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.
The red sole of the MacGregor V-Max fairway wood is unmistakable
(Image credit: Future)
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 MacGregor V-Max Fairway Wood has a more triangular shape than other fairway woods
(Image credit: Future)
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.
MacGregor V-Max Fairway Wood at address
(Image credit: Future)
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…
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