The new Benross Delta XT driver has hit the shelves and is a really interesting proposition. Aimed at the mid-handicap market, with an abundance of tech features, the £229 price tag is intriguing. Looking to sit amongst the best drivers of 2024, I took the Delta XT out for testing to see what it could do.
In terms of the technology involved, the Delta XT features a newly designed ‘Aero Crown’ in an attempt to reduce drag and increase clubhead speed through impact. Benross has also created a ‘Speed Slot’ and ‘Fast Face’ technology (which is essentially just a high-grade titanium face), once again in the quest for speed. There are a couple of features aimed at adding adjustability to the driver such as the sliding weight port at the rear of the club head and the loft sleeve that provides +/- 2 degrees of loft and face angle variance.
Looks wise, I was impressed. The matt black color looks great at address and the aforementioned Aero Crown provides some interesting contouring behind the ball even assisting with the lining-up process. The sole of the club, however, is no more than OK to me. It's difficult to put my finger on it, but it just doesn’t look as premium as it could on the bottom. It feels like there is a lot of design for design's sake which clutters the visual a touch. That said, you barely ever see your driver from that angle so it isn’t exactly a critical problem. The headcover is well put together and feels like it will last which is always a plus point.
Performance wise I was fairly impressed. Considering the setup of this driver wasn’t particularly close to my own gamer, with a significantly softer shaft, the numbers I produced were surprisingly good. I tested the Delta XT at Saunton Golf Club using my FullSwing KIT launch monitor and TaylorMade TP5 golf balls and across the board, data was pretty strong. Inevitably with less of the budget and resources behind them than say a Ping or TaylorMade, the ball speed lagged behind drivers like the G430 Max 10K and the Qi10, which affected overall distance, but the other parameters such as launch and spin were very comparable.
The feel and sound weren’t my favorite elements of the Delta XT, with impact producing a fairly harsh sensation and acoustic, but that is probably due to my molly-coddled hands becoming accustomed to the muted tones of carbon in drivers. I have the same issue when testing the Srixon ZX5 and ZX7 drivers and you can quickly get over it assuming the performance stacks up.
The adjustability features did what they were supposed to in terms of manipulating ball flight which is all you can really ask, but I did feel the weight track at the back could have been a touch longer to offer more extreme CG locations.
As with the new iron range, Benross has used some fairly high-quality components in the construction of the Delta XT driver selecting the Fujikura Ventus for the shaft and Lamkin for the grips, both of which add a strong premium element to the overall package. Don’t be fooled however, the shaft is not the real deal VeloCore Ventus (as this is over £300 on its own at retail!), it is a watered-down version made with mass production and cost efficiency in mind. In fairness, the 6-S version that my driver came with felt smooth and relatively stable.
Overall, I was fairly impressed with the Benross Delta XT driver. The feel and sound could be worked on but for what is a very modest price tag, you can own a driver with tons of adjustability, that looks great behind the ball and isn’t a million miles behind the big boys in terms of performance.
