Background

The G15 hybrid is engineered as a high-launching, forgiving alternative to long- and mid-irons. A large internal toe pad expands the perimeter weighting to make it PING’s most forgiving and longest hybrid ever.

The stainless steel hybrid’s unique shape features an iron-style face and hosel design which positions the center of gravity closer to the face to increase launch angle and reduce spin. The clean look at address inspires confidence for golfers of all abilities.

Look and Feel

First thing you will notice when you line this club up at address is the large amount of offset built into the club head. We reviewed a G15 hybrid with 20 degrees of loft, and were surprised by the amount of offset. This is built into most game improvement clubs, and should help the average weekend golfer square up the club face, helping to prevent a slice. Pesonally, I just found it to be distracting, but I have been playing the Adams Idea Pro Gold hybrids most of the season, and those offer little to no offset, and nowhere near the forgiveness or length of this particular hybrid.

I generally find people lean one of two ways: they love their fairway woods and that particular shape or they love the look and feel of an iron. Golf equipment manufacturers seem to understand this as well and generally seem to build hybrids that tip in one of those directions. The PING G15 hybrid definitely falls more on the iron side of the fence. The relatively compact head and sharp face angle are reminiscent of an iron at address. For those of you who have been reluctant to give up the 3 iron because you like that feel in your hand, the PING G15 should appeal to you. If you are the kind of person who likes a 7 wood, you may not be as impressed.

Feel wise, the PING G15 hybrid offers up a solid thud at impact and the ball proceeds to launch itself off into the stratosphere, eventually landing way down the fairway. I did not find the feel on off center hits to be as telling as hybrids in the player class of club, but that is to be expected. Hits on the sweet spot did feel nice, not as buttery soft as a well struck 3 iron, but still nice. I could also tell about where on the face any poor swings managed to connect with the ball. Feel was a little clicky on more finesse shots like a bump and run around the green or trying to punch out from under a tree. I did not have confidence with the club to execute those types of shots and just stuck with my irons.

The stock shaft fit in the G15 was quite stout and stable at impact. Not nearly as smooth as a Matrix shaft, but, it seemed to do its part in launching the ball high and did not feel too loose.

Performance

The first few hits I had with this club were phenomenal. They were high, straight as an arrow and as long as any hybrid I have ever hit, if not longer. Then, I hit a hook. And the offset in the club just started bugging me. It became one of those mental things for me…is it the offset? Can I just hold off the release to get it straight? So I went through a series of hooks and pushes trying to get my release back under control, never quite feeling as comfortable with it as I did on those first couple swings. That being said, I put this club in the hands of a golfer that was more accustomed to playing with an offset long iron and he was crushing the ball just like I did on my first few swings. No question, this club is extremely forgiving and long.

Workability wise, I was certainly able to hit a hook with the club and even hit a nice little draw with it now and then. I was not able to hit a baby cut with it, however. Was either a push or a hook, that’s about all I could get from it. Now, granted, I am certainly no professional golfer, so your mileage may vary. I also doubt the target audience for this club is looking to work the ball. If you are just looking to be more accurate with your long irons, get rid of those 3 and 4 irons, replace them with something significantly more forgiving like these G15 hybrids.

Conclusion

While I may have had some mental issues with this club, if you typically play a straight ball or a little slice and are looking for added forgiveness in your long iron game, put these clubs on your list to demo. Initially I was absolutely crushing the ball with this clubs, long, high, straight, it was awesome. Me, being a mental midget when it pertains to golf, let the offset get to me, and really could not settle in to be comfortable with this club or trust it. Based on how much I loved the i15 irons, I suspect I am a better candidate for the i15 hybrids as well, which offer less offset, more workability and are still quite forgiving.

The G15 Hybrid can be found at your local golf retailer for a suggested retail price of $159. As with all PING clubs, your best route, however, would be to find an authorized PING club fitter in your area. They can set you up with a number of fit options and suggest the best club head or specifications for your swing.
As with most of our reviews here, Ping has provided the i15 Irons used in this review free of charge. As we receive equipment from all of the major golf equipment manufacturers, we try to remain unbiased and provide an honest look at every piece of equipment we review at The Deep Rough, this is nothing new. We would have a much harder time putting together all of these reviews if the manufacturers if we had to go out and purchase all of this equipment at retail prices. And for full disclosure, just about every piece of equipment we receive for a review we end up giving away to charity or as prizes in contests. This particular club was given away as a prize in a charity golf tournament for a local high school.

As always, we will start with a little background information on the clubs and the technical specifications. Throughout the review you will find pictures like the one below, if you would like to see a larger image, simply click on the picture.

Background

With our Idea hybrids ranking as the most-played on the 2008 PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours, our engineers were able to canvass the tours with hybrid prototypes in an effort to gain feedback from the world’s best golfers.

The result is the Idea Pro Gold Hybrid that utilizes advanced geometric shaping (known as Boxer Technology), an improved maraging steel face and an enhanced weighting system.

• Idea Hybrids — #1 on 2008 PGA, Champions and Nationwide Tours.
• Improved maraging steel face for a 10% hotter ball flight compared to the Idea Pro.
• Boxer Technology delivers advanced geometric shaping for higher MOI resulting in 5% more forgiveness on off–center hits.

Look and Feel

The first thing that will jump out at owners of the original Idea Pro hybrid is the squared off shape of the Idea Pro Gold. Adams Golf, as mentioned earlier, has integrated their Boxer technology from the earlier generation A3 hybrids into the Idea Pro Gold line. When I first got the club in my hand I was a little put off, however, as more and more square shaped clubs arrive in the marketplace, I have grown to actually like the shape of the Idea Pro Gold. It is not nearly as squared off as something like the Callaway Squareway or Nike Sumo Squared Hybrids. As you can see in the pictures below, the toe is actually slightly rounded so from that end of the club it does appear more traditional. When you flip the club over and take a gander at the sole, more of that Boxer technology will jump out at you.

Pro Gold vs A3 Boxer

Idea Pro vs Pro Gold

Idea Pro vs Pro Gold

I was absolutely in love with the sound and feel of the original Idea Pro hybrid. The solid thud you were rewarded with on a hit off the screws was extremely satisfying. I feel like I have lost a little of that with the Idea Pro Gold. The sound is a little more ‘metal tingy’, though the feel is still quite solid at impact. Slightly off center hits are not quite as harsh as the Idea Pro either. This could be a good thing, or a bad thing. It is not a huge difference, I would just say something I noticed when I first switched from the Pro to the Pro Gold. It put me off at first, but then I hit Idea Pro…Pro Gold…Pro…Pro Gold…and had a real hard time disputing the results (but we will get into that in the Performance section).

Idea Pro – Idea Pro Gold – A3 Boxer

If you have a look at the first picture in the review, you’ll notice some little grooves under where it says Tour Prototype. I am not sure of the engineering reasoning behind this (maybe to reduce weight?) but it is a lovely place for dirt to collect when you hit the ball a little fat or are playing out of some thicker rough.

Performance

Here is where I was sold on these clubs. The performance, especially on slight mishits is absolutely phenomenal. I really loved playing the Idea Pro, but when I took the two to the range and out on the course I would hit the same shots back to back. Rarely was I able to execute the shot as often with the Idea Pro. The Pro Gold just flat out put the ball where I wanted. Sure, I still put real bad swings on the ball here or there and the Pro Gold is not going to magically save you, but in those cases where you catch the ball a little closer to the heel or toe, the Pro Gold’s Boxer technology really pulls through for you. I would lose noticeable distance with the Idea Pro on those shots, where as the Pro Gold really seems to hold its line and still carry an acceptable distance.

The addition of a little forgiveness has not dramatically impacted ones ability to work the ball with this club either. I can still get the ball to bend left or right pretty easily and unlike a lot of hybrids on the market you can also keep the ball low. This was a huge pet peeve of my golf instructor. He is a Callaway staffer and complained that he could never keep a Callaway hybrid out of the stratosphere. I let him hit the Idea Pro Gold a few times and he said he would have to give his Adams rep a call. He had no issue hitting it low, high, left, right, anything he threw at it, it seemed to respond well.

Originally the Idea Pro Gold was shipped with either the JavlnFX or Matrix Altus graphite shafts. Today it seems Adams is exclusively offering the club in Matrix Altus configurations, though you can custom order whatever shaft fits your swing best. While I read some negative reviews of the JavlnFX shaft, I actually found it to fit my swing well. I played an Altus Hybrid shaft in my Idea Pro and loved the smoothness and consistency of the shaft, but did not find the JavlnFX to be much of a step down. Right now I have a 20 and 23 degree Idea Pro Gold fitted with the JavlnFX and recently picked up a 16 fitted with the Altus. I still have not decided which shaft I should stick with! Best advice, go hit them both, preferably on a launch monitor, and have a professional tell you which best suits your swing.

What amazes me with this club is how predicable the distances are for me now, especially off a tee. My home course is a little short but features a lot of very tight driving holes. The 20 degree Idea Pro Gold really has become my go to club on those shorter par 4s and I can count on a good swing landing in nearly the same exact spot every time I walk up to those tees. It really is very confidence inspiring.

At first I was reluctant to drop the 4 iron from my game and replace it with a 4 hybrid, but again…take the two clubs to the range and hit them back to back. Hit 10 balls with the hybrid, 10 with the iron. I might hit 9 or even 10 shots as I expect with the hybrid, where as the iron might be 7 or 8. I sucked it up and bagged the hybrid. I love it so much, I actually find myself hardly ever using even my 5 iron. Choke up on the 4 a little, take a 75% swing and I am far more accurate and consistent with the 4 hybrid. I toyed with the idea of dropping the 23 hybrid and picking up the 26 (5 iron replacement), but I think I would miss the utility of having a long iron in certain situations.

That brings me to the last area of performance I would like to mention…punching out/low ‘save your butt from the hooked tee-shot into the woods’ shot. I usually play the low punch hook with a 4 iron or 5 iron, I never really had much success using a hybrid on those types of shots. I was able to execute a few of those shots with the 23 Idea Pro Gold Hybrid on the course, but more often than not, I felt like I would have been better off using the traditional 5 iron. That’s just my game though. With some practice, I am sure it’s as easy with this club, as it is pretty easy to keep the ball down.

Conclusion

The Idea Pro Gold Hybrid originally retailed for well over $200. It was quite the expensive hybrid. However, today you can find these in most retail shops for $119. Or, if you want to also give the Idea Pro Gold Irons a shot, the 4 and 3 hybrids are included in the set. You can also find the hybrids on eBay for well under $100 usually or the #4 and #3 included with used or new sets on eBay for around $500.

To show you how much I trust these clubs, I will be bagging both the Idea Pro Gold Irons and Hybrids (#4,#3,#1) for my club championship qualifying this weekend. So check back early next week, or follow me on twitter and I will let you know how it went!

The Nike SQ Hybrid at Address

Over the past few months, we have had a chance to have a close look at a lot of clubs in the 2008 line of Nike golf equipment. From the Nike Sumo 5900 driver to the Nike Slingshot 4D irons, we have continually been impressed. Today we will be having a closer look at the Nike Sumo Squared Hybrids. These hybrids promise pinpoint accuracy and ample forgiveness.

Background

Ever been stuck with over 200 yards to the green and a tough lie? All alone, in the middle of the rough? Introducing the Nike SQ SUMO² Hybrid, a marvel of science (geometry in particular) to stand beside you in the most difficult of situations.

SQ SUMO² Hybrid Profile
Square head design, generous offset and extreme perimeter weighting make this Nike Golf’s highest MOI hybrid ever. Designed to deliver exceptional stability at impact and produce high launching soft landing shots.

Hot Cryo Steel Face
The lightweight face is thicker in the middle and progressively thinner at the edges, resulting in a more consistent ball speed, maximum distance and increased forgiveness across the clubface.

Nike PowerBow Weighting
The square Nike PowerBow design strategically positions weight low and to the perimeter. The resulting high MOI and low CG produce a very forgiving and stable head at impact.

Look, Feel and Performance

It was a big weekend. I was returning to my alma mater for my 15th Reunion and was arriving a day early to play in their annual golf tournament. A scramble format, I was paired with my husband and a classmate that I hadn’t seen in 15 years and I knew we were going to have a fun time. My only concern was how my golf game would hold up. My game has improved considerably since I started playing with the Nike Slingshot 4D irons, but I have continued to struggle off the tee as well as with shots over 150 yards.

The moment I stepped up to the first tee I knew I had a big decision to make. I could either use my driver which I’ve never been very successful with in the past or bring out my new Nike SQ Sumo 2 Hybrid 20 degree (3 iron) which I hadn’t had a chance to try yet. Since it was a scramble and the guys could choose not to take my drive, I decided to give the SQ Sumo 2 Hybrid 20 degree (3 iron) a shot and I hit a beautiful, high draw right down the middle. The moment I put the club in my hands I knew it was going to be good. Similar to the Nike Slingshot 4D irons, there is just a confidence that comes with using these clubs.

Yet again Nike has come out with an incredible club with the SQ Sumo 2 Hybrids. I’ve played with a different brand of hybrids before and I never felt comfortable using them out of the rough. While playing with they Nike hybrids, I didn’t hesitate when I was in the rough to use them and I was not disappointed. I stepped up to the ball confidently and was astounded at the both the distance and trajectory out of the rough. Playing with these hybrids I’ve just enhanced my game even more! I’ve used the SQ Sumo 2 Hybrids (both 20 and 23 degree – 3 and 4 iron) several times since the golf outing and I’ve had similar results. I’m confident whenever I step up to hit the ball and am rarely disappointed. An incredibly forgiving club, even a mishit with these clubs travels a good distance and provides a decent next shot. I am starting to rely on the SQ Sumo 2 Hybrids a little too much though as I’m using them off the tee, in the rough and in the fairway. They’ve become my go-to clubs for any distance over 150 and they usually provide the desired result. I have been incredibly impressed with these clubs and recommend them for any woman who is looking for a hybrid that provides great distance and accuracy as well as confidence whenever you bring it out of your bag.

Specifications

Where to Buy

The Nike SQ Sumo Squared Hybrid can be found in just about any pro shop or golf retail store for a price of just around $150. Given that some hybrids seem to be creeping up toward the $200 range, this is quite a bargain for the technology involved. You can also find them used in the $100-$125 range on eBay.

For the past few weeks I have had an Adams Golf A3 Boxer Hybrid in my bag. The club is a 4 iron (22*) replacement, fit with a Grafalloy Pro Launch Red (Hybrid) shaft. I haven’t had much of a chance to play a hybrid in this loft in the past, as I really love to hit my 4 iron off the tee, but this club has been a nice surprise.

As always, let’s start with a little information from the club manufacturer:

Introducing Boxer Technology,™ the latest breakthrough in hybrid shaping and performance—from the innovation leader, Adams Golf. You’ll get a straighter and longer ball flight with these new hybrids—thanks to the ultra-high MOI of Boxer Technology.

Club Features

• Category leading MOI of 3350 results in easy to hit shots that are more forgiving, straighter and longer. 30% to 70% higher MOI than the leading hybrids.
• Low and deep center of gravity for easy to hit shots.
• Maraging steel, pull-face delivers our highest hybrid
• COR for increased ball speed with improved sound.
• Milled face grooves offer more consistency and performance.
• A cambered sole designed to cut through turf interference, gets the ball up and into the air with a consistent smooth feel on every swing.

Look and Feel

As you can see from the pictures, the A3 Boxer is a pretty sharp looking club. The sole of the club has a little flash to it and from address, while slightly high tech looking, the overall effect is more subtle. The pictures of the club in this review were taken after a few rounds and trials at the range. So you’ll notice some scuff marks, rock marks, little impressions on the leading edge from trying to launch balls out of a waste bunker at Sand Barrens. Generally, I am not a huge fan of very busy clubs, but this one doesn’t go too far over the edge. If you are looking for a cleaner look at address, you may want to check out the Adams Pro Hybrids, which are as clean as they come.

The A3 Boxer has a nice solid feel at impact. If you read our review of the BUL Fairway Wood, Anthony made a comment about a heavy feeling. The feel at impact with this hybrid is quite similar. When solidly struck, you feel as if you have absolutely crushed the ball. Off center hits are not penalized with a harsh feel. Some may view this as a positive, some a negative. I’ll talk to this more in the performance, but the off center hits generally turned out quite nice.

The club feels very solid and stable through out the swing. The sound at impact is quite pleasing, and you do not get any of the ‘whistling’ you may get with hybrids with weight inserts (ever hit a TM Rescue Dual?).

One very neat thing about this club is the club head cover. It’s just a little slip on guy that just covers the club head itself, not the neck. It looks quite sharp, and snaps on in a jiffy. I was worried at first that it would be easy to lose, but that sucker stays on the club nicely. There’s a picture a little further down the page.

Performance

As with any hybrid, you’re looking for versatility and added forgiveness over the traditional iron you are replacing. Off the tee, I’m not really looking for more distance from an iron replacement, I’m looking for more consistency and more trajectory options. With the A3 Boxer, hitting a high, penetrating draw off the tee was an absolute piece of cake. The trajectory with the A3 Boxer is much flatter than that of my traditional 4 iron, and was it proved to be much easier to hit a consistent draw. It also happened to go at least 10 yards further than my 4 iron, which, well, now we are into a 3 iron replacement, but with the trajectory of a 5 iron. I’m going to have to mess around with yardage calculator!

The A3 Boxer does a nice job of cutting through the rough when you are presented with such a lie. Just take a nice controlled iron swing, and boom, the ball will get up quickly as the hybrid slices through the thick stuff. Performance was pretty similar to any other recent hybrid I have played, I really didn’t notice much of a difference, other than the fact that I haven’t really hit any poor shots out of the rough with this club yet.

The high shots, to the left were quite easy. Controlled fades, a little more difficult. This is probably due to a little offset, and I am sure a little bias toward the left side. That is fine, I am sure most people looking at this club are probably looking to get rid of the right side of the course!

I hit a few punch shots with this club as well, which resulted in a nice lower running shot. Actually hit a nice little running draw out from under some trees that turned out quite nice. Very easy to do, and again, great solid feel off the club face.

As you can see from the pictures I played out of some waste bunkers on several occasions with this club. While the club may not have enjoyed it, aesthetically, I certainly was pleased with the results out of these rocky/big sand grain bunkers.

Conclusion

For the most part, as long as you put a nice, controlled swing on this club, you’re going to get a high, straight shot. The crazy high MOI really helps in that regard. So if you are looking for a very easy to hit, keep it in the short stuff hybrid…look no further, give an A3 Boxer a try. I may have to look at adding a 16* version of this club to use as my safety driver. If you’re looking to work the ball, you may want to have a look at the highly regarded Adams Pro Hybrid, just keep in mind, with that added workability comes bigger slices on the mis hits.

• Adams A3 Boxer Hybrid on Ebay – $100-$135
• Adams A3 Boxer Hybrid at Golf Galaxy – $149

Background

I primarily use my 3 wood off of the tee (as I think is true for most golfers), but I wanted something that was at least serviceable off of the deck. I was playing a Sonartec SS1.5 with 15.5* of loft, and I decided to try the Adams Insight BUL. I read about the technology behind the head, and with the Pro Launch Red shaft, I was hoping it would not balloon. Here is the information about the club from Adams’ website.

Loft: 15*
Lie: 58*
Length: 43″
Swingweight: D2-D3
Shaft: Grafalloy ProLaunch Red (75g)

The Material Advantage

When you hit the new Insight BUL Fairway Wood, you immediately understand why the right materials are so important to fairway wood design and construction.

It’s hot and incredibly forgiving.

• High COR and Low CG achieves the hottest ball flight of any fairway wood.
• Titanium face and crown brazed to a stainless steel body – the first and only fairway wood manufactured this way.
• Highest MOI in its class results in maximum forgiveness and easy to hit shots.
• Patented Upside-Down Technology delivers more stability at impact.

Look & Feel

This club sets up very nice at address. The face is a little deeper than some 3 woods, but that’s what I was looking for as most times it’s used off the tee. Like most adams clubs, it has a grey colored face which I think breeds confidence, as the face looks to even have more loft on it than it does. It definitely appears to sit square, which is also a plus for someone like me who doesn’t know the right side of the golf course exists.

The picture at address makes the club look closed, but it certainly not when setup with 2 hands on the club instead of one on the club and one on the camera phone.

On center hits, the club has a very HEAVY feeling. It feels like the ball has just been CRUSHED and is on the face for a long time. On mishits, you can tell you did not hit it squarely, and you get a slightly lower ballflight. However, the distance appears to be the same. I was able to tell I hit it off the heel or the toe fairly easy. For a forgiving club, there is good feel here.

Performance

This is where I was shocked. I expected a fairly low launch with the Pro Launch Red in play. My first swing was off the tee on a 385 yd par 4, downhill and a little downwind. For reference, I hit my 2 hybrid off the tee like I usually do on this hole, and it ended up about 5 yds longer than where I usually am because of the wind. I then teed up the BUL. The head, even though it’s deep, gives you the impression you should tee it slightly low, so I did. I hit it dead square, and got that “heavy” feeling I was talking about before. There is a bunker on the left side of the fairway that I wasn’t even thinking of, and when the ball drew slightly I figured it was in it. Nope! It carried it easy. I never think of that bunker (that’s why I hit the 2 hybrid to take it out of play), so I got my rangefinder and hit the back of the bunker at 258. I was 16 paces beyond the bunker. I teed up another and hit it right besides the first one.

While I was walking down, I stopped at the 265 plate and dropped a ball. It’s flat at this point to the green. I had a front flag, and zapped it at 253. I hit one off the deck, and it felt a little off the neck of the club. It came off lower, and a little left, but it ended up pin high.

I found the launch angle on all these shots to be much higher than expected. Into the wind, the ball had a tendency to balloon a little which surprised me. I am going to give the Red a little more time in the club, but I can see me reshafitng this with something that is a little more low spin (VS Proto?!)

Conclusion

This club is going to stay in my bag for a little while. After 1 session, I feel more comfortable with it than I did my Sonartec SS1.5 I had for over a year and a half. The shaft has some nice feel, but may spin a little much, but I want to see if that was just a 1 day thing. The setup is absolutely beautiful, so I am confident when I step over it. I usually struggle with a fairway wood off the deck, but this one was easy to hit off the deck from the first swing. I look forward to having this in the bag at least a little while. It’s certainly the best 3W I’ve ever hit, but I’ve NEVER liked a 3W in my life. The only question is do I play with the 3W or do I put another wedge in. At my home course, a 3W is not needed much. On the holes I’d use it off the tee, I could get away with my hybrid 2. However, this club could let me be a little more aggressive off the tee without sacrificing accuracy!

• Find the Adams BUL Fairway Wood on Ebay – $90-$150
• Adams BUL Fairway Wood at Golf Galaxy – $199
• Get a Free BUL Fairway Wood with the Purchase of an Adams Driver

The new 4DX Fairway Wood from Nickent Golf utilizes brazing technology, a new innovation that allows a manufacturer to fuse steel and Titanium without using epoxy.

Super thin .4 mm Titanium crown is fused witha stainless steel body by a unique and patented brazing technology.

By replacing the crown with their super thin titanium technology, and because the Titanium weighs 5 times less than a steel crown, Nickent was able to significantly raise the MOI and make the face have a larger sweet spot.

The addition of the Titanium crown allowed Nickent to add in their XW Inserts, which have become the driving technology behind nearly every Nickent product in the 2007 line. The XW Inserts provide 16 grams of weight to be adjusted in 2-gram increments by the manufacturer for directional control and swing weight purposes, without relying on bulky screws that add a harsh feel at impact.

5 different lofts. I played a 17* #4 Fairway Wood, fitted with a UST V2 Stiff Flex shaft.

Look and Feel
Again, as with the 4DX Driver and Hybrids, the 4DX Fairway Wood has a very classic looking shape from address. The sole of the club also features those cool green inserts and the tungsten plugs in the back. I really do love the look of these clubs, along with their sparkling green club head covers. If you like the look of the 4DX IW Hybrids or 4DX Driver, obviously you’ll also love the look of their fairway woods. There is nothing flashy to look at while at address. Just that little N alignment aid, and the classic black shape. Awesome stuff.

At 177cc (for the #4) and 190cc (for the #3), the club isn’t that enormous. Large enough to inspire some confidence off the tee, and not too large that you feel as if you’re swinging your driver off the fairway. I’m not sure how some people are able to hit a Callaway X-Hot Fairway wood off the deck. Those things are bigger than drivers of 4 or 5 years ago. 177cc in the #4, I can live with that.

The feel off the club face is quite solid. Similar to the 4DX IW, but quite different than the 4DX Driver. I liked it, you really felt as if the ball was exploding off the club face. It’s pretty easy to tell where on the club face you have hit the ball. No need to slap impact tape on this club face.

Performance
Off the tee, put a good swing on this club, and it’s money. With the V2 shaft, the trajectory is nice and low->mid and very penetrating. It gets up there a bit, and hangs for a while, eventually dropping and rolling out quite a ways. I was hitting this #4 (17*) perhaps 10-15 yards further than the Nickent 4DX IW in 17*, mostly due to the lower trajectory and longer roll. Carry distance wise, the two seemed pretty similar. Off the tee, strangely enough, I’d say I am still more comfortable with the IW. The shorter shaft may help with this. I generally hit a nice little draw with the IW. With the FW, I was mostly just hitting very straight, boring shots. Definitely not a bad thing. I have played with the IW a lot longer, and have a lot more confidence with it. Given some time, and a build up of confidence, the added yardage of the FW would certainly be nice to have.

Of the deck, on the other hand, I really do like the 4DX FW. The IW, in the 17* configuration, is a tough one to hit consistently (the #3 on the other hand is a dream off the fairway). The 4DX FW gets up in the air quick, and launches nearly as far as it does off the tee. It’s relatively easy to work if you’re looking to do that, but put a decent swing on the ball, and it generally likes to go straight. The trajectory is still nice and penetrating, with mid height. Great stuff.

Out of the rough, or a fairway bunker. I don’t even bother. I tried a few times, had some success, had some big failures. But hey, why bother trying when you have a hybrid that was designed for such circumstances. Just take out that 17 or 20* hybrid, and you’re good to go. You probably aren’t going for two many greens in two from a fairway bunker anyway.

Conclusion
I was very opposed to fairway woods there for a while. Having gone through a Callaway X FW, Nike Sasquatch, TM r5 and my old Callaway Steelhead…all of which are collecting dust now….it was nice to give a 17* fairway wood a try. I can’t say right now if I’d change my setup to include the 4DX FW permanently, but I certainly consider it at times. A 4DX Driver, 4DX FW (#4) and 4DX IW (#3) combo at the top might provide me with a lot of distance off the tee, accuracy off the tee, and confidence out of tough lies. Given the performance of the 4DX IW #2 vs the 4DX FW #4, I may certainly change to that bag setup.

• Find Nickent 4DX Fairway Woods on Ebay – $120-$199
• Nickent 4DX Fairway Woods at GolfSmith – $199

Be sure to check out our reviews of the Nickent 4DX T-Spec Driver and the 4DX IW Hybrids while you are here.

The D-Spec’s loft, lie, CG, MOI and weight have all been configured to make the ball have the perfect draw. The T-Spec is set up for a faster swing speed. The T-Spec is engineered for players who prefer a flatter trajectory and a more workable ball flight.

The Sweet Spot, MOI, and CG are all affected by these advanced XW Inserts that are being used in a driver design for the first time. Weight is spread to the extreme heel and toe by the XW Insert by increasing the MOI and making the head more forgiving and stable at impact. The thin Titanium face is as hot as legally allowed by the USGA, with one of the widest sweet spots of any driver available! The secret is a super thin 0.4 MM Titanium Crown.

The 0.4 mm super thin Titanium crown allowed Nickent to save enough weight to manufacture a 460 CC directional control driver that combines a classic tour shape and cutting-edge weight technology.

It also allowed for 460 CC raw driver weight 180 grams. This is one of the lightest of any raw 460 CC driver heads on the market. This helps increase the swing speed of the driver significantly and allows for maximum distance. It also gives Nickent engineers room to utilize the XW technology and to raise the MOI significantly. The construction of the driver is a 6/4 titanium body fused with a 15-3-3 .4mm Titanium crown. 15-3-3 Titanium is the alloy for Titanium and is stronger and thinner than cast 6-4 Titanium. It reduces the thickness of the crown by 50%, reduces the weight of the crown by 20 grams and makes for a better sound and feel. Laser welding the crown adds more strength and saves even more weight to put back in the clubhead. A patented A-frame face application is used for a high COR/CT on the face map.

Offered in 7 different loft/weighting combinations and two stock shafts in a variety of flexes, there is a 4DX out there for the most discriminating of golfers. With so many options, you are certain to find a club that will match your desired distance/trajectory needs.

Look and Feel

If you like the look of a traditional driver head, you will feel quite comfortable standing over the Nickent 4DX Driver. The Tour Spec driver sets up square, and the dark, tear-drop club head does not look overbearing or large at address. The 4DX line of clubs has a very distinct look on the sole. With the green indentations toward the back, and the tungsten plugs, it has a sharp looking sole. A little flashy, but not in your face, spaceship design ala TaylorMade’s most recent offerings. Compared to the R7 425, the 460 cc 4DX driver does not feel or look much larger. They have done a nice job of hiding the large volume head. The Nickent Logo alignment aid is subtle, but effective if you need it. Not overly distracting either.

Feel wise, I am not completely sold on this club head. It definitely has a distinct feel. Flushed hits did not result in that immediate..wow…feeling, but provided a nice solid thud sound. Sometimes though, I found myself thinking, hmm, that sounded odd, I thought I got it, but maybe I didn’t…then I would look up and see this bomb of a drive soaring down the fairway. Of course, I”m coming off playing with a HiBORE XL where every shot is extremely loud and sounds/feels like you absolutely crushed it…which was quite misleading.

The factory D2 weight felt comfortable, and at 45.5″, the shaft isn’t as crazy long as say the 46″ offerings from plenty of other OEMs at the moment. Still, as long as I was hitting this club, I would probably feel more comfortable with it being at 45 or 44.5 and being a little more consistent.

Performance
So yeah, onto the performance. Wow. I have hit some absolute bombs with this club. The stock V2 shaft provides a nice relatively low spin shot that seemed to just hang in the air forever at times. Off center hits were a little weak for me, and I had a hard time hitting a little draw, but I’m guessing if I had tried out the Draw version of this club, and cut down the shaft a little, this club would be super simple to keep in the fairway and work right to left.

But yeah, the first few times I played with this club, I was finding all sorts of new places on the fairway. It rolls out a lot further than the HiBORE XL did for me. That being said, the retail HiBORE XL in a 10.5 loft was easier to keep straight. Though, 9* Tour Spec 4DX vs 10.5 HiBORE XL…there is probably a lot more forgiveness built into that HiBORE.

I had absolutely no problem hitting a little cut with the driver, and I’m guessing that if I spent some more time with it on the range, I could perfect that shot with this club, and really have a nice safe, yet long option off the tee.

Conclusion
All around, a very nice driver offering from Nickent Golf. They have really been putting out some interesting clubs lately, and have been generating a lot of interest on the professional tours. I can certainly see why a lot of guys on the Nationwide tour have been switching over to this particular driver. Awesome looking shape, an absolute bomber, and I’m sure in the hands of a pro, very forgiving and easy to work. For those of us who don’t necessarily hit the ball dead flush every time, there is the Draw version of this driver as well as the 3DX Square Driver offering.

I have seen these clubs stocked at Golfsmith, among other stores. If you have a chance head on down and give it a few swings. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Especially if you are put off by the enormous size and strange looks of clubs like the Burner, 907D1, FT-i, etc.

• Nickent 4DX Driver on Ebay
• Nickent 3DX Driver on Ebay

Be sure to check out our reviews of the Nickent 4DX IW Hybrids and the Nickent 4DX Fairway Woods as well.

Background

Introduced in 2005, the Nickent 3DX Ironwoods began their career by dominating the Nationwide tour.   Soon after, the hybrids began to find their way into the bags of numerous PGA, LPGA, European Tour and Champions Tour players.  How does one improve upon such a well received club?  A lot of hard work and research, that’s how.

Nickent Golf spent over a year of development and research time to architect the next generation of hybrid.  Here is some information from Nickent regarding the technological advances in this club:

• From the deeper face to the increased COR , every design change was made to make the 4DX the best hybrids on the marketing terms of distance, playability, feel, trajectory and forgiveness. These are the ultimate hybrids!
• Replacing the steel crown with titanium saved approximately 50% of the weight in the crown. The .4mm crown is also half as thick as on the 3DX DC hybrids, so when you combine both attributes, the new crown configuration weighs almost 4 times less than the crown of the 3DX DC hybrids.
• The face height of the 4DX is 2mm taller than the 3DX models, giving the 4DX less spin and a more penetrating ball flight. This design change creates a perfect trajectory that fights the wind and lands softly from long distances, while catering to every swing speed.
• XW Inserts, which have become the driving technology behind nearly every Nickent product in the 2007 line, are made of Tungsten Polymer to reduce vibration and to be used for swing weight adjustment. It’s like having movable weights without the hassle and without relying on bulky screws that add a harsh feel at impact.

Offered in 16 different lofts and two stock shafts in a variety of flexes, there is a 4DX out there for the most discriminating of golfers.  With so many options, you are certain to find a club that will match your desired distance/trajectory needs.

Look and Feel

I got my hands on 17 (2 Iron replacement) and 20 (3 Iron replacement) degree models of the 4DX Ironwood with the UST V2 shafts (slightly lower trajectory).  When I first took these out of the box, wow.  First, what an awesome looking shaft.  The V2s have a slightly rough feel to them, not glossy like most graphite shafts.  Sounds strange, but actually looks really cool, and is quite functional, as you do not have to worry about any reflections off the golf shaft.

The club heads themselves setup quite well, are nice and compact, and have a very iron like hybrid feel to them.  Nickent offers a Utility version of the 4DX if you are looking for something closer to a fairway wood size.  Personally, I feel more comfortable with this compact shape.  Set next to my Sonartec MD or Taylor Made Rescue Dual, the 4DX appears to be slightly smaller.

The combination of the V2 shaft and the 4DX Ironwood provides a great feel off the club face.  Especially when well struck from the fairway.  Hit the sweet spot on this baby and the ball seems to explode off the face with a nice buttery feel.  This is something I never did like about the Rescue Dual, it always felt so harsh or gave little positive or negative feedback.

The sole of the 4DX is quite nice to look at as well.  The little green crevices toward the back are interesting, and the tungsten plugs are not distracting.  Not that you look at the sole of the club often, but they are quite pretty.

Performance

I’ve used these clubs in two rounds now (79 @ Quail Brook, 87 @ Warrenbrook) as well as a lengthy session at the driving range.  So I’ve had a chance to hit the club out of the rough, off soft fairway lies, tight fairway lies, off a tee, and even once out of a fairway bunker.

First of all, off the tee and from the soft fairway lies this is probably the best hybrid I have ever hit.  With this 2 iron replacement, I really can forget about carrying a fairway wood.  I was belting this club about 230-240 carry.  Plenty good for me.  Beyond that distance, I should really lay up anyway!  As I said earlier, the ball really does feel like it explodes off the club face, and takes a nice low, rising trajectory, that eventually drops from the sky quite nicely.  When hit into a green or soft fairway it seemed to stop quickly.  Off a hard fairway, it seemed to get a fair amount of roll as well.

The club is very straight if you are lined up for that.  Even slightly off center strikes were pretty much online.  Open or close your stance a little, and I was able to get the ball to work left-right or right-left with ease.

Out of less than ideal conditions the club seemed to perform as well.  I had far fewer experiences out of tough conditions than off the tee/fairway, but for the most part out of the rough or a tight lie, when I put a good swing on the club, I was rewarded with a nice shot.  The club head cut through the rough pretty easy even with a smooth swing.  I only really ran into trouble the first couple times when I hit it and felt like I really had to try and go after it when the ball was buried in some deep grass….alas, I was wrong, nice smooth tempo, and the ball jumped right out.

I really only tried the club out of a fairway bunker once.  The result was decent, I caught a little sand before the ball, so it was less than an ideal hit, but the ball still got up and out, just lost some distance.  Little more practice on that shot, and I’m sure the 4DX would be fine.

Lastly, I did try some chips around the green with the 20 degree club.  The feel off the face was great.  Obviously not as soft as my MP-33 PW, but for those cases where you just want to bump the ball up and have it roll out, the 4DX was a nice option, I felt like I had a good feel for the distance rather quickly.

Conculsion

While I am not sure that this 20 degree 4DX would permanently kick my 3 iron out of my bag, I do believe they could co-exist quite peacefully.  The 20 degree seemed to be a great option out of the rough or tricky lies…I certainly do not feel comfortable trying to hit a 3 iron out of some thick rough.  The 17 degree will most definitely have a place in my bag as a great driving option on tight holes and layup situations.  It was also awesome off the fairway, so bye bye fairway wood!  The way my bag is setup at the moment there is no reason why I cannot carry both and still carry my 3 iron.

So this ends my brief love affair with the Sonartec MD and will certainly make my long game a heck of a lot simpler!

Thanks to Nickent for supplying the clubs for this review, you have a wonderful product on your hands!

Buy a Nickent Hybrid

• Nickent 4DX Ironwood – $199 @ Golfsmith
• Nickent 4DX Ironwood – New/Used @ Ebay

Introduction:

I have had trouble with two areas that this particular club should be able to address:

• Hitting 230+ yard shots accurately while getting them to stop quickly
• Hitting long irons out of fairway bunkers/moderate rough

With these requirements in mind, I tried out both #4 and #2 TaylorMade Rescue Dual Hybrid clubs. The results were mixed, though, I love the clubs.

The set up is as follows:

#2
16° Loft
59° Lie
105cc Head Volume
Weighting: Toe 2 heel 14 (Draw Bias)
Length: 40.5″
Swingweight: D3
Shaft: Steel T-Step Ultralite

#4
22° Loft
60° Lie
110cc Head Volume
Weighting: Toe 2 heel 14 (Draw Bias)
Length: 39.5″
Swingweight: D3
Shaft: Steel T-Step Ultralite

Appearance:

The club is grey as opposed to the original TM Rescue’s black, and although it is supposed to be the same size, it sure looks bigger to me. I believe it is slightly larger, and the fact that it is not black doesn’t do much to hide it.

Taking out the fact that it looks different to the older Rescue, it looks very good. The shape is very much Rescue, it retains the two tone with the bead blasted topline that so many are accustomed to.

The sole looks very good too, and Taylormade did a great job of hiding the weights in the sole. Without turning it over, you would never know. Overall the club looks fantastic, and the grey color has been growing on me.

Feel and Sound:

In comparing to the original Rescue, the Dual is a little higher pitched with more of a metallic “tink” to it. It certainly is not loud or offensive in any way, and I became comfortable with the sound pretty much right away. I would best compare it to more of a steel fairway wood type sound. The club also makes a slight whistling sound as you swing it, which is a little strange at first, but nothing that is overly distracting.

Feel wise, it is pretty solid. It feels much like the original Rescue where as you feel like hitting the ball with a solid billet of steel. There is no vibration or really strong feedback. Pretty traditional hybrid feel.

Performance:

When it comes to the traditional tee shot, teeing it up as normal, it hits high. The trajectory, with the exact same shaft goes quite a bit higher than the original. I though maybe it was me, but I am hitting the ball dead flush and when going back and forth with the original, it definitely hits a higher ball off the tee. I can certainly see how this would be very advantagous for most players, and it fits my requirements of being able to get a long shot to stop quickly. For those of you wanting a lower ball flight, you may be able to achieve this by playing with the weights.

Off the deck it is really pretty similar to the original. The only thing I find is that it tends to grab the long grass on the leading edge just a little more than the original club. Not that it is diggy, but there is just a very slight deceleratory hangup that I experience in thick rough. It’s an every so slightly different feel through the turf than I am used to.

Overall:

Overall, it really is an outstanding golf club, and the fact that you can make it severely anti left OR right is a tremendous advantage in terms of dialing it in for the player. The look has really grown on me, to the point where I take it out sometimes just to look at it. While I think I’ll be sticking with a 4 iron/3 iron instead of the #4 hybrid, I’ll definitely be carrying the #2 in lieu of a 5 wood from now on.

Marketing Material:

• TaylorMade’s Movable Weight TechnologyTM gives players the power to change the CG to create a larger draw bias or a neutral trajectory bias, promoting greater accuracy and/or distance
• Dual TLC ports, widely spaced, contribute to an MOI that’s 15 to 20% higher than the Rescue Mid for increased forgiveness on mis-hits
• New T-shaped sole promotes increased clubhead stability at address and reduced drag at impact, promoting greater accuracy and distance
• Low CG makes the Rescue Dual dramatically easier to launch than a long-iron, equaling consistently higher, longer shots

Where to Buy

• Rescue Dual on Ebay – $75->$125
• TaylorMade Rescue Dual Hybrid – Graphite Shaft – $129.99
• TaylorMade Rescue Dual TP Hybrid – Steel Shaft – $199.99

Tags: taylor+made, rescue+dual, rescue+dual+review, hybrid, iron+replacement, deep+rough

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