Wish I hadn't tried my partners driver.

[Jay Gee]

I've only been playing since January and have a Callaway Diablo Octane Black 13.5 deg driver with an A-flex (senior/amateur) shaft. I recently discovered that the shaft was too soft for my swing speed (95-100) and was (partially) responsible for many shots ballooning and going right. I was looking for a regular shaft, but ended up buying the same driver in 11.5 deg / reg shaft for not much more than a shaft and it should arrive Thursday or Friday.

I played 18 with my brother yesterday and when he saw how badly I was hitting my current driver, he suggested I try his Razr Fit 9.5 deg / reg shaft. It felt much better and resulted in a 275 yard drive straight down the fairway. The tee was slightly elevated and I probably got a good bounce on the firm fairway, but at the same time I didn't swing for the hills. My previous best with the Octane 13.5/senior was 260 yards.

Now I can't stop thinking about the Razr Fit and I haven't even got the Octane 11.5/reg yet. I was also surprised that I managed to launch a 9.5 deg driver and am worried that the 11.5 deg might even be too high a loft. I tried out a 11.5 about 6-8 weeks ago and it launched well, but didn't do so well with a 10.5 deg at the time. Could have just been a lucky strike with the Razr Fit or maybe be all the lessons and practice are paying off.

Oh, I completely ballsed up the rest of the hole after the big drive and gave credence to the expression "Drive for show ...."

 

[pbrown7582]

Ah but don't forget the unwritten rule any borrowed club behaves spot in until actually purchased then it's heads toward the naughty step at a rapid rate of knots! :lol:

 

[Alex1975]

The Razr Fit is a better quality driver and a fair bit more money than the Diablo. If it does not feel right then sell it on and start again....

 

[Ethan]

An A flex shaft would be too soft for 95-100 unless you were blessed with a remarkably smooth swing. Regular or stiff will suit better and alow you to attack the ball more.

The Razr Fit model which came out a couple of years ago has bow been superseded by the Extreme, so there are quite a few around at good prices, new and second hand. I would be a bit wary of going too straight faced. 10.5 degrees is as popular on Tour these days as 9.5, and Nick Watney uses a 11.5.

 

[timchump]

whatever you do, do not try the razr fit xtreme

i did and im in the same dilema

i can't really afford it, bought a new set of irons only a month ago,

on the other hand it did go further than my current driver and felt much nicer..

i wish i never laid my hands on it

 

[Andy808]

Ah but don't forget the unwritten rule any borrowed club behaves spot in until actually purchased then it's heads toward the naughty step at a rapid rate of knots! :lol:

It can behave for a while longer if you pay for it on the credit card then it's a good boy until you pay off the card!
You could kid yourself into making it work for longer by not paying off the card and thinking it's part of the driver that has to be paid for.
Razr fit is a superb club but I found the Titleist 910 even better. Don't try one or your dilemma might be exasperated!

 

[Jay Gee]

As long as I can hit the 11.5 deg Octane straightish and 260 or so, I'll try to be content with that. I must confess I went straight round to AG to try a Razr Fit, but they didn't have any. They offered to let me try the Xtreme, but at £300 my credit card politely declined. I did try a Razr X Black (£129), an R11 (about £160?) and a used Octane 11.5/reg. I warmed up with the Octane and tried the R11 first on the LM. It was great, although the other 2 weren't far off. Then I went back to the R11 and couldn't hit it! The curse of the new golfer. It's hard to evaluate anything when you can't string more than a handful of good shots together.

The sales guy was funny. At first he couldn't believe I'd only been playing a few months, but he soon shut up when I started topping balls and banging his new clubs into the mat!

Anyway, I'll see how I get on with the 11.5 deg Octane when it arrives and go from there. Thanks for the comments.

 

[shewy]

to soft a shaft will not result in ballooning and going right, that's your swing. A shaft to soft for you will go left.
Glad you have found something that works a bit better for you though.

 

[Jay Gee]

to soft a shaft will not result in ballooning and going right, that's your swing. A shaft to soft for you will go left.
Glad you have found something that works a bit better for you though.

Thanks for your insight. I understood that an overly soft flex could result in balls flying in either direction with one scenario being the head trailing and leaving the face open at impact? Either way, I fully accept that I have a poor swing However, I must be doing something really bad if I'm making what should be a left flight go right! I was also putting the ballooning down to the high loft as much as the soft shaft.

I might get some better idea once I get to try the 11.5/reg and 13.5/soft side by side.

 

[duncan mackie]

Thanks for your insight. I understood that an overly soft flex could result in balls flying in either direction with one scenario being the head trailing and leaving the face open at impact? Either way, I fully accept that I have a poor swing However, I must be doing something really bad if I'm making what should be a left flight go right! I was also putting the ballooning down to the high loft as much as the soft shaft.

I might get some better idea once I get to try the 11.5/reg and 13.5/soft side by side.

fwiw I agree with shewy

and 'balloning' will be much more an angle of attack issue than loft for the majority of people

anyhow, you seem to be enjoying the fun of playing with drivers and lofts and shafts and models - long may it continue

 

[6inchcup]

got a message from my old playing partner on sunday on this very subject but for a different situation,having got his custom r1 driver on thursday last week he hit the range on saturday in his words 5 monsters later he was asked by the lad from his works who had gone with him could he have a go,no problem my mate said,CRACK!!!!!! the noises a driver makes when hitting full force into the metal ridge round the automatic tee,broken driver,sounds of weeping and a hundred sorry's,moral NEVER lend any anything to anyone.

 

[Markw]

Thanks for your insight. I understood that an overly soft flex could result in balls flying in either direction with one scenario being the head trailing and leaving the face open at impact? Either way, I fully accept that I have a poor swing However, I must be doing something really bad if I'm making what should be a left flight go right! I was also putting the ballooning down to the high loft as much as the soft shaft.

I might get some better idea once I get to try the 11.5/reg and 13.5/soft side by side.

It is possible to go right with too soft a shaft even with a reasonable swing, to go left is what happens to most average golfers. Aggressive swingers like myself will mostly get the high fade with too soft or tip soft shaft, if I hit a regular or as they are all different, a softer stiff shaft I can feel the head lagging and open at impact, too stiff and I hit left.

 

[Jay Gee]

. . hitting full force into the metal ridge round the automatic tee,broken driver,sounds of weeping and a hundred sorry's,moral NEVER lend any anything to anyone.

Ouch! Another take on it would be to get insurance.

It is possible to go right with too soft a shaft even with a reasonable swing, to go left is what happens to most average golfers. Aggressive swingers like myself will mostly get the high fade with too soft or tip soft shaft, if I hit a regular or as they are all different, a softer stiff shaft I can feel the head lagging and open at impact, too stiff and I hit left.

Thanks, I guess I'll be better off addressing my swing issues when I've got a more suitable driver in my hands. I wasn't disputing anyone's input though, just saying what I thought was the case. Happy to stand corrected.

 

[Markw]

Ouch! Another take on it would be to get insurance.


Thanks, I guess I'll be better off addressing my swing issues when I've got a more suitable driver in my hands. I wasn't disputing anyone's input though, just saying what I thought was the case. Happy to stand corrected.

The thing with golf is that nothing is normal! some will hit left, some will hit right with the same shaft and swing speed but different tempos. it took my years to find a good shaft that suits me, but as with ever golfer alive, I bet there is a better shaft out there somewhere!

 

[Coatsy79]

I had the same problem with the ping anser, I hit it soooooo well when I tired my uncle in laws, but I'm not in the market for a £300+ driver

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its a well known fact that a borrowed club will always behave until it is purchased. Stick with what you've bought and give it at least three months before thinking about changing

 

[Foxholer]

It is possible to go right with too soft a shaft even with a reasonable swing, to go left is what happens to most average golfers. Aggressive swingers like myself will mostly get the high fade with too soft or tip soft shaft, if I hit a regular or as they are all different, a softer stiff shaft I can feel the head lagging and open at impact, too stiff and I hit left.

Same happens with me. I have a fairly late release so too soft means face open, especially if shaft torque is high. Low torque helps. With early releasers, the face is already closed when the ball is struck, so it heads left! At least, yhat was how it was explained to me a few years ago. It could well be that the numbers and cameras were fibbing!

I know a Pro who uses Regular as anything Stiff becomes a hook machine. I believe he compensates with quick hands.

So faults/issues depend on the individual imo. keeps the Bobs and fitters in work though!

 

[SocketRocket]

Here we go again

'Not broken 100'

'275 down the middle'

'13.5/senior was 260 yards.'

 

[Jay Gee]

Here we go again

'Not broken 100'

'275 down the middle'

'13.5/senior was 260 yards.'

I understand your cynicism, but these were exceptional and rare occurrences. I also made it clear that the 275 was from an elevated tee, to a firm fairway - 16th hole at Castle Royle, Maidenhead.

I track my half decent shots with GPS so I can work out my potential and average distances, but I don't bother tracking topped tee shots that make it just past the ladies tees. Nor do I track lost balls My swing speed was measured by a Tom Wishon clubfitter and I also have a 3Bays GSA which was consistent with his results.

Below, are tracked distances for my driver and below that, my average/best distances for each club (1st number is average, 2nd number is max). Prior to 23-04-13, I didn't even carry a driver or 3 wood and would use a 4 or 5 iron off the tee.

BTW, I haven't gone to this trouble specifically to respond to your comment. I just copied the stats from a recent email to my clubfitter.

196, 260, 227, 205, 226, 245, 214, 256, 218, 205, 191, 257, 187, 213, 261, 223, 200, 201, 214, 275. Average = 223

	28-03-13	29-04-13
D		221-261
3W		186-223
3H		168-183
4i	155-191​	154-171
5i	148-180​	143-180
6i	124-153​	144-158
7i	130-139​	125-137
8i	119-129​	136-153
9i	113-119​	121-134
PW	93-113​	113-127
AW	74-80​	81-93
SW	57-80​	57-80
LW	54-61​	52-61

FWIW, I'm a 47 year old man with a lovely family etc. There's nothing lacking in my life that would lead me to make false claims on a forum and my post was about choosing/finding a suitable driver, rather than bragging about my prowess with said driver.

 

[Jay Gee]

Its a well known fact that a borrowed club will always behave until it is purchased. Stick with what you've bought and give it at least three months before thinking about changing

Thanks Homer, I almost pulled the trigger on an ex-display Razr Fit yesterday at £115, but don't want to give up on a driver that hasn't even arrived yet.

Are you up for a game locally? You posted on an early thread of mine a while ago about coming down to Ascot. I still haven't signed up for a proper membership anywhere and couldn't make your open day on the 21st. I got a handicap membership at Bird Hills in the meantime, just to get the ball rolling, but haven't submitted any cards yet as I need to play with members to get my cards signed.

I'm not sure whether I should be submitting cards yet anyway. What sort of scores should I be shooting to make it worthwhile? Last few rounds have been 101 - 107.