Changing your trusty big dog.....

Oddsocks

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So the time has come where I'm playing with drivers again... Yes I know I shouldn't but it's kinda a roll on from a previous ownership and I'm after a bit of feedback.

When the r11 (original 440cc) item come out I swapped from the 09 burner to the r11 and while the results were long.... By heck was I wild. Good balls were miles long, but bad balls could miss by counties and postcodes. With this in mind in a short owner period I ditched the r11 and bounced back to old faithful which was early summer 2011. 6 months on and a better driving season I was luck enough to win a customer fit with AG and the amp went into the bag, I should add at this point a change in swing made the amp a great bat and my driving improved loads, but again I had that jiggly feeling that now my swing was fixed " what would it have been like with the r11?"

Now a few know I don't love the amp cosmetically but after an upgrade Motore f1 it's been a great big dog. .... BUT.... towards the end of last year again with tweeting the swing I have really wanted to try an r11 to compare consistency against my wild and short lived ownership.

Well Sunday was that day and fresh off the back of a good driver day the week previous I had both drivers in my bag. Straight away the r11 was firing on all cylinders, lower flight which is really going to suit my course, pretty straight apart from an odd soft fade hear and there, but by the end of the round I was pretty much putting the ball exactly where I wanted it. Now here is the million dollar question.

" how much of an improvement do you look for before making the change?"

Flight was down :thup:
rollout was up, :thup:
dispersion was about the same along with consistency :thup:
And distance was around 10-15 yards longer than the amp :cheers:
But.... Forgiveness was definitely down by around 20%......

Now don't get me wrong the lower flight is going to be a major bonus coupled with the length, but we know it isn't about these numbers alone.... Especially on a day where your chopping it round.

So again... What do people look for in order to warrant the change.

I'm interested,:rolleyes:
 
had loads and only 2 have really worked for me, not because any of the others were bad but my swing was (still is). Ping G10 12 degree regular and current R1 @ 12deg and stiff. I am taking lessons though so may well have the same conundrum at some point but due to the r1's customisation it can be tweaked accordingly or left the same if no need.

For me it has to be forgiveness over length unless its not totally uncontrollable but way longer
 
I look for consistency, Baz.

Which is why the Titleist 910 is out of the bag and the Ping G10 is in until I can get the swing more repeatable. The latter is a great driver, just not in my hands at the moment.

I've sacrificied a little distance for a lot more control. I'd much rather hit a 5 iron into the green from the fairway than hit a PW out of the trees.

So in answer to your question, I would say I'd be looking for increased distance with little difference in dispersion, which as I've typed it seems rather stupid to suggest anything else!
 
It's interesting as we know that every oem pushes length over width so to speak.

My question rolls onto would consistency worry you?

For example you hit ten drives with both bats:

Old Driver 1:
8/10 go where interned
Dispersion 20 yards, (from the 8/10)
Length Avg 250 (from the 8/10)
One bad draw 30yards left, same distance,
One bad fade 30 yard right 10 yards shorter.

New Driver 2:
7/10 go where interned
Dispersion 20 yards, (from the 7/10)
Length Avg 270 (from the 7/10)
One bad draw 50yards left, same distance,
One bad fade 50 yardsright 10 yards shorter.
One lost.

Which would you choose?

Surely as a player you would capitalise more from the extra 20 yards.... Ie approaching a green with a 7/8i 150 yards over a 5/6i 170 yards. If you added this up over the course of a round, surely the one lost ball and dropped shots would be outweighed by the greens you should hit from a closer distance?.... Agreed?
 
I took a risk when the R1's were on sale on a xmas special for £100. The stock shaft wasn't quite right for me and a change to a Miyazaki JDL, (£30 off ebay), made a huge difference at minimum cost.

Now my driving is more consistent, I can vary the flight and the trajectory is exactly what I wanted. There was nothing wrong with my RBZ and HD6 TP shaft combo, however the R1 is more consistent across the board and is a few yds longer so it turned out to be a win, win situation.

I've still got a 10 degree FTiZ in the attic but I doubt it will see the light of day again and will likely go up north in my holiday set for when I visit my family.
 
Currently doing this , I don't know why , cos I'm bored I think , and I've been sucked into wanting an extra 10yards !!! Driving the golf ball is my favourites part of the game yet I'm off to the belfry on Thursday next week to get custom fitted , if it doesn't work I will be fuming hahaha
 
Currently doing this , I don't know why , cos I'm bored I think , and I've been sucked into wanting an extra 10yards !!! Driving the golf ball is my favourites part of the game yet I'm off to the belfry on Thursday next week to get custom fitted , if it doesn't work I will be fuming hahaha

I should probably stick with my R9 as we are now getting on nicely, however with a whole batch of new Drivers coming and a birthday coming up my will power is waivering. Good luck with the fitting.
 
I suspect that has been true in my case, that's the power of advertising I suppose (and no will power)

At least your honest westy,

I wanted a little more length and if possible a lower flight, the r11 delivered this but it's going to come at the cost of forgiveness slightly,... But I knew what I wanted. It seems from some answers people just shop because it's shiney or new.... If you don't know what your trying to improve, how do you know or gauge if it's an improvement?
 
To answer your question from bat 1 vs bat 2, you forgot to say that the two that were 50 yards left and right meant that you were up against a tree both times. At least you would be at Westerham! So no shot into the green.

For me, it's about consistency. As my GIR stats have always been less than they should be, it doesn't matter whether it's a 5 or 7 iron, but that's my game, not yours.

why not try the Cobra in 8 degrees?
 
Valid point bratty, ok the 50 yards was a major exaggeration, if I'm honest my hit rate on fairways last weekend was 12/15, one missed first cut, one missed 10 yards left of where I was aiming which was right hand side of fairway, one was a carcrash hook that I got away with just into the edge of the rough.. So in the grand scheme of things not too shabby,
 
Oddsocks

I wanted the adaptability to tune the driver in as the RBZ was limited and I also wanted to bring the spin down. The only thing that put me off the R1 was the price. When it was on offer at £100 it was a no brainer.

I could have gone to the range, got fitted and paid 2-3 times as much but I've been there, done it and regretted it because as soon as you get out on the course the apparent perfect driver on the range decides it isn't suited to your swing :rolleyes:
 
At least your honest westy,

I wanted a little more length and if possible a lower flight, the r11 delivered this but it's going to come at the cost of forgiveness slightly,... But I knew what I wanted. It seems from some answers people just shop because it's shiney or new.... If you don't know what your trying to improve, how do you know or gauge if it's an improvement?

To be honest I should stick with the R9 as it goes over 260/270 yards in the summer and I am hitting it straighter now than any other driver I have had. I tend to hit the ball quite high, so am thinking that time and money may be better spent having a couple of lessons to build on some changes I have been making over the last year.
 
Currently got the RBZ with stock regular flex shaft and have used my mates ping rapture v2 and now i'm on the look out for one.
Nothing wrong with the RBZ head, its very forgiving but the shaft is just terrible, too big and feels like a womans flex rather than regular.
Would rather try and pick up a cheap ping than start fiddling about with the shafts as I have little knowledge about them.
 
Valid point bratty, ok the 50 yards was a major exaggeration, if I'm honest my hit rate on fairways last weekend was 12/15, one missed first cut, one missed 10 yards left of where I was aiming which was right hand side of fairway, one was a carcrash hook that I got away with just into the edge of the rough.. So in the grand scheme of things not too shabby,
Oh to be allowed to swear on the forum! Mate, I'd take those stats every round!! Take it that wasn't with the Cobra...

I'd keep an eye on stats over next three rounds with the r11, and if it's similar, then ditch the Cobra.
 
Oh to be allowed to swear on the forum! Mate, I'd take those stats every round!! Take it that wasn't with the Cobra...

I'd keep an eye on stats over next three rounds with the r11, and if it's similar, then ditch the Cobra.

Thinking back I've gotta tweek that stat, from 14 par4/5, I hit the driver off 12, with 9 perfect and the other three respectively. I'm going to game it over the next month before the season kicks in, with both in the bag during midweek games after work for comparison. If I'm 100% truthful I'm a little worried about true carry! as this is hard to see from the tee. If it's looking good after a few rounds then ill book a LM session to cement things ;)
 
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