Driver dispersion

[barrybridges]

There's another thread on here about whether buying a new driver can genuinely help increase distance, but I'm interested to know whether there is - really - a noticeable improvement in dispersion between a cheap driver and a better one.

Part of it is, of course, to try and give me some kind of excuse to pin the blame for my inability on my equipment rather than the real reason which is my total lack of talent.

I'm currently using a really old Masters driver which I picked up from my club's bargain bin for the princely sum of £23.99 (yes, less than £25).

It's ok in that you swing it - it hits the ball - and the ball starts moving. However, I'm quite erratic anyway and I don't think I've ever hit the ball where I wanted to.

In this month's Today's Golfer there's a piece where they trial old equipment to see whether performance has changed - and I'm interested to know whether it is worth me buying a new driver and whether I'm likely to see an improvement in dispersion particularly (ignoring any swing faults of my own)?

Or - in other words - is there much difference between a £23.99 driver and a £329 R11s for example?

 

[Lump]

One of my fourball has just changed from a old intergra steel shafted driver to a Ping G10. His old driver worked well when he connected with it, but off centre hits and shots not out the middle lost major distance and direction.
Since changing to a G10 he's gained 20yrds off the tee and its 95% of the time in the fairway (not a long hitter but very straight).
He was amazed at the differance its made even for a older model driver.
Does you club have any demo drivers you can take out?

 

[One Planer]

I am hardly an expert but I would say that the person swinging the club would have more of an effect on the dispersion figure through the various nuiances of their swing, than the actual club itself.

But as I said, I'm hardly an expert.

 

[CMAC]

I think the shaft is the key, head second

 

[Monty_Brown]

I'd say it's not so much about cheap vs expensive... more about the RIGHT driver for you. In particular the right shaft flex and loft to suit your swing speed and angle of attack, and also the right degree of torque to help square the face.

However, a piece of Dunlop rubbish for £20 is not going to do you any favours.... but I'd say there's no need to spend more than £100: myabe an older model made by one fo the big boys. There are great deals on older Callaways, Cobras and Mizunos at the mo as stores are shifting old stock ahead of new prodcut launches.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

IMO to a certain extent a better driver will perform better, however operator error is and always will be the main cause of errant shots, my mate has just bought a G20 driver, it goes for miles when he connects with it, however his dispersion stats need to be measured in Post Codes, wild thing just doesnt cover it.

 

[Evesdad]

Try one of the callaway drivers such as the ft-I or ft-iq maybe in a higher loft plenty of forgiveness with good distance.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

If you swing poorly then no driver is going to work perfectly. If you have a reasonably proficient swing then I think the advancements in bigger sweetspots, weighting and head size means a lot of modern drivers will perform better than older versions. Also, the quality of the materials in good quality drivers (including the likes of Benross and MD) will give better performance than a JJB special. Of course the only way to really get a driver to work properly is to get a shaft to match your swing speed (and other factors - age, mobility etc). That doesn't mean a full C/F but perhaps using regular and not stiff or vice versa in an off the shelf model. Sometimes that's all it takes