Hireko Golf's Avatar XMOI driver makes for a rousing scramble

I recently reviewed the Dynacraft Avatar XMOI driver by Hireko Golf, remarking in particular on the 48-inch Aldila NV shaft that came in the club they sent me.

At the time of testing, my on-course game resembled the Hindenburg’s first and only flight to the U.S. So while I found the club to be massively long on the range, I didn’t have the confidence to unleash potentially wild tee shots on the heads of helpless, unsuspecting bystanders within a two-block radius of the course. And because I almost always test clubs both off and on the course, I felt guilty.

Then I got a call from my father-in-law to participate in the annual American Legion golf scramble at the Logansport Golf Club in Logansport, Indiana. And I figured, what the heck, my teammates would get some good drives into the fairway, and I could flail away all I wanted to see how long the XMOI could really be.

Now, we played the course at just under 6,000 yards, so there were lots of 300-350 par 4s, along with three reachable par 5s. The longest par 4 was only 400 yards from the tees we were playing, so I had the green light all day – and after a quick tip from my brother-in-law about shifting my weight and a rededication to remembering and doing my new pre-shot routine before every swing (no matter how many beers I drank) – I began hitting absolute monsters with the XMOI.

A few highlights: On the 335-yard 6th hole, my ball landed pin-high about 15 yards right of the green. At the 333-yard 12th, my ball was again just shy of pin high, a few yards left of the putting surface, and the 363-yard 15th, about 25 yards short of the green.

Best of all, when I missed fairways or greens, I didn’t miss by much. No duck-hooks!

I take that back…best of all was on the 500-yard 16th, where the A and B players were all gunning for Long Drive accolades dead into the teeth of a 20mph wind. My 290-yard shot found the middle of the fairway and held up against close to 50 big ol’ country boys who made this 6′1″, 195-lb., 40-something egghead feel practically tiny standing in line for grub after the scramble.

In other words, I’m replacing the big-brand driver that’s been in my bag all season with the 48-inch Hireko cannon. And my journalistic conscience has been assuaged.