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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00:00 The 2024 driver releases have been all about lovely safe things like stability, forgiveness,
00:06 and MOI. We all still want our driver to be able to unleash rockets, don't we? I'm here today to
00:11 find out which of the 2024 drivers is the longest for me. I've set up a good old-fashioned slugfest
00:20 today. I've brought with me the eight longest-hitting models for me personally of all
00:24 the major brands that I've tested this year, and that includes the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke
00:29 Triple Diamond, the Cobra Darkspeed LS, the Mizuno STG, My Gamer, the Ping G430 Max 10K,
00:37 the PXG Black Ops Tour 1, the Srixon ZX5 LS, the TaylorMade QI10 Standard model, and last but not
00:46 least, the Titleist TSR2. And if you like the look of any of those products, we've put some handy
00:51 links in the description down below to find you the best price in your region. Okay, the rules of
00:56 the games are simple. I've got the Foresight GC Quad Launch Monitor with me. We're going to have
01:01 three rounds, one hit with each driver, and the longest carry of the day is going to win. No
01:05 averages, no combined yardages, no grid to hit like the Long Drive boys, just the longest single
01:11 carry. And that will be named my longest driver of 2024. Right, now before anyone jumps into the
01:16 comments down below, I've tried to make this test as fair and equitable as possible in terms of club
01:21 setup. Now, I've not got the exact same shaft for every club, but they're all pretty much around the
01:26 65 gram X-Flex mark, all at 45.75 inches, D3 swing weight or there thereabouts, and as close to my
01:33 favorite 8 degree loft as possible. It's just a bit of fun, so just relax. Let's go and hit some
01:39 and see how we get on. So a couple more rules I need to mention. I'm going to use the same ball
01:43 throughout. I'm going to use the Titleist Pro V1X, and I'm also going to do it in rounds. I'm not
01:48 just going to hit three with one driver and then work like that because I've got me some fatigue
01:52 issues towards the end once I'm starting to puff a bit. So we're going to hit one ball with each
01:56 driver in round one, do the same for round two, and the same for round three. I'm also going to
02:00 go alphabetically to keep it fair. So the first up for me is the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke
02:06 Triple Diamond. I loved the AI Smoke Triple Diamond in testing. The new face provides forgiveness
02:14 across the board. I got some aggressive ball speed and spin numbers, and I really like the
02:18 new gray colorway they've introduced to replace the navy. Okay, decent start there. 190 mile an
02:24 hour club head speed, 302 yards of carry. Okay, next up in round one, we've got the Cobra Dark
02:29 Speed LS. I've got really high hopes for the Cobra Dark Speed LS here. In testing, it provided me
02:36 some really good ball speed and spin numbers. Love the adjustability of this head, and the new look
02:42 is fantastic. Okay, good club head speed there, 124. Didn't strike it great, 293 carry for the
02:48 first round. Next up in the first round, the Mizuno STG. Little bit of a dark horse, this one,
02:55 the Mizuno STG. Mizuno not typically renowned for their drivers, but I really enjoyed this in
03:01 testing. Again, provided me some good ball speed and some really nice stable flights.
03:05 Interested to see how this goes. Okay, again, created some decent club head speed, 123.
03:10 Bit out the heel, 283 to start off for that. Now, the love of my life, my game of the Ping G430 Max
03:17 10K. I shouldn't have my favorite in this competition, but I do. It's my game of the Ping
03:22 G430 Max 10K. What I love about this is the all-round performance, stability, forgiveness,
03:28 it finds me fairways, still produces good ball speed and spin, so let's find out if it can win
03:32 a distance race. Okay, better ball speed, 171 on the ball speed, 305 on the carry. Good start for
03:38 the Ping. Next up, an absolute spin killer, the PXG Black Ops Tour 1. Really impressed with this
03:44 in testing and the other standard model, really, really good, especially in terms of sound and
03:48 feel, but this is a real spin killer. Apparently, no one makes clubs like PXG, so let's find out.
03:54 Good start for PXG. As I said, a real spin killer, about 200 revs, less than anything I've hit so far
03:59 and 301 carry is not a bad start. Cool. Now, a bit of a dark horse for me here, the Strixon ZX5 LS.
04:07 Interested to see the Strixon ZX5 LS. It's a bit of a dark horse. It was in my bag for a little
04:13 while. It's got no carbon in it, so it's got a slightly harsher sound and feel, so I'm interested
04:18 to see if it can keep up with the big boys. Bit spinny, that one. Didn't quite get it, a little
04:22 low off the heel, 280 carry. Okay, arguably the tournament favorite because it was my longest in
04:27 testing, the TaylorMade QI10 standard model. Some of you might be surprised not to see the LS model
04:33 in here, but I, like Rory McIlroy, got my best results with the standard model. Super aggressive
04:39 on ball speed, nice low spin numbers, possibly the favorite in this race. Let's see how it gets on.
04:44 Okay, interesting. Loads of speed, longest carry at 308, next to no spin and a little bit volatile
04:52 in terms of its dispersion there. Okay, last but not least, probably the cleanest looking
04:57 driver from the top, the Titleist TSR2. Some of you might be surprised not to see a TSR3 or 4 in
05:06 here even, but again, I got my best results and my best launch conditions with a slightly higher MOI
05:11 ahead and my best distance, so I'm really keen to see how this gets on. Wow, okay, that surprised me.
05:16 Longest carry of that round, 311, TSR2, very low on spin, but that's not what it's about. Longest
05:23 carry today. Okay, so that's all the round one hitting done. I'm going to pop the leaderboard
05:27 up there so you can see where we stand. As you'll see, my top three are the Ping, the TaylorMade,
05:33 and Titleist, but that could all change in round two. Now I'm limbered up a bit, so let's get in
05:38 some more. [music]
05:52 [music] [music]
06:04 [music] [music]
06:16 I hope you enjoyed that little bit of B-roll there. That's round two taken care of. As you'll
06:21 see from the leaderboard, there was no change to the top three. However, I did improve my numbers
06:25 with the Srixon, the Callaway, and the Mizuno drivers, just not enough to sneak into that top
06:30 three yet, but all could change in the all-important final round. I'm going to switch up a little bit
06:35 here and we're going to go in leader order like you would on the PGA Tour, so the leader is going
06:39 to be last. Currently in eighth place with the longest carry of 283 yards is the Mizuno STG,
06:45 so it's time to see if we can get it moving up a bit. Okay, so I've hit that well. Decent ball
06:54 speed. It has moved up. It's got up to 289, but that's not enough to move it from eighth place.
07:01 Right, coming into this final round in seventh place, the Cobra Darkspeed LS
07:05 293. Let's see if it's got any more in the tank.
07:12 Pretty good. A little bit off the top edge maybe. Wow. That has come out like a rocket. 124 miles
07:19 an hour club head speed, 314 yards of carry. That is the new leader. Right, well, that Darkspeed
07:24 hits just really put the cat amongst the pigeons and it's put the rest of these
07:27 drivers under a bit of pressure. Next up is the Srixon ZX5 LS.
07:37 Decent strike, a little bit light, 292 yards carry. That's not troubling the top spot.
07:43 Right, next up to try and tackle that Cobra number of 314 is the PHT Black Ops Tour. Now,
07:48 I had high hopes for this one coming in, but it's currently sitting at 301,
07:52 so it's got to find another 14 yards to take it. Let's see if it can do it.
07:59 That was ripped and we've got a new leader, 316 yards for the Black Ops Tour. Wow. I thought the
08:08 Cobra had done it there at 314, but the PHT Black Ops Tour 1 has just snuck in at 316.
08:14 We've now got probably the four biggest names in golf left to try and take that top spot,
08:18 starting with the Callaway Paradigm AI Smoke Triple Diamond.
08:26 That was cracked as well. Oh, great ball speed, bit spinnier though, 309. It's moved up, great
08:34 hit, but not enough. 316 still to beat and now it's probably my favorite. It shouldn't be biased,
08:39 but it probably is. It's my gamer, the Ping G430 Max 10K. Never does, it's always there.
08:47 Oh, not quite, 307. Again, they're performing under pressure, they're finding more yardage,
08:54 but not quite enough for the top spot. Next up is the final chance for the TaylorMade QI10. It's
08:59 probably my favorite coming in, as I said, but it's got its work cut out to get to 316.
09:03 Boom, boom, boom. There it is. I knew I had it in it, 318 yards. Top spot only once a go.
09:16 Moment of truth, the Titleist TSR2 came into this round as leader at 311. It's now lagging quite a
09:22 bit behind some of those others, so it's got one last chance to crown itself the longest of 2024.
09:28 That is a valiant effort, 314 yards. It's not quite made it and we've got ourselves a winner.
09:42 I hope you enjoyed that because I really did. It's a lot of fun just smashing drivers away.
09:47 The overall winner was the TaylorMade QI10 Standard model with a very impressive 318 yards
09:53 carry. I thought it might be, it was my longest in testing, so I'm not that surprised. What I
09:58 really want to know is what's been your longest? What have you tested that you've got your best
10:02 results with? Comment down below, give us a like if you have enjoyed it, and subscribe to the channel.