Drivers - Old V New - real game improvement

[njrose51]

So forgetting the marketing hype, has anyone brought a new driver and really experienced a change in their game?

I have a TaylorMade RBZ which, when I actually do hit it properly and not top it, goes quite well. The option is to change it over the winter - more forgiveness, fitted, more distance, better technology etc.

And I know you pick the best driver for your game etc. So im not actually asking what the best driver is.

I am just curious to see whether anyone has experienced a change when buying a new driver or have people thought "well that was a waste of money, why did i bother buying that?"

I'd rather hear the views of people i trust who play the game every day rather than the salesman!

cheers!

 

[Deleted member 16999]

I’ve got an old Ping G2 which I take out for fun a few times a year. My current Driver is a Titleist 917 D2, biggest difference is in the mi*****, middleing both is only a difference of 10-15 yds and that’s probably down to the user.

The Titleist is very forgiving off the toe or heel were as if I don’t carch the Ping right it’s dead off the rest of the face.

 

[patricks148]

TBH if you have a good swing you can hit any driver as long as the shaft is right for you.

Two guys i play with reg both use old drivers, one has a ping G2 the other is a TMR7 .
both off 4 and drive the ball as far as anyone else with more modern drivers

 

[Lord Tyrion]

I changed my driver this year thanks to a kindly GM forumer who wanted to sell his shiny new Nike Covert 2.0, thank you gmhuble. Not the absolute most current model but newer than my old TM burner. As I am sure others will say, the difference is not necessarily on the out of centre hits but the off centre hits. The club has more sweet spots than my past drivers, even when you don't hit the sweet spot it goes pretty well. You have to nearly miss the clubface to not send it forward a reasonable distance. That is what the modern driver gives you, forgiveness. As a h/hcp that forgiveness is worth a lot and certainly worth updating for.

I personally have not added 30yds to my drives since changing but I am more consistent and more consistently straight so I will take that. The distance issue is one of technique, not the club.

 

[Jates12]

I used a Callaway XR for 2 years, Not a brand new driver by any means but a few years newer that my 913d2 and I gained absolutely nothing from it. In fact I actually lost things. I was struggling so went for a few lessons and a fitting and ended up being fit for exactly the same shaft as in my titleist driver, ive gone back to it and im hitting more fairways that i ever did with my XR, ive lost maybe 5-10 yards but id rather be 10 yards further back and in the cut stuff than 10 yards forward in the cabbage.

 

[Andy]

Been through numerous drivers, Nike Covert, Callaway 815 BBD and recently the Ping G, sold the lot and went back to my R7 Superquad TP, won't be changing it soon. Looks the best out of all of them and has the best flight. No real difference in distance either.

 

[Coffey]

The Rick Shiels videos are really interesting, there is not much difference in the last 5 years of any of the models really (apart from his cobra test but I think something was not right there). As others have mentioned, it is the off centered hits where the differences are found (something that Rick did not test).

To me, the looks and sound are important. I changed from the Ping G LS tec to the 2016 M1 this year due to the sound of the Ping. Gained no distance but happier with the M1.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

GM did a test as well I believe, 2 of the guys were given a budget, 1 bought 5yr old clubs and the other 10yr old clubs, I think the plan was to judge them against new clubs

I’m sure they found there wasn’t much difference in the 5yr old stuff but there was between the 10yr old as technology had moved on.

Might be worth a search on the GM site.

 

[Slab]

Changed from a 2010 Callaway to a 2016 Cobra, huge improvement, genuinely added 20-30 yards and as mentioned even the off center strikes are often still on the fairway

 

[Rlburnside]

Just been fitted for a Ping G 400 ,been using a Benross HTX driver , going out for a game now let you know if I've wasted £349

 

[patricks148]

Just been fitted for a Ping G 400 ,been using a Benross HTX driver , going out for a game now let you know if I've wasted £349

whats the weather like on Whalsay today?

 

[Hobbit]

The Rick Shiels videos are really interesting, there is not much difference in the last 5 years of any of the models really (apart from his cobra test but I think something was not right there). As others have mentioned, it is the off centered hits where the differences are found (something that Rick did not test).

To me, the looks and sound are important. I changed from the Ping G LS tec to the 2016 M1 this year due to the sound of the Ping. Gained no distance but happier with the M1.

I'll give big +1 and a :thup: to the above. I've recently watched the tests he did, and all the numbers generated via the GC2 monitor. The Cobra tests were interesting, with obvious differences between the clubs. There were a couple of Titliests that looked good too. The SLDR produced very good numbers but that relied on hitting the middle.

Definitely worth viewing if you're in the mood for a change.

 

[duncan mackie]

I have all but 4 of the drivers I've ever had, including but not limited to, such goodies as the Par Buster, Ping Eye, Burner bubble (I & II), numerous subsequent Burner models, SLDR and now a 2016 M2. The ones that got away were an original TM Pitsburgh Persimmon, Flex-twist, the best Burner (07) to someone on here who was struggling and it was so easy to hit and an RBZ.

Every now and then I take them all down the range for a little bit of fun...some are definitely better than others! What's really hard to tell is how much this is due to the shaft and club weighting suiting me - and how much is inherently the club heads capabilities.

I have concluded that finding something that works for you is probably the real answer 😎

 

[7255carl]

I would say getting a driver fitted would be more beneficial than buying a new one and hoping for improvements, Rick Sheils has some videos about 5 years of drivers by certain manufacturers, the results are not always what you would expect

 

[Imurg]

Rick's 5 year tests don't really show anything for me.
Hit from the middle, with the obvious exception of a couple of the Cobra drivers, gave similar results - the differences of 2-3 yards here and there aren't worth thinking about. What he can't show is the improvement in ball speed on the off centre hits.
As a Pro, he has a pretty repeatable swing and generally makes good contact - therefore the ball goes a long way etc etc.
This is where I think using Rob Potter or someone similar would show the real difference in drivers down the years. Off centre hits, variable swing speeds are going to show how clubs perform for us, not a Pro...

On the Cobra video, a couple of the drivers are real game improvement drivers, producing more spin than normal. If Rick smashes one at 110mph he's going to put mahoosive amounts of spin on the ball and it's going nowhere, hence the short carry.

I'm not really convinced that club reviews are of any use to us, with the exception of how they look and what tech is involved in the manufacture.

 

[njrose51]

I think this is rrally interesting. I use a Callaway Apex 2 iron off the tee quite a lot and can hit it really well, full of confidence - longest drive two weekends ago at London Club was 247 (garmin s20) But put a wood in my hand and the confidence drops, which ultimatly affects my swing/hit/distance etc.

If you use an older driver which you have confidence with, then why change to gain a few extra yards?

I think for me, i'll stick with the rbz until i get more confident, falling back to the iron if needed. then maybe get fitted for a new driver.

cheers everyone

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I went from an old taylormade 360ti driver to a cobra fly Z+ then to a 2016 M2 HL driver, and hit the ball all over the face tbh.

I was very underwhelmed with the results on the course, iirc typically the two newer drivers were about 10 yards longer on similarish strikes on average.

Given the 360ti is very old, small head, my strike being terrible, the distance gains were disappointing for me. Hope that confuses you

 

[Curls]

I've only ever had 2 drivers. The first was a custom fit Ping G15. I loved that thing. I got away with murder with it. However

Last year I switched to a Titleist 915 and I can confirm it is longer. Much longer. Now is this down to me improving a little bit or the club? If you were to ask me I'd say it was the shaft. The Ping one was starting to feel a little whippy when I went after it. They are both Regular, I just think the Titleist Reg is a bit stiffer. It feels stable at "wallop it" mode and there is a noticeable difference in how far I can get it out there, both at my range and home course. I do think one out of the middle "feels" more solid than one out of the middle with the Ping and actually I don't think it's that much less forgiving.

After a stop-start season on my home course I'd say stacking my best/longest drives against previous years we're talking 20 yards. When I nail it I'm in parts of the course I never was previously. On average? Who knows?!

In summary - find the shaft that suits you and you'll notice it, whether that actually needs to be a newer club or not is debatable but you're much more likely to find it getting fit for a new club than by trial and error with older ones. I got lucky.

 

[Robster59]

I bought a Callaway XR16 Driver with a Regular Fujikura Speeder Evolution 565 Red shaft. I fiddled with the settings but finished up with it at a neutral setting and 10.5 degree loft. It is a long driver but what it has really given me is accuracy. I am more consistently straight with this driver than any other I've had. It is pretty good all around the face and if I do mess it up, I know it's definitely me and not the driver.

Interestingly, out of all my old drivers the one I remember with most affection is a Hippo Hex 2 10 deg fitted with a Regular Aldila NVS shaft. That was a really under-rated driver and would fly miles and pretty straight too. Ugly yes but great in the fact it could match or beat an equivalent big brand name. Sadly outlawed due to its head shape but very enjoyable whilst it lasted.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

One of the assistant pros in my place has borrowed my Macgregor persimmon eye-o-matic driver for demo purposes in a driver workshop he is holding soon. He has been hitting some balls in the swing studio for practice as he's never hit such a driver before. He says he is getting about 250yd carry and roll-out to 275yds. And he is mullering it.

Other than the great feel he is getting from the club he says his main observation has to be what golf ball technology has done. Back in the day even the top pro's weren't getting 250yds carry and 275yds roll-out - my club is the sort that Nicklaus used. I believe he would get 260yds at a push - and he was a very long hitter.