Thanks all for the feedback. I am well aware I did not take the most scientific approach to buying a new driver - basically, I got a gift certificate for an online retailer, and I also had an old gift certificate to an indoor golf place (Big Sticks in Burlington), and I wanted to use those gift certificates and save my money. Big Sticks doesn't sell clubs or do fittings, so I couldn't go try out a bunch of clubs/shafts there.
So in the end, I had enjoyed hitting the Ping G400 driver in a rental set, the gift card covered most the Ping G, reviews said I wasn't losing a ton by going back one generation, so I just bought the club and figured it would almost certainly be an upgrade, even if not perfectly fitted for me.
I took it to Big Sticks to test it out, and they set me up on the About Golf Simulator, which does provide data on swing speed, ball speed, and spin rates, but I suspect the GC2 data might be more reliable given the clearly inflated carry distances it was telling me. I took about 20 swings with my old driver, then hit the G and saw generally lower spin rates and higher ball speeds. Unfortunately, it didn't track an average for me, so really can't quantify the improvement, but I like the club, it gives me confidence, it sounds way better (the Cobra club sounds like an aluminum bat).
I also took some swings with a few new-to-me Taylor Made fairway woods and liked the results, then played 9 holes or so on the simulator, which was fun enough but clearly giving me more distance than realistic (I was getting 10+ extra yards on my irons, which have not changed). Overall, it scratched an itch and I think I will be happy with my new clubs, but can't offer much in the way of data for the more analytical folks here. Unfortunately I probably won't get to test it on the course until April or May.
