So apparently, while struggling with a major golf equipment itch, it turns out my 8 month old son earns money.....and he wanted to buy me a very early father's day present (at least that's what his mom said). Now, I was a bit concerned that my 8 month old is earning money, he seems to young to work.....or have money for that matter. Either way, it was finally going to happen. I've been hitting driver's for 12 months now, and I was going to get THE ONE!
So I live 90 minutes from anything useful, so in the car I got with my wife and child, and up to Golf Galaxy we went. Didn't want to wait 2 days for the weekend, wanted it NOW! After what seemed like 80 miles of construction and an eternity of time, I got to Golf Galaxy. I put on my golf shoes, because if I'm going to buy.....*ahem* if my son is going to buy me a driver, I might as well get fitted for it.
I walk inside the store, heading straight to the back, chest all puffed out like a proud peacock. I make it to club making and fitting, and there's one dude working there. After he gets done with the customer in front of me (who had a broken shaft), he asks me what I need. This is actually happening, I thought. "I need fitted for a Titleist D2 driver." There were a few other people behind me, and he asks what they need. One guy just needs a single new grip. Another needs to send his iron set in for repair. The guy behind the counter says to me, "I'm going to get these guys first. Plus, there's already someone on the launch monitor getting fitted, so it'll be about 15 minutes."
15 minutes! NO WAY! I WANT IT NOW! Still, using all that patience I learned on the golf course, I calmly replied "That will be just fine." In the 35 minutes it took to finally have my turn with this one guy working, I learned one thing. Golf stores need to staff up their club repair and fitting area. You only need one cashier, and one roamer. Because quite frankly, the people who aren't at the club fitting/making, don't need someone to help them. When they want help, they just walk back to the fitter. So this guy had to replace all the grips, bend a putter, do all the paperwork for sending clubs in for repair, all by himself. It's no wonder it took him 35 minutes to finally get to me. He could have saved half that time if someone had just been back there doing the paperwork for him.
Gripes aside, it was finally my turn. "So what driver did you want?"
"Well, I've hit a lot of drivers over the past year, and I know I want the Titleist D2. I just have no idea what flex of shaft I need, or what shaft model, or loft for that matter."
So we got back there, and he figured I needed a stiff shaft. We also concluded that since Titleist will let you adjust up 1.75 degrees or so, but only down 0.75, that I should try the 9.5 degree lofted driver. He also grabbed an 8.5, which I ended up never hitting. So we went back to the hitting net, which had a very nice launch monitor sitting beside it. He began taping up the two drivers. One had a 60 (or 63, can't remember) RIP shaft (titleist propietary rip shaft) and one had a 73 gram blue diamana (again, titleist proprietary). I warmed up with a ping 7 iron that was sitting there.
Finally, I get to swing this driver and get what I'm hoping were accurate results. The first driver had the lightweight shaft. The first 3 swings really weren't good. I was getting a little nervous that maybe this wasn't the driver for me. But I stepped back, did my set up, made sure I turned my shoulders on the back swing and fired my lower body on the down swing, and presto! I started hitting the 5 yard draw I have been so accustomed to with the D2. After 8 or so swings, we switch to the heavier shafted driver. Aside from being 10 grams heavier, it also had a stiff tip. And what a difference 10 grams makes. It felt so heavy to swing. I amazingly swung quite well with it, and was still hitting mostly 5 yard draws. It was just so heavy though. I was getting warm, and I was in air conditioning.
So now we went to the final test. 3 swings with each driver, look at the averages, and take my pick. I do that, and we look over the numbers.
I can't remember them all, and the dudes commentary on what's good and what's not may not have been all that accurate. I say this because at one point, he says "anything under 3400 rpm with the driver for backspin is ok." On one of the drives, I had about 3600, and he says "anything under 4000 rpm for the driver for backspin is ok." Really, because that's not what you said 3 minutes ago, but whatever.
So the first surprise to me is that out of 6 swings, every swing was either 100 mph, or 101 mph. I was shocked, because I had always figured that my swing speed was somewhere in the 92-95 mph range. Anyways, back spin was pretty consistent around 3100 rpm. Most of the hits were 5-10 yard draws. Total distance across all 6 hits was quite consistently 277 yards. In fact, there were only a few small differences between the two drivers. The heavier shaft and stiff tip naturally launched lower. A little too low for my taste. So as a result, my carry was only 255, with 20 yards of roll. The lighter RIP shaft launched a few degrees higher, consistently carried 260 yards, and had 17 yards of roll. Also, while they both felt natural to swing, that heavier shaft would wear me out on a hot day. So this seemed like a no brainer, I picked the lighter shaft.
As we head up to the cash register, and after he's pulled the tape off, I look at the bottom of the club, and IT'S THE D3!! I said to my fitter "ummm, this is the D3, I thought I was getting the D2." He replies, "your swing is incredibly consistent. You launch the ball about the same every time, and the club face is the same every time. I can put that shaft in a D2 head, but honestly, I'd stick with the D3." I quickly think to myself, 'he's right, you can't argue with the results I had back there.' The moral of that particular story is that sometimes, its ok to be tricked with semi-blind testing. You might just be surprised by the results.
So, I paid......I mean, my son paid......with my card......for the driver. And I can now say that I am a very proud owner of a brand new Titleist D3 9.5 degree driver with 60 (or 63) gram Titleist RIP shaft (let's face it, its not really an Aldila RIP shaft). Amazingly, neutral setting is the best setting for me. funny that I now have an adjustable driver, and I'll probably just leave it at neutral.
Oh, and in case you haven't figured out how my 8 month old son earns money, that would be with the Child Tax Credit on our income tax return.:joy:
The numbers on the launch monitor had 17 yards more rollout than I get with my old Burner driver and 15-20 yards more carry. I suspect those numbers may be skewed up, but I guess I'll find out today when I head out to the course. I'll probably post a little something something in the D2/D3 thread when I have some on the course experience with it.
~Rock
So I live 90 minutes from anything useful, so in the car I got with my wife and child, and up to Golf Galaxy we went. Didn't want to wait 2 days for the weekend, wanted it NOW! After what seemed like 80 miles of construction and an eternity of time, I got to Golf Galaxy. I put on my golf shoes, because if I'm going to buy.....*ahem* if my son is going to buy me a driver, I might as well get fitted for it.
I walk inside the store, heading straight to the back, chest all puffed out like a proud peacock. I make it to club making and fitting, and there's one dude working there. After he gets done with the customer in front of me (who had a broken shaft), he asks me what I need. This is actually happening, I thought. "I need fitted for a Titleist D2 driver." There were a few other people behind me, and he asks what they need. One guy just needs a single new grip. Another needs to send his iron set in for repair. The guy behind the counter says to me, "I'm going to get these guys first. Plus, there's already someone on the launch monitor getting fitted, so it'll be about 15 minutes."
15 minutes! NO WAY! I WANT IT NOW! Still, using all that patience I learned on the golf course, I calmly replied "That will be just fine." In the 35 minutes it took to finally have my turn with this one guy working, I learned one thing. Golf stores need to staff up their club repair and fitting area. You only need one cashier, and one roamer. Because quite frankly, the people who aren't at the club fitting/making, don't need someone to help them. When they want help, they just walk back to the fitter. So this guy had to replace all the grips, bend a putter, do all the paperwork for sending clubs in for repair, all by himself. It's no wonder it took him 35 minutes to finally get to me. He could have saved half that time if someone had just been back there doing the paperwork for him.
Gripes aside, it was finally my turn. "So what driver did you want?"
"Well, I've hit a lot of drivers over the past year, and I know I want the Titleist D2. I just have no idea what flex of shaft I need, or what shaft model, or loft for that matter."
So we got back there, and he figured I needed a stiff shaft. We also concluded that since Titleist will let you adjust up 1.75 degrees or so, but only down 0.75, that I should try the 9.5 degree lofted driver. He also grabbed an 8.5, which I ended up never hitting. So we went back to the hitting net, which had a very nice launch monitor sitting beside it. He began taping up the two drivers. One had a 60 (or 63, can't remember) RIP shaft (titleist propietary rip shaft) and one had a 73 gram blue diamana (again, titleist proprietary). I warmed up with a ping 7 iron that was sitting there.
Finally, I get to swing this driver and get what I'm hoping were accurate results. The first driver had the lightweight shaft. The first 3 swings really weren't good. I was getting a little nervous that maybe this wasn't the driver for me. But I stepped back, did my set up, made sure I turned my shoulders on the back swing and fired my lower body on the down swing, and presto! I started hitting the 5 yard draw I have been so accustomed to with the D2. After 8 or so swings, we switch to the heavier shafted driver. Aside from being 10 grams heavier, it also had a stiff tip. And what a difference 10 grams makes. It felt so heavy to swing. I amazingly swung quite well with it, and was still hitting mostly 5 yard draws. It was just so heavy though. I was getting warm, and I was in air conditioning.
So now we went to the final test. 3 swings with each driver, look at the averages, and take my pick. I do that, and we look over the numbers.
I can't remember them all, and the dudes commentary on what's good and what's not may not have been all that accurate. I say this because at one point, he says "anything under 3400 rpm with the driver for backspin is ok." On one of the drives, I had about 3600, and he says "anything under 4000 rpm for the driver for backspin is ok." Really, because that's not what you said 3 minutes ago, but whatever.
So the first surprise to me is that out of 6 swings, every swing was either 100 mph, or 101 mph. I was shocked, because I had always figured that my swing speed was somewhere in the 92-95 mph range. Anyways, back spin was pretty consistent around 3100 rpm. Most of the hits were 5-10 yard draws. Total distance across all 6 hits was quite consistently 277 yards. In fact, there were only a few small differences between the two drivers. The heavier shaft and stiff tip naturally launched lower. A little too low for my taste. So as a result, my carry was only 255, with 20 yards of roll. The lighter RIP shaft launched a few degrees higher, consistently carried 260 yards, and had 17 yards of roll. Also, while they both felt natural to swing, that heavier shaft would wear me out on a hot day. So this seemed like a no brainer, I picked the lighter shaft.
As we head up to the cash register, and after he's pulled the tape off, I look at the bottom of the club, and IT'S THE D3!! I said to my fitter "ummm, this is the D3, I thought I was getting the D2." He replies, "your swing is incredibly consistent. You launch the ball about the same every time, and the club face is the same every time. I can put that shaft in a D2 head, but honestly, I'd stick with the D3." I quickly think to myself, 'he's right, you can't argue with the results I had back there.' The moral of that particular story is that sometimes, its ok to be tricked with semi-blind testing. You might just be surprised by the results.
So, I paid......I mean, my son paid......with my card......for the driver. And I can now say that I am a very proud owner of a brand new Titleist D3 9.5 degree driver with 60 (or 63) gram Titleist RIP shaft (let's face it, its not really an Aldila RIP shaft). Amazingly, neutral setting is the best setting for me. funny that I now have an adjustable driver, and I'll probably just leave it at neutral.
Oh, and in case you haven't figured out how my 8 month old son earns money, that would be with the Child Tax Credit on our income tax return.:joy:
The numbers on the launch monitor had 17 yards more rollout than I get with my old Burner driver and 15-20 yards more carry. I suspect those numbers may be skewed up, but I guess I'll find out today when I head out to the course. I'll probably post a little something something in the D2/D3 thread when I have some on the course experience with it.
~Rock
