160.7 mph. 2,240 rpm. 276 yards. The Kestrel V9 LS, 45 shots at a time.
Carry
No. 041 / Sep 2026
Bay 02 · 70°F · 44% RH · 29.92 inHg · 45 shots / head · ● Logging
Driver test: Kestrel V9 LS · 9.0°
Low spin, no apology.
Kestrel says the V9 LS takes 400 rpm off last year’s head without giving back ball speed. We hit 45 shots on it, 45 on the club it has to beat, and the monitor mostly agrees. Mostly.
Tested by Jonas Rehm & Priya Nair · 630 shots logged · 7 min
Fig. 1: Mean of 45 strikes, three testers, one shaft. Flight rendered from monitor data, not drawn from memory.
Same shaft in every head (a Corsa Venture 6X at 45.5”), same ball (Ridgeline Tour, one sleeve per session), same three testers between 104 and 111 mph, same 70°F bay so nobody could blame the wind. Fifteen swings per tester per head, worst three thrown out, the rest averaged. The V9 LS went in blind: logos taped, headcovers swapped. Priya still called it by the sound on swing two.
Loft
9.0° ±1.5
Head
460 cc
Swing wt
D3
Price
$599
02
Club face-off
Tap to compare →
V9 LS against the Meridian Aero 3, last year’s benchmark. Same shaft, same ball, same three humans.
160.7
Ball mph
2,240
Spin rpm
11.8°
Launch
276
Carry yd
1.482
Smash
Ball speed
+1.6 mph
Spin
−370 rpm
Carry
+5 yd
Meridian Aero 3 · deltas vs. Aero 3 · club speed 108.4
159.1
Ball mph
2,610
Spin rpm
12.6°
Launch
271
Carry yd
1.470
Smash
Ball speed
−1.6 mph
Spin
+370 rpm
Carry
−5 yd
Kestrel V9 LS · deltas vs. V9 LS · club speed 108.2
03
Dispersion
48 strikes · top view
Both clusters lean right because Jonas does. The story is the width: the V9 LS lands almost two yards tighter side to side at one sigma, on a head that wasn’t supposed to be the forgiving one. It also lands five yards further, which is the part Kestrel will put on the box.
04
Strike map
Ball speed retained
Zone
V9 LS
Aero 3
Center
160.7
159.1
High
−1.2
−1.9
Toe
−2.3
−2.6
Low
−3.6
−4.4
Heel
−4.1
−5.8
Heel strikes cost 4.1 mph. On the Aero 3 they cost 5.8. That gap is the whole review: a low-spin head that doesn’t punish the miss most of us actually have.
05
Verdict
8.7/ 10
Carry index · highest driver of 2026 so far
The lowest-spinning head we’ve measured this year, and for once that isn’t a euphemism for unforgiving. The 9° plays like 8.5°. The sound is a firm, expensive click, roughly the tone of a check clearing. It lost points for a hosel that only adjusts in half-degree steps and a stock grip that belongs on a rental set.
Buy if
You spin a driver north of 2,800 rpm and have the speed to launch it anyway.
Skip if
You’re under 100 mph. It will fly low, land like a sandbag, and you’ll blame the shaft.
06
Also on the bay this week
01
Kestrel V9 Fairway, 15°
Carry 246 · spin 3,410 · smash 1.46
Same face, half the ego. Off the deck it’s the easiest 3-wood we’ve hit this year; off the tee it’s a driver for people who’ve been hurt before.
02
Ridgeline Tour (2026)
Control ball · ±0.4 mph over 60 strikes
Our reference ball for every test on the bay. The boring kind of consistent, which is the only kind that matters when you’re comparing heads.
03
Corsa Venture 6X
Test shaft · 65g · torque 2.9°
The shaft in every head we test. Stiff tip, no whip, no opinions. If a driver spins, it’s the driver.