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2015 Gear Trials: FAQ

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There’s a running joke around the GolfWRX office during the winter months. Before he goes to bed, GolfWRX Founder and President Richard Audi reviews the incoming votes from our Gear Trials Panelists. At least once.

[quote_box_center]”During the two weeks we are receiving the votes of our Gear Trials Panelists, I’m all over Zak [GolfWRX’s Editor] to send them to me ASAP,” Audi says. “I’ll open up all six on my computer so I can review them all on my screen at once. That’s where my wife says, ‘Just stop it.'”[/quote_box_center]

What our founder is in search of, like many golfers, is insight into the best-performing new clubs on the market. What new driver will be in his bag in 2015? Is it finally time to add a new fairway wood? Or a hybrid to replace that pesky long iron? Or a larger, more forgiving set of irons?

These are the questions that keep GolfWRXers up night, and the reason we created our Gear Trials Club test.

We hold Gear Trials sacred, because we understand its importance and special place in the industry. There is no shortage of best clubs lists, but Gear Trials is the only test we know of that’s 100 percent based on the feedback of the top club fitters in the world, and verified by independent Trackman testing.

Image from Cool Clubs, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.

Image from Cool Clubs, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.

The golf equipment space is more confusing now than ever, with more new club models currently in stores than at any time in the industry’s history. That’s why we designed Gear Trials to cut through the noise, and give golfers a short list of the best-performing clubs in the following categories:

  • Drivers
  • Fairway Woods
  • Hybrids
  • Players Irons
  • Game-Improvement Irons
  • Blade Irons

Armed with our Gear Trials lists, golfers can narrow their new club search to just a few top-performing models. We hope that will save them time, money and most importantly, help them play better golf… or have more fun. Preferably both.

So what else goes into our 2015 Gear Trials: Best Clubs Lists? Here’s a list of frequently asked questions.

Who votes?

Image from True Spec Golf, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.

Image from True Spec Golf, one of our Gear Trials Panelists.

Our Gear Trials: Best Clubs Lists are created with the votes of our Gear Trials Panel, which includes six of the top golf club fitters in North America. Four of the fitters are on Golf Digest’s list of the best club fitters in America, while the other two (Modern Golf and True Spec Golf) are top international club fitters.

Our Gear Trials Panel includes:

The staffs of each Gear Trials Panelist perform more than 1,000 professional fittings each year — and more than 6,000 yearly fittings between them all. That level of experience is what we feel sets Gear Trials apart from all the other best club lists.

How the voting works

Photo from Gear Trials Panelist Modern Golf.

Photo from Gear Trials Panelist Modern Golf.

Each of our Gear Trials Panelists was asked to rank the top-performing clubs in three categories, which allows us to highlight the clubs that are the best for:

  • Distance: The clubs that fly the farthest.
  • Forgiveness: The clubs that are best on off-center hits.
  • Best Overall: The clubs with the best blend distance and forgiveness.

Our editorial team tallied the votes, and the six models that received the most votes in each category made our lists. If there were ties — for example, a three-way tie for fifth place — our Gear Trials Editors acted as tie breakers.

Who are the Gear Trials Editors?

GolfWRX_Best-Drivers

GolfWRX’s Staff reviews 2015 Gear Trials testing data at company headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.

  • Richard Audi, GolfWRX Founder and President
  • Zak Kozuchowski, GolfWRX Editor
  • Andrew Tursky, GolfWRX Assistant Editor

Was a club test performed?

Gear Trials Panelist Miles of Golf performed an independent club test at its facility in Ypsilanti, Mich., for the each of the Gear Trials categories:

  • Best Drivers: 26 models tested
  • Best Fairway Woods: 20 models tested
  • Best Hybrids: 16 models tested
  • Best Players Irons: 24 models tested
  • Best Game-Improvement Irons: 14 models tested
  • Best Blade Irons: 14 models tested

The club test, which was arranged by Miles of Golf‘s team of trained club fitters, took place over the course of four weekends. It included 41 testers of different ages and ability levels, and was performed on Trackman launch monitors to verify the performance of the clubs chosen by our Gear Trials Panel.

We share your golf passion. You can follow GolfWRX on Twitter @GolfWRX, Facebook and Instagram.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. Jordan

    Sep 16, 2015 at 3:29 pm

    Thanks for the great review.. the same with bradford i want see real results during real game. Golf for me is a great sport to learn about…

  2. Chris C.

    Apr 8, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    I agree with those who have expressed a desire to actually see the results of the extensive testing performed at Miles of Golf. All that effort spread out over the course of 4 weekends, thousands of shots and hours spent collating the myriad data points only to produce the numerical equivalent of gold and silver stars. This strikes me as a terrible waste of time and talent. You had the opportunity to actually provide details delineating distance( longest/average/mean/consistency). You had the opportunity to assess which clubs better suit different types of golfers( axis, launch angles, etc.). You had a chance to detail accuracy and consistency.Obviously, my critique applies not only to the driver tests but also to the fairway wood and hybrid tests. I spend WAY too much time reading club reviews so it frustrates me when I see such a wasted opportunity.

  3. Golfraven

    Mar 25, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    ok, so where is the data from all those test? You have it on the table so why not sharing?

    • E

      Mar 26, 2015 at 12:39 am

      Agreed no relevant information is provided, I frequent the forums to get someone’s feeling on a club. Disappointed golfwrx is seriously lacking in the testing/review department compared to some other sites…

      Non of the top 7 were close to the best preformer for me and Id like to see some numbers showing how they came to those conclusions.

      Seems this is just a re-done golf digest hot list.

      I appreciate the time and effort that went into the trials, just wish a better comparison was does with some evidence behind it.

  4. 8thehardway

    Mar 25, 2015 at 5:15 pm

    I’ve held my own Gear Trials since 2007:
    Pre-trial goal – 10 more yards (dispersion not a problem)
    Round 1 – Hit everything
    Round 2 – Pit the best against my 2005 Ping G5
    Round 3 – Re-grip Ping G5

  5. cliche

    Mar 25, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    would like to see that with wedges

  6. bradford

    Mar 25, 2015 at 11:31 am

    Looking forward to results. They will provide a great method of determining which clubs to choose for simulator golf. Unfortunately, without actual on the course testing, none of it will be very telling- as each club will behave differently for each person, especially under “real-golf” situations.

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Equipment

Tour Edge unveils all-new Exotics mini driver

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Tour Edge Golf has today introduced the all-new Exotics mini driver, engineered to deliver a powerful combination of speed, control, and versatility in the long game. 

The Exotics Mini combines a titanium face with a stainless-steel body in design to balance ball speed with stability and control, creating a versatile option at the top end of the bag. 

At the core of the design is Tour Edge’s proprietary Combo Brazing technology, a high-precision thermal bonding process that seamlessly fuses a titanium cup face to a stainless-steel body into a single, continuous structure. By eliminating energy loss found in traditional multi-piece constructions, Combo Brazing is designed to deliver faster face response, more efficient energy transfer, and a uniquely powerful yet controlled feel.

The multi-material construction also allows mass to be positioned lower and deeper in the head in a bid to increase stability, while the thin titanium face is engineered to maintain ball speed across a wider impact area.

“While the initial goal was to enhance control and versatility in the long game, Combo Brazing ultimately drove measurable gains in ball speed and distance within the mini driver category. In robot testing, we’ve documented higher ball speeds, higher launch, reduced spin, and increased carry and total distance compared to leading models.” – Vice President of R&D Matt Neeley

In addition to distance performance, the Exotics mini emphasizes forgiveness through a heavier stainless-steel body that shifts mass toward the perimeter. This configuration increases MOI relative to traditional all-titanium mini drivers, helping preserve ball speed and directional stability on off-center strikes. Paired with Pyramid Face Technology from the Exotics metalwood line, the design is intended to support consistent speed across the face.

To further enhance MOI, a lightweight carbon fiber crown frees additional mass that is strategically repositioned low and deep in the head in design to improve stability and promote optimal launch with controlled spin.

“We designed the Mini to be about five millimeters shallower than other mini drivers on the market. That change improves playability off the deck. From a clean fairway lie, it can function as a strong 3-wood alternative while still providing control off the tee.” – Tour Edge CEO David Glod

An adjustable hosel system allows for loft and lie tuning to dial in trajectory and shot shape, while a fixed 13-gram rear weight helps stabilize the head through impact to improve dispersion consistency. The Exotics Mini Driver is available in 11.5 and 13.5-degree lofts in right-handed models.

Pricing & Availability

The Exotics Mini Driver is available for pre-order beginning today for $399.99 USD at touredge.com, and will be available for purchase at retail outlets worldwide on May 22, 2026. 

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Equipment

Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss

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In our forums, our members have been pitting a Srixon ZXi combo against a TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo. WRXer ‘edutch22’ is on the hunt for a new set of irons and kicks off the thread saying:

“Looking at picking up a new set of irons and think I’ve narrowed it down to Srixon ZXi combo or Taylormade P7CB/770 combo. I am currently a 5 cap and allbeit I feel irons are my weakness. My miss is a little to the toe side. I am decently steep at 4-5 down. Always thought I am high spin but recently on trackman my 7 was spinning at 5800 roughly. 

My question or looking for thoughts on which one would benefit me more from a forgiveness standpoint? Or is there another iron is should be looking at entirely? I only get to play about once or twice a week, if I am not playing a 2-3 day event. Thanks in advance.”

And our members have been sharing their thoughts and suggestions in response.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • manima1: “You just can’t go wrong with Srixon ZXi7.”
  • MattM97: “You have to hit them to know, the V-Sole on the Srixon can be make or break for many.”
  • dmeeksDC: “P7CB is more forgiving for me than ZXi7 because my main miss is low middle and the P7CB still flies and spins great on that miss. These are both really nice irons but I like the P7CB more than the Zxi7 and the P770 (or P790) more than the Zxi5. The Srixons are larger so if that gives you confidence that is the way to go. I don’t feel like I get any benefit from the V-sole and the P7CBs live up to their high Maltby forgiveness rating so the TaylorMades have been great for me.”

Entire Thread: “Srixon ZXi combo or TaylorMade P7CB/770 combo? – GolfWRXers discuss”

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Equipment

From the GolfWRX Classifieds: 2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade combo

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At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals who all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.

It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.

Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, @pianoman0123 has a 2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade combo up for grabs.

From the listing: “2024 Wilson Staff CB/Blade Combo.  4-8 irons are CB’s and the 9,PW are Blades.  5-PW have Project X 6.0 Shafts and the 4 Iron has a Steelfiber CW110 Stiff Shaft.   Standard Length, Lie and Lofts.  These are in very good condition the shafts just don’t work for me.  Like new Lamkin Grips on the 5-PW and a stock Golf Pride on the 4 Iron. $525 OBO.”

To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link. If you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum, you can learn more here: GolfWRX BST Rules

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