Driver technology improvements

[maggieffc]

Hi guys, first post here. Hope it's in the right place.

I wanted to get your thoughts on how drivers have improved over the last 8 or so years. Reason I ask is that I'm still playing an old Nike Ignite 460 that I think came out in 2004 and haven't really thought about changing it till now. I generally hit it pretty well so I don't need to change, it's just I assume there must be some significantly better drivers on the market now and I wonder what I'm missing out on.

For a bit more info, I play off about 20 and I tend to hit the ball relatively long (a good one will be about 280-300 or so).

My current driver is a 9.5 Nike Ignite 460 (non hotface) with a Reg Grafalloy Prolaunch shaft.

Any thoughts?

 

[USER1999]

If you can hit a driver that far, stick with it.

It's a long way.

 

[Foxholer]

If you can hit a driver that far, stick with it.

It's a long way.

Same thoughts here!

That was one of the really best dnessrivers of the time.

Excuse the bluntness but the rest of your game/consistency must be sh*t if you play off 20 with that length off the tee.

 

[garyinderry]

most people dont know how far 300 yards actually is!

 

[maggieffc]

Same thoughts here!

That was one of the really best dnessrivers of the time.

Excuse the bluntness but the rest of your game/consistency must be sh*t if you play off 20 with that length off the tee.

Haha no worries. Yes the other parts are rusty. I played a lot between about 2005-2008 and then put it on the backburner a bit but have been getting back into it this spring, hence why the technique is there but the consistency isn't. To be honest 20 is a conservative estimate - I'm capable of a lot better and I screw myself on stroke play with a couple of disastrous holes in typical hacker style.

To add a bit, I'm not consistently ripping drives 300 yards down the middle, I'm just capable of hitting it that far if I get hold of it.

 

[srixon 1]

The clubs have got better because the shaft technology has got better. Lee Westwood is still using a Ping G10 but I bet the shaft is not the original.

 

[chris661]

To add a bit, I'm not consistently ripping drives 300 yards down the middle, I'm just capable of hitting it that far if I get hold of it.

With a regular shaft

I would say go try some other drivers they will have moved on in 8 years but maybe not enough to warrant changing.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome along. Where do you play? Is the FFC at the end of your name a reference to the mighty Fulham (I do hope so). Technology has moved on a degree and there may be a driver out there with a better suited shaft or a lighter head or indeed just easier to use. I guess at the end of the day its up to you, whether you've got the budget to invest, and whther you want to hit a few of the models from the last few years and see if the grass is greener than with yoru Nike

 

[maggieffc]

With a regular shaft

I would say go try some other drivers they will have moved on in 8 years but maybe not enough to warrant changing.

I'm pretty sure it's reg. It's a regular Prolaunch which works out a lot stiffer than any stock reg I've come across.

I tried out a few drivers earlier today but to be honest I was struggling to tell exactly how far they were all going (poor visibility & a bit dark at a driving range with range balls). I tried two Titleists; a 9.5 909 D2, stock S flex and an 8.5 D3 with some fancy and apparently very expensive shaft that to be honest I wasn't hitting very well. Also had a Ping i15 9.5 with an Aldilla Voodoo stiff that felt quite nice.


Quick edit - the 909 D2 shaft was a Diamana Blue s-flex and the D3 had some sort of Project X shaft (I'd never heard of it so I guess they've come along since I've been out of the golf world?).

I'll see if they've got any demos at my club pro shop to try one out on the course later in the week and try and make a proper comparison.

 

[maggieffc]

Welcome along. Where do you play? Is the FFC at the end of your name a reference to the mighty Fulham (I do hope so). Technology has moved on a degree and there may be a driver out there with a better suited shaft or a lighter head or indeed just easier to use. I guess at the end of the day its up to you, whether you've got the budget to invest, and whther you want to hit a few of the models from the last few years and see if the grass is greener than with yoru Nike

Thanks for the welcome. I'm a member at Park Langley in Beckenham and Barnham Broom in Norwich (my local course at uni) but I graduate in a couple of months so I'll let the latter lapse.

And yes, the FFC is indeed for the mighty Fulham. I was making my account whilst watching the game on tele just now...

Thanks for the thoughts on the driver. That's pretty much what I was expecting to hear in all honesty, I just wanted to gauge opinions as to whether the newer drivers were made with any real advancements or if they just tried to generate their own hot air with not much improvement.