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In this video, gear experts Joe and Joel run through the 3 clubs that they believe are the most underrated golf clubs from last year!
Every year there are always some clubs that sneak under the radar but actually perform comparably well to the mainstream launches from the big four manufacturers in Ping, TaylorMade, Callaway and Titleist. Joe and Joel between them have tested almost everything and picked out three that provide excellent performance and the most bang for your buck.
Every year there are always some clubs that sneak under the radar but actually perform comparably well to the mainstream launches from the big four manufacturers in Ping, TaylorMade, Callaway and Titleist. Joe and Joel between them have tested almost everything and picked out three that provide excellent performance and the most bang for your buck.
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00:00Now when it comes to golf equipment, it's fair to say that the big four brands often
00:04steal the headlines when it comes to new drivers, irons, etc. But actually, there is an awful
00:09lot of other products out there that we feel doesn't get the recognition it deserves. And
00:13in this video, we're going to touch on the three most underrated golf clubs of 2024.
00:19Joe, how would you define underrated when it comes to golf clubs in particular?
00:24Tough one, isn't it? But I think for me, it would be clubs that I've tested and that
00:28I've used that I know are really, really good that maybe I don't see in as many bags
00:32as I might expect to. Would that make sense?
00:34Yeah, that's fair. I mean, you've tested a lot of clubs down the years and I think in
00:37this video, we're going to highlight some absolute crackers that might more save you
00:41a few quid, but also will give you a little bit more choice if you're looking to
00:44upgrade certain areas of your bag.
00:49Right, Joe, first club in the most underrated club video of 2024.
00:54We're all excited to see what you've gone for. What is it?
00:56Well, I've gone with the driver and yeah, this is comfortably my most underrated driver
01:02of 2024. And it's the PXG 0311 Black Ops driver. And this is a standard model. There is a tour
01:08model, which we might talk about in a minute as well. But I actually went down to be fitted
01:12for this at the PXG London South store, isn't it?
01:16And it was a great experience. So the main tech story here is about what they call their
01:21AMF face technology, which they claim increases deflection, increases launch, and just gives you
01:27that little bit more ball speed and control, spin a bit better. And I have to say it performed really
01:31well. But the thing I noticed most about it in all of my testing is the sound and the feel.
01:36They did
01:36loads of work on this. They got in some real acoustic experts from other industries to work on
01:41things like pitch and frequency, and they've absolutely nailed it. I wondered when I had the
01:45fitting, whether it was just because I was indoor and the acoustics were great, but you get it outside
01:49and it actually sounds great as well. Shall I show you?
01:51You've talked the talk. Let's hear one.
01:53Yeah. So I mean, when you put it in behind the ball, the head shape's great as well,
01:56which I'll talk about, but in terms of the audio there, just a really nice sort of,
02:04it's not too high pitch. It's not too dull and it's pretty quick. I mean, that's good for me.
02:09That's a covered speed of 118 and a bit, nearly 173 miles an hour of ball speed. That spin number
02:15is something I see a little bit. That's just a fraction on the high side for me at about 2800,
02:20which is why the Tour model works a little bit better for me. But for a lot of people,
02:23you maybe don't swing it at 118, just that little bit of extra spin can be really, really useful.
02:28And that's why I love it. I think it's great.
02:29Yeah, it's got a real presence. I mean, hit another one for us just so,
02:32yeah, could you turn that one over a little bit. You can definitely sense, you know, when you hit it,
02:36it's got a real powerful oomph to it, which I love. I love the look of it as well, really
02:40clean.
02:41A bit of graphics on the top, but not too much.
02:43Yeah, just the head profile as well is great. I mean, it's quite busy. There's like a
02:47multi-material crown going on so you can see scenes and lines and stuff, but in terms of just a
02:51pure
02:52head profile, it's lovely and rounded. It's not too deep, not too shallow.
02:56Let's see another one then.
02:57Yeah, let's get one out there, shall we?
03:02A little bit more like it.
03:04Let's try.
03:04I mean, how does it compare with the major driver launches of 202224 in terms of numbers?
03:10Well, so we're getting around about sort of 173 ball speed here.
03:13Yeah, very comparable with anything. Like I say, you know, it's my job. I've tested all these drivers,
03:17your TaylorMage, your Callaway, your Ping, everything, and that's a really comparable
03:21ball speed number there for me, about 173 miles per hour. That's pretty much where I live.
03:26Like I said, again, very consistent on spin as well. It's always just a little bit above
03:30that 2500 number for me. That was a better one. I got more launch on that, so it's basically carried
03:35300 yards. But like I said, with two models in this family, one that really brings that spin down,
03:40CG's a little bit more forward and really takes the spin off that Tour 1 model, I just think as
03:45a
03:45family of drivers, the looks, the feel, and the performance, they're really, really underrated.
03:51There you go. So that's our first choice. I think it's hard to argue with Joe's argument there.
03:54If you're looking for a driver that sneaks under the radar, the PXG Black Ops could be the one.
04:02Joe, before we move on to the next underrated club, I just want to ask,
04:05have you subscribed to the Golf Monthly YouTube channel?
04:07Of course I have. The content's brilliant, it's free, and I'm on it.
04:11So am I.
04:12Have you?
04:13Right, so that's the driver polished off. Now, Joe, I can see we're talking about irons. You can
04:17try and hide it, but I have seen it. But I don't know exactly what iron you're going to talk
04:21about.
04:21So what is your most underrated iron of 2024, please?
04:25I've gone a little bit maybe family, actually. So it's the Wilson staff model family. That includes
04:30this blade, the staff model blade, and the staff model CB. And if you're looking for any justification,
04:36well, look no further. Just look at it. It is absolutely beautiful.
04:40Yeah, I love the look of it. It's awesome.
04:41I don't know if I've seen a better looking iron than that. It's got beautiful nods of old,
04:45with these sort of extended ferrules and a bit of gnarling around the hosel. There's some real nods
04:51to the old history of Wilson, but there's also some more modern branding and the high gloss chrome
04:55just looks fantastic. Down behind the ball, the head shakes are just absolutely beautiful.
05:02In blade, you don't often get much tech and that's pretty much the case here as well,
05:06but there is a little bit inbuilt here. So Wilson has been quite clever and realized that the blade
05:11market is going to be sort of geared toward maybe the better player and the predominant better
05:16player mixed with irons tends to be a little bit left. So they've actually put a little bit more
05:20weighting in the toe side of this club internally to stop that toe rotating over and take left out
05:26of play a little bit. So it's actually a blade this one with a little bit of assistance, which is
05:31absolutely great. Also, from a finance point of view, we're all thinking about money nowadays.
05:37They're actually a little bit cheaper than some of the major stuff. So for seven irons,
05:40just over a thousand pounds and quite often you're pushing the 12, 13, 1400 quid mark with some
05:46some of the other brands. So there is some real value to be had here as well as the quality
05:51and
05:51in terms of feel and workability, it's just yeah. Well, let's hit one away so everyone can sort of
05:58experience what it feels like. Oh yeah, very nice. Let's just flush out the middle of the club. There's not
06:05many better feelings than a really pure forged blade like that. The numbers all stack up as well.
06:10That's pretty much bang on where I need to carry my seven iron, 175, 176. Spin rate's good. I find
06:16them really workable, knocking them down, moving it around. They're just a beautiful irons. And if
06:22you're one of those people who want something that maybe not everyone's got in the bag, you want to
06:25stand out of it. This is a real statement piece, I think. Yeah, it's great to have those two options
06:29for the better play. Obviously, you've got this one, which is a pure blade gives you that ultimate
06:33workability. But if you want that super soft feel with some playability, you've got that CB. I think that's
06:38going to give you a little bit more insurance for those low handicap golfers. You want to play an
06:42iron like this, it's a really good option, isn't it? It really is. And you're not compromising on
06:46looks at all. When you put the CB down in the playing position alongside the blade,
06:50you couldn't tell them apart. The same blade length, similar top line. So you're not compromising on
06:55the look at all. You're maybe just getting a bit more perimeter weight in. But I think I'm a little
06:58bit in love with this one. I'm going to put you under pressure now. Let's see a draw and a
07:01fade. You've
07:02talked about the creativity and the workability you can use with these irons. I think better players like to
07:07shake the ball into certain pins, certain shots. So let's hit a draw first of all.
07:13Yep, that's a beautiful ball fly curving right back over the pin.
07:18Yeah, that's pretty much what we want.
07:20So it's doing what you're saying it's going to do.
07:22Again, from a numbers point of view, that's what I'd expect. It's gone up a few yards in carry,
07:25so 179. And the spin has dropped off a little bit because I've hooded the face a little bit. So
07:29they just always do what they're supposed to do, these irons. So a little bit of a hold off fade
07:33now.
07:33Let's see it. Oh yeah. A little bit lower on the face, that actually. That was interesting.
07:40Yeah, but it had the shape to it that you were trying to hit, didn't it? So it's sort of
07:42done
07:43what you've asked it to do. It did. It dropped off a little bit and the spin went up with
07:47the fade. So
07:47yeah, that's pretty much what I wanted. It's workable. It looks beautiful. It's not that expensive. It's
07:52just really good and really underrated. There you have it. Wilson, really pack a punch in the iron
07:56market. And these two models, the staff models, the CB and the Blade, definitely worth considering.
08:04Right, Joel. That's my two choices, Dan, and I'm quite pleased with those. Now we've come to the
08:08putting green for your choices and we've got putter or family of putters. What is it?
08:13Yeah, it's a family of putters and it's by the brand Cleveland, which a lot of golfers
08:17associate with wedges. Obviously, they make some very good wedges. But I think these putters,
08:22in particular, this new range, the HB Soft II range, is really underrated. There's a few reasons why.
08:27The first is the price. So these come in at £139 retail. You can get them for cheaper than that,
08:33around about £120, which is a good half the price of the majority of the mainstream putter
08:38brands out there. You get a comprehensive choice, so nine different models. And what I like about
08:43these putters, in particular, is how they feel. So I think a lot of golfers in the shopping,
08:49in the sort of mid to high handicap bracket, tend to play a distance-orientated golf ball,
08:53quite a firm golf ball. And I think that would marry up really well with the soft feel you get
08:58from these putters. As the name suggests, HB Soft II. These are probably one of the softer
09:02feeling putters you'll get on the market. Now, I'll demonstrate this number one model,
09:07which is a really nice... Yes, please. So this is a really nice answer-shaped style putter.
09:13Love the grip on it. A really tacky texture to it. Nice long blade-length heel-to-tail on this
09:18putter.
09:20And you'll see, I just pushed it slightly, but a really crisp feel. And what I also like about
09:25what Cleveland done with this putter is you've got some grooves on the face here, which are
09:29progressive. So there's sort of more grooves in the centre of the face. It disperses wider to
09:34slightly less grooves. So essentially taking grooves or material out of the face, the centre of
09:39the face, and essentially slowing down the centre tits, speeding up the off-centre hits,
09:43to make it more consistent wherever you hit the ball on the face. And for the testing I've done,
09:47long-range putting, I found that the rollout to be really consistent on those mid and long-range
09:52putts. So I really enjoyed the feel and also the consistency of them as well.
09:56Sometimes with putters in this sort of price bracket, you lack choice. Are there any sort
10:00of customisation options with this? Yeah. So as I said, there's nine different shapes.
10:03Let me just swap over here for you now, because this is a 35-inch option here in the retrieve
10:08model,
10:08which is the mallet shape I also really like. And because it's all the models that are 35 inches or
10:13longer,
10:14you get a 20-gram counterbalance weight in the top. So that just gives you slightly more of a
10:19pendulum-style stroke. I think maybe if you struggle to release the putter, this is going
10:23to give you a bit more encouragement to do that. And from the testing I've done, that sort of feeling
10:27of the shaft and the way it's been balanced just gives you a little bit more ability to square it
10:31up a bit more naturally. So this is a shape I really like. Hopefully I'll be able to demonstrate one
10:37that goes in the centre of the hole, because there is an added benefit of this particular model,
10:41which requires me to hole the putt. So there we go. Stroke it in the middle. And then with this
10:47retrieve model, you can even use it to retrieve, as the name suggests, the ball out of the hole. So
10:56a multifaceted putter, loads of benefits. If you don't like bending down to pick your ball out of your
11:01putter, if you've got a bad back, that's a really good option to have. But generally speaking,
11:04you're this particular model, really soft feeling, nice and forgiving, and it's not going to break
11:09the bank coming in under £140. So hopefully you enjoyed that video shining a spotlight on some of
11:14the clubs that have snuck under the radar this year. That's all from us here at Centurion Golf Club.
11:19We'll see you next time.
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