Can a driver go dead?

I have been playing with an R7 Quad for about 5 years now. I had been hitting about 260 yards and now last two or three rounds I can't seem to hit it more than 220. I am still hitting 3 wood 225, 5 wood 210.

It has to be the club, right?
Tend to keep all my clubs in the trunk of my car.
Any one ever have this?

Assuming you did not crack the head or inflict any other kind of damage to the shaft, then it would take a very long time for the driver's COR to deteriorate. If you are like me, then it could be a case of mechanics. Even if I am hitting my other woods fine, my driver can be erratic because I employ a different swing off the tee. I have also found 10 more yards on drives in the past few months (due to a combination of lessons with a new instructor and a proper club fitting), so it's easier for me to have flaws in this new swing.

Bottom line, it's not likely that your driver "went dead."

I have a couple golfing buddies who have had the same thing happen. For them it was a small crack/fissure that developed on the driver face or head, which resulted in the distance loss. I don't know if that is the only way for a driver to go "dead".

I'm not sure if it was caused by a manufacturing flaw, wear from frequent play, trunk heat, or some combination of the three. Regardless, it's not a good idea to keep your gamer clubs in the trunk during the summer.

The shaft eventually breaks down. Graphite shafts are made up of layers of various fibers and resin. These fibers are very brittle and will break apart over time. The break down happens much faster near the kick/bend point of the shaft. This will affect ball flight due to the kick and torque value change. The usual indication is a flight that seems some what lower and erratic. In other words.......... the shaft is dying.

C.O.R. changes very little over the life of a driver.....especially with titanium clubs.

Short answer... yes


Long Answer... What JWL1957 said or respudfures said

I agree with everything here.....minus the part about taking the clubs out of the trunk. This has been talked about a billion times and there is NOTHING wrong with keeping your sticks in the trunk. My clubs 'Summer Home' is in my trunk....as is about 90% of the people here.....and it is not a problem. Trunk heat will not make a driver go dead.

In Maine? Probably not. Down here, where it routinely gets over 100 degrees in the summer, the heat can play hell with the epoxy. I had the head of a nine iron fly off years ago, and I've been a firm believer in taking my clubs out of the trunk ever since.

5 years sounds like a pretty good run for a driver, I havent even played golf for 5 years yet, maybe a good excuse for buying a new one. If your new driver can get you 5 good years of service then you'll get your moneys worth out of it.

Yes. After a single season of practice every day and at least 18 holes a week, I cracked my driver face. Hitting something really hard, repeatedly will eventually break it. I've accepted that as a fact of life.

I don't know, it gets up to 105-108F here in the summer and I leave my clubs in the back of my Pilot - so they are getting beaten by sun light constantly. I've never had issues. We can say the same things all day, in the end, it could come down to me being lucky or you having a technical problem that would have happened regardless.

As for the OP, I don't know about them going dead but I do know the heads can break off.

The guys who play in the long drive comps have driver that can go dead or have dead spots.

While I agree....heat is heat. It stays in the 80's/90's for three months here and my clubs stay in the back of my wagon everyday....never had an issue. I used to live in N.Carolina......same thing. Sounds more like you had a lousy epoxy job or maybe the club has taken a good size beating..... At any rate.....none of what you said has anything to do with a 'dead driver'....which heat simply wont do. The only thing heat will do over time is MAYBE prematurely dry out a grip.....

To the OP:

I also play an R7, mine is the '06/07 425. Make sure all the weights in the TLC port are torqued using the TM wrench. If a port isn't torqued, it's possible that the head isn't compressing and returning as designed at impact.

You can submerge the club in water in your kitchen sink to ensure the head is air tight at the ports and elsewhere.

If you cannot find any cracks/leaks in the head, it's possible that the shaft is beginning to slowly break down, resulting in a loss of energy transfer as it loads and unloads.

I just got the R7 limited. Didnt come with a TM wrench but all you need to use is a simple torque wrench that you can buy at walmart or any hardware store for 3 bucks, works just the same but doesnt say Taylormade.

But if you use the TM wrench it tightens it to the perfect tightness and has a mechanism that doesn't let you go too tight. Have you ever used one? If you go too tight you run the risk of damaging the screw or the socket. Plus they're just $5 on Ebay.

really, no I didnt know. I look into getting a real one then. I just used a torque screwdriver in my closet on the beatup one they sent me.

Make sure you are using a torx bit (if not a TM wrench) and not an ordinary allen.

yea i was using a torx bit on a screwdriver. You can probably get away with just using that instead of a TM wrench. You just have to be careful not to overtighten it too much while not too loose. The TM wrenchs just make it dummy proof so they dont have tons of cases of screws being stuck and stripped in the drivers