So much for the latest technology!

[1sttimelucky]

Headed to American golf on Friday past with a wallet full of Easter bonus ready to splash the cash on a new driver.
I have been playing with a Taylormade r11s since it was launched and decided a change was needed more out of being bored with the r11 than hitting it badly. Seeing most of the major brands adverts on telly week in week out about longer straighter etc only added fuel to the fire.

After spending 1 hour 15 mins hitting the latest offerings from Titliest, Ping, Callaway, Taylormade and Cobra both myself and the sales assistant were left disappointed that my old and somewhat worn looking r11s still carried further and had a bigger total distance than all the new offerings while at the same time having the best accuracy.

I know part of the problem is the fact that I am used to my current driver but if any of the new clubs had of even showed a slight improvement on my stats then I might have been tempted to part with my hard earned £.

Has anyone ever changed there driver purely for the sake of it even though all the stats are screaming don't?

 

[Alex1975]

Hmmm.... Your R11s is new.... very new. Just because its 3 or so TM releases old does not make it old I am afraid, your still well up to spec!

 

[duncan mackie]

Hmmm.... Your R11s is new.... very new. Just because its 3 or so TM releases old does not make it old I am afraid, your still well up to spec!

probably only 2 really; reinforcing your point! R11s-> R1-> SLDR the parallel development stream being Burner/RBZ/RBZ2/Jetspeed.

then again I've 4 Burners

 

[1sttimelucky]

Not disputing that's it is still fairly new or up to spec merely trying to highlight that after listening to and seeing all the claims made by the manufacturers that the technology hasn't moved on very much if at all over the last 3 years!!

Sales assistant very confidently exclaimed at the beginning of the exercise that technology has improved greatly since the r11s was launched, granted he is a sales man trying to get me to part with my money so it's understandable.

 

[Alex1975]

probably only 2 really; reinforcing your point! R11s-> R1-> SLDR the parallel development stream being Burner/RBZ/RBZ2/Jetspeed.

then again I've 4 Burners

Hehe.... I was kinda pushing the TM take the mic line rather than being accurate.... but is the SLDR mini and SLDR white 5?

 

[Alex1975]

Not disputing that's it is still fairly new or up to spec merely trying to highlight that after listening to and seeing all the claims made by the manufacturers that the technology hasn't moved on very much if at all over the last 3 years!!

Sales assistant very confidently exclaimed at the beginning of the exercise that technology has improved greatly since the r11s was launched, granted he is a sales man trying to get me to part with my money so it's understandable.

In a way it has moved on from a TM point of view. They have taken a vastly different direction but it is just that, different.

 

[patricks148]

one of the guys i play with still uses a TM R5 and he hits it as far as anyone, it might be one of the banned ones though

 

[duncan mackie]

Hehe.... I was kinda pushing the TM take the mic line rather than being accurate.... but is the SLDR mini and SLDR white 5?

nope - not in my book

 

[duncan mackie]

Not disputing that's it is still fairly new or up to spec merely trying to highlight that after listening to and seeing all the claims made by the manufacturers that the technology hasn't moved on very much if at all over the last 3 years!!

your choice of words doesn't sit that comfortably - the technology has moved on significantly; the impact of these aren't necessarily significant to everyone in the same way at all.

To take one specific comparison, how did the SLDR perform for you with the same shaft you currently use?

 

[Martin70]

one of the guys i play with still uses a TM R5 and he hits it as far as anyone, it might be one of the banned ones though

I still play a R5 - I had my mates winding me up saying I'd got a banned club so I looked into it quite extensively. Fortunately mine appears on the R&A approved list - the easiest way to differentiate was the wording on the face if I remember correctly "R5" = approved and 'MAX' = banned.

 

[RGDave]

Hmmm.

When I returned to golf, I was sucked in by square technology and bought a Wilson Spine driver. (12*)

It was quite good, but I couldn't hit a "safe fade" with it.... one of my favorite shots that suits 3 or 4 holes on my course. So, I bought a Mizuno MX700 in 13* which seemed to give me more carry and allowed safe fading.... (!?"**)

I then got drawn towards a Ping G15, which statistically gave me a little less (lower) launch angle. I still bought it though... and have had it 3 years I think. In the summer, it goes further than the Mizuno but not on a wet, soggy course.

I do like it though.

 

[Foxholer]

one of the guys i play with still uses a TM R5 and he hits it as far as anyone, it might be one of the banned ones though

Pretty sure all versions of R5 are conforming. Though Martin70's 'Max' rings a bell. Don't know if that applied to R5s though (memory failing). TM conforming heads tend to have second ring of 'grooves' on face, while non-conforming ones only had/have 1.

Bit of an 'old man's club' - quite high spin, but pretty accurate. I had a Tour (reject) one for a while - the weights were moveable/changeable which only featured on the later Retail ones. I think I even still have the head somewhere!

Edit: Yep Martin70's R5 vs Max method is correct. R5 is actually missing from the non-conforming list, which seems to have changed format - used to show conforming marks and conforming list used to show non-conforming attributes.

 

[tsped83]

I don't use a particularly new driver (2009?) and it gives me better results than it's predecessor (X Hot) which is/was a current model. I suspect that might be more to do with the shafts I was playing in each though, rather than the head.

A pro told me on my last lesson a while back that when it comes to drivers, you can put an average head on a good shaft and have a v.good club, but not the other way around.

 

[gripitripit]

I went to AG on Friday and tried out the Cleveland Classic XL driver.. 12 degree as my Diablo is getting on a bit and fancied a change... But after hitting it I decided to keep the money and stick with the old dog. The Cleveland is suppose to be an easy driver to hit but I was not feeling it. I am getting along Ok with the diablo at the mo and decided not to change for the sake of it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Interesting post. I haven't been endeared to many of the TM incarnations. They don't seem to do much for me. I did hit the latest BB from Cally as they happened to be doing a demo on the day I had a playing lesson. Very good but for me my G25 is still better. I'm a cynic and never buy into any of this marketing hype about greater distance etc as my swing is capable of making the ball go a long way regardless. Just not always where I'm intending. That said, has the market really stood still or are the OP and gripitripit just lucky in that the driver they have is the best for their game

 

[gripitripit]

I think to be fair to the current drivers it's my ability (or lack of) that is not getting the most out of them. The diablo is 5 years old and easy as anything to hit and hit pretty long. A better golfer I am sure would and does see the difference between newer stuff with the different head/shaft combos... But for the high handicapper I think most gear from the last 5 years would do the job

 

[1sttimelucky]

I think to be fair to the current drivers it's my ability (or lack of) that is not getting the most out of them. The diablo is 5 years old and easy as anything to hit and hit pretty long. A better golfer I am sure would and does see the difference between newer stuff with the different head/shaft combos... But for the high handicapper I think most gear from the last 5 years would do the job

Have been thinking more about my experience regarding the new drivers and wonder how much of a difference it would be to get fitted for a suitable shaft as opposed to playing with an of the shelf general setup?

 

[Markw]

I always see it as some people just want the latest clubs regardless but quality in the newer golf clubs has gone downhill, a friend who owns a golf sales and repair shop tells me that he has lots of newer drivers come in with cracks and bits falling off as well as not aging well, compared to drivers 3-4 years and older. Its also affected the resale of them as the prices have plummeted. Regarding the original post, I have taken my FTIZ Imix 11 + 13 degree heads to test against the newest drivers a few times and nothing has came close!

 

[Markw]

Have been thinking more about my experience regarding the new drivers and wonder how much of a difference it would be to get fitted for a suitable shaft as opposed to playing with an of the shelf general setup?

That should be your first port of call, you can have a good driver head with wrong shaft that doesn't perform and vice versa. I am a bit of a tinkerer and did it myself over time by testing imix shafts and then adjusting them, found a nice shaft in the Mitsubishi rayon Fubuki 63xct in stiff but wasn't quite stiff enough, removed the imix tip and tipped it 1/2 inch first then another 1/4 and its now perfect for me, combined with my FTIZ 13 degree head gives me straight and long, 270-280y in current conditions. Have been using this set up for 3-4 years and now see the major manufacturers are going stiffer shaft/high loft!