6 Degree Driver

[asfrye]

Thank you, David.

Will do. . . . . . . . .

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

Log onto eBay and do a search under the golf clubs section for "long drive,"  see what comes up.   Lot of clubs for upwards of a hundred bucks or more, but some are selling for far less, meaning under $30.   A number of them are low loft.     Current long drive clubs are pricey, but not used older ones with smaller heads.  I got the Integra for $11 incl shipping.

[asfrye]

Thank you, Ole!

I found just exactly what I need!!

Here is the heading:

Bang Golf (Big Bang Head) 6.0* (9.5 out of 10) Long Drive. No Shaft

It was only $35 used.

Thank you, again.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by asfrye

Thank you, Ole!

I found just exactly what I need!!

Here is the heading:

Bang Golf (Big Bang Head) 6.0* (9.5 out of 10) Long Drive. No Shaft

It was only $35 used.

Thank you, again.

That would be interesting to try out. Let us know what you think after you get used to it. I've noticed significantly better drives with my RBZ Driver set to 8* instead of 9.5, or 11.

[saturday]

I agree with looking at a different shaft. Try the Proforce V2 in the 77g, lower launch, bit heavier and still maintains the distance.

[asfrye]

Thank you, Saturday.

Will do . . . . . . . .

[eqppwqqep]

I get the idea, but I am pretty sure I can vouch that you are still going to rocket the ball into the air with a 6* driver.  Let me elaborate:

I did the same thing for years and finally opted for a 7.5* xstiff Titleist driver thinking it would hit drivers that never got higher than 6 feet off the ground.  I hit it just as high if not higher than my other drivers.  No flipping, no weird behaviors that I could find.  Long story short, going to my pro for lessons, I was hitting way to steep into the driver, negative AoA and was spinning the ball up more than out.  Now, you might say "my ball is not ballooning, it is just starting out high"...so did mine, it was registering a crazy RPM off the face.  Low and slow and turning shoulders properly sweeping at the ball made it fly right.  Moved ball up in my stance and tee'd it higher (yes, higher so you can sweep at it) made all the difference.

Try this, take your 3W and hit a tee shot...does it skyrocket as well?

[saturday]

Will do . . . . . . . .

No problem. Hope it helps, it helped me tonnes. It's a fantastic shaft and very affordable. I paid $60 CDN for it.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by eqppwqqep

I get the idea, but I am pretty sure I can vouch that you are still going to rocket the ball into the air with a 6* driver.  Let me elaborate:

I did the same thing for years and finally opted for a 7.5* xstiff Titleist driver thinking it would hit drivers that never got higher than 6 feet off the ground.  I hit it just as high if not higher than my other drivers.  No flipping, no weird behaviors that I could find.  Long story short, going to my pro for lessons, I was hitting way to steep into the driver, negative AoA and was spinning the ball up more than out.  Now, you might say "my ball is not ballooning, it is just starting out high"...so did mine, it was registering a crazy RPM off the face.  Low and slow and turning shoulders properly sweeping at the ball made it fly right.  Moved ball up in my stance and tee'd it higher (yes, higher so you can sweep at it) made all the difference.

Try this, take your 3W and hit a tee shot...does it skyrocket as well?

Could be the case, but I sure as hell hit my TaylorMade RBZ set to 8* with a much more desired trajectory than my 10.5 Nike Sasquatch.

[gibbous]

I was hitting very low lofted drivers for years and also found the lack of choices of clubs very frustrating.  However I also knew that while I hit the ball further than average, there was nothing exceptional about my swing speed that would require me to play such a low loft.  Tour pros don't use 6 degree drivers anymore, so why did I need one?  The most likely answer for me was a 7 degree Big Bertha that I had borrowed from a friend for a couple rounds when I didn't have my clubs with me in college.  Adapting my swing to hit that one club had put a major flip move in at the bottom of my swing adding loft to the club, and 15 years later I'm finally getting rid of it.

The good news is that after some lessons and exhaustive practice I'm now getting ideal launch conditions from a 9.5 Ping i20 with a stock stiff shaft, and my trajectory throughout my bag is much better.  So it's very possible for the OP to bring his ballflight down naturally, but I also understand why just getting the lower loft could be a more practical short term solution.  If you're looking around for more options I still have all my old drivers in my club graveyard, at least the ones below off the top of my head.  Shoot me a PM if you're interested in any of them...

Cobra 460 SZ (I think that's the model number)- 6* w/ Aldila NV X-Stiff

Adams 9016D- 6.5* w/ Aldila NV-S Stiff

SMT Encore- 7*, forget the exact shaft.

[asfrye]

Thank you for the observation and advice,    eqppweqqep, but I've already ordered a 6* head from eBay. Should arrive tomorrow.

Why am I sensing a lot of pressure against me trying out the 6* driver?

I don't understand this. . . . . . . . . . . . .

[gibbous]

Originally Posted by asfrye Why am I sensing a lot of pressure against me trying out the 6* driver?

It's your money and your game so you should do whatever you want with it.  But I think people are mostly just curious about how your swing produces a ballflight that would require such a low lofted club, and maybe a bit worried that if you do go this direction you might make that peculiar part of your swing even more pronounced.  Is your driver the only club that you feel you hit too high?  If so, such a club could be an easy fix.  But if you hit all your clubs higher than you'd like eventually you're going to need to figure out why if you want to solve the problem, and at that point the low lofted driver will probably have pushed you further down the wrong path.

[asfrye]

Okay, that makes sense.  Yes, I do hit all my clubs a bit higher than normal, but I like that with my irons, which come down soft and stay put where they land. On the other hand, bring up anythng stronger than a mild breeze and I'm dead. I don't know what the answer is, but I do want to try some 6* drivers. Had a good day yesterday. Shot 3 over par.

[saturday]

It's your money and your game so you should do whatever you want with it.  But I think people are mostly just curious about how your swing produces a ballflight that would require such a low lofted club, and maybe a bit worried that if you do go this direction you might make that peculiar part of your swing even more pronounced.  Is your driver the only club that you feel you hit too high?  If so, such a club could be an easy fix.  But if you hit all your clubs higher than you'd like eventually you're going to need to figure out why if you want to solve the problem, and at that point the low lofted driver will probably have pushed you further down the wrong path.

Im on the same page, it's not the arrow it's the Indian. There's got to be something wrong with your swing path.

[gibbous]

Originally Posted by saturday

Im on the same page, it's not the arrow it's the Indian. There's got to be something wrong with your swing path.

True, but this particular Indian has probably been doing it this way for a really long time and doesn't want to go through a complete swing rebuild at this point.  Plus he reports to still be killing his fair share of buffalo, which means that the rest of his game is solid enough to make that big swing change even less appealing.

[Mike Boatright]

If your skilled the advantages are immense on most flattish golf courses. X amount of speed = a certain amount of carry and this is why tour pros use a 10 deg at 118 mph and carry the ball a ton and land it soft. For a 65 year old swinging 86 mph who is highly skilled using 5 deg driver will result in a bullet ball with tons or roll and at times 30 yards farther than a 9 degree driver. Now your shaft should still be reg or senior flex and not to heavy either.

[Gregg Satow]

I have played a Ping SI3 titanium driver for 20+years 6 degrees and 4 degrees flat. I love this club. I have busted through 3 Fujikura speeder shafts one way or another and have tried other drivers, to no benefit.

i wish that changeable shafts were available but they are not. I am ready to move on but 7.5 seems like the closest I can find.

[Colins69]

On 6/7/2013 at 11:27 PM, asfrye said:

Thank you, David in FL, I appreciate your tact in approaching the subject of why I am looking for the 6*.

But no need to be quite so delicate.

 

The problem is, I simply hit the ball too high.

I am now using a TaylorMade r7   8.5 degree with  high kick-point stiff shaft.

My balls generally tend to launch in an arc that is greater than 45 degrees. Sometimes as much as 50* (this is an estimation based on flight characteristics.)

I have tried to adjust my swing to keep the ball down (especially in a headwind) but lose quite a bit of control when I do that.

My natural swing, which is quite comfortable, launches high.

I have tried several brands of clubs with the adjustable shaft (FCT) that lets you pick your degree of loft.

An 8 1/2 degree can be adjusted down to 7 degrees on some.

That still doesn't help. And besides, I don't like the way adjusting loft affects the fade / draw characteristics.

 

No offence taken, Spyder!

Now it is true that the stereotypical 66-yr-old may walk bent over a bit, and be generally weak and unsteady, but some of us have kept in pretty good shape. I use my free membership to the 24-Hour Fitness gym (senior citizens in AARP get in free) and have stayed in excellent shape. I am considered a pretty long hitter. My good, clean drives consistently exceed 250 yards (yes, in spite of all that height). I'm keeping up very well with all the young whipper-snappers around here.

This is not said for the purpose of inflating my ego (nor is it an exaggeration), I just want to give you all a more clear picture of where I'm coming from so that the idea of a six degree driver doesn't get dismissed out of hand in your minds.

(I am, however, expecting some insightful alternative suggestions from David. 

 

Thanks for the link, LBlack14. I'm considering it.

 

Steve

Hi Steve, I recently bought a R7 8.5 with a purple ice 65stiff graphite shaft and I hit it half the height of all my other clubs. I get 30-40 metres roll as well, I've just bought a "roll and budge" driving iron to get the purple ice shaft. It might help using a purple ice graphite shaft, good to hear your keeping the whipper-snappers inline lol. Cheers Colin from NZ

Edited November 12, 2020 by Colins69
Incorrect word