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Driver Quest 2012: Driver Adjustability - Do you miss it or need it?

SuperStroke
RatFink said:
This is my problem. To the best of my knowledge, Golftown has the best selection of drivers - ie: I have to go there to try the most. The place I was fit for for the 910 only had a Titleist cart sitting in the driving range, so I don't know what else they could do for me. At Golftown, I would bet dollars that their fitting really only goes so far as "which ball was simulated best in the simulator". There are probably private courses around that offer more comprehensive fittings, but I doubt they would be able to help me out without a membership.. and those tend to run $40,000 around here. Being a student, I don't have that coin on me at the moment haha.
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RatFink said:
How much do you guys typically pay for a fitting?

I just did a quick search and sent a few e-mails so I'm waiting to hear back. There is a Callaway performance centre here in town that costs $65 for a fitting, but I'm not so sure going to one of those would be the best. Does anyone agree with me that going to a company specific fitting centre isn't exactly the best, because you may be potentially pigeonholing yourself with that one brand and not giving everything else a fair chance?
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http://www.golftec.com/learningcenters/calgary_golf_lesson.html
There is a Golftec location in CGY.
 
Oh wow, they're brand new! I didn't know about them. Thanks!
 
I am an absolute believer in adjustable drivers. For the first few years of the adjustable clubs I thought it was BS and a crutch. I had no idea the difference it made until I got my 910. I do adjust the loft based on the course/conditions and I do open or close the face depending on my miss at that moment. I tend to fight a snap hook, so the ability to open the face a little or a lot is awesome for me. It is not a gimmick at all and makes a pronounced difference FOR ME. Others, maybe not so much, but I'm a believer for sure.
 
I have had my R11 for the last season and It has served its purpose well. I have changed setups a few times. When the winds is strong, I tend to lower the loft a little, and when I'm missing shots left I just open up the face and I have also changed shafts a few time which is easy.

Since you don't like the R11 or R11s, then the titleist 910 might be good. Titleist makes some awesome clubs and looks and feels great.
 
i've never had an adjustable driver before then this year i wanted to see if it could help me out cause i figured it may help with my swing change so i bought a Super Tri and i have been crushing it and sold my non adjustable driver. but the catch is i havn't adjusted it at all since i got it. its still in neutral. and i don't see me changing the settings at all any time soon.
 
Like others have said, adjustable drivers are great to have if you are not planning to go the route of having a custom driver built to spec. If you are 100% happy with your swing (and who isn't... :embarrassed:) then this might be the best plan of action. If your like the rest of us mortals, the option of adjusting your driver to your ever improving swing really helps keep the costs down since you won't find yourself tied down to one permanent setup.

I've owned a Cobra ZL (would recommend you check this driver out on EBay) and haven't found the need to make any lie/loft adjustments. What I have found useful is being able to buy multiple shafts from EBay (along with corresponding adapter) in order to try different shafts with your chosen driver head. 10+ shafts later, I have finally settled on 2 shafts. The first one I can hit reasonably long (250 yards) and straight (almost 90% fairways hit) for tight courses, while the other I can just bomb at will (270+ yards) although a tad less accurate (55-70% fairways hit) for more wide open courses with more forgiving rough.
 
from my personal experience, if you have a swing that promotes a significant slice or hook, 2 degrees open or closed usually doesnt cure your problem. Adjustability works most effectivly for people who hit solidly and want to improve there game, not for people who slice 50 yards right and think closing the face 2* will magically fix it... Ive been driving the ball pretty straight and far lately, Im never going back to an adjustable club... I used an R9 and a machspeed a while back and the adjustments didnt thrill me... right now I use a 9* Ping G10 with Graff prolaunch Red shaft and Ive been hitting the ball better than Ive hit in in years

Im not bashing on people who take the route of adjustable clubs, Im just giving my personal opinion
 
Thanks for all the input, guys!
I am not looking at an adjustable club to be my crutch - the goal is to have a proper swing that doesn't result in a ridiculous banana slice.. the adjustable driver comes in when I want to fine tune or fit for different things I guess.

I am completely open to having a non-adjustable club.
 
So I spent some time at Golftown today looking at clubs. They still have the Z-Star that I've had my eyes on, along with all the other goodies on my list.
Speaking with the salesman, he suggested the G20 as being my top choice because he has seen the most success with relative newbs with it. Next on his list was the RAZR Black. This seemed strange to me given the length of shaft in both clubs. I guess it doesn't have quite the bearing that I thought it did.

He did say that the Cleveland Classic was outselling the black by a huge margin - mostly based on looks... but also he hasn't seen much success with the Black and people trialling it.
He also suggested that I should really go back and hit the 910 w/ the 82g 'ahina since I had such success with it... but they would have to special order me one, and I would have to subsequently buy it before I could hit it. He said the RAZR fit was only ok, and didn't really produce great results in everyone who had tried it.

I went to the driving range today for the first time since last August (got the green light from my doctor after he re-assessed my wrist) and it was a mess.. It was almost as if I had never swung a club again. I got a few good shots off with my 7 iron, and driver... but the only club I could hit consistently was my 58˚ wedge.
There will probably be a long build up before I can legitimately give my list of drivers a fair chance at being in my bag since I suck at swinging a club.

PS: the salesman also stated that the Cleveland/Srixon rep said that at the end of 2012, Srixon would no longer sell clubs in North America. Can anyone confirm this?
 
I still play a Cobra ZL, part of the reason why I liked it in the first place was due to its very limited adjustability. Just closed, neutral, and open. Simple.

What I always appreciated most was the versatility in being able to swap shafts. From 2010 to 2011 my average SS increased by about 8-10 mph and has sustained thus far into the 2012 season. Where I was once borderline x-flex I'm now firmly x-flex. Even shafts that I once considered stout stiffs are just too erratic for me. Such a change with the ZL (as with the S2 and S3 I played before it) still allows me to keep the same clubhead while simply swapping the shaft.

I was playing the Nunchuk and hitting it very well with the clubhead in the neutral position. I've had a Whiteboard-83 x-flex for a little while now but it's a hook machine for me in the N setting. But once I set it to open, different animal altogether. I'm now getting Nunchuk consistency but with a little more pop at impact. If my consistency wanes, I can just go back to the Nunchuk because I know it works.

I can't say that a non adjustable driver won't tempt me in the future, we all played them for years and years afterall. But for now, I appreciate the versatility of my stick. Of course, the ZL Encore is intriguing. :wink:
 
my current drive is adjustable, but Its set to neutral and I dont tinker with it
 
I've never owned an adjustable driver! I have an adjustable 3w, but I haven't tinkered with it in a long time.

I know what works for me, so why do I need an adjustable driver when a stock setup will do?
 
I don't really adjust my driver much at all especially after I tuned it to my liking about a year ago. The best thing about an adjustable driver in my opinion is the ease of swapping out shafts.
 
To those of you who have the ability to adjust:
  • Is it something you actually use, or has your driver been stock since the day you bought it? I do find myself changing it occasionally. Glad for the ability to do that. Recently as my drives have improved, I've been reducing loft in small increments trying for more distance.
  • Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options you have? No, but I don't have an R11S (yet). My 910 D2 came with a very easy to understand chart that makes it almost intuitive.
  • Was it worth it over a fixed hosel? Was and is to me. I like to tinker. I like the technology and being able to make changes and see results right then. And I now have a shaft I love and TWO different Titleist heads(D2 and a D3) to choose from depending on how well I'm hitting it at the time.
Re the cost of the Titleist: Yup it did cost a little more, but I have never hit a driver as well as I hit the D2. I'd gladly lay out the few extra bucks spread over time for the additional pleasure I get from the way it drives the ball (especially when it outdrives my buddies which I couldn't do before. Money well spent!!
 
Well with your selections and your price point I say get fitted and try to find the same or similar on ebay.Believe it or not ur gonna hafta shell out some coin.I bought last yrs. R11 and I put in a new shaft and I,m right around$325 american which is short money for a new to me driver with a shaft replacement
 
I play and prefer an adjustable driver for one main reason as has been stated before-swapping shafts is such a great advantage.
 
All4's said:
I get really worried when I see someone setting one to the "closed" position. This is the equivalent of the offset or "max" drivers out there and any instructor will talk you out of that course of action pretty quickly as you are simply ingraining bad habits.
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I agree. I always thought that a closed positioned was the same as an offset driver if the face angle was 0 at the neutral position. Then I saw the TM ad in TGW catalog. I'm not familar with all the settings and how one setting can counter act the other but this is what the ad has

Sergio
ASP: C+ :eek:
MWT: 10g toe/6g heel
FCT: .75 lower

Dustin Johnson
ASP: C :confused:
MWT: 10g toe/ 1g heel
FCT: .75 lower

Justin Rose
ASP: N
MWT: 1g toe/10g heel :confused:
FCT: .75 higher

The one config that is not listed is their lofts. Assuming they all play the same loft would all 3 of them be playing what would be considered neutral??? Where Sergio and Dustin playing slighly lower loft and Justin slightly higher.

I don't own the latest TM driver will all these settings so I'm naive to what these settings translate too.

Based upn TM marketing, having a closed setting is not considered bad and maybe "old school" thinking. If we are taking adjustability of just C, N, or O, then the C position could be bad. Again, it depends where the face angle lies in N. I know there some that have 1 degree open at N position.

In the end, whatever works. All these settings hurt my head now:banghead:

Sent from my HTC Vision using Tapatalk
 
Having said all of that I tried a friend's Burner Superfast (non adjustable) at the range yesterday and it outdrove every driver I own.
And they can be had new now for $129!!

DrPatSr said:
To those of you who have the ability to adjust:
  • Is it something you actually use, or has your driver been stock since the day you bought it? I do find myself changing it occasionally. Glad for the ability to do that. Recently as my drives have improved, I've been reducing loft in small increments trying for more distance.
  • Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the options you have? No, but I don't have an R11S (yet). My 910 D2 came with a very easy to understand chart that makes it almost intuitive.
  • Was it worth it over a fixed hosel? Was and is to me. I like to tinker. I like the technology and being able to make changes and see results right then. And I now have a shaft I love and TWO different Titleist heads(D2 and a D3) to choose from depending on how well I'm hitting it at the time.
Re the cost of the Titleist: Yup it did cost a little more, but I have never hit a driver as well as I hit the D2. I'd gladly lay out the few extra bucks spread over time for the additional pleasure I get from the way it drives the ball (especially when it outdrives my buddies which I couldn't do before. Money well spent!!
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DrPatSr said:
Having said all of that I tried a friend's Burner Superfast (non adjustable) at the range yesterday and it outdrove every driver I own.
And they can be had new now for $129!!
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Ha Ha this is what I love about golf .. when you begin to think you have figured something out....:banghead:
 
I don't like the adjustable drivers really, although they are nice and valuable to some people. I know my specs and if fitted properly, they really are a moot point. I had a Nike Machspeed last year and didn't change the setting's once I bought it.
 
DrPatSr said:
Having said all of that I tried a friend's Burner Superfast (non adjustable) at the range yesterday and it outdrove every driver I own.
And they can be had new now for $129!!
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Nice when that happens.
 
DrPatSr said:
Having said all of that I tried a friend's Burner Superfast (non adjustable) at the range yesterday and it outdrove every driver I own.
And they can be had new now for $129!!
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I paid less than $100 used for my Launcher and I have hit more fairways and had more long drives with it than any driver I have ever owned. It is not adjustable and was not even new, have used it for 4 - 5 years now and it still beats anything I have tried new or used since.
 
I have a couple R11's. Once I had it set up I have not changed it in a year or so now. I would agree that being able to change shafts quickly and easily is a definite plus. I think the adjust-ability is still useful though as you can tune it to help make up for your swing.

Don't let the "feels like a noodle" fool you either. Some shafts feel like that but its how well you hit it that counts.
 
Ive played various adjustable drivers (R9, Mizuno MP-600, Mizuno MP-650) and I honestly dont miss the adjustability.
 
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