While the likes of the Taylormade Qi10 and Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke are considered some of the best fairway woods released this year, they do come in at a premium price point. While this can, to a point, be justified through the performance on offer, I wanted to see how a fairway wood at the cheaper end of the spectrum would fare. So I took the MacGregor V-Max fairway wood to the golf course to assess its performance.
Coming to retail at just £79, the MacGregor V-Max fairway wood represents a notable discount against the top brands. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the looks of the V-Max fairway wood due to its larger, triangular head shape and the bold, red colorway on the sole. While I personally prefer a more rounded looking head, I can see why the shape of the V-Max fairway wood will boost the confidence of those golfers seeking assistance with their fairway wood game, similar to that of some of the most forgiving fairway woods.
The noticeably straight top-line edge and flat face makes it extremely easy to align at address, although I prefer a more rounded look up the front, especially when it comes to the woods. That said, during testing I found myself hitting the fairway more often than not. This could be attributed to the V-Max alignment aid on the head, which certainly made lining the ball up in the middle of the face easy, although I could see how its size could be off-putting for those seeking a cleaner-looking club behind the ball.
The MacGregor V-Max fairway performed pretty much as I imagined it would, producing some good shots but all in all it was fairly inconsistent. Granted, the shaft I tested was a regular flex shaft, which is too soft for me, but even when slowing my swing down and clipping some, the feel from the face wasn't as responsive as I was hoping for, despite producing a fairly high pitched ‘ting’ sound through impact. While the V-Max fairway wood produced a high flight when hit from a tee, I was a little surprised to see how low it flew when struck from the deck. This then tempted me to hit the V-Max from the first cut of rough and this is where it really struggled. The head felt quite unstable through the rough and my dispersion dramatically increased, seeing balls falling left and right of my intended target.
Despite the price point of the MacGregor V-Max fairway wood being very attractive, the lack of forgiveness means it may struggle against the best fairway woods for high handicappers. The lower ball flight from the fairway in particular also meant I struggled stopping the ball when landing it on the green using the 15° fairway wood option. These clubs are non-adjustable, so for those who want more loft and naturally a higher ball flight, there is an 18° option available.
While there’s no doubt the performance falls short of the very best fairway woods on the market, there was enough shown by the MacGregor V-Max to warrant advising those just getting into the game to check it out as a cheap alternative at the top end of the bag.
