I recently filmed a YouTube video in which I put together Bryson DeChambeau’s full bag setup and played a PGA event. It was an extraordinary day for a lot of reasons, but within that set, there were a couple of standout clubs that I wanted to investigate further, the first of those being the Krank Formula Fire LD driver. Could it stand up against some of the best drivers in the game? Let’s find out….
To give some context before I begin the review, it should be noted that I ordered this in as close to Bryson’s spec as possible for the purposes of the video, and it is not a setup that will be suited to many! This driver plays at a 5˚ compared to my normal 8.5˚ and has primarily been designed for use in Long Drive (hence the LD) competitions. It even comes with a Bethpage Black style warning on the website…
From a technology standpoint, the Formula Fire LD is jam-packed. Firstly, a Forged Beta Titanium face is used to provide optimal strength and energy transfer, which is important when dealing with the speeds some of the long drive competitors generate, and Krank says that is over 4 times harder than cast driver faces. To refine the face even further, Krank has added micro CNC milling to maximize the spring effect. On the crown, we have ‘air flow stabilizers’, which do a similar job to the turbulators on top of the best Ping drivers, and on the back, we have a dual weight port system designed to help minimize curvature and produce straighter drives.
In terms of the looks, there is nothing subtle about the Formula Fire LD, that’s for sure. While it won’t be to the tastes of traditionalists out there, I actually quite liked the brashness and audacity of it. The bold red accent colours really pop against the glossy jet black of the rest of the head, the sole and face are embossed with flames, and the ‘air flow stabilizers’ look mean in the playing position. Everything about this driver screams power.
Performance-wise, I didn’t really know what to expect, having only ever tried a driver as low lofted as this once before (I borrowed a Long Drive competitor friends 4˚ Callaway Paradym on a press trip for a couple of shots!), so I set up my FullSwing KIT launch monitor and began to gather some data. Fairly predictably, my initial ball flights were pretty low and a little scattered, with not much spin on the ball to stabilize things, but I soon decided to switch tactics and copy the long drive competitors by teeing it up as high as possible and really trying to increase my attack angle.
This proved to be a breakthrough, and my launch monitor data output jumped up massively. With my standard loft, hitting up as much as I was would result in inefficient, floaty shots, but because of the very low base loft on the Krank, the spin loft remained very low, and I saw some very powerful numbers in terms of ball speed and carry.
For context, I normally cruise at around 118mph with the driver, but I was seeing clubhead speed numbers in the early 120s pretty consistently here. This may be in part due to the aerodynamics on offer, but I also suspect it was born somewhat out of necessity, with my body reacting to the need for speed to produce the requisite launch.
I have to say, I absolutely loved the feel from this driver. Despite being designed to be as hard and durable as possible, that didn’t translate into the impact sensation at all. It felt springy and lively but also very aggressive, and the feedback through the hands made it very clear it was producing ball speed.
DeChambeau has mentioned on a few occasions now that one of the reasons he went into this driver originally was that there was a more apparent curvature to the face, which assists higher-speed players in producing gear effect to help mitigate their heel and toe misses. I would be lying if I said I personally noticed that more than on any other drivers I have tested, but the likelihood is I wasn’t producing enough speed to do.
Despite the warning from the manufacturer itself, I didn’t experience any dramatic loss of accuracy in my testing, and once I had figured out the required impact dynamics to optimize the flight, I saw some pretty massive hits for me.
Overall, I really enjoyed using the Formula Fire LD. It is extremely well built, packed with power, and as someone who sees an awful lot of drivers(!), it is refreshing to see such a different approach. This is no gimmick, this is a serious and impressive product - lest we forget it has won the US Open and is still in the hands of arguably the most discerning equipment geek in the game - Mr Bryson DeChambeau!
The Krank Formula Fire LD is available for $649, or if you are looking for a head only, you can pick this up for $449 from the Krank website. There are also a multitude of other models (and importantly higher lofts!) to take a look at.
