Adjustable drivers - do they work?

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Darlophil

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I have long been a skeptic of the adjustable drivers believing that they are a bit of a gimmick and that a manufacturer should just make a club that does what the majority of their core customers are looking for.

However I have a tricky decision to make as I have been made aware of an offer that is way too good to turn down.

The club in question is the Nike vrs str8 fit driver. Now maybe its because I've been hitting my g15 to the right of late but my head is turning towards the Nike with the adjustability feature.

So do the adjustable drivers really work are is it a marketing gimmick? Has anyone else here hit the vrs str8 and what did you think?

Cheers all.
 
All are adjustable aren't they? I can open/close the face to change alignment on impact etc etc :D

Seriously though I've tried a couple recently like the covert & x-hot etc and found that it was really difficult to break the habit of the adjustments I already did with current 'nonadjustable' driver. I guess I'd learn over time but I've hit so many balls tuning the grip/alignment one way that I think it would take a lot of range time just to tune in a new adjustable one that's not set to straight/neutral and I'm not sure I want to invest that time just because I spent a wad on a new adjustable club
 
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Some do some don't... The VRS STR8 fit is a DOG!! I purchased one a little while ago and because of the shaft(not relevant to this post as it was an aftermarket shaft) I could not launch it, I went to add some loft to help me but the Str8 fit system is not independent so wile I was adding loft it was also closing the club head, not only does that look so wrong to me it turns your driver into a hook machine!

I then got myself a Titleist 913 and that has a system I know very well. The weighting of the 913 D2 is draw bias and although fun and predictable (smash it down the right and it will turn to the center of the fairway) I wanted to do the work myself so opened the head and the flight straightened up.


PS Nike changed the Str8 Fit system for the latest Covert woods.
 
I've got the VRS Covert - had it about 5 months now and love it, I'd been struggling the last 3 weeks with the big stick so adjusted the loft for my round on Saturday and it cured my issues.

Even if you buy one and never change it from 10.5 degree neutral then what have you lost over buying a non adjustable one? (assuming the price difference is negligible)
 
The price is £60 plus another £40 if i want a custom shaft hence why it looks too good to turn down.

Edit - It is brand new (in wrapper)
 
Whether they work or not depends on what you think their job is?

For me, they are primarily for the benefit of manufacturers who have to make less heads and retailers\fitters who have to stock less clubs. In that sense, they work.

From a fitters perspective, it enables them to more easily adjust a club to reduce launch characteristics, for example, mine was adjusted to reduce the spin rate. Same head, same shaft, different setting, lower spin. From that perspective, they work.

From a marketing view, if your average hacker believes he can by a driver adjust it himself and hit better shots they'll buy them. From that petspective, they work.

From a players view, if you think it alone is going to correct the slice or hook created by a swing fault, then IMHO, they don't work
 
If you have a hook or slice, then NO, adjustable drivers will not be the miraculous fix you are looking for. Sorting what's woing in your swing, will cure that.

IF you are looking to manipulate the ball flight to give it more shape one way or the other, then adjusting the club face will help.

I have a bad slice, my Titleist 913 has a closed face at address and I still slice the ball, my bad swing see's to that.
 
Khamelion said:
If you have a hook or slice, then NO, adjustable drivers will not be the miraculous fix you are looking for. Sorting what's woing in your swing, will cure that.

IF you are looking to manipulate the ball flight to give it more shape one way or the other, then adjusting the club face will help.

I have a bad slice, my Titleist 913 has a closed face at address and I still slice the ball, my bad swing see's to that.
Click to expand...


Yep and actually in your case I would be tempted to put the face back square.
 
In my opinion, they work. Or they don't. Definitely one of those.

I hook the ball, and using a Titleist driver with a B1 setting (some fade), I hook it a bit less. I could go for a series of lessons and learn to fine tune a swing path that allows me to hit a soft fade, but who has the time. In the meantime, the Titleist adjustment works for me.
 
rickg said:
I should probably add that in his article, it is specifically loft adjustment he has an issue with.
Click to expand...

The question he does not answer (I don't think, I just read bits) is if the drivers launch lover when you take loft off. That's what matters, not if he can measure it with conventional tools.
 
rickg said:
No they dont work.......according to Tom Wishon.........here is a very interesting article from him.

http://wishongolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/adjustable-hosel-drivers.pdf
Click to expand...

Interesting article, but I think there may be a flaw in his argument - at least for me. I hover! And I suspect quite a few other folk do too.

So it's not necessary to have the head sitting on the 'predominately flat' portion of the sole - in fact, the sole shouldn't be sitting on the base of the Green Machine at all - except as an initial calibration. The main thing is to keep the angle of the shaft the same for each adjustment.

I'm not surprised at the major divergence in the numbers between what the manufacturers state/claim and the actual ones though. The 'good thing' about being adjustable is the ability to find a setting (or maybe 2) that works - for the particular player/circumstances. (Parkland/Links settings might be different) At that point believe it/they should be 'frozen' unless significant swing changes mean another calibration is required. Again, an advantage to be able to do it without changing shaft or needing to buy another head!
 
Not a huge fan as I tend to be too much of a tinkerer and so any bad shot can't possibly be my fault and the wrench would be out at the end of the round. Personally I am happy with my G25 and learning to hit it properly without tweaking. I got fitted and so am pretty confident that I have the best club for my swing
 
HomerJSimpson said:
Not a huge fan as I tend to be too much of a tinkerer and so any bad shot can't possibly be my fault and the wrench would be out at the end of the round. Personally I am happy with my G25 and learning to hit it properly without tweaking. I got fitted and so am pretty confident that I have the best club for my swing
Click to expand...


Na, your swing can't be that bad! :D
 
They work perfectly in terms of what they are specifically designed to do which is, separate gullible golfers from yet more cash to satisfy their misguided view that a new club will unlock the door to an extra 15 yards off the tee.

They are just a marketing gimmick. Driver technology has not changed much since trampoline faces were banned. A fact reinforced by the stats on tour that show driver distances have not markedly increased in this time.

It is not the arrows, it is the Indian. Try half a dozen 3 year old drivers and buy the one you hit the furthest and straightest. Much better and cheaper than being custom fitted for a new club that is no better but has the adjustability for the hopeful golfer.
 
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