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A single digit's search for a driver

Nippon Shafts
Plin said:
If the miss is on the heel, then you are reaching during your down swing, shortening will help initially, but yes a video lesson or two will definitely do more good.A lot of times you need the visual feedback. If the miss is on the heel and you hit a hook, then you probably have a pretty serious flip of the hands at impact to keep it left with a heel strike. Look into the mini drivers and see how those fit your eye since you like your 3 wood swing better, never hurts to try.
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Can't argue with that. I do want to find a driver I'm comfortable with before getting my custom shaft at #TheHandCraftedExperience in August. I know they're going to be sending us baseline shafts for testing when before too long and I really want to have the latest/greatest head that fits me best before they send us a test shaft.
 
That's awesome, you're gonna be in good hands, I am very envious. They will definitely sprinkle magic dust all over it, so you should be prepared to give them the stats they need. Length being one of them, looks like you got some homework to do. :clap:
 
I'm going to go down another road in regards to my driver adventures that might possibly help (or not which is fine). I struggled with the driver myself back in HS and college but could punish a 3W. Now with the technology improvements which help get the ball airborne the driver is my best friend. I made an effort one summer about 15 years ago to learn to play a cut with the driver off the tee. This has helped my driver/tee game immensely which has transfered into more fairways, better and higher ball flight and solid contact on the driver face. I've eliminated the left side miss for the most part.

I know you have gotten some good advise from others here about fittings, trying all the equipment you can, shafts and maybe a swing change or two. But wanted to throw this in there just in case it did anything for ya.

Enjoy the journey to being a better driver of the ball!
 
I feel like I am really close to being a sub ten handicap.

My problem is that my driver is my biggest weapon and my worst enemy. When it is on, I will be fairways and greens all day. When it is off, I am hitting 2 off most tees.

For all the lessons in the world, I just don't feel comfortable over the ball with the driver. One thing that I have done recently is to grip down to the graphite shaft. While this shortens my drives significantly, it also straightens them out as well. I also feel a lot more comfortable being closer to the ball. My set up, balance, and swing all seem to fall into place.

I also trimmed 1" off my driver.
 
Went out and played 18 yesterday (shot 79, nothing great, nothing bad, just ho hum). I started having issues driving the ball on about the 5th hole. After the 10th hole, I started choking up an inch and got MUCH better results. The ball looked much better at address and I was able to get the ball to launch a lot higher. I didn't pay much attention to my distances, but it was at least 250+ choking up which was acceptable. Would like to get my averages up to about 265-270, but I'll get there as I find the right fit for me.
 
chumphries said:
Went out and played 18 yesterday (shot 79, nothing great, nothing bad, just ho hum). I started having issues driving the ball on about the 5th hole. After the 10th hole, I started choking up an inch and got MUCH better results. The ball looked much better at address and I was able to get the ball to launch a lot higher. I didn't pay much attention to my distances, but it was at least 250+ choking up which was acceptable. Would like to get my averages up to about 265-270, but I'll get there as I find the right fit for me.
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I want to shoot a ho hum 79. :p

Sounds good man. I'm with ya, sometimes when that driver isn't cooperating, turning it into a 3W with a huge head is just the ticket!
 
A single digit's search for a driver

SkiBumGolfer said:
I want to shoot a ho hum 79. :p

Sounds good man. I'm with ya, sometimes when that driver isn't cooperating, turning it into a 3W with a huge head is just the ticket!
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Ha, it's a really easy course when the wind doesn't blow. I think was ho hum since it was 7 bogeys and all pars. The bogeys/no birdies were always due to something different: a bad chip, a bad lag, a pulled short put, a poor approach, etc. It was one of those rounds where the answers to a great round was not "if I had only done X better."
 
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I'm 100% in this bracket

Playing off 5 have shot a few 68s this year!

If my driving is on I score well!

Getting the right head and shaft combo was key for me!

14 degree sldr cranked to 12 (slightly open)

Miyazaki kusala blue 72x

Thing was like the holy grail!

Now the problem is my clubs have been stolen and I'm going to find it difficult to find another kusala shaft here in the uk!
 
Clarkey said:
I'm 100% in this bracket

Playing off 5 have shot a few 68s this year!

If my driving is on I score well!

Getting the right head and shaft combo was key for me!

14 degree sldr cranked to 12 (slightly open)

Miyazaki kusala blue 72x

Thing was like the holy grail!

Now the problem is my clubs have been stolen and I'm going to find it difficult to find another kusala shaft here in the uk!
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Bad break man. Hope you find something even better.
 
chumphries said:
Are you a good fairway wood/iron/wedge player? Are you a pretty good golfer that shoots low 80s/high 70s or better? Does the driver completely baffle you? Then this thread is for you.

I'll start by saying I'm a decent scrappy golfer. Low 80s is the norm with 85+ being a bad round and anything under 80 being pretty good.

My issue has always been with the driver. For some reason the massive head and long shaft just never looks or feels right to me. I'm not a horrible driver, but I'm never ever comfortable with it and hook city is always a possible destination.

This thread is for 2 proposes: to discuss how other decent golfers found their driver swing and to document my search for a driver.

I plan to start next weekend when my wife and I take a short anniversary trip to try and find a driver that feels right to me. I don't know that I'll buy anything, but I plan to hit a lot of different ones to begin the search.

Also, if you're not a single digit golfer, feel free to jump in too. When I was starting out golfing, I was a decent driver of the ball having played baseball when I was younger. It was learning how to hit my irons well that I lost how to hit a driver and I've never really been able to get it back.

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I had this same issue. Once I started hitting irons well, my driver and club head speed went away. Now I'm back to hitting driver well and irons are just ok. The g30 from ping has been incredible for me. Though it is very long stock, I cut mine down to 44.5" and it has helped with consistency.

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A single digit's search for a driver

We to see Raleigh at the Golfsmith in Nashville. I got everything: 915 D3, G30 LS, Fly Z, 815, XR Pro, and the overall winner was the Vapor Pro. Was averaging about 265 with it and 285 max.

It with the Diamana D+ had a really good weight to it. In 2nd place is the 915D3 with the rogue shaft at 44.25 inches. Really liked the shorter shaft. Surprisingly I hated the whiteboard in the 915 but it was great in the Vapor Pro.

I didn't buy anything, giving it two days and going back to see him Sunday morning to see if I get repeat results. If it works out, I appear to gain about 10 yards over my BB Alpha and get a much tighter dispersion.

I just wish I could get it in red/black or blue/black :)


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I think that's real smart to go back a second day before settling on a choice. Good way to compare our amateur swings that can vary so much from day to day.
 
chumphries said:
We to see Raleigh at the Golfsmith in Nashville. I got everything: 915 D3, G30 LS, Fly Z, 815, XR Pro, and the overall winner was the Vapor Pro. Was averaging about 265 with it and 285 max.

It with the Diamana D+ had a really good weight to it. In 2nd place is the 915D3 with the rogue shaft at 44.25 inches. Really liked the shorter shaft. Surprisingly I hated the whiteboard in the 915 but it was great in the Vapor Pro.

I didn't buy anything, giving it two days and going back to see him Sunday morning to see if I get repeat results. If it works out, I appear to gain about 10 yards over my BB Alpha and get a much tighter dispersion.
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I'm late to the party but sounds like you're on the right track. FWIW I went to a demo day yesterday and hit drivers. I play a Razr_Fit 8.5° with the Aldila Rip'd NV 60gm shaft, plus 2 extra grams of weight in the head and hit it great. BUT I do get a lot of spin, normal is around 2800 on a good drive. I tried the Aeroburner & an R-15 with a 50gm shaft and couldn't hit them worth a damn - too light. They put a Diamana Blue 70gm in the R-15 and I was smoking it, just needed the extra weight so I could sync it with my swing. Spin was from 1700-2200 with a 14-15° launch and they were getting OUT there. Only had TM there so will have to try some others but my Razr-Fit is definitely on the Critically Endangered list.

I can see where having the slightly shorter shaft can help too. I frequently choke down on my driver when I'm not too concerned with distance and really want to pipe one down the middle - works every time.

Good luck on Sunday, hope you come away with something you can take to the course and enjoy how it feels, not fight it.
 
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chumphries said:
I had a feeling there would be a few "fix the swing flaw" comments. I can understand that, but for me it's more of a feel thing. I hated my 3 wood until I put the Tour Green in it and now I can just swing away to my heart's content. I'm not a bad driver of the ball, I just don't like how it feels.

There is no good pro anywhere near where I leave which has always been an issue for getting good lessons.

I'm fortunate to be going with THP in August to San Diego for #TheHandcraftedEcoerience and I know that's going to be awesome.

What I really want to accomplish before that is a drive that'll help me a good rather than decent driver of the ball and go from decent to good so hopefully I can go from good to awesome.


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I see you're in Mississippi... I see you don't have any pros in the area worth getting lessons from... I'm in N Louisiana and I drive 4 hours and 15 minutes to my pro in Abita Springs, LA. If you really want to fix the swing, you'll find a pro and drive. It has made a WORLD of difference for me throughout my entire bag. If you're in Jackson, or South, make the drive to Rob Noel in Abita Aprings at Money Hill CC. I promise you, it's worth it. Then, when you fix any flaws, when you get fitted, you're fitted for your best swing and then don't have to get fitted again AFTER lessons. Anyway. Just my $.02.

Outside of that, if you're looking for a place to get fitted, go to each OEM site and do a search for locations that have fitting carts. Outside of an Edwin Watts/Golfsmith, most CCs have at least one cart with various shafts and, usually, they'll fit you for a fee. Don't buy blindly or off advice from the net. Go find at least ONE cart somewhere that has multiple shafts to try. Dick's here locally, in our small town, has about 6 shafts and three to five heads for Callaway fittings... You just gotta call and do some leg work.

Top 4 drivers I've demoed and been fitted for: Srixon Z545, Ping G30 LS Tec, Titleist D2 and D4 (yes, the 4), and Callaway XR Pro...
 
Best feel I had this year was the titleist 915 driver with the rogue black 70. I would have bought it if they had one in my specs at the proshop. The 815 I have was the next best option. I would try the rogue silver also and they come in different weights.
 
chumphries said:
We to see Raleigh at the Golfsmith in Nashville. I got everything: 915 D3, G30 LS, Fly Z, 815, XR Pro, and the overall winner was the Vapor Pro. Was averaging about 265 with it and 285 max.

It with the Diamana D+ had a really good weight to it. In 2nd place is the 915D3 with the rogue shaft at 44.25 inches. Really liked the shorter shaft. Surprisingly I hated the whiteboard in the 915 but it was great in the Vapor Pro.

I didn't buy anything, giving it two days and going back to see him Sunday morning to see if I get repeat results. If it works out, I appear to gain about 10 yards over my BB Alpha and get a much tighter dispersion.

I just wish I could get it in red/black or blue/black :)


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Glad you're getting fitted to a better driver, surprising to see even better numbers than bb alpha with the vapor. Looks like you got yourself a winner.
 
You aren't going to like my answer, but you are over thinking this. Pick a head you like the look of, that fits the budget and enjoy it.

Why?

Because unlike everybody else that goes through this search, you are headed to a shaft company to take any head you like and make a completely custom shaft all the way down to flag placement.

Everything you hit is going to change, so go with what you like the look of, brand, etc.
 
A single digit's search for a driver

JB said:
You aren't going to like my answer, but you are over thinking this. Pick a head you like the look of, that fits the budget and enjoy it.

Why?

Because unlike everybody else that goes through this search, you are headed to a shaft company to take any head you like and make a completely custom shaft all the way down to flag placement.

Everything you hit is going to change, so go with what you like the look of, brand, etc.
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That's good advice. The whole reason I'm doing a driver search is so I can go to San Diego with the latest and greatest head. We'll see what happens today but I probably won't end up with the Nike. I'll update later after I go to Golfsmith, but my gut says I'll get a 915 D3. We'll see :)

My thought behind the 915 is that the numbers were nearly as good as the Nike but with a shaft that was 3/4 inch shorter. I was thinking the custom project x shaft will shatter the Nike specs because it'll probably be the same length as the Nike and even more tuned to my swing.


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chumphries said:
That's good advice. The whole reason I'm doing a driver search is so I can go to San Diego with the latest and greatest head. We'll see what happens today but I probably won't end up with the Nike. I'll update later after I go to Golfsmith, but my gut says I'll get a 915 D3. We'll see :)

My thought behind the 915 is that the numbers were nearly as good as the Nike but with a shaft that was 3/4 inch shorter. I was thinking the custom project x shaft will shatter the Nike specs because it'll probably be the same length as the Nike and even more tuned to my swing.


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What do you like more in the d3 over the d2 head?
 
Winner winner, XR Pro with Rogue Silver dinner!

I really wanted to stay Callaway and I didn't hit the rogue silver the other day. Had my best numbers with it too. Average drives were we'll over 270 with a 287 with the longest. Dispersion was really really good. No duck hooks whatsoever either. Can't wait to get this beast out on the course. Happy 30th birthday to me :)

Big shout out too for Raleigh at the Golfsmith in Nashville. He was awesome and super patient the two days he worked with me.


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chumphries said:
Winner winner, XR Pro with Rogue Silver dinner!

I really wanted to stay Callaway and I didn't hit the rogue silver the other day. Had my best numbers with it too. Average drives were we'll over 270 with a 287 with the longest. Dispersion was really really good. No duck hooks whatsoever either. Can't wait to get this beast out on the course. Happy 30th birthday to me :)

Big shout out too for Raleigh at the Golfsmith in Nashville. He was awesome and super patient the two days he worked with me.


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Congrats! What shaft weight did you like? Now I want to try that combo. Glad you had good assistance. I usually get someone who flakes off if I don't buy one of the first two drivers.
 
A single digit's search for a driver

I got the 60. I think I would have liked the 70 even more (none in stock), but I think this will be just fine till I get to get my custom shaft from Project X in August.


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A pic of the winning XR Pro :)

 
That head is so damn gorgeous.

Between us, we're gonna have an XR Pro, a Vapor Pro, a Fly-Z, and a 915D2 all bought for the express purpose of this event. Lots of variety :D
 
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