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What length of driver do you use?


dooboo

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Got it. It goes back to making the best possible contact....makes sense.

 

I'm with ya on the heavier shafts too. I play an 80g Proto-by-you in my Driver, 3 & 5.

 

BK

 

Yup exactly, making best possible contact will allow for consistency in both distance and accuracy you know exactly what the ball is going to do every hit from the true sweet spot.

 

I randomly found this article with some stats sorry it is a third party, this targets 0 to 10 handicaps but makes a perfect point that I am getting at in terms of accuracy and distance, they tested a 44.50" against a 45.50" you are going to laugh at how little difference it made in terms of total distance. What shocked me the most was the dispersion numbers. and off target line with the 44.5"

--> http://www.milesofgolf.com/blog/golf-shafts/fitting-a-driver-for-shaft-length/

 

I am not saying that a longer shaft won't work, like I said "longest shaft you can control contact". If you can hit a 48" playing length swing aggressively with it and get 1.47 or higher smash... dang be my guest in playing that sucker more power to you.

 

If you want to experiment and have a shaft you don't care about or a cheap shaft, one time start at a 48" playing length, take 10 shots on a LM and record the details of launch, smash, ball speed, accuracy etc. Take 1/2" off to 47.5" and repeat the process, keep going all the way down to 43". Play the shaft that gives you the best distance and accuracy combination including smash factor. My guess for most people it will be in the 45.50" to 43.50" range with the most common being 45.00" or 44.50". Really if you wanted to you could do 1/4" segments to be more exact but 1/2" normally does the trick.

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

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A couple of weeks ago, we were playing and one of the guys went over to the bushes to do what guys go over to the bushes to do. (Bird watch?) and he found a White driver head. It was a Orlimar ATS. Anyway, in the bar he said he found it and someone had apparently broken the shaft over their knee and thrown both into the bushes. He said he found "One of those new white drivers" in the woods and asked me if I could fix it up for him. I thought it was a TM but alas it is not.

 

Anyway, his daughter has moved back home for the summer (she is attending grad school) and has started to play golf on Fridays with us. He does not need a different driver, but she is playing with a Ping ISI or something like that. So I had a Fubuki shaft that got broken and I put this together for her, it is 42" driver. She can barely even hit the earth let alone a golf ball, but this should be easier to control. I added a pink grip and touched up the bottom with a bit of pink fingernail polish. So it is white and pink. It looks pretty cool but I will see how it hits tomorrow before I give it to her.

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A couple of weeks ago, we were playing and one of the guys went over to the bushes to do what guys go over to the bushes to do. (Bird watch?) and he found a White driver head. It was a Orlimar ATS. Anyway, in the bar he said he found it and someone had apparently broken the shaft over their knee and thrown both into the bushes. He said he found "One of those new white drivers" in the woods and asked me if I could fix it up for him. I thought it was a TM but alas it is not.

 

Anyway, his daughter has moved back home for the summer (she is attending grad school) and has started to play golf on Fridays with us. He does not need a different driver, but she is playing with a Ping ISI or something like that. So I had a Fubuki shaft that got broken and I put this together for her, it is 42" driver. She can barely even hit the earth let alone a golf ball, but this should be easier to control. I added a pink grip and touched up the bottom with a bit of pink fingernail polish. So it is white and pink. It looks pretty cool but I will see how it hits tomorrow before I give it to her.

 

Any pictures?

Inside My Blue Callaway Warbird X Golf Stand Bag:

Driver:Nike SQ 10.5* with Graphite Design Y6+

3W:Cobra S2 14*

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3H and 4H: Taylormade Rescue 19* and 22*

5H: Cleveland Mashie 23*

6H: Adams a3os Hollow-Back

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A couple of weeks ago, we were playing and one of the guys went over to the bushes to do what guys go over to the bushes to do. (Bird watch?) and he found a White driver head. It was a Orlimar ATS. Anyway, in the bar he said he found it and someone had apparently broken the shaft over their knee and thrown both into the bushes. He said he found "One of those new white drivers" in the woods and asked me if I could fix it up for him. I thought it was a TM but alas it is not.

 

Anyway, his daughter has moved back home for the summer (she is attending grad school) and has started to play golf on Fridays with us. He does not need a different driver, but she is playing with a Ping ISI or something like that. So I had a Fubuki shaft that got broken and I put this together for her, it is 42" driver. She can barely even hit the earth let alone a golf ball, but this should be easier to control. I added a pink grip and touched up the bottom with a bit of pink fingernail polish. So it is white and pink. It looks pretty cool but I will see how it hits tomorrow before I give it to her.

 

OT: I didn't know where the heck this story was going after the first line, sitting here thinking about the show 1000 ways to die.

 

You might end up hitting the 42" driver straight down the fairway and not want to give away the club..

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Golf Swing & Putting -- Bruce Rearick (Burnt Edges Consulting)

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Any pictures?

 

You asked for it.

orlimar dts.jpg

 

orlimar grip.jpg

 

 

Confession time. I have not actually done the bottom with fingernail polish yet. Since I have not asked Larry about this, I decided not to paint it, however, here is what I did to my old FT9 that my wife uses now.

 

Orlimar sole.jpg

 

Got a little carried away and did the face. Please not the ball mark slightly towards the heel. She has played four rounds with it but the nail polish is still there.

ft9 face.jpg

 

 

This was an iMix adaptor that the rubber ferrule was melted so I put a pink stripe instead. Of course, women only see pink and that makes it look ok. I could start another post about women and golf, but why bother. They will not listen.

 

ft9 head.jpg

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You asked for it.

orlimar dts.jpg

 

orlimar grip.jpg

 

 

Confession time. I have not actually done the bottom with fingernail polish yet. Since I have not asked Larry about this, I decided not to paint it, however, here is what I did to my old FT9 that my wife uses now.

 

Orlimar sole.jpg

 

Got a little carried away and did the face. Please not the ball mark slightly towards the heel. She has played four rounds with it but the nail polish is still there.

ft9 face.jpg

 

 

This was an iMix adaptor that the rubber ferrule was melted so I put a pink stripe instead. Of course, women only see pink and that makes it look ok. I could start another post about women and golf, but why bother. They will not listen.

 

ft9 head.jpg

 

Looks great so far. I like the pink on the Ft-9 too. If you go ahead and paint the bottom of the Orlimar post another pic!

Inside My Blue Callaway Warbird X Golf Stand Bag:

Driver:Nike SQ 10.5* with Graphite Design Y6+

3W:Cobra S2 14*

4W: Nike SQ Dymo 17*

3H and 4H: Taylormade Rescue 19* and 22*

5H: Cleveland Mashie 23*

6H: Adams a3os Hollow-Back

7Iron-Sand Wedge:Callaway X-20 Series with Callaway Steel

Lob Wedge (60*):Cleveland CG-12 Black Pearl with Cleveland TRaction Steel Wedge Flex

Putter: Odyssey Versa #9

Golfball: Callaway Hex Black Tour

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Where was that Fubuki broken? Hopefully the butt as if it's the tip section it may be too stiff for her.

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Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
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Where was that Fubuki broken? Hopefully the butt as if it's the tip section it may be too stiff for her.

 

 

Nope, it was the tip and I am sure it will be too stiff for her in the traditional sense, but at this point, it does not matter what her swing speed is, because it is either over the ball, or into the ground 2 inches behind the ball. Swing speed only matters when it contacts the ball.

 

However, part of the reason I have yet to paint the bottom is that her dad my fall in love with the shorter shaft. Eventhough I do not think he will hit it further than he currently hits his. I bought him a Nickent 5DX with a 12.5* head and an A flex Proforce V2 shaft. He is not a club ho. And the only reason he has the drive he has now is because I got tired of hearing him complain that he could not hit a driver. So I replaced his Ping TiSi Stiff shaft that he had with this one last year. And now it shows up in his daughters bag. His irons are Ping Zing 2 and he has them because his wife sent a friend of his to get him a set of golf clubs for his birthday in 1994. So he has golf clubs and does not need any new ones.

 

So while this shaft may not be the best one for her, it is a damned sight better than what she will get looking at his cast offs. Which are mostly from the early 90's.

 

Oh, his 3 wood is a Callaway Hawkeye that he took from my bag several years ago when I said that my new 3 wood was supposed to be delivered that day, and he said so you don't need this one anymore. This was not a big deal because I was winning at least $40 a weekend from him. Now though, we use a quota system and I do not win everytime.

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I'd say the difficulty of the longer shaft is that you are most likely going to go 180, 160, 215, 175, 180, 207, 150 than the 180, 190, 185, 190, 195, 185 you'd get with the club you can hit consistently - which club are you longer with?

 

Once this starts happening you have gone to far.

 

But lets say at 44 you are (180, 190, 185, 190, 195, 185) and at 45.5 you are (180, 210, 195, 200, 230, 220). That trade off I will take. For me as soon as I get over 46 my numbers go more like (180, 160, 225, 175, 180, 235, 150) and that I won't take.

 

I do think the 260-275 is less important than 190-210, for the simple fact that at 190 or below you are looking at a long wood shot on almost every par 4. The percentage on that is low. While if you are 260 or even 220 your chances of looking at an iron shot are pretty good- much higher percentage, much better chance at scoring. Moving up to 275 gives you an even shorter iron shot, but for most I think the different between going for the green with a 5 wood or a 5 iron is far far greater than moving from a 8 iron to a 9 iron. Its the difference of treating the hole like a par 5 or actually having an opportunity to make a birdie. Does that make sense?

 

Good discussion!

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Once this starts happening you have gone to far.

 

But lets say at 44 you are (180, 190, 185, 190, 195, 185) and at 45.5 you are (180, 210, 195, 200, 230, 220). That trade off I will take. For me as soon as I get over 46 my numbers go more like (180, 160, 225, 175, 180, 235, 150) and that I won't take.

 

I do think the 260-275 is less important than 190-210, for the simple fact that at 190 or below you are looking at a long wood shot on almost every par 4. The percentage on that is low. While if you are 260 or even 220 your chances of looking at an iron shot are pretty good- much higher percentage, much better chance at scoring. Moving up to 275 gives you an even shorter iron shot, but for most I think the different between going for the green with a 5 wood or a 5 iron is far far greater than moving from a 8 iron to a 9 iron. Its the difference of treating the hole like a par 5 or actually having an opportunity to make a birdie. Does that make sense?

 

Good discussion!

 

A while back I did a swing speed test between two different drivers. I have two shafts for my R11s so I may rerun the test with these shafts. The point is, you'd be surprised how little speed you loose from going to a short shaft.

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Once this starts happening you have gone to far.

 

But lets say at 44 you are (180, 190, 185, 190, 195, 185) and at 45.5 you are (180, 210, 195, 200, 230, 220). That trade off I will take. For me as soon as I get over 46 my numbers go more like (180, 160, 225, 175, 180, 235, 150) and that I won't take.

 

I do think the 260-275 is less important than 190-210, for the simple fact that at 190 or below you are looking at a long wood shot on almost every par 4. The percentage on that is low. While if you are 260 or even 220 your chances of looking at an iron shot are pretty good- much higher percentage, much better chance at scoring. Moving up to 275 gives you an even shorter iron shot, but for most I think the different between going for the green with a 5 wood or a 5 iron is far far greater than moving from a 8 iron to a 9 iron. Its the difference of treating the hole like a par 5 or actually having an opportunity to make a birdie. Does that make sense?

 

Good discussion!

 

This is a simple question in my view

 

44.0 ~ 187.5 average, +/- 7.5 (both high and low are the same)

~ from a course management situation this is ideal for carry of objects and staying short of objects.

--> say you have a fairway that runs out at 210 you know even your best hit won't go through the fairway long

--> say you want to carry a 180 yard object, even your worst hit is going to most likely carry that.

 

45.5 ~ 205.83 average, - 25.83 low, + 24.17 high

~ this brings a lot of guess work into play from a course management stand point

--> assume you want to carry a 200 yard object, you better hit a good one or you are toast, not a great situation.

--> assume that you want to stay short of a 215 yard hazard or dogleg, you better not bust one or you are toast.

 

46.0 ~ 186.43 average, - 36.43 low, + 38.57 high

~ this is just unacceptable from a course management stand point, the 45.5 was bad but this is just even worse. you have no idea swing to swing what might happen.

 

 

Answer for me is easy and it is course management control over distance, keeping it in play and eliminating the big numbers. My guess is looking at the numbers I think 44.50" probably be a good fit, little extra length for slightly more distance and deviation should be closer to the 44.00"

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

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Answer for me is easy and it is course management control over distance, keeping it in play and eliminating the big numbers.

 

Well said.

 

This is really the first year I've been paying attention to course management, or at least actually "thinking" my way through each hole. While I don't execute every shot the way I plan, overall, the "thinking" or "planning" is starting to lower my scores.

 

BK

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This is a great discussion - I see your point two solitudes although I would always go with the most consistent numbers I could - I can control consistent - I can't control inconsistent so much. You might have a different approach which is why there are so many ways to attack this game.

 

I do agree that the 190 to 210 gain is the bigger one - my only point was to say don't assume that the guy who hits it 260 doesn't want to hit it 275 or that if that extra yardage were usable that he wouldn't ultimately shoot lower scores (or she given that there are some gals on the LPGA who hit it that far.)

 

In terms of 5 wood or 5 iron I wouldn't know - I don't carry a 5 iron because I can't hit one solidly 80 percent of the time - I carry a 5 hybrid instead - I'm very accurate with my 5 wood or my 5 hybrid or my 6 iron or at least I know what to expect from all of those clubs - I've spent the last ten years having to hit 5 wood when many of my opponents were hitting 5 iron - it was hit it straight or reach into the pocket. :(

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In terms of 5 wood or 5 iron I wouldn't know - I don't carry a 5 iron because I can't hit one solidly 80 percent of the time - I carry a 5 hybrid instead - I'm very accurate with my 5 wood or my 5 hybrid or my 6 iron or at least I know what to expect from all of those clubs - I've spent the last ten years having to hit 5 wood when many of my opponents were hitting 5 iron - it was hit it straight or reach into the pocket. :(

 

Look at my sig. I don't carry a 5 or a 6 iron for the same reason. Hybrids are just much much better. :)

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Driver: Cleveland Classic XL Custom 9.5*, Woods: Cobra Baffler T-Rail 5W, 7W, Hybrids:Callaway FTiz 27* Irons: Maruman Shuttle 7-S, Wedge: Cleveland Niblick 49*, Callaway Jaws CC 60*, Putter: Ping Scottsdale Wolverine

 

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So I guess the real question here is how many people actually plan to try something "under standard" now that all this information and discussion has been tossed around?

 

I know that I am going down to a 44.50" driver after experimenting a little on the course choked down on my 45.00" a little.

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

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I've recently been to a top fitter who changed me from a stock 45.75 down to 44.5. The improvement is amazing, club head and ball speed up 3-4 mph and smash factor up to 4.8 from 4.1. Most importantly my average launch angle is down from 15.5 to 12.8 as basically I couldn't get the longer shaft back to the ball without laying off it. Which equals twenty yards more carry and the high right block is now gone. I can't work out why the manufacturers are fitting 45.5 - 46.0 inch shafts when shorter is better for most golfers and is pretty much the tour average.

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I've recently been to a top fitter who changed me from a stock 45.75 down to 44.5. The improvement is amazing, club head and ball speed up 3-4 mph and smash factor up to 4.8 from 4.1.

 

do you mean 1.48 up from 1.41 in terms of smash factor? 1.50 is considered "perfect" Annika Sorenstam used to pull a 1.52 which is crazy best recorded as far as I know. Maybe someone can point out anyone higher then a 1.52 that stat I would be impressed by if it were accurate.

 

I can't work out why the manufacturers are fitting 45.5 - 46.0 inch shafts when shorter is better for most golfers and is pretty much the tour average.

 

Marketing ~ "5 yards longer then last years model" because it is 1/2" longer and 10grams lighter of a shaft, OEMs cheat a lot in advertising distance claims for marketing reasons.

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Golf Swing & Putting -- Bruce Rearick (Burnt Edges Consulting)

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been playing a 45.25 inch driver, definitely notice some difference between a 45.75-46 inch

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1.48 is a nice but achievable smash factor look at Lee's handicap - I'd buy it

 

The thread came out a month too late for me jmiller - I just went from 46" to 45" - I wouldn't say that I'm longer with the 45" on a nuts on perfect hit - I would say I'm hitting lots and lots more drives on the screws and that I have a lot better control than I had before - distance is a bit tougher because we've transitioned from our dry season to our rainy season - that can make a 20 yard difference - just before that change I hit some really long drives with the 45" driver.

 

I hope lots of people consider shortening their driver because I think they'll hit the shorter shaft better and subsequently shoot lower scores. Every little bit helps.

 

In terms of the hybrid/iron battle I've never hit long irons off the ground well even in the old days - I was deadly with a 2 iron off the tee until I hit 30 but was always balky with the 2 or 3 iron off the turf - next it was the 4 and eventually the 5 - of course my modern 6 is so juiced that it's about the same spec as my Ping Eye 2 4 right down to the distance that I hit it. I think some people are better with irons and some people are better with woods - I fall into that latter category and so I prefer hybrids to long irons - I prefer a 5 wood to a long hybrid though - that's probably a product of my swing.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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Rev, it only took what? 4 or 5 years of trying to get you talked into doing a fitting? Lol. Oh and we're going to Tampa sometime between the 18th and 28th. I'll let you know more when we nail the dates down.

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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I've given up on the 460cc driver altogether. I prefer to play a 2-wood, now commonly called a "strong 3" or "tour spoon," but let's be honest--it's a 2-wood. 43 or 43½" works fine. I can tee the ball low and not have a "ball above feet" lie on the tee where I'm entitled to a perfect lie.

 

I don't bag a "regular" 3-wood. 4-wood is my longest fairway club.

 

 

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have been putting together a complete set of clubs because I need two sets. And an interesting thing has developed. Over the years I have ruined a few shafts by getting them too hot when changing them out. I did this to a Fuji Motore F1. It was too short to use as a driver shaft, but since i needed one I put in a Titleist 909D3 head, after I cut the tip off. It makes the driver 43 3/4". I was all prepared to hate this but was going to playit just to see. As we have been told over and over and over, a longer shaft means greater clubhead speed and longer distance. BS.

 

I have never hit the ball longer than I do with this driver now. I can hit this thing longer than I hit the Razr Fit with the GD Tour AD DI7. I also have always played my irons longer than standard. I am hitting the Hogans with the C Tapers further than I have ever hit irons, and I have put a 15* Hogan C455 3 wood with a UST Axivcore Red XS that measure 41 1/2" I am getting greater distance out of this club than I have ever hit a 3 wood.

 

A significant part of this is because the spin is way down with these lengths. However, on one of the par 4's (330 yards) that I have been hitting a 21 degree hybrid for years, I am now using a 5 or 6 iron. I can actually drive over the lake but with OB left, and of course the lake, and trees right, I hit a 5 iron / pitching wedge and had a 12 foot birdie putt this morning. Missed the putt but ... No reason to take a chance just to have a partial wedge shot.

:ping-small:G430LST 10.5° on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Driver 

:ping-small:G430MAX 3w  on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Fairway 

:ping-small:G425 3H on     T P T    POWER 18 Hi Hybrid 

:taylormade-small:P790 Black 4-A 
on :kbs: TGI 80S
 

:mizuno-small: ES21 54-8° & 58-12° on :kbs: Hi Rev

:L.A.B.:DF2.1 on :accra: White

:titelist-small: ProV1  

:918457628_PrecisionPro: Precision Pro  NX7 Pro

All Iron grips are BestGrips Micro-Perforated Mid

Driver, 3w, 3H are JumboMax JMX UltraLite XS 

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My old driver (Callaway Hyper-X) I had cut to 44''. Accuracy improved and distance was about the same. The driver in my bag now (Nike Machspeed Black-Round) is at 45.75'' standard length. I haven't cut it because I've been choking down about an inch.

Driver:  Titleist 915D2 9.5* (Set at 10.25*) w/ Diamana S+ Blue
Fairway:  TaylorMade Aeroburner Black 16.5* HL w/ Matrix Rul-Z 
Hybrids:  Titleist 915H 18*(Set at 19.5*) w/ Diamana S+ Blue
Irons:  Mizuno JPX Fli-Hi (4 Iron) w/ Graphite Design Aura Blue
            Mizuno JPX-850 Forged (5-9) w/ True Temper XP 105
Wedges:  Mizuno JPX-850 Forged (PW 45*) w/ True Temper XP 105
                 Mizuno MP-R12 (50*, 54*, 58*) w/ DG Spinner
Putter:  Scotty Cameron Select GoLo S

Balls:  Callaway Chrome Soft / TaylorMade Project (a)
Bag:  OGIO Chamber
Shoes:  Nike TW '15

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RP when you read me write something like - I'll buy it - that means I have my doubts - I doubt anyone here could average a smash factor of 1.48 unless that person is a pro - we have a few of those kicking about on these forums. I don't know who they are yet so I see a statement and a relatively low handicap index and I have to go with what's being written.

 

Ultimately though I'm trying not to make enemies - one only hurts him or herself if they have a false impression of what they are doing. I do think it's possible for any of us to achieve 1.48 on a given shot - just like it's possible for anyone of us here to hit a 300 yard drive - it happens beyond a doubt - consistently? Wow that is tour stuff. I also think it's possible for a person to innocently go to a launch monitor in a store and the stupid thing has been miscalibrated or jury rigged in such a way as to give someone the impression that they are over performing. I think that's more the possible. I think that's likely not that I'm skeptical or anything.

 

Back on topic and since it's come up a number of times how about choking down on the driver? How much does one impact the shaft and loft characteristics of that club when they grip down on the thing? I've certainly done this on occasion but I'm wondering about it as a long term strategy. Is it the wisest move? If that were the case it would almost seem advisable to have a too long driver, choke down and then have that extra little bit to throw open wide on an easy or generous driving hole.

 

Opinions on that possibility?

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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I don't know. I'm anxious to see James' answer over in his thread. I hadn't heard of it before - I thought 1.50 was a perfect smash factor but it could be that there is a way to sneak a shade above it - inside the tolerance and that sort of thing.

 

I don't ever recall hitting 1.50 - I'm pretty much always able to get above 1.4 but I can't recall ever putting up a 1.5. Some of those machines give a score based on smash factor, launch angle, etc. They say that above 80 is very, very good - I've been able to crack the low 90's which again I'm told is where very low handicappers and club pros reside - In fact the last time I did it I hit 93 and was told that was the second best score ever on that particular machine - Could be - it was a Golfsmith and I have a parishioner who is the club repair guy there so there was no reason for him to be BSing me - he had done some reshafts for me and we were trying the clubs out.

 

I don't put much stock in that stuff - I like the smash factor though because it's a straight out measure of whether or not one is maximizing his or her swing.

Taylor Made Stealth 2 10.5 Diamana S plus 60  Aldila  R flex   - 42.25 inches 

SMT 4 wood bassara R flex, four wood head, 3 wood shaft

Ping G410 7, 9 wood  Alta 65 R flex

Srixon ZX5 MK II  5-GW - UST recoil Dart 65 R flex

India 52,56 (60 pending)  UST recoil 75's R flex  

Evon roll ER 5 32 inches

It's our offseason so auditioning candidates - looking for that right mix of low spin long, more spin around the greens - TBD   

 

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RK, do you know if you can legally have a smash factor over 1.50...I can't find it anywhere, however I was told that if someone hits a smash factor over 1.50 with a driver, then the drive is deemed illegal..

 

Is that valid or is it crap?...

 

Thanx.....

 

Fairways & Greens 4ever.....

 

I recall reading somewhere that Annika Sörenstam had a smash factor of about 1.52... I have heard in theory that 1.53 is the pure max possible but some have seen 1.54 a few times. SF is just how efficiently you are transferring energy to the ball not really how well you are hitting it in terms of the sweet spot. In a trackman news release it has the true formula for S.F. --> http://www.trackman.dk/download/newsletter/newsletter3.pdf

 

In theory --> S.F. = (1+COR) * ( cos(SPIN LOFT) / ( 1+(Ball Mass / Club Head Mass)) )

 

So if you have a realistic example here... 225g driver head, 46.0g golf ball, 11.0* effective loft (spin loft)...

SF = (1+0.830) * ( cos(11.0) / (!+(46.0/225)) )

SF ~ 1.830 * (0.9816 / 1.204)

SF ~ 1.830 * 0.8153

SF ~ 1.49196

Callaway Epic Max 12.0 (-1/N) @ 44.50" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-7 Stiff

Callaway Epic Speed 18.0* @ 42.75" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ-8 Stiff

Callaway Mavrik Pro 23.0* @ 40.00" w/ Graphite Design Tour AD IZ 95 HYB Stiff

Sub-70 639 Combo (5-P) w/ Nippon Modus 3 125 Stiff, Standard Length, Weak Lofts (27-47, 4* gaps)

Callaway MD5 Raw 51-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 55-13 X-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 59-11 S-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Callaway MD5 Raw 63-09 C-Grind w/ Nippon Modus 125 Wedge

Golf Swing & Putting -- Bruce Rearick (Burnt Edges Consulting)

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