I’ve finally got a chance to start testing the new PRGR iD line for 2011. As I mentioned earlier on the blog, I’ve got the entire demo lineup here so it will take a couple of weeks to get a good feel of how the new clubs feel and perform. I have to admit I was drawn to the iD 435 driver which is why I decided to review it first.

Pro Gear or PRGR as we all know them, the golf subsidiary of Yokohama Rubber, has done very well in recent years with their GN502 line of clubs. Their new comletely redesigned iD line stands for Inspiration and Data and is broken down into  lines, the athlete model iD435 line and the average golfer model iD455 line. ID brings together two key aspects of top performance golf clubs. “I” is for Inspiration that is from all golfers who want to hit it further, straighter and take it to the next level. “D” is for Data or the technical aspect of the club designs based on data collected by PRGR over the years on players of all levels.

Endo Forged ELF Titan Face…

The athlete iD435 is a conforming 435cc driver with a more traditional shape, deeper face and higher,shallower CG matched with shafts like the Tour AD DJ, Diamana Ahina and Motore VC.2 as upgrades along with a low torque heavier PRGR stock shaft. This driver is made at Endo and features a premium forged ELF Titan face with variable thickness. The id435 features a design that promotes square impact resulting in increased smash factor, higher speed efficiency and more overall distance. This is done by placing the center of gravity at a different location from the actual center of the face of the driver. The CG is moved closer to the heel to increase ball speeds on contact. Opposite the CG point and on the other side of the center of the face is the maximum bend point of the face. These three points, CG, Center and Bend point create a huge sweet spot that covers the whole face of the driver. At the same time the CG length and height are shortened which increase control and stability.

Variable thickness = Slingshot feel

The variable thickness of the face features a dual thickness center. Typically in most athlete/pro model drivers the absolute center of the face is the thickest to provide that more solid feel for faster swingers. In the case if the iD435 as you can see in the image above, Area “A” which is the center is slightly thinner than the surrounding Area “B”. This creates a solid but crisp feel with possibly even higher ball speeds thanks to the slightly thinner thus more flexible center. The outer areas are thinner as well to create that sling shot effect. Area “F” is a little bit thicker to produce stability with the hosel.  The image above also shows the 3 points of the face which create a very large sweet spot.

Actually its pretty good looking.

When I first saw the new iD line I was caught off guard by the huge visual change in design. The previous GN502 line was pretty high tech looking (except for the Tour 440 which was pretty clean), while the iD line is considerably toned down. I heard comments from some readers like “looks cheaper looking” or “bland”. Simple does not necessarily mean cheaper looking or less high tech. From an aesthetic stand point, PRGR decided to go with a clean look and the more I look at this driver the more I like it. It is in no way cheap with combination brushed satin sole and mirror chrome as well as matte black and cool gradient black crown and webbed silver toe finish.

Pleasing look at address…

Looking at the driver both face on and at address is very satisfying.  The head is not overly tiny nor is it huge in any way. It suits the eye very nicely with a clean almost pear shape and no alignment mark. The face angle is square and as you can see in the picture in the right, lines up superbly to the ball. Looks wise I am really growing to like the iD line.

Hmmm I can work this driver…

I haven’t had a chance yet to play the club on a course yet though I will give it a shot on Monday. So far testing has only been at the driving range. Feel is soft and crisp sounding, a combination of the RED 505 and the Callaway Legacy.  The ball leaps of the hot face with a more penetrating trajectory similar to the GN502 Tour 440.  This is not a difficult driver to hit even though it targets the better player. The setup alone shows that it can be played by the mid capper all the way down to single digits. I say its not difficult because as a mid capper myself I could hit a draw and fade with this driver and hit it for pretty good distance thanks to a more penetrating trajectory resulting in good run.  I think it will do even better with non range balls. What also contributes to this drivers accuracy and control is the shorter length of the driver at 44.75″. The new iD shaft made by Mitsubishi Rayon also feels more stout thanks to lower torque and a stiffer overall profile however feel is not lost as the mid kicking shaft is designed to relay a fast but smooth loading and unloading though the butt area of the shaft.

Stable trajectory = good run

This is a reasonably forgiving, mid trajectory low spin driver with good feel and clean looks. I found that hitting face a little inside of the sweet spot produced the best results and most distance. While this driver is made to be a workable driver with its high back design and square face and short CG, the actual CG angle is on the larger side at 24*. The CG angle dictates how a head rotates to square during a players swing. The larger the CG angle the faster the head squares up. The older PRGR Tour models featured CG angles in the 19-21* range while the average golfer model GN502 was around 28* if I remember correctly. The iD435 is right in the middle once again illustrating its balanced performance and supporting PRGR’s theme of a forgiving athlete club. My bad shot is right and I did not go right at all with this driver.

Balanced performance, good feel.

I like this driver a lot. It’s clean looking, a very manageable length, very good feel and surprisingly pretty forgiving. For the slower swinger, it may not be the longest driver as you’ll be handicapped by thicker face and the shorter length overall club compared to average golfer models which believe the longer shaft increases overall swing speeds. Many of you know though in my opinion, longer drivers can lower smash factor, while with a shorter club one is able to hit the sweet spot much more consistently which can in fact increase overall driving distance. This is a great choice for 2011 for anyone who wants a driver with balanced distance and control performance that will stay in the fairway and under control on windy days. I’m very curious now to compare the average golfer iD455 model in the next few days. The new iD435 launches on December 10th. Look for it in the Tourspecgolf.com pro shop in coming days!

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