Driver: TM R9, Callaway Diablo or Cleveland Hibore Monster

any kind soul and help me weight pros and cons of these 3 drivers ? am planning to get one...

personally i prefer the TM R9 coz can adjust the angle but am still open to options....

cheers...

All are good drivers cyruz

Most conventional looking of the lot is the TM R9 which as you said, offers the advantage of adjustability. Shiniest face and sole of the lot.

Diable is the most weird looking. Face looks really closed at setup, and I believe it is, just not sure to how many degrees. If you already draw or hook the ball, this is not for you. The marketing for this is that if you want go long, get a Diablo.

Hibore Monster is VERY LOUD at impact, whole range can hear you! Not sure about the current model, but for generation one, people soon realised they had to tee lower or the ball tends to balloon. Best person to advise you on this club is our resident Cleveland expert Techospaz.

Calling TECHOSPAZ!!!

hey cyruz, if u wanna get the cleveland. Go www.golfio.com to get it. My fren got a XLS for ard 250sgd plus shipping. Its realiable, just that u have to wait ard 2wks+ for it to get shipped over. Real steal man, saw the xls at panwest selling at ard 399 if i din remember wrongly. It's quite easy t handle for the cleveland as compared to R9 460 and 909D2.

I've played the R9 and Monster XLS.

The R9 I tried was the 420cc version which I couldn't get used to. It was great to play when I hit it right but somehow, with the (slightly) smaller head, I just couldn't process my shots.

I now play the Monster XLS. It's a great driver and quite forgiving. It's also very long and like BM said, it's LOUD! What I will say is that I like the Monster XLS because I got the Draw version, rather than the standard version. The Draw version helps to cure my wayward power-fade (read "slice") shots. Also, because my driver is 9˚, the ball really runs.

As for buying the XLS, I got mine from 3balls.com. They go for about US$110-130 depending on quality and you pay about US$40 for shipping. So, the price comes up to about S$200-250 and shipping takes about 3-4 days

R9 is my bet....Birdman review is spot on...best thing i like about it is the 460 head, big and solid sound man.....i do agree the r9 adjusting of angles seem fun initially, i also kept playing around with it...

after a while, the thrill went off, and ever since it has been on Neutral.... hahaha... so much for Draw or Fades...

Before you splurge on the R9, I would recommend taking a look at the multiple R9 variants out there, e.g. the R9 Max, R9 460, R9 Type E etc. If you prefer a bigger clubhead (since it can inspire more confidence off the tee), consider the 460 head options rather than the plain vanilla R9.

Just curious, I saw something driver is 10.5 & 9.5. Actually how do we know which degree is suitable for us?

Seiko wrote:

Just curious, I saw something driver is 10.5 & 9.5. Actually how do we know which degree is suitable for us?

I think it boils down to your style of swing, swingspeed etc. The lower lofted drivers are traditionally more difficult to get into the air (i.e. launch) because of the loft. However, technology these days has improved so much that I think most people can handle a lower lofted driver. I've tried drivers from 8.5 to 11, and I'm now playing a 9 driver which if I hit it well (and that doesn't happen too often), I get great flight and decent distance.

I had tried both my friend's Hibore XL and R7 Draw drawer. Hibore give me a better distance but R7 is more straight less distance. I was thinking sld i buy the R7 driver from him or get myself a Hibore draw?

Do you have a problem with power-fades/slices? If you do, draw drivers aren't too bad a solution but really, the fault of the issue requires a swing evaluation. Draw drivers are a quick but not long-term solution.

BTW, the Callaway Diablo also comes in a draw variant

I slice very seriously. I prefer Draw drawer.

Yes I saw some promotion on Callaway FTi draw driver only at $159!!!

Seiko wrote:

I slice very seriously. I prefer Draw drawer.

Yes I saw some promotion on Callaway FTi draw driver only at $159!!!

Are you sure that's for the driver and not the FWs?

What is FWs? I'm quite sure its FTi driver cos the shape is quite unique and I was standing there for quite long thinking whether to get it now or what. I also saw some used FTi driver selling at $129.

FW = fairway woods.

i feel rather then letting the adver, frens, etc to tell you which driver is better, why not u try them out yrself...

what works for others doesn't necessary works for you. i believe it is very important that you yrself feels comfortable with the equipment.

jmho....

jaketang wrote:

i feel rather then letting the adver, frens, etc to tell you which driver is better, why not u try them out yrself...

what works for others doesn't necessary works for you. i believe it is very important that you yrself feels comfortable with the equipment.

jmho....

Good point!

For XLS driver, it is better to get a less lofted one because it launches the ball really high.

Gimson wrote:

hey cyruz, if u wanna get the cleveland. Go www.golfio.com to get it. My fren got a XLS for ard 250sgd plus shipping. Its realiable, just that u have to wait ard 2wks+ for it to get shipped over. Real steal man, saw the xls at panwest selling at ard 399 if i din remember wrongly. It's quite easy t handle for the cleveland as compared to R9 460 and 909D2.

Do they shipped to sillypore? any guildlines for the charges?

Yes Ted, my fren just gotten it from there like 3 wks ago. Saw the driver, seems authentic(with cleveland sticker on the yellow fujikura shaft). Guess the price of cleveland is somehow been jacked up in SG. A few weeks back the CG14 and 12 were selling at 75usd during thanksgiving vs ard 180 in singapore. Charges wise, it shld be ard 50sgd to ship ur driver over. Gotta check with the store..

Hey Ted, u might want to checkout their package deal. Quite worth it if i din remember wrongly. They got like R9 460 bundled with a R9 woods and hybrid. Selling at ard 450usd. Quite cheap imo, as i gotten my R9 at 449 in sg..

Gimson, you got yr driver R9 460 at 449 ? can share from where ?

I called Golf Hse at Suntec today and they told me only got the stiff shaft left... am looking for a Reg shaft...

anyways, thanks to all the brothers and friends w yr insightful advice..

have decided to get the R9 460, Reg shaft @ 9.5Degrees... Suntec quoted me at 449 after discount.. so it's pretty ok.

now, need to find it..

erm this 449 price is quite common,

go far east at least 2 shops with that same price..

there is 1 time where it goes $389. missed that

I went to Singpost Centre to collect my new toy today...
much loved.. much respected..

R9 TP 9.5 w/Stiff Motore F1 65 Shaft, and the best part, the TP headcover... woohoooo!

Immediately went to range to tweak to the correct settings and changed to the Golf Pride MC Grip.. done!

I won't reveal the price here cuz those who just bought their R9s might kill me.. ahhahahhahaa..... PM me if u wanna know how much i paid for it ALTOGETHER... hiak hiak

I bought it from golf and leisure at far east. Try to pay by cash and ask for more discount! Guess u shld be able to get it at ard 400 now