ROBOT TESTING
an interesting topic of discussion for those who think tour pros should play drivers with smaller profiles. Maybe there’s more to accuracy than head size. Tiger turned 50 with a body that has taken more hits than most athletes could endure—and with gear that looks nothing like what he used during his record-setting Tiger Slam. Our testing acted like a time machine, showing the gap between eras and offering a glimpse at an alternate history. The Titleist 975D remains iconic, and the TaylorMade Qi10 LS demon- strates what two decades of engineering brilliance can produce. Most of all, our test results reinforce a simple truth: Tiger wasn’t great because of his equip- ment. If he’d had today’s technology during his prime, there’s no telling what other records he might have smashed.
and descent (39.3 degrees) shifted to more optimal numbers. In short, if Tiger were hitting a current Titleist Pro V1 with his 975D driver back in 2001, he would have added about 17 yards. Off-centre shots lost 13.6 yards on average, a bit more than with the Tour Accuracy, but still respectable given the 975D’s compact footprint and gear-effect-heavy DNA. If we could have given Tiger in 2001 his TaylorMade Qi10 LS and a Bridge- stone Tour B X ball, his driving stats would have been out of this world. He’d have been 29 yards longer than Daly and nearly 40 yards longer than with the driver-ball combo he was using. The launch was higher; the spin was much more efficient; and the total distance was on another level. Just as telling were the mis-hits. Toe
strikes produced the same ball speed and distance as centre shots, which is an almost unbelievable testament to how far forgiveness in drivers has come. Heel misses, on the other hand, still lost 22 yards (more than either 975D combo), and dispersion widened to 17.4 yards. Interestingly, the tightest heel-toe dispersion of the entire test came from the 975D-Pro V1 combo at just 5.5 yards, If we could have given Tiger in 2001 his TaylorMade Qi10 LS and Bridgestone Tour B X ball . . . he’d have been nearly 40 yards longer.
Tiger 25 Years Ago vs. Technology Today
Using a swing robot set to Tiger’s impact specs in 2000, we compared the driver and ball he used then to two other scenarios: (1) switching to a modern Titleist Pro V1 ball and (2) with his current TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver and Bridgestone Tour B X ball.
173.5
10.6 10.6 3,214
330.8
9.9
168.1
2,532
309
167
2,093
292.1
BALL SPEED (MPH) LAUNCH (DEGREES)
SPIN RATE (RPM)
DISTANCE (YARDS)
TITLEIST 975D DRIVER/NIKE TOUR ACCURACY BALL
TITLEIST 975D DRIVER/TITLEIST PRO V1 BALL
TAYLORMADE QI10 LS DRIVER/BRIDGESTONE TOUR B X BALL
80 GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA
MAY 2026
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