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What do you look for in a Driver?

SuperStroke
Lateral forgiveness, sound, and spin...followed by aesthetics.

So there's a mix of numbers and subjective measurement in there.
 
To me it goes:

1) Looks - I like the classic shaped drivers 1st and foremost. I can't stand the semi-triangle shaped heads, I want to love what I'm looking at, not wishing it was back in the head cover as soon as I take it out.
2) Sound - I don't want to hit a driver that sounds like I'm hitting a ball with a wet/soaked board
3) Feel - I want to be able to feel the difference between a toe or heal shot
4) Distance - If it's as long as my last driver, I'm good. Like I said, feel is key, distance next
5) Forgiveness - This is more on me than the driver, but when I'm playing well, more forgiveness slight misses are a plus
 
Looks and forgiveness. That's about it.
 
1) Looks: How confident I feel standing over the ball, not the paint scheme. It may be the greatest driver ever built, but if I'm not confident standing over the ball, I am in trouble. The Cleveland Classic is a great example. I just don't feel good standing over that, even though on solid hits it really performs.

2) Sound and feel: I think they're tied together. I don't care how well something performs, if it sounds terrible then I'm not going to game it. Look no further than the Nike SUMO2 5900.

3) Ball flight: I used to think forgiveness on off center hits is 3rd, but now I'm looking for a certain ball flight. I've picked up about 30 yards in average driver length (real distance, GPS'd on the course) this season. Most of that was dialing in the right launch angle, spin and trajectory. My swing speed really has maybe gone up about 3-5 MPH.

4) Forgiveness on off center hits: My miss is more vertical near the center of the face with the bad miss being the low heel. I care about how a driver does when hit there.
 
For me its all about look, sound, and feel. Launch, spin, and sweet spot size are next up.
 
Forgiveness - toe misses are my nemesis
Performance - launch, spin, distance
Looks
Sound

In that order for me. Other than the range, I could really care less about sound. Same way with FWs & hybos. Which is weird, since I very much care in irons & putters.
 
Sound is key. If it doesn't sound good I can't game it. With sounds comes feel, imo they go hand in hand. if it sounds good then it usually feels good. I have to like the look at setup as well. Then once I get driver(s) that fit these it boils down to numbers. Are launch/spin/carry, etc acceptable to what I am looking for and good enough to replace current driver.
 
I like a small pear shaped profile, dark in color, a muted sound and accurate. I'll gladly give up some distance for accuracy.
 
Forgiveness and accuracy. Couldn't care less how far I hit it.
 
1. Length
2. Forgiveness
3. Cool Headcover
 
Performance is first - forgiveness mainly, then distance and launch. After I've got those figured, it's all about sound and feel - which is why I think Bertha is going to be in the bag for a WHILE. The only driver I've ever hit that even approaches Bertha in these categories is the Titleist 910D/913D, but the forgiveness doesn't compare, at least not with the shafts I've hit.
 
Jman said:
Well? What calls you?

Is it pure distance? Numbers alone? Aesthetics? Sound/Feel?
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Needs to sound good and meet my eye. If I got one that I hit 6 yards further but its horrible to look at I will pass on it for one that meets my eye better
 
Sound
forgiveness
distance
Then looks would be right up there with sound lol
 
All of the above! For me, feel is critical. I realize that might be more the shaft then the head, but I need to be able to feel where the head is at all times during the swing. Forgiveness is second.
 
For me it goes like this

1st - Appearance, I hate huge driver heads at address. Anything that can make it look smaller is a plus to me.
2nd - Sound, I have had a number of clubs that were sold off quick because the sound killed it on the course.

That is really it for me. I can pair a head I like with a shaft I love to make it work. But if the first 2 aren't there, it won't work for me.
 
Distance
How balanced and smooth it is
Do I hit it straight
How it looks at address
How it sounds

In that order.
 
Forgiveness, adjustability, performance, looks.

Given that the driver I've owned the longest was a Cobra LD Speed, sound isn't too much of an issue ;-)
 
For me it is 90% performance with the other 10% being looks. I could care less about sound as I just don't notice it that much, I only use sound so I know where to look when looking to track my ball.
 
Total performance. Distance + forgiveness + control = My happy driver.

Sure, looks would be nice, but looks don't put the ball in the fairway.
Sound....if it doesn't sound like hitting an empty Budweiser can, I am ok with it.

I used to play what was called by many, "the ugliest driver they had ever seen".
It was a Bang Mellow Yellow head on the end of a Harrison Striper lemon yellow shaft.
Yes, I heard a lot of guff about it.....till I hit the fairway 270 yards out, time after time.
I might still be playing it if the face hadn't cracked.

I don't care if it looks like a dirty old shoe tied to a hickory stick.

If I can bang it down the middle a long ways and have a bit of forgiveness off the toe and heel, then I will game it.
 
Performance first, then looks. I'm very conscious of spin numbers and have seen the negative effect of having too much spin. Watching a what looks like a great ball spin out and balloon is pretty deflating (HUGE pun intended). I like a smaller looking driver head with some flair to it. The Bio Cell + is perfect for me IMO. It's colorful, has just the right amount of spin and quite a bit of forgiveness.
 
It's a combination of so many things but if I had to quantify them ...

Looks - like traditional pear shaped heads, not bulbous or triangular looking ones and prefer the smaller 430cc or so size.
Feel - this is about the shaft, I have to feel some load and then kick for my swing tempo to work with it
Sound - definitely big for me, don't like anthing pingy sounding or super loud
Trajectory - I like a nice medium trajectory for a normal shot and the ability to hit it lower if I want/need to
Adjustability - pretty important so I can get the above trajectory and shot shape I want
Distance - gotta be able to bomb it

All the above are pretty much equal in importance, with looks probably a little lower because if I found a driver that was great in all the other departments I could get over the looks.

Forgiveness is probably the lowest factor for me because all drivers are forgiving these days (it's just a matter of degree) and I don't need a high forgiveness factor.
 
adamw238 said:
Performance first, then looks. I'm very conscious of spin numbers and have seen the negative effect of having too much spin. Watching a what looks like a great ball spin out and balloon is pretty deflating (HUGE pun intended). I like a smaller looking driver head with some flair to it. The Bio Cell + is perfect for me IMO. It's colorful, has just the right amount of spin and quite a bit of forgiveness.
Click to expand...

AND you destroy it. That helps too.
 
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