EZprophet
Head Pro
Longer post than I intended so skip to the bottom if you want for a summary!
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A few weeks ago I decided to book myself in for a TaylorMade Tour Van fitting at Silvermere Driving Range in Surrey.
I haven't had my Ping i15 driver much longer than 6 months but I was convinced that I was launching the ball way too high and as a result had lost about 20 yards from my previous driver, the TM Tour Burner. I wasnt necessarily going to buy a new driver, but wanted to find out if my suspiscions were correct and whether there was anything that could be done by changing clubs.
I also wanted to see what all the fuss was about with all this white driver malarky!!
Anyways I hadnt hit a ball in about 4 weeks due to a shoulder injury so headed up there a bit early to get back in the grove. In the first bucket I could hardly get the ball off the ground... Hooks, low slices, thins, fats, you name it, I hit it. I was very worried the fitting was going to be a complete waste but luckily managed to start hitting it okay by the time my appointment came up
They said they were running late and so I hit a few more balls while I waited for about ten minutes. A Taylor Made rep called James then came over to apologise for the delay and gave me two sleeves of Taylor Made balls "as an apology" which I thought was really brilliant of them.
We headed over to the bay where he asked me a few questions about my golf. I explained my concern that I was hitting it too high and he handed me my driver and told me to hit a few.
I hit about 6 or 7 balls and was hitting it well. He said that the numbers looked fine except for the launch angle, which he agreed was a bit high. He said the shaft in my i15 was working well for me but that he thought it just had too much loft.
He then handed me an R11 TP which he had set to 8 Degrees loft with a shaft that he said was very similar to the shaft in my i15, a Blur 65 X. Ive never got on with X Flex shafts as they just feel too heavy and boardy for me, but this one was different. It felt great and the numbers were good too. The launch angle had gone down 3 deg's and had given me 3 extra yards of carry and 7 extra yards total.
Good, but not worth the £299 quid I had seen on the bottom of the club when I walked in!
He then put in another shaft that he thought would be "the one" for me. A Diamana Kai'Li 70 S. As soon as I hit it I fell for it and sure enough, the numbers backed up my feelings. The launch angle was 1.5 degrees lower than my i15 and I had gained 11 yards of carry and 17 yards in total!! And I was getting a more consistent flight with it and a slight improvement in accuracy. Result!
I asked for a printout of the trackman numbers but it wasnt available so I took a few photos of them on my phone:
As soon as I saw the increase I thought to myself that Ive got to get it. I said thanks to James and walked over to the till where they sort out the pricing and payment before the specs are taken over to the Tour Van for them to make your club.
He plugs some numbers into the calculator and says that the club would be £450 total!! I tried to hide the shock on my face but I think it mustve showed... He explained that because it was the TP version it cost £360, instead of £299 and the Kai'Li shaft is a £90 upgrade.
I said I was going to have to think about it and they gave me a copy of the driver specs and told me to call if I decide to get it.
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Summary: Went to get fitted for R11. It gave me 17 extra yards on my current Ping i15 driver, but costs £450.
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What would you do? Is an extra 17 yards with the driver worth £450? Thats almost £27 per yard!
If its too much, how much would you pay for a few extra yards?
-----------------------------------------------------------
A few weeks ago I decided to book myself in for a TaylorMade Tour Van fitting at Silvermere Driving Range in Surrey.
I haven't had my Ping i15 driver much longer than 6 months but I was convinced that I was launching the ball way too high and as a result had lost about 20 yards from my previous driver, the TM Tour Burner. I wasnt necessarily going to buy a new driver, but wanted to find out if my suspiscions were correct and whether there was anything that could be done by changing clubs.
I also wanted to see what all the fuss was about with all this white driver malarky!!
Anyways I hadnt hit a ball in about 4 weeks due to a shoulder injury so headed up there a bit early to get back in the grove. In the first bucket I could hardly get the ball off the ground... Hooks, low slices, thins, fats, you name it, I hit it. I was very worried the fitting was going to be a complete waste but luckily managed to start hitting it okay by the time my appointment came up
They said they were running late and so I hit a few more balls while I waited for about ten minutes. A Taylor Made rep called James then came over to apologise for the delay and gave me two sleeves of Taylor Made balls "as an apology" which I thought was really brilliant of them.
We headed over to the bay where he asked me a few questions about my golf. I explained my concern that I was hitting it too high and he handed me my driver and told me to hit a few.
I hit about 6 or 7 balls and was hitting it well. He said that the numbers looked fine except for the launch angle, which he agreed was a bit high. He said the shaft in my i15 was working well for me but that he thought it just had too much loft.
He then handed me an R11 TP which he had set to 8 Degrees loft with a shaft that he said was very similar to the shaft in my i15, a Blur 65 X. Ive never got on with X Flex shafts as they just feel too heavy and boardy for me, but this one was different. It felt great and the numbers were good too. The launch angle had gone down 3 deg's and had given me 3 extra yards of carry and 7 extra yards total.
Good, but not worth the £299 quid I had seen on the bottom of the club when I walked in!
He then put in another shaft that he thought would be "the one" for me. A Diamana Kai'Li 70 S. As soon as I hit it I fell for it and sure enough, the numbers backed up my feelings. The launch angle was 1.5 degrees lower than my i15 and I had gained 11 yards of carry and 17 yards in total!! And I was getting a more consistent flight with it and a slight improvement in accuracy. Result!
I asked for a printout of the trackman numbers but it wasnt available so I took a few photos of them on my phone:
As soon as I saw the increase I thought to myself that Ive got to get it. I said thanks to James and walked over to the till where they sort out the pricing and payment before the specs are taken over to the Tour Van for them to make your club.
He plugs some numbers into the calculator and says that the club would be £450 total!! I tried to hide the shock on my face but I think it mustve showed... He explained that because it was the TP version it cost £360, instead of £299 and the Kai'Li shaft is a £90 upgrade.
I said I was going to have to think about it and they gave me a copy of the driver specs and told me to call if I decide to get it.
----------------------------------------------------------
Summary: Went to get fitted for R11. It gave me 17 extra yards on my current Ping i15 driver, but costs £450.
----------------------------------------------------------
What would you do? Is an extra 17 yards with the driver worth £450? Thats almost £27 per yard!
If its too much, how much would you pay for a few extra yards?
