Anyone with experience to share?

So, I got fitted for the Callaway AI Smoke Triple Diamond driver and it is awesome. The first time I took it out I hit 10/11 fairways. There are 3 holes on the course where I hit 4 iron off the tee. I also picked up about 20 years from my older driver a Ping G5. I hit the everything but the PXG. The Ping was similar in terms of accuracy but was 15+ yards shorter on carry.

I would recommend it but again go get fitted because the shaft can make a difference.

patreyus said:

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So, I got fitted for the Callaway AI Smoke Triple Diamond driver and it is awesome. The first time I took it out I hit 10/11 fairways. There are 3 holes on the course where I hit 4 iron off the tee. I also picked up about 20 years from my older driver a Ping G5. I hit the everything but the PXG. The Ping was similar in terms of accuracy but was 15+ yards shorter on carry.

I would recommend it but again go get fitted because the shaft can make a difference.

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What was your all-in cost, including shaft and fitting?

If you know what you want, you don't have to spend $500 on the driver.

Yeah I get that. Looking for feedback on the performance of these drivers once they're put in use.

I have a Ping G430 SFT and really like it. Basically a tack driver on fairways

Distance gain as well??

Maybe 5 yards further than the G30 I replaced. The G430 10k is supposed to much better at distance.

KerrAg76 said:

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Yeah I get that. Looking for feedback on the performance of these drivers once they're put in use.

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It really depends on what you are going from.

Getting fitted for the right shaft is a must.

KerrAg76 said:

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Yeah I get that. Looking for feedback on the performance of these drivers once they're put in use.

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The problem is that every single person will get different results. I'm a decent golfer, and I can hit most irons the same, but I can only hit two brands of drivers. The rest are awful in my hands. Then you have my buddies who all have Taylormade Qi10 (which I couldn't hit), and they all SMOKE those things.

Driver is a fitting thing. It's the hardest club in the bag to hit.

The easiest answer is that all of the club manufacturers are putting out incredible equipment right now.

You won't see much different between a Paradym Smoke and a Qi10 and G430 until you find a fitter who knows how to manipulate the weights and the kickpoint and the million other pieces involved with fitting. Our swings are too different.

I was in the market for a new driver and hit the G430 and Max 10k at Golf Galaxy. I was consistently getting 15-20 yards more with the Max 10k. Love that club! Replaced a Callaway Big Bertha B21 with it. Regular shaft, 12 degree loft.

Thanks. Let me know how you like it and noticeable yardage/accuracy gains when you get it on the course.

I paid 150 for the fitting. I did mine at Sellingers on Belt line road. Guy was great!! Well I was there Eric Dickerson walked in to pick up a club.

The fitting was work the money in my opinion! Right Shaft is key in your clubs!!

No kidding, first drive was hit in a tournament - went 330, straight down the middle, slight tail wind for the extra yardage. Bit of an outlier in terms of distance, unfortunately. Lol

But, overall, I've played a couple of rounds with it now and I'm about 10-15 yards longer consistently. Mis-hits are much more forgiving. Still working on consistency but expect that to come with repetition.

That's great! Thank you for the update on course performance.

I have a golf buddy, 75 yo, who bought that same driver and is experiencing similar performance gains.

Damn, when I'm 75 I'm expecting my performance gains to come in a little different form.

Well played sir!

KerrAg76 said:

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That's great! Thank you for the update on course performance.

I have a golf buddy, 75 yo, who bought that same driver and is experiencing similar performance gains.

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I've played 9 rounds with the driver now and I LOVE that stick. It's nice standing on the tee box and feeling confident you can hit it straight and long. It is easy to hit a pure shot and still forgiving on miss-hits. I'm more prone to a slice than a hook and when I hit it off the toe, it doesn't slice like my previous driver. Distance is really solid, reaching 280-290 pretty regularly.

Went to 2nd swing for a driver fitting because I had some credit. Tested out all of the new drivers with a variety of shafts and nothing outperformed my Callaway Rogue. Fitter told me at this point, the increased size of the sweet spot on the newer drivers compared to the past few years is pretty insignificant. He said if the driver is over 5 years old might be worth a look (if your driver doesn't fit you). So, I don't know if the new driver cost is really justified when you can get a year-old model for half price with negligible difference in performance.