This Sub 70 849D driver review started before I ever even knew what Sub 70 was and will take us to whether or not it’s the best value driver on the market.
Let’s go back a few years to the beginnings of my golf fandom.
I was sitting in a therapist’s office, overwhelmed with the anxieties of life, and she asked what activities I enjoyed as an outlet from stress.
With mild hesitation, I responded, “Golf.”
My hesitation had nothing to do with being unsure of my answer.
On the contrary.
It had everything to do with me knowing it was the right answer, but I couldn’t afford to do it as much as I wanted.
My hesitation was only validated when she half-giggled and replied, “You sure picked an expensive outlet.”
Anyone who has perused a golf retail store lately knows exactly what I was feeling.
It seems impossible to buy a new golf club these days without taking out a second mortgage.
If you are anything like me with these dreary feelings, I come bearing good news!
There is a David to our Goliath.
And their name is Sub 70.
The 849D driver is the first club of theirs I’ve had the pleasure of playing, and it surely won’t be the last.
For many more reasons than you might expect.
Sub 70 849D Driver vs. The Big Brands
As I said earlier, the 849D is made by Sub 70 and is their driver best suited toward average hacks like me.
If you’re more of a stick than me, give the 849 Pro a try.
The hard part about this club, or any Sub 70 club for that matter, is that you can’t go into your local golf shop and try it.
However, as I’ll discuss later, this might be the biggest strength and weakness of the Sub 70 brand.
See, if you’re unfamiliar with Sub 70, they are the cream of the DTC (direct-to-consume) crop when it comes to golf clubs.
What does that mean for you?
HUGE savings on golf equipment without sacrificing performance.
For example, the price of a brand new 849D will run you $279.
Compare that to the other big-name brands that are starting to creep into the $600 range for a new driver.
You could buy a second 849D driver and still have enough money left over for a steak dinner before you reached the price of some OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) drivers for what I would argue are marginal differences at best.
The 849D features the same subtle draw bias that most of us amateurs have come to know and love from our driver choices.
It also comes standard with adjustable lofts that start at 9, 10.5, or 12 degrees.
Sub 70 also offers the 849D with 25 different shaft options, and if you send them a message, they will do everything they can to get you any other shaft not in their normal lineup.
And by message ‘them’ I mean you can literally email the CEO… He puts his information right there on the website because this company is that awesome.
All the performance for half the price. I was truly impressed with how well the 849D held up to the competition considering its fractional cost.
849D Driver Review First Impressions
WOW!
I’ve never been more impressed with a product, or company, straight out of the box.
All they need is a sleek white box and it would’ve felt like opening a new Macbook.
I thought I was opening a box for a brand new driver and it ended up being more like a care package from a long-lost golfing companion.
Not only did I get the driver I wanted, but it also came with a hat, ball marker, and a handwritten note thanking me for my purchase.
Hand-freaking-written!
Not bad for a company charging half as much as the other guys!
I could stop there and convince you why you should only buy clubs from Sub 70 from now on, but the service was so good it deserves its own special shout-out.
Every person I came across from the company was ready to help and did more than expected.
Even when my dumb self ordered the Pro model and immediately had to email them to switch my order to the 849D instead.
They made the change. No questions asked. AND did it within minutes of my email.
At this point, I hadn’t even hit the thing yet and I was already hooked.
How Does it Perform?
But how does it perform?
Can a half-price driver really keep up with the big boys?
In short… hell yes.
It took me a little bit of tinkering to get the 849D dialed in (more on this later), but once I did, it was baby fade after babe fade.
The distance was roughly the same as what I get with other drivers and even a few extra yards from the one I play regularly.
Not to mention, it completely eliminated the left half of the course for me.
Yes, the club has a slight draw bias, but I had the club adjusted a little to help me.
This was a game-changer for me.
As someone who can struggle with the dreaded 2-way miss, I have desperately needed something to keep my ball in the fairway.
The 849D driver did exactly that.
It was all about consistency.
That being said, I think it’s fair to say Sub 70 far exceeded my expectations with this driver.
If there is anything to nitpick about actual performance, it’s that the sweetsop is a shade smaller than some of the other drivers I’ve tried.
Not enough to dramatically change my scores out of the course, but enough that I noticed it from time to time on mishits.
However, this is more of a me problem than the club itself.
In the words of Rory, I just need to “play better.”
What’s the Catch?
There has to be a catch, right?
A driver can’t be this good for that cheap, can it?
Well… It kind of can. But there are a couple of drawbacks.
As mentioned, the biggest strength and weakness of Sub 70 is their direct-to-consumer model.
When you order a club from them, you literally get a business card from their CEO in the box. And he will respond to messages sent to him.
I wouldn’t be expecting that from any of the OEMs anytime soon.
The downside of this is that because of their small and mighty business model, it’s very difficult to do a traditional club fitting for one of their clubs.
To their credit, they have an immense amount of information and shaft and fitting on their site to help you choose what’s right.
Including a fitting tool that takes into account some basic measures to help you with shaft stiffness and lie angle. It even recommends a grip size for you.
However, it’s just not the same as standing next to a club fitter and being able to swap shafts out in 20 seconds.
You can do a fitting with them if you live close enough to Sycamore, Illinois, but the 1,953-mile commute didn’t seem like something I couldn’t quickly sneak out of my house to go try.
They have partnered with a handful of fitters from around the country to increase their reach, but it’s still not everywhere.
While all of that sounds like bad news, they still somehow manage to turn it into a positive by flexing their customer service muscle and helping you with any positive hesitations you might have.
Simply email one of the fitters on their site and they will have you covered.
What About Club Options?
Their other drawback is they simply don’t have as many options as some of the big boys.
For example, if you went to try out a new Titleist driver, you’d see TSR1, TSR2, TSR3, and TSR4.
Compare that to Sub 70s 849D and 849 Pro.
While most golf commoners don’t know all the differences between the four Titleist drivers and even fewer of us actually fit into the more elite-performing options, it’s still nice to know they exist.
Especially if you are one of those unicorns that benefits from a very specific model.
But, even with there being fewer models to choose from, each model offered by Sub 70 comes with the fully adjustable adapter to customize your driver pretty much any way you’ll need.
Sub 70 849D Driver Review: Final Thoughts
After going through the Sub 70 859D driver review process, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
For almost anybody in the golf world, the 849D is a no-brainer to try.
Unless you are in the more elite level of golfers, then the 849 Pro is your no-brainer.
At half the cost of other drivers, you simply can’t beat what Sub 70 has managed to do.
Who is this a perfect fit for?
The 849D is a perfect fit for any average weekend warrior.
I was amazed at how well it held up against drivers that cost more than double this gem.
I’m not going to beat around the bush, most of us are price-sensitive. I know I am.
And I don’t feed my family by needing to shoot 65 every Sunday.
Therefore, saving $300 on a driver so I can play an extra few rounds sounds pretty darn good.
Learn More About Sub 70
If you want to learn more about the Sub 70 849D driver, you can go straight to the source. (Here’s their product page.)
No third party needed, and no beating around the bush from them. They’re upfront and give you any information you could want about the product.
Have I mentioned how this is the best part of Sub 70?
They’ve got more information on this page than you will get from any product page from any other company.
From product descriptions to fitting tools to exact specs, they even have a chart of how loft and lie change with the adapter settings.
I don’t see that from any of the other club manufacturers!
If you’re a club nerd, it’s amazing. If you’re not, there’s a link right there on the page to contact someone from Sub 70 who is.
When the big brands come out with new clubs, all their attention goes to their most important golfers… Tour players.
When Sub 70 comes out with a new club, their attention goes to their most important golfers… you!
All the performance for half the price. I was truly impressed with how well the 849D held up to the competition considering its fractional cost.
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