Growing golf depends on good performing club options at all price levels. Don’t expect Kirklands to outperform the best clubs in any category. Just expect Kirkland to perform well enough to keep that buyer-golfer playing and enjoying the game. It’s 100% successful in that way in all its products. Hope Kirkland continues to do well because traditional makers are intent on raising the price levels all the time, which isn’t good for growing the game.
Some people think that club technology is limited more by the laws of the game than the technology itself. I’m not sure that’s completely true. More expensive drivers/clubs can incorporate more exotic materials, materials that can add to the springiness of a club face, adding distance. Also, the manufacturer can incorporate more tech behind and in the head to add to distance and/or forgiveness. I will agree that there is a point of diminishing returns. How much “more” do you get when you pay more. I’m of the mind that for mid to high handicappers, the Kirkland would serve us just fine, or even a 5 year old used club from a major manufacturer. I’m also a firm believer that today’s shafts have more to do with performance than the latest and greatest head design. Thanks, Gabe, for the great content as always!
Disappointed that nothing can come close to the ping. 1.5 yards off line vs almost 15 for the Kirkland ping is the straightest driver ever and has better distance then the ping g400max
All drivers go the same distance when hit perfectly... it's been regulated into the game since the late 90s... You are paying for forgiveness and R&D... Driver distance is limited by the laws of physics... everything else is marketing...
@LetsPlayThru hence why I said you are paying for forgiveness. Shafts only matter as a personal adjustment tool. You will get more distance for *you* out of a different shaft... but you will not get more distance out of the clubhead itself. They literally test these things with machines that eliminate the human margin of error. There is 100% a max efficiency in every single (approved) club head created today. No driver is longer in distance. It's longer *for you*. That's why fittings are important...
The Kirkland would benefit from a better shaft. I looked at a ton of driver test this year and all things considered I went with a Mizuno STX. Got it for $199 of ebay brand new with head cover/tool included. Thats the same price as the Kirkland so value wise I think it was the best driver available. I like the PXG Black Ops and new Titelist GT series but couldn't see paying the prices they want for those considering performance of the Mizuno is on par with those drivers. Very happy with my choice. Great video by the way !
Need to explain why you aren’t gaming the Miz… smash factor is silly. You were just better with the Miz. Period. Kirkland did fine. Ping 10k for a g? Play the Miz.
Tom Wishon is a very smart and wonderful club builder and designer ! Played a few of his Irons through the years , the 575mmc & 565mc , my buddy still plays the 771csi irons !!!
Gabe I have a question, where do you buy a Costco driver? Not in any Costco store in my area and there are 5 in my county. Nor on the website also no drivers or right handed putters or irons or wedges. Why are you UA-camrs giving all this Kirkland content on gear you can’t get…
Just last week, I saw them on the website. And they are definitely in stores from time to time. As time goes on, it will get more and more available. Now the irons - I don’t think we will ever see them again. That’s why I stopped making videos about them.
Parish yate the response. All the stores around here just have balls, gloves, the Pebble Beach stand golf bag, and that’s it… the golf bags not to bad actually.. the putter is only available in left hand on the website and the wedges and drivers are sold out.
Something wrong with your settings. 100 mph swing speed doesn't carry nearly 270 yards, especially with a lower smash factor than 1.5. Great video's though.... Love your enthusiasm.
Not sure where you get "nearly 270 yards" of carry. His average carry was 256, with a total distance of 275. His average swing speed was about 101.5 mph. Those distances certainly make sense to me at those swing speeds. .
Does the highest smash factor really matter if the ball speed isn’t the highest? I assume it’s because the ping heads are heavier. You could easily add more mass to the other two heads to achieve the same efficiency, but that doesn’t always translate into distance. Based on the performance and price, it’s Mizuno all day! Especially given it didn’t have a premium shaft like the ping. Awesome video thanks for posting!
Tried them all. Most are really solid. I'm a Mizuno iron fan so now love my STX-230 Mizuno. Does what I need it to do. Not a fan of the Linq shaft. I have the Aldila Ascent Red shaft. Wanted the Graphite Design but not for another $300. However, one of the best and longest per dollar driver ever is my 2021 PXG 0211with Riptide CB shaft.
I absolutely love my Kirkland Driver. When I catch it well I can get it out there 280+ yards. Would like to try some of the 2024 options to see how much difference there is in forgiveness
Can a "cheap" driver perform as good.... Cheapest driver costs as much as my most of my set combined. Me, looking awsy in shame: I am not sure that word means what you think it means.
Love the test. As you said, I think the shaft made a HUGE difference allowing the PIng to be in the fairway on nearly every swing letting it get the most rollout. But no way I would spend $1k on a driver/shaft combo over either of the other options. I think if you put that shaft in the other 2 heads they would all end up being even more similar in total distance and dispersion. As some others have said, for my money I'd probably go with the Mizuno and a shaft that I know works for me. Or look at one of the Cobra's on sale (you can still get a new Aerojet for I think $299).
I thought it was awesome that you compared a driver in each price category. Maybe you can have a budget driver comparison. I wish the Kirkland irons and driver were available at my Costco. 😢😢
Would also love to see a head to head with an older version, not too old, like the new Ping Max vs the 400 Max. I tried the new one but didn’t see any difference. Thus the question, has tech improved that much recently?
I think my take away is ping is the straightest but if you want a longer driver you need to have one that hits the fairway 1st otherwise don't go for distance
I wonder how the Costco would work with that Mizuno shaft. You stated that you liked that shaft a lot. I know personally that the shaft can make a real difference.
The mizuno woods are some of best value in golf right now. They look so good. Just not a fan of Kirkland, would much rather buy used for $200 budget. There are usually prior year new Cobras on sale for $299 or Tour Edge. Just no reason to ever touch a Kirkland golf product
That was awesome. Looking good by the way Gabe, you working out? Did you crank the Kirkland down a degree, or did you use the stock 10.5•? That would get your launch angle & spin down. Perhaps even use the draw setting, so you hit the fairway, rather than the rough. That way you can get the most out of the Kirkland. You could even put your Mizuno shaft, or any other Mizuno shaft in there to optimize that Kirkland driver. Then again, that kinda defies the purpose of this “budget” driver. For me, having tried the evenflow, ventus blue and hzrdus blue in stiff shaft, I found the evenflow also kicky at the top and got about +350 spin on the ball, compared to the other two. Between the Ventus blue & Hzrdus blue there wasn’t much in it. The launch with the Hzrdus was a little lower, more penetrating, so I chose that one. With an optimum launch angle of about 14, swing speed of about 95mph, I get 2500 spin, and about 245 carry and about 265 roll out. Which makes sense, every 1mph is about 3-5yrds gain.
It's funny these are exactly my last 3 drivers.. well squeeze the Callaway Paradym TD into that lineup too.. The Mizuno feels and sounds the best and it's the most forgiving of the bunch by a long shot.
Gabe.. I fast forwarded to the results chart and saw 307 average, thinking you've gone beast mode .. then noticed "To pin" at top of that column. Still a good test.. will watch again later..!
I feel that the better golfer you are the less benefit you get from drivers these days. If you’re a 7 handicap or better, what’s the point of shelling out all that cash for a Ping?
Bought a Mizuno ST-X 230 platinum which is supposed to be 12degree but I found you can get them as 10.5 with hzrdus shaft for 175 shipped, so people can keep an eye out on that at maple hill or pga superstore
@@jbh199 It is my gamer and it keeps me in the fairway even with my crazy slice. I like the sound from the ping, callaway, titleist more but this fit my budget really nicely and especially getting it with the shaft I wanted beat those all out
I would never spend in Canada $1000 on a Ping 10K driver if I could buy the Kirkland or the Mizuno for less. If you put an expensive shaft into the Kirkland or Mizuno, as what was in the Ping, you may even increase the numbers on those drivers even more. In Canada, the Ping 10k driver with taxes is $993 CDN. Sorry, but that’s just ridiculous. When you look at the numbers here it’s basically splitting hairs and it’s also just human testing not a robot. So taking everything with a grain of salt, all you can say is that this is so hairline close it’s a matter of preference, budget, But in the end, the numbers and forgiveness are going to be so close on an average course for a regular golfer is negligible. Great video 👍
Great video as always Gabe. Unless i am mistaken, it looks like you picked up quite a bit of speed since your early videos, and you also seem to have lost weight and look fitter. Would love to see a video about how you have been working on your speed and fitness.
I keep seeing UA-camrs compare and try to justify this Kirkland driver. But in reality the lack of forgiveness, the price point, and the customer base (high handicapper), its going to cost more shots than the value. Makes me wonder are all these UA-camrs being paid to push this driver? I guess long gone are the days of unbiased reviews...
@@milan3916 well I can assure you that creators aren’t being paid by Kirkland. I want to test everything, especially stuff that makes golf more affordable for folks. It’s an expensive enough game already.
@LetsPlayThru Not if you are getting a proper fitting ! How can you compare a £1000 head and shaft combo which has been fitted to a off the rack item/a box buy item and expect to have a fair result?
@@peterjohnson147Who in the world is ever getting fitted for Kirkland? And if you’re getting fitted, then that fitting should be your source of truth, not any UA-cam video.
Doing this test with your top drivers of the last 5yrs would be interesting
Here is something similar: 😀: ua-cam.com/video/xL0ll3ymExw/v-deo.htmlsi=FkdTcvpDGY4BzGZr
So for an addition $800, you can pick up 1 yard of distance! 😂
I Love Golf!!
Growing golf depends on good performing club options at all price levels. Don’t expect Kirklands to outperform the best clubs in any category. Just expect Kirkland to perform well enough to keep that buyer-golfer playing and enjoying the game. It’s 100% successful in that way in all its products. Hope Kirkland continues to do well because traditional makers are intent on raising the price levels all the time, which isn’t good for growing the game.
So, Mere Mortals don’t need anything more than Kirkland. And, they’d be “suckers” to spend anything more.
8mph wind helped you carry an extra 30 yards. turn it off!
It's hilarious that the Kirkland is holding its own against a $1k driver.
Some people think that club technology is limited more by the laws of the game than the technology itself. I’m not sure that’s completely true. More expensive drivers/clubs can incorporate more exotic materials, materials that can add to the springiness of a club face, adding distance. Also, the manufacturer can incorporate more tech behind and in the head to add to distance and/or forgiveness.
I will agree that there is a point of diminishing returns. How much “more” do you get when you pay more. I’m of the mind that for mid to high handicappers, the Kirkland would serve us just fine, or even a 5 year old used club from a major manufacturer. I’m also a firm believer that today’s shafts have more to do with performance than the latest and greatest head design.
Thanks, Gabe, for the great content as always!
@Papa-Bogey no, you are 100% incorrect. A company cannot increase the "springiness" of the club face.
It's literally written in the rules.
LOL 101mph swing speed and 285 yards drive. juiced.
Gabe, l play the Ping G430. I always split the fairway. I sacrifice a little distance for accuracy. I love that club 👍.
You have impeccable taste 🙌
Disappointed that nothing can come close to the ping. 1.5 yards off line vs almost 15 for the Kirkland ping is the straightest driver ever and has better distance then the ping g400max
All drivers go the same distance when hit perfectly... it's been regulated into the game since the late 90s...
You are paying for forgiveness and R&D...
Driver distance is limited by the laws of physics... everything else is marketing...
Indeed, but not every brand maximizes MOI - especially on off-center strikes. Shaft plays a big role in distance as well. So still lots to consider.
@LetsPlayThru hence why I said you are paying for forgiveness.
Shafts only matter as a personal adjustment tool. You will get more distance for *you* out of a different shaft... but you will not get more distance out of the clubhead itself.
They literally test these things with machines that eliminate the human margin of error.
There is 100% a max efficiency in every single (approved) club head created today.
No driver is longer in distance. It's longer *for you*. That's why fittings are important...
The Kirkland would benefit from a better shaft. I looked at a ton of driver test this year and all things considered I went with a Mizuno STX. Got it for $199 of ebay brand new with head cover/tool included. Thats the same price as the Kirkland so value wise I think it was the best driver available. I like the PXG Black Ops and new Titelist GT series but couldn't see paying the prices they want for those considering performance of the Mizuno is on par with those drivers. Very happy with my choice. Great video by the way !
Mizuno WINS!
Lets get you a $200 Maltby TC Pro that would beat all 3 of these in stats. 😁
All jokes aside, it easily outperforms my Mizuno ST-Z 230.
Sounds like a challenge, I’m up for that
@@LetsPlayThru I'm your huckleberry 😜. You know where to find me!
I see GigaGolf has a new $200 Carbon driver now. Looks rather nice. (Hint, hint)
Do you have a Ping g400? I saw another video where the G400 was very similar to a G430 10k max and a fraction of the price.
Dude. If you're trying to get distance just use the driving range setting on the screen
For an amateur the Kirkland does the job and saves the wallet win win
Need to explain why you aren’t gaming the Miz… smash factor is silly. You were just better with the Miz. Period.
Kirkland did fine.
Ping 10k for a g?
Play the Miz.
Fairways. I like ‘em. PING hits the most of ‘em. 😀
Gabe I would take the Mizuno ST 230 Max all day long. Has become my gamer.
It’s a great one for sure
Qi10 woukd blow my those 3 driver
As Tom Wishon always says, clubs have max COR so most clubs it's down to cosmetics and looks. £500 for a driver won't give you anything extra.
Tom Wishon is a very smart and wonderful club builder and designer ! Played a few of his Irons through the years , the 575mmc & 565mc , my buddy still plays the 771csi irons !!!
@@shanewilliams1216 I've just had a set of 771 built. After trying other makes the 771 felt better, performed better and was £30 a club cheaper.
Go pick up an old R580XD for $40 I bet it will hit as far as anything out
With the Mizuno now priced at $299 its a great deal
😊smash that like button 👇
Yes indeed. Extremely tempting at that price for a new driver that competes with the best.
Gabe I have a question, where do you buy a Costco driver? Not in any Costco store in my area and there are 5 in my county. Nor on the website also no drivers or right handed putters or irons or wedges. Why are you UA-camrs giving all this Kirkland content on gear you can’t get…
Just last week, I saw them on the website. And they are definitely in stores from time to time. As time goes on, it will get more and more available. Now the irons - I don’t think we will ever see them again. That’s why I stopped making videos about them.
Parish yate the response. All the stores around here just have balls, gloves, the Pebble Beach stand golf bag, and that’s it… the golf bags not to bad actually.. the putter is only available in left hand on the website and the wedges and drivers are sold out.
Kirkland or mizuno stx? Stz? Both about the same price.
Mizuno for sure at same price
Foot movement just like Sheffler!
Something wrong with your settings. 100 mph swing speed doesn't carry nearly 270 yards, especially with a lower smash factor than 1.5. Great video's though.... Love your enthusiasm.
Not sure where you get "nearly 270 yards" of carry. His average carry was 256, with a total distance of 275. His average swing speed was about 101.5 mph. Those distances certainly make sense to me at those swing speeds.
.
@@andrewtopping1937 there was one at 267 and a few close to.
The hole he is playing is probably high in elevation
Am I crazy or does the primary difference between the Kirkland and the ping just come down to the launch angle and peak height?
In terms of pure stats, yes. Dispersion though was a different story it seemed.
Great review
Does the highest smash factor really matter if the ball speed isn’t the highest? I assume it’s because the ping heads are heavier. You could easily add more mass to the other two heads to achieve the same efficiency, but that doesn’t always translate into distance.
Based on the performance and price, it’s Mizuno all day! Especially given it didn’t have a premium shaft like the ping.
Awesome video thanks for posting!
can it have the same forgiveness?
Tried them all. Most are really solid. I'm a Mizuno iron fan so now love my STX-230 Mizuno. Does what I need it to do. Not a fan of the Linq shaft. I have the Aldila Ascent Red shaft. Wanted the Graphite Design but not for another $300. However, one of the best and longest per dollar driver ever is my 2021 PXG 0211with Riptide CB shaft.
I absolutely love my Kirkland Driver. When I catch it well I can get it out there 280+ yards. Would like to try some of the 2024 options to see how much difference there is in forgiveness
Can a "cheap" driver perform as good.... Cheapest driver costs as much as my most of my set combined.
Me, looking awsy in shame: I am not sure that word means what you think it means.
Love the test. As you said, I think the shaft made a HUGE difference allowing the PIng to be in the fairway on nearly every swing letting it get the most rollout. But no way I would spend $1k on a driver/shaft combo over either of the other options. I think if you put that shaft in the other 2 heads they would all end up being even more similar in total distance and dispersion. As some others have said, for my money I'd probably go with the Mizuno and a shaft that I know works for me. Or look at one of the Cobra's on sale (you can still get a new Aerojet for I think $299).
So if we pay $100 to $800 more for a major brand driver we can get 2 additional yards? Sounds like a deal to me. 😂
I thought it was awesome that you compared a driver in each price category. Maybe you can have a budget driver comparison. I wish the Kirkland irons and driver were available at my Costco. 😢😢
Would also love to see a head to head with an older version, not too old, like the new Ping Max vs the 400 Max. I tried the new one but didn’t see any difference. Thus the question, has tech improved that much recently?
I think my take away is ping is the straightest but if you want a longer driver you need to have one that hits the fairway 1st otherwise don't go for distance
I wonder how the Costco would work with that Mizuno shaft. You stated that you liked that shaft a lot. I know personally that the shaft can make a real difference.
Recently purchased the Mizuno ST Max 230 it’s phenomenal so easy to hit, so straight and long. easily as good as the higher priced options out now
when/if you test the callaway mini driver can you please do the 11.5 model?
Great test. Love the enthusiasm. Don’t throw your back out. The driver is not my friend.
need a comparison vid for the takomo 101s, vs the maltby ts1,3,and 4s
What if you put the Mizuno’s Ling shaft in the Kirkland?
Can you tell us who manufacturers the Kirkland driver?
The mizuno woods are some of best value in golf right now. They look so good. Just not a fan of Kirkland, would much rather buy used for $200 budget. There are usually prior year new Cobras on sale for $299 or Tour Edge. Just no reason to ever touch a Kirkland golf product
The ST Max for $299 is an absolute steal. I’d leap on it if I was looking for a driver right now.
wow you picked up speed. Must be all the weight loss :)
Why wouldn’t you do it in an open fairway sim ?!?
That was awesome. Looking good by the way Gabe, you working out?
Did you crank the Kirkland down a degree, or did you use the stock 10.5•? That would get your launch angle & spin down. Perhaps even use the draw setting, so you hit the fairway, rather than the rough.
That way you can get the most out of the Kirkland. You could even put your Mizuno shaft, or any other Mizuno shaft in there to optimize that Kirkland driver. Then again, that kinda defies the purpose of this “budget” driver.
For me, having tried the evenflow, ventus blue and hzrdus blue in stiff shaft, I found the evenflow also kicky at the top and got about +350 spin on the ball, compared to the other two. Between the Ventus blue & Hzrdus blue there wasn’t much in it. The launch with the Hzrdus was a little lower, more penetrating, so I chose that one. With an optimum launch angle of about 14, swing speed of about 95mph, I get 2500 spin, and about 245 carry and about 265 roll out. Which makes sense, every 1mph is about 3-5yrds gain.
Thank you. All drivers were set to 10.5°
Forgot to mention - don’t forget about getting fit!
Good video!!
I have TM Sim2 max, PXG, and mizuno ST. Like the feel of mizuno the most. Not too concerned about the total distance if struck perfectly…
It's funny these are exactly my last 3 drivers.. well squeeze the Callaway Paradym TD into that lineup too.. The Mizuno feels and sounds the best and it's the most forgiving of the bunch by a long shot.
Gabe.. I fast forwarded to the results chart and saw 307 average, thinking you've gone beast mode .. then noticed "To pin" at top of that column. Still a good test.. will watch again later..!
I wish 🤣🤣
No need to replace my radspeed. Maybe in a few years
How was the dispersion?
Ping best by far, then Mizuno, and finally KS
Another great video !!!! I really enjoy it 😁
Teton Pines elevation is 6,200….
Who cares about smash factor. The results show that the Kirkland is as good as your super expensive ping.
Loving the content Gabe!
🐊🏌⛳️🦅🇺🇲
Thanks man
Awesome review! Love all your reviews!!
Some of the best content on UA-cam.
Could you please review cost effective hybrids
Best I’ve found so far is Tour Edge c524
First
I feel that the better golfer you are the less benefit you get from drivers these days. If you’re a 7 handicap or better, what’s the point of shelling out all that cash for a Ping?
Bought a Mizuno ST-X 230 platinum which is supposed to be 12degree but I found you can get them as 10.5 with hzrdus shaft for 175 shipped, so people can keep an eye out on that at maple hill or pga superstore
@@PaulSanz63 Feedback, compared to your gamer? Thanks
@@jbh199 It is my gamer and it keeps me in the fairway even with my crazy slice. I like the sound from the ping, callaway, titleist more but this fit my budget really nicely and especially getting it with the shaft I wanted beat those all out
@@PaulSanz63 Appreciate your comments, thanks
This one played out as more of a story of shafts.
Def a big factor, yes
I would never spend in Canada $1000 on a Ping 10K driver if I could buy the Kirkland or the Mizuno for less. If you put an expensive shaft into the Kirkland or Mizuno, as what was in the Ping, you may even increase the numbers on those drivers even more. In Canada, the Ping 10k driver with taxes is $993 CDN. Sorry, but that’s just ridiculous. When you look at the numbers here it’s basically splitting hairs and it’s also just human testing not a robot. So taking everything with a grain of salt, all you can say is that this is so hairline close it’s a matter of preference, budget, But in the end, the numbers and forgiveness are going to be so close on an average course for a regular golfer is negligible. Great video 👍
but if you can get a g400 max for 200 on marketplace, would you still take the kirkland?
Great video as always Gabe. Unless i am mistaken, it looks like you picked up quite a bit of speed since your early videos, and you also seem to have lost weight and look fitter. Would love to see a video about how you have been working on your speed and fitness.
I keep seeing UA-camrs compare and try to justify this Kirkland driver. But in reality the lack of forgiveness, the price point, and the customer base (high handicapper), its going to cost more shots than the value. Makes me wonder are all these UA-camrs being paid to push this driver? I guess long gone are the days of unbiased reviews...
The jump to from “wondering” to assuming was pretty quick right there 🤣
@@LetsPlayThru wondering about this driver vs an observation of UA-cam reviews. Maybe I needed a better segue or better punctuation 🤔
@@milan3916 well I can assure you that creators aren’t being paid by Kirkland. I want to test everything, especially stuff that makes golf more affordable for folks. It’s an expensive enough game already.
What a waste of time , you are comparing apples to bananas to strawberries!
At least use the same shaft in all 3 to get a fair test !!!
I don’t think it’s a waste of time at all. This is how you are going to buy the Clubs.
@LetsPlayThru Not if you are getting a proper fitting ! How can you compare a £1000 head and shaft combo which has been fitted to a off the rack item/a box buy item and expect to have a fair result?
@@peterjohnson147Who in the world is ever getting fitted for Kirkland? And if you’re getting fitted, then that fitting should be your source of truth, not any UA-cam video.
It’s a waist of time because you can’t buy Kirkland drivers on the website or in the stores.
Enough with the F’n Kirkland crap!