Towards the end of 2025, I traded in a few clubs and putters to the PGA Tour Superstore that I wasn't using and was able to get a gift certificate worth $350. Take that plus the money I had available to trade in my 2023-2024 driver, Ping G425 Max, and I had a total value of $470 to put towards a new driver.
My G425 Max had an average carry of 183, total runout 212. Much to my surprise, I was hitting the middle of the face every time, with a nice draw. The other thing I was unaware of was how low my spin was on my driver. That's why I wasn't seeing decent carry numbers and may bad shots were super bad.
Based on my swing style and speed, the fitter had me try 2 different heads - Ping G430 Max 10k and the Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K. We did try a few different shaft/head combos and I, honestly, loved both of these drivers. It all came down to the driver head/shaft combo. Based on my swing speed, I use a senior flex or a-flex and about an inch shorter than the standard driver length.
Hitting the Ping G430 Max 10k felt really good and I definitely saw a jump in numbers and was also seeing those bad shots/mishits not be as bad.
Much to my surprise, the Cobra DS-Adapt Max-K (and it's 33 different settings) felt really good. The shot shape, the numbers, the spin, the feel…everything just seemed to click with this driver/shaft combo (I'll get into the shaft in a bit). Obviously, the Cobra DS-Adapt was the driver I ended up with - seeing a total carry of 205 yards with total runout up to 235 yards. Definitely a no-brainer.
One of the biggest surprises of the fitting was just talking with the fitter and why he didn't bring out certain heads for me to try. He didn't bring out the TaylorMade Qi10 or the Callaway Ai Smoke. When I asked why, the fitter just said, "Your hitting it in the middle of the face and those heads wouldn't fit where you hit the face." He went on to explain that, based on where the weights were with those heads, the sweet spot of those club faces were closer to the heal, so I never would've seen the ideal numbers using those drivers.
The other shock to me was the shaft I ended up with. I was playing the Fujikura Ventus Red Velocore shaft in my G425 Max driver so I was expecting something similar to that. The fitter pulled out the brand new Project X Denali red shaft…Project X's answer to the Ventus shafts. The biggest difference I felt with the Denali shaft was just how good it felt in my hands and how I could feel every shot better. Talking to the fitter, he really explained the difference in the two shafts and that the Ventus shafts have more of a stiffer feel throughout the shaft, even in the senior flex, so you're not able to feel as much in your hands.
Overall, I really enjoyed the fitting, obviously being able to getting a newer better driver fit for me, but also just talking nerdy golf stuff with another golf nerd.
I highly recommend a driver fitting to anyone who can afford to buy a new driver. Getting a driver fit for you, makes a huge difference every time I step up to the tee.
Until next time. Fairways and greens y'all.
PS - here's some pics of the new driver/shaft combo.
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