Adjustable drivers- do they do what they say they do?

[Mr_T]

About a month ago now I was at a prelaunch demo thingy for the callaway razr fit and when they gave a presentation they said you can "hit it straight and long without changing your swing"... So my question is, is this true? If you suffer from a bad slice will putting an adjustable driver on it's maximum draw setting solve this? Or is it a case of it doesn't matter how good the club is if you hit a bad shot it's still a bad shot?

 

[brendy]

Before today, I would have said no. Then I saw Phil hitting fades and with a heavy bout of adjustments to the club was hitting draws with ease. You need to ask yourself whether you need to change though, I would say Phil found a few extra yards with this. If he sees this he will correct me if I am wrong though.

 

[Imurg]

The adjustability enables you to get a stock shot with a stock swing.
As Brendy says, if you slice, with adjustments that slice can be turned into a draw - or hook to fade...
Put a rotton swing on and the results will still be rotton but more often than not you'll see a result.
Another plus point is that as your swing changes you are able to make adjustments to keep your stock shot.
It could be said that learning to hit the shots rather than relying on technology is better and to a point I'd agree with this. But learning swing changes takes time and commitment and in the end may not actually work.
Adjustability makes it easier to fix things.

 

[Mr_T]

Cheers guys, that's basically what I was looking for, see when I'm able to play again (only a few more days now, can't wait!) I'm going to have a lesson but I suffer from a bad slice and when I try to correct it I only turn it into a snap hook! I'm going to persevere for a while with my current driver but if I'm not seeing much of an improvement I may look into an adjustable driver, and you quite rightly point out that once my swing improves I would be able to adjust the settings again, brendy what was the RBZ like in terms of forgiveness as it suits my price range more than say an R11

 

[brendy]

Dunno matey, the shafts available for it didn't suit me, I was hitting long draws that were borderline hooks, they still travelled though for practice balls. Phil and Sam could maybe answer it better. The R11s wood was pretty good though I didn't miss the meat too many times to see with that one.

 

[Mr_T]

Fair enough thanks brendy, I assumed they would have the same stock shafts, was the adjustability basic or were there lots of different settings for the RBZ?

 

[Monty_Brown]

Before today, I would have said no. Then I saw Phil hitting fades and with a heavy bout of adjustments to the club was hitting draws with ease. You need to ask yourself whether you need to change though, I would say Phil found a few extra yards with this. If he sees this he will correct me if I am wrong though.

Not trying to re-ignite the debate on swingpath versus clubface angle but to go from a fade to a draw, surely you'd have to alter your swingpath. Which a club can't do alone.

A fader with an out-in swingpath, given a club with an adjustable face set to draw setting would surely hit pulls and hooks?

If Phil went from fades to draws, I'd have guessed he must have been hitting push-fades in the first place, ie in-out swing path?

Really interesting to hear how the club alone managed to get him from a fade to a draw (i'm not being sarcastic, just genuinely interested) Could it be to do with flex/torque as well?

The level of adjustability on modern drivers is interesting and impressive, but do many of us know how to get the best out of the settings?

 

[Oddsocks]

About a month ago now I was at a prelaunch demo thingy for the callaway razr fit and when they gave a presentation they said you can "hit it straight and long without changing your swing"... So my question is, is this true? If you suffer from a bad slice will putting an adjustable driver on it's maximum draw setting solve this? Or is it a case of it doesn't matter how good the club is if you hit a bad shot it's still a bad shot?

ok lets attack it from another angle... if your bad shot with your driver is a slice, it can only be one of two options

1) swing fault/grip fault - IE technique fault
2) incorrect driver for you as in shaft.

now the question is do you fade with the other clubs in your bag. if so then "personally" id opt for spending the money on lessons and getting that swing fault fixed.

£300 on a adjustable driver only sorts out the driving, theres 12 other clubs in the bag that will have the same fault , a course of lessons could fix it.

 

[One Planer]

I'm with Oddsocks.

Unless your driver need replacing, why splash out when the money, arguably, could be better spent on lessons that will benefit your whole game rather than just driving.

 

[DaveM]

I have a R9 driver and a 5 wood. With both set for a straight shot. The driver goes straight. But the 5 wood has a slight fade. Now the 5 wood has the TP version of the driver shaft so is a tad stiffer. Hence where the fade comes from. I have set the face half a degree closed and now hit it straight(All this is only when I hit it right). So yes it does work. Have tried the driver with differant setting and this will change the flight path from a fade to a draw. But I dont think it is the answer to a doggy swing.

 

[chrisd]

ok lets attack it from another angle... if your bad shot with your driver is a slice, it can only be one of two options

1) swing fault/grip fault - IE technique fault
2) incorrect driver for you as in shaft.

now the question is do you fade with the other clubs in your bag. if so then "personally" id opt for spending the money on lessons and getting that swing fault fixed.

£300 on a adjustable driver only sorts out the driving, theres 12 other clubs in the bag that will have the same fault , a course of lessons could fix it.

To a large extent I agree with OS, but, if the swing fault is not a huge one then an adjustable drive can be just the thing you need. In my case I have a slight tendency to come over the top and don't generally find it affecting irons too much, but with my Titlteist D2 driver set for a low draw I invariably get a straighter shot, not a draw, but not a slice.

Its certainly worth a try!




Chris

 

[USER1999]

An adjustable driver isn't going to make you drive like a tour pro, but it can help a bit. It won't be a miracle worker.

I have mine set on neutral, 9.5 degrees. I like the option of changing the loft, but am less keen on changing the lie angle. I am more interested in the option of swapping out the shaft easily.

 

[JustOne]

Not trying to re-ignite the debate on swingpath versus clubface angle but to go from a fade to a draw, surely you'd have to alter your swingpath. Which a club can't do alone.

A fader with an out-in swingpath, given a club with an adjustable face set to draw setting would surely hit pulls and hooks?

If Phil went from fades to draws, I'd have guessed he must have been hitting push-fades in the first place, ie in-out swing path?

Sounds the most viable answer.

 

[Mr_T]

With my irons it's not really a problem I shank it sometimes but I know why that is happening and is a swing fault that I can easily fix, I suffer from a slight slice/fade with my hybrid, the big problem is the driver, I can kind of correct it but it doesn't feel natural and can sometimes make me prone to a snap hook, I've got a leson booked Friday and I'm going to persevere for a while a new driver would definitely be a last resort

 

[harvey4banger]

Mine works for me

 

[Mr_T]

I have a feeling that whilst my swing isn't flawless I think it is exaggerated by the driver due to the shaft length, I'm not that tall yet so I think that might be a bit of a problem, I used to have a rubbish Dunlop driver which had horrible feel and was really cheap but the shaft was a bit shorter which made it a bit easier to control at times

 

[fat-tiger]

my next buy could be an adjustable driver

 

[Monty_Brown]

Sounds the most viable answer.

you taught me well, Obi One :thup:

 

[HickoryShaft]

OK , prior to yesterday I was already using the R9 driver where you can adjust the face (close / open it) but this also affected the loft of the club. You can also switch shafts and I have tried but settled on a fairly closed face with the regular shaft.

First try with the RBZ driver which has the same type of adjustment but by 1.5 degrees either way instead of 1.0 degress for the R9. Initially it was set to fully neutral and I was properly slicing the drives. With some tweaking by closing the face a touch this was minimised. However the comments made by the guy who was doing the fitting suggested a slightly stiffer shaft would help and that that closing the face alone was not ideal for my swing as it was compromising on carry.

He moved me onto the R11S drivers which is more versatile in terms of adjustment and they had a range of different shafts to use. A combination of droping the face angle from 10.5 degrees to 10.0, closing the face one click using the sole plate and the slightly heavier and stiffer Aldida RIP shaft had the desired effect and I was getting a much better flight and carry.

I have to say that the fitting was almost a lesson also and I learnt a great deal about my swing and correct angles of attack, ball position at the same time and this undoubtedly helps the flight path also. Lets hope I can repeat it in my next game

So yes I do think that there is real merit in this technology but a fitting is very useful to get the best set up for each person.

To cover the other aspect of this thread - I really do not have too much of a problem with my other clubs - R9 3 wood is set one click closed, hybrid is neutral and other than having to have extended shafts in my irons they generally fly straight or with a very slight draw so its in the driver that my game can do with the additional help - longest club, strightest face so exaggerates any swing issues I guess. However I am very keen to work on this and the great thing is that I can adjust it back toward neutral or even open when (if ) I make any progress.

The RBZ is a good driver and impressed me but the 3 wood is where it really stands out due to the design on the face and extra power you can generate.

 

[MadAdey]

I remember watching something years ago showing a tour pro getting fitted on a new driver. They sat there putting lead tape on different parts of the clubhead until they got it spot on for him to maximize his carry and distance and consistency. They then made the head to his spec. We now have that type of fitting thanks to adjustable headed drivers. I think it does make a lot of difference to a lot of people with this now. Myself I have an R9 set to 1 click open with the weight in the back. It does make a difference if I change just the weight setting.