Taylormade Stealth Drivers

[Bang60 179]

Had a hit today with a stealth but no better than my SIM, found after we did some comparison between the 2 drivers that the swing weight of the stealth is C9 and I like D3? The stealth only has a heel weight of indeterminate weight as no numbers written on it so how to increase swing weight? Head weight is 194grams but don't know how to increase swing weight with no sliding weights, lead tape and maybe a lighter grip? Suggestions please??

[RickyBobby_PR 10,033]

45 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

Had a hit today with a stealth but no better than my SIM, found after we did some comparison between the 2 drivers that the swing weight of the stealth is C9 and I like D3? The stealth only has a heel weight of indeterminate weight as no numbers written on it so how to increase swing weight? Head weight is 194grams but don't know how to increase swing weight with no sliding weights, lead tape and maybe a lighter grip? Suggestions please??

Order a heavier weight to replace the one that’s in there. Iirc the weight in the retail heads is 6g. Shaft and grip are other options as is lead tape.

[Bang60 179]

21 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Order a heavier weight to replace the one that’s in there. Iirc the weight in the retail heads is 6g. Shaft and grip are other options as is lead 

I already hit the ball high with every club in the bag and I'm trying to reduce launch with shafts, I decided today to add lead tape which has changed the swing weight to D2. I will try that tomorrow and see what develops, I'll look at a lighter grip if I don't get the results I want...

[Shapotomous 5,269]

@Bang60Lead tape it toward the face of the club rather than the back if you are trying to reduce the height of the ball flight.  Although that little bit of tape won't change much in head weight distribution, it will help more than if you put it on the rear part of the sole.

[RickyBobby_PR 10,033]

6 hours ago, Bang60 said:

I already hit the ball high with every club in the bag and I'm trying to reduce launch with shafts, I decided today to add lead tape which has changed the swing weight to D2. I will try that tomorrow and see what develops, I'll look at a lighter grip if I don't get the results I want...

Chasing launch and/or spin via shaft is not the way of go, unless you are in a shaft that is way out of spec. Shafts provide weight and feel. They can influence swing dynamics which will affect how one delivers the club.

Changing loft will have more impact on launch, spin and ball flight. 
 

How do you know you need less launch? Do you have launch monitor numbers? 
 

also this could be a swing issue of delivering too much loft at impact which a shaft or increasing swingweight won’t help much. But without seeing swing and/or launch monitor numbers it’s hard to say 

[Bang60 179]

13 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

@Bang60Lead tape it toward the face of the club rather than the back if you are trying to reduce the height of the ball flight.  Although that little bit of tape won't change much in head weight distribution, it will help more than if you put it on the rear part of the sole.

Yes did that and swing weight now D2, when the rain stops I'll hit some balls and see if any additional benefits. Cheers appreciate your advice Colin

[Bang60 179]

12 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Chasing launch and/or spin via shaft is not the way of go, unless you are in a shaft that is way out of spec. Shafts provide weight and feel. They can influence swing dynamics which will affect how one delivers the club.

Changing loft will have more impact on launch, spin and ball flight. 
 

How do you know you need less launch? Do you have launch monitor numbers? 
 

also this could be a swing issue of delivering too much loft at impact which a shaft or increasing swingweight won’t help much. But without seeing swing and/or launch monitor numbers it’s hard to say 

I've found some numbers from my last range session using Top Tracer, I don't know if they help? I've mostly used 9deg loft or lower but this time I've bought a Stealth 12deg thinking I can reduce the loft to 10deg, before I added lead tape the driver felt very light but pleased with the feel after adding lead tape. Really appreciate your advice, cheers Colin

PS, this is a better shot, launch angle is around 19 with Stealth...

PPs, these numbers are with a Sim 9deg I hit outa my arse lol...

 

 

Edited May 30 by Bang60

[Golfspy_CG2 33,657]

Those numbers indicate you are not hitting the ball vey high let alone too high.

All the below depends on swing speed as well.  But based on your distances I’m assuming your swing speed isn’t much above 100 with driver  

Launch should be 15-17 and   18 meters= about 69 feet.  That’s vey low for a driver.   Landing angle of 28* is very low as well.  Most should be looking for at least 75-80 (ideally 100) feet in height and mid to high 30’s on landing angle.   Granted your low launch could give you run out.  But it’s often better to rely on carry for distance. 

[cnosil 26,073]

2 hours ago, Bang60 said:

I've found some numbers from my last range session using Top Tracer, I don't know if they help? I've mostly used 9deg loft or lower but this time I've bought a Stealth 12deg thinking I can reduce the loft to 10deg, before I added lead tape the driver felt very light but pleased with the feel after adding lead tape. Really appreciate your advice, cheers Colin

PS, this is a better shot, launch angle is around 19 with Stealth...

PPs, these numbers are with a Sim 9deg I hit outa my arse lol...

 

 

1 hour ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

Those numbers indicate you are not hitting the ball vey high let alone too high.

All the below depends on swing speed as well.  But based on your distances I’m assuming your swing speed isn’t much above 100 with driver  

Launch should be 15-17 and   18 meters= about 69 feet.  That’s vey low for a driver.   Landing angle of 28* is very low as well.  Most should be looking for at least 75-80 (ideally 100) feet in height and mid to high 30’s on landing angle.   Granted your low launch could give you run out.  But it’s often better to rely on carry for distance. 

Definitely agree that launch and peak height isn't high enough.    On one of the latest TXG videos,  Ian made an interesting statement:  for most amateurs (those that don't have high swing speeds) peak height should be around 6 iron ball clubhead speed.   For high swing speed players height should match driver ball clubhead speed.  

[Golfspy_CG2 33,657]

14 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 

Definitely agree that launch and peak height isn't high enough.    On one of the latest TXG videos,  Ian made an interesting statement:  for most amateurs (those that don't have high swing speeds) peak height should be around 6 iron ball speed.   For high swing speed players height should match driver ball speed.  

That’s interesting info from my man Ian.  I know mine needs to be higher.  My 7 iron speed on MEVO Friday was 93-96.  Imagine my 6 would be 2-3 mph more. 
I think the MEVO screen shot of one of my drives the other day was only 69 or 70 ish    It was in the 80’s when I was at TXG  

 

[Shapotomous 5,269]

34 minutes ago, cnosil said:

 

Definitely agree that launch and peak height isn't high enough.    On one of the latest TXG videos,  Ian made an interesting statement:  for most amateurs (those that don't have high swing speeds) peak height should be around 6 iron ball speed.   For high swing speed players height should match driver ball speed.  

ball speed or clubhead speed??  I don't think I can hit my driver 150' in the air without teeing it up 12" !!   

[cnosil 26,073]

3 minutes ago, Shapotomous said:

ball speed or clubhead speed??  I don't think I can hit my driver 150' in the air without teeing it up 12" !!   

sorry,  I was wrong it is clubhead speed.   He talks about it starting at 16:30

 

[RickyBobby_PR 10,033]

10 hours ago, Bang60 said:

I've found some numbers from my last range session using Top Tracer, I don't know if they help? I've mostly used 9deg loft or lower but this time I've bought a Stealth 12deg thinking I can reduce the loft to 10deg, before I added lead tape the driver felt very light but pleased with the feel after adding lead tape. Really appreciate your advice, cheers Colin

PS, this is a better shot, launch angle is around 19 with Stealth...

PPs, these numbers are with a Sim 9deg I hit outa my arse lol...

 

 

At 138 ball speed launch is your friend and is spin. However as mentioned above by others you aren’t hitting the ball high at all and your land angle is very low. 18m is about 1/2 as high as you would want to hit the ball. 
 

Spin, dynamic loft, aoa, path are also key aspects to determining what’s happening in the swing. Top tracer isn’t the most reliable or accurate monitor. 

You need to find a reputable fitter and probably an instructor and work on your swing and find a club that lets you hit the ball higher.

[tarrantian 147]

On 4/13/2022 at 4:28 PM, Golfspy_CG2 said:

Oh, I'm not yet.  It's still early only 2 full rounds.  It was discouraging as I had several thin shots for the first two thirds of the round, and got away a bit with them, but still not great results.   

But the last 4 holes, I hit 9, 7, 7 and 5 irons into the greens.  All 4 were about as well as I coule hit them and they felt amazing and best of all had a great flight and held the target line pefectly.   I was +2 on those 4 holes.  Mainly due to havign to pitch out to go around a tree on hole 18, before hitting the 5 iron to the back of the green from 155.  

So they will get some more time, I'll just try and ignore those shiny Stealths for a bit..haSSo

So a similar but slightly different thought from me.  My miss (with any driver) has always tended to be more heel slde.  Yet I never really thought about adjusting how I line up to the ball.   Yesterday after some experimenting on the range, I set up with the balll more lined up on the toe, than the center.  and a slightly open face.   I think that along with the confidence to swing more freely toward (right field) may have led to more center or near center face strikes.  I probably should have looked at the impact position after each shot, but as others have said, it's not as easily detected on the Carobn face.   Unlike some who say every shot with that face leaves an indention...ha   Whoops that's another thread...ha

 

All of this - After reading the posts related to this (Thank you for starting it @chisag as I believe it was you), I tried the 5 mm out and even tried it a bit further over the past few weeks and the results w/my Stealth Plus were game changing...

Lost my left to right curve, much longer, more baby fade-like. Nice!!

Thank you!!!

[HDTVMAN 164]

FYI. The stock Ventus shaft is not the pro model and is made of different materials. If you want the real one the cost is an additional $350-$400.

[RickyBobby_PR 10,033]

51 minutes ago, HDTVMAN said:

FYI. The stock Ventus shaft is not the pro model and is made of different materials. If you want the real one the cost is an additional $350-$400.

Been the case for the last two releases and also applies to tour edge made for and the Callaway one.

Also doesn’t mean that these versions are bad and there’s been quite a few members here and elsewhere that have had better results with the made for version that’s the aftermarket one

[Bang60 179]

On 5/30/2022 at 1:18 PM, Golfspy_CG2 said:

Those numbers indicate you are not hitting the ball vey high let alone too high.

All the below depends on swing speed as well.  But based on your distances I’m assuming your swing speed isn’t much above 100 with driver  

Launch should be 15-17 and   18 meters= about 69 feet.  That’s vey low for a driver.   Landing angle of 28* is very low as well.  Most should be looking for at least 75-80 (ideally 100) feet in height and mid to high 30’s on landing angle.   Granted your low launch could give you run out.  But it’s often better to rely on carry for distance. 

I've been told I hit the ball high for as long as I can remember, obviously with my health issues that's no longer true. So back to the drawing board, based on these numbers what characteristics should I look for in a driver shaft? Any suggestions appreciated...

[Bang60 179]

22 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

At 138 ball speed launch is your friend and is spin. However as mentioned above by others you aren’t hitting the ball high at all and your land angle is very low. 18m is about 1/2 as high as you would want to hit the ball. 
 

Spin, dynamic loft, aoa, path are also key aspects to determining what’s happening in the swing. Top tracer isn’t the most reliable or accurate monitor. 

You need to find a reputable fitter and probably an instructor and work on your swing and find a club that lets you hit the ball higher.

No decent fitters here I've looked, what shaft would you suggest?

[RickyBobby_PR 10,033]

53 minutes ago, Bang60 said:

No decent fitters here I've looked, what shaft would you suggest?

Not suggesting any shaft. It’s almost impossible to suggest a shaft for several reasons. 1) shaft doesn’t have nearly the effect most people think 2) there’s a bunch of data lacking 3) it’s probably more of a swing issue than a shaft or head issue 4) a shaft that works for one person might not work for another and would be almost impossible to say what shaft or a small list of shafts would work for anyone since feel is going to be different for each person and no idea how it will affect one’s swing good or bad

Prodrive and gold warehouse both offer fittings. They would be a better place to start than random suggestions from anyone on the forum. 

Another option would be truegolffit.com

[Golfspy_CG2 33,657]

7 hours ago, Bang60 said:

I've been told I hit the ball high for as long as I can remember, obviously with my health issues that's no longer true. So back to the drawing board, based on these numbers what characteristics should I look for in a driver shaft? Any suggestions appreciated...

Just like @RickyBobby_PR said, recoomdenidng a shaft for you would not be the best advise we cna offer.   Two things, I would do, if you can get fit in person definitely do the True Golf Fit  you can enter your basic info or the expert if you have all the swing data, which you probably dont'.    It was being offered free a couple weeks ago, even if that expired the $8.00 or $9.00 it charges is a wise spend. 

Also watch this video, it's one of the best that Ian and Matt did, and shows that you can't simply go by the high/low launch shafts that companies market them as.   As RB said, many factors go into it, clubhead, loft, swing dynamics etc.   But the comparision puts in black and white how just simply the shaft alone,  doesn't make a high or low ball flight.