Callaway Moves To The Top In Wood Sales

[ZappyAd]

The Callaway guy was at the range today and there were a lot of free slots as they hadn't been able to get enough takers (!)  So I stepped in to help out :)

I hit the gbb epic and the XR driver against my Ping G30.  As skeptical as I am about the latest and greatest tech the epic was better for me.  Hit both Callaway drivers further than my Ping (which may have been due to better fitting) and the epic LS longer than the XR.  I felt it had a nice solid feel and the good hits looked pretty cool in the air.

i could see my next driver being a Callaway but not sure I'll upgrade right away.  I have spent the afternoon thinking about what price per yard is worth paying though!

[Lihu]

GBB was shorter for me than the XR16 for whatever reason? So, I also stuck with the XR16 driver. They just dropped the price on those too. Yuck, I can never keep up and there's nothing in my game where whatever advantage I get from a new driver would help anyway.

[StefanUrkel]

I wonder if you did a statistical model to see what the biggest variable affecting golf club sales is. I think at the top would be how well the players on tour play with them. I see very little difference in woods

[WUTiger]

On 4/10/2017 at 3:49 PM, StefanUrkel said:

I wonder if you did a statistical model to see what the biggest variable affecting golf club sales is. I think at the top would be how well the players on tour play with them. ...

Club designer Ralph Maltby has some views on this. He found that the most popular iron models tended to be those with high Maltby Playability Factor (MPF) scores: Ping Eye and Eye2, Tommy Armour 845s, Callaway Big Bertha and X12 - X20 family. (Maltby published his book in 2005).

One of the key factors which raises MPF score is low Vertical Center of Gravity (VCOG), which helps get the ball up.

His original MPF model used on a five-variable algorithm to measure the playability (user-friendliness) of a clubhead. His original model assigned clubheads to six different categories.

Golf Digest's hot list has a simplified model with three categories: Players, Game Improvement (GI), and Super Game Improvement (SGI); the GD categories, however, are based market niche rather than algebraic equation.

Edited April 13, 2017 by WUTiger
Insert VCOG sentence.

[Brian W]

I am not an expert but its difficult for me to believe blanket terms such as "spins less" or "more distance" when it comes to overall performance of a driver (or other clubs for that reason).  The biggest thing one can do is be fit for their clubs.  I think it does so much more than getting the correct lie, loft, length, etc.  I just picked up the new Cobra King F7+ which spun significantly less than anything from Callaway.  I hit everything they had with every shaft available and still hit Cobra the best (which has always been true with the exception of the Taylormade R7 back in the day)

I think the marketing is what sells because a lot of people just go buy the newest thing available with the biggest sign in the golf store.  Usually I would guess they are just testing it against their old driver and not against anything made that year.  Just a hunch though...

[rehmwa]

I like the looks of the M1/M2....I like the concept of the Epic

So I know that that means..........

Time to go look at the clearance barrel of drivers and compare to my VRii Pro.

Or wait for a couple years, either way....