Review: MacGregor NVG2 Woods Lineup - Technology Vs. Tradition…
Michael White
MacGregor Golf manufactures one of the more radical looking lineups of drivers, fairway woods, and hybrids on the market today. Their “NVG2” line is a follow up to, well, the NVG line of course! With limits on “COR” (coefficient of restitution, or clubface “spring-like effect”) manufacturers are often left to tweak centers of gravity, moments of inertia (resistance to twisting,) in an effort to make clubs more forgiving and “different” from their previous offerings. MacGregor has taken their MacTec NVG line and made a few changes. Lower centers of gravity, thinner titanium tops and faces, and new shaft updates adorn the NVG2 lineup. I had earlier this season reviewed the MacTec NVG2 driver, and am now able to follow up with the rest of the NVG2 lineup. I tested the NVG2 Tour driver, NVG2fw 15-degree 3 wood, and the 20-degree NVG2u Utility.
First, I will cover the MacTec NVG2 Tour. I had not experienced the original NVG line, but can compare the NVG2 Tour to the NVG2 driver for reference. The NVG2 Tour is marketed toward players with higher swing speeds and perhaps more advanced skill levels. The face of my 10º NVG2 Tour was approximately one degree open at address. For someone like myself whose miss is a hook, a face angle that is square to open can really put one’s mind at ease standing over the ball. Again, the NVG2 Tour has a simple look at address, much like the NVG2. The crown is void of any alignment features. The face is fairly flat, and that acted as more of an alignment tool. Some more prominent scoring lines on the face would have been nice to aid a little more in aiming. Overall, standing over the ball, it’s all business.
One thing I appreciated about the NVG2 Tour at impact was the more muted sound. The NVG was a little “soup-canny” at impact when I tested it, and the added sound deadening material in the NVG2 Tour is an improvement in terms of acoustics. The club makes a very unique sort of “toink” noise at impact, more than likely a by-product of the NVG2 line’s “Cup Face 360” technology. The Cup Face 360 is very hot. I found this driver to almost be deceiving in terms of its length. The sensation and sound at impact are fairly soft, yet you can feel the compression of the face. It’s only after the ball has left the clubface and is hurtling down the fairway that you get a sense of the sheer ball speed. The 10-degree head launched fairly high, but it did not tend to balloon at all.
The stock shaft on the NVG2 Tour is a Fujikura Speeder proprietary design with “Quadra Action” technology. I found it to be fairly stable and quite lively in stiff flex. At a mid-70 gram weight, it is nice to see a little more heft to a shaft in a club geared toward harder swingers. It was definitely truer to flex than the NVG2’s shaft. The finished length of 44.75” was very manageable and easily controlled. Fades and draws were achievable with the NVG2 Tour, although it mainly likes to hit a straight ball.
I found the NVG2 Tour to be quite an agreeable club for the more advanced player. The improved acoustics were appreciated, as was the more robust shaft and the slightly open face angle. The “hotness” of the face is quite apparent, and I found the length and control of this club to be better than average. The stability at impact thanks to the incorporated tungsten weighting was excellent at keeping off-center strikes tracking toward their intended target. Overall, this club is a winner.
Next, lets look at the MacTec NVG2fw Fairway wood. I tested the 15-degree 3 wood. Again, my club was slightly open with regard to the face angle, which I appreciated. The head is fairly low profile. Two large tungsten weights are positioned in the sole for stability and to lower the center of gravity. I must say it worked well in making this club easy to launch from the fairway. A high trajectory was the norm.
The NVG2 Fairways utilize MacGregor’s “Cup Face 360” face design like the drivers. Unique to the NVG2fw is the marriage of a titanium face to a stainless steel body. While I did find that the length of this club was quite impressive, the sheer feel of speed and “hotness” did not translate quite as well with the NVG2fw’s titanium face. There was a slight “clanging” sensation at impact for me. I have a feeling the two large tungsten “screws” in the sole may have had a part in this sensation. The feel was not as sweet as the Tour driver, but the ball flight was very straight and strong overall, in spite of the high trajectory. Working the ball was a little difficult due to the very straight-hitting nature of the NVG2fw. But, for most of us- straight is a good thing!
The shaft I tested was the stock Fujikura “Triple Action” shaft in an X flex. I was happy to have gone up a flex, as I found that this shaft played like a stiff flex. It was smooth overall, but just didn’t have the same “kick” and fluidity as the Tour Driver’s Speeder technology provided. Certainly serviceable as shafts go, but it was unspectacular overall. Just be certain to go up a flex. The weight was good- in the mid-70 gram range for this shaft.
The MacTec NVG2fw left me wanting just a little more, or, actually, a little less. With so much technology packed into such a small head, I couldn’t help but think it was at the expense of overall feel. Still, the results were good overall with a predominantly straight ball flight, easy-launching nature, and a good look from the setup position with its slightly open face. I can appreciate the merits of the technology in the NVG2 Tour Driver. But for fairway woods and hybrids, to me, they are all about hitting a club accurately and a needed distance. The NVG2fw felt too much like an attempt to cram all the technology of the Tour driver into a fairway wood. I think less might have been more in this instance.
This brings us to the third club in the NVG2 lineup- the MacTec NVG2U utility club. My test club was the 20-degree model with the stock X flex triple action shaft. With a very unique shape, I was not certain what to expect of this club. It has kind of a “dinner roll on a stick” look about it. It has a deep face, with a slightly closed face angle. Given the NVG2fw 3 wood had an open face, I was a bit disappointed that the NVG2U didn’t follow suite.
Again, the Utility club incorporates the “Cup Face 360” technology, but this time utilizing maraging steel. Given the slightly larger face overall, I think the “360” technology is given a better chance to work in the NVG2U than it does in the fairway woods. The feel was a little livelier with less of the “clang” sensation at impact. Still, it was not the liveliest feel at impact, unlike the Tour driver. The ball flight, however, was very straight and this club was easy to elevate. The sheer size of the head was disappointing in that it prohibits using it effectively to chip with around the greens.
The “Triple Action” shaft again felt weak to flex for an X flex, and played more like a stiff. I would have been interested in trying this club, and the NVG2fw, with some aftermarket shafts to see if the overall feel improved. Again, these shafts were serviceable, but did not “wow” in any way. I would like to see MacGregor move away from such emphasis on proprietary shaft technology, and offer high quality shafts from third party manufacturers.
To summarize, if I had to give a “report card” for the MacTec NVG2 lineup, the star student would be the NVG2 Tour driver, with the NVG2 fairway and utility clubs receiving a “needs improvement/incomplete” grade. The hotness of the NVG2 Tour driver’s “360 Cupface” technology was a joy to experience. Unfortunately, it did not seem to translate as well into the fairway and utility models. With such radical looking appearances, I expected a little more return in the way of performance. I applaud the efforts of MacGregor to utilize the latest in technology. But, having experienced their wonderful forged clubs of yesteryear for example, I yearn for more of a return to their roots. We’ll see what’s next from MacGregor in the future. Hopefully it includes just a little more of the past.
Michael White
Independent Equipment Consultant/Forums Moderator
Golf-Gear-Review.com
