Driver fitting- No difference?

[Trodski]

Went for a driver fitting to replace my old Callaway XR16 this week with the hope that 6 years might have pushed on the tech.

Improvements - none!

Dispersion - just as wild as ever. The fitting turned into a bit of a lesson to stop me hooking it left with odd wild block.

Distance- about the same but longest hit with the old club.

Result - Stealth plus because…. new and shiny

Has anyone else had a recent fitting and not seen much change? If so, did you stick with the older model?

Im not one for marketing gimmicks but would have hoped for some improvements.

 

[CliveW]

Has anyone else had a recent fitting and not seen much change? If so, did you stick with the older model?

Im not one for marketing gimmicks but would have hoped for some improvements.

As above. That's why I'm still playing with my 2009 Titleist AP2 irons.

 

[tigerwes]

I've never been for a driver fitting. I feel my swing is too erratic to get a decent fitting. It different every hole nevermind every round to get a decent result from a fitting.

The best fitting I've had is a putter fitting, it surely has to be the one club where you swing/stroke is as repeatable as it gets.

 

[oleinone]

I posted this a few weeks ago "I play a Titleist 910D, 10.5, senior flex and on a good day make 200 yds. Had a fitting Wednesday and tried quite a lot of new stuff - g425 Max, Stealth, SiM2Max and Radspeed Max. To my surprise and disappointment none went any further. The fitter waived the fee! He suggested that if I got used to the 425 and the M2 I would probably see some benefit. He knows my pro so he offered to lend me the those two so that I could try on the course. Took them out yesterday and didn't get on with the Ping. The SIM2 went well but still comparable with the old stick. When I middle the 910, I can really feel and hear it. The new stuff feels a bit dead and dull sounding on impact. Is this a function of the better forgiveness across the face? Should I save my dosh and just carry on with the 910? I reluctantly realise that the logical answer should be yes."

 

[KenL]

@oleinone . Did you not try Titleist's latest models. They get great reviews.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

If I felt I wasn’t swinging well that day, or the results were disappointing, then wallet would have stayed in pocket.

There had got to be a seen benefit from a fitting , new isn’t necessarily better

 

[Backsticks]

There are two elements to your post I guess. One is whether club fitting brings any benefit. And that is probably at best possibly slightly to the real elite/pro golfers, and unproven or probably not to everyone else.
The other is drivers themselves. And what you found is what you should find really - there is no performance improvement from driver design in the last 15 or more years. The rules of golf effectively prohibit it. From a purely technical aspect, that has left the club makers in a tight spot, as the illusion of technological and upgrade improvement is a very powerful sales pitch. But on the other hand, this effect is limited, as the target market for £500 drivers is a big sucker for colour changes, stripes, turbulators, etc, and slick aspirational improvement marketing.

 

[garyinderry]

Went for a driver fitting to replace my old Callaway XR16 this week with the hope that 6 years might have pushed on the tech.

Improvements - none!

Dispersion - just as wild as ever. The fitting turned into a bit of a lesson to stop me hooking it left with odd wild block.

Distance- about the same but longest hit with the old club.

Result - Stealth plus because…. new and shiny

Has anyone else had a recent fitting and not seen much change? If so, did you stick with the older model?

Im not one for marketing gimmicks but would have hoped for some improvements.

Sounds like a driver lesson would be of more benefit.

I've put off a driver fitting for years through a cycle of ...

Hitting it poorly, I'll wait till in hitting it better.
Hitting it well, I dont want to change it now I've got it going.

 

[oleinone]

@oleinone . Did you not try Titleist's latest models. They get great reviews.

I think that I tried everything in the shop!

 

[Trodski]

I posted this a few weeks ago "I play a Titleist 910D, 10.5, senior flex and on a good day make 200 yds. Had a fitting Wednesday and tried quite a lot of new stuff - g425 Max, Stealth, SiM2Max and Radspeed Max. To my surprise and disappointment none went any further. The fitter waived the fee! He suggested that if I got used to the 425 and the M2 I would probably see some benefit. He knows my pro so he offered to lend me the those two so that I could try on the course. Took them out yesterday and didn't get on with the Ping. The SIM2 went well but still comparable with the old stick. When I middle the 910, I can really feel and hear it. The new stuff feels a bit dead and dull sounding on impact. Is this a function of the better forgiveness across the face? Should I save my dosh and just carry on with the 910? I reluctantly realise that the logical answer should be yes."

I have watched a few reviews of the newer drivers and quite a few have said that at slower swing speeds they can sound quite dull. Doesn’t necessarily equate to a worse shot but sound can be important to some.

 

[Trodski]

If I felt I wasn’t swinging well that day, or the results were disappointing, then wallet would have stayed in pocket.

There had got to be a seen benefit from a fitting , new isn’t necessarily better

I wouldn’t necessarily say I was swinging bad but symptomatic of my game. Decent distance, poor direction.

If we assume that most drivers of the last 10 years are going to be similar would we ever by a new one?

To be honest I didn’t think I would get much more distance but thought I might bring dispersion in.


It’s difficult to overcome a club face 6 degrees closed to the path.

 

[Trodski]

Sounds like a driver lesson would be of more benefit.

I've put off a driver fitting for years through a cycle of ...

Hitting it poorly, I'll wait till in hitting it better.
Hitting it well, I dont want to change it now I've got it going.

Had 4 lessons over the winter, dreaded early extension makes it hard to control the big stick.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Maybe come down a tad in shaft length to a mini driver , I’d sacrifice 15 yards distance for much better dispersion ?

 

[Deleted member 3432]

Had 4 lessons over the winter, dreaded early extension makes it hard to control the big stick.

Can't control anything with an early extension, it's a case of some hard work to sort technique out to give you a chance of hitting a repeatable shot.

 

[Oddsocks]

Not personally but I’m aware of two titleist users who went to a titleist fitting.

Golfer 1) plays off around 5 mid 30’s and hits the ball miles. Currently using a 907 with pro launch red shaft. Was fitted last year for a tsi, couldn’t find and improvement. Left without a new bat.

Golfer 2) plays off about 9 mid 50’s. Using a 913d3 he attempted to get fitted at Celtic for the 917 when it was launched. Ended up being his current shaft with a 917 head to the same settings as his 913, gained average of 3 yards max of 6-7 if I recall correctly. Paid the fitter for an hour of his time as a good will gesture and was 10mins late for his slot using his old trusty.

Lesson for the day, it’s normally the Indian not the arrows.

 

[Deleted member 1147]

A friend of mine went to a Titleist fitting. The fitter didn’t recommend the new club in the end, but did alter his current driver setting. It made a marked difference to his driving.

 

[Trodski]

Can't control anything with an early extension, it's a case of some hard work to sort technique out to give you a chance of hitting a repeatable shot.

Is it marginally better, yes. Can I ever cure it, I don’t know!

A question I’ve asked coaches is is it a backswing problem (proper pivot etc.) or is it a downswing issue. I don’t think I’ve really had an answer.

With current coach working on feels and ball flight (backed up with trackman) rather than specific positions. Then hopefully body works better. EE is so ingrained hard to get rid

 

[Trodski]

Not personally but I’m aware of two titleist users who went to a titleist fitting.

Golfer 1) plays off around 5 mid 30’s and hits the ball miles. Currently using a 907 with pro launch red shaft. Was fitted last year for a tsi, couldn’t find and improvement. Left without a new bat.

Golfer 2) plays off about 9 mid 50’s. Using a 913d3 he attempted to get fitted at Celtic for the 917 when it was launched. Ended up being his current shaft with a 917 head to the same settings as his 913, gained average of 3 yards max of 6-7 if I recall correctly. Paid the fitter for an hour of his time as a good will gesture and was 10mins late for his slot using his old trusty.

Lesson for the day, it’s normally the Indian not the arrows.

 

[Trodski]

100%

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Been to a number of demo days at my club in recent years and nothing has really outshone My Ping 410 to the point the club pro and fitters have said it wouldn't be worth the outlay. If I was the OP and I was having a bad swing day I wouldn't have bought the new club simply because of "new and shiny" and would have booked another fitting when the swing was in a better place and looked for something to suit