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Low Launch Low Spin Driver/Shaft Combo Help

Nippon Shafts
RStreit27

RStreit27

College Hack
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Hi everyone,

Been pondering a new driver for a few months now and this weekend I went to the local Golf Galaxy to hit some drivers off the monitor. I currently play a Taylormade Tour Burner 2008 with a stock shift Fujikara shaft and for the current state of my game, the driver is far too high launching and shockingly spinny (we're talking high 3000's up to 4000+ RPM :bulgy-eyes:). I get nowhere near the distance numbers I should (based off my SS/BS) due to the ball often ballooning and spinning out of control. While an inconsistent, sometimes over-the-top swing is partially at fault, I felt like it was time to take a look at some new drivers to see how they performed. While the numbers were slightly better, they were still very high. I was wondering if anyone had any solid, cheaper (I'm a college student so not a large amount of disposable income) shaft/face combos that were renowned for being low spin/low launch? I liked the feel of the 913D3 but have yet to hit other clubs that would seem to suit me well and can be picked up for relatively cheap prices (TEE XCG7 Beta, Callaway RFE, etc).

Here were my numbers from fiddling around at GG:

Swing Speed - 115-122 mph
Ball Speed - 165 mph
Launch Angle - 13*-17*
Spin - 3200 - 3700 (913D3 was the only driver on the lower part of the spectrum.

Any help you all could provide would be greatly appreciated!
 
Ping Anser with Ahina 70X. Ahina was a stock option and should be had for cheap on eBay.

You're welcome.
 
No shaft is going to fix the over the top swing. I would work on that first. It's cheaper than a new driver.
 
The Tee is a good option with the Black Tie. Check out callaway preowned as they have some really good deals, their clubs are in great condition, and they have sorts of shaft options. Harder to find, but one low spin option that I love is the J40 445 or 430 driver.
 
RStreit27 said:
Hi everyone,

Been pondering a new driver for a few months now and this weekend I went to the local Golf Galaxy to hit some drivers off the monitor. I currently play a Taylormade Tour Burner 2008 with a stock shift Fujikara shaft and for the current state of my game, the driver is far too high launching and shockingly spinny (we're talking high 3000's up to 4000+ RPM :bulgy-eyes:). I get nowhere near the distance numbers I should (based off my SS/BS) due to the ball often ballooning and spinning out of control. While an inconsistent, sometimes over-the-top swing is partially at fault, I felt like it was time to take a look at some new drivers to see how they performed. While the numbers were slightly better, they were still very high. I was wondering if anyone had any solid, cheaper (I'm a college student so not a large amount of disposable income) shaft/face combos that were renowned for being low spin/low launch? I liked the feel of the 913D3 but have yet to hit other clubs that would seem to suit me well and can be picked up for relatively cheap prices (TEE XCG7 Beta, Callaway RFE, etc).

Here were my numbers from fiddling around at GG:

Swing Speed - 115-122 mph
Ball Speed - 165 mph
Launch Angle - 13*-17*
Spin - 3200 - 3700 (913D3 was the only driver on the lower part of the spectrum.

Any help you all could provide would be greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

First off, congrats on a beast of a swing. I deal with spin issues as well, however my range is more like 111-114.

In conversation with people I trust, their suggestion was not so much to move into something like a black tie (I spin the $% out of it) but moreso something that is similarly stable throughout the shaft. I think Fupresti made a great suggestion with the ahina to start, and in something heavier to help with control and spin.

Head wise, I like the idea of the Ping Anser, or maybe the Bridgestone J40 or even the SLDR 430. The former two will cost quite a bit less as they are former lines, so that should align well with your budget. At 13-17 degrees of launch, I'm sure an 8.5 or 9.5 head would be functional, although I personally had to loft up in SLDR to make it work.
 
I'd give the Ping I-25 is worth a shot with any tip stiff shaft. Really nice head which offers low spin.
 
The SLDR 430 and Covert Tour are two of the lowest spining heads i know of paired with a black tie of Fuel TS should be a fairly low spining combo but these will not help the over the top move
 
Brianbigoats said:
The SLDR 430 and Covert Tour are two of the lowest spining heads i know of paired with a black tie of Fuel TS should be a fairly low spining combo but these will not help the over the top move
Click to expand...

Good addition of the Covert. I think I overlook it because I really dislike the stock shaft pairing in X, but it really is a solid head for low spin. Not what I'd consider to be terribly forgiving, but if you can find the middle of the face it's ideal.
 
Brianbigoats said:
The SLDR 430 and Covert Tour are two of the lowest spining heads i know of paired with a black tie of Fuel TS should be a fairly low spining combo but these will not help the over the top move
Click to expand...

I will harp on this again because I agree with Mr. Goats.

Maybe the excessive launch angle and spin are coming from the OTT swing, and not a bad head/shaft pairing.
 
Thanks for the help so far guys! Just have a pair of quick questions...
First question: Do you know of anywhere that I could get my hands on some of these clubs in x-flex before just purchasing them on a whim?
Second: What would be the best place on the forum to show a video of my swing and see if that's the cause of the ridiculous spin numbers? I assume it's an over the top move based off of my misses (generally a straight pull) but I could use some help in pinpointing the exact issues.
 
blugold said:
I will harp on this again because I agree with Mr. Goats.

Maybe the excessive launch angle and spin are coming from the OTT swing, and not a bad head/shaft pairing.
Click to expand...

I definitely think the OTT swing has something to do with it, but I seem to find from various online searches that the Fujikura S shaft in the Tour Burner led to really high spin numbers and ball flights for a number of people.
 
RStreit27 said:
Thanks for the help so far guys! Just have a pair of quick questions...
First question: Do you know of anywhere that I could get my hands on some of these clubs in x-flex before just purchasing them on a whim?
Second: What would be the best place on the forum to show a video of my swing and see if that's the cause of the ridiculous spin numbers? I assume it's an over the top move based off of my misses (generally a straight pull) but I could use some help in pinpointing the exact issues.
Click to expand...

Check out the Swing Tips Section. Tadashi is a wonderful teacher.

http://www.thehackersparadise.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?29-Swing-Tips-With-Freddie-Kong
 
RStreit27 said:
I definitely think the OTT swing has something to do with it, but I seem to find from various online searches that the Fujikura S shaft in the Tour Burner led to really high spin numbers and ball flights for a number of people.
Click to expand...

That pairing may produce high spin and launch numbers. It might not be right for you. But if you don't address a OTT move, not saying you have one but you said you did, then any lower spinning and lower launch pairing will really give you bad results. Get a low spin driver, why not? New gear is fun. But definitely work on the swing fault.
 
blugold said:
That pairing may produce high spin and launch numbers. It might not be right for you. But if you don't address a OTT move, not saying you have one but you said you did, then any lower spinning and lower launch pairing will really give you bad results. Get a low spin driver, why not? New gear is fun. But definitely work on the swing fault.
Click to expand...

I've been spending most of my free practice time trying to make some changes to my swing over the past month, but even when I do put a well slotted swing down range it is still launched abnormally high. I probably should have mentioned that earlier as my rationale for searching for a lower spinning/launching driver.
 
RStreit27 said:
I've been spending most of my free practice time trying to make some changes to my swing over the past month, but even when I do put a well slotted swing down range it is still launched abnormally high. I probably should have mentioned that earlier as my rationale for searching for a lower spinning/launching driver.
Click to expand...

I have similar stats as yours and struggle with a slight OTT move with the driver, but I'm more in Canadan's swing speed range. I have the 910D2 9.5* head with the Ahina 70X shaft, and wouldn't recommend it either. When I swing bad, I get a ton of spin and a slice. When I swing good, I get a ton of spin that goes too high and not long enough. While I've hit it longer, I can count on my best swing not to go much further than 250-260 carry because of ball flight. I have a 910D3 9.5* head that I'm trying right now with the same shaft, and I see no significant difference compared to the D2 head. I'm not saying the Ahina in general would be a bad fit, I like it off the tee in my 910F 3 wood in the 80X version. So maybe a longer 80X in the driver head would be great. I've tried my 43" 80X in the 910D2/D3 heads and saw improvement in spin and distance off-line, but didn't see improvement in carry distance.

I recently attempted a wood fitting at the TM Performance Lab (that was cut short due to excessively poor swinging that day), but gradually saw my drives improve as I increased weight and flex in shafts. I only tried the SLDR 460 head in 9.5* and had several back to back drives in the 240's that were less than 15 yards off line with it paired to a Matrix 7m3 (black tie) shaft. I probably would have seen added distance with a SLDR head somewhere between 10.5 and 12 degrees, and I also would have liked to hit the 8m3 or the TM dressed Fujikura Motore Speeder TS 8.3. But the 8.3 in the fitting cart is cut down to play 43.25" in a fairway wood as opposed to 45.25 like the shafts for the SLDR driver heads.

I also played a TM dressed Fujikura Motore F1 79 gram x-stiff shaft in my R1 head and really loved it. I sold it to a friend to by the Titleist 910D2 after hitting and liking the Ahina shaft in my 910F. I regret it now and plan to go back into something heavier/stiffer than the Ahina 70x in an SLDR 460 head. I'm leaning towards either the 8m3 or the TS 8.3 cut down to play 44.5 inches in the SLDR 460 head - and probably the 8.3 because its designed to produce low launch/low spin, but the 8m3 is designed to produce mid/low lauch/low spin. I'm afraid of getting anything other than a low launching shaft. I liked the red tie specs in weight and torque, but it's also designed to produce a mid/low launch.

And if it helps you any (since the SLDR head has been mentioned), I talked to a rep with Taylormade today and their catalog and spec listings on TP shafts provide the weight for an uncut 46" shaft that is provided to them by the shaft manufacturers. All TP products are tipped 1" and then cut from the butt end to reach their desired TM "stock" playing length (45.25 for TP SLDR 460 driver, 43.25 for TP SLDR 3W, and so on). So the overall club weight will be lower than listed on the site even before any optional customizations. So if I ordered the TS 8.3 X-flex (listed at 82 grams) in a TP SLDR 460 driver with a playing length of 44.5 inches, the overall weight would be around 79 grams and the swing weight would drop from the stock D4 to around a D2.5 (according to the rep).

ETA: The TM fitter at the lab basically told me that the heavier/stiffer shafts provided better results because they resist some of my swing flaws, but that does not mean they would be the best fit in a month or two after swing changes. That is why the fitting was cut short and I didn't make an order. However, I think that with fast swing speeds, heavier shafts help to keep the club on plane and keep the person using it from over-swinging (at least to a degree). I don't have the OTT move issue with most of my irons (except occasionally with the 3 and 4 irons), and was fit for KBS Tour X-flex in the Tour Preferred CB heads for my irons (and I love them for me).
 
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