Qi-10 vs Smoke AI vs Darkspeed - 7.5 Handicap mid 90s swing speed

[@gregcochennet385]

Nice review. I like seeing reviews from people with average club head speeds like mine.

[@GolForElse]

Glad you enjoyed it. I’m working on increasing my clubhead speed and I have a series of videos on doing that. Have you ever thought about speed training?

[@johnbrodnik839]

The standard on a perfect shot is taking your swing speed and multiplying by 2.7. That would include the roll out. Your swing speed is around 93 to 95 mph. Or, 251 - 256 yards total.

[@GolForElse]

Oh cool I didn’t know how the calculations were made. Thanks for sharing!

[@fullsizerangerover]

I hit these at the PGA super store and the G430 max 10k which was my favorite- I plan on going to get fitted for the G430 max 10k before spring comes

[@GolForElse]

I hit the G430 last week. I firmly believe it’s the easiest driver to hit ever made. I just wasn’t a huge fan of the shaping and looks of the turbulators but if you don’t mind that it’s a great option for finding the fairway consistently! Good luck with the fitting! 👊🏼

[@cwugrad396]

273 yards with a sub 95mph swing speed is very very good.

[@niteninja0133]

Tried them all the ping 10k was a bit straighter for me but the miss hits could go anywhere, the AI Max D was the one worked great for the misses were consistent

[@GolForElse]

I also tried the Ping 10k before narrowing it down to these 3. It was straight but a bit shorter than the other 3. I also didn’t really like the look over the ball with all the ‘turbulators’ the raised surfaces messed with my eye. Glad you found your match. Smoke AI is a great driver!

[@blaw9571]

Did the smoke ai max d stop you from slicing as it’s a draw biased driver. I have the ping g430 SFT and it has eliminated my slice for the most part. Was wondering if the Max D does the same

[@GolForElse]

@@blaw9571 it straightened out the ball flight a little but no piece of equipment fixes my path issues unfortunately. It’s something I am working on though.

[@niteninja0133]

@GolForElse same here I'm working on turning the face over

[@darrenbell6376]

I swing it at 97mph average like yourself and tried the range of ping, tmade and cobra drivers over three fitting sessions. I'm a big tmade fan myself currently have stealth 2 in the bag but i can safely say the cobra darkspeed smoked them all. I'm gutted actual wanted the qi10 but centre strikes and off centre strikes just could not compete with the darkspeed x. I guess everyone is different that's why we have fittings but to my eye i hated the look of the ping and the glossy crown of the tmade over the ball. Cobra ticks all the boxes this year for me and I'm shocked how good the thing really has performed

[@GolForElse]

That’s awesome! I’m glad you found a good fit! Earlier this week I went back and hit the Darkspeed Max and REALLY enjoyed it felt totally different off the face than the X which I had issues with. I was also able to get in the spin windows I wanted (2500) and it was so forgiving. As I said in the video I love the look of Darkspeed. I bet I’ll end up buying a Max before the season is over.

[@TrevorDandy.]

I love how golfers see something new and flock to it. I've hit the 3 of these and there is ZERO chance that the TSR3 is coming out of the bag. There's nothing special in the new Cally/TM/Cobra/PING lineup. Throw PXG in there too

[@GolForElse]

I’m glad you found a driver you enjoy. TSR3 is Titleist current model what was it that convinced you into it?

[@bentlyair637]

Which Qi10 head were you hitting? There are 3 models

[@GolForElse]

I was hitting the standard.

[@frankthegolfnut]

Cool review. And aside from age, your handicap and swing speed (and toe misses with the driver) are a mirror to mine. Curious, what shafts did you use in this test? The same for each?

[@GolForElse]

Thanks for watching! I was using Ventus Blue 6s shafts in each of these. That has been my gamer shaft for quite a while.

[@jes_40]

what loft were you testing at?

[@GolForElse]

All were 10.5

[@denny2427]

According to the data, Darkspeed was the winner of total distance. Same as me. How about the forgiveness? For me it was callaway.

[@GolForElse]

Total distance was Darkspeed. But I was more concerned with forgiveness. For me Darkspeed was least forgiving on miss hits. I really love the looks and the performance off the center of the face but I’m not as consistent as I think I need to be to utilize it.

[@BretDouglas]

What is your usual attack angle? The Darkspeed numbers are almost ideal for a level (0°) attack. Also it went 15 yards longer longer than the Callaway even hitting with less clubhead speed. Can the forgiveness of the Ai Smoke make up that difference? Doubtful. I don't know how faith I'd put in those numbers since the Cobra is flying lower, but carrying farther. Also, the 1.52 Smash seems optimistic.

[@GolForElse]

I’d say .5 - 1 is about the average range of my AoA. Darkspeed will end up being in the bag at some point in 2024 I’m sure. It’s really good. But to start the year I think the forgiveness, sound and feel of the Qi-10 is the right move for me.

[@cheezburger6130]

Did you try the Cleveland XL2....with your swing speed that could be the winner. What ball are you using

[@GolForElse]

No I didn’t try it. I just switched to the Chrome Tour ball. This off season I’ve been working on swing speed with Superspeed I hope to be able to add around 5-10mph over the next 10 weeks.

[@gmcj1107]

Thanks for suggesting the Cleveland XL2... i've been a Callaway (Rogue ST) guy but maybe i will check out the XL2. my clubbed speed is 90, 91 mph

[@alexbeesley1144]

Hope the faces dont fall off this year

[@GolForElse]

Definitely won't at my speed.

[@Suffdog]

What ball was you testing with

[@GolForElse]

For this was testing with the 2024 Chrome Tour.

[@MrKillahippo]

schools is still out for me on the carbon faces, I feel they naturally lose their bounce off. and the sound get duller. my question is how long before is deteriorates?

[@GolForElse]

This is a good question and I’m certainly gonna put that to the test. I play well over 100 rounds a year so I wonder if I’m gonna see any differences in my beginning of the year rounds versus the end of the rounds with driver

[@jasondeuce4444]

I bet you've been using Taylormade all the time

[@GolForElse]

It’s a good possibility it’s a great driver. But, they all are in their own way. We’ll see. Im excited to get the Qi-10 in the bag. Should be delivered by next week.

[@adamp2050]

cool review but your stats show cora is the best. good luck

[@GolForElse]

It was just too inconsistent for me. I may hit it furthest sometimes but I’d rather sacrifice a few yards for consistency

[@wgrooms719]

According to those numbers, the cobra and taylormade were non-conforming. Smash factors over 1.50

[@GolForElse]

Yeah estimations are like that sometimes 🤷

[@callumararity7857]

I can’t see how a swing speed of 95ish gives 240 carry. That’s not right

[@GolForElse]

Correct it is not. I realize this after the fact. This was at a golf store who's agenda is to sell drivers by tweaking the settings on their trackman to higher elevation and maximum roll out.

[@dduncan86]

You can get 240 carry or even a little more out of 95 mph swing speed. Rule of thumb in fitting is club speed x 2.7 for maximum efficiency. A lot of variables go into that, such as impact location, angle of attack, path, spin, and launch angle.

[@GolForElse]

@@dduncan86 That's really interesting. Admittedly I don't know a lot about the numbers and how they are what they are. I just rely on the system to be accurate.