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New Drivers are they really longer?

ohio_striker

ohio_striker

striped it
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Lately i have been getting sick of golf manufacturers with their new driver commercials. every year its the same thing, better aero and hotter face for faster ball speeds and more distance.

how can this be the case every year? I was interested so i looked at the driving distance from the PGA tour from 2015-2006 the numbers and they are not really are hitting it any farther.

you would think 10 years ago with all the technology in 10 years the best ball strikers in the world would be shorter and less players over 300 yards average but thats not the case.

below is the leader in average driving distance and number of players to average over 300 yds per drive

2015
317-25
314-25
306-12
315-21
318-21
315-12
312-13
315-13
315-18
319-20
2006

what do you think with the gains seemingly so little are new drivers worth it?
 
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I think there's a very meager correlation between what the pros play, and what advantages are provided to amateurs by new equipment.

There have been no less than four drivers over the last year that have improved something about my numbers... Either forgiveness, spin, launch, or ball speed. I think we are in one of the best times for drivers.
 
I think the technology is aimed at us mere mortals who miss the sweet spot more than we hit it. Marketing is marketing, but I think (my opinion here) that if you saw the same stat, during the same time period for a 5 handicap, a 10 handicap, a 15 handicap and a 20+ handicap player you would see a bigger change over the course of time.
 
Although what you state has some merit, I think you overlook the fact, for those who can afford it, it's just plain fun to play around with new toys. Every once in a while you find something that works better for you, IMHO!
 
TeedUpThoughts said:
I think the technology is aimed at us mere mortals who miss the sweet spot more than we hit it. Marketing is marketing, but I think (my opinion here) that if you saw the same stat, during the same time period for a 5 handicap, a 10 handicap, a 15 handicap and a 20+ handicap player you would see a bigger change over the course of time.
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yea i would be interested in that. i just wouldnt know how to get that info
 
When I go looking for a new driver I'm not necessarily looking for more yards. If I can maintain yardage (and maybe slightly increase it) while reducing my dispersion then that is progression in my mind and not a waste of money.

My current driver is both the longest and most forgiving I've ever played and it's a current release so I can't say that new drivers are a waste of money.
 
Haven't COR limits not changed in quite some time? To compare numbers of a bunch of people that primarily strike the center of the face, there really isn't much tech that is going to drastically help them. However, with them being able to generate the ball speeds drivers do now on miss-hits, that's where we're seeing the biggest improvement. Some of the drivers out now can be night and day vs some drivers I've played from just a couple of years ago. For me it's not about extra distance on good hits, it's about saved distance on poor hits. And IMO that's been upgraded quite a bit.
 
ohio_striker said:
yea i would be interested in that. i just wouldnt know how to get that info
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Me either, Google? There are some guys on this forum really connected to that type of data, hopefully one of them will chime in for you.
 
Technology hasn't made me hit the ball further but it has helped make off center hits less penalizing both in direction and distance. I like where we are with club technology and how better a person can play when fit properly.

I also pay no attention to how far a pro hits a newer version of driver compared to,me because they are two totally different swings.
 
On the nuts, for tour players, sure the numbers are similar. They don't miss.

For NORMAL golfers like us, IMO the statement couldn't be more off. Things that have been done to increase launch, manage spin, and more importantly retain ball speeds across the face which allows true distance retention on misses (I know on the internet many like to think they don't miss like the tour players, but they do, a lot) have been nothing short of MASSIVE in their strides/improvements for golfers.
 
Jman said:
(I know on the internet many like to think they don't miss like the tour players, but they do, a lot)
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haha oh man that's true. out of 10 strikes, there are days where I won't hit the dead center once.
 
Jman said:
On the nuts, for tour players, sure the numbers are similar. They don't miss.

For NORMAL golfers like us, IMO the statement couldn't be more off. Things that have been done to increase launch, manage spin, and more importantly retain ball speeds across the face which allows true distance retention on misses (I know on the internet many like to think they don't miss like the tour players, but they do, a lot) have been nothing short of MASSIVE in their strides/improvements for golfers.
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i used the Tour stats because they are easy to find. i would be interested if there is anything on mid and high handicap driver distance average over the last 10 years.
 
The great thing about this debate is whether you take 1 side or the other it doesn't really matter. We are not forced to buy new clubs. It's a choice. I love that freedom and all the options.
 
driver technology has absolutely gotten better over the last 10 years. It's a hard thing to compare what the avg golfer will see vs what the pro will see.

However if we are looking at tour stuff, check out the LPGA tour and what their numbers are doing. A very quick and non-scientific search finds this. In 2006 the lady who came in 10th in driving distance had a yardage of 266.5 yards. That number today, would rank her just inside the top 30, at 28. Now can all that be attributed to just the driver, no, but heck one can say that the equipment does have a big part to do with it.
 
The distance gains claimed by the manufactures are obviously part marketing and sometimes overdone. There was a huge spike in driving distances back in the few years after the Pro V1 was released and all the balls got longer and there have been very minimal distance increases since then. You have to remember that the pro's are hitting the sweetspot most of the time and all the drivers are long off the sweet spot. Davis Love III averaged 289.5(longer than the tour average now) yards his rookie year with a 43.5" persimmon driver with a steel shaft and a ball that flew much shorter. That same sweet DLIII driver swing with just a modern ball would have been a 310+ yard average. Add his current driver/shaft combo and I'm sure that he'd be Bubba long. BTW, he's 51 and certainly can't swing it as fast as he did 30 years ago but still is averaging 299 yards off the tee!

That being said, us mortals don't hit the sweet spot every time and a driver from today is longer off the misses than a driver from even 3-4 years ago. More importantly, fitting is more readily available and your average golfer can easily pick up 15+ yards by being fit with the proper loft, spin, and shaft. My 9 year old Ping G2 driver is only about 5-7 yards shorter than my current driver(s) off the sweet spot, but on a miss it's more like 12-15 yards longer. Significant enough to make it worth it for a new driver especially when many of last years models can be had for $150 used.
 
I'm not sure the technology in any single year will make a significant difference to one's game. However, over time, I think it can make such a difference. For example, I think there may be some benefit to a new driver versus a 5 year old driver. But the bottom line is I agree with Mizunofan, for some, new toys are just fun. If you're not using the rent money, then have a good time.
 
I am no touring pro. But I am an amateur that is always tinkering trying to get better. 20 years ago I couldn't hit a driver, no matter the make or model. But I could hit a 3W just as long which saved me. But it was frustrating to know that there was something in my swing that prohibited the drive of a ball to get no more than 10 feet off the ground with a sweeping hook.

Now with technology I can find drivers that have the weights exactly where they need to be, a lower center of gravity and a much more forgiving sweet spot. Saved my game and made me so much better in the last 10 years.
 
ddec said:
driver technology has absolutely gotten better over the last 10 years. It's a hard thing to compare what the avg golfer will see vs what the pro will see.

However if we are looking at tour stuff, check out the LPGA tour and what their numbers are doing. A very quick and non-scientific search finds this. In 2006 the lady who came in 10th in driving distance had a yardage of 266.5 yards. That number today, would rank her just inside the top 30, at 28. Now can all that be attributed to just the driver, no, but heck one can say that the equipment does have a big part to do with it.
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Winner winner, chicken dinner.
 
it seems from the feedback the forgiveness has changed a noticeable amount but not distance. i found this from a golf digest article on the LPGA tour that might be more the SS of an average male.


We can also look at the LPGA to see whether the distance trend is having an effect there. The LPGA numbers over the last decade appear to not move in any particular direction (up two yards one year, down four yards the next, etc.). But comparing the 2003 number with the current figure, driving distance on the LPGA has show improvement of a sort, increasing 2.9 yards. The current figure of 252.1 yards is an all-time high and shows a 4.5 yard increase over last year's year-end
 
ohio_striker said:
it seems from the feedback the forgiveness has changed a noticeable amount but not distance. i found this from a golf digest article on the LPGA tour that might be more the SS of an average male.


We can also look at the LPGA to see whether the distance trend is having an effect there. The LPGA numbers over the last decade appear to not move in any particular direction (up two yards one year, down four yards the next, etc.). But comparing the 2003 number with the current figure, driving distance on the LPGA has show improvement of a sort, increasing 2.9 yards. The current figure of 252.1 yards is an all-time high and shows a 4.5 yard increase over last year's year-end
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you are also quoting a story from 2012.
 
All depends what the change in technology is/was, and where your baseline was with the previous tech.

For me, I am looking at around ~ 118mph SS with a higher launch than I'd like, with higher spin than I'd like...my overly high launch doesn't really align with a lot of the mainstream market's needs, so for me I don't really see a dramatic improve year to year - but there are some drivers that would cater to that and would help, and there are a lot of shafts that could help too (although the Black Tie didn't do the trick...but for me it's more of a swing issue than I need to work out than a fitting issue). If I was a guy with a 95mph SS who struggled to launch the ball, I would assume that the year to year improvements would help me as the tech moves towards launching it higher for amateurs.

The claims made on the commercials for "15 more yards, blah blah blah" are always based on improvements seen in a certain set of launch conditions; if those don't align with you, you won't see the dramatic bump like others might see.
 
ddec said:
driver technology has absolutely gotten better over the last 10 years. It's a hard thing to compare what the avg golfer will see vs what the pro will see.

However if we are looking at tour stuff, check out the LPGA tour and what their numbers are doing. A very quick and non-scientific search finds this. In 2006 the lady who came in 10th in driving distance had a yardage of 266.5 yards. That number today, would rank her just inside the top 30, at 28. Now can all that be attributed to just the driver, no, but heck one can say that the equipment does have a big part to do with it.
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i dont know if i agree in 2006 she would have been 10th last year she would have been 6th. this year the numbers are very high i suspect because of the courses and conditions they have played so far. we will see over the rest of the year but i am guessing the averages will bring the distances back to the norm.
 
Forgiveness and the ability to adjust the newer drivers to maximize distances on miss hits is far greater today. Throw in the advances in graphite shafts and the golf balls and it's hard to say any one thing is or isn't responsible.

Some see larger gains than others vs the older drivers and I would say the differences have a lot to do with the quality of the swing, quality of the match between the driver and the player or the combination of the player, ball and shaft being used.

Forgiveness and spin control have certainly improved lately.
 
ohio_striker said:
it seems from the feedback the forgiveness has changed a noticeable amount but not distance. i found this from a golf digest article on the LPGA tour that might be more the SS of an average male.


We can also look at the LPGA to see whether the distance trend is having an effect there. The LPGA numbers over the last decade appear to not move in any particular direction (up two yards one year, down four yards the next, etc.). But comparing the 2003 number with the current figure, driving distance on the LPGA has show improvement of a sort, increasing 2.9 yards. The current figure of 252.1 yards is an all-time high and shows a 4.5 yard increase over last year's year-end
Click to expand...

But for the average, or even good (but not tour level) ball striker, isn't forgiveness and distance connected? The maximum COR has been fixed on drivers so hits right in the center are going to be close, but that doesn't mean more of the face can give you that smash factor.
 
I started with persimmon woods 50 years ago. I couldn't hit my driver well at all! I switched to medal heads in the 80s and STILL couldn't hit my driver well. In the 90's I found the perfect combination of driver head and shaft, and hit that driver the best I've ever hit the driver. I had the best distance and dispersion . Until I broke that shaft! I've never come close to that since. Now I'm just trying to get back close to distance and dispersion with my loss of swing speed and age. The new drivers and new balls are helping me tremendously.
 
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