[No putts given?]

I really hope the format doesn't change too much, this was one of my favorite podcasts and I only recently discovered it! I agree with the others that Miranda added a great dynamic and I think having a female helped the podcast out tremendously.

[How do you know if you are hitting the ball too high?]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:35 PM, dlow206 said:

I will try to get some Trackman numbers soon, and probably go for an iron fitting sometime after the new year. Waiting for those G425 irons to come out lol.

One option you could do is try and attend a free fitting or demo day and see what they tell you about your stock clubs. Might be a free way to gain some insight from someone that sees every flight possible combined with the data points.

[2022 PGA Survivor Pool!]

Can't wait! I'm in!!

[Old Driver vs New Driver Struggles]

57 minutes ago, Middler said:

Wouldn't it be easier to just go to the store and see which ones fit your eye? I assume you have some brand preferences as well, we don't know those. I've never heard of someone trying to find a new club literally using measurements, but you're more than welcome to do so. There might be shapes that perform and feel better than your 2007 Cobra, those R&D peeps have been tweaking trying to make clubs better all this time.

Great point, and I definitely wouldn't shop based solely on measurements. The issue I face is that my local shops don't carry all of the heads available so it makes it tough to see the differences or to know what is out there because they all look the same online. I am leaning more towards going to a number of demo days and then book a fitting as I believe that will address most of the concerns and issues I have.

[Old Driver vs New Driver Struggles]

9 hours ago, Hoyoymac said:

It sounds like you have either a swingweight or a shaft bend profile issue if you can’t feel where the club head is during your swing. 

If it is a swingweight issue and the head feels too light you can either add lead tape as a quick fix or use heavier screw in weights if the driver head has that capability until you get to the point where you can feel the head.

It could be a shaft issue.  Either the new shafts you are trying are more counterbalanced causing the head to feel light or the bend profile and/or stiffness you are accustomed to is different than the shafts you’ve been trying causing a different shaft loading sensation making it difficult for you to time your swing and release.

Getting the specs off of your current driver is a good starting point to compare against.  Length, lie angle, loft, swing weight, head weight, shaft weight, shaft stiffness, shaft bend point and/or EI curve if available.

Good luck in your search for a new driver.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Spin #s and aoa are a very small piece of the puzzle and not nearly as significant as other launch monitor numbers Ball speed and launch are a start more so than aoa and then how that impacts decent angle.

Also nobody needs to do any research. Flightscope has an optimizer that will allow a person to lug their numbers in with a simple google search of “flightscope optimizer”

Ping has put this chart out that’s been posted on this forum and others

 

 

3 hours ago, ChiefMikeOfficer said:

I had that driver. It remains one of my favorite drivers I've ever owned, and in the years after replacing it, some of my friends kept asking my why I ever switched from it. 

I'm no fitter, but that one was the "better player" option, so maybe try sticking with the more compact drivers in your next trial -- something like a TSi4 (technically smaller than the Cobra but might still fit your eye). Short of an actual fitting, it'll just be a lot of trial and error. 

 

That you for the great advice and information! I really appreciate everyone's different perspectives and thoughts on this topic. My main goal with getting a new driver is to maintain a relatively consistent distance even with slightly off-center hits. I will take a look at the smaller driver heads as well because that may help with the transition. Does anyone know a good resource that shows the new driver dimensions? (ex. face length and height, head length and width, etc.), I would be curious which new drivers are most similar in shape to my Cobra.

[Old Driver vs New Driver Struggles]

41 minutes ago, Middler said:

That was my question. Less distance? Higher dispersion? Lower/higher launch/spin? Looks? Feel? Other? If any big name 2021 driver doesn't perform as well or better than your 2007 Cobra driver (all titanium?), I'd say you need to give it more time or get fitted as others have suggested. Tech has definitely improved 2021 vs 2007.

The largest struggle was with dispersion and the feel of it. They all felt so light and I lost all feeling of where the clubhead was at impact, I felt I really needed to slow down to gain a consistent strike and at that point the distance was less. I think I will go the fitting route and see if they can recommend some better options to help me transition from the old tech to the new stuff.

[Let’s see some 2021 Accomplishments/2022 Goals]

Great thread! My goals for 2022 are to:

• Play more golf! I haven't been playing enough in the years past and I want to get out and at least play 9 holes once a week.
• Drop my handicap from 9 to under 5. I have been taking lessons this off-season and practicing more than I ever have.
• Compete in some of my club tournaments.
• Upgrade a few of my clubs and get custom fit for them (I have never gone through the custom fitting experience so am excited about that).
• Play 2 or 3 high end courses in my area.
• Decide on what golf ball to play consistently and stick with it.

[Old Driver vs New Driver Struggles]

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. I agree that feel is subjective and if I was to go through a proper fitting and know the club I am buying performs better I would likely get used to the feeling relatively quickly. You may be correct that I haven't had the right head and shaft combo that was right for me so everything I tried felt off. As far as evaluating new clubs, my only experience is going into the big box store (Golf Town) and hitting 10 shots with 6 different drivers. One of my goals for this year is to try and attend a few demo days at my local clubs so that I get to try more clubs in an outdoor setting. As far as good fitters go, I live near Calgary so we unfortunately don't have a TXG yet. We have Modern Golf, Golf Tec and a few local companies. I am sure any of those options would do a decent job and get me into something that fits better. I feel like I am probably losing a lot of distance and forgiveness off the tee with my current driver.

[Sensible way to calculate what tees I should be playing?]

I always base mine by looking at the par 3's. Take a look at all of the par 3 distances and ensure that they are comfortable, one or two might be extra hard but they shouldn't be unmanageable. On the courses I play the remaining holes then seem to line up perfectly with the difficultly level I am looking for. I have also based it on driver distance in that most par 4's I would expect to hit driver and a short iron into to the green. If every par 4 is driver 5 iron then I am likely playing too far back.

[Old Driver vs New Driver Struggles]

New member alert! haha I have a circa 2007 Cobra Speed Pro X 10.5° with an Aldila VS Proto 65g shaft and am having a really hard time finding a new driver to replace it. The feeling of all the new drivers (2021 model year) are so different compared to my current club that I struggle to hit all of the newer clubs. Has anyone else experienced this? Is this a case where I need to simply bite the bullet and buy something and then get out practicing to get comfortable with the new technology? I'd love to hear the groups thoughts on this.