Will you put the core high heel and hit some balls there? I know that's a difficult request for ya
Will you put the core high heel and hit some balls there? I know that's a difficult request for ya
I think it's important to share my swing profile as I offer some results information. For those who haven't met me, I have a fairly smooth transition and swing at around 109-113 MPH depending on the day and how my timing is overall. For years I have been plagued by high spin, and as a result I tend to lean towards the stiffest X flex shafts to offset some of the big spin I get, Consequently, it has also introduced a rather consistent contact area of the toe side of center, which seems to eliminate some of the extra spin I get on a lot of driver heads. To offer an idea of past drivers, I have been actually gaming one of either the 2014 Alpha, or the 2015 Alpha DBD for the past year or so -- They suit my eye well, and while I haven't spent a ton of time on the monitor, offer the numbers I am happy with.
When I began with the latest DBD iteration this evening, I could tell I was opening the book on some serious technological changes. Two core slots make it fairly obvious, but then again, so does a matte finish and a notably different ball flight and slightly altered sound (more on this in a few days I'm sure).
In fact, it took a minute to realize a couple of very important things;
1 - This isn't the same tech rebuilt
2 - I don't need absolute low-spin-settings to achieve best results
3 - Green Light
I started where my 2015 DBD sits. 8 degrees of loft, with the core dropped downward. The spin numbers were very welcoming in the 2,500-2,800 range, and even the flight was tame for what I am used to seeing. Despite the solid numbers, I really felt like I was "missing" when I was striking the ball, and confirmed contact outside of center and towards the toe. To accommodate the progression and see what the Callaway was capable of, I switched it up to 9* and saw slightly higher launch and spin, but again nothing that would be alarming or avoidable -- Still though, it didn't offer the kind of feedback I really wanted to get out of the head. That "solid" contact sensation.
When I decided to alter the Core into the upwards position, I felt like I had really found the right setting for my swing. With some extra weight closer to that point of contact, the resulting feedback was really, really positive. Even the balls that were not great in overall numbers seemed to present a positive experience in the hands and ears. It is definitely a setting I plan to stick around for a couple rounds to see if that feedback quality adds confidence to my tee game.
Additional settings as well as my gamer shaft were applied to see if I could get better numbers, but it was a struggle. In the central slot, I did not enjoy the resulting feedback much at all. With how I strike the driver head, it's simply a poor result with a notably harder left turn (considering the club says "draw" on it gave me a pretty good idea what was coming). Here's the chart in total, including the average (nothing was thrown away) as well as the best shot I had with each setting.
There's a lot to digest, and I plan to play golf a BUNCH this week with the DBD in play, so expect some updates as I go. Please also feel free to ask me questions along the way as it helps to get focused on various thoughts and ideas.
Awesome, thanks Canadan. So sets 1 and 5 were set up the same. Yes I do the same with the tons of driver testing I've done and continue to do. Go back and re-test and compare the same configurations numerous times to validate if there are indeed repeatable relationships.
