What driver to buy for my playing buddy....he's turning 30

[Viking Golfer]

Which driver would you buy for his birthday :)

My playing buddy is turning 30 next month and 3 of us (his regular playing buddies) consider giving him a new driver.

He's a solid 8 'capper, has a swing speed of 108 mph with the driver and currently own an 'old' Taylor Made R7 Quad driver - the 400cc version from 2004.

He loves this Taylor Made driver, but has been talking about trying new stuff and have considered getting one of the new '09 drivers.

He actually told me, that he would like to get a new driver from his wife for his upcoming birthday, so I listened carefully to his thoughts, and phoned his wife the next day, and told her, that his 3 regular playing buddies would buy him the new driver for his birthday :)

He has tested the square Nike and Cally drivers and thought they were OK, but too straight for him.
He likes to work the ball from right to left on almost all his shots, plays a low draw, that really helps him in windy conditions.

The face has to be square and NOT closed. He prefers Taylor Made, but has been talking about Titleist, Callaway & Ping drivers

Our budget is $600 - so a Cally I-mix head and shaft could be a possibility ;)

What would you get him for his birthday ?

His birthday is next month, and the Taylor Made R9 won't be released until March and he has talked about getting a driver without "all the screws", which he doesn't use anyway. The best thing would be for him to go to a test center, but if that's out of the question, then I will go by the details I know about his current swing and setup. He has tested a couple of drivers with the White Diamana shaft and really likes that shaft in the Taylor Made driver heads. Also tested the V2 shaft in a Titleist 907 D2 driver and also liked that setup, so I have this information to base my purchase on.

[Fore_Man]

A cally gift certificate would be cool... . then he can set himself up with an imix set of his choice. Seems to be many options now. And he could opt for 2 heads. One for shaping, and one for ripping it straight,

[hmx3]

Taylormade R7 lim. or the new R9. 909 is open and I think burner tp also.

[JakeBarnes]

First things first, hell of a great present idea from his golfing buddies!

 

I think going the Burner TP with a whiteboard would be a good idea. He seems to like the brand, just wants to get rid of the screws.

 

After that I would probably look at the FT-9 with the same shaft.

 

Best of luck!

[mizunogrrl]

Yea from your description it sounds like he would get the biggest kick out of anything TM. A Tour Burner TP with whiteboard seems like a good fit.

 

Nice guys you are!

[MchSt805]

The TM R9 doesn't come out until March 20th, so that is out. If considering the Burner TP, my suggestion would be the '08 version. More eye appealing (not the triangle shape), at least that's my opinion. If he can handle the design, then a Tour Burner might be nice. All this said being he's a TM guy.

 

My first choice if I didn't hear a bias towards Taylor Made would be the FT-9. I'm really hearing some great things about the club. Callaway is excellent on customer service as well.

[ROBHATTER]

A gift certificate that includes an indepth driver fitting by a professional.

 

Then he can on his time go through a fitting and pick out the new driver that best fits him.

[cigarnut81]

A gift certificate that includes an indepth driver fitting by a professional.

 

Then he can on his time go through a fitting and pick out the new driver that best fits him.

 

 

I second this. The best way to help your buddy out with a new driver would be to get him a custom fit driver. There is no driver on the shelf or website that will ever outperform a custom fit driver.

[bogeyjosh]

my birthday is september 19, please take note. i voted for the ft9 b/c of all the hype i've heard and really like cally drivers.

[dpb5031]

TE Exotics XCG-V with the Voodoo shaft. Then he could provide a much needed review of this club here on GolfWrx. :birthday:

[Southside Striker]

the Imix system would be good, he could change shaft if you pick wrong one

[Viking Golfer]

A gift certificate that includes an indepth driver fitting by a professional.

 

Then he can on his time go through a fitting and pick out the new driver that best fits him.

 

 

I second this. The best way to help your buddy out with a new driver would be to get him a custom fit driver. There is no driver on the shelf or website that will ever outperform a custom fit driver.

 

I kind of third that, but the other two guys and the wifey think he needs to receive an actual present and not just an envelope with a gift certificate inside...... even though this probably - in fact no doubt - would make sure he got a properly custom fit driver, that would fit his swing a lot better.

 

Also the price for a fitting session AND a tour driver would exceed $600 by a great deal. Our plan is to purchase the driver in the UK or US, this will save us almost 50% - a Callaway FT-9 Tour I-Mix head in my country costs circa the same alone as the same FT-9 Tour I-mix head AND an I-Mix Diamana shaft in the states and in the UK.

 

If we get the wifey in on the present, our budget will go up to $800 - so that could be enough for fitting session and a every expensive driver bought in my home country - but the other guys want us to get in the States to save $300 and also because they want to give him an actual driver and not a gift certificate.

 

So I'm kind of stuck on the idea of giving him a driver and not a fitting session.

 

With the new budget, we could give him two Cally I'Mix Tour heads and an I-Mix shaft to play in different conditions and on different courses and he could at a later time purchase one og two extra new I-Mix shafts, so I think we're zooming in on the idea of the Cally FT-9 Tour I-Mix head and I-Mix shaft :yes:

 

Anyone knows if the Cally FT-9 Tour IMix head has an alignment mark on the crown like the regular FT-9 I-Mix head has ?

He prefers an alignment mark on the driver head......

[Lsutiger]

Titleist 909 D2 is pretty solid.Looks better to my eye than any other driver out there right now. Also, it's fairly forgiving for a Titleist.

[Viking Golfer]

Thanks to all for your contributions to this thread.... :good: ....still haven't made my mind up yet :)

 

But the Cally FT-9 Tour I-Mix head and an I-Mix shaft would probably be the best thing to give him, because he can change shaft and head if we get the wrong fit for him.

 

Just need to know if anyone knows if the new Cally FT-9 Tour I-Mix head has an alignment mark on the crown and if the head cover will be a better one than the stock one that comes with the new Ft-IQ, because that head cover sure sucks both design and quality wise.............???

[MchSt805]

From what it looks like, the FT-9 Tour does not have an alignment mark.

 

EDIT --- I doubt anyone will notice this comment, but was my picture taken out by a mod or something? I had it linked from PhotoBucket, but now it's not here. I didn't want to post it again if I'm not supposed to for some reason.

[ROBHATTER]

Just get him fitted now with the FT-5 optifit cart.

 

Then when the FT-9 is released buy the same specifications in the FT-9 and I mix shafts and give that to him for his birthday.

[mdgboxx]

 

But the Cally FT-9 Tour I-Mix head and an I-Mix shaft would probably be the best thing to give him, because he can change shaft and head if we get the wrong fit for him.

 

 

Please permit me to take this out of context just to prove a point.

 

Would your wife let you go out and buy a new brassiere of YOUR choice for her?

Would you let ME pick out your next dozen of UNDERWEAR?

 

My point is: HE will be playing the new driver for at least 4 to 6 years judging by his age alone. So what if he gets a gift certificate instead of a real THING he can see and touch? We're talking about a few weeks here, not six months. That reminds me of a child that gets a gift from his parents that

THEY want to play with.

 

Your friend tried of few brands of head/shaft comb., and still can't make up his own mind. The bottom line is that a

proper fitting is the only thing that will bring him joy and pleasure for the next couple of years.

 

It's only an opinion of course, I was putting myself in his shoes, if I received a gift that I was not 100% satisfied

with, I would be very ill-at-ease to say anything because of the thought behind it even if they are my best friends.

 

IMHO it would be better to inform him of your intentions and ask him what HE would prefer and go from there.

[307golf]

I might have to move to 'your country'. When I turned 30, my friends just got me intoxicated...

 

And your name is ClubHoUno yet you're asking us what club to get??? For shame... :)

[Rhod]

Tell him that his wife has contacted you asking what driver to give him so he can tell you what to tell his wife which one to get him

[Big A HG]

I didn't read the replies posted so some of what I say may have been mentioned already.

 

If he is an avid player of a certain brand it might be wise to stick with that brand. Some people care less about performance and more about what name they are hitting. Keep that in mind.

 

I voted for the 909 D2 because it will be an upgrade in performance, but still have a similar look and playability to his current driver. Since he's an 8, I'd consider something with a little higher MOI, if you think he can handle the difference in look and playability. The drivers you mentioned are all mostly geared towards the guy who hits his driver consistent.

 

It's hard to argue what Cobra has been doing with their L4x drivers, so maybe look at that. The stock shafts are horrible though, so an upgrade would be necessary.

 

That's an awesome gift. I wish there was an opening in your foursome, hehe. (PS, my b-day is an August if you guys have some spare change then). :man_in_love:

 

Good luck, and don't overthink your choice. Don't make him feel obligated to hit what you buy him if he is too uncomfortable with his choice. If there is something he had his mind set on, and you didn't know it, maybe let him make an exchange.

[Viking Golfer]

I might have to move to 'your country'. When I turned 30, my friends just got me intoxicated...

 

And your name is ClubHoUno yet you're asking us what club to get??? For shame... :)

 

No no, I just ask for your opinions. I already know what club I would get as I already own the Taylor Made Tour Burner Tp with Diamana Whiteboard and have the new Burner Tp '09 with Whiteboard on order, so I just wanted some other club ho's opinions, and I'm glad I did, because based on the replies, I will probably take him to a fitting center and test some of the drivers and let him decide based on what he feels and what the launch monitor shows :)

 

What's a surprise worth, if it only leads to disappointment in the long run :birthday:

[lefty74pgh]

I would suggest looking at the Cobra S9-1, Adams Speedline, Adams A4. These are the drivers I am waiting for to come out in lefty.

[overtona]

Heck-Can I be your buddy?

[cheeser]

Considering what you've said about your buddy, he's not much of tinkering kind of guy. I say buying two I-Mix heads is not the way to go as he will probably play only one of the heads/shafts anyways.

 

If you can, I would somehow steal his current driver and get the specs matched as much as possible. Since he's a TM guy, get him a SuperQuad TP or Tour Burner TP with a Whiteboard or even an r7 Limited.

[golfmonke]

get him an OTH head with a GG shaft.

[elqui]

COBRA L5V or wait for the S9-1.

[Titleist #1]

Titleist 909D2 great workability and great quality product and excellent customer service, get him fitted to of course .

[EYEOMATIC]

My 2 recomendations:

 

1. Titleist D3 w/ WB

2. Adams 9016D w/ WB from Art Sellinger(those guy's are great)

 

And I'll throw in a complinentary driver fitting for you on your birthday. :)

[tripnipp]

Just need to know if anyone knows if the new Cally FT-9 Tour I-Mix head has an alignment mark on the crown and if the head cover will be a better one than the stock one that comes with the new Ft-IQ, because that head cover sure sucks both design and quality wise.............???

 

Dude, just get him a GolfWRX headcover.... ;)