New Drivers are they really longer?

As far as the driver i played quite a few in the last five years hibore xl VR Pro, covert, , and now the FG tour. just this past weekend hit the new Nike, taylormade and xr pro about the same distance carry numbers are similar for me 250-265 on good strikes. i usually buy these clubs second hand from 60-80$ so i can change for minimal cost.

i like milled blade type putters so i dont think there is much change in that design. maybe in the more hi MOI putters.

i am not discounting the change i know clubs are getting better but weighting the cost and gains before i purchase. i am not going to purchase a driver for $400 at a 10 yard increase in distance some might.

A couple things:

1 - The beauty of pre-owned keeps you enjoying great technology only a year behind those who pay said 400 (plus if you sell your current driver you're not paying 400 anyways)
2 - Is this about maxing distance only? What about hitting it 20-30 yards further when you mis-hit?

I agree with Canadan here. I think if you are testing drivers and comparing good strikes with one vs. good strikes with another, you might not find large differences. A subtler and more difficult metric would be evaluating the quality of a population of strikes. If newer tech was more forgiving, you'd see the benefits in the population of strikes.

With driver, we're often fixated with the best balls we hit but, in the real world, is it our best strikes/balls that drive our score or is it our consistency?
 
yea the title might not have been the best choice of words. i was more focusing on the driver because i would think in our distance focused world in the last 10 years the leader on tour would have gained some distance? if they were averaging 319 in 2006 shouldnt they be at 330 in 10 years ?

No because they hit the center of the face. COR is maxed out, these new clubs really help us on off center contact which the pros rarely make.
 
after reading the responses it seems like drivers today are more forgiving on mishits i totally agree... but on good strikes are minimally longer then previous models due to COR being maxed out ?
 
I switched to a new driver last year. I had previously played the same driver for 4 years straight. I took both my drivers on the course later in the day and hit balls off the same tee comparing the distances of my best shots. I used a gps to mark as well and there was never a greater difference of 6 yards on my best shots. Most were around 2-4 yards. So, I would say I didn't really see any distance gains with the new driver, but I did see noticeable distance gains on my mishits. It wasn't even close. My miss with the driver is off the heel and my misses were not only going farther, but they were hugging the right side of the fairway instead of 5-10 yards into the rough. I was specifically looking for more forgiveness when I bought a new driver last year and that's exactly what I got. I probably only gained on average a couple yards more distance on my best shots, but miss hits were drastically better.
 
In 2012, when I decided to get serious about golf, I replaced my 8 year old driver with a RBZ and it changed my game. Even from 2012 until now, I've seen a big difference in forgiveness. But that's the great thing about buying new and shiny. If you don't want to buy it, you don't have to.
 
after reading the responses it seems like drivers today are more forgiving on mishits i totally agree... but on good strikes are minimally longer then previous models due to COR being maxed out ?

This is how I see it. The title of this thread is really misleading
 
New Drivers are a waste of money..`

New Drivers are a waste of money..`

This is how I see it. The title of this thread is really misleading

I would also add that due to what has been stated, and how readily available good fittings are, the low spin and forgiveness angle the distance that can be found is borderline miraculous.

For those that listened to THP Radio and heard what a ball fitting can do, the driver is similar is not more.

But at the same time 95% of golfers still are not getting fit and at last survey 85% of THPers weren't. So it really is hard to blame the equipment when people are not willing to maximize it. Low spin, high launch and forgiveness was a pipe dream just a few years ago and now it can lead to huge gains.

Hope that makes sense.
 
i do feel that some clubs the changes are significant enough to warrant change.

the iron tech has changed alot in the last 3 years as far as forgiveness and distance. that is why i changed from a forged cavity back irons i had for 5+ years i was playing before.

As far as the driver i played quite a few in the last five years hibore xl VR Pro, covert, , and now the FG tour. just this past weekend hit the new Nike, taylormade and xr pro about the same distance carry numbers are similar for me 250-265 on good strikes. i usually buy these clubs second hand from 60-80$ so i can change for minimal cost.

i like milled blade type putters so i dont think there is much change in that design. maybe in the more hi MOI putters.

i am not discounting the change i know clubs are getting better but weighting the cost and gains before i purchase. i am not going to purchase a driver for $400 at a 10 yard increase in distance some might.
Could it be that you just aren't seeing gains but others are? Maybe your swing not allow for maximum distance provided by modern tech.
 
after reading the responses it seems like drivers today are more forgiving on mishits i totally agree... but on good strikes are minimally longer then previous models due to COR being maxed out ?
I would say that you can still find distance gains with the right driver head. The quality of manufacturing by companies has improved drastically I think. Look at the ability for companies to control the placement of cg in drivers now. I don't just mean in adjustable drivers either. Going to a driver with more forward cg could drastically improve your distance or doing to a driver head with more cg nearer the back could drastically improve your distance as well. Depending on if you have a positive or negative angle attack, how much you spin the ball, etc., factors like this with the right driver head could produce larger distance gains. If you have been properly fitted for a driver in the last couple years you probably won't be able to see drastic distance increases with the newest driver.
 
I would also add that due to what has been stated, and how readily available good fittings are, the low spin and forgiveness angle the distance that can be found is borderline miraculous.

For those that listened to THP Radio and heard what a ball fitting can do, the driver is similar is not more.

But at the same time 95% of golfers still are not getting fit and at last survey 85% of THPers weren't. So it really is hard to blame the equipment when people are not willing to maximize it. Low spin, high launch and forgiveness was a pipe dream just a few years ago and now it can lead to huge gains.

Hope that makes sense.

I couldn't agree more. I know just from the 2014 Big Bertha to 2016 GBB I am hitting it considerably further, and both of these were fit to me by the best in the biz. The forgiveness on off-center strikes these days is borderline crazy
 
I would also add that due to what has been stated, and how readily available good fittings are, the low spin and forgiveness angle the distance that can be found is borderline miraculous.

For those that listened to THP Radio and heard what a ball fitting can do, the driver is similar is not more.

But at the same time 95% of golfers still are not getting fit and at last survey 85% of THPers weren't. So it really is hard to blame the equipment when people are not willing to maximize it. Low spin, high launch and forgiveness was a pipe dream just a few years ago and now it can lead to huge gains.

Hope that makes sense.

why do you think this is ? added cost? laziness? i know i should get fit but i haven't and i dont really know why.



This is how I see it. The title of this thread is really misleading

yea i see it i will change to something more appropriate.
 
I couldn't agree more. I know just from the 2014 Big Bertha to 2016 GBB I am hitting it considerably further, and both of these were fit to me by the best in the biz. The forgiveness on off-center strikes these days is borderline crazy

That's the beauty of it. But at the same time people say "I play stiff" with no standardization and grab the same loft they have always played.

What happens? No gains seen. THP Radio next week with a metal woods designer and we talk a lot about this very thing.
 
Could it be that you just aren't seeing gains but others are? Maybe your swing not allow for maximum distance provided by modern tech.

I think you are on to something Freddie. I think swing flaws are to blame for a lot of "power loss" or not seeing any improvements. If taught the right way, there is so much more power that can be produced in the swing from the shoulders, core, hips and on down to the legs.

New technology + new swing habbits = straighter and longer!
 
after reading the responses it seems like drivers today are more forgiving on mishits i totally agree... but on good strikes are minimally longer then previous models due to COR being maxed out ?


It's my impression that the club manufacturers have gone from making a club that is long to making a club that can be more easily fit to your swing and maximizes your distance. That has a number of components to it:

1) more forgiveness so bad hits aren't penal
2) adjustability in the club - weights, loft, draw/fade offsets... that allow you to easily tune a driver to your swing
3) more shaft options (it seems like that to me) which allow you to better match a club to your swing tempo

From my perspective, once COR was fixed, the competitive marketplace has really pushed club manufacturers to make clubs that make it easier for the amateur golfer to realize their potential off the tee with their driver. But all of those options and complexity makes it difficult for the amateur golfer to find the combination that is the best for them. Between different clubs, all their settings and all the shaft options one really needs professional guidance to both scan the alternatives and narrow them to one club.

So, while the clubs may have minimal gains year-over-year, there may be large gains for an individual golfer by moving from an older club that fits them less than 100% to a newer club that fits them closer to 100%. Part of that may be higher upside on best strike and part of that may be less penal outcome with poorer strikes. YMMV.
 
Has golf technology really helped? Yes, and no.

If you're not hitting the sweet spot consistently, yes.

If you are, not as much as you think.

I have a 2012 Callaway Razr Fit for a range beater. I have a 2014 Callaway Big Bertha for the course. Do I need a new driver? No. I've brought my current driver into the shop and hit the new drivers. All I've proven was that I can do off-center hits just as easily with the new drivers as I can with my current drivers.

I'm also thinking I might want to play a controlled push.
 
If they are hit dead center then maybe/maybe not but if hit anywhere off center then yes yes yes yes they are!!
 
If all the marketing from the last ten years was true, I'd be hitting my driver 750 yards..........

I'm not buying the hype.
 
If all the marketing from the last ten years was true, I'd be hitting my driver 750 yards..........

I'm not buying the hype.
Time to drop that 915 for an old steel shafted Titleist driver then.
 
If all the marketing from the last ten years was true, I'd be hitting my driver 750 yards..........

I'm not buying the hype.


I have seen this posted a couple times and it simply isn't true. Not one company has ever made those claims. Ever.

The fine print is very interesting to read and I encourage most that have this mentality to read it. Yardage claims can only be made AFTER you have something to compare to. One can't simply just say, "I hit 20 yards further." Further than what? 20 yards past a competitor? 20 yards past average? What?

One can say, "I hit driver A 20 yards further than driver B." Now we have something to actually compare here. Again, the fine print is amazing to read at times. Some of the clubs they compare against can be laughable IMO. That is marketing though.
 
I have seen this posted a couple times and it simply isn't true. Not one company has ever made those claims. Ever.

The fine print is very interesting to read and I encourage most that have this mentality to read it. Yardage claims can only be made AFTER you have something to compare to. One can't simply just say, "I hit 20 yards further." Further than what? 20 yards past a competitor? 20 yards past average? What?

One can say, "I hit driver A 20 yards further than driver B." Now we have something to actually compare here. Again, the fine print is amazing to read at times. Some of the clubs they compare against can be laughable IMO. That is marketing though.
To me, it reads a lot like the jacked up loft argument to me. Just a throw away idea to not understand or take full advantage of modern technology
 
To me, it reads a lot like the jacked up loft argument to me. Just a throw away idea to not understand or take full advantage of modern technology
But as Jman pointed out, modern tech is being utilized. Weird...
 
If all the marketing from the last ten years was true, I'd be hitting my driver 750 yards..........

I'm not buying the hype.

You don't hit it 750? I have to choke down a lot when playing anything less than a 600 yard par 5...

I think forgiveness is the biggest gain overall.
 
But as Jman pointed out, modern tech is being utilized. Weird...
Fwiw, it takes a special argument to say the tech in the 915D is modern.
 
Fwiw, it takes a special argument to say the tech in the 915D is modern.
I disagree with that. The slot technology they purchased from another company for instance, is modern technology. I could go on.
 
I disagree with that. The slot technology they purchased from another company for instance, is modern technology. I could go on.

Slot Technology? Don't you mean: Active Recoil Channel

The wide sole channel delivers more distance by actively flexing at impact to launch the ball off the face with higher speed and lower spin. Goes the ad...Or is it a Speed Pocket? "its new and improved Speed Pocket increases the size of the sweet spot and reduces spin."
 
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