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new driver required

jpenno said:
Did you actually use a driver with a stiff shaft and 9.5 loft? - A stiff shaft on your current driver may solve the problems of high flight.

Its usually better to have a bit of height off the tee ;). You havent said where your based, my local pro is based at the driving range and in addition to the new clubs they have a decent selection of older and px clubs which may make it easier to find something cheaper for now if your concerned that your swing will improve substantially to make you outgrow any club.

I should also warn you that no matter how long you do play you will find that Drives tend to go left and right, particularly when you dont want them too.!!
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for those asking I am based in south manchester.

I haven't hit the 10.5 with a stiff shaft, although I have now hit numerous different 9 & 9.5 deg drivers with stiff shafts and I'm still getting plenty of height

Haha I'm fully ready for shots to go wayward! Although keeping it in and around the fairway some if not most of the time is surely a realistic goal!!?
 
Tiger said:
Like you I had to give up football forgolf and naturally hit the ball a long way. I think you are right that you need to change your driver. I guess it depends how accurate and confident you are now. I wasn't that confident with the driver so got a second hand one to learn with and will hopefully get fitted later this year. If you are confident using one then speak to your pro but it sounds like the G20 was working for you.
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my Nike Sq sumo was a 2nd hand off ebay, £50, in very good condition. It has served me ok for the short period of time together. It will go back up on ebay and from current listings I will get around the same money back for it.

2nd hand stiff driver is more than likely the option I will take. whether its an r11, g50 or any other option is the difficult choice.

I'm way off being properly fitted with a custom club, fully aware of that, however I am a great believer in if you want to do something do it properly not half assed. I'm hugely competitive and am playing with a couple of decent players so naturally I want to get my game as good as possible in as short a period of time possible.

I just think if I buy wisely, (which so far I have done, 50 quid driver, 60 quid set of titleist irons which are serving me fine at the moment) then I can afford to change clubs as an when my swing gets better.
 
Andr3w said:
Oh, I also have the same driver as you, Nike SQ but with a stiff shaft. I wouldn't rule this out as an option, you can pick one up for peanuts on golfbidder and it's very easy to use compared to some of the drivers mentioned, I find it impossible to miss the sweet spot with it.
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its far from ruled out. In fact one of the guys I play with has a different SQ to me. 9.5 and stiff shaft. i have hit that driver better than any so far. I like mine at the moment for feel, looks etc just by all accounts my swing is too damn quick for the thing to keep up
 
wnn670 said:
Had a go with a few different drivers today in a "fitting" Ping G20, couple of Callaways, Cleveland and Titleist 910 driver. Ping felt allround the best suited club for me.....

However with my swing still being in its infancy I want to purchase something to is highly adjustable for the future when I develop a certain tendancy, at the moment I hit a few straight and long but also can go either left or right with the same frequency.

Have been looking at the R11 taylormade, and was just wondering if you guys would recommend this for a beginner at the game or is there a driver out there that is by far the easiest for someone of my level to become consistent with?

Any help is very much appreciated!

Cheers

oh and distance isn't important to me, without being big headed I hit it pretty far anyway as I'm 6ft 3 and pretty athletic. I've been hitting my 5 wood consistently the same or more distance than a friend of mine who plays of 14 hits his driver. I need to concentrate my efforts on direction!!
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Would definitely recommend NOT the R11 as a 'beginner's' driver unless you have tried one and it really suits - in which that actual club (don't get one 'like' as it will be different!) is the one for you. While it can be solid and long, it is quite a lot less forgiving than its Burner (in 2011 terms) stablemate and can be quite difficult to get the right shaft for, even with the adjustability.

That G20 sounds like the one to go for. Evolution from earlier Ping models and, while not adjustable, will go straight if you hit it properly. I bought a G15 off a mate to sell on Ebay and made the 'mistake' of using it once - it's been in the bag since! Here's an independent review http://www.mygolfspy.com/ping-g20-driver-review/ The G series is pretty forgiving without being pure Game Improvement, so should be fine for you for 2-3 years, which is about the length of time Drivers tend to be 'current' technology/performance.

Adjustability, while great for marketing, has very little use once the club is set up properly. It still won't solve swing issues, like hooks and slices. The moveable weights are actually far too little to make a significant difference to swings and only a couple of yards or so on 'identical' swings. The best part of the R11 system (imo) is the ability to change shafts simply (and 'cheaply').

BTW. Ping traditionally 'lie' about the loft of their Drivers, so a low loft one, with stiff (at least) shaft seems likely to be more suitable. Obviously, a fitting of some sort would be the best way to go but can add considerably to the cost. You seem to be slightly 'out of the norm', so fitting recommended more than normal. I'm happy with the Ping upgrade (Aldila Serrano Stiff) shaft for my G15. As an example of an athletic footballer's swing, 'Sir Les' plays a Project X Stiff in his Burner (10.5?) - and hits it very well. It's likely that the 'standard' ones will not be right for you. However, it's also very likely that what is right for you now will still be right for you once your swing settles down. Unless you are really slashing at it now, your natural tempo will general stick with you, even when other parts of your swing change through lessons.

Apologies for the ramble!

Good Luck in the hunt.

PS. Welcome aboard - both to the Forum and to this great frustrating feckin' game!

PPS. My Ant Cruciate destruction was from hockey!
 
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cheers,

i managed to do acl, lcl and pcl!

thanks for the advice. read the review, i'm 100% not one of those guys who just wants a club because of its looks. would much rather have an ugly club which i can hit straight than the best looking club which I shank all day long!
 
Get the R11. So easy to hit, literally anyone can hit it.

The head is high quality and you can change shafts as your swing improves.
 
going against general consensus here mate!

think I will have to actually try the club for myself. this and the titleist 910 would be high on the list of drivers I wanted if it was purely about looks etc but at my stage of golf thats the last thing on my mind!!

I hit the titleist 910 today and was awful with it compared to the ping, cleveland etc
 
wnn670 said:
thanks all,

spending money on lessons instead is kind of defeating the object, really do not see the point in having lessons swinging something that is clearly not for me. everyone who has seen me swing says I need a stiff shaft, backed up by the flightscope thing I did today.

So a new driver is the way forward for sure in my opinion. obviously accompanied by my ongoing lessons and practice.

So 2 options are another driver similar to the one I have now but with a stiff shaft and lower loft, (10.5 is resulting in a higher than average ball flight, of all my current failings hitting them low isn't one, which again is why I have been recommended to go to a 9.5) or a fully adjustable driver that is forgiving enough for me now but can be adapted in the future.

Money is far from no object but I do not mind paying decent prices for something I will use every weekend and that will be helpful to my development of the game

oh and andr3w, differences between the g20 and k15?
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You are likely to find that the lower loft you use the more dispersion you will get,
 
wnn670 said:
going against general consensus here mate!

think I will have to actually try the club for myself. this and the titleist 910 would be high on the list of drivers I wanted if it was purely about looks etc but at my stage of golf thats the last thing on my mind!!

I hit the titleist 910 today and was awful with it compared to the ping, cleveland etc
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I didn't read what anyone else said to be fair! Just my personal opinion.

R11 is by far the best driver I've hit. If you can get a decent one for £200 go for it. If it doesn't work out you won't lose money on it either.
 
Just thought I'd say I have a similar problem about hitting it high and a lot of that has to do with spin rate. At a proper fitting that can change the shaft to help with that but I'm just trying to get consistent first before going down that route. Have improved quite a lot over the last three months and starting to think about changing the driver now. But you do have to get rid of that regular shaft or you are doing your development a disservice. Good luck with it all
 
thanks tiger, was my exact thoughts too. initially someone gave me a set of irons with a graphite shaft, I swung them 2 or 3 times at a driving range and couldn't hit them for toffee, was like swinging a twig from a branch in the tree. so I changed to my titleist steel shafts which cost me either 50 or 60 quid second hand.

I think there is a difference between going overboard and thinking the top clubs will help you develop and using something that is basically wrong for you.
 
if it was me Id get some new drivers, mainly stiff shafts and get on a a trackman/launchmonitor.

Hit a few and get as close to 2500rpm as poss (not sure of best launch angle, someone will know or check oddsocks ag custom fit post) and note the shaft make and flex etc.

Then pick up a G10/R11/etc with a similar shaft - it wont be an exact fit but will be close enough for the next 6-12 months when you can sell it and probably get back half the cost. And get yourself a proper fit.

Good luck and welcome to the #1 Golf forum
 
thanks everyone. any recommendations as to where can fit me out properly for a club? Based in south manchester but willing to travel around the north west
 
If you are relatively new to the game I'd avoid adjustable drivers at all cost as all they will do is compensate for any swing flaws. As a beginner it's important to develop a good basic swing which you can build on therefore I'd advise going for a neutral faced driver with minimum offset.

Although I use an adjustable driver I don't play with the settings and have it set to neutral. It was the right price with the right shaft and it suits my game.

You'll read a lot of reviews on drivers, shafts, lofts and adjustability however in reality there isn't as much difference in performance as some make out. Try a few drivers that you like the look off, that feel right and hit the ball straight and consistently. Once you've narrowed it down to a few choose the one which gives you most confidence.

Because you haven't been playing long don't pay over the top because in six months time your swing will develop and change which may require you to purchase another driver.
 
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