S-Yard XV vs T.388 vs XT - Official Comparison Thread!

[sandee11]

THought they started doing the S in the 10.5*, if memory from another thread serves correctly...

The local distributor only have SR, R in 10.5. Normally I play my driver in 9.5-10*. I'm playing crazy 435ll in 9.5, so would I be able to play this head in 9.5 ? My driver swing speed is somewhere around 105-115, normally driver carry distance is around 250M ( average), no much rolls.

[Mjr. D]

I have a question. Why does the very shallow faced 388 launch lower and and spin lower than both deeper faced drivers (XV and the other one)?

[Miuramaniac]

I'd be wary of this shaftin SR if you're over 95-97 MPH. After a lot of testing with both the SR and S, the SR is softer than has been occasionally mentioned here. Much testing and CPM measurements bear this out. The S plays similar to an S in a Tour AD BB.

[RIduffer]

I have a question. Why does the very shallow faced 388 launch lower and and spin lower than both deeper faced drivers (XV and the other one)?

I could be wrong here, but I believe it is because of the forwardness of the CoG...

[Blader-X]

I could be wrong here, but I believe it is because of the forwardness of the CoG...

Exactly.

[bogeydog]

Delivered today. Countdown of 16 hours until testing begins.

[gocchin]

I could be wrong here, but I believe it is because of the forwardness of the CoG...

Yes that is correct and yes the face is shallow but it is not a long and large head. It is a compact head with a shallow face that promotes a level blow thanks to a lower tee height which in turn promotes less spin.

[bogeydog]

I am pondering the events of today.......

[driverhead]

I am pondering the events of today.......

???????????????????

[bogeydog]

Today I took out my Syard T388 with SR shaft and my XV with SR shaft in an attempt to compare them to each other. Suffice it to say that my thoughts of a winner are not clear and this battle may take some time to resolve itself. With that said, the following are my ramblings of today's contest.

I began hitting the T388 as normal and was marking all of the normal characteristics: trajectory, sound, direction, carry, feel, quality of contact, roll, distance, etc. It performed as I have known it would. I then leaned down to tee up the ball for the XV. After teeing the ball low for so long for the T388, I wasn't used to needing to tee the ball so high as for the XV. Somehow it looked strange and wrong. The XV from above is a great shape and my first impressions are it looks like my past favorite 09 Yamaha Tour with a new paint job. It took me a few balls to get used to this setup. Once I did, I saw really promising results. Yes the ball launches higher than the T388, but not high at all. Feel is less soft than the T388, but a pleasant powerful solid feel with a touch of crispness. Baby draws were the shape of the shot. Setup is nice, but seems a touch closed. I don't think it is, but how the ball is framed gives me a comfortable feeling. What surprised me was the distance, flight and roll. If I could draw the trajectory it would rise gradually, flatten out for most of the flight and gradually drop to the ground. Distance of the carry was indeed greater than the T388. My guess is approximately 15 yards. Despite more carry, it seems to roll just as well as the T388. As I hit more balls, I found myself swinging away and away trying to get everything I could out of it. I then switched back to t he T388 and so forth. I hit both well, and I found myself scratching my head to what I preferred.

I also played around with various tee heights. A surprise I discovered is that the XV reacts favorably to the changing of tee heights. Unlike the T388 which seems to prefer a low tee, the XV hits mid-high level bombs at normal tee height and low to mid screamers when tee'd lower. This versitility was nice over that of the T388. Normally drivers don't play well in both arenas however this once did it well.

The T388 feels softer and more like the ball is sucked in and spit out. The XV feels crisper and the ball seems to ricochet off the face more, The T388 stock shaft feels smoother and softer. The XV less so. I kept having flashbacks to what I recall the Quadra FE Proto feeling like. I looked up the specs of the shaft and they are somewhat similar.

All in all I cannot declare a winner, yet. I don't think there will be a clear choice. The XV may be a tad more versatile and forgiving, however I preferred the feel and low tee height of the T388. Eventually I think the XV will prove to be longer. I did hit the longest drives with the XV. I plan on playing tomorrow and testing each with real golf balls and on the course.

PS - KK is a master designer. He has created two of what I think will be the best drivers on the planet however they are so complimentary to each other without being argumentative. Fraternal twins so to speak. The same but different.

Edited May 6, 2013 by bogeydog

[Yohanan]

Thanks BD

My t.388 is in transit. Its actually at SFO as of Friday night. Did you get the XV in 10.5 as well? Your first impressions are what I expected to hear. Cant wait to hear more! I am ordering a XV once I see the flight of the 10.5 t.388. The sound feedback from the XV from the video is fantastic.

Great problem to have? Which one do I tee up.

Cheers!

[daamartin]

Very well articulated and comprehensive Bogeydog. That versatility is the main reason I like deep faced drivers with more loft!

The XV sounds really good to me, but looking fwd to hearing whether this translates on-course with real play and urethane balls.

[gian11]

I'd love to hear their weaknesses also if there's any.

[wmclarenf1]

:-)

Edited May 6, 2013 by wmclarenf1

[gocchin]

Today I took out my Syard T388 with SR shaft and my XV with SR shaft in an attempt to compare them to each other. Suffice it to say that my thoughts of a winner are not clear and this battle may take some time to resolve itself. With that said, the following are my ramblings of today's contest.

I began hitting the T388 as normal and was marking all of the normal characteristics: trajectory, sound, direction, carry, feel, quality of contact, roll, distance, etc. It performed as I have known it would. I then leaned down to tee up the ball for the XV. After teeing the ball low for so long for the T388, I wasn't used to needing to tee the ball so high as for the XV. Somehow it looked strange and wrong. The XV from above is a great shape and my first impressions are it looks like my past favorite 09 Yamaha Tour with a new paint job. It took me a few balls to get used to this setup. Once I did, I saw really promising results. Yes the ball launches higher than the T388, but not high at all. Feel is less soft than the T388, but a pleasant powerful solid feel with a touch of crispness. Baby draws were the shape of the shot. Setup is nice, but seems a touch closed. I don't think it is, but how the ball is framed gives me a comfortable feeling. What surprised me was the distance, flight and roll. If I could draw the trajectory it would rise gradually, flatten out for most of the flight and gradually drop to the ground. Distance of the carry was indeed greater than the T388. My guess is approximately 15 yards. Despite more carry, it seems to roll just as well as the T388. As I hit more balls, I found myself swinging away and away trying to get everything I could out of it. I then switched back to t he T388 and so forth. I hit both well, and I found myself scratching my head to what I preferred.

I also played around with various tee heights. A surprise I discovered is that the XV reacts favorably to the changing of tee heights. Unlike the T388 which seems to prefer a low tee, the XV hits mid-high level bombs at normal tee height and low to mid screamers when tee'd lower. This versitility was nice over that of the T388. Normally drivers don't play well in both arenas however this once did it well.

The T388 feels softer and more like the ball is sucked in and spit out. The XV feels crisper and the ball seems to ricochet off the face more, The T388 stock shaft feels smoother and softer. The XV less so. I kept having flashbacks to what I recall the Quadra FE Proto feeling like. I looked up the specs of the shaft and they are somewhat similar.

All in all I cannot declare a winner, yet. I don't think there will be a clear choice. The XV may be a tad more versatile and forgiving, however I preferred the feel and low tee height of the T388. Eventually I think the XV will prove to be longer. I did hit the longest drives with the XV. I plan on playing tomorrow and testing each with real golf balls and on the course.

PS - KK is a master designer. He has created two of what I think will be the best drivers on the planet however they are so complimentary to each other without being argumentative. Fraternal twins so to speak. The same but different.

B, you summed up pretty much what I said about the two. Slightly crisper feel from the XV, spongy sucked in and out feel from the T.388. slightly higher launch with the XV but not by much. I have both XV and T.388 and the XV is currently in the bag though I love both and am glad to have the option to play both.

This is quite the compliment I think considering I have 3 Ryoma's here on the sidelines (Standard d-1, Premia, ST).

[bogeydog]

I'd love to hear their weaknesses also if there's any.

I don't know what the weaknesses are yet.

I do think spin is low on the XV as is it is on the T388. Likely why the arc of the trajectory.

[driverhead]

That's good to hear as I have an XV on the way to compliment the T388.

I hope the stock works as good for me as the GD does in the T388.

If the stock shaft doesnt work for me, I have had great results with the BLACK TIE 5M3 iN A PING G25 , AND THE NEW 39 Gram Project X x IN A TOUR r1 v2.

[bogeydog]

I spent more time today at a range with the T388 and XV. However it is a range that has pretty nice balls, is easy to measure distances and I have hit a majority of the drivers I have owned at it. I was swinging pretty well and think I couldn't do much better mashing balls with each. Most time was spent with the XV.

Forgiveness - I purposely hit balls towards the toe and heel. I could feel when I did so, but not in a harsh way. Heel hits were medium trajectory and flew really straight. The distance was pretty good but flew 15 yards short and rolled a lot. Ditto for the toe hits but they felt a little crisper. I like the forgiveness and would rate it slightly better than the T388 which is a +1 for the T388.

Flight - As previously posted, the XV's traj can be varied by tee height. I don't suspect that spin changes much with this and that is a big plus for the XV. What I liked is that I could choose to hit the XV really high and it hit BOMBS! Great versatility for times when I favor carry over roll and vice versa. I can work it left right and straight with ease.

Distance - The XV proved to be longer. I hate to say it, but for me it was. Sometimes by a lot. Now let me quantify this by saying I have hit drives with T388 that I have never hit so far. However I think the XV is longer and likely will be consistently longer in the end.

Control - The T388 I can hit straighter. The XV I lost a few times left, but that could be the shaft flex or a swing flaw while adjusting to it. That being said, I think time will take care of that.

I am happy with what each of these drivers can do. I can't wait to hit some really drives on the course.

[+TourSpecGolfer]

A surprise I discovered is that the XV reacts favorably to the changing of tee heights. Unlike the T388 which seems to prefer a low tee, the XV hits mid-high level bombs at normal tee height and low to mid screamers when tee'd lower. This versitility was nice over that of the T388. Normally drivers don't play well in both arenas however this once did it well.

Spot on Bob, I've been playing the XV a lot recently and totally agree with the above. It just reacts well at different tee heights. I think this makes it extremely workable but in a different way. The best for me is launching it high on a down wind day.

I don't see me selling the XV or 388 in the near future as both clubs are equally deserving to share a spot in my bag one at a time of course.

I reshafted my 388 with a Crazy Boron and it totally changed the feel and trajectory. The verdict isn't out yet today was her first round and although I expected it to be really demanding (low torque) it was user friendly and actually felt not bad. After I made some adjustments I could get it into the air well but without those adjustments I didn't get good distance. I need a full blown LM day to see what's really going on. The XV for sure will be getting a reshaft, Thinking something light weight and stiff say the Royal Deco Athlete stiff maybe.

[zwan]

Enjoyed to read all the posts on the new XV vs T 388 comparison. Great stuff Bogeydog and Chris and Tario. Thanks for sharing!