Driver with heavy head with light weight shaft and griip

[Aussie Dave]

I have always had trouble using a driver so much so that I went back to a Mini Driver but didn't hit it much better. I am a slow swing speed player around 80mph I suffer mostly from poor contact with the driver usually ending up with a high cut. I first went down the lighter is better track being a slow swing speed player but found that on good contact I gained distance but it made my poor contact problem worse so there wasn't to many good shots. I then went down the heavier is more accurate I seemed to get more consistent contact but lost a lot of distance I was actually hittng my 20* Heaven Wood further than the driver off the tee. I think I might have found a good combination now I am using a Big Bertha Fusion 10.5* head lofted up to 12.5* and weighted up to 205 grams ( I have pressed a 7 gram weight into the 12 gram weight that goes into the weight port), I am using the stock Recoil ES 440 43gram shaft at 44.5" with a light weight Golf Pride Tour 25 25 gram grip. The shaft, grip and tip only weigh 80 grams total and coupled with the 205 gram head the total static weight is only 285 grams but doesn't feel light when I swing it but also doesn't feel head heavy it has a swing weight of D5. So far I seem to be getting better contact and distance my slice has turned into a nice gentle fade the ball seems to be also launching higher. I am wondering if any one else has tried a heavy head light shaft combination and what they found.

 

[TBOZ18]

I believe that the contact you are now making is due to the shorter length because you have more control over the club.

 

[Aussie Dave]

I believe that the contact you are now making is due to the shorter length because you have more control over the club.

I have used a shorter shaft at 43.5" and was still getting inconsistent contact and poor distance, that was the first track I went down it was a 70 gram shaft with a 50 gram grip and the head at 205 grams I think the total static weight was about 340grams swing weight came out at C0. I even tried the 105 gram Nunchuck shaft in it at 43.5" swing weight came out at D5 static weight around 370 grams if I remember right, it was more consistent contact but I may as well teed off with my 9 wood I lost a lot of distance.


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[Aussie Dave]

Driver with heavy head with light weight shaft and griip

So I just done a little test I took the 19 gram weight out and put the 5 gram weight in and the inconsistent contact came back the static weight is down to 270 grams it feels very light and even lighter when I swing it I can't seem to feel where the head is. It took the swing weight down from D5 to C7. Looking back at the swing weights I seem to get better contact at D5 even when the static weight was about 90 grams heavier I still got better contact than a when I have a lower swing weight.


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[erock9174]

I've been all over the map with drivers, lengths, weights you name it.

Extreme short end:
Some 42.5" old Taylormade r7 with L flex that was tipped so much it felt firmer than an X flex. Waste of time and money. It was so light and firm I did nothing but hit slices.

Long End - K15 at 45.75". Felt so long like I was wrapping a telephone pole around my body. Just big sweeping hooks.

Most accurate driver ever (64% FIR) was a 44" 12* R11S with AXE 60 R flex I believe it came with a 10g and 1g weight and I swapped a 16g in place of the 10g. Overall weight of the head with Adapter was like 212g. Pretty heavy build. Distance was no slouch either.

Last year I was gaming a Ping G 10.5* at 44.5" and 43.5" depending on the shaft I used. I tried swapping out the 7g weight plug in favor of a 16g but it simply felt too heavy to me. Overall a decent driver though. FIR was around 54% and typical drives in the upper 220's low 230's.

This year I decided to start off the season with a 45" driver. Tried all makes and models (F7, M2, M1). Results were mixed.

I then decided after a Trackman session this year that I needed more loft. So I bought a few 13.5* drivers and settled on the GBB 2015/16 with T800 HZRDUS 5.5. I was choking down a good amount on these drivers and one day decided to mark the point on the grip I was gripping at. All were at 44.25". So that is what I've settled on.

I've done some testing on the course with these drivers before shortening and saw no lack of distance by choking down but my misses were less penal than at full length.

Oh and with the GBB at 44.25" I tried a 2nd sliding weight but didn't really seem to notice a difference in contact, distance or dispersion so I went back to a single sliding weight. I'm assuming my driver is probably in the C5/C6 range.

Best of all with the increased launch I'm now averaging 233 (241 typical) which is my longest ever and my most accurate at 59% since logging in Game Golf over the past 2 yrs.

JB was correct in that distance and accuracy do not have to be mutually exclusive.

 

[Aussie Dave]

I've been all over the map with drivers, lengths, weights you name it.

Extreme short end:
Some 42.5" old Taylormade r7 with L flex that was tipped so much it felt firmer than an X flex. Waste of time and money. It was so light and firm I did nothing but hit slices.

Long End - K15 at 45.75". Felt so long like I was wrapping a telephone pole around my body. Just big sweeping hooks.

Most accurate driver ever (64% FIR) was a 44" 12* R11S with AXE 60 R flex I believe it came with a 10g and 1g weight and I swapped a 16g in place of the 10g. Overall weight of the head with Adapter was like 212g. Pretty heavy build. Distance was no slouch either.

Last year I was gaming a Ping G 10.5* at 44.5" and 43.5" depending on the shaft I used. I tried swapping out the 7g weight plug in favor of a 16g but it simply felt too heavy to me. Overall a decent driver though. FIR was around 54% and typical drives in the upper 220's low 230's.

This year I decided to start off the season with a 45" driver. Tried all makes and models (F7, M2, M1). Results were mixed.

I then decided after a Trackman session this year that I needed more loft. So I bought a few 13.5* drivers and settled on the GBB 2015/16 with T800 HZRDUS 5.5. I was choking down a good amount on these drivers and one day decided to mark the point on the grip I was gripping at. All were at 44.25". So that is what I've settled on.

I've done some testing on the course with these drivers before shortening and saw no lack of distance by choking down but my misses were less penal than at full length.

Oh and with the GBB at 44.25" I tried a 2nd sliding weight but didn't really seem to notice a difference in contact, distance or dispersion so I went back to a single sliding weight. I'm assuming my driver is probably in the C5/C6 range.

Best of all with the increased launch I'm now averaging 233 (241 typical) which is my longest ever and my most accurate at 59% since logging in Game Golf over the past 2 yrs.

JB was correct in that distance and accuracy do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Yep you sound like me it's the only club in the bag I don't hit well tried lessons you name it I have tried it. It is the only thing stoping me from getting below bogey golf I am usually coming in to greens with long Irons or my Heaven and Divine Nine woods that's why I use them so I have got some chance of staying on the green if I find it. Puts a lot of pressure on my short game to chip and putt well.


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[erock9174]

Yep you sound like me it's the only club in the bag I don't hit well tried lessons you name it I have tried it. It is the only thing stopping me from getting below bogey golf

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I'm the opposite. The driver is one of my stronger parts of my game. According to Game Golf compared to other 10 handicappers I actually gain a stroke off the tee, gain 2 strokes on approaches, but lose a stroke to short game and 2 strokes to bad putting.
It also has the ability to compare it to 5 handicappers and I hold my own with them off the tee and approaches but need to make up 5 strokes between my short game and putting if I want to get to that level. Adding the Tank Chipper has helped me get my chips closer but I am still not converting as many 5-10' putts as I should. I just hate practicing putting so I don't do it.

As for why I switch drivers all the time.....part of my reasoning I guess is that older drivers are so cheap. You can usually experiment as a cost of $50-100 which Isn't too bad and can usually resell them for about the same if little loss if it doesn't work out. One season I got onto the Iron set ho-ing train and that nearly left me broke. Lesson learned there, lol

 

[ntanygd760]

Haven't tried it but I am a pretty big fan of the feel the new counter balanced driver shafts give, will be in my next driver when I have a bunch of hundreds to light on fire.