In this video, Neil Tappin and Joel Tadman look at the most underrated drivers. They turn the microscope onto some of the brands and models that might not receive the most attention this year but are well worth considering if you are in the market. In our testing, these drivers are all worthy contenders both in terms of control and distance.
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00:00 attention will be drawn to the big four brands so Ping, Titleist, Callaway and
00:04 TaylorMade but there are some excellent options outside of that you should
00:07 definitely consider that's what we're going to talk about in this video Neil
00:10 because I think it's fair to say outside those big four brands performance has
00:15 become really competitive and they've really challenged those big four brands
00:18 so that's what we're going to cover in this video. Definitely and I would just
00:21 throw Cobra into the mix there Cobra have produced some brilliant drivers
00:24 over the last couple of years they've really impressed me slightly lower price
00:27 point and that's what we've got actually from some of the models down here the
00:31 three that we've selected though stood out for me for quite different reasons
00:34 and I think they're worth throwing in the mix as a contender to consider
00:37 definitely so these are three of the most underrated drivers that we think
00:41 are really going to blow your socks off in 2023 and I'm going to hand you your first one
00:45 go for it this is a Strixon driver tell us a bit about why you've chosen this
00:48 one first well I've chosen this Strixon ZX7 and a lot of people will be
00:52 watching and thinking well yeah of course it's a great driver but it probably
00:55 isn't going to get the limelight that some of those other models that I've
00:58 talked about well certainly the Callaway Paradigm, the TaylorMade Stealth 2, the
01:01 P&G 430 drivers are going to get but it's played on tour looks fantastic
01:06 feels great and in my testing it was the ZX7 so the slightly smaller of the two
01:11 heads that perform the best will put on the screen the data from my testing
01:15 session but I'll hit a couple of shots now so hopefully you can get a feel for
01:19 what I'm talking about. Yeah I remember when you finished testing this you told me how
01:23 much you liked hitting this driver how well it feels and sounds I think and
01:26 also how well it looks as well so let's see one
01:30 look at that soft draw and if you want a matte black finish this year this is a
01:39 great one to try it's really slim line down behind the ball it's got this nice
01:42 silver bit of detailing around the periphery of the head it's a lovely shape
01:46 it's a beautiful driver and what I liked most about it was the consistency so I
01:50 felt like when I was testing it there were certain drivers that I sort of
01:53 clicked with and I felt control of I hit the ZX5 I struggled a little bit with
01:57 the ZX5 as soon as I put the 7 in suddenly I was hitting the ball yeah
02:01 kind of how I was hoping to I think at your swing speed that the lowest spin
02:04 this driver head offers it's gonna be it's gonna be right for you
02:09 another straight one a little bit higher what's great about the ZX7 is you've got a
02:14 moveable weight as well which not all drivers offer even from the big brands
02:18 they move away really like the ZX7 from Strixen it comes in with a
02:22 recommended retail price in the UK of £499 so well worth considering
02:25 definitely all right let's move on to your next one now this is a this is a
02:29 bit left field this one this is left field yes talk to me about what it is
02:32 and why you've chosen it well I have not tested a Yonix driver for a couple of
02:37 years and this one came across my radar and I hit it I was immediately reminded
02:42 why I used to like Yonix drivers and that's because of the stability that you
02:46 get with their shafts yeah they obviously know what they're doing when
02:49 it comes to delivering good shaft head combinations and as soon as I hit it it
02:53 sort of is surprising I yeah that's that's controllable it's stable yeah
02:57 it's got that carbon effect on the crown but it's a matte finish as well not
03:01 dissimilar to what you get with Strixen a simple alignment aid on it it does sit
03:04 slightly closed to address if you're worried about hitting it left that might
03:08 not necessarily work for you I quite liked how it looked it's a bit more
03:12 stretched back than the Strixen let's say it was the performance that impressed
03:15 me I've pushed that but it's coming back a little bit it wants to come back
03:22 doesn't it and I say I hit that right out the toe high on the face but that's
03:26 a playable that's not gonna be it's gonna be in the rough probably there's
03:29 not gonna be awful and it launches high yeah as well I think the sound is gonna
03:34 turn a few heads on the range it's got that sound like the the Ping G425
03:37 driver quite loud and tinny but quite powerful as well it's a point of
03:41 difference actually Joel from what you get with most of the drivers on the
03:44 market this year most of them have been tuned down a bit it feels like for the
03:48 most part they're a little bit more muted they're a little bit more powerful
03:52 sounding this one sits at the other end of the spectrum in terms of sound and
03:56 fit even with that carbon crown as well it still has a lot of feedback off the
04:00 face another straight ball there and it's adjustable as well so you can tweak
04:08 it you know get custom fitted for it get it really dialed in and I mean how does
04:11 it compare with the leading drivers you know the best driver well have a look at
04:15 the date the data is there to see it performed well it stacks up well in
04:18 terms of distance so yeah for a driver that does come in significantly less
04:23 than some of the ones that are right at the top yeah it's a contender if you're
04:26 looking for a good driver from a premium brand that isn't going to cost you quite
04:30 as much then this Yoniq's E-Zone GS iTech is well worth testing for
04:35 definitely and it was it's a bit of a sleeper and it was the same with the
04:38 irons as well so check out the irons they're also really good right so your
04:41 last choice Neil for your underrated drivers is a Mizuno they've made good
04:45 drivers for the last few years no I feel like I've been saying this for a few
04:48 years yeah I just don't see very many on the golf course it always surprises me
04:52 because I think if you just have one look at the driver head it's the same
04:55 with the Fairy Woods they sort of managed to figure out a way of making
04:58 sure that the drivers compete with their irons in terms of how good they look but
05:02 they also have the shelf appeal with the blue it's called a Cortech chamber that
05:05 sits on the sole it's a design feature that should help with speed and spin and
05:10 consistency all of those things from the driver I think it looks superb so
05:13 there's a couple of models to choose from what have you gone for there is
05:16 there's two to go for there's an X version and it's a bit unusual with the
05:21 Mizuno range so with the Mizuno range there's an X version which has a draw
05:24 bias to it but that's a slightly more compact head usually the draw bias
05:28 versions are slightly bigger some of them are slightly offset this one is
05:32 sits beautifully square down behind the ball and is more compact but it has that
05:35 draw bias I feel like of all the drivers I tested this year all the brands this
05:39 is the one that I would most recommend I'd recommend getting fitted for all of
05:42 them but this one in particular right I think that it just depends the way that
05:45 you deliver the club to the ball which one might be right for you the good
05:47 thing is they both look superb sure well let's see one you are right though we're
05:51 seeing some a lot of tall players wanting a bit more draw bias in their
05:54 drivers which is probably why Mizuno have gone down this route but that has a
06:00 really nice thunk to it impact really nice sound that feels really I mean
06:04 sounds really nice how does it feel yeah it feels superb it's a classic titanium
06:09 sound and feel wherever you hit it on the face that's what you get as you'll
06:12 see from the data it wasn't necessarily the longest driver that I hit but I said
06:17 it's that it's that consistency that I really liked and I think I could
06:19 probably also make a few tweaks to the setup to get the distance up a bit if I
06:23 wanted to but I found it very playable on the launch monitor so yeah I wouldn't
06:28 be making my driver choice this year based on distance I think they all go a
06:31 long way it's the consistency where that makes the big difference and I think
06:35 this Mizuno driver to stand up and in that front yeah you're right you know
06:38 Mizuno known for being a brand or island company but their woods have made really
06:42 big strides in the last few years and that that is demonstrating it right
06:47 there beautiful doesn't it so it sounds really good yeah great this drum it's a
06:52 bit higher pitch than you'll get from the likes of I think the TaylorMade
06:56 Stealth 2 perhaps the Callaway Paradigm as well but it sounds really solid and
07:01 as I say it's that consistency of feel that I really love about this driver so
07:04 there you have it if you're looking for a new driver in 2023 and you're looking
07:06 to save a few dollars we think these are three of the standout choices this year
07:11 but now I'm going to push you for your overall favorite because you've got
07:13 three strong contenders here all similar price points if you had to pick one for
07:17 the most underrated driver of 2023 what would you go for if I was going to put
07:22 one of these in the bag it would be the Strixon ZX7 I just think it ticks
07:25 every box in terms of that slightly more compact shape I feel like it's a bit
07:29 more workable which when I'm on the golf course I'm not the best player in the
07:32 world but I I do tend to try to every now and again shape the ball in a
07:35 different way so that slightly more workable head would probably be the way
07:39 I'd go do you know one quick thing I'm going to shout out is the head cover for
07:41 the Mizzino driver which I think is the best on the market this year whether or
07:45 not you want to pick your driver based on the head cover that's up to you but
07:47 if I had to pick one of these three I think it would be the Strixon ZX7
07:50 excellent insights there you know especially into the head cover but
07:53 that's all from us hope you enjoyed this video do click the like button if you
07:55 liked it from the excellent driving range here at Black Bear Golf Club in
07:59 Florida we'll see you next time
08:04 you
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