Integra SoooLong Quadratic

[SolidRockGolf]

How do you like the new square driver head from Integra?

[GolfSavage]

I received a demo model of this driver from Solid Rock Golf this past Thursday afternoon (April 5th) as the first of seven users scheduled to use and review this club (see this thread http://www.golfrewound.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=2082).

Initial impression upon unpacking - beautiful! Unlike some folks, I do not find the square-shaped heads unattractive, and this one actually seems smaller to me than most 460cc drivers I've seen. The carbon fiber crown looks pretty cool, and that shaft (AccuFLEX Evolution Lite) really sparkles in the light. The face of the club is not as large as my Bang Storm.

I took the club to the range Friday evening and hit approximately 20 balls with it. It was very windy at the range, 10-15 mph steady with gusts over 20mph, right into my face. After warming up with some wedge and iron shots, I picked out the best range balls I could find and pulled out the Quadratic. First drive was right where I was aiming, carrying to the 250 yard flag INTO A STIFF WIND! Ball flight appeared to be mid-high. Next three balls were almost identical. I decided to go ahead and really try to crank one, and as usual I was able to induce a fade, although not as bad I sometimes get. After about 20 drives, I was fairly well impressed with the consistent flight of the ball, as long as I did my part and didn't try to kill it! I didn't find the sound of this driver to be that much different than most titanium drivers. I think my Bang Storm is louder and has a more distinctive sound than this Integra Quadratic.

I wanted to test the club in real use conditions, but was unable to find time Saturday. Finally I had time Sunday afternoon, and sacrificed sitting on the couch watching the final round of the Masters for a chance to play this club.

Although I'm tempted to give a hole-by-hole description of the round, I'll control myself and simply say that overall the driver was great. I hit several drives in the 275-290 range (measured with the GPS in the carts), most of them carrying around 260-265. Ball flight was very straight and mid-high. Of course, my swing is not perfect so on a couple of drives I was able to induce errors that no driver in the world could correct. I don't care what club it is, if you hit it wrong you'll get bad results!

If I didn't already have a driver I like and that I've learned to hit pretty well, I'd be wanting to add one of these to my bag. I'm sure with a few more rounds and some more range time I could find another 10-15 yards without losing accuracy. I can't comment on "workability", as I don't try to work my driver, I'm just happy to find the fairway! I believe anyone who wants to find more fairways and have more confidence in where their tee shot is going should try this driver out, especially if they want to see what a square headed driver can do for them.

[JamesGold]

Originally Posted by GolfSavage

I received a demo model of this driver from Solid Rock Golf this past Thursday afternoon (April 5th) as the first of seven users scheduled to use and review this club (see this thread http://www.golfrewound.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=2082).

Initial impression upon unpacking - beautiful! Unlike some folks, I do not find the square-shaped heads unattractive, and this one actually seems smaller to me than most 460cc drivers I've seen. The carbon fiber crown looks pretty cool, and that shaft (AccuFLEX Evolution Lite) really sparkles in the light. The face of the club is not as large as my Bang Storm.

I took the club to the range Friday evening and hit approximately 20 balls with it. It was very windy at the range, 10-15 mph steady with gusts over 20mph, right into my face. After warming up with some wedge and iron shots, I picked out the best range balls I could find and pulled out the Quadratic. First drive was right where I was aiming, carrying to the 250 yard flag INTO A STIFF WIND! Ball flight appeared to be mid-high. Next three balls were almost identical. I decided to go ahead and really try to crank one, and as usual I was able to induce a fade, although not as bad I sometimes get. After about 20 drives, I was fairly well impressed with the consistent flight of the ball, as long as I did my part and didn't try to kill it! I didn't find the sound of this driver to be that much different than most titanium drivers. I think my Bang Storm is louder and has a more distinctive sound than this Integra Quadratic.

I wanted to test the club in real use conditions, but was unable to find time Saturday. Finally I had time Sunday afternoon, and sacrificed sitting on the couch watching the final round of the Masters for a chance to play this club.

Although I'm tempted to give a hole-by-hole description of the round, I'll control myself and simply say that overall the driver was great. I hit several drives in the 275-290 range (measured with the GPS in the carts), most of them carrying around 260-265. Ball flight was very straight and mid-high. Of course, my swing is not perfect so on a couple of drives I was able to induce errors that no driver in the world could correct. I don't care what club it is, if you hit it wrong you'll get bad results!

If I didn't already have a driver I like and that I've learned to hit pretty well, I'd be wanting to add one of these to my bag. I'm sure with a few more rounds and some more range time I could find another 10-15 yards without losing accuracy. I can't comment on "workability", as I don't try to work my driver, I'm just happy to find the fairway! I believe anyone who wants to find more fairways and have more confidence in where their tee shot is going should try this driver out, especially if they want to see what a square headed driver can do for them.

Great review, but how do you think it compares to the OEM square drivers?

[SolidRockGolf]

Originally Posted by GolfSavage

I received a demo model of this driver from Solid Rock Golf this past Thursday afternoon (April 5th) as the first of seven users scheduled to use and review this club (see this thread http://www.golfrewound.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=2082).

Initial impression upon unpacking - beautiful! Unlike some folks, I do not find the square-shaped heads unattractive, and this one actually seems smaller to me than most 460cc drivers I've seen. The carbon fiber crown looks pretty cool, and that shaft (AccuFLEX Evolution Lite) really sparkles in the light. The face of the club is not as large as my Bang Storm.

I took the club to the range Friday evening and hit approximately 20 balls with it. It was very windy at the range, 10-15 mph steady with gusts over 20mph, right into my face. After warming up with some wedge and iron shots, I picked out the best range balls I could find and pulled out the Quadratic. First drive was right where I was aiming, carrying to the 250 yard flag INTO A STIFF WIND! Ball flight appeared to be mid-high. Next three balls were almost identical. I decided to go ahead and really try to crank one, and as usual I was able to induce a fade, although not as bad I sometimes get. After about 20 drives, I was fairly well impressed with the consistent flight of the ball, as long as I did my part and didn't try to kill it! I didn't find the sound of this driver to be that much different than most titanium drivers. I think my Bang Storm is louder and has a more distinctive sound than this Integra Quadratic.

I wanted to test the club in real use conditions, but was unable to find time Saturday. Finally I had time Sunday afternoon, and sacrificed sitting on the couch watching the final round of the Masters for a chance to play this club.

Although I'm tempted to give a hole-by-hole description of the round, I'll control myself and simply say that overall the driver was great. I hit several drives in the 275-290 range (measured with the GPS in the carts), most of them carrying around 260-265. Ball flight was very straight and mid-high. Of course, my swing is not perfect so on a couple of drives I was able to induce errors that no driver in the world could correct. I don't care what club it is, if you hit it wrong you'll get bad results!

If I didn't already have a driver I like and that I've learned to hit pretty well, I'd be wanting to add one of these to my bag. I'm sure with a few more rounds and some more range time I could find another 10-15 yards without losing accuracy. I can't comment on "workability", as I don't try to work my driver, I'm just happy to find the fairway! I believe anyone who wants to find more fairways and have more confidence in where their tee shot is going should try this driver out, especially if they want to see what a square headed driver can do for them.

Thanks for the Great Review... How did you like the Evo Lite? One of my all time favorite shafts as well (reason I put it with the head).

[GolfSavage]

Originally Posted by JamesGold

Great review, but how do you think it compares to the OEM square drivers?

Can't compare to what I haven't used. If Nike or Callaway wish to send me a club to demo, I'll be more than happy to oblige! One thing I can say, I doubt the OEMs will give me $200-300 more value than the Integra!

Originally Posted by SolidRockGolf

Thanks for the Great Review... How did you like the Evo Lite? One of my all time favorite shafts as well (reason I put it with the head).

Unfortunately I can only give an opinion on how the whole club played, as I don't have any experience with other shafts to know what difference they might make. I liked the ball flight so the kick point must be about right for me with that head, and the stiff shaft felt like it matched my swing speed pretty well. However, a launch monitor and complete swing analysis might show that another shaft would work better for me. I just don't know. It is definitely an attractive shaft, and I was able to hit the club well from the get-go, so I'm sure it is pretty close to, if not exactly, what I need in a shaft.

[coralpro]

My personal review of the club didn't turn out as well as I thought it would and it wasn't the clubs fault. I think I had a mental block on using and trying to protect someone elses club. When I was on the course I kept getting a lot of floaters and hard fades which was me trying to hold off my release. I know what it is capable of because when I got it the first night I hit three beautifully long straight shots out over the lake but I had finished playing 36 holes that day and my swing felt natural and I didn't think anything about the club not being mine but just hit it. When I got to the range I felt like I was trying to protect this beautiful looking club and was not able to turn through normal. I already posted that I let a younger guy that had a fantastic swing try it and he hit it longer and with a slight power fade but was able to hit it straight if he so chose. Part of my problem may also be the clubs weight felt extremely light and with my aggressive swing I may have just had a timing issue which I have many issues so figuring out the cause is sometimes difficult. I went back to my Big Bang and was hammering long shots again and had good control so what I plan to do is buy a head from Christian in a 8.5 degree and have one of my heavier shafts placed in it and then give a real evaluation of its capabilities. I know if I own it I can let go and feel comfortable doing so. Sorry Christian I couldn't be a great help on the evaluation but after seeing what it could do I still want to buy one but I have two different shafts already waiting for a head and I think between my aldila nv65 stiff and my pro force 65 gold stiff I will find one that fits it great. If that doesn't do I still have my speeder 757 x-stiff tour spec driver shaft. With my swing I believe I have to stay in the 9 degree area or I tend to balloon shots which I did see with the quadratic against the wind with its 10.5 degree head. I would definitely say though for those having a controlled swing they should see better control and a distance improvement from what I witnessed from the young guy that demoed it. He was definitely impressed. Since he works at the range and they have a pro shop there he said he hits it similar to the Cally FTI but he hit the quadratic longer.

[RobinHunter]

I demo-ed the Quad earlier this year and although I thought it was a fine club, it just didn't win me over. It does help you hit the ball straighter. But I wasn't impressed with the distance I got from it. The Detonator from Tour Swing also helps you hit the ball straighter, but I consistently get 30-40yds more with it than I did with the Quad.

[coralpro]

Originally Posted by RobinHunter

I demo-ed the Quad earlier this year and although I thought it was a fine club, it just didn't win me over. It does help you hit the ball straighter. But I wasn't impressed with the distance I got from it. The Detonator from Tour Swing also helps you hit the ball straighter, but I consistently get 30-40yds more with it than I did with the Quad.

Were they the same lofts and shafts? I asked to be on the list to demo the quadratic but had never hit a 10.5 degree head and with my release it had too much backspin and not owning the club I didn't want to play with altering a swing to fit it for fear of mishits maybe putting bad marks on it. The guy I watched hit it had been using a cleveland launcher with an aldila nvs stiff shaft and he definitely hit the quadratic longer by approximately 15-20 yds of carry as well as getting around 30-40yds of roll which is a little more roll than he had on his other driver on the driving range and his dispersion was fantastic at less than 10 yds. on 10 straight drives. I'm not anywhere close to that guy in control and swing mechanics but it appeared that in the right hands it was a definite winner. I have found that there is no magic weapon to fix imperfect swings.

[Fourputt]

I finished my demo of this club last week and shipped it on to 300Yards. This won't be a long review, just a few quick comments. I tried it on both the range and on the course.

It's a nice club, felt good when I was swinging it, but I had trouble finding a slot with it. I seemed to have a hard time hitting a ball the same way twice in a row. That is partly due to my own swing deficiencies, but I think that this driver as built just isn't quite right for me. My own driver is the Callaway FTi, and the feel of the 2 clubs is just enough different that I struggled to find a comfort level with the Quadratic. When I did hit it sweet the shot was good, but not great. My distance was somewhat less than what I typically get with the Callaway (average about 260-270), about 5-10 yards shorter. The ball flight also tended to be lower. I did find that my misses were more of a straight push or pull, not as much fade or draw as I get with the Callaway.

My feeling is that the shaft may have been a bit too stiff for my swing speed. That is just a guess, but the inconsistency is similar to what I experience with my Callaway when I don't make an aggressive full swing. Both of these clubs seem to need to have the shaft well loaded during the swing to make consistent contact, and I just didn't seem to be able to do that here.

So I think that the club might be quite good for someone with a stronger swing, but my 90-100 mph just didn't seem to quite cut it for this club setup. 300Yards may give it a better test than I could.

[300Yards]

Alright, I just got done testing this club..kinda, I'll explain. I hit some foam practice balls, to warm up with this club, and I just couldn't get used to it. The shaft's flex, was alright, it flexed a bit to much, but for a stiff, it didn't do bad at all..I couldn't find the slot with this club real well. The whole club felt to light, and I just didn't feel the confidence with it, as I did with the FT-i. More weight, and I could give this a more thorough test, but I didn't feel confident enough to hit some real balls with it. Sorry, Christian, I wanted to like it. It feels nice just swinging it with no ball, but after I saw what was happening when it hit some practice balls, that changed pretty quick. But as far as how the club looked: It looked awesome, and it was much better looking than the other square drivers out there, IMO.

Thanks for letting me try it out anyway, Christian! I wish I could've done better..

[coralpro]

I was working on swing changes when I demoed it and have now got my swing to be pretty consistant and long and would love to evaluate it again if that would be possible, Christian. All I would be out is shipping charges which doesn't bother me at all and I feel I could now let it rip. I do agree with many that it felt a little too light but since I use a one plane swing it is just a matter of getting the hips opening a little sooner. I saw what was capable of it by the guy at the range so I would love to give it a second go and then expedite it back to you.

[coralpro]

Got the Quadratic back towards the end of last week in which we had a couple days of rain but took it to the driving range and seemed to hit much better and controlled shots than before but that wouldn't be saying alot since I couldn't hit any driver the last time.
Took it out to the course yesterday and played two rounds with it. I did hit more fairways than I normally do but what I noticed the most is that many weren't far off the fairway when I missed. All but four misses were within 3-8 yds. and the four misses that were was one bad over the top swing into the wind and helping a high fade OB while the other three were just pulls which carried great just left of target line by not clearing the hips quick enough. Only had two perfect drives with one being 312 and the other being 315. I feel it is not necessarily the perfect loft at 10.5 for me but after using it a couple of rounds I found I could modify my release a touch to get the desired launch angle. I wish to take it out for a couple more rounds then send it on its way home but am really interested to see how the second set of rounds turn out with it. Currently I would place it ahead of any driver I have in control areas and close on length and the next session I will try to keep all distances to see how it averages and approx. distance to center of fairway for both rounds.

[LBlack14]

In The Bag!!!