Amen. I'd be willing to bet all clubs from the major manufacturers are at the max COR.

Shaft, loft, and lie are the critical components.

Proper weighting can help make clubs "easier to hit" and more forgiving.

Most of the time they're not "lying" per se. They just don't give you the full truth.

Sure that club can gain you 30 yards over the driver you're gaming from 1992. But that's because loft is lower AND the shaft is longer. Now how often will you hit it straight? Nearly never because that club wasn't fit to you. How often will you bomb it? Not often because even though it says 10.5 degrees of loft it's more like 9 degrees thanks to "manufacturing tolerances".

This advice of get fit properly is 100% spot on. It is the ONLY way (outside of lessons) to be sure that you're going to maximize your game!

I have to say, I went a couple of months ago to get fit for clubs. I hit all of the major brands and newest models without knowing most of the time what I was hitting. They were handing me club after club with different shafts, brands, degrees of lie, etc...When we were almost through, I hit the new cally 30 yards further, but it was the worst feeling club that I hit. When it was all done I had the best luck with the Titleist 917.
I knew that I was quite a bit shorter in length with the Titleist over the cally, but it had a lot more forgiveness. At the end of the day, I personally think that comfort and forgiveness out-weigh the rewards of 30 yards. What are you really gaining with that? I'm not a believer in buying new clubs every or every other year, but I am no pro.
At the end of the day, hit what you like. If your buddies are gaining 20 yards off the tee, great! Show them up on the approach. That's where I see most golfers fail.

If I just bought the new driver from a company that was releasing a new one every six months - I'd be over 300 yard with each one 10 yards longer instead of being happy with 220 in the fairway. I'm sure with all the drivers on the rack, surely there would be one built just for me. ...My wife hates my sarcasm. I do have to say that from 2010 to now, forgiveness has dramatically improved and Titleist has switched from "made for" shafts to front line shafts.

No doubt. The right combination of head, shaft, and ball can make a difference. Particularly if you are comparing it to an old driver that you just picked up off the rack.
I also think the most noticeable improvement in driver tech is the forgiveness. Don't hit it on the screws? No worry. Very little loss of distance and accuracy on of center hits. That's the benefit. That's what I want.

What gets me is the folks claiming that they are getting an extra 20 yards with the test balls trials. I wish I could get some of that.

I need to add that my buddy is constantly chasing distance each year by buying the latest generation product. But, he buys his stuff straight off the rack. I have tried to explain that he could better get that distance from a good fitting. For one thing he might get some of that distance from improved accuracy.