SYARD XV Driver Review

Sandwiched between the release of the Limited 388 driver and Ryoma’s new D-1 Maxima the S-Yard XV has been somewhat lost in the mix.  Thats a shame because its up there with the best of them.   We first laid eyes on these back in Feb and were actually more excited about this release than the 388.  After more than 10 rounds, launch monitor sessions, and different shafts i’m feeling comfortable enough to review it.

currently in the bag… I’m using many different drivers, the XV with Crazy Boron in stiff flex is one of them.  I started off with the stock shaft it was stiffer than the 388’s stock by about 5 cpms.  Then the Crazy Black Tour 65 in stiff was next,  perfect for a stronger player just not me, my fades grew and I had a very hard time staying straight or getting it to turn over.  Tatsuro our club tester was uber consistent with the crazy, long and straight even on the most windy of days.  After the Crazy the DI-6 in stiff was installed and worked wonderfully.  It was a temporary shaft installed while I waited for more Borons to arrive.  The DI-6 is a superb shaft in this head.  And now the Crazy Boron,  now this is a shaft you can feel yet it doesn’t spray the ball everywhere like other shafts that you can feel.  Many TSG’ers are now playing the Boron,  it seems to fit a wider range of golfers than other crazy shafts.  Read on to see the rest of the review…

The XV reminds me of the 388 in many ways. The XV is really only 16% larger.  It feels similar with some of the same characteristics so if you enjoy the T388 chances are you will like this one a little more or maybe little less.  We found the same boring mid trajectory between the two and it’s low spin  carried over into this bigger head as well.  It has a high CG compared to many 450cc heads and like the 388 shares the internal rib feature for the transfer of energy. You can tell they weren’t designed far apart from each other and that Mr. Kobayashi the man behind S-Yards rebirth was the designer.

Ok so how did the LM numbers turn out?  XV flies a little higher with more carry and less roll than the 388.   The XV also flies even straighter than the already laser straight 388,  we are talking by small differences here. The overall longest “freak” shot would occasionally creep out of either head which makes you want to hit it more.  I found myself tee’ing the ball normally and that worked just fine and I think both clubs have very unique face shapes as seen below,  It’s great to see different things every now and then.  XV – Overall you gain forgiveness and a different sensation at impact.

I think we can all agree that Mr. Kobayashi coming to S-Yard has really turned things around.  Mr K is the master at making drivers that are uniquely modern yet classic,  Player yet forgiving.  What we are noticing is that his drivers are better than most at keeping the ball in the short grass.  When talking about distance It’s up there,  not the longest against the Ryoma Maxima or Crazy 435 but I’d gladly shed a few of those yards for what the XV has given me.  A unique driving experience that leaves me coming back for more.

I think visually the matte crown is looks fantastic.  The XV has a square face,  some say that it looks a hair closed but thats probably the curvature of the face.  What I found out about different shafts working differently in different heads was revealing as well.  The 388 & XV react and play the same to each other when it comes to shaft changes.  Often different hosel depths or hosel distances from head make the same shaft in 2 heads play differently.  I experienced this with the Ryoma Maxima during all our testing.  The Boron played a touch softer in it than it did in the SYARD drivers.

So is this driver in my bag?  Sometimes,  just as much as the Maxima, 388, and GS Mono get play.  Its one of the best current model clubs available today.  Thanks for Reading!