Draw driver - Bad idea in the long run?

[pinball]

Hello, I have been lurking for a while here and this is my first post.

I am finally looking to replace my clubs and I am not sure if I should get a draw driver or a neutral one.

I slice the ball with my driver but lately I have been changing my grip and it has helped in reducing the number of or severity of the slices.

So here is my question: Am I better off buying a draw driver to help/fix the problem or am I better off buying a neutral driver and continuing to try fixing the slice myself? My concern with buying the draw driver is that I will not really be learning to stop the slice.

Thanks.

[nevermind]

If you're hitting a bad slice ( a ball that starts left of target and slices over 30 yards) you would be much better off with lessons. However if you consistently hit a fade (ball starts closer to straight with a 10 to 15 yard fade) a draw driver isn't a bad idea at all. A golf buddy hits fades and bought a ft 3 draw and his 15 yard fade became a 5 - 10 yarder, also gained some distance and lowered his ball flight a bit to boot.

[JEBS]

Welcome to the forum!

I used to use a draw bias driver but still found that I pushed or sliced. I tried a different model and had similar results. I then tried a neutral driver with a more closed face and my slice straightened out quite nicely. I am no authority on the draw bias driver but for me it did not seem to work.

If you have a very severe slice I would suggest trying an offset driver.

[nearace]

jebs has the right idea an off set head works wonders,where are you making contact on the club face?are you swinging inside to outside,all of these could be killing the swing plane,maybe a quick lesson is in order to have a pro take a look:) lots of things could be your problem, good luck let us know how you make out.welcome to the forum.

[Chambokl]

You could always buy a Taylor Made driver. Set it up for a draw to start and as you get rid of your slice and change your swing a bit set it up for neutral.

This is the best of both world...lol.

I also think the TM driver are the best...

[73monte]

IF you play enough, then you should stay away from draw drivers, as they will not help your slice/fade with your other clubs. Much better to improve our swing to correct the problem. If you only play a couple of times a month, then try anything that the equipment advances can offer.

[xander.uk]

Personally i favour lessons and working on your swing to improve your swing but depending how often you get to practice/play and how long you think you will stick with your new equipment ( some people change frequently :) ) then a "draw driver" may not be a bad idea.

There have been a number of debates on here regarding the effectiveness of draw drivers though :) .

The general consensus "appears" to be that closed face drivers are more effective than the moveable weight type drivers.

I can tell you that a friend of mine ( who doesnt play very often ) got a macgregor mactec nvg2 draw driver ( which has both moveable weight and a slightly closed face ) and it has straightened his slice out considerably ( and he has gained 30 yards ).

The problem is when he accidently hooks it it goes miles :D .

As i said i favour trying to correct the swing problem that causes the slice but if you dont have the time to allow you to do it then these drivers can help.

[leftintherough]

Hey Pinball, welcome to the nuts!

I moved to a draw biased driver and it helped tremdously ! I used it all last year and also took some lessons. This year I moved the weight into a neutral biase as I have been able to make better contact and improve my swing. If your goal is to keep getting better, than a head that you can move the weights and lessons are the way to proceed. If your just out to have fun and get help for the slices, then you may want to either dump the driver entirely in favour of a good 3 wood or look at getting an off-set driver. The offset works wonders for slicers.

[beeker]

What about going to a high-loft driver. Does this substantially help to correct slices?

[xander.uk]

I THINK ( not sure ) that i read that Colin Montgomery has gone to a 10.5* loft driver so he hits more fairways and gets more "hang time" and therefore distance.

I think it was him but it was certainly a tour pro.

The "theory" is that the modern golf ball actually performs better this way.

Not sure how sound the theory is though :confused:

[avidgolfer]

I was demoing the draw and neutral versions of the same driver back to back. The draw driver kept on fading and the the neutral driver kept on drawing. I then realized that a draw bias does not guarantee a cure from slicing.

Never mind what is written on the club. Just choose the club that seems to work best for you and then groove your swing to fit that club.

I THINK ( not sure ) that i read that Colin Montgomery has gone to a 10.5* loft driver so he hits more fairways and gets more "hang time" and therefore distance.

I think it was him but it was certainly a tour pro.

The "theory" is that the modern golf ball actually performs better this way.

Not sure how sound the theory is though :confused:

My understanding was that in the "old" days, pros and low handicappers played Balata balls which spun like crazy whether you hit driver or wedge. These players used low lofted drivers so that the balls are launched low and then would balloon up to the desired trajectory.

Now the modern balls are designed to control the back spin rates on drivers while still producing high spin on irons/wedges. With less spin, these balls don't balloon on drives so they have to be launched high to get the desired trajectory.

[pinball]

Just a quick thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. This forum is a really great community for golfers to share ideas, knowledge, and experiences.

[TourIQ]

So here is my question: Am I better off buying a draw driver to help/fix the problem or am I better off buying a neutral driver and continuing to try fixing the slice myself? My concern with buying the draw driver is that I will not really be learning to stop the slice.Thanks.Buy NEUTRAL and learn to hit it properly then you hit your other clubs better too.

[Albert Hacker]

I do not like the idea of trying to buy a club that is meant to draw the ball. As crooked as I hit it (sometimes), I want the ability to control the shot and hit it where I want. When I am swinging well, I hit a straight ball or soft fade.
If I throw out my right arm and come across the ball (like I was doing all day Sat/Sun), then it's a dead pull and if the hands open on the backswing that gets really messed up into a slice.

I watched a discussion on Vijay Singh and a drill he was working on to eliminate the left side of the course. He stuck a shaft just in front of his ball, so that on his follow-through, the club had to be slightly outside in, to force a soft fade. He was also doing the towel-under-the arm thing to force his right elbow to drop down to his right side. In other words, he was working hard on his swing and he was trying (as Hogan did), to eliminate the left side of the course. It then becomes where you aim the ball, not where the ball is going.

I think if you study any PGA tour player, you will find they all favor a certain ball flight and then practice for it.

And I doubt any of 'em use a "draw" driver.

[cldale]

So here is my question: Am I better off buying a draw driver to help/fix the problem or am I better off buying a neutral driver and continuing to try fixing the slice myself? My concern with buying the draw driver is that I will not really be learning to stop the slice.

I purchased a TM R7-460 about a month ago, and although it wasn't the draw specific model, they come slighting "draw weighted" by default. I have left the driver that way and I didn't notice any improvement in my heavy slice with the driver. However, in the last month I have put in a lot of time at the driving range and have started to see improvements in my drives... straighter more often, and my mishits are not usually as extreme....

so if I had any advice it would be to spend your time/money working on fixing your swing instead of spending money on fancy new drivers... :)

[guitarman]

I purchased a TM R7-460 about a month ago, and although it wasn't the draw specific model, they come slighting "draw weighted" by default. I have left the driver that way and I didn't notice any improvement in my heavy slice with the driver. However, in the last month I have put in a lot of time at the driving range and have started to see improvements in my drives... straighter more often, and my mishits are not usually as extreme....

so if I had any advice it would be to spend your time/money working on fixing your swing instead of spending money on fancy new drivers... :)

I think that there is nothing wrong with a draw bias driver. Even though I have fixed my swing so that 60 percent of my drivers are pretty straight I still tend to have a slight fade and once in a while a tendency to slice. A draw bias can help keep that in check. So I do agree the most important thing to do is fix the swing but a little help from the driver can't hurt.

[cldale]

I think that there is nothing wrong with a draw bias driver. Even though I have fixed my swing so that 60 percent of my drivers are pretty straight I still tend to have a slight fade and once in a while a tendency to slice. A draw bias can help keep that in check. So I do agree the most important thing to do is fix the swing but a little help from the driver can't hurt.

I think if it helps you then great. My experience was that it was pretty ineffectual in general and I only improved the severity of my slice through time/effort in fixing my swing.

In general, my two big problems are keeping my left arm straight throughout the swing, and keeping my arms/hands relaxed so that my wrists can freely hinge and release.

I think the relaxation of the hands is/was a bigger issue for me in that I was tensing up which caused a slow/late release of the clubhead, leaving it open at impact.

[dekker]

In the long run it is a bad idea.
This is a type of quick fix for a faulty swing path or poor grip or both. If such is the case your slice will still persist in the irons and your correcting driver will only prolong your learning curve.