MY NEW DRIVER TOTALLY SHOCKED ME SHOULD INDOOR TESTING BE BANNED 

Really appreciate this Mark and your constant honesty! Those dispersion rings really tell the story and not too many people on RU-vid would be this transparent and helpful.

What you’re describing in terms of a fitting or testing process is available to a tiny percentage of golfers I’m afraid. I’d love a couple of rounds with the latest and greatest clubs in the bag then back to the GC Q to get some data, then maybe back outside to narrow down the selection maybe with a different shaft weight or flex. Complete pie in the sky.

I was waiting for you guys to make a video like this! Love this content. I always find the difference between indoor and outdoor numbers is BRUTAL. Golf is so hard lol. Would love to see this with some iron testing too

My new XXIO X arrives tomorrow. I absolutely love the last X driver and still use it, it has been my favorite driver to date.

I can't watch this man without thinking of Timmy Mallett!

This is an inspirational and honest video. I watch an 'average golfer' quoting 150mph + ball speeds from 95mph club head. You show us the variants on course from a proper ball striker. Top content and understand the lighter shaft. I like a 50 or 55 gram stiff and swing at 100mph on gc2 👍

Always love the insights into this. I seldom like indoor testing because I know that it’ll be different on the course. Just feels like club purchases will be somewhat of a gamble unless I just want something new and shiny. That being said, we have some places here in the States that will give you 90 days to play after the purchase before any possibility of return is forfeited….which is great! So for me… that tells me it’s all about the outdoor testing.

philosophical question. If I took an average run of the mill golfer with a 24 handicap, and said "I will pay all your living expenses for a year and give you a million dollars if you can get your handicap down to 0." How many are going to succeed? Now part two of the question, if I take an average professional golfer, give him a 0 handicap and say "You can only practice for an hour twice a week, and play one round of golf a week for a year." How many are still a 0 handicap at the end of the period?

Mark, would love to know what difference in Clubhead speed you’ve gained since going with a lighter shaft and what distance changes that’s created? No longer 262 !!!

Because I very rarely hit indoors and in simulators I've noticed that when I get fit indoors my shot shape and general swing don't really replicate what I see on the course. I don't know if it's just the difference of having depth to look at vs screen, but it makes me worried cause I'm not swinging in three fitting like I do when I play. Going to have an outdoor fitting with trackman AMD excited to see how that goes.

Another brilliant synopsis of how people can be guided/misguided by indoor testing. I am currently looking for a new driver this year, so am very interested in videos lime yours. Unfortunately, as I am older, my swing speed averages around 100 mph and picking the correct shaft is difficult.

Great video! It is all about temperature. I guess it is much warmer inside so that is clearly affecting both your swing and the numbers. 20ºC difference mean approx 10yd carry at your swing speed. If you consider you are swinging inside 1mph faster it all matches

I tried a selection of three woods with the pro I am having lessons with. Result my swing not consistent enough to justify the outlay and him feeling he has genuinely helped me / steered me in the right direction. Eg keep on with the lessons and re visit at a later date.

Indoor or outdoor testing. Very interesting Mark. Not everyone can test inside unless you actually book a fitting with the pro/fitter. Luckily, our Pro shop will allow members to test a driver or whatever on the course and to be honest, that’s where I would want to test it as that’s where I will see any difference between my existing club and the one I am testing.

For indoors versus outdoors, yea, it can be different, not all tee boxes are the same, and the simulator gives an ideal playing condition than the course. When I do test new drivers, that's why I like to compare to my current driver, as I try to put on the same swing and hope to get a good comparison, with similar conditions.

Loved Lockeys comment Callaway would have fitted it for me . Hint of sarcasm there but so funny 🤣🤣

Great addition to the xxio line. Would love to see a review on the xxio mallet putter. 🤔

Loved your content for years. Especially dispelling all the BS so many of us have been sold when looking at new clubs/equipment

Well done per usual sir...always love the "think bruh" moments...Inside I always see people getting comfortable and cozy trying to rip drivers then on the course with hazards and white stakes abound...things get real quickly... Inside it is usually just tee it up and let it fly...outside if it's into the wind perhaps one would want to know how it feels to hit a low drive? Perhaps can I curve it? Miss hit in purpose to see if it stays on the planet? All questions outside can provide real life answers

I do all my testing outdoors... twilight green fees are way cheaper than a GCQuad....

Interesting stuff, and good comment about shaft weight and personal degradation.

I’ve done trackman indoors several times and I hate it. The contact off of mats feel weird and too forgiving. That, and my brain can’t aim for a target indoors. Once I see a real target, I start to smoke it.

Great in-depth video Mark

Tremendous information. Ty.

I like the idea of narrowing down your options inside and then going on course or to the range to make your final decision. Not sure that anyone would actually allow that.

I think there's absolutely value to an indoor fitting especially when there are large improvements to be made, for example someone spinning driver 3500-4000 rpm, you can have immediate gains. But fitting irons I don't see there being tons of value outside of knowing maybe when you start transitioning into a hybrid or fairway wood

Indoor just gives you a number with nothing affecting the ball or swing like weather etc so to me it feels like it’s giving you a false number where as outside your can get a real feel for it and yardage

A few years back I put the Aldilia 44 Magnum uncut shaft in my Ping G-30 and it made it 48 Inches long and I was bombing the hell out of it ,( When I hit it correctly ) , Dispersion wasn't much bigger than the stock shaft. THe only thing that happened was the tip got weak after 5 months of playing it and the head snapped off on a drive. So I went to a 70 Gram Aldilia Nasty Long shaft that's 45.5" and I don't swing it as fast and am shorter with it but I swing it so much smoother and more consistently, as I find the lighter club weight and shaft makes me wah to swing hard and I get out of control .

just gonna throw this out there......ZX5 head with that shaft in it!!! try it, youll fall in love with it!

I did an indoor near the pin contest 125 yards. They gave me 2 practice balls, both on the green within 10 feet. They said, are you ready, we need a second to reset, Okay. 3rd shot, same strike, ball flight, 20 yards short, 40 yards to the right! ????

I would like to do a mix of both indoor and outdoor. Indoor to get a better idea of sound and feel and to have control over variables but then outdoors to confirm the indoor numbers and reconfirm the sound and feel ideas I got.

A comparison that might be of interest is the XXIO X driver vs Wilson D9 and the Cleveland Launcher XL lite, the out-come should be fun comparison.

Evrything I saw club head speed / carry / ball speed were all with in the stnd deviations of the all data sets (but maybe I missed something.) Even Carry 270 (st devation 11) vs 281 (st devation 6) still has quite a bit of overlap. I would argue if you repeat the exact same test 10 times the results (in and out doors), you might get different carry/ball speed winners but they would all again probably overlap in st deviation ranges. I agree its great to test indoors AND outdoors but very few clubs can be demoed by the average golfer. However most can do some sort of A/B comparisons with launch monitors indoors. That's a pretty good start and as long as you hit in the same conditions it should give you a good chance of finding what's a better fit A or B.

Yes please explain the MOI

I did this last week on the range with yardage displayed on a screen, I assumed it was because it was cold wet and windy that I was avg 10 yards down on each iron. I played on course the next day and those yards were back & in some case I still over clubbed.

Back in golf after umpteen years, 2005 really was a while back as far as golf equipment goes....I guess, used to hit clubs in the retail shops all the time back then. Back in the heat gun - to remove shaft days, all I ever took from indoors was how the club felt when swinging it; no data back then, nothing more, even range mats were unrealistic to me. My own tee in the grass, wind, moisture, and air lots of good air and often times what I assumed was going to be a rocket launcher turned into a dud,,driver , woods, irons and maybe most of all putters must be tried on real terrain. I never knew of things like launch angle dynamic loft ball spin and so forth. A good driver was not leaving my bag anytime soon, the hardest club to use next to a 1 or 2 iron, lol!

Nice vid Mark. Tbh this leans more towards the TXG view on fittings than it does the MyGolfSpy view. Pay for your fittings where the fitter is not needing you to buy a club to make his money, he has already done that and is now just focused on helping you.

The computer is still providing algorithmic distance. What I'd like to see is you compare REAL distance on the course versus what your machine says. Take a distance finder on every shot and shoot back to the tee box to see what the actual real world distance is

I went for a gapping session for my irons at TXG in Toronto (I'm local to them). We got everything sorted and spaced appropriately - peak heights were all very consistent @ 100ft. Weeks later I went to an outdoor club fitting at Titleist's National Fitting Center north of Toronto and the immediate feedback by them was I was hitting the ball too low at only 70 feet peak height (I'm a hockey player with enormous forward shaft lean). I now will only ever get fit for irons outdoors on grass because my impact changed significantly.

Mark, I think that it is important especially today with the "forgiveness factors" of drivers understanding where your strike patterns are relative to finishing position. If you are hitting all over the face but distance is similar and dispersion is better relative to other drivers considering similar strikes is more beneficial on the course. When you are playing there is no "delete those" because I didn't strike it as well as I am capable.

Mark, I used to have a Taylormade Stage 2 RBZ - the shaft on that was 50g if my memory serves me. Could you compare that to the xxio, it could make for a good ‘cheaper’ option!

Nice to see XXIO getting some attention.

Mark, you often say with irons indoors spin less I think. Can you do the same test with irons, see how much the distances are different? Cheers

It's chav hoodie crossfield... did you steal that GC Quad🤣

Is your older black X one the model with the orange markings on the bottom rather than the green? Did that perform well also? Am contemplating buying one of these prior models, and really like your test here, would like to know if the two perform about the same. Thanks.

they talked about a very interesting concept im not sure is right. @ 7:30ish they talked about the 46g shaft and not being enough mass and being just all speed to give less efficiency. but wouldnt the mass of the club head be the only consideration for efficiency? the shaft is just the pendulum part to help speed up the mass?

I have super light shafts and 45g shafts in my irons. I have a slow swing speed so the shafts are A flex . I think weight is personal, flex is swing speed specific, but i know my clubs are right for me . I don’t always hit them well but i can live with the misses , my driver however is not so reliable and again has a light A flex . Having a driver fit taking my existing club just to see if it’s correct for me. Sometimes just the way a club looks fills you with confidence and helps the game . But Mark you right it always comes down to how I am swinging in the day.

Played a few generations of sub zero. Now playing Speed. Definitely averaging longer. Perhaps sub zero has best drive longer. But avg the speed is better.

Given the abundance of indoor testing, is the answer you test on a simulated hole instead of the wide open driving range. Pick any hole that has a mix of trees, rough and bunkers so you know when the poorer strikes are in trouble

I went for a fitting the other day, my current driver spin is so low (less than 1500) tried a number of different heads and my spin was still low. Going back for a lesson, but any ideas how I can increase spin?

Does the speed wing help more than sticking a plastic trooper on the crown of a driver?

Mark, have you tested the Mizuno with the Mfusion 41 shaft?

Couldnt you narrow down options on the virtual range then finish the fit on a virtual hole to get somthing close to indoor+outdoor fitting.

Enjoyable video as usual Mark! I use a xxio prime driver...10.5 head loft... shaft is light which is great...just wondering what length shaft you use? Mine is 46.5 inches.... too long?

You hit the ball lower on the face outside. That led to lower launch angle and higher spin. That's the story. You pointed out the two impact images and said they are basically the same. But they aren't. 10-15 mm vertical is a big difference.

So, why is there so much inside vs outside ball flight difference? Inside, warmer and dry, so air density is less, drag and lift will be different than outside. This assumes that the launch monitor estimates distance based on the physical properties of the local air. Or does it? Do you use your GPS to measure ball distance and compare with with the launch monitor?

Outdoor is always the best, but its almost impossible to find someplace that will let you

Outside tells us the whole truth. Indoor gives you information, but it's not as accurate as outdoors. Great video Mark 👍.

Mark, thinking you might need to go to the gym so you can swing a 55 gram shaft. Kidding love ur confidence with the driver! And totally agree! Just had a fitting a passed up on the Calloway triple diamond 💎 315 total yards and bought the Calloway max ls 298 total yards. Why? Cuz the miss hits with the triple diamond were massive and not so much with the max ls. (Each driver had 2 or 3 drives erased). All in all the max ls was more consistent

Indoor or Outdoor Testing. I recall a few years ago you went to see (I think) Mark Blackburn in the US and from what I can recall his approach when training players was, hit a shot, then jump on the treadmill to walk the distance of that shot and then hit your next shot and so on. I reckon that's in keeping with what you're saying when you're outside you will stay warm between shots while walking to the next one. Instead of standing on the mat at the range and raking balls over to hit your next one. Any chance of giving away your old lightweight, slightly beaten up XXIO driver to a lucky subscriber???😋😁

I absolutely suck at hitting a driver inside. I don't know what it is but I get much more consistent results outside. I recently got "fit" for a driver inside and I fought a slice all day on the track man. I knew that wasn't me as a draw is usually my shot shape. After trying many combinations I purchased one that I could try for 30 days if I didn't like it I could return it. I even hit my gamer with a slice that day. I left the fitter and went immediately to my driving range and no slice, slight draw to perfectly straight ball flight. I could tell when hitting inside, which driver was giving me the feel and flight height I was after. The ball speed was much better with the new driver and trajectory was spot on outside. I did get quite an increase in carry and total distance. I went from a Ping g400 max to Cobra LTD X LS and I'm now playing my second shots from places I've never played from before. It pays to know your swing characteristics. I would have never purchased the driver without a satisfaction guarantee based on what I was seeing inside. We don't have any outdoor fitting facilities near me that I'm aware. I do believe outdoor fitting is the way to go. Keep up the good work Mark and Coach. Cheez!

What happened to the TM M2 v Stealth video that popped up briefly yesterday???

Outdoor testing is the best, however, there currently is no facility I know of where manufacturers release clubs for testing to the general public (who are paying a small fortune for one golf club.....).

You're not a 7 loft but the srixon's are so underrated for for drivers and woods!

I was literally on about this today whilst out on the course. I seem to hit driver so much better on the course than in a sim or at the range. But no shop will give out demos for you to take out on a course with you lol

When are you reviewing the shot scope H4 attached to you head?

PXG offers a 50gram cypher shaft as a stock shaft if you want a light shaft.

Indoor or outdoor testing! Out door for me!

indoor outdoor testing. ideally everything should be done in the place where you will be actually using it, but, as long as when/if you are comparing clubs, you are doing it in the same conditions, it shouldnt matter too much.

My TSi3 was very mediocre indoors. Took it on course and it transformed from an 18 wheeler into Optimus Prime.

While you would delete that 251 heel shot, should someone who has a higher variation of strike do that? Is there a skill level at which you would say you either can or can't afford to do that? While I'm definitely trying to improve strike through lessons and practice the reality is that those shots are going to come out more regularly for me. Do I need that information, or is that still just noise because they differ from the shot pattern I'm trying (but not really succeding) to consistently hit?

Indoor or outdoor testing? Indoor first then outdoor

I would prefer testing outside, but its just not possible. All or most fitters in Austria are indoor. As its can be freezing outside and the use of monitors GC Quad is limited.

Can you explain the MOI stats and the differences between 2000-5900 please? How can a "normal" golfer know the difference in these?

Outdoors carry distance will be affected by wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity, and except for a tail wind, those factors will tend to reduce flight distance. I know that you can dial in wind on the simulator, but it is a crap shoot as far as replicating real conditions. Same applies to course condition; wet spring fairways will limit the ball runout and even though you can dial up soft fairways there is no guarantee that the simulator will react just like that saturated fairway that is still shaggy from the winter. Having said that, when there is a foot of snow still out on the course or range, the indoor option is all you really have available.

1mm forward of centre is "toey"? I'd take that any day of the week.

Could elaborate or simplify that post you showed relating to moi. ?

indoor or outdoor testing

I’d play it

Man I wish you were still with Titleist and FJ

Most fittings are flipping different coins 10 times each, and picking the one that produces the most heads

Shaft weight is effecting more to the rythm than clubhead speed.

what happened to the stealth v m2 driver video ????

Cheaper route and it was not to everyone's taste.......my driver is a callaway epic speed with a project x cypher 40 gram shaft in a reg. Confuses all sorts of golfers when they hit it and see how stable it is. (I don't give them the info until after the shots) I hear it all the time down the range - "I can't hit a reg its too whippy for me. I need a stiff"........then they duff every one of there drives as they try and smash the crap out because "it's a stiff" 🤣

What effect does standing on the pad indoors have on strike, as opposed to the stance and strike outdoors? You are elevating yourself by an inch with the tee at the same height as outdoors. That has to change your approach and launch angles.

I played a round of golf with a professional golfer, and after an errant drive from me deposited itself in someones flowerbed, I asked him "why did that ball go there?" His response was the most honest, profound piece of analytical data ever. He said "because you hit it there..."

As a Marketing Strategy Executive in one of the biggest agency groups in the World, I appreciate you calling BS on all the new clubs and the claims that come with them (because most of it is). But here I feel like you are reducing fitting purely to distance and (at least for me) that’s not what a fitting is about. For me it’s about knowing that my clubs have been optimized by a fitter that I trust (very important!) to get be around the course in the best way possible for me to enjoy my golf. You can complete the Tour de France on any bike, but I am sure that performance and enjoyment increases with a bike that is fit for your specs

As they say a poor craftsman blames his tools’ this means even with great clubs’ your game will not change

So you talk a lot about shafts, but what about kick points, do you find that makes any difference for you, or thats not something that you find that doesn't affect anything?

Hi Mark This made me curious seeing you take the launch monitor outside, do you see any difference in numbers? I used trackman range and the next day I used trackman inside and my driver club speed dropped by 5-6mph and the ball speed was 10-15mph slower inside….the outside numbers were higher (I know this is trackman) have you had this before or know of it?

Indoor or outdoor testing.

Don't you think the inconsistency on the course is because you should be in an X-Stiff shaft. Don't think a stiff was meant for 113 swing speed.

I am suspicious of all the data supposedly collected by a box positioned either directly in front of you or in the line of strike. I had a session on a simulator and the chips and pitches supposedly were going all over the place. I would hit the ball and it would impact the screen bang on line with the pin and the simulator had it veering off 45 degrees. I would always prefer to see the true flight of the ball out onto a range, combined with data showing swing and strike. Currently with all the” this years wonder club” in full flow seeing 45 minute fitting sessions being advertised. That’s probably just enough time for you to think on one model of driver, but it enough time to really dial on and fit it. I don’t see many fittings where the golfer is encouraged to keep hitting an their current club as a reference.

Don’t Mizuno go down the route of light drivers? And they are very underrated

My numbers indoor are massively down on my outdoor, absolutely hate indoor sims

I struggle so hard indoors its unreal. To the point I don't enjoy it a whole lot. Can't hit a driver indoor for nothing

I think you are working on an old assumption Mark, a focus on distance. I think we are now in forgiveness territory i.e. which club forgives our biggest mistakes to hopefully mean more fairways hit. I have been fitted into a G425 SFT which works well for my typical misses and has increased my fwys hit to around 66% (Arccos), 75% last round on my home course.

The only way to get true readings from tests is to use the old school Iron Byron. There are too many variations & inconsistencies in human swings to get accurate results. This goes for testing of every piece of equipment, including balls. The same speed, & quality of strike are the required ingredients to get consistently accurate readings. When THAT'S done, I'll believe the results. Otherwise, the entire system is flawed.

Outdoor, to see if I can hit fairway.

Ive always said indoor testing data is false because theres no elements like wind ect wheras outdoors where there is the data is totally different