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The Driver: What role does sound play in your choices?

SuperStroke
I can't tell you the last time i heard my driver, my adrenaline is rushing so much i tune everything out.
 
Any thoughts from the evening crew?
 
Sound matters to me and love the sound my pings make
 
I rarely hear what sound my driver is making when I am swinging, I guess I just tune it out. I don't really have a problem with other golfers loud drivers but that probably stems from the fact that the golfing buddy I play with the most still swings a Nike Sumo. He pounds that club but I think it has made me immune sound with drivers.
 
A well struck g10 or g20 are the best sounding drivers i have hit.i love it and i must have a driver that sounds good.
 
Sound off the driver is critical. I played with a driver two seasons back that really turned me off. I hit it pretty well but it just didn't work. There is a certain noise that just feels right. I say feel cause it boosts confidence, it's a direct feedback to a well struck tee shot.
 
I have an RBZ Tour that I can really kill right now... especially on the range. On the course if I warm up first, I hit it as well as anything I've owned. It just sounds like holy hell though... I'm not enamored with the white head and have a couple others but I just don't hit them as well right now. Its really starting to show a lot of wear and I don't care for playing a club that looks like its been thru a 100 year war either.

A Cleveland Classic that is a fairway finder but not as long. Also a new R1 Black that stills needs some adjustments before being a regular player.

On the course I feel like I'm banging a drum every time I swing it... but if its working I'll keep banging away.
 
Oddly enough, while I like more metallic sounding drivers, and I wasn't terribly fond of the sound of the SLDR when I played it, in the hands of a murderer of golf balls like Fupresti I really liked the SLDR's solid thud. It's almost organic.
 
As long as its not Sasquatch ish; I couldn't care less. It means nothing major to me.
 
I'm not too particular unless they are ridiculously loud. Every Mizuno I have hit has been very loud, I couldn't imagine gaming one. The OG Cleveland Classic is the best sounding driver I have hit.
 
It doesn't really come into play unless the driver makes a ridiculously annoying sound (Nike SQ Dymo 2, I'm looking at you).
 
Jersey Nate said:
Personally, I am only turned off by the more ridiculous sounding and/or loud drivers. My favorite sounding driver of all time is the Cleveland Classic - meaty, yet muted.
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Well said JN. The Classic keeps finding it's way back into my bag and it is there now. Can't deal with the high pitched ting of some metal woods and Cleveland nailed the toned down sound with this one.
 
I am definitely a sound guy. If the sound isn't pleasing then the driver won't fair well. I was on the range with Canadan and he was hitting this driver, won't say which, but the sound didn't bode well with me to the point I didn't even want to hit it. Am I fickle? Probably so. Am I passing on several drivers that, if hit if probably like? Definitely. Just one of those things hard to overcome.
 
Erky said:
It doesn't really come into play unless the driver makes a ridiculously annoying sound (Nike SQ Dymo 2, I'm looking at you).
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Same as this for me.
 
Erky said:
It doesn't really come into play unless the driver makes a ridiculously annoying sound (Nike SQ Dymo 2, I'm looking at you).
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Guy I was playing with in a scramble yesterday was hitting this driver. The sound....
 
I've never been one to worry (be good enough for that matter) to have sound effect what I play for a driver. I look for forgiveness & a face that will help retain ball speeds on mishits. I never hit the Nike SQ as many have commented on, but can't really think of a driver where the sound has made me not want to game it.
 
mmaynard11 said:
Guy I was playing with in a scramble yesterday was hitting this driver. The sound....
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In the interest of full disclosure, I used to game one. I hit it great. I would say "I don't care what it sounds like if it goes long and straight." However, there is only so much ridicule from his friends one man can bear.
 
I really enjoy the " you crushed it" sound to be pretty loud. Dull sounding drivers just don't do it for me but if the club performs that holds more weight than sound for me.
 
I think sound and feel go hand-in-hand. I loved the g2 back in the day and missed it when I updated to a titleist 910. Last year I decided not to make that mistake so the current driver is the G25.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
 
jlukes said:
And it should be illegal to hit a Nike SQ at a covered range. I literally had to stop hitting and go inside for a bit when there was someone about 12 stalls over hitting one a few weeks ago.
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Even on the course that thing sounds awful. Played Friday with a guy who used one. I had to go stand on the opposite green while he was hitting just so the fillings didn't rattle out of my teeth.

Back me my preferences and answering the OP -
I prefer a subtle noise, nothing that scares me the first time I hit it. I think the Bio Cell + and Alpha do a great job of that. The sound on the SLDR is kind of muted, which doesn't both me either.
 
Almost a non factor for me. Having said that there are limits to what I can take. Years ago Army artillery guns combined with some duck hunting incidents reduced my hearing in the left ear. AN extremely loud driver like the Nike SQ is the type of noise that would be a complete no go, since that level of noise makes my left ear ring and I don't need to risk any more hearing loss.
 
Sound used to be important. But, with the easy availability of launch monitors giving golfers a better idea of distance and dispersion statistics, I think it is less important. If Driver A sounds like a garbage can. But, I consider the distance and dispersion gains to be material, I a choosing Driver A.

Very recently, I did some testing and using subjective terms, I was asked to pick the longer club, I chose the one that felt the best. It was not the longest club.

Sound would only be one of the tiebreakers between clubs with similar results.
 
Shame there isn't a driver made today that sounds like a persimmon club head... I miss that sound... since I can't have that, I'll say I like the way my TM RBZ sounds.
 
Sound plays a big role to me. My buddy's R1 has such a high pitched uncomfortable sound ... I prefer the lower pitched (baseball bat into a steel drum) sound of the old Nikes - nothing else sounds like that
 
I would say sound/feel is the third thing I consider when choosing a driver. This would be removing shaft from the equation...

1. L.M. #s and ball flight.
2. Look at address
3. sound/feel

Muted solid thwack would be my preference.
 
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