hi all 1st post, Driver question

[yorks_expat]

Hello everyone, Gavin here, and hope this is the first of many posts on here.

Anyway, ive been playing golf 3 months now, and with my job ive been lucky enough to benefit from being able to play 6/7 times per week and 2 hours coaching a week, to say im keen is an understatement, and I am improving day upon day (though I should be the amount im playing).

Anyway, my knowlege of clubs and equipment is pretty basic, though my boss gave me an old set of his Calloway x16 irons which im getting along fine with. However, I decided on a whim after being in a golf shop in Spain, to treat myself to a new driver, and after chatting with the assistant decided on the TM Superfast, 9.5 loft, with a stiff shaft.

After playing the club for a month im starting to think I may have made a very hasty invesment. I just cant seem to get any consistensy with it, I can hit a long, straight soaring drive down the middle sometimes, but my most common shot is a long slicing fade that often ends up with me in trouble.

My drivers shaft is 46.5 in length, which I now understand to be pretty long, could this be making it more difficult for me to control.

Any constructive ideas to help me hit more fairways will be greatfully recieved.

I dont have a problem with distance, but certainly one with consistant accuracy with the driver.

My handicap is 12

 

[CrapHacker]

Hi Yorksexpest ( sorry I must have that wrong )

Yup, the less loft on a driver, the more likely you are to slice.

The stiffer the shaft, the more likely you are to slice.

The longer your shaft, the more likely you are to slice.

So I'd say your bad shot is probably going to be a slice.

Having said that, playing off 12 after three months implies that you wont be having these sorts of problems for long.

Welcome to the madhouse btw.

Must dash, I think I hear mother calling.....

 

[stevelev]

Never mind the club, what sort of job affords you what we all want. All that practise week in week out.

I would love to be in that position

 

[Basher]

Hi Yorksexpest ( sorry I must have that wrong )

Absolute quality mate!!!

Oh, welcome Gavin. Enjoy the banter.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Welcome along. I agree with CrapHacker (twice in a few days - surely not!) and think you've probably gone in a bit quick. My personal opinion would be to flog the current driver and chat with your pro. He obviously knows your swing and will be able to give you the best advice in terms of loft, shaft and length etc. There are loads of decent drivers out there so see what he says and then go and try a few out

 

[yorks_expat]

Thanks so much for the replies, and I deserve all the ribbing I get for the log in name lol!

I work as a private chef for a family in Switzerland and have been working for them in their summer house in spain, which is built on a golf resort, which handily enables me to grab a buggy and play for free. (which i do 6 days a week)

I also got plenty of coaching as well, the pro is a friend of my boss.

With regards to the driver, ive heard that possibly trimming the shaft by an inch or so may make the clubhead easier to control?

Im back in Yorks for a few weeks so will go get fitted up for a driver, I really wished id done that before, although I think my swing has improved and definately changed quite a lot since I bought the club a month ago.

Cheers all,

Gavin

 

[CrapHacker]

With regards to the driver, ive heard that possibly trimming the shaft by an inch or so may make the clubhead easier to control?

Im back in Yorks for a few weeks so will go get fitted up for a driver, I really wished id done that before, although I think my swing has improved and definately changed quite a lot since I bought the club a month ago.

Gavin

Yes it will, but you'll still have a 9.5* driver, and you'll still have the same shaft.

If I were you I'd either file the driver away for a while, or take it to the custom fit, and compare it with as many clubs as possible. You may need a 10* - 11* face, in which case I'd just trade it in, or the face may be fine, but you need a new shaft.

Like I said, you haven't got the normal swing of someone with only a few months experience, and it must be changing hugely month on month, so you might only be a few weeks away from getting on fine with it.

Or

It might be you'll never get on with it ( I've been playing for years, and I'll never be able to use a stiff shaft or a 9.5* clubhead )

PS can you get yourself in at the Belfrey - I think that's meant to be one of the best places around for a cf.

 

[yorks_expat]

Yes, tbh I never thought that the flatter faced driver may add sidespin to my drives, the guy in the shop in Spain just asked if I had problems getting the ball in the air, which I dont, and reccomended the 9.5 loft.

The Ping factory test centre isnt so far away from me so im going to book a proper fitting this week if I can.

I never realised just how vast the driver market is, and the huge amount of variations and options on offer

Told you Im a naive newbie!

 

[Region3]

I work as a private chef for a family in Switzerland and have been working for them in their summer house in spain, which is built on a golf resort, which handily enables me to grab a buggy and play for free. (which i do 6 days a week)

I also got plenty of coaching as well, the pro is a friend of my boss.

Sorry, can't help with your question, but you have to have one of the best jobs ever!!!

 

[yorks_expat]

As Columbo would say, just one more thing,

In Spain I buy my balls from the numerous ball sellers at the side of the road, I always buy Bridgestone and in my bag of 30, I normally end up with 6x e7, 6x treosoft and 18x B330s tours.

Would my ball choice have any effect on my errant drives? Do some spin more than others?

 

[Region3]

The B330-S will spin quite a lot, it's their equivalent to the ProV1.

Don't know about the others though.

 

[JustOne]

My drivers shaft is 46.5 in length, which I now understand to be pretty long, could this be making it more difficult for me to control.

Yes it could. I would get it chopped and take it from there. If you don't get on with it after that then sell it. My buddy played off 12 had his driver chopped to 44" and plays off 7 now, not a bad return in one year.

 

[yorks_expat]

I went to the direct golf launch monitor at the doncaster shop today, I told the guy I was really interested in the TM Superfast (exact same club as mine) but also wanted to try some other drivers as well and see if there was one I liked the feel of.
After hitting some balls with the drivers and looking at the feedback I could clearly see I was getting loads of spin with the TM driver, erratic carry distances a couple of decent long drives, typical for me with the club I thought, though it was the first club I tested, and I nomally need a while to warm up and swing properly.

However, next up was a nike square headed driver with an ajustable face, it was still a stiff shaft but a bit shorter in length, about 3/4". The square head seems a bit wierd but so does the burner I suppose.
All the drives I hit with this were straight and with pretty good distance, but the thing that stood out to me was the huge drop in the spin compared to the burner....its certainly one to think about.

I went to the range after visiting the shop, to try a few ideas on my swing and to give the burner another chance, I tried a few hits choking down a little on the club, I felt a little restriced doing this, and found my ball, although straight, seemed to fly quite high and die quickly in the air, I liked the accuracy though.
I was swinging pretty well and tried gripping normally, but lighter, and on the whole it was pretty good, I will hopefully try again tommorow, with less wind, fingers crossed.

I will give this club a chance, but I always seem to be fighting it a little, where the nike one I tried, if the launch monitors are to be believed, is maybe a little easier to handle for me.

Cheers all,

Gavin

 

[bobmac]

Hi Sexpat
Some will tell you the monitors aren't all that accurate.
If you can get out on the course and try them for real, then you can properly compare them to your own driver.