Sub 70 849 Series Drivers and 949x Fairway Woods

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The Sub 70 849 series drivers and 949x fairway woods give golfers extra of what we’ve come to anticipate from the value-centric model.

In line with our client survey information, Sub 70 is the No. 1 direct-to-consumer golf tools model. The mannequin isn’t distinctive: lower out the middle-man and go the financial savings alongside to the patron. However, as with all mannequin, it comes right down to execution. And it’s troublesome to level out any actual flaws in how Sub 70 has established itself because the chief on this section of the market.

That context is vital, partly, as a result of it units a stage of expectation. What Sub 70 delivers is an interesting mixture of efficiency, worth and customer support. And if previous is prologue, I anticipate Sub 70 to enhance its line by updating a number of current fashions and strategically including items geared towards lower-handicap golfers.

That stated, let’s recap the 2 most up-to-date Sub 70 metalwood choices as each give us a good suggestion as to what we’d anticipate from Sub 70 in 2022.

849 Collection Drivers

Sub 70 now has two 849 series driver models: 849D and 849 Professional.

Trendy driver development is all about mild base supplies and strategically positioned heavier ones. To make clear: wherever possible, manufactures make use of titanium (usually face and physique) and loads of carbon (crown and sole). And, sure, generally the face.

These supplies liberate discretionary weight that designers shift round to change the middle of gravity (CG) which impacts shot traits reminiscent of trajectory, spin and shot form.

To that finish, the 849D employs a regular 6-4 titanium physique alongside a Beta-rich titanium face and carbon composite crown.

Furthermore, the 849D is a game-improvement mannequin that targets mid- to high-handicap golfers. And, as we’ve come to anticipate in golf parlance, the D stands for “draw.” Draw-biased drivers are likely to have three frequent traits: a sq. or barely closed face, upright lie angles and draw-biased weighting. Sub 70 849D checks all three packing containers.

Trying on the sole, you’ll discover three separate weight ports: one on the rear and one within the heel and the toe. The default association is 12 grams within the rear and three grams every within the heel and toe. Fast math tells us that’s 18 grams of moveable weight within the sole. With that, each 849 sequence drivers make the most of an adjustable hosel (+/- 2°) which permits the golfer to alter loft, lie and face-angle—simply not independently. The purpose is, although the Sub 70 849D is designed with the intention of draw bias, golfers have loads of choices to tweak ball flight.

In comparison with the Sub 70 849 Pro, the 849D is barely bigger (460 cc), extra forgiving and better launching. Talking of which …

Sub 70 849 Professional

The Sub 70 849 Pro favors workability over forgiveness for the golfer who’s searching for a extra compact footprint and decrease trajectory with much less spin. That’s one other approach of claiming that if the 849D is constructed for the plenty, the 849 Professional is a nod to the everyday requests of higher gamers.

It’s solely 10 cc smaller (450 cc) than the 849D however the shaping and barely open face angle at handle are clear indicators that Sub 70 went with a “much less is extra” method this time round.

Past that, the 2 fashions share an excellent little bit of DNA. The fabric basis (titanium physique, beta titanium face, carbon crown) is similar. As are the areas of the three (12 gram rear, three gram heel and toe) weight ports.

In essence, it’s two variations of the identical blueprint with barely modifications to complete quantity, face angle and lie angle. Nonetheless, given the adjustable hosel with 12 settings, golfers have loads of latitude to reasonable launch, trajectory and shot form.

Sub 70 949x Fairway

The Sub 70 949x fairway replaces the outgoing 939x fairway wooden which carried out fairly properly in our 2019 Most Wanted fairway wood testing. Relating to the 939x, it produced above-average ball pace with excessive marks for carry distance consistency. The one knock on the 939x is that it didn’t price extremely within the appears division. Sub 70 believes the up to date 949x will keep efficiency whereas providing golfers extra significant adjustability with higher sound and really feel.

At lower than $200, the Sub 70 949x fairway provides a strong slate of contemporary know-how and supplies. The 455-carpenter metal cupped face produces “the most popular ball speeds attainable off the face” based on Sub 70. Maybe a bit audacious however I wouldn’t be shocked if the 949x matches or exceeds some ball pace numbers from higher-priced rivals in 2022 Most Wished testing. TBD on all of that.

A carbon composite crown frees up weight that Sub 70 makes use of to assist shift the CG location decrease and towards the rear of the top. All issues being equal, this promotes larger launch with much less spin. For a lot of golfers, that’s the recipe for added distance.

Two weight ports (rear and heel) permit golfers to pick out both larger launch and extra forgiveness (12-gram rear/six-gram heel) or a reasonable draw bias (12-gram heel, six-gram rear). As with the 849 sequence drivers, the adjustable hosel gives a spread of loft (+/- 2°), lie and face angle settings.

My $.05

Some critics decry Sub 70 designs as too primary. However easy isn’t the enemy of substance. As our testing signifies, Sub 70 isn’t only a lower-priced different to the most important manufacturers. It manages to punch above its weight class and, in lots of circumstances, outperform dearer rivals.

That stated, it’s truthful to level out {that a} limitation of the DTC mannequin is that often steps within the R&D course of are outsourced. Third-party distributors don’t have the R&D budgets of main producers and, in consequence, DTC tools might lack cutting-edge supplies or manufacturing processes. On some stage, this solely issues in as far as it impacts efficiency.

However driver know-how (and, to a lesser diploma, fairway woods and hybrids) are the arms race of the golf tools business. Main producers spend tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} on fractional enhancements. It prices lots to push the very edges of the envelope and DTC manufacturers don’t have this depth of assets to dedicate. Nonetheless, this is without doubt one of the causes Sub 70 can supply tools at a fraction of the value of mainline manufacturers.

With that, it’s cheap to suppose that Sub 70 particularly, and the DTC mannequin on the whole, is greatest suited to compete with business stalwarts when the advantages of sure applied sciences aren’t fairly as pronounced.

As all the time, inform us what you suppose.