Sorry for the absence away from the blogosphere, but I've been in California the last couple of months taking care of some person stuff and I can't write about the Golfing life in Thailand if I'm not there right? Anyway, this post is about the addition of a new driver to my bag. Every year, I evaluate my bag and compare it to the latest and greatest stuff that comes out and decide if I should upgrade my clubs. This year is no different and most of the new clubs have been announced and have been or soon to be released.
Drivers are the big guns of every golf bag. Its the heavy artillery you bring out to boom it down the fairway. Its the 'show' club. Its the club of choice in TV commercials when someone is on the Tee, and most recreation golfers have the most difficult time with this club. I've always struggled to get that 'perfect' driver - the one that is balanced with both distance and accuracy and have gone through so many in the past, I've lost count. I guess I'm dreaming of one day finding that mythical, magical, and elusive 300 yard club somewhere.
So this year the journey continues and I've added a new driver, the Nike SQ Machspeed Black to the bag. How long its going to stay in the bag is anyone's guess. It will stay there until I have a really bad driving day or something else comes along that blows my socks off. Why the SQ Machspeed?
For the most part, I ignore most of the marketing hype around the golf clubs. What peaked my interest on this driver was the all black finish - a stark contrast to the all white drivers which are debuting on the PGA tour this week. Its a club that Darth Vader would use on the Death Star Course or a club that the Ninjas use to lop someone's head off. Aside from the good looks, my first few test drives using this driver have been among the longest I've hit and they were for the most part, in the fairways. The other selling feature was its price point. At $299 USD retail and less than $200 on Ebay, it was a clear price performance winner over the more expensive 'tour everything' models of 2011.
The Nike SQ Machspeed has the Str8-fit adjustable hosel that allows eight different head settings and comes standard with their Nike version of the Mitsubishi Fubuki shaft which weighs only 52 grams in their stiff flex. At less than 300 grams total, its one of the lightest drivers I've ever hit. The strange thing is that the driver doesn't feel too light to swing and you can still feel the head, even at that weight. Mine had a swingweight of D4. Its great for someone like myself who has gotten on in the age department and needs a little help in distance while still having some control.
So far, I've played two rounds with the driver and missed only four fairways. I noticed the balls have a bit of a fade on the finish, but the carry and roll after landing is longer. A session to the driving range with the str8-fit wrench to adjust the face angle is scheduled today and hopefully that little fade is going to change to a little draw. I also noticed that the str8-fit hosel adapters are not the same as the ones used for the Sumo drivers which I have now which makes reusing my Sumo shafts a lot harder. You are going to have to buy new shafts or new adapters in order to swap out shafts.
So as I get ready to return to the Land of Smiles for some more golf, it will be equipment testing and acquisition time for the 2011 season.
