TSR2 vs G430 Max

[DNice26]

What say you?  Anyone test both?

[this_is_golf]

I have a G425 Max but interested in the TSR2 in part because of the Titleist Surefit adapter. 

[mantan]

 I had a driving fitting session this spring. After baseline testing, the fitter got me into a shaft that he felt was the perfect fit (Ventus TR Red) and had me hit every single new head. The G430 Max and TSR2 separated themselves from the pack as far and away the best for me.

 

The TSR2 had the highest ball speed by 1-2 mph.  The G430 Max had the best distribution.  I could have played either one of them and been totally happy but I picked the G430 for better dispersion and because I personally don't like glossy head drivers.

[philly2kuk]

I tested both three months ago in a full fitting with all the other big drivers. I went in wanting something I was more consistent with that my sim max and it came down to the tsr2 and g430max.

 

The g430 had slightly better dispersion by about a yard. The tsr2 was about 5 yards longer in carry. With so little difference in dispersion I went with the titleist as I preferred the look. I haven’t regretted it since. I’ve hit some truely dreadful strikes with it, expecting them to be next fairway over and when I’ve seen it land it’s just in the edge of the rough. I played on Monday for the first time in five weeks because I’ve been suffering with long covid and it still went long and straight despite being me rusty and swinging out of plane.
 

Personally you need to try both in a fitting situation as I would never have gone for the shafts I ended up with if I fit myself and it works a treat. Both are great drivers.

Edited September 8, 2023 by philly2kuk

[davidw88]

Have had both.  Currently using the 430 max because I can hit it straighter.  TSR2 head looks better and is abit longer for me.

[DNice26]

So far the feedback is what I was expecting.  
I have a 430 LST right now and its great, just looking for maybe a touch more forgiveness and spin.

[philly2kuk]

11 minutes ago, DNice26 said:

So far the feedback is what I was expecting.  
I have a 430 LST right now and its great, just looking for maybe a touch more forgiveness and spin.

You can’t go wrong with either. If you’re fitted properly it’ll come down to looks as the titleist is only marginally longer and the ping marginally straighter.

[Kai Slater]

Have any of y'alls compared the G430 and/or TSR Drivers with the Callaway Paradym?  I would imagine it would also be pretty close in overall performance.  In this upcoming fall/winter, I may look at upgrading from the Epic Speed that I currently play.

[Kai Slater]

6 hours ago, philly2kuk said:

I tested both three months ago in a full fitting with all the other big drivers. I went in wanting something I was more consistent with that my sim max and it came down to the tsr2 and g430max.

 

The g430 had slightly better dispersion by about a yard. The tsr2 was about 5 yards longer in carry. With so little difference in dispersion I went with the titleist as I preferred the look. I haven’t regretted it since. I’ve hit some truely dreadful strikes with it, expecting them to be next fairway over and when I’ve seen it land it’s just in the edge of the rough. I played on Monday for the first time in five weeks because I’ve been suffering with long covid and it still went long and straight despite being me rusty and swinging out of plane.
 

Personally you need to try both in a fitting situation as I would never have gone for the shafts I ended up with if I fit myself and it works a treat. Both are great drivers.

This is good to know from your personal experience.  Both seem to be great drivers, but I agree on the look of the Titleist.  It'd be a tuff choice for sure!!

[philly2kuk]

38 minutes ago, Kai Slater said:

Have any of y'alls compared the G430 and/or TSR Drivers with the Callaway Paradym?  I would imagine it would also be pretty close in overall performance.  In this upcoming fall/winter, I may look at upgrading from the Epic Speed that I currently play.

I also tried the paradym. I literally tried every driver and told my pro money was no option for once. I wanted a club I could stand on the tee and feel confident with.

 

The paradym was the longest driver I hit, both on average and I hit the longest drive I’ve ever hit on a simulator with it. I made modest gains with both the g430 and the tsr2 over my sim max but the paradym I gained 18 yards on average compared to 7 and 12 with the other two.

 

So why didn’t I take the paradym? The dispersion was much worse than the ping and tsr2 for me. No matter what shaft and set up it went long but the dispersion was much wider than the other two. I loved the look and feel but I couldn’t justify 6/11 yards more for significantly worse dispersion. But that’s just how my fitting went and some people will have the opposite experience.

Edited September 8, 2023 by philly2kuk

[pgheaja]

I had a TSR2  and changed to the 430 max last month.  You can't go wrong with either, both are great clubs.  I'm more confident swinging the 430 and find more fairways with it.  My swing speed tops out at 100 and I haven't noticed a difference in distance between the 2.  

 

[Kai Slater]

10 minutes ago, philly2kuk said:

I also tried the paradym. I literally tried every driver and told my pro money was no option for once. I wanted a club I could stand on the tee and feel confident with.

 

The paradym was the longest driver I hit, both on average and I hit the longest drive I’ve ever hit on a simulator with it. I made modest gains with both the g430 and the tsr2 over my sim max but the paradym I gained 18 yards on average compared to 7 and 12 with the other two.

 

So why didn’t I take the paradym? The dispersion was much worse than the ping and tsr2 for me. No matter what shaft and set up it went long but the dispersion was much wider than the other two. I loved the look and feel but I couldn’t justify 6/11 yards more for significantly worse dispersion. But that’s just how my fitting went and some people will have the opposite experience.

I think that the key word you used there was "confident" when you were comparing clubs, standing over a golf ball, ready to swing.  I agree with this totally and would gladly give up a few yards in favor of more consistent direction.

[Kai Slater]

7 minutes ago, pgheaja said:

I had a TSR2  and changed to the 430 max last month.  You can't go wrong with either, both are great clubs.  I'm more confident swinging the 430 and find more fairways with it.  My swing speed tops out at 100 and I haven't noticed a difference in distance between the 2.  

 

My swing speed is right at 100 as well, so I opt for the Regular flex in most all of my clubs.  I would imagine that the choice of shaft is very influential in the performance, since both of these club heads are very good.

[cflo2382]

I've been gaming the G430 Max but I had a 1-2 month stint with the TSR2 to start the season. My experiences echo many of the above. To me, the TSR2 sounds and feels better than the G430 and I feel had a slight extra gear in distance. However, I never felt that I could find any consistency with it. I would either have good driving rounds with it or bad driving rounds with it and nothing really in between. I never was able to establish any confidence with it. With the G430 Max, I am having consistently good/great rounds with it and my misses haven't been nearly as punished. I really wanted to love the TSR2 and I'll admit that I wish I would have tested a few different shafts/setups with it.. But, I'm totally content with the G430 Max, so I'm not going to even bother.

Edited September 8, 2023 by cflo2382

[DNice26]

20 minutes ago, cflo2382 said:

I've been gaming the G430 Max but I had a 1-2 month stint with the TSR2 to start the season. My experiences echo many of the above. To me, the TSR2 sounds and feels better than the G430 and I feel had a slight extra gear in distance. However, I never felt that I could find any consistency with it. I would either have good driving rounds with it or bad driving rounds with it and nothing really in between. I never was able to establish any confidence with it. With the G430 Max, I am having consistently good/great rounds with it and my misses haven't been nearly as punished. I really wanted to love the TSR2 and I'll admit that I wish I would have tested a few different shafts/setups with it.. But, I'm totally content with the G430 Max, so I'm not going to even bother.

 

I had the TSR2 at the beginning of the season and actually had this similar type experience.  Good rounds were good, but I'd have a run of bad ones too.  There were times were I couldn't seem to figure out if the ball was going to fall left or right....and I hate that!   I now have the LST 430 and its great, just thinking a bit more spin and height will be ideal for me right now.

[mantan]

On 9/8/2023 at 6:36 AM, Kai Slater said:

This is good to know from your personal experience.  Both seem to be great drivers, but I agree on the look of the Titleist.  It'd be a tuff choice for sure!!

 

Fitting definitely plays a huge role. As we got dialed in with the G430 Max, the spin numbers were just a hair high. We tried the LST head, but the dispersion wasn't as good. We tried a lot of different shafts. It was my first time having the experience to do that with such a wide range of shafs available and a knowledgeable fitter. It was eye opening how differently they performed. And how wrong I was with a lot of my assumptions.

 

I sent a friend that same  fitter. He tried them all and ended up with the G430 as well but at a different loft and entirely different shaft profile.  Our swing speeds are the same and our launch windows look nearly identical....but get there with totally different equipment. We hit each other drivers at the range before a round one day.  We both didn't hit them as well. I felt like I had to work too hard to hit his. He felt like mine was all over the place during the swing.

 

It made us realize how much recommending equipment to each other was 'throwing darts' in the past.

 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by mantan

[Kai Slater]

19 minutes ago, mantan said:

 

Fitting definitely plays a huge role. As we got dialed in with the G430 Max, the spin numbers were just a hair high. We tried the LST head, but the dispersion wasn't as good. We tried a lot of different shafts. It was my first time having the experience to do that with such a wide range of shafs available and a knowledgeable fitter. It was eye opening how differently they performed. And how wrong I was with a lot of my assumptions.

 

I sent a same guy that fitter. He tried them all and ended up with the G430 as well but at a different loft and entirely different shaft profile.  Our swing speeds are the same and our launch windows look nearly identical....but get there with totally different equipment. We hit each other drivers at the range before a round one day.  We both didn't hit them as well. I felt like I had to work too hard to hit his. He felt like mine was all over the place during the swing.

 

It made us realize how much recommending equipment to each other was 'throwing darts' in the past.

 

 

Definitely food for thought as we consider different equipment/clubs.  There are so many variables that can adversely or positively impact how we swing a club on any given day.  Personally, my swing speed and angle of attack can vary greatly from week to week based on how I'm feeling, how my achy lower back  and bum shoulder is behaving, how stiff I am on a particular day, etc.

Edited September 8, 2023 by Kai Slater

[Arlin964]

This is one more post that echoes almost the same thing most folks have said.  I bolded the different product names to hopefully make it easier to follow along.

 

I've played G430 Max all season with Ventus TR Blue 6X at 1" short.  I have always had problems with the low heel strike, which is why I go short on my long clubs.  This combo started out good, but since July I have been hitting maybe only 30% fairways with both a left and right miss.  NOT good for your confidence or your setup positions.  Strike location recently has skewed to high toe area instead of center face.  This is not usually my problem.  Perhaps the 1" short doesn't fit well anymore after some work on my swing.  

 

I did a Titleist fitting this week outdoors for driver.  Three shots with my Ping and I missed left, right, and skied it.  All good examples of my current misses.  Something about this setup just doesn't jive with me right now.  At first he tried the TSR2 with a Ventus TR Blue 6X in order to try to keep my same shaft relevant.  Tried the TSR1 as well.  Both were good, and I kept strike location pretty near center with the standard length shaft.  But I just couldn't quite get the face closed enough and most shots blocked right.  I don't mind them falling right.  In fact I prefer that.  But not blocking right.

 

Driver SS averages 105.

 

We tried the GD Tour AD UB and it wasn't a fit.  Then tried the GD Tour AD CQ (new one for 2023).  CQ is firm in the butt, firm in the middle, and medium+ at the tip.  I like this profile because I find it more "linear" like PX and C-Taper.  We went with the CQ 6S because the slightly softer tip allowed me to get the face more square at impact.  Most results started online and fell right.  Absolutely zero shots left of target.

 

TSR2 definitely had more ball speed than G430Max, but even the fitter said the G430Max is the most forgiving driver on the market.  So he wasn't trying to dupe me.

 

Moral of the story - both TSR2 and G430Max will be very forgiving, pretty fast, and wonderful drivers if you get them in the right setup.

 

Like any standup, card-carrying WRXer I ordered the TSR2 with Tour AD CQ and will keep the G430Max as a backup to keep the TSR2 honest, and vice versa.

 

For those wondering about the comparison with Paradym, TXG (club champion) had that as part of their most forgiving driver video and it did very well.

 

 

[pgheaja]

48 minutes ago, Kai Slater said:

Definitely food for thought as we consider different equipment/clubs.  There are so many variables that can adversely or positively impact how we swing a club on any given day.  Personally, my swing speed and angle of attack can vary greatly from week to week based on how I'm feeling, how my achy lower back  and bum shoulder is behaving, how stiff I am on a particular day, etc.

I agree with this post 100%. Some days I feel great and play well and somedays I don't feel great and don't play well.   With the 430 in my hand, no matter how I'm feeling that particular day, I know I'll be in the fairway or just off.  I didn't have that confidence in the TSR2 so that's why I switched.  

[tleader]

For me TSR2 was less than 5 yards longer, but the G430 Max won for dispersion, deviation, and an overall perception of forgiveness. 
 

Both fantastic drivers. 

[Nobody2]

I've gone down the rabbit hole with drivers this year and ultimately settled on the TSR2 9* in C3 setting at 45" with Venus Blue TR 6x.  SS approx 112 and index of 0 for reference. I tried everything early in the season and started with Paradym Triple diamond.  It had great #'s and allowed me to play a cut with the driver (I play a draw with everything else) but ultimately left me frustrated bc I didn't have the control I wanted with a cut (my cuts turned to slices with my bad shots).  Went back to my fitter with the intent to test the TSR2 and 430 max as they were also 2 of the best I tried, knowing that I wanted a little more forgiveness.  In the end, I could not get the launch conditions dialed in with the Ping (launch angle was a little low when I got the spin to a good number).

 

The TSR2 has been in the bag for 2 months and have NEVER driven it better and I loved my old OG Sim.  I have been able to get the ball to turnover slightly on most drives and my misses are more manageable than any previous driver.  It is the longest and most forgiving combination I've personally played, and surprisingly, my spin rates are lower with the tsr2 vs tsr3, which has left my fitter quite perplexed.  I can't remember the last time I could have my start line and target so tight to one another, which helps a lot with the confidence, knowing that if I have a big miss, it's not going to be that bad.  So much good with this driver! 

[Lefty87]

I played the G430 Max since the beginning of the season. A lot of it comes down to feel…and not just the ball off the face. I went back to PING for the first time in a while. At first I liked it, then it just started feeling heavy, even with the counterbalance shaft. It’s forgiving and it goes straight, so I can’t complain too much, but it might come down to the feel. 

[_chris]

I hit Titleist drivers very poorly. I landed on the 430 and like it a lot. I hit the TSR fairways much better than the 430 fairways though. I love the way TSR hybrids feel, but 430 hybrids are more forgiving for me by a good bit. I'm weird I think 

[SofaKingPure]

G430. Better dispersion 

[SofaKingPure]

Although the tsr line is so good. I find the fairways a little small