weeks ago. Both shafts are good depending on your swing and preferences. The i20 was really workable and pretty straight. I put it up against the G20 and I preferred the look and feel of the i20. The 1/2 shorter shaft and 1 degree open face sets up really nice at alignment and makes you feel like you can really hit it. Confidence is key and the i20 was a nice driver.

[SVTGolfer]

Originally Posted by Canuck

I agree, I get to regularly test out new equipment and I gave the i20 a good work out a few weeks ago. Both shafts are good depending on your swing and preferences. The i20 was really workable and pretty straight. I put it up against the G20 and I preferred the look and feel of the i20. The 1/2 shorter shaft and 1 degree open face sets up really nice at alignment and makes you feel like you can really hit it. Confidence is key and the i20 was a nice driver.

I thought the i20 did not have an open face like its predessor the i15 did? I was told by the guy at the local golf store that the new i20 model was not a fade bias club design. I already play a fade, so a fade bias designed club may not be best for me. Turns a 15 yd. fade into a 30 yard slice sometimes.

[Canuck]

I am pretty sure it sits at about 1 degree open. Who knows what the specs say but from the tests that I did it was sitting 1 degree open. However at address it does look nice and square and not shut or open, have a very nice neutral look. I would give it a smack and make your own determination though.

[inthecup]

Have you considered going to a club fitter? Picking a shaft is difficult. I was using a driver that I chose for a few years and had lots of problems. I recently got professionally fit and it really changed my game. Finding a shaft that gets the right spin numbers for you is a big key.

[MiniBlueDragon]

Originally Posted by inthecup

Have you considered going to a club fitter? Picking a shaft is difficult. I was using a driver that I chose for a few years and had lots of problems. I recently got professionally fit and it really changed my game. Finding a shaft that gets the right spin numbers for you is a big key.

This.

Get your numbers right and fit the club head around the shaft. There's no point in saying "Ima git a 10.5 loft head" and then finding out that you're better off with more or less loft when combined with the correct shaft. Most places will take the price of a fitting off the price of the club if you're buying through them, effectively making the fitting free so if you're serious definitely do that.

[Miickster]

Well I went out and hit my buddy's i20 TPC today at Seaoaks NJ and I'm sold. My other buddy had rocket balls driver and I hit it like S%?$. I hit 10 out of 14 fairways with the PIng i20 and was leading in distance. Tomorrow I'm going to GolfSmith to get properly fitted. Thanks for the info and opinions guys. Enjoy the great weather the next couple days if ur in NJ.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by SVTGolfer

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuck

I agree, I get to regularly test out new equipment and I gave the i20 a good work out a few weeks ago. Both shafts are good depending on your swing and preferences. The i20 was really workable and pretty straight. I put it up against the G20 and I preferred the look and feel of the i20. The 1/2 shorter shaft and 1 degree open face sets up really nice at alignment and makes you feel like you can really hit it. Confidence is key and the i20 was a nice driver.

I thought the i20 did not have an open face like its predessor the i15 did? I was told by the guy at the local golf store that the new i20 model was not a fade bias club design. I already play a fade, so a fade bias designed club may not be best for me. Turns a 15 yd. fade into a 30 yard slice sometimes.

Yes it's 1* aimed to the right.  Open face doesn't mean fade bias, remember balls start primarily where the face is aimed at impact and curves away from the path.

[GolfBear]

I've been driver browsing for the last week or so and I'm seriously considering using a 13 degree Adams XTD as a driver and taking the "driver" completely out of the bag.   For the last 5 years I've been playing a 9 degree Ping Rapture as my boomer.   It's a wonderful driver when I hit it straight and absolutely brutal when I don't.    On the screws I can put it out around 275 but in assessing my stats, I'm just not hitting enough fairways.

I hit the XTD again today and I'm carrying the thing 250 with an avg ball speed of around 160 mph.    The ball just explodes off the face and just seems to hang forever.  The best part is that the dispersion is far better than what I've seen with any driver I've tested.

My goal this season is to take the left side out of play.   My league course is really tight and if I can hit 3 more fairways per round I'd gladly give up 20 yards in distance.

Anyone else contemplating something similar?

[osudelt69]

I sometimes leave my driver at home, i have a nike vr tour str8 10.5 and nike dymo 2 4 wood. I hit the driver 260 ish and 4 wood 235. I can get my self in big trouble with driver and dont hesitate to leave it in the bag. Fairway and shorter is much better then long and in trouble!

[bunkerputt]

I've been flirting with Ping drivers for a few months now.  I like both the G20 and i20.  G20 goes a bit farther, all things being equal, but the i20 just looks nice, has really tight start lines and ball flight, and the feedback distinctions are terrific, though the feel on optimal drives isn't my favorite.  I tested the i20 9.5 degree with the TFC X-flex shaft (~3.3 torque I believe).  Thin shots feel muted, center shots feel pure, and bombs feel like popups.  I wish you got the most distance from hitting it in the vertical center because the feel is honestly quite buttery for a driver.  Center shots generally carried around 265, high on the face was over 280, mostly due to spin numbers (~2800 vs. ~2200).  You know immediately if you hit one in the middle or high on the face for maximum distance, even though it has some of the undesirable feel characteristics of a popup.  I think that's the important part and something I could get over.