I’ve gotten this question in my Friday Q&As so many times I can’t even count. There is a weird misconception that just because we offer 💎💎💎 heads that they have special unicorn blood, and a Tour Pro wouldn’t dare touch a driver made for the masses. The truth is that thought is dead wrong. Sure, many of our players use our diamond heads, but it’s not because they are “better”; Tour players will pick the head that complements what they are trying to do with the golf ball. Zero questions asked. Not once have I seen a player come on the truck and demand a 💎💎💎, or even request one. They will work with our tour truck team on the ultimate goal and request a driver spec to help them achieve that. They could care less if the head has diamonds or not.
If I were to put a percentage on it for the PGA Tour, I’d say 55% of our players play a 💎💎💎 head, and 45% play a retail head or older model.
Simple Breakdown of the heads: Player dependent obviously but this is in a general sense, GO GET FIT
Epic Speed: FAST, forgiving, mid-spin, mid/high launch
Epic Max LS: FAST, higher MOI than speed yet lower spin, slightly fade biased, lower launch.
Epic MAX: FAST, FORGIVING, STRAIGHT, HIGH, BOMBS. It’s slightly draw-biased, less workable than others, but it’s about straight and fast in this class.
💎💎💎: Fast, mid-spin, responsive, neutral weighting
💎💎💎LS: Fast, lower spin, faders dream
💎💎💎DS: Fast, neutral to heel weighting, mid-spin, easiest to turn over of 💎💎💎 heads
Here is a video I did a few months ago breaking down each 💎💎💎 head…
Without question, it’s a lot of fun to have a “Tour” driver in the bag; there is some mystique about it. Trust me; I have chased them down for years and, in some cases, at the cost of my scores. HOWEVER, what I have learned from being on Tour for a good while now is that “the right fit” is more “Tour Issue” than a driver with diamonds on it. Players on Tour want performance, not curb appeal.
To speak some facts from a performance standpoint, the triple diamond heads live in the middle regions from a speed and spin metric. If I had to rank them by spin, I’d go… Low to high
💎💎💎LS
Max LS
Epic Speed Retail and 💎💎💎 (TIE)
Epic Max
Speed wise it would look like…Low to high
Epic Speed/Epic Max
Max LS
💎💎💎/💎💎💎LS
Keep in mind that speed is one metric in this, but I saw the fastest ball speeds with Epic Speed and Max (Retail) in my testing. They were the only drivers I tested that hit mid 160’s ball speed with.
The point is, like anything in life. Get honest about your needs and not your wants. The point is to shoot low scores, not get worse but look cool. I’m as guilty of this as anyone…until recently, LOL.
Below is a Photo Gallery of some examples of the different heads on Tour and why each player uses them; I had Tour Manager Jacob Davidson and Tour Rep Kellen Watson give me the scoop; enjoy!!
XANDER SCAUFFELE
Epic Speed 💎💎💎 (9@8, Flat Cog, 6GF, 6GB)
Graphite Design Tour AD BB-7X (45 1/2, Tipped 1, D3)
Kellen Watson: For Xander, it was an effortless transition from Mavrik Triple Diamond / this ES. TD head gives him the versatility to hit several shots with proper spin rates shot windows.
SAM BURNS
Epic Speed (Retail) (10.5@10.3, 6GB)
Fujikura Ventus Blue 7X (44 7/8, Tipped 1/2, D3)
Kellen Watson: Sam was in our Mavrik retail head for a while and saw a ton of success with it. As a cutter and lower spinner of the ball, the Epic Speed gave him that perfect spin/launch window, all while mitigating a left miss. The perfect spin for him is around 2500RPM on a stock shot. He’s a player that likes to play with a bit more loft, so this combo with the Ventus Blue, tipped only a 1/2 and in a heavier weight, gives him the perfect setup, and he picked up speed with the new head, which is always nice:)
AKSHAY BHATIA
Epic MAX LS (8.5@6.8, Strong Cog, light slider, 5GF)
Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (44 7/8, Tipped 1, D2)
Kellen Watson: Switching from the Triple Diamond to the Max LS allowed Shay to see tighter downrange dispersion. The Max LS has a more neutral start line and allowed him more of a one-sided miss.
MATT WALLACE
Epic Speed (Retail) (9@9.6, Flat Cog, 10G)
Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X (45 1/2, Tipped 1, D3.5)
Kellen Watson: Matt being more of a traditional player loved the look of the smaller footprint Epic Speed. He’s a mid-spin type of guy and this head was a perfect fit for his launch/spin window.
JON RAHM
Epic Speed 💎💎💎LS (10.5.10.2, STD COG, 7GF, 7GB)
Aldila Tour Green 75TX (45.25 Inches, Tipped 1, D4)
Jacob Davidson: Jon likes to move the ball left to right. The TD LS gave him the start line he needed with the spin reduction needed to be based on his left/right shot shape, the LS in combination with the CSX also gives him the ability to hit it right/left without dipping too far down in spin.
MARC LEISHMAN
Epic Speed 💎💎💎 DS (9@10.3 4GF, 6GB)
Fujikura Ventus Black 7X (45.25 inches, Tipped .5, D3)
Kellen Watson: the 💎💎💎 DS head gave Marc the ability to hit his “go-to” hard cut without:
- losing the ball too far right
- losing the ability to hit a draw
Wrap it up….
So what’s to be learned? Whats the theme? What I see is two things,
- At a retail level, there is legitimately a driver for every player. I mean that if we didn’t have 💎💎💎 heads, we would still have success. I can say that now knowing that on TOUR spin and mis-hit spin is king. These players want the right spin, not super low spin. Speed, LS, and Max all offer that.
- The 💎💎💎 heads give SPECIFIC players the ability to control a miss. That’s the gist. Xander likes 💎💎💎 because the draws stay in the air, Rahm likes LS because his 180MPH cut doesn’t overspin, AND he can still use a spinny ball. Akshay will always live in the high spin category, so he is looking for down-range integrity.
So when you are trolling the forums, my IG, this website, etc., and you see all this Tour Issue, 💎💎💎 madness, stay aware of the WHY. EVERY golfer is different, and I know for a fact that the right big stick is there right now if you pay attention to your ball. Stay tuned to your miss, stay in tune with your “normal flight,” stay in tune with where you want to go.
Now go get fit!!
LFG
JDub
