Just got fitted, club head speed varies from 115-120

[Why Lay Up]

Hi, just reaching out for some advice. 
 

I got fitted yesterday for a new driver. Have been gaming a stock small batch HZRDUS Green in a Sim Max. My club head speed was in the 115-120 range. Ball speed anywhere from 160-170. Im no scratch golfer by any means, just grew up in baseball so speed isn’t an issue. I definitely want forgiveness out of my driver as that’s probably where I’m losing most strokes on the course. He said due to my speeds the “Max” driver versions of each brand would be too spinny, and not nearly all that forgiving, is that accurate?
 

Also, The Shafts they referred me to at the end were the Oban White and Ventus TR Red. I was hitting them well in Low Spin driver heads. (smoke triple diamond, ping lst, TSr3, etc.) it was indoors on track man and my spin numbers on good hits were anywhere from 23-2800, and misses were only 3300 ish. Which is great. My question is should I trust those figures? I never know how treat the sims, and hose two shafts would go against laterally everything I’ve read online for my particular swing speed. I didn’t get to hit them outside. 
I hit the Ventus Black and those were very good for me too but didn’t have the same Peak ball speeds as the softer Ventus Red/Oban had. 
 

any help would be appreciated as I don’t want to make a mistake when I’m about to drop nearly a grand on a driver haha 
 

thanks 

Edited March 29 by Why Lay Up

[RickyBobby_PR]

6 minutes ago, Why Lay Up said:

Ball speed anywhere from 160-170. Im no scratch golfer by any means, just grew up in baseball so speed isn’t an issue. I definitely want forgiveness out of my driver as that’s probably where I’m losing most strokes on the course. He said due to my speeds the “Max” driver versions of each brand would be too spinny, and not nearly all that forgiving, is that accurate?

Not accurate. Cameron Champ and Finau who are in your swing speed and can get above 120+ speed has played the max version of Ping drivers. DJ has played the more spinnier head from TM. There are plenty of TS2,TSI2 and TSR2 played on tour. 

Design of the head, CG location, weight, feel, shaft/head combo all have a role in spin and launch. Your ball speed at those swing speeds shows you aren’t making efficient. I get 155-160 with a slower swing speed than you.

8 minutes ago, Why Lay Up said:

it was indoors on track man and my spin numbers on good hits were anywhere from 23-2800, and misses were only 3300 ish. Which is great. My question is should I trust those figures?

They are reliable enough. This wide range of spin is additional proof that your making inconsistent contact on the face and more often than not lower on the face. 
 

Do you have any of the other numbers from trackman?

10 minutes ago, Why Lay Up said:

I never know how treat the sims, and hose two shafts would go against laterally everything I’ve read online for my particular swing speed. I didn’t get to hit them outside. 

Ignore what you read online especially if it’s about the design of the shaft like low launch/spin. Thais who release late are the ones that those type of marketing descriptions will notice. Based on your ball speed and spin numbers I’m doubting that you 

my suggestion would be to go to a better fitter and preferable one outdoor or at least hitting from inside to outside. Im guessing based on the oban suggestion you went to a Club champion fitter. The amount of space they have makes the trackman numbers reliable. 

[cnosil]

Agree with the above. 

you went to a fitting to get information and it is assumed you researched the fitter and the fitter got good reviews.  You discussed expectations prior to and during the fitting and the information you wanted was presented to you.   Now you are coming to a forum and asking people if the fitting makes sense even though we didn’t  see you swing or actual launch numbers from other options that both you and the fitter saw.     
 

my answer is don’t buy the club simply because you have doubts and don’t believe the fitter did their job properly.  

Edited March 29 by cnosil

[Why Lay Up]

21 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

Not accurate. Cameron Champ and Finau who are in your swing speed and can get above 120+ speed has played the max version of Ping drivers. DJ has played the more spinnier head from TM. There are plenty of TS2,TSI2 and TSR2 played on tour. 

Design of the head, CG location, weight, feel, shaft/head combo all have a role in spin and launch. Your ball speed at those swing speeds shows you aren’t making efficient. I get 155-160 with a slower swing speed than you.

They are reliable enough. This wide range of spin is additional proof that your making inconsistent contact on the face and more often than not lower on the face. 
 

Do you have any of the other numbers from trackman?

Ignore what you read online especially if it’s about the design of the shaft like low launch/spin. Thais who release late are the ones that those type of marketing descriptions will notice. Based on your ball speed and spin numbers I’m doubting that you 

my suggestion would be to go to a better fitter and preferable one outdoor or at least hitting from inside to outside. Im guessing based on the oban suggestion you went to a Club champion fitter. The amount of space they have makes the trackman numbers reliable. 

 

18 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Agree with the above. 

you went to a fitting to get information and it is assumed you researched the fitter and the fitter got good reviews.  You discussed expectations prior to and during the fitting and the information you wanted was presented to you.   Now you are coming to a forum and asking people if the fitting makes sense even though we didn’t  see you swing or actual launch numbers from other options that both you and the fitter saw.     
 

my answer is don’t buy the club simply because you have doubts and don’t believe the fitter did their job properly.  

Thanks for both of your responses. 
 

and basically explained my situation to a T. I was getting smash from anywhere to 1.4 or lower maxing out to 1.45, which isn’t great by any means. I have fast tempo, pretty steep swing path. I should’ve checked my launch because my fitter was just watching spin numbers, but on the monitor it seemed the only high launches were mishits off the top of the face. 
 

The company has a great reputation around me, but that could mean anything. (Not CC, it’s a local shop but has multiple fitters) It’s hard to balance whether it’s my inconsistencies with my swing why the fitting wasn’t as clear or if it was just simply that that particular fitter isn’t as strong.  I know it’s a challenge to fit someone who isn’t the greatest golfer in the world but I just know it’s better to get fit to find something then just buying it off the rack. 
 

so @RickyBobby_PRwould you still suggest a “max” head if I am struggling to find the center of the face? I know it’s hard to tell without seeing my actual swing and numbers but is it possible the Low spin heads might be better for me?

Edited March 29 by Why Lay Up

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 minute ago, Why Lay Up said:

I have fast tempo, pretty steep swing path. I should’ve checked my launch because my fitter was just watching spin numbers, but on the monitor it seemed the only high launches were mishits off the top of the face. 

This explains the spin numbers, smash and ball speed. Your hits on the top of the face are going to be high launch and low spin, depending on how high and where in relation to center this isn’t a good thing especially from a gear effect standpoint.

The higher spin is probably coming from adding loft at impact and hitting low on the face, probably from early extending and have to flip and use the hands to try and square the face and hit the ball. 
 

4 minutes ago, Why Lay Up said:

The company has a great reputation around me, but that could mean anything. (Not CC, it’s a local shop but has multiple fitters) It’s hard to balance whether it’s my inconsistencies with my swing why the fitting wasn’t as clear or if it was just simply that that particular fitter isn’t as strong

Im going to lean towards the fitter isn’t as strong based on his comment about max heads (they have higher moi so it helps with gear effect) they will spin higher than non max heads, how much is dependent on the golfer but when you hit then all below center all heads are going to spin more. Also based on how I’m reading your experience of the fitting I’m going to say he’s probably not a strong fitter. It doesn’t sound like he was willing to try some extremes to see if they might work. 
 

Yes inconsistencies in contact from inconsistent compensation for swing flaws do make things a little harder than someone with a repeatable swing, but a good fitter thru their eyes and the questions they ask the golfer during the fitting can see good swings vs bad swings, normal miss bs big miss and what the golfers good swing and ball flight is and for them to that. Doesn’t sound like the fitter considered length or messing with weight as options.

9 minutes ago, Why Lay Up said:

would you still suggest a “max” head if I am struggling to find the center of the face? 

I won’t suggest anything because I’m not there with you hitting balls and watching ball flight and hearing your feedback. 
 

My suggestion find a different fitter and see what happens there. 

[Erin B]

Also concur with @cnosil and @RickyBobby_PR. I have done enough fittings and sims to know that if you can hit outdoors, that's better. I also agree with quite a few folks on MGS that if you don't find a highly reputable fitter some have an agenda like sales. My questions are this: did they fit you for the proper length and grip? (Collindale Golf Academy, Fort Collins, CO was my last fitting experience and they did look at my grip thickness and shaft length. Turns out my driver fit needed to be 45" instead of 46" and midsize grip was best.) Did they use something like impact tape or {believe it or not} foot spray to see your club face interaction with the ball? Did they look at your angle of attack vs your launch angle? (This is where I am currently having some issues.) Ball speed and distance are affected by this. As far as shafts, you need to find what feels right for you. No shaft flex is the same from one manufacturer to the other. It's a crap shoot unless you are properly fitted. Don't assume that if you go to a little shorter shaft you are going to lose distance. I gained distance as soon as my shaft length was correct for me, and my control was better by almost twice what it was, bringing my accuracy up. Good luck with your quest. Hopefully you can get it worked out.

[funkyjudge]

2 hours ago, Why Lay Up said:

Hi, just reaching out for some advice. 
 

I got fitted yesterday for a new driver. Have been gaming a stock small batch HZRDUS Green in a Sim Max. My club head speed was in the 115-120 range. Ball speed anywhere from 160-170. Im no scratch golfer by any means, just grew up in baseball so speed isn’t an issue. I definitely want forgiveness out of my driver as that’s probably where I’m losing most strokes on the course. He said due to my speeds the “Max” driver versions of each brand would be too spinny, and not nearly all that forgiving, is that accurate?
 

Also, The Shafts they referred me to at the end were the Oban White and Ventus TR Red. I was hitting them well in Low Spin driver heads. (smoke triple diamond, ping lst, TSr3, etc.) it was indoors on track man and my spin numbers on good hits were anywhere from 23-2800, and misses were only 3300 ish. Which is great. My question is should I trust those figures? I never know how treat the sims, and hose two shafts would go against laterally everything I’ve read online for my particular swing speed. I didn’t get to hit them outside. 
I hit the Ventus Black and those were very good for me too but didn’t have the same Peak ball speeds as the softer Ventus Red/Oban had. 
 

any help would be appreciated as I don’t want to make a mistake when I’m about to drop nearly a grand on a driver haha 
 

thanks 

You have gotten very good advice from RickyBobby and cnosil, so I am only going to add the following:

DON’T buy any driver (or any golf clubs) that you are unsure of! The doubt will always be in your mind and you are unlikely to get desired results if you are always second-guessing the fit.

That fitter definitely gave you some bogus information, which has already been pointed out, so I would also seek another (and a more professional) fitter.  This advice is coming from a professional clubfitter with 33+ years of experience who has fitted all levels of golfers, from beginner level and super-high handicap golfers to scores of PGA, LPGA and Champions Tour golfers.

[higherplane]

I can only give you some anecdotal advice.   Agree with comment above that you don't want to pick a driver or any club with doubts in your mind.   I have a swing speed of 110-115 with driver so a little less than yours and I am no doubt older.   In a fitting had solid numbers with the MAX Callaway Paradym and Three Diamond, but noticed that the Max Paradym was much more forgiving even in hitting with a launch monitor.   The fitter stated this as an advantage.  Would have similar carry numbers and direction with essentially occasional mishits.  Ended up buying a Paradym Max with a Ventus Blue shaft last Fall.   With snow and busy life this year it has been harder than expected to get used to this new club.  Only recently do I feel comfortable with this club on the course, as example right to left draw is now rare but am still gaining consistency when decently hit as ball goes straight.   Would suggest, if feasible, hitting with a launch monitor your last 2-3 finalist drivers to make a selection.