PRGR egg Spoon HD Comparisons

I finally got around to comparing all three generations of the ever popular PRGR egg Spoons.  As I had mentioned during the new egg Spoon HD announcment, we all know that the Pro Gear’s egg Spoon is one of the best ever fairway woods to come out of Japan. Deadly forgiving with monster type distance, may flock to it for its amazing performance. However, it wasn’t perfect by any means. Many better players found the face and profile too shallow making it scary to tee off with. Stronger players and faster swingers also found the club simply too light resulting in a lack of stability and topping of the ball in the fairway.

PRGR decided to address this issue by releasing a new egg Spoon HD – which stands for Heavy and Deep Spec.  At first glance one might be hard pressed to notice any differences besides the slight changes in color accents and model markings however shape aside there are quite a few changes (yes even subtly in the shape). With the deeper face comes an all new ES475 maraging steel material for higher strength and more ball repulsion at impact from higher swing speeds.  The deeper face and slightly more compact (158cc) hollow head has also allowed for realigned CG point for lower spin and a strong and penetrating trajectory also thank to a deeper hosel insertion.

The ES475 features a variable thickness face with an outer wall of 1.8mm thin , a mid wall of 1.9mm thin and a center section of 2.2mm thin. Total face area has increased by 19% over the 2nd generation Spoon and you can see this in the image above. PRGR claims the new deeper face and ES475 equal higher ball speeds and increased distance over the standard Spoon thanks to a COR rating of 0.81 which is unusually high for a Fairway wood and only bested by the Ryoma FW at 0.82. The HD on the left in the above picture is about 4mm taller than the previous generation. This may not sound like a lot but in reality, almost half a centimeter makes a huge difference.

Compared to the original Spoon, the HD on the left again is only marginally deeper but you see the better face shape and the difference in hosel lengths. Also the HD has a larger and superior face design along with the hotter new maraging steel material. We all know what a unique and loud twock the original Spoon makes at impact and I am glad to say the new model still sounds much nicer like the second generation.

Side by side its not easy to tell a size difference between the 3 heads, especially since they range from 158cc to 165cc in size which equals very little separates the 3 heads when it comes to volume. The HD on the left  is the “smallest” at 158cc and the shape has been slightly altered from the 2nd gen Spoon which sits to the right of it.  The HD is not stretched back as much and the “wings” or outer arches are not nearly as thick.  The HD is rounder and the CG placed more forward for a stronger low spin ball vs the 2nd generation. Also keep in mind the HD is 14.5* vs 15* for the other two spoons. The 1st generation Spoon on the right of course does not have the scooped out crown but rather the taper back crown. The scooped back crown of the 2 newer models actually helps frame and line up the ball at impact. Another way they made the HD hotter is the actual front face area that is the area under the alignment mark, is not as thick as the 2nd generation.

Other differences if you look more closely is that the new HD is a very nice Matte Black carbon like finish with no color in the alignment mark vs the glossy piano black finish of the 2nd gen and the two tone glossy and matte finish of the original. Both the 2nd gen and the original have the love it or hate it red egg dot for an alignment mark. I think a lot of people will prefer the more stealthy looking matte black head of the HD which also features no paintfill in the cavity.

The biggest difference for the Spoon HD though has to be the weight. The original models are ULTRA light, weighing in at less than many drivers on the market. When you need to hit the ball off the deck and you are a harder and faster swinger, the lack of weight in your hands can cause stability and consistency issues. The Spoon HD corrects all this by being 0 to 22g heavier than the current Spoon tipping in at 335g and D2.5 along with the stock M-46 shaft.  Fubuki FW F65 and F75 are also options with the F75 tipping the scales at a nice and heavy 339g which is certainly hefty for a 3W by Japan standards. While people think the 2nd gen Spoon and Spoon HD are so similar they are actually hard to compare performance wise. A 20+ gram increase in weight makes the clubs play rather differently so performance will of course vary between the two.  For me I could not swing the HD as fast due to the heavier weight but i struck the ball far more consistently as I can feel the club and head in my heads through the entire swing and the weight and deeper face result in no topping off the deck whatsoever. The 14.5* equals a very strong penetrating ball flight but with an easy launch and low spin with lots of run. Even though it is heavier for me to swing, I was getting more distance than the 2nd gen which launched higher and did not run as much.

Off the tee the HD is like a psychological revelation. Honestly while I tried not to think of it, when I teed off with the 2nd generation Spoon I was always concerned about coming under the ball due to the shallow face (and in the rough as well) and when I adjusted from these negative thoughts I would end up topping the ball especially off the deck due to the lighter weight. Make no mistake, the 2nd generation egg Spoon is very long and very easy to hit especially for the average golfer who is more concerned about ease of use and pure distance vs stability.  However the stronger and better player and more aggressive swinger will see huge benefits to the HD. The deeper face, heavier weight is only part of the improvements. The new variable thickness maraging ES475 face, the larger sweet spot, increased COR and even better looks and finish will draw most better players towards the HD.

All egg Spoon HD models are 3 week special orders as they are only built on order. I will be adding it to the pro shop today but that hasn’t stopped quite a few customers from contacting me directly over the last few weeks to order. Seems I’m not the only one excited about a heavier and deeper Spoon!