We all know that the performance of a driver isn't all about distance... but we also all want to hit the big stick as far as we can! Which is why, in this video, Joe Ferguson has taken the best performing model in each of the 2024 ranges and pit them up against each other in a three-shot shootout to see which we can accurately crown as the longest golf driver of 2024.
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00:00The 2024 driver releases have been all about lovely safe things like stability, forgiveness,
00:06and MOI, but we all still want our driver to be able to unleash rockets, don't we? I'm here today
00:11to find out which of the 2024 drivers is the longest for me. I've set up a good old-fashioned
00:19slugfest today. I've brought with me the eight longest-hitting models for me personally of all
00:24the major brands that I've tested this year, and that includes the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke
00:29Triple Diamond, the Cobra Darkspeed LS, the Mizuno STG, My Gamer, the Ping G430 Max 10K,
00:37the PXG Black Ops Tour 1, the Srixon ZX5 LS, the Taylormade QI10 Standard Model,
00:45and last but not least, the Titleist TSR2. If you like the look of any of those products,
00:50we've put some handy links in the description down below to find you the best price in your
00:54region. The rules of the games are simple. I've got the Foresight GC Quad launch monitor with me.
01:00We're going to have three rounds, one hit with each driver, and the longest carry of the day
01:05is going to win. No averages, no combined yardages, no grid to hit like the long drive boys,
01:09just the longest single carry, and that will be named my longest driver of 2024. Before anyone
01:15jumps into the comments down below, I've tried to make this test as fair and equitable as possible
01:20in terms of club setup. Now, I've not got the exact same shaft for every club, but they're all
01:25pretty much around the 65-gram X-Flex mark, all at 45.75 inches, D3 swing weight, or there,
01:32thereabouts, and as close to my favorite 8-degree loft as possible. It's just a bit of fun,
01:37so just relax. Let's go and hit some and see how we get on. A couple more rules I need to mention.
01:42I'm going to use the same ball throughout. I'm going to use the Titleist Pro V1X, and I'm also
01:47going to do it in rounds. I'm not just going to hit three with one driver and then work like that
01:51because I've got me some fatigue issues towards the end once I'm starting to puff a bit. We're
01:55going to hit one ball with each driver in round one, do the same for round two, and the same for
01:59round three. I'm also going to go alphabetically to keep it fair. The first up for me is the Callaway
02:04Paradigm AI Smoke Triple Diamond. I loved the AI Smoke Triple Diamond in testing. The new face
02:13provides forgiveness across the board. I've got some aggressive ball speed and spin numbers,
02:17and I really like the new gray colorway they've introduced to replace the navy.
02:21Okay, decent start there, 119 mile an hour clubber speed, 302 yards of carry.
02:26Okay, next up in round one, we've got the Cobra Dark Speed LS.
02:32I've got really high hopes for the Cobra Dark Speed LS here. In testing, it provided me some
02:37really good ball speed and spin numbers. I love the adjustability of this head,
02:41and the new look is fantastic. Okay, good club head speed there, 124.
02:46Didn't strike it great, 293 carry for the first round. Next up in the first round, the Mizuno STG.
02:54Little bit of a dark horse, this one, the Mizuno STG. Mizuno not typically renowned for their
02:58drivers, but I really enjoyed this in testing. Again, providing me some good ball speed and
03:03some really nice stable flights. Interested to see how this goes. Okay, again, created some decent
03:08club head speed, 123. Bit out the heel, 283 to start off for that. Now, the love of my life,
03:14my game of the Ping G430 Max 10K. I shouldn't have a favorite in this competition, but I do.
03:21It's my game of the Ping G430 Max 10K. What I love about this is the all-round performance,
03:26stability, forgiveness. It finds me fairways, still produces good ball speed and spin,
03:31so let's find out if it can win a distance race. Okay, better ball speed, 171 on the ball speed,
03:36305 on the carry. Good start for the Ping. Next up, an absolute spin killer, the PXG Black Ops
03:41Tour 1. Really impressed with this in testing and the other standard model. Really, really good,
03:47especially in terms of sound and feel, but this is a real spin killer. Apparently, no one makes clubs
03:52like PXG, so let's find out. Good start for PXG. As I said, a real spin killer, about 200 revs,
03:57less than anything I've hit so far, and 301 carry is not a bad start. Cool. A bit of a dark horse
04:02for me here, the Strixon ZX5 LS. Interested to see the Strixon ZX5 LS. It's a bit of a dark horse.
04:12It was in my bag for a little while. It's got no carbon in it, so it's got a slightly harsher
04:16sound and feel, so I'm interested to see if it can keep up with the big boys. A bit spinny that one.
04:21Didn't quite get it, a little low off the heel, 280 carry. Okay, arguably the tournament favorite
04:26because it was my longest in testing, the TaylorMade QI10 standard model. Some of you might
04:32be surprised not to see the LS model in here, but I, like Rory McIlroy, got my best results with the
04:37standard model. Super aggressive on ball speed, nice low spin numbers, possibly the favorite in
04:42this race. Let's see how it gets on. Okay, interesting. Loads of speed, longest carry at 308,
04:50next to no spin, and a little bit volatile in terms of its dispersion there.
04:54Okay, last but not least, probably the cleanest looking driver from the top, the Titleist TSR2.
05:02Some of you might be surprised not to see a TSR3 or 4 in here even, but again, I got my best results
05:08and my best launch conditions with a slightly higher MOI ahead and my best distance, so I'm
05:13really keen to see how this gets on. Wow, okay, that surprised me. Longest carry of that round,
05:18311, TSR2, very low on spin, but that's not what it's about, longest carry today. Okay, so that's
05:25all the round one hitting done. I'm going to pop the leaderboard up there so you can see where we
05:28stand. As you'll see, my top three are the Ping, the TaylorMade, and Titleist, but that could all
05:35change in round two. Now, I'm limbered up a bit, so let's get in some more.
05:58I hope you enjoyed that little bit of B-roll there. That's round two taken care of. As you'll
06:21see from the leaderboard, there was no change to the top three. However, I did improve my numbers
06:25with the Srixon, the Callaway, and the Mizuno drivers, just not enough to sneak into that top
06:30three yet, but all could change in the all-important final round. I'm going to switch up a little bit
06:35here and we're going to go in leader order like you would on the PGA Tour, so the leader is going
06:38to be last. Currently in eighth place with the longest carry of 283 yards is the Mizuno STG,
06:45so it's time to see if we can get it moving up a bit. Okay, so I've hit that well, decent ball
06:54speed. It has moved up. It's got up to 289, but that's not enough to move it from eighth place.
07:01Right, coming into this final round in seventh place, the Cobra Darkspeed LS293. Let's see if
07:06it's got any more in the tank. Pretty good, a little bit off the top edge maybe. Wow,
07:16that has come out like a rocket. 124 miles an hour club head speed, 314 yards of carry.
07:22That is the new leader. Right, well, that Darkspeed has just really put the cat amongst
07:26the pigeons and it's put the rest of these drivers under a bit of pressure.
07:29Next up is the Srixon ZX5 LS.
07:38Decent strike, a little bit light, 292 yards carry. That's not troubling the top spot. Right,
07:44next up to try and tackle that Cobra number of 314 is the PHT Black Ops Tour. Now, I had high
07:49hopes for this one coming in, but it's currently sitting at 301, so it's got to find another 14
07:54yards to take it. Let's see if it can do it. That was ripped. We've got a new leader, 316 yards for
08:05the Black Ops Tour. Wow, I thought the Cobra had done it there at 314, but the PHT Black Ops Tour
08:11one has just snuck in at 316. We've now got probably the four biggest names in golf left
08:17to try and take that top spot, starting with the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke Triple Diamond.
08:26That was cracked as well. Oh, great ball speed, bit spinnier though, 309. It's moved up, great
08:34hit, but not enough. 316 still to beat, and now it's probably my favorite. It shouldn't be biased,
08:39but it probably is. It's my gamer, the Ping G430 Max 10K.
08:46Never does, it's always there. Oh, not quite. 307. Again, they're performing under pressure,
08:53they're finding more yardage, but not quite enough for the top spot. Next up is the final
08:56chance for the TaylorMade QI10. It's probably my favorite coming in, as I said, but it's got
09:01its work cut out to get to 316. Boom, boom, boom. There it is. I knew I had it in it, 318 yards.
09:14Top spot, only one to go. Moment of truth, the Titleist TSR2 came into this round as leader at
09:20311. It's now lagging quite a bit behind some of those others, so it's got one last chance to crown
09:26itself the longest of 2024. That is a valiant effort, 314 yards. It's not quite made it,
09:41and we've got ourselves a winner. I hope you enjoyed that because I really did. It's a lot
09:45of fun just smashing drivers away. The overall winner was the TaylorMade QI10 Standard model
09:51with a very impressive 318 yards carried. I thought it might be. It was my longest in testing,
09:56so I'm not that surprised. What I really want to know is what's been your longest? What have you
10:01tested that you've got your best results with? Comment down below. Give us a like if you have
10:05enjoyed it and subscribe to the channel.