Newer Isn't Always Better
DG_1234
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Swing some smaller club heads and see if you have more center strikes than you do with over sized heads.
NEhomer
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My Driver is a Ping GMax 400 I bought three years ago. I then bought the matching three wood. I intended to snag the matching 5 wood at some point but I just KILL my Nike Covert 5 wood....it's cavity backed so it's in essence, a hybrid. I hit it so straight and hit so many scoring shots with it, I never bothered buying the Ping because I can't see me hitting it any better than I do the Nike.
Northerner
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There is a local golf store that tosses all manner of
That said, like I said, the Karsten Solheim quote really kind of tells the story.
By the way, are you driving it 759 yards yet? Because every year, for the last 20 years, these companies told us we were going to drive it another 10-20 yards with one of the 58 drivers that came out each year for the last 20 years.
Like I said, It works out for me, since I can now get $600 drivers for $50 in the clearance bin.
That said, like I said, the Karsten Solheim quote really kind of tells the story.
By the way, are you driving it 759 yards yet? Because every year, for the last 20 years, these companies told us we were going to drive it another 10-20 yards with one of the 58 drivers that came out each year for the last 20 years.
There is a local golf store that tosses all manner of
Like I said, It works out for me, since I can now get $600 drivers for $50 in the clearance bin.
That said, like I said, the Karsten Solheim quote really kind of tells the story.
By the way, are you driving it 759 yards yet? Because every year, for the last 20 years, these companies told us we were going to drive it another 10-20 yards with one of the 58 drivers that came out each year for the last 20 years.
the parallels to used goods are very real. you can pay a premium for a new car off the lot, and watch it depreciate immediately. or you can wait, let someone else take that hit, and get a great club that still performs brilliantly without sacrificing much (if any) tech at a deep discount. then there are people like i am who just buy the new stuff and take the hit.
no, i'm not driving it 759 yards. but my mishits are going a lot farther than they ever have. is that worth $550? to me, sometimes it is.
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- #31
Because every year, for the last 20 years, these companies told us we were going to drive it another 10-20 yards with one of the 58 drivers that came out each year for the last 20 years.
This just isn't true. None of it actually.
Were there years where it was said? Sure, but certainly not every year, and very little anymore.
Well I just hit a Mavrik 3 wood for the first time last night. My longest shot on the SkyTrak was 18 yards longer than my previous long with my 2004 Big Bertha 3 wood. It’s a different shaft profile as well, but the numbers don’t lie.
By the way, are you driving it 759 yards yet? Because every year, for the last 20 years, these companies told us we were going to drive it another 10-20 yards with one of the 58 drivers that came out each year for the last 20 years.
Huh?
I don't remember any company promise 10-20 new yards in the last 3-5 years. I have seen ALL of them promise more forgiveness and faster ball speeds across the impact area vs needing to be so precise which ***Should*** equate to more average yards, not total peak yards.Improvement in design and club design does not ONLY equate to more distance.
Northerner
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Maybe I lost track of it but the OEMs did claim quite often you would be driving it longer every year.
Anyways, It warms my heart when I see current pros with old equipment in their bags. Stricker with his 755s and White Hot and things of that nature. Tom Lehman's WITB was really strange and cool (though I think it's changed recently)
I actually don't even find current pros' WITB interesting anymore (unless they have a smorgasbord of different equipment, like maybe Kuchar or a couple other guys).
What does sadden me is to see smaller companies like Nickent or MacGregor go out of business. Even when Nike left the business, that saddened me for some reason.
Anyways, It warms my heart when I see current pros with old equipment in their bags. Stricker with his 755s and White Hot and things of that nature. Tom Lehman's WITB was really strange and cool (though I think it's changed recently)
I actually don't even find current pros' WITB interesting anymore (unless they have a smorgasbord of different equipment, like maybe Kuchar or a couple other guys).
What does sadden me is to see smaller companies like Nickent or MacGregor go out of business. Even when Nike left the business, that saddened me for some reason.
Bigads166
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Those of you talking about YouTube reviews and how they are not representative. Try the average golfer. He is a 10 or 12 handicap I think with 100-105 driver swing speed. His reviews are usually excellent and a lot more relatable as he isn’t a pro golfer.
Center strikes are influenced more by skill and fit than the head size. The shaft plays a large part in moving the strike location around.
DG_1234
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Have you swung smaller head size clubs and compared the strikes to larger size club heads ?
I have. I've shown the unique ability to hit the toe with 100% accuracy, regardless of the club size.
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I don't know why anyone wouldn't think pushing newer golf equipment isn't a racket..... because it is. Golf equipment is driven by marketing and golfers in search of "something better" Do any of us play to the potential of our existing clubs? Maybe 1%-2% on THP.
That said... we buy new "stuff" for a couple of simple reasons: We want it and can afford it. Are we going to see significant difference with equipment that is 1-2 years newer than what we're playing? Probably not, but I'm sure it's fun trying..... I don't think I'm making any revelations when I say that, generally speaking, drivers are where we see most performance gains when buying newer equipment... Irons? not so much.
That said... we buy new "stuff" for a couple of simple reasons: We want it and can afford it. Are we going to see significant difference with equipment that is 1-2 years newer than what we're playing? Probably not, but I'm sure it's fun trying..... I don't think I'm making any revelations when I say that, generally speaking, drivers are where we see most performance gains when buying newer equipment... Irons? not so much.
Buckeyegolfnut
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There was a statement I read about Karsten Solheim. It was something like: "I want to make a set of irons you can play for life", his grandson wants to make a set you can play for a year."
Plus If I want a $600 driver for $50, all I have to do is wait a year a two after it came out and I am good to go.
Personally I found the greatest irons ever made. And they were produced about 20 years ago. My MacGregor 1025C V-Foil forged. They are purely flawless in every way, for me at least. And pretty as heck to look at.
I used to play in a league with a guy who always moaned about selling his Ping Eye 2 irons. You can find them now, but this was before the internet and nobody was giving them up back then!
My feelings exactly. Considering what golf equipment costs these days adds up to a lot of golf played!
The first "better" set of clubs I bought after I moved on from my Sam Snead Blue Ridge intro set, were muscleback blades that had such tiny heads it was crazy. But, I sometimes wonder if those tiny heads didn't function to make me a better swinger of a golf club. I have posited this thought on other threads and other forums.
Consider, the feedback was instantaneous and accurate. And when you hit it on the button, holy cow! I got to be very good with those little blades.
True, that post was overstated, but, as you said, distance claims were made. What was done to the clubs in order to make those claims was what irks me. "Hit our new 5 iron vs your current one, and ours is longer!" Never mind that they made the club longer and strengthened the loft so that it was really a 4 iron! This is outright deception, as is a lot of marketing jargon, and not just for golf clubs.
Another that bugs me is "larger sweet spot", or whatever they may say about it. What that refers to is the Center of Gravity which is the size of a pin point. Always has been, always will be. You can't cheat physics. You can move it around within the clubhead, but you cannot enlarge it! What they usually are referring to, and I have seen some honest marketing talk about this is increased MOI or Moment of Inertia. This serves to resist twisting of the clubhead on off center hits, hopefully resulting in better accuracy.
This was the exact idea behind the early Ping irons. Move mass to the perimeter of the club.
cjroman
Club Hoing Ain't Easy
Seeing as how a seven iron will soon be the four iron of old, ( now it's a solid five) when do we as consumers push back? I like what what Ping is doing with the "retro lofts" in some GI and SGI offerings, but most OEMs only offer sane lofts/lengths in "better players" clubs.
There's more to it than just lofts. With some of the low cg placements, balls would sail into orbit if the loft wasn't strengthened.
DG_1234
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This is the claim of OEM employees. My only experience with strong lofts was playing for a year a set of Ping G700. Ping employees stated that the design of the club head required that the lofts be strengthened (so as to create an optimal trajectory). My experience was that Ping's strong lofted iron set produced shots no higher than weaker/traditional lofted Ping irons I had previously played. My guess is the stronger lofts are there to give the customer the satisfaction of hitting a 7-iron from yardages where he previously played 6-iron or 5-iron. I believe extra distance helps sell clubs.
cjroman
Club Hoing Ain't Easy
I get that...but how much lower can the CG go in irons vs the distance chase/marketing? Most of us don't need to hit a 200 yard 7 iron. Of course, that's if we're playing off the proper tees to begin with.
Quick google search shows the avg male HC as 16.1.
I don’t know anyone that’s better than that that doesn’t keep one. I know a lot more golfers that I know don’t have a HC. Most are horrible. I’d imagine that if everyone played to the ROG and kept a HC it would be closer to 25-30 on Avg. maybe slightly less as there is an upper limit. My cousin can’t break 140 to save his life so he’s a 36.x but in reality plays more like a 60-70.
Has fun though and keeps pace.
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- #46
It can actually go lower with the use of heavier materials such as tungsten. The movement of weight is one of the greatest finds in golf club design due to modern materials in terms of easier to launch golf clubs, spin altering and forgiveness.
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- #47
Yes. The standard set used to be 4-PW, but given the stronger lofts, I am sure that will change.
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- #48
I think that is the average HI for those that keep a HI. I believe the average score is still around 100.
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- #49
How in the world is that known minus those that keep a handicap since nobody is required to turn in scores?
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- #50
I don't know...just something I read in Golfweek:
"Improved club designs, larger and more accurate drivers and even the invention of new clubs, especially hybrids, seemingly have made the game easier to play. And yet, the average score for an amateur golfer still hovers around the 100-stroke mark from year to year." https://golftips.golfweek.usatoday.com/meaning-scratch-golfer-2467.html
According to The Grint:
