PitchPlease

HA! Just seeing that! Too funny and kind of crazy how similar our situations are. What 5 wood do you play?

I just ordered 2 dozen each of the Tour and Tour X to test. GG is running one of its many sales plus had a reward voucher. I really like the idea of the alignment lines in the new version (was a fan of the TP5x stripe). I'll be taking it to the Trackman to test vs Pro V1 this weekend.

This is the route that I'm heading down. I replaced my 3 wood with the R7 quad. I have 4 holes on my home course where I need to hit a tee shot <270 and the R7 is perfect for that. I've started to use it on a few other holes too because I am more accurate with the shorter shaft. So for my normal round, I'm using driver like 8 holes and mini like 6 holes off the tee now. That makes it a super valuable club for me. I rarely, basically never, have a >240 approach shot into a green. The once in every 3 rounds I do, I prefer laying up. So after mini I have 3H and 4H. My 3H should go 230-240 but I'm a bit inconsistent with it, whereas my 4H is a weapon and I can flight/shape it from 205-225. So I'm thinking about getting a hot 5 wood like the Qi10/35 Tour that is easy to hit off the deck and gaps well with the 4H that I'm comfortable with. Up until a couple years ago I had a 917F2 with a extra heavy/X-stiff shaft that was so straight, seriously regret selling that. I hit a 5 wood more consistently and thus just as far as a 3 wood. I hate hitting 3 wood; off the deck I tend to snap hook it, off the tee I tend to launch it too high. So 3 wood is a pretty useless club for me.

I got my Elyte TD Max yesterday and was able to hit it in a Trackman sim last night. My swing and delivery was just awful, so going to go back tonight. Cherry picking the data for a few of the good shots (i.e., good smash, AoA) the spin looks decent ~2600. That was with my Fuji Blue+ shaft. Didn't try the Tensei Black yet because I had that shipped with grip loose in box so I can build it up to my preference. That might help knock some spin off too. The TD or TD TD would probably be even better for spin, but I thought this head was extremely forgiving which I need. I was striking it so bad, either heel side and thin. Still was able to shoot +1 on simulated 18 with most balls in the fairway because this thing is so forgiving. On a separate note - does anyone have any take on alignment with drivers that don't have an aid on topline? I think one problem last night was that I had a tough time lining up the club and am considering sharpie-ing some lines or putting some vinyl tape on top to help. I've mostly played Callaway core or Titleist drivers that have some type of aid.

I'm using PRGR + original SuperSpeed sticks (which I got on Prime Day deal). I don't have the SS app, but follow the protocol. I hit 5 balls and record max club and ball speed in Google Sheets. SS protocol training. Hit 5 more balls and record max club and ball speed. I also work on swinging fast with good technique and use strike spray at range 1-2x per week. ~Month in and making good progress. Average club speed up from 108 to 113 during testing after training. Average distance on course up per Arccos (~8-10 yards).

@JoeFrigo cool data points, thanks for sharing! I'm going to experiment with weight placement and lower spinning shafts but we will see. Much of my bag is TM and my wife plays a full bag of TM including Qi35 and she loves this new model. I hit my buddy's Qi35 LS with Ventus Black 7X and that thing was a monster. So if this experiment doesn't work out that might be the direction I will go.

Which model do you have? I could see being able to tee the Elyte Mini a bit higher because it is bigger. With the R7 I would risk skying it if I teed it up that high. I've pretty much grooved a 1-2* down AoA swing and don't deviate from that, but that's more because of the nut behind the wheel.

That turned out great! I might need to try that...

Yes, that's the spin I'm getting on my stock shot. I was able to demo Elyte core and TD last night and both were spinning much less than gamer. TD was 8* model, launching in a good window and ~2000-2200 spin. Elyte was 9* head but -1* and spinning ~2600-2700. For the TD, carry/total were good but it was leaking a bit on me. The Tour Draw seems like it would help with that, but ultimately decided to order the TD Max. You mentioned ball speed, think optimized equipment can help but clearly ball striking is part of it. Just felt like the TD Max would be more stable and forgiving for me, and hopefully spin is in between the core and TD. I also like the look of bigger head + glossy top best. Excited to play with the weights and see if I can dial it in. EDIT - my testing was with my gamer Ventus Blue+ as well, but ordered it with Tensei Black (which I've hit a few times) so can see how spin is with each.

I just got my 36" CB and have only one round in. Similar to you, start line was automatic but struggled a bit with distance control. Mostly short. The insert feels soft to me. I'm coming from a milled Bettinardi which I had distance control dialed in. Still more testing to do.

Newer to the mini driver, but this is where I ended up too. Teed down it spins more but it goes the exact distance I want (~260) and doesn't run out much. Still hitting a nice little draw even teed down and my dispersion is good.

Trying to resurrect this old thread and see if anyone has any updated thoughts on these two models? I want to take advantage of the Callaway 2X trade in going on right now. I have the Ai Smoke Max and it just seems to spin too much. I realize that delivery, shaft, etc plays a huge part in this but just trying to get a general sense. I can demo the core and regular TD models locally, but can't find TD Max or TDTD to try out. The blend of forgiveness + spin reduction that Callaway advertises on the TD Max sounds ideal, but I've heard that maybe the TD Max spins more than prior generation and that the regular TD is more forgiving than prior. If helpful, my numbers are typically 110-112 club speed but that is increasing as I continue to speed train (115 on trackman last night). Ball speed upwards of 160. Stock AoA 0-1* up and 12-13* launch, draw shot shape. I do like to tee down and hit a squeezy cut on tight holes that launches at 7-8* and runs out longer. Spin feels like the problem though where even on good strikes I'm >3000 and average is 3300-3600. Feels like I should try to knock that down <2800 or so. Shaft-wise I have the Ventus Blue+ 6X, which I was originally fit for in the old Paradym core, which just seemed to spin less. Recently, I was fit for a TM R7 Quad with Tensei Black 7X, so might try the 6X version in the driver as well to knock some spin down.

I game the new P790s now, came from i530. Both great heads. P790 performing better but that likely has more to do with shaft change. I went from Modus 105 S in i530 to MMT 125 TX in P790 and feel like the heavier/stiffer shaft has straightened out my ball flight (over draw was common in old setup). King Tec are sexy too but haven't hit them.

Finally was able to demo these at the PGA SS near me. Ended up with the 13.5* R7 Quad with Tensei 1K Black 75X. Really good launch and spin numbers for me and just a consistent baby draw that carried 255-260 and ran out to ~270. Just what I needed. Elyte Mini was good too but was missing left more (didn't play with weight ports). I just liked the size and shaping of the R7 better. Elyte Mini availaibility also seems a bit limited right now - sold out on big box and Callaway direct last time I checked.

Follow up here in case anyone is like me and searches forums for purchase decisions. I ended up with PRGR off Amazon on a prime day deal (~$180). Does what I want it to: a) swing speed training, b) sense of yardages on range / before round. Seems fairly accurate, sans it doesn't calculate spin, so if you don't flush it you need to take that into account. But for a cheap, portable device it does everything I want. EDIT - for reference, I tested a few devices including Rapsodo MLM (didn't like subscription or lag time for speed training); Swing Caddie SC200i (some inaccuracies >100 mph); Garmin S80 (also inaccuracies).

Realize this is a fairly old thread but checking in to see where this shook out. I have the new P790 up to 5 iron and then go into 4 hybrid. I don’t love it off the tee and wonder if the Qi 4 iron or the UDI might be better. Interested in testing the Qi, seems like a good blend off turf and tee.