Drivers

: COBRA SPEED LD; STREET PRICE: $300
WEBSITE: cobragolf.com
LOFTS
F/Speed: 9.5, 10.5; M/Speed: 10.5, 12; M/Speed OS: 9.5, 10.5 ; Speed Pro: 8.5, 9.5, 10.5

TECH STORY
Updated from last spring's version, the new Speed LD maintains its deep-dimpled, sloped-crown design. It comes close to the USGA's limit on size, but don't overlook the heat-producing-but-hidden rhombus bump behind the face, which is designed to improve off-center-hit performance.

PLAYER COMMENTS
"A very serious club. Looks like it'll really launch the ball. . . . Cobra makes the nontraditional look almost traditional."

HOT
A tiny adjustment makes this success story sound much better. Cobra's Speed Fit might not be high tech, but it's user-friendly and works fast. Is a fitting system supposed to do more? No.

NOT
Custom shaft options, aside from the nifty Cobra tech van, are limited. We'd like to see more than two lofts in the F Speed version.

: NIKE SQ SUMO^� 5900; STREET PRICE: $400
WEBSITE: nikegolf.com
LOFTS
8.5, 9.5, 10.5, 11.5, 13, HL

TECH STORY
The extreme square shape is an attempt to reach the USGA's limit on MOI (5,900 gram-centimeters squared). How was this achieved? Engineers took weight saved from an updated (and lighter) multithickness face and moved it to the corners, giving the square-shape clubhead extreme stability on heel-and-toe hits.

PLAYER COMMENTS
"It's ugly, but I can't believe how well you can bomb it. I was hurting the golf ball. . . . This looks, sounds and hits like a freight train. It's forgiving, and I can hit the ball long and down the middle. . . . Nice job of muting the sound of last year's model. It's clever how the design gives you the sense of a traditional driver."

HOT
This year's version is an improvement. A new adjustable-shaft fitting component is a bonus.

NOT
The clubhead's shape might not fit those whose moves are more grace than growl.

* Category Leader

: PING G10; STREET PRICE: $300
WEBSITE: pinggolf.com
LOFTS
7.5, 9*, 10.5*, 12*, 13.5* (*also available in draw version)

TECH STORY
Built on the platform of Ping's G2/G5 franchise, it features a taller, more stable face (for off-center-hit help) and a larger, weblike rear crown. The sloped crown and sole are designed to enhance energy transfer. Saved weight is moved to the sole to lower the CG.

PLAYER COMMENTS "The copper color rocks. Near-perfect forgiveness. I heeled-and-toed them, and they still went straight. . . . Firm, but it doesn't feel like a rock. You will hit it high."

HOT
This club is more subtly explosive than a handful of plastique in a can of Play-Doh. Bonus: The draw version is remedial without looking like it. A new computer-based fitting system is in development, too.

NOT
The one-time leader in fitting needs to upgrade to an adjustable fitting system.

* Category Leader

: TAYLORMADE BURNER; STREET PRICE: $300
WEBSITE: taylormadegolf.com
LOFTS
8.5 (TP version only), 9.5, 10.5, 13 (standard and draw only)

TECH STORY
The shaft is lightweight (only 50 grams) and long (46 inches) and is designed to increase your swing speed, resulting in higher ball speed. The stretched-bullet head shape helps push the CG back for a higher MOI.

PLAYER COMMENTS
"Love the setup. The design on the crown gets you looking right down the fairway. . . . Launches the ball high. If someone has trouble getting it high, this is their club. . . . My mis-hits, and I mean all of them, were in play."

HOT
A marketplace behemoth, and rightly so. TaylorMade's engineers have made the ultra-thin walls sound and feel as meaty as a side of Angus beef cooked over an open flame. And don't overlook the inverted-cone face design. SelectFit features, ahem, 186 driver combinations.

NOT
The jazzy crown might not suit your eye.