Club Adjustability

Robster59

Robster59

Tour Rookie
Joined
Aug 7, 2015
Messages
5,639
Location
Jackton
www.eastrengolfclub.co.uk
I've been reading a few posts on questions about this topic which prompted me to post this.

The big trend these days is for most of the big name drivers (and some fairways) to be adjustable.
I really wonder is this of a great benefit or just a sharp marketing trick?

I've had an adjustable driver (Nike SQ Machspeed so not massively adjustable I admit) using it, a few things struck me.
  • It puts doubt in your mind as to have you the right settings (look at the options and it's like "you're messing with my mind man!"
  • Once I found my perfect setting I never re-adjusted the damned thing anyway
  • How can you be really sure you have the right setting?


On the positive side
  • You can swap shafts easily
  • You can tailor the driver to your swing/game
  • If your swing changes through lessons, you can adjust the settings to suit
  • One head fits all requirements

At the moment I am in the cynical camp. I think that it's a good marketing ploy but think we are buying more features than benefits. I've now gone back to a non-adjustable driver (Benross Hot Speed 2) and chose it after trying it out first and then working on getting it to work for me. Very happy with it now, I don't have to worry about settings and just take the cover off and play.

I am sure there will be plenty of people in the "adjustability is King" camp and would be interested in their viewpoint.
 
Adjustability more of a benefit for a club fitter rather than us. Unless you know what you're doing you shouldn't really be tweaking your driver. However, the benefits they bring to the club fitter, and the golf retail stores are massive.
 
On the whole, I think it's a good thing, having initially been very sceptical of the adjustable drivers. It allows you to tweak an off the shelf club to suit your game, through a potentially small adjustment.

I think it can be exaggerated though, I'm not convinced in having dozens of loft/lie combinations, moveable weights, etc etc. I think there definitely can be too much adjustability which will inevitably lead to the problems you mention in the OP. I would forever be second guessing If I had the right setting. Of course I am a massive hypocrite as my own XTD has god knows how many settings.
 
I went for a shaft fitting the other night. And cos my driver wasn't adjustable I feel it was a disadvantage, I had to use a similar head that it reality wasn't like mine at all. Having seen the effects on ball flight the adjustable driver was much better as it allowed the setting to change to benefit the flight. A simple 0.5 degree more loft gave me 5 more yards compared to the standard setting.

Now if I was to buy the new driver I would set it and wouldn't change it again. But at least I would know I could if I wanted to, as now for me I'm going to have to buy a new driver completely as the one I currently have is of now use to me now as it doesn't fit me swing.
 
I think it benefits the fitter and the player. I've had adjustable drivers since Nike Covert, I never altered it once it was fitted and dialled in to my specs. I now use a PING G30, again not changed or altered since the fitting.
 
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I can see the benefit for fitters, but for players who (like most of us) don't swing the club identically every time, I'm not so sure.

I've had a 910D2 for 2 years, just replaced it with a 913D2, I have played around with the settings but always set it back to A1 (neutral).

Good to be able to increase/decrease the loft by 1 degree each way, and it's behaving itself at the moment (for a change)
 
Dan2501 said:
Adjustability more of a benefit for a club fitter rather than us. Unless you know what you're doing you shouldn't really be tweaking your driver. However, the benefits they bring to the club fitter, and the golf retail stores are massive.
Click to expand...

If you want the ball to go higher, increase the loft, lower, decrease it. I think I can handle that.
 
I think adjustments of loft and movement of the centre of gravity work a bit, loft especially. The adjustment to open or close the face has no effect if, like me, you grip the club in such a way that the face is visibly square and then address the ball. If, on the other hand, you put the club down behind the ball, then grip, the way the face is set will be altered. I never bother with this adjustment.
 
Maninblack4612 said:
I think adjustments of loft and movement of the centre of gravity work a bit, loft especially. The adjustment to open or close the face has no effect if, like me, you grip the club in such a way that the face is visibly square and then address the ball. If, on the other hand, you put the club down behind the ball, then grip, the way the face is set will be altered. I never bother with this adjustment.
Click to expand...


Same here. And I have mastered knocking it low OOB if I play it further back in my stance.
 
I wish the last driver I bought was adjustable. It's set closed and is fixed at 10.5 degree. But my swing has improved so I'd like it set neutral and possible a little lower loft or a different shaft but I can't change it with my coach. I think it helps the fitter but also helps the coach of the improving golfer
 
don't see how it can be any sort of real issue

folks (should) get fitted for the club by a good pro fitter on a launch monitor then there is proof that the club is in the optimum positions for the swing at that time

say that person embarks on a series of lessons to improve technique so the delivery gets a ways better - then it can be reset by the pro fitter to take that into account - & all again completely verified by the launch monitor

come the time that the 'new driver genie' appears & is 'impossible' to resist - then the 'old' adjustable driver is easier to sell, move on, as any buyer doesn't have the worry over a build specification that cannot be changed to suite them

would seem for sure it's a real win, win
 
Trying to resist the lure of adjustable drivers as I'm far too much of a tinkerer and so would be looking to adjust it too often. However having hit the Titleist D2 this year I am beginning to change my mind.
 
Adjustable drivers are great. I got fitted for the G30 Lf tec at 10 ° but was adjusted to 11 °. Recently I've been working on my swing to fix the slice. Now I've curtailed the slice but have a ball flight that balloons and has no roll out. So at the range tonight I changed the loft to 10.5 ° and straight away I could see the benefits. I got a more penetrative ball flight with roll out and gained a few more yards. If I didn't have an adjustable driver I'd have to buy a new one with a lower loft to get the results i want. It's like having 5 drivers for the price of one.
 
HomerJSimpson said:
Trying to resist the lure of adjustable drivers as I'm far too much of a tinkerer and so would be looking to adjust it too often. However having hit the Titleist D2 this year I am beginning to change my mind.
Click to expand...
You do realise that the G25 is adjustable don't you? :confused:
 
I have had adjustable drivers for ages. They always get set to 9.5 degrees, neutral lie . Most non adjustable ones sit closed. No good to me then. My bad shot is left.
 
i was fitted for a SLDR it has the red tie stiff shaft and is the 12degree loft up version .it has been set to neutral since the day i had it delivered and it will stay that way.im in the house of the sceptic as to wether it is marketing or for us mere mortal golfers any bloody good at all.
i have messed about at the range with all the different settings but neutral works best ,so what was the need for all the so called hitec adjustability when everybody i know has the driver set to neutral anyway.
im sure there must be some out there that have them set to draw or fade, but im betting they are in the minority of adjustable driver users.
 
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