I don’t trust any of the things I read anywhere else, so let’s create our own base of info about the 2021 drivers that are coming out. Feel free to compare or provide any insight, as informal as it may be, and also let’s see what each of us starts with and ends up with by the end of the year. The obvious contenders are the Epic line, SIM2, g425, Tsi, Srixon, etc.... I got to see the 425 LST head and ugh, it sets up really well. I still think my fall back this year will be the Tsi3 in 10 degree. Going to be able to test the SIM2 pretty thoroughly soon as well.

Looking forward to the reviews. I’m not a chronic upgrader of the driver. The only reason I have a SIM is because TM replaced an M6 for me and I requested a SIM over the Max.

I’ve been a G400max Ho the last couple years. I did not jive with the G410 so I went and stockpiled backups in the 9* and 10.5* heads. There has just been too much hype from the G425 users that I am going to give the LST and the Max a go this week. Stay Tuned .....

Ping G425Max and LST head I have hit both heads extensively now and I will say I have ordered one of these. The LST is noticeably smaller than the Max and it is very low spin. I almost have trouble spinning the 10.5 enough to stay in the air. The LST also is a little more muted than the Max. I am going to go with the Max because I can get the swing weight down to something more reasonable with the lighter weight. The LST comes with either a 14g or 17g weight while the Max comes with the 23g weight. The Max head with the 14g weight head came in at 193.5 which works well with the 45.5 cut length that I will be playing it at. Epic Speed Epic Max The shape of the Epic Speed reminds me more of the Subzero and it has a good amount of bulge and roll. The spin was relatively low but it definitely had more left bias for me which I do not prefer. The Max head looks like the Ping G425Max. Just big and forgiving but the spin was not as low as I would like it to be. I think the LS head would be the one I would be looking at but they did not have the demo in stock for me to try. Srixon ZX5 and 7 From a looks perspective these look really good but they super low spin. All I could get were knuckleballs. Srixon should put these at $450 to under cut the competition. At $529 there are way too many options for people to even consider a Srixon driver. SIM2 #staytuned

dphatt I think the LS head would be the one I would be looking at but they did not have the demo in stock for me to try. Is the LS head now more like the triple diamond instead of the SZ head?

I’m looking forward to trying out the Epic Speed. I like the traditional look & the potential of some added forgiveness. We’ll see if it can knock the TS3 out of the bag.

Eddie I am waiting to see how the LS looks. There will be a Epic Speed Triple Diamond that will come to retail. It will have the usual subzero front and back weight.

There are actually three different triple diamond heads on tour apparently. Callaway has gone a bit mad imo with all these heads.

Golfingfanatic just like the good ole TaylorMade days

I feel like there has always been a hot driver or two every year for the past decade. This is the year that I feel like there could be 5 legitimate big dogs. I sort of wish I had that club champion/tourspec adapter on my shaft so I could try a lot of different heads but we all know that I'll just buy 4 shafts and different adapters. Problem is finding more of my beloved 5 year old Accra Tour Z shafts. Eddie's paintsplash Accra will have a the Ping G410/425 adapter on it momentarily in hopes that its the gamer. It has always been my interchangeable go to when the tempo got quick since it worked better for whatever reason.

2021 Community Driver Chronicles

agadawg1717

Alright time to get in on this... I basically have the entire Golf Digest hotlist for drivers right now....

RAD Speed - Motore F3
Ping G425 LST - Ventus Black 60x
Ping G425 Max - Ventus Black 60x
Titleist TSI3 8* and 9* - Ventus Black 60x
Titleist TSi4 9* Ventus Black 60x
Callaway Epic Speed MMT 70X
Callaway Epic Speed MMT 70X
SIM2 9* Ventus Black 6-X

So now to what I’ve seen so far.

Callaways- Launch Super High! May be the shaft or my swing but they launch higher than any others. Long with good ball speed with very little roll.

Pings-
G425 LST has spent the most time in the bag. Long and boring ball flight. Good roll and great feel. Numbers are close to perfect. Lacks in forgiveness especially off the toe.

G425 Max- find me a way to knock the spin down on this and it goes straight in the bag to stay! Extremely forgiving and LONG! I’ve got to find a way to get the launch and spin down.

RAD Speed- Long and hot! If I’m swinging my best this one is in the bag for sure. Lacks forgiveness. But on the Pure shots it’s longer than any of the rest. Only other complaint is the sound and the head is light. May try some hot melt in this one.

TSI3’s
These have spent the most time in the bag. I absolutely love the look at address! So clean! Long and forgiving. This is the one for all the others to beat out right now. Just a all around good driver!

SIM2- Will report back. Haven’t had a chance to hit it yet.

TSi4- Haven’t hit it yet. Will report back.

Moni_SLO

agadawg1717 What a fleet you've got! What happens to all these that don't make the cut??? Let me know if you're ever open to lending out a driver for us common folk to try 😉

agadawg1717

Weekend Updates..

TSi4 is GONE! Looks like a watermelon on a stick! Very square shape at setup. It’s going to take a special eye to like these. Forgiveness is non existent and feels terrible even on center cut dead on the sweet spot shots. Lacked distance as well. There will be a lot of these on the classifieds and the used bin.

SIM2- Played 9 holes. Looks are 🔥 as usual. Paired it with a Ventus Black 6x and the feel is also incredible! A little more pop than last years model but not a ton. Feels like my SIM did with hot melt last year. Very solid and great looking at setup!

wbarber1

Moni_SLO I second that...

agadawg1717

Moni_SLO 🤣. They go on the auction block. I’m not one to collect drivers. 🤣

tcmatese

In 2020 played the Sim Max 9.0 with Fuji Evo IV 757 Stiff. Super forgiving but had issues with high spin on misses. I did a fitting with my guy at Club Champion (Rockville, MD) recently and ended up with the TSI3 10.0 (D2 setting) with Fuji Motore X F1. I have tried most everything over the past 3 years and the TSI3 is the best mix of looks, feel, and (most importantly) performance that I have tried. I really wanted to love the G425 but couldn’t get the spin where I needed it to be. I think it will
be tough to kick the TSI3 out of the bag.

KDBeach

TSi4 + Smoke Green is in the bag for the start of the season. Weather is getting better here, so hopefully I can get out on the course soon.

KentonQ

KDBeach

The Hulk PVD has to be the best looking shaft in years, but man it was the worst shaft for me in my fitting by a wide margin. Obviously everyone fits into different parts and the weighting/bendpoint/profile just didn't match my swing/transition. It's always interesting how different components can change my delivery of the club.

Get fit!

KentonQ

While I'm waiting on my TSi3, I put the Ventus Black 6x in my SIM to get used to the shaft and extra length that was recommended. Good initial results last Friday even with the low temps and high winds. Even with the extra length, going from 44.75 to 45.5, I didn't feel like I lost any control.

Once the TSi3 gets here I'll have a real world test between these set ups for the top spot to start the season:

SIM Ventus Black 6x
TSi3 Ventus Black 6x
TSi3 Tensei White 2.0 65 TX

Jake

I couldn't hit the SIM2 to save my life, I think I might have taken 4 swings with it before putting it down. The TSi3 with Ventus Black 6x was really, really good for me but I got more ball speed and a straighter flight with the G425 LST so ultimately went with that. The Epic Speed was also really good, but I liked the look of the TSi3 at address more.

dphatt

On course testing

MarkF

dphatt What course?

dphatt

MarkF Trump National DC

dbenick3

dphatt hit 2 fairways in 27 holes on the first day of a tourney out there last fall. 😒

dphatt

dbenick3 2 fairways? 🤯

dbenick3

dphatt yes. It was comical. Didn't loose a ball, just a bunch on the edges.

Eddie

SIM 10.5 set to 9.75 with Hzrdus blue rdx will continue to stay in the bag.

2021 experiment:

TSi3 9 degree set to 9.75 (d4)

tour ad vr6

Chubbs01

So I started the year off in a 9* Epic Max with Kuro Kage XD 60TX and initially the results were superb, but as time went by I started to develop an unsettling two way miss with it. After testing myself with the Callaway Fits sensor and app, it recommended the HZRDUS T1100 65 6.5. I had previously tested that shaft and not been fond of it, but decided to give it a second whirl while also going to a 10.5 Max LS head. First time on course with that combo was when I dropped a 65 on my Friday money game. Did miss left once but on a hopeless toe strike, the rest of the round was exactly what I wanted to see. I suspect my issues arose from the appearance of less loft with the 9* head which had me subconsciously thinking I needed to elevate the ball which has knock-on effects culminating in big misses in both directions. Need to try a 10.5 Max head because Max does offer an unusual combo of heat and ease of use.

kmac03

Went and got fitted at TrueSpec San Diego over the weekend and wanted to provide my feedback...

As a background, I have a EXTREMELY inconsistent driver swing. Some days I slice, some days I miss left, few days I hit it straight. My swing speed is slower, around 92-95 mph. Both of these make driver fittings a bit difficult, but we got somewhat creative. Either way, my top 4 are below.

Current gamer is the Epic Flash 10.5 degree with a Tensei Blue cut down to 44 inches (don't ask me why).

Callaway Epic Max - Similar sound and look to my gamer, but a tighter dispersion and about 5 yards further. I just really WANTED something new, and this felt the same as my gamer.

Titleist TSi2 - Classic look and sound, but with serious performance. It wouldn't leave my target line, even if I tried. Only issue for me was that distance was down quite a bit in comparison to the others.

Ping G425 MAX - Going into the fitting, I was most excited for the Ping. I have loved all their previous drivers and based on what I heard, I would have bet this would be in the bag. I hit one shot with it and said "WHAT IS THAT SOUND?!" Numbers were great for me...high fade, 13 yards further than my gamer, but I could not get past the sound.

Taylormade SIM2 MAX - I also said at the beginning of the fitting, "I have never been able to hit TM drivers" and everything changed. This was the winner for me. Performance was similar to the ping, but without the sound. 13 yards further and a tighter dispersion with only one miss. Paired it up with a Ventus Blue Velocore and it was perfect.

Side note - the fitter was great. I have a lot of gapping issues at the top of the bag and he was able to get me a few new sticks to help. He was super creative and I loved his way of thinking about it.

Noyes26

kmac03 sound isn't all that difficult to fix.

Moni_SLO

kmac03 I was fitted with the same guy (I assume you had Steve Ziff) who I also felt was great. We didn't actually do a driver fitting since my swing was so inconsistent he said it wouldn't be worth it right now....which I really appreciated. We spent so much time on irons I didn't have a ton of time anyways. Glad you enjoyed it! I may have to make it down there for a driver fitting once I get the swing dialed.

epyon

kmac03 Same thing happened to me. I hit the G425 and immediately yelled out, THATS WHAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE? The fitter took it out of my hands after one shot and moved on.

kyledrum2002

kmac03 I am a Sim2 Max fanboy. I always say that I hate TM drivers, but the Sim2 Max was by far and away the winner of Ping G425 LST, Max, Tsi 2&3. I wanted the Ping or Titleist to be the one, but the TM was on average 13 yards more carry with tighter dispersion. I am playing mine with a Speeder 661TR S-flex.

kmac03

Noyes26 For sure! We talked about going that route, but the Sim2 was good as is so figured we wouldn't fix something that wasn't broke.