The monetary cost of extra yards...

howbow88

howbow88

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I currently have Titleist 917 D2 driver and 3W, which I both hit ok. Both are fairly straight, but low and don't go quite as far as I would like... The shafts are probably a teeny bit too strong for me.

I tried out the new Taylormade SIM Max driver yesterday with the stiff shaft, and it was around 20 yards further in total distance, and about 25 yards further in carry distance. Quite impressive and it felt nice to hit. It didn't seem to be as straight as my current driver though.

I cannot justify the price of over £400, so I'll probably stick with what I have. I'm intrigued as to what other golfers would so here though - Is the extra 20 yards, worth £400+ to you?
 
There are more variables that could equate to extra yards in this case -
  1. Are you fitter/healthier/stronger than you were before?
  2. Was the fitting done outside, inside or on the course
  3. How long is the shaft, what's the flex/weight
  4. How many shots did you perform to get the yardage increase
  5. Were you fitted for your previous driver- if so when, where, how?
  6. What are your delivery numbers - including spin/launch angles/dispersion etc
I only mention this as it can be all too seductive - I remember hitting a 280 yard drive but that was a good centered strike, but it could also spin so low when I miss hit it and i'd watch it drop out the sky like a rock.

I'd see that £400 more in terms of - I want a new driver, mine has a dent, I like the look of it, I worked hard recently and want something nice to show for it.
 
howbow88 said:
I currently have Titleist 917 D2 driver and 3W, which I both hit ok. Both are fairly straight, but low and don't go quite as far as I would like... The shafts are probably a teeny bit too strong for me.

I tried out the new Taylormade SIM Max driver yesterday with the stiff shaft, and it was around 20 yards further in total distance, and about 25 yards further in carry distance. Quite impressive and it felt nice to hit. It didn't seem to be as straight as my current driver though.

I cannot justify the price of over £400, so I'll probably stick with what I have. I'm intrigued as to what other golfers would so here though - Is the extra 20 yards, worth £400+ to you?
Click to expand...

I think you'd still have a good chance of finding something better suited to you from 2019 or 2018 models and saving yourself a few hundred quid.

I'd personally spend the time going to a range with a big shop at it, with a good range of older discounted models and second hand equipment. Spend an hour or so hitting clubs with a bit more flex and I think you will find something that gives you a higher ball flight and distance that will be closer to the SIM Max.

Personal story, was I bought into the Taylor Made SLDR back in the day. Got one new but discounted when it was maybe 18 months old for £150 or so, stiff shaft Hit a few decent shots with it once I was warmed up, but ultimately it wasn't the right club for me. Ended up taking a punt on an online direct company, Old Tom, and pre-ordering one of their drivers with regular flex. Hit it really well and Driver has gone from a big weakness for me to a decent weapon that I can put in play on almost every hole, with a few weak fades when I take a defensive swing.

Ok - so I was fairly lucky, but at least now I know what is suited to me.

Old Tom Golf
 
I bought my Titleist PT metals and DCI 962 irons in 1996 and played them until late last summer. The metals had been replaced by a new model that year but the PTs were still available. The DCI 962 model was brand new in 1996.

My new set has a TaylorMade Original One (275cc) 13.5º driver which replaces the 13º PT 2-wood that I was using as a driver. It's the first Taylor Made club I've owned since my first metalwoods in 1980. It didn't cost quite £400, but it knocks the snot off its predecessor in distance. It doesn't have to last nearly as long as its predecessor to be my last driver.

If the model that you mention has the same advantage over your Titleist club, you might at least consider indulging yourself. We're not on this side of the grass forever!
 
I'd love an extra 25yds but I could not justify £400, no question of that. The tops I have every paid for a single club is £90, a putter, but in reality I need to get past that psychologically. In answer to your question I'd pay £150 for an extra 25yds. I suppose the interesting question would be if I did a blind test and a club was superb would I go up to £200? ?
 
Were you fitted for the 917? I read somewhere they thought that model was a backwards step from the 915, and the TS range is a big step forward from the 915, which is the progression of a great range of drivers going back to the 909. Have a read, and it’s worth saying that since I wrote this I believe the quality of fitting at this branch has gone downhill, not least of all because they lost Chris

https://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/t...lane-lincoln-resulting-in-a-new-shiney.98946/

That was last winter. I’ve been hovering around 9 for 3 years, this year I came down a lot. I’m not saying it’s all down to the driver, it’s a combination of lots of things, but the extra carry and general straightness of flight with this driver has made a big difference. I can take lines now I couldn’t before, carry traps I may have laid up in front of. 10 yards may not be worth it but depending on your course 20 yards carry changes things significantly
 
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I’ve never understood the marketing appeal of “extra yards” for a driver. All an extra 10 or 15 yards means is that one uses a slightly shorter club on the next shot ... say a five hybrid instead of a four. The cumulative effect of the two shots is the same. There may be instances where those extra yards means that the green can be reached in one shot less but, for most of us average amateurs, they will be few and far between. Or am I missing something?
 
Canary Kid said:
I’ve never understood the marketing appeal of “extra yards” for a driver. All an extra 10 or 15 yards means is that one uses a slightly shorter club on the next shot ... say a five hybrid instead of a four. The cumulative effect of the two shots is the same. There may be instances where those extra yards means that the green can be reached in one shot less but, for most of us average amateurs, they will be few and far between. Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

I think we tend to miss this: golf is one recreational activity.
Obsessing over equipment is quite another.
They're vaguely related, I suppose, but those who do both are really not the same as those who just do the former.
 
No you can buy them, if your current shaft is very wrong for you.

One example. Season before last one of my bogey holes was the 7th. The difference between laying up of a trap (or sometimes going for a big hit but finding the trap) and having a 4 iron in to a well protected green meant I had some absolute howlers there.

This year I carried it most of the time and being downhill after the trap, had anything from an 8 iron to wedge in.

Only two doubles, loads of pars (5 comps in a row) and a hens tooth of a birdie. That’s just one, taking more aggressive lines is another and for me the difference between going in with an 8iron or 6iron is very significant.

The driver was a gift but would I say it was worth £400 of my own money? At the time id have said no, well clearly because I hadn’t gone about buying one! After last season, yes I would.
 
I'm with Patrick, if it was 20yds over any alternative I would get it without question. 20 yds is the difference between getting there and not for me currently on a lot of holes, on a lot of courses.
At 10yds the equation swings back.
I've never bought a new model driver yet though - I'm reasonably confident that I wouldn't get 20 yds from this one over my M2 either).
 
Canary Kid said:
I’ve never understood the marketing appeal of “extra yards” for a driver. All an extra 10 or 15 yards means is that one uses a slightly shorter club on the next shot ... say a five hybrid instead of a four. The cumulative effect of the two shots is the same. There may be instances where those extra yards means that the green can be reached in one shot less but, for most of us average amateurs, they will be few and far between. Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

I think the “shorter club” is the point. Shorter clubs are easier to control, launch higher, and so land softer, making holding the green more likely.

If you can gain 20 yards, and reduce your shot to the green from an 8 iron to a pitching wedge, that’s worth having?
 
duncan mackie said:
I'm with Patrick, if it was 20yds over any alternative I would get it without question. 20 yds is the difference between getting there and not for me currently on a lot of holes, on a lot of courses.
At 10yds the equation swings back.
I've never bought a new model driver yet though - I'm reasonably confident that I wouldn't get 20 yds from this one over my M2 either).
Click to expand...
Duncan ,did you ever get round to trying it with a senior shaft ?
 
duncan mackie said:
I'm with Patrick, if it was 20yds over any alternative I would get it without question. 20 yds is the difference between getting there and not for me currently on a lot of holes, on a lot of courses.
At 10yds the equation swings back.
I've never bought a new model driver yet though - I'm reasonably confident that I wouldn't get 20 yds from this one over my M2 either).
Click to expand...
dead right that extra 20 yards means the diff between a 5 iron and a 7 iron on some of the par 4's

i tried all the newer drivers last year and none touched my M2 with white tie shaft and TBH some of the results the OEM came up with in the fittings where far fetched to say the least, not to mention the distances they suggested.
 
Canary Kid said:
I’ve never understood the marketing appeal of “extra yards” for a driver. All an extra 10 or 15 yards means is that one uses a slightly shorter club on the next shot ... say a five hybrid instead of a four. The cumulative effect of the two shots is the same. There may be instances where those extra yards means that the green can be reached in one shot less but, for most of us average amateurs, they will be few and far between. Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
At my club the shortest par 4 is 400yds. That's just out of my reach in 2 so I play an awful lot of short chip shots for my 3rd shot. Another 20yds off the tee would make a very real and genuine difference to me.
 
But also ask yourself, will being 25 yards further up the fairway take away some of the variety of your round?

Will you be hitting lots of wedge shots for your seconds on par fours?
How often will you be able to hit a long iron into a green?

I moved the other way and chose to play woods that lost me 30 odd yards but I enjoy my golf more due to the greater variety of shots I now play and the different challenge.
We're all handicap golfers and, unless you enter scratch competitions, I can't see the point of buying a few extra yards that "might" get your handicap down a shot or two but won't actually improve you as a golfer, in fact in my warped world it will make you worse.
 
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