ME:
6'4" 225 lbs
No official handicap; approximately a "bogey golfer".
Swing speed: 5-iron: 94 Driver: 106

TEST MODEL:
ZT Maxima 300 8* w/Apache PM40+ graphite shaft
Shaft stiff flex @ 45"

Actual club head specs:
7* loft
9x8 bulge-and-roll
0.5* closed face

I've been a fan of ZT products for a couple of years now and was quite excited
to see the recent changes the company is making. I think it's clear from the
experiences of most testers and past users like myself that these are quality
products.

I've been seeking a driver I can get comfortable and confident with but have
only had minimal success. Distance is not typically a problem for me - accuracy
is. I am prone to get myself into a great deal of trouble off the tee (like
most others either the low duck hook or high fade/slice). My normal ball
flight with irons tends to be a slight draw - with the 3W and 5W the best shots
are pretty straight. Every once in a while I'll turn it over and get a slight
draw but that's fairly rare. Misses are high fades / slices. My overall ball
flight is a little higher than I would like.

Now...on to the Maxima 300. I had John put an Apache PM40+ stiff shaft on this
club to match my Fairway Master. I really like the feel of this shaft - a
little extra weight with low - but not terribly low - torque feels good
to me. I thought it would be a relatively fair test if I could eliminate as
many variables as possible.

Right out of the box, I'll concur with virtually every other review in that
the club looks spectacular. It has that undefinable look that seems to ooze
both quality and confidence. The head shape is certainly a little different
from other ZT offerings -- kind of like a middle ground between the original
CJ's and the Aero-Flo (please note that I have not seen the Spectra outside
of the catalog picture). I think the size is ideal - I'm not a fan of
massive driver heads and this shape at 300 fits my needs perfectly. The
club sets up very well - the slightly closed face is another plus for me.

I had two initial concerns with the setup on my Maxima: 1. The actual 7*
loft on the head was going to require a much stronger swing than the shaft
was really suited for, and 2. The swingweight would be a little light for me.
The second question was answered immediately as I seem to have much more
feel for this head during the swing than I do with my other drivers. It's
light but I seem to be really in sync with the feedback provided.

The first concern did cause me some problems on the initial range sessions. I
think I was really overswinging in trying to get the ball up with the 7* head.
This did, however, allow me to learn a little about the forgiveness and the
bulge-and-roll specs on this club. In a word, outstanding. I have not hit the
Spectra so I can't compare it there. There is no comparison with the original
CJ - this is much more foriving. It's also better than the CJ LD. I had
several shots off of the heel that I expected to see careening wildly into
the woods. I was shocked when I looked up to see them curving back into
the field of play. Distance loss was more than acceptable for a swing that
bad and the ball would most likely have stayed in the fairway or very close
to it. Toe shots didn't show as drastic a correction but did hold their line
and result in very pleasing results - again better than they deserved. My
classic high slice never showed up - the swing that usually produces that
resulted in a high fade .... not optimal but probably a playable ball as
opposed to taking a drop from the woods.

With some work I did find the groove with this club and it is impressive. The
sweet spot is much larger than the other ZT drivers. The ball flight is
definitely higher but still seems to get a fair amount of roll. Pure shots
don't offer quite as much feedback as the original CJ. With that club, you
know when you've crushed one. With the Maxima, there were several shots I
thought I was a little under or a little off and looked up to watch them
seemingly hang in the sky forever. The great shots are more like the 'knife
through air' as opposed to a 'knife through butter' (if that makes any
sense). Distance is excellent - definitely more carry than either the CJ or
CJ LD and with only a little less roll. The CJ LD is probably a little longer
with the setups I have for each and, depending on the conditions, would gain
much more from roll (I can't really tell this too well on my local range - it's
uphill and the grass is thick after a few wet months).

What do I like about the club? Looks, feel during the swing, distance, and
forgiveness. What don't I like? There are a couple of things I would note here.
First, as I indicated above, I'd like a little more feedback at impact.
Second, I noticed a bit more of a tendency to hit a popup with this
club if teed a little high. I definitely can't tee it up as high as the
optimal setup for the original CJ or CJ LD. I guess this really isn't a
problem as I was able to adjust for it pretty quickly. Lastly, I had some
difficulty turning this club over to get a draw. I'm willing to take some
blame here as this is a consistent problem with me swinging woods. I just
hoped I'd have an easier time with it when using the Maxima. Perhaps with
practice...

After a few range sessions, I took the club out to a course I play a fair
amount. It's not terribly long but is pretty tight (it's wound through
townhouses). Normally, this represents my worst nightmare. There are 5
par 3's on the course and another 4 holes where using a driver is not a
good idea. I used the CJ Maxima 300 on the other 9 holes and hit 6
fairways. *That* percentage is extremely good for me - enough to elicit
comments from my usual playing partners questioning what I was doing
differently and what club I was using. 2 of the fairways missed were
not missed by much and were very playable in light rough. On the other
miss I took a bad line and drove through a fairway. The shortest drive was
240 (the Maxima bailed me out of a so-so swing) and the best was approximately
310 (leaving me with a second shot for the green with a 5-iron on a par 5 I'd
never attempted to get on in 2 shots before).

Bottom line: don't expect to see my Maxima on eBay any time soon - it's in
the bag to stay .

Customer Service

Phone calls and e-mails have all been promptly answered. Specific requests on the club were all met. The club packaging for shipping was fantastic.

Similar Products Used:

ZT Crown Jewel (original), ZT Aero-Flo steel, ZT Fairway Master

This club is very long and forgiving. And although it was not quite as forgiving as the Spectra the sweetspot seemed to be huge on this club. Once again I felt this outperformed both my Titleist and Ping TISI. I was able to draw this club relatively easy on command which I loved. Very solid at impact producing a medium pitched sound. Not only did the performance of this club set it apart from the rest but the appearance was awesome. Very pretty club. Two thumbs up for this club. ZT has yet again produced another winner

Similar Products Used:

Ping, Titleist

Just love this club!
Crown Jewel Maxima 300
9*
45 In
Inno Lite Regular Shaft
Golf Pride Tour Wrap Grip
Swing Weight D2
HCP 18
wt 205
height 5'9

Gorgeous club Dark Blue with Gold alignment marker. Huge face with minimal white scoring marks. Sets up well, and appears smaller at address than it is. Very well balanced and light.
The performance is excellent. I'm not a long ball hitter but consistantly hit 20 yards further than my Taylor Made Firesole. Easy to control, mis-hits are down the middle but propotioately shorter in distance. For a 9* the trajectory is smooth and bores thru the air on a good hit. Mis-hits proportionately lower in trajectory. This club just wants to find the fairway.
The sound at impact is solid and not tinny , more like a higher pitched thud. This club stays in the bag!

Customer Service

Great customer service and information from Zero Tolerance. Recomendations will be given by ZT upon request. Many combinations (shaft/loft) available

Similar Products Used:

None

None

None

Maxima 300 198gms 9 deg 1 deg close Innovative UFO 3.2 lightweight Stiff 260 cpm @ 45" without Grip @ D-0 Tour Velvet Lite Height: 6 ft, 200 lbs, 105mph clubhead speed. The head don''t look 300 cc at address. Deep blue, beautiful. Sound is just nice, doesn''t make too much noise. This club is fantastic, have not been able to find these many fairways for a long time. Easier to work a draw and fade than any that I had tried. Distance is longer than most I had tried. Trajectory is beautiful. I would recommend this head for the intermediate to advance golfers who wants to hit longer but still want to be able to work the ball flight direction.

Customer Service

Superb

Similar Products Used:

Spectra, 975 D, Hawkeye, others.