I went to GT last night to test drive the XR Pro irons - it's a toss up between them and the Apex Pro's for me right now - a forgiveness vs feel conflict, as they are respective tops for me in those two categories.

I also wanted to try out the Alpha 816 16* wood. Since getting the XR Pro 16 driver at Christmas, I bought the matching 3 wood. It's a bomber off the tee, but I'm worried about playing it off the deck...my last session in a simulator gave me the impression I had essentially bought a second, smaller driver.

I was hitting the GBB and the 816. The GBB felt nice, and set up square, but its trajectory and spin were terrible for me, maxing out at 210 carry. The Alpha, with the Kuro Kage and the weight back, was a slightly better match, but even it was falling short of my XR Pro, maxing in the mid 220's.

Expecting to leave there with the XR, the sales rep brought over a M2. I had tried, and really liked the driver, but had not tried the fairway wood. Simply put, my OCD driven plan to run an all Callaway bag went out the window. After numerous shots with the two Callaways, I hit 5 straight with the M2 (stock stiff shaft), averaging 236 carry off the mat (all dead straight, or straight with slightly drawing tail). The feel was solid, the ball was at a much better apex, and seemed to hang in flight, versus the Callaways, which seemed to have a pronounced up/down flight path. I even tried switching between clubs, and the TM was a standout every time. The average distance I got with it was comparable to my best shots off the deck with my XR Pro, and I had nowhere near the consistency with the XR. Not one to drink any company's koolaid, I have to say I was greatly impressed by the M2 fairway wood, and will probably bag both the 3 and 5 this year.