Getoech Golf has really been going all out at producing a wide variety of club heads to suit many different target audiences of golfers, all without breaking the players wallet. Their latest driver offerings include the new GT420 Forged Tour driver which they sent me to review. With the new GTForged 420, Geotech’s goal was to create a premium titanium forged head in a smaller package that would appeal to athlete and improving golfers both in feel and in performance. Couple that with a sexy black finish and the GT 420 Forged has the looks to match its performance as well.

CNC Variable Forged Face…

As you probably guessed, the GT420 Forged Tour is 420cc and is USGA Conforming. Besides using a forged titanium face, Geotech wanted to further enhance the drivers feel and ability to maximize energy transfer by using a CNC machined face with variable thickness. A thicker 3.1mm sweet spot area surrounded by slightly thinner 2.8mm top and bottom portions which stretch from the leading edge all the way up to the crown. The outer edges of the face are its thinnest at 2.4mm  equaling a slingshot like face that captures the ball at impact and spits it back out with minimal energy loss. The GT420 Forged has  a nice looking face profile and is on the deeper side. Geotech likes to use a flat black satin finish on their black drivers which is a very nice touch and much preferred over other brands that sometimes use a shiny mirrored black face.

Eye pleasing at address…

At address the 420cc head has a nice pear shaped too it and still provides confidence as its not overly small.  The square face angle which is on all lofts sets up nicely and its clear at address that there is less bulge in the face allowing for more workability. Its a very attractive setup.

High Back Head design

The GT420 Forged uses a high back design and Geotech reinforces the back of the head with what they call “muscled” walls. These braces are meant to optimize energy transfer going forward and to stabilize the head at impact. Thanks to the high back head, the CG position is optimally located for a strong penetrating trajectory which should provide low spin and good run. The CG height is at 41mm and its depth 35.2mm. The internal head bias is neutral towards a fade with just over a 20* gravity angle.  The sweet spot area is also more towards the center of the face meaning with the GT420’s deeper face, the ball can be tee’d up lower for that strong and penetrating trajectory.

Square face angle for all lofts…

Another key feature of the GT420 Forged is that the driver design varies slightly between lofts. Geotech recognizes that as the loft a head progresses from 8.5* to 11.5*, the shape and design of the head is altered due to the change in loft. Geotech changes the lie of the head progressively more upright as the loft increases but is able to keep the face angle at 0* square for all lofts. This allows the GT420 Forged to produce an optimal launch for whatever loft is chosen without altering the trajectory due to face angle.

Considering the cost of the GT420 Forged Tour driver and its forged nature and the fact its available as head only, its very attractive for those who want to build a high quality driver at a budget price. Users can choose their shaft of choice thus controlling the amount they spend on this driver. While there are those golfers who are willing to spend anything on golf clubs, the truth is cost factor is huge consideration for most. At the same time, the club has to perform. The GT420 Forged Tour has very nice feel at impact and is not tingy sounding in any way. Its feel is rather solid and the sound a more subtle thwock.  The ball flight of my tester which came with a Geotech stock shaft called the GT Tour Burnish, which is one of Geotech’s better shafts, produced a mid and very strong trajectory with a lot of run. The GT Tour Burnish is a low to mid launching shaft coupled with the GT420 Forged head equals low spin and very stable ball flight.

Optimal Trajectory Optimal Spin…

Recently I’ve actually preferred a mid trajectory and more penetrating flight flight as it seems like high launch max carry type performance does not seem to get as much attention these days.  I like hitting a strong penetrating drive that runs 40 yards especially on days when there is wind. In the past as an average golfer I’d have to say I hit many of my drives too high resulting in not getting the distance gains I wanted. Manufacturers in Japan have also changed their wording to things like Optimal Launch, Optimal trajectory rather than High Launch and High Trajectory. For each player its about get the right numbers to create the right distance, ball speed, launch angle and the right amount of back spin. For some people the GT420 may launch too low but a lot of that will have to do with the chosen shaft as well. For the better player wanting a balanced driver that provides good feel and stable control, the GT420 Forged Tour is a pretty good choice especially compared to drivers that cost 3 to 4 times as much. I’d highly recommend the driver for those players 15 handicap or better who are on a budget and want to build their own driver to spec.

Here’s the sound at impact video so you can all get an idea of how the driver sounds.

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