Driver questions

[RHENDERSON]

So i was at Wooden sticks on Saturday and they had the driver fitting in 10min with the TaylorMade rep. my current driver is a Titlelist 913 with a 80 gram shaft and stiff flex i think. 7.5 degrees the guy said it was a heavy shaft.

i have been teeing up really low as well.

So with my driver i normally hit around 280-300 when hit well.
on his machine i was hitting 235 carry and 290 roll out. consistently a 7.5 launch

with the M2 i was hitting 255 on the carry with a 285 roll out.
consistently over a 9 or 10 launch.

he told me that because of the higher lunch with the M2 i would have less chance of slicing the ball and it would force a draw more.

i am really not that interested in getting a new driver yet just wondering what every ones thought are on the higher launch as opposed to keeping the ball low.

thanks

[DTGolfer]

Re: Driver questions

How often do you hit the fairway? How often do you drive it 280 versus a mishit of 240 (or less?). If you hit fairways and are consistently hitting it well/long, I wouldn't consider a change to a higher launching option.

There's an optimal swing speed/launch angle/spin rate that would maximize carry and roll out, but if what you're doing is working, don't mess with it.

However, you are limiting your options off the tee with your driver when you're faced with a forced carry.. ie. 260 to carry the bunker to set yourself up for your next shot. With your low drives, you'd risk hitting into that bunker every time.

[RHENDERSON]

Re: Driver questions

Well on Saturday i hit the fairway 70% of a the time, i would say i slice or miss-hit 2-3 times a round. with the natural left to right i find the lower ball has less chance of flying off into the woods.

but with the higher launch would that eliminate the slice more?

i am consistently 270-300 but when i wasn't hitting as well as i am this year it would be in the wrong fairway.

i did move my club from full draw to less draw because i was finding i was straight pulling my driver sometimes. and not hitting any slices.

[Phatchrisrules]

Re: Driver questions

So i was at Wooden sticks on Saturday and they had the driver fitting in 10min with the TaylorMade rep. my current driver is a Titlelist 913 with a 80 gram shaft and stiff flex i think. 7.5 degrees the guy said it was a heavy shaft.

i have been teeing up really low as well.

So with my driver i normally hit around 280-300 when hit well.
on his machine i was hitting 235 carry and 290 roll out. consistently a 7.5 launch

with the M2 i was hitting 255 on the carry with a 285 roll out.
consistently over a 9 or 10 launch.

he told me that because of the higher lunch with the M2 i would have less chance of slicing the ball and it would force a draw more.

i am really not that interested in getting a new driver yet just wondering what every ones thought are on the higher launch as opposed to keeping the ball low.

thanks

Optimal numbers for a driver are around 14-15* launch and about 2300 RPMS of backspin and as close to zero as possible side spin. It is a sliding, inverse relationship, however. The lower your launch, the higher your spin, and vice versa, to get optimized numbers.

Have a look at this link to show you what you should be doing with your launch and spin. Ignore the Angle of Attack for now, as that is something that needs to be done with a teaching professional to work properly. Based on your carry distance and total roll out on the machine, you have a considerably high swing speed (probably 107ish), but suffer from excessively low spin. If you could get optimized, you would hit it much more consistently.

[RHENDERSON]

Re: Driver questions

Optimal numbers for a driver are around 14-15* launch and about 2300 RPMS of backspin and as close to zero as possible side spin. It is a sliding, inverse relationship, however. The lower your launch, the higher your spin, and vice versa, to get optimized numbers.

Have a look at this link to show you what you should be doing with your launch and spin. Ignore the Angle of Attack for now, as that is something that needs to be done with a teaching professional to work properly. Based on your carry distance and total roll out on the machine, you have a considerably high swing speed (probably 107ish), but suffer from excessively low spin. If you could get optimized, you would hit it much more consistently.

this was my chart the spin average spin with my driver was messed up a little because i had 1 with 6000rpm obviously a miss hit

[DTGolfer]

Re: Driver questions

If I were you, I'd continue to investigate getting fit for a new driver. I've had great experiences at Modern Golf, but there's a number of fitters that could help you out, including sponsors of this forum. MG is a premium fitting option.

A higher launch won't fix a slice, but you could get more consistent results with a driver fit for you as Phatchris mentioned.

You can also adjust the Surefit hosel on your 913 when you go to the range, crank it up to 9 degrees and see how that performs on the range.

[Phatchrisrules]

Re: Driver questions

this was my chart the spin average spin with my driver was messed up a little because i had 1 with 6000rpm obviously a miss hit

Hmm...your spin is great, for someone who launches it around 11-12*. My suggestion still stands, I would look at something that is going to launch better for you with better spin. I think the problem you are having is that Titleist drivers are quite spinny in the first place, so the exaggerated spin you are seeing is coming out in your numbers. There is no reason you should be hitting a 7.5* head with a very heavy (for a driver) 80+ gram shaft with that much spin. Would you be kind enough to look at your driver and confirm exactly what specs the shaft is?

Also, you say your miss is a slice. I have a feeling that you are likely either hitting it off of the heel of the golf club (which can cause a slice) or you have an over the top move, or inside-out as it is called, swing path. This will cause excessive back and side spin to the right. This is why I think your spin numbers look reasonable but you are only hitting it like 235 average carry with your own club and having it run out 50+ yards.

I think a new driver or some lessons may be in order to cure the direction!

[RHENDERSON]

Re: Driver questions

Hmm...your spin is great, for someone who launches it around 11-12*. My suggestion still stands, I would look at something that is going to launch better for you with better spin. I think the problem you are having is that Titleist drivers are quite spinny in the first place, so the exaggerated spin you are seeing is coming out in your numbers. There is no reason you should be hitting a 7.5* head with a very heavy (for a driver) 80+ gram shaft with that much spin. Would you be kind enough to look at your driver and confirm exactly what specs the shaft is?

Also, you say your miss is a slice. I have a feeling that you are likely either hitting it off of the heel of the golf club (which can cause a slice) or you have an over the top move, or inside-out as it is called, swing path. This will cause excessive back and side spin to the right. This is why I think your spin numbers look reasonable but you are only hitting it like 235 average carry with your own club and having it run out 50+ yards.

I think a new driver or some lessons may be in order to cure the direction!

I have the Aldila Phenom 80gram 2.5- stiff shaft
i do have an inside out swing path, it is better then it used to be. i have increased my tempo recently and made it more consistent through out my swing which has helped me not slice nearly as much and get straighter impact on the ball.

thanks for all the help and suggestions

[lefty99]

Re: Driver questions

So i was at Wooden sticks on Saturday and they had the driver fitting in 10min with the TaylorMade rep. my current driver is a Titlelist 913 with a 80 gram shaft and stiff flex i think. 7.5 degrees the guy said it was a heavy shaft.

i have been teeing up really low as well.

So with my driver i normally hit around 280-300 when hit well.
on his machine i was hitting 235 carry and 290 roll out. consistently a 7.5 launch

with the M2 i was hitting 255 on the carry with a 285 roll out.
consistently over a 9 or 10 launch.

he told me that because of the higher lunch with the M2 i would have less chance of slicing the ball and it would force a draw more.

i am really not that interested in getting a new driver yet just wondering what every ones thought are on the higher launch as opposed to keeping the ball low.

thanks

To me carry distance is more important than overall distance. Much easier to fly bunkers, water and cut over doglegs etc. Watch the tour, guys like DJ and Jason Day are able to carry a lot of the trouble the other have to worry about.

If you can hit the ball 290 and are only carrying 230 then I think you need to be fit for something different. just my 2 cents.

[Lob wedge]

Re: Driver questions

To me carry distance is more important than overall distance. Much easier to fly bunkers, water and cut over doglegs etc. Watch the tour, guys like DJ and Jason Day are able to carry a lot of the trouble the other have to worry about.

If you can hit the ball 290 and are only carrying 230 then I think you need to be fit for something different. just my 2 cents.

I agree. What happens when fairways are wet? Nobody on tour hits it low anymore.

[Carlton]

Re: Driver questions

To me carry distance is more important than overall distance. Much easier to fly bunkers, water and cut over doglegs etc. Watch the tour, guys like DJ and Jason Day are able to carry a lot of the trouble the other have to worry about.

If you can hit the ball 290 and are only carrying 230 then I think you need to be fit for something different. just my 2 cents.

Ditto here. I prefer knowing or having a more predictable yardage I'm hitting to in order to play a hole.

Low launch with a lot of roll out means you won't always have a consistent driving distance ie play a soft course and get very minimal roll out then you have a much longer second shot. On the other hand, you're relying on good luck if you play a firm fairway with lots of undulations or angled slope. If you play the tips on some courses with long 220-230yrd carries, you might be hitting a provisional for your next shot. Then again, I don't know your game to be able to advise you.

I know I went from a similar situation as you did some 8-9yrs ago. I thought 9.5° drivers were optimal for me until I got on a launch monitor and got fitted. I've since gone from a 220yrd carry to 240yrd carry by stepping up to 10.5° driver with a fitted shaft. I guess that's why I don't see much improvement of the new drivers over my old one 'cause I think I've squeezed out all I can out of my swing. I much prefer the new carry distance over the runners I used to play.