Tourstage 2010 X-Drive and ViQ Driver Review

Before leaving for Hawaii for a 9 day working holiday, I had a chance to spend a week with the new 2010 X-Drive 703 and 2010 ViQ drivers. Tourstage has long battled the likes of Srixon/XXIO, Taylormade and Yamaha for driver sales in Japan year in and year out.  People who know Tourstage can tell you that they make premium and top performing drivers for both the athlete golfer and average golfer in Japan. Early this month Tourstage or better know as Bridgestone in the West, released their most advanced X-Drive design ever as well as a completely redesigned ViQ driver.

The new X-Drive 703

The 2010 X-Drive 703 fits between the 701G and 701 drivers released earlier this year when it comes to control and target audience. For launch, the 703 fits between the GR and 701/701G with a mid to slightly high launch. Some golfers complained that for an athlete model the X-Drives released earlier this year like the 901, 701 and 701G had faces that were too shallow so the new 703 has a mid to deeper face. Like the earlier releases I just mentioned it features a square angle face for a workable ball and is neutral biased.

The Most Advanced X-Drive

The X-Drive 703 features a 7 piece hybrid body made from three types of premium forged Titanium, KS100 Ti, Ti-15-3-3-3 and a hot VL Titanium cup Face. The crown is an ultra thin 0.5mm which allows the weight to be placed lower in the head. The sweet area of the 703 is 10.6% larger than the 701 and the 703 also features a larger gravity angle allowing the head to rotate faster to square up quickly at impact. The 703 is still for the better player, while it is more forgiving than the 701, it also features a deeper back and pear shape as preferred by better players.

Solid Feel, Solid all around performance

So how does it feel and perform? It is definitely a very solid feeling driver aimed at players with a swing speed of 95mph or more.  The faster swing speeds are need to fully maximize the drivers performance and feel. Slower swingers would not benefit from the 703 and would probably do much better with a thinner faced high rebound face like the new ViQ. Feel is more solid than the models released earlier this year as the 703 with its Dual Arrow back face creates a thicker mid section compared to the 701/701G.  The 703 predominately hits a straight ball with above medium trajectory and low spin with run. It is workable with a fade and draw for more advanced players.

The 703 is a balanced driver that will give good distance and exceptional control which means more fairways hit. It is not meant to be a long distance driver as witnessed by its 45.25″ length which comapred to many drivers on the market these days is not a long club. The stock shaft is a Tour AD B10-01w, a 65g low torque shaft. The standard upgrade shaft is the new Tour AD DI-6 which in fact has very similar specs to the stock shaft weight and torque wise but is a lower launcher and more rigid shaft. Smooth to semi agressive swingers can play the stock shaft but those with aggressive and very quick tempos who battle a hook should opt for the DI-6. The DI-6 lowers the trajectory a touch over the stock shaft even though both are mid kick. This driver can excel in the wind and is one the better player can hit a low ball with lots of roll with. This is one good looking driver and another winner for the Tourstage in the athlete golfer range.

The new ViQ Driver

On the other side of the spectrum is the new ViQ Driver for the average golfer. The ViQ has been completely redesigned with a new look, features and its target audience has been expanded from the average golfer all the way up to the beginner. Anyone wanting a driver with ease of use can consider the new ViQ.  The most obvious change is the appearance of the driver and this is where Tourstage focused on creating a visual impact on the average player.

Aligning your drives

For many average and beginner golfers, the hardest club to square up can be the driver. Tourstage has tried to increase ease of alignment both at address where most swing problems originate from all the way to impact with visual cues that help the player hit the ball square on the sweet spot at impact. This is what Tourstage calls its Impact Management System.  The visual aspects like the face and crown design are only part of the equation. Tourstage also has placed turbo rubber in three spots on the driver, the grip, the shaft and the head. The purpose of the turbo rubber in the grip is for feel and control while the turbo rubber lining the shaft is for performance and rebound. The turbo rubber under the back weight port is to minimize vibrations and increase MOI.

Target on Crown Helps…

The crown of the driver takes a bit of getting used to but in a sense works like a target and yes it does work as it’s like an alignment aid on the putter, pretty soon you forget its there and you subconciously meet the ball in the center based on that hypnotizing looking crown. (^_^)

The ViQ head is long from face to back and shallow making it long from toe to heel. This is forgiving for the average golfer whose misses are typically towards the toe or heel. The deep center of gravity and slightly closed face produce a higher launching ball with draw tendancies. This will help those battling  slice and the right side. The face feels thinner and hotter than the 703 as is usually the case with average golfer drivers. There is more of a high pitched metallic kind of impact sound as the face meets the ball. For me I hit a high draw with this driver, not ballooning in anyway but still with some roll. Its 45.75″ length is long for me but managable for most compared to the 46.5″ drivers out there these days. Feel wise, the driver is actually pretty good as the shaft while probably on the soft side for some does the trick for most average swingers with some kick and rebound.  The face has some pop and the sound it makes lets the average golfer knows he has hit a good one.

Something for everyone…

So Bridgestone Tourstage has again released two pretty good high tech drivers for both the athlete and average golfer. There is some overlap too as the average golfer with a faster swing who is looking to step to the next level could play the X-Drive 703 as it is definitely forgiving enough. On the other hand the aging mid capper or player who simply does not play as much anymore could use the forgiveness and ease of use of the new ViQ.

Something for everyone as is always the case from Tourstage. Check out the new Tourstage 2010 Drivers in the Pro Shop.

Here are the pictures I took!

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