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Club Champion Strikes Again

Nippon Shafts
dduarte85

dduarte85

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A lot has changed over this past year... I dropped 80 lbs, my practice regime increased with joining a club, and a few tweaks in the swing has the game on the rise. Last year CC fit me into a Rogue 10.5 with Oban Isawa cut to 44.25 inches, the length has me finding on average 12-13 FW's a round. However, I am finding myself topping out right at 250 yards total carry.

I recently acquired a Cobra F9 with the idea of chasing the idea of squeezing a few more yards out.

Using their Trackman, I tested about every high end exotic shaft they had and the only combination that beat the shortened Rogue is the 400 dollar Fujikura Ventus shaft. Do those magicians have a magic button that turns on higher numbers with their most expensive offerings? I kid, however, the changes in the numbers were minimal and made me regret picking up the F9 before I tested anything. Luckily, it was all store credit and cost me nothing.

Numbers were:

93 SS
140 Ball Speed
Launch: 13.5
Spin: 2500
Total Carry: 254 yards

Rogue:

89 SS, 136 Ballspeed, 13.5 launch, 2600ish spin, 248 yards.

Would you drop 400 bucks for that extra distance? I am leaning yes, as those extra 7ish yards would get me into a better zone on my home course. I'd rather have an 8 iron in my hands.

DISTANCES ARE TOTAL YARDAGE, NOT CARRY...
 
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your smash is higher with the rogue. f9 is awesome, but i might try to squeeze a bit more out of the rogue. have you tested different balls? crazy the kinds of changes you can see from a different ball instead of a different shaft.


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If the dispersion is not as good, I would stick with the fairway finder and give up the few yards. Have you thought about adding 1/2" to the Oban in the Rogue? May give you extra distance to cut into that 7 yard gap.
 
McLovin said:
your smash is higher with the rogue. f9 is awesome, but i might try to squeeze a bit more out of the rogue. have you tested different balls? crazy the kinds of changes you can see from a different ball instead of a different shaft.


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Click to expand...

Sox_Fan said:
If the dispersion is not as good, I would stick with the fairway finder and give up the few yards. Have you thought about adding 1/2" to the Oban in the Rogue? May give you extra distance to cut into that 7 yard gap.
Click to expand...

The smash factors were all so close between 1.49 and 1.51.

The dispersion was also so similar.

I haven't tested balls, I switch between Chromesofts and ProV's

I actually have a club open in my bag... two driver time!
 
I wouldn't be dropping that kind of cash for 7 yards. So many variables and it wasn't be worth it to me.

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I wouldn't do it. 7 yards isn't even a full clubs difference. I would do as Capt. McLovin said and try some different balls first, you might be surprised how that can effect distance. I will take a bit short in fairway over distance every time.
 
What length was the ventus?
 
Snickerdog said:
I wouldn't do it. 7 yards isn't even a full clubs difference. I would do as Capt. McLovin said and try some different balls first, you might be surprised how that can effect distance. I will take a bit short in fairway over distance every time.
Click to expand...

You can try other balls. But I'm skeptical that you are going to find something here. The two balls you are using seem right for your SS and smash factor. Your spin rates are good too.
 
That's some impressive carry at those swing speeds .

And no I'd save my $400
 
mikedean441 said:
That's some impressive carry at those swing speeds .

And no I'd save my $400
Click to expand...

That’s what I’m saying. Something has to be different to get those carry numbers at that SS.


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Man, how the heck do you manage those carry numbers with that swing speed? I am in the same range and am like 50 yards of carry short of you!

Would I spend the cash for the extra carry? Sure. Why Not? If it were me, and I wasn't sold on the head, I wouldn't have gone ahead afterwards to find out if I could squeeze out the yardage. Would have cut my losses far sooner on the F9.
 
No, and as others have said - you are pretty much maxed out on carry.

I think your focus should be trying to improve club head speed at this point.

ETA - your numbers aren’t crazy/unreasonable. 1.5 smash with the F9, 1.52 with the Rogue - which is not unheard of with TrackMan. It does mean you are at the upper limits of what can be done with those club head speeds.
 
I've asked my buddy for the trackman pdf, I'll show the exact figures when I get those.
 
-CRW- said:
No, and as others have said - you are pretty much maxed out on carry.

I think your focus should be trying to improve club head speed at this point.

ETA - your numbers aren’t crazy/unreasonable. 1.5 smash with the F9, 1.52 with the Rogue - which is not unheard of with TrackMan. It does mean you are at the upper limits of what can be done with those club head speeds.
Click to expand...

That is essentially what he told me, need more speed... he suggested taking the money and buying a superspeed training system instead.
 
For a guaranteed 7 yards closer to the green after every tee shot with no loss of accuracy? I just about might possibly be able to talk myself into spending $400 on a driver (far beyond any price I've ever paid for a single club). Maybe. In expected scoring terms, that 7 yards is a mere fraction of a stroke per round.

For a one-off estimate of "7 yards longer" in a test where I hit a variety of drivers and picked the one which happened to do best on those few swings? I would not pay a cent. That is almost certainly an illusory gain.

If you hit a few balls each with enough different drivers, one of them is going to "best" another "worst" and the rest in between. The range between "best" and "worst" will be sizable for any amateur golfer.

Go flip a nickel 10 times and keep track of how many heads. Then do the same with a dime, a quarter, a fifty-cent piece, a silver dollar and a penny. I guarantee you one of those coins will produce more heads than the others. The only difference in the coin-flipping thought experiment and your driver fitting is that wishful thinking from the golfer and upselling from the fitter have no effect on the coins.
 
There are some great comments in this thread. As others have said, your swing seems to be very efficient. I am wondering if that launch monitor is registering low on swing speed, because the balls speeds of 138 to 140 really would suggest a swing speed of more in the 96 range, imo. $400 is not much to some and a lot to others. I probably would spend it if it really gave me an extra 6 yards carry.

As one other post wondered, I, too, would be curious as to the length of the shaft in the F9. If it is longer, than your Rogue’s shaft, then the drivers are essentially identical. I would guess, like others, that with your swing being as efficient as it is, the mechanics are very good and you could pretty easily find another 4 or 5 miles per hour club speed.

Good luck!
 
Personally I wouldn't. If you really like the look of your current gamer and want to change it up why not try and get an aftermarket shaft? Helped keep my X2 hot in the bag having 2-3 shaft options that are pretty different depending how I'm feeling
 
I'm kind of in the same boat, I spent the money on new wedges instead.
 
dduarte85 said:
A lot has changed over this past year... I dropped 80 lbs, my practice regime increased with joining a club, and a few tweaks in the swing has the game on the rise. Last year CC fit me into a Rogue 10.5 with Oban Isawa cut to 44.25 inches, the length has me finding on average 12-13 FW's a round. However, I am finding myself topping out right at 250 yards total carry.

I recently acquired a Cobra F9 with the idea of chasing the idea of squeezing a few more yards out.

Using their Trackman, I tested about every high end exotic shaft they had and the only combination that beat the shortened Rogue is the 400 dollar Fujikura Ventus shaft. Do those magicians have a magic button that turns on higher numbers with their most expensive offerings? I kid, however, the changes in the numbers were minimal and made me regret picking up the F9 before I tested anything. Luckily, it was all store credit and cost me nothing.

Numbers were:

93 SS
140 Ball Speed
Launch: 13.5
Spin: 2500
Total Carry: 254 yards

Rogue:

89 SS, 136 Ballspeed, 13.5 launch, 2600ish spin, 248 yards.

Would you drop 400 bucks for that extra distance? I am leaning yes, as those extra 7ish yards would get me into a better zone on my home course. I'd rather have an 8 iron in my hands.
Click to expand...

I am by no means an expert but those carry distances don't seem accurate at those swing and ball speeds. I routinely am in the 105mph range and high 150's for ball speed and those are "occasionally" my carry distances. Something seems off and No I wouldn't spend an additional $400 for 6 yards
 
Sox_Fan said:
If the dispersion is not as good, I would stick with the fairway finder and give up the few yards. Have you thought about adding 1/2" to the Oban in the Rogue? May give you extra distance to cut into that 7 yard gap.
Click to expand...

Very wise advice!!
 
jdtox said:
I am by no means an expert but those carry distances don't seem accurate at those swing and ball speeds. I routinely am in the 105mph range and high 150's for ball speed and those are "occasionally" my carry distances. Something seems off and No I wouldn't spend an additional $400 for 6 yards
Click to expand...

What's your launch and spin though? Cause if you're in the high 150's and you're not sniffing 248-255 in carry, something seems a bit off there as well.

I too, wouldn't spend 400 for 6 yards. 6mph of consistent ball speed, different story.
 
I wouldn’t drop that coin for several extra yards, especially when it’s costing me in dispersion.

If I was a PGA Pro or golf was my source of income? Yes. As a hobby, even a serious hobby? Absolutely not.


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jdtox said:
I am by no means an expert but those carry distances don't seem accurate at those swing and ball speeds. I routinely am in the 105mph range and high 150's for ball speed and those are "occasionally" my carry distances. Something seems off and No I wouldn't spend an additional $400 for 6 yards
Click to expand...

Agree - Trackman's own driver carry optimization chart shows 207-231 yards of carry at 95 MPH depending on launch/spin. The range is 237-263 at 105 MPH. If the monitor readings seem goofy I would be especially wary of paying for small gains.
 
MWard said:
What's your launch and spin though? Cause if you're in the high 150's and you're not sniffing 248-255 in carry, something seems a bit off there as well.

I too, wouldn't spend 400 for 6 yards. 6mph of consistent ball speed, different story.
Click to expand...

Oh no I see that carry which is why I thought his numbers seemed off. It's been awhile since I've been on a LM but launch is usually around 11 and spin usually always in the 24-600 range. 250-260 is about where I reside on solid strikes, I was referring to non perfect strikes.
 
Are these supposed distances (which do seem fishy compared to the supposed clubhead speed) estimates when hitting balls into a net? Or was this an outdoor Trackman session?

The whole thing seems like (to repeat myself) a combination of wishful thinking and salesmanship, yet in the end the supposed difference is minuscule.
 
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