Updated for CTL 3W. See the following post in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46629&p=330608#p330608
This is a test of distance only. We tested the top 3w clubs in the game and threw in a couple of others for comparison. Obviously there are factors other than distance to consider, such as accuracy, # of slots, ball flight, repair cost, and initial cost. Conclusions in a nutshell are:
The distance club for players with no budget limit, is either the Hybrid or the Tornado.
The distance club for players on the cheap is the Tempest.
Here are the result for hitting full 3 o'clock spin at precisely 100%:
The last column should show negative percentages. It is the percentage less that the club hit relative to the longest club. For example, the Aeolos line shows that it hit .9% less than the Hybrid/Tornado.The top 2 are equal in distance: Hybrid and Tornado. The next 2 are equal in distance: Hurricane and Tempest. No surprise here. Based on driver, 5w, and iron tests I have posted, we could have predicted these results.
What might be a bit surprising to a lower or mid level player, is that there is only 8 yards difference between the clubs. But, the cost varies from less than 2 million to buy, to over 100 million for a clean Hybrid R.
For a player on a budget, there is no beating the Tempest. While it is not as accurate side to side when missing 0% as some other clubs, if you hit close to 0%, it is just about as long as anything and costs very little.
I want to make it clear that the results would not change if you were only a level 40 (or whatever). The clubs would almost certainly rank in the same order.
2009 ClubsWe always throw in a 2009 club -- the colored ones. Again we see that there is no difference.
Distance Test MethodologyWe counted only those hits that were perfectly 100% (verified by screen magnifier) and at 0%, or within 1 pixel of 0%. We then averaged the 3 values for -1 pixel after 0%, 0%, and +1 pixel before 0%. To get the final distance, we averaged these 3 distances. We required at least 2 perfect hits of 100% and 0%.
The stats used were: Power 36, Impact 49, Stamina 8, and Skill 170.
If a club came with default settings, we did not adjust our stats. For example, the Antique and Aeolos come with extra Power stats. We did not adjust our stats, so these default Power stats were in play.
A few reminders...
I would like to reinforce a few points about testing. When hitting in the range, most of the conditions are under a person's control. One can set exact spin using Shift<Arrow>, set the temperature to 25, and check that hits are identical to the pixel using a screen magnifier. However, what one can not control is the 98%-100% lie condition of tee shots. There is randomness here. The exact same (to the pixel) shot for a driver could vary up to 4 yards or so. The standard method to smooth such randomness, is to have a high sample count -- to make more perfect hits and average the results. When someone says: "But I hit it in the range and it went 7 yards farther than you said.", I invariably find out that the conditions were not controlled (i.e., it was 28 degrees and the hit was not 100% to the pixel).
Low and mid-levels: The results of a club comparison are applicable at any level. Do not disregard a test because some high stats were used. Regardless of your level, the clubs will compare the same relative to each other. A second bit of advice would be to think hard about needing to pay the premium for a high priced club. As an example, we know that Tornado irons and Hurricane irons are equal in both (a) length and (b) accuracy, yet Hurricanes cost so much more! One must decide if it is worth it to pay the extra 50 million (or whatever) for shank insurance? If you go with the averages, that you will not normally hit past 105% and you will normally hit more or less around 0%, then there is no benefit to buying the Hurricanes. This same argument can be made for fairway woods (3w/5w) -- the Tempest are just about as good as any and cost a fraction of the others. Again, this assumes you do not hit past 105% and you can usually hit around 0%.
Cheers, A[/size]