How much would you pay for a few extra yards off the tee?

[EZprophet]

HELL NO its not worth that kind of money. How many times do you genuinely whack it from the tee?

On my home course I use my driver on between 7 and 9 holes depending on the wind direction. It is a short course though and I do play a fair bit of golf on other courses where I would use it more.

Are you going to be continually hitting your old driver and wondering "what if".. otherwise?

Almost certainly...

Especially into the wind which is where my current driver really loses a lot of yards due to the high trajectory...

Do you need the extra distance? I don't know, but once you've got used to hitting a bit further off the tee and maybe shaving another stroke off the h'cap.....are you going to enjoy it more?

I don't necessarily NEED the extra distance as its definitely not a part of my game that is holding me back from getting better... but I would definitely take some extra distance if I could... like anyone I guess!

I do get a lot of enjoyment from improving at golf but I also get a lot of joy from other things in life that I could spend £450 on

On a day to day basis it wouldnt make me enjoy the game more no, but I guess it could potentially get me closer to some of my goals in the game which would be great.

I wouldn't buy it, that is a lot of money. Why not go for a titleist 910d3 fitting? They are a lot cheaper and they have a lot of shaft options available without the silly upcharges. Also you could do with getting the smash factor up your still leaving approx 9mph of ball speed on the table which is probably another 20 yards.

That was exactly the first thing I said to him when he showed me the numbers!! I said I was surprised the smash factor was low as I felt like I had been hitting it quite solid . He said that it was low because of the range balls we were using and when the TM reps were using it earlier the best smash they got was 1.44.

He estimated that if it was using normal balls then you would add about 0.5 to the smash factor and about 10% to the yardages. I think youre right though I could definitely get that a bit better as I think you want to be getting up to like 1.48 if possible.

Also I tried the 910d3 when I got my i15 and while I love Titleist and the look of the club, I much preferred the feel and was getting better numbers from the Ping on the day... Possibly a poor decision in hindsight...

I'd say it's not worth it for 17yds, especially as the dispersion was worse than your current driver.

The distance is really the only improvement, and you put it down to launch angle.

Would it not be worth experimenting with your own driver trying to get the ball to come off it on a slightly lower trajectory?

The dispersion was actually slightly better with the R11 over my i15, but not significantly. The ball flight was definitely more consistant though. The shape with my i15 usually varies slightly on good shots, whereas I was getting the same consistent height and shape with the R11.

I could definitely try and change my swing to get a lower trajectory but I reckon its a bit of a risky option... Its certainly a more complicated one than just getting a new club... but I guess its also a cheaper one, which is its plus point!

I could start messing with tee heights, ball position etc but I think that is a bit of a step backwards because while I am losing distance because of my high launch angle, hitting up on the ball is actally a good thing, its just not a good thing when combined with too high of a loft, which is what I currently have...

 

[JustOne]

Looks to me like you could do with improving your smash factor and you'll gain enough yards.

The club is only worth it if you don't have to think about the money.

 

[jammydodger]

Looks to me like you could do with improving your smash factor and you'll gain enough yards.

The club is only worth it if you don't have to think about the money.

Having looked at the OP this was my first thought also , get the smash up to 1.5 and then you're not leaving any effort behind and the distance will come naturally rather than manufactured by the club.

 

[barrybridges]

Well really there are two questions here, aren't there?

For ME...I certainly couldn't justify it, because I am crap and £450 is a tonne of money. I would improve more by spending money on lessons.

But hold on a minute here...for those playing off low figures (am I right you're off 4?) I would have thought that it would be a good investment.

17 extra yards for a 4 handicapper is surely quite a big boost? As in, a disproportionately large improvement compared to what they would gain from lessons?

In which case, if I had £450 spare (which sadly I don't) then I would consider it...

...that said, I'm sure that other drivers will offer similiar improvements perhaps for a bit less...

 

[robbest3offthetee]

I would have thought, if you are spending that amount of money you would want tighter dispersion,as well as the extra yards,so if the club gives you that,yes its worth the money!!!!...

 

[pokerjoke]

I wouldnt pay that much for a driver,in fact i could get more than 17 yrds out of the driver ive got if i could hit it properly.As has been already said,you being a 4 hcp you should be hitting it well already so an extra 17yrds in your case it would be worth it,as long as its straightish.250 yrds or 270 or 290 yrds in the trees doesnt make a blind bit of difference

 

[bladeplayer]

Seems to be that for most people putting the ball on the fairway rather than booming it out there is what we'd be prepared to pay big money for.

I hope there's a TaylorMade Rep reading this,,,
and that they can produce the goods!

CARLSBERG dont do golf clubs ....but..

 

[Baldyeagle]

I bet Timgolfy is already placing his order .....

Another perspective .. a new driver or a week playing in Spain/Portugal hmmmm

 

[viscount17]

£450 is too much, and 17 yards is what a club and a half. you could almost get a full set of stronger irons and gain a lot of that yardage for the money.
tbh I've probably got enough length if I hit it clean, though as with others, guarantee hitting it straight . . .

 

[EZprophet]

Looks to me like you could do with improving your smash factor and you'll gain enough yards.

The club is only worth it if you don't have to think about the money.

Looks to me like you could do with improving your smash factor and you'll gain enough yards.

The club is only worth it if you don't have to think about the money.

Having looked at the OP this was my first thought also , get the smash up to 1.5 and then you're not leaving any effort behind and the distance will come naturally rather than manufactured by the club.

That was exactly what I said to the fitter when I saw the stats. He pretty much said to ignore the smash factor as it wasn't accurate because of the range balls we were using... Wasnt 100% convinced by that but found a few golf science articles online that seems to confirm this:

"Note that high durability range balls can have a COR as low as 0.73 which will limit the smash factor realistically to about 1.41."

Maximizing Smash Factor

Even if my smash factor was low Im not sure its that easy to improve it lads!! Not as easy as changing your driver anyway!!

Basically the higher your smash factor, the better a ball striker you are... right? Tbh arent we all trying to be better ball strikers anyway?!

17 extra yards for a 4 handicapper is surely quite a big boost? As in, a disproportionately large improvement compared to what they would gain from lessons?

The fitter said that he was no way expecting me to gain 17 yards considering the distance I was hitting it already. He said it was a huge increase... Obviously it is his job to sell drivers, but tbh I wasnt expecting that much of an increase either...

Also when you consider that range balls go approx 10-15% shorter than normal balls its actually more like a 20 yard increase

A 17 yards improvement would put Luke Donald from inside the bottom 20 in driving distance on the PGA tour to inside the Top 20!!

As to whether its a good investment, that is the question I guess...

I mean, I am constantly trying to improve, with the long term goal of getting to scratch or better and playing some competetive golf, and I believe that this club is definitely the best solution to my high ball flight problem with the driver...

BUT.....

I'm just not sure I can bring myself to spend that much money on one golf club!!

 

[EZprophet]

£450 is too much, and 17 yards is what a club and a half. you could almost get a full set of stronger irons and gain a lot of that yardage for the money.
tbh I've probably got enough length if I hit it clean, though as with others, guarantee hitting it straight . . .

I dont actually want more distance with my irons, as I dont have any ball flight problems with them, and am content with how far I hit them now (I would definitely like to hit them a lot striaghter though!

Its just my driver that Im concerned about, as I hit it way too high, which costs me distance, especially into the wind.

You do raise a good point though about how crazily expensive the driver is, as it almost is the full cost of a decent full set of irons!!

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I'd want it to hit itself for that kind of money

That's £26 a yd, not worth it in my book.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not worth it in my book. Off 4 then it'll only be one more club into the green and sooner or later technology will make that club redundant and give you better smash figures and yardage. If it was me I'd be looking at other shafts with a pro somewhere to give you better numbers and then put that into your current driver. Got to be a lot more efficient and cheaper

 

[Robobum]

I think 17 yards is a lot of improvement, worth £450?? Down to you if that cash won't be missed.

Hitting nearly 2 clubs less into greens? Who wouldn't want that?

 

[EZprophet]

If it was me I'd be looking at other shafts with a pro somewhere to give you better numbers and then put that into your current driver. Got to be a lot more efficient and cheaper

That would be a good idea but the problem is that the main thing I need change is the loft of the driver itself, (my cirrent shaft is actually pretty good for my swing apparently) and that means I need to get a new head.

My current is 9.5 degrees and the R11 I tested was adjusted down to 8 degrees. Ive been scouting around for an Ping i15 with the same shaft as mine in 8* and I found one on golfbidder the other day but before I knew it, it was gone!

If I can find one of them then Ill probably just sell my current one and if it works out that could be a much cheaper alternative.

 

[CrapHacker]

Also I tried the 910d3 when I got my i15 and while I love Titleist and the look of the club, I much preferred the feel and was getting better numbers from the Ping on the day... Possibly a poor decision in hindsight...

Hmmmmmmmm

I wouldn't rush to spend £450 given that you've only had one quick session with it.

However..

how often do you play?

Try putting your real numbers into this sum;

Say you play twice a week, that's 100 times a year.

If you use the club 7 times a round, that 700 times a year.

Say you keep the club for 3 years, that's 2100 hits.

£450 divided by 2100 is just over 21p per hit.

Is 17 yards worth 21p to you?

 

[SimonC]

If it was me I'd be looking at other shafts with a pro somewhere to give you better numbers and then put that into your current driver. Got to be a lot more efficient and cheaper

That would be a good idea but the problem is that the main thing I need change is the loft of the driver itself, (my cirrent shaft is actually pretty good for my swing apparently) and that means I need to get a new head.

My current is 9.5 degrees and the R11 I tested was adjusted down to 8 degrees. Ive been scouting around for an Ping i15 with the same shaft as mine in 8* and I found one on golfbidder the other day but before I knew it, it was gone!

If I can find one of them then Ill probably just sell my current one and if it works out that could be a much cheaper alternative.

I've got an 8 degree i15 but it's got a Project X 6.5 in it, I'm thinking of getting fit for a 910 so depending on the results it might be for sale.

 

[2004Champ]

Just back from Taylor Made there and interestingly enough I got fitted for the exact same shaft as the OP, only in extra stiff rather than stiff.

I hit a load of balls with my own driver and was carrying it 225 yards(it was into quite a strong wind).The fitter then proceeded to try me with several other shafts, none of which were as good as my old R7.

I eventually got the Dianama Kai'li X flex in my hands with 8 degrees of loft and the face set on closed and I was carrying it 242, but more importantly straight.

I was thinking about the cost as £450 is a lot of dough for one club, but sod it I'm going to pay it.

Got to say the fitting process at Taylor Made was absolutely top notch.I was there for one hour and 45 minutes and by the end of it I was 100% confident about what I needed and I will never buy a club again without getting properly fitted.

 

[G1BB0]

£450 for 1 club.... holy moly

if it gives you the confidence off the tee then that will add to the rest of your game imho so in reality not as bad as it 1st seems

 

[EZprophet]

If it was me I'd be looking at other shafts with a pro somewhere to give you better numbers and then put that into your current driver. Got to be a lot more efficient and cheaper

That would be a good idea but the problem is that the main thing I need change is the loft of the driver itself, (my cirrent shaft is actually pretty good for my swing apparently) and that means I need to get a new head.

My current is 9.5 degrees and the R11 I tested was adjusted down to 8 degrees. Ive been scouting around for an Ping i15 with the same shaft as mine in 8* and I found one on golfbidder the other day but before I knew it, it was gone!

If I can find one of them then Ill probably just sell my current one and if it works out that could be a much cheaper alternative.

I've got an 8 degree i15 but it's got a Project X 6.5 in it, I'm thinking of getting fit for a 910 so depending on the results it might be for sale.

Thanks mate but I would probably want to get it reshafted as the AXIVCORE shaft and that would be fairly costly for a second hander. Cheers though.

Also, its a bit late now anyways as Ive only gone and bought the R11 TP!!! arggggggg

After the copious amounts of posts about how its way to much for one club (which I absolutely agree with btw) it was this post that helped me decide to get it:

how often do you play?

Try putting your real numbers into this sum;

Say you play twice a week, that's 100 times a year.

If you use the club 7 times a round, that 700 times a year.

Say you keep the club for 3 years, that's 2100 hits.

£450 divided by 2100 is just over 21p per hit.

Is 17 yards worth 21p to you?

Not because of the brilliant maths involved but because it got me thinking about how much use and enjoyment I am going to get out of this bad boy. I play once or twice and practice 1-4 times per week so she will be getting plenty of time to show that shes worth the money.

I also kept thinking that 17 yards and a more consistent ball flight is not to be sniffed at and will hopefully take me one (very small) step closer to my golfing goals.

SO after I got a bit of birthday money last week to soften the blow I bit the bullet and gave TM a call. Ive got it now and of course I will let you know how it goes when I take it to the links!!