MacGregor's Mactec NVG2 fairway woods: Everyone loves them but me

By Tim McDonald,
Contributor

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MacGregor's new NVG2 fairway woods, with their full-face sweet spot, have critics raving - most of them, anyway. (Courtesy)

Every now and then, you run into a club that others love but you hate, and you can't figure out why.

The new MacGregor fairway woods, for example.

I got two of the new MacGregors, the Mactec NVG2 cup-faced 3- and 7-woods, for testing.

The golf clubs, which retail in the $200-$250 range, came with triple-action, Fujikura shafts. They felt great in my hands, and during practice swings. Nice balance, good feel. They looked menacing, sleek and mean, particularly the 3-wood, and the company's declaration that the whole face was the "sweet spot" had me salivating. Not to mention the promise of "driver-like" distance.

I couldn't wait to get out on the range and on the course.

Big disappointment. No, make that huge disappointment.

I lost distance and control. In fact, it was hard to gauge how much distance I lost because I rarely hit it straight, unlike with my Adams 3-wood.

Still, I stuck with the MacGregors for most of a two-week golf trip, to the extreme detriment of my scorecard.

The more I hit, the more frustrated I got. After maybe 10 rounds and several sessions on the driving range, I gave up and went back to my Adams.

On that day I happened to be playing with the reigning national champion of the Executive Women's Golf Association. I told her of my frustration. She asked to try the MacGregors, to provide a different point of view.

You know the answer by now. She loved both clubs. In fact, she used the 7-wood extensively the next day, when she won the Florida regional, later excitedly telling me how much the club had helped.

These clubs get excellent notices on the various Internet review sites, particularly the 3-wood.

"Not much to not like about it," said one poster. "It performs."

"I did lose some distance ... but I gained absolute confidence," said another. "The face is shallow but super hot. The ball jumps off it."

"A true winner for MacGregor."

"The NVG2 is well balanced and feels super off the tee or out of the fairway. ... Even off-center hits follow a decent direction."

And finally: "I have found the added distance I was looking for, with accuracy as an added bonus!"

Was I missing something? Was it just me? Was I somehow, unknowingly, changing my swing? I took the clubs back out on the driving range. Same result. Yet when I used my Adams, I hit it straight and long (for me, anyway). Yes, I guess it must be me.

The new MacGregor fairway woods sure sound terrific on paper. The cup face of the Mactec NVG2 is made from 15-3-3-3 beta-titanium, the "high octane supreme of titanium alloys," according to the company.

MacGregor promises "maximum rebound properties over the whole hitting area" - i.e. that face-covering sweet spot - and advises the user to "hold the pose after you crush one and your playing partners can watch their jaws drop."

The only time my jaw dropped was when I hit yet another 150-yard hook in the rough. The only time my playing partners' jaws dropped was when they saw me stick with the club afterward.

So, who do you believe? All I can say is that MacGregor's new cup-faced NVG2s did not work for me, but I cannot find anyone else who holds that opinion. And I still don't know why.

November 7, 2006

Veteran golf writer Tim McDonald keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation.