New driver came in today

I picked up the TaylorMade Burner 2.0 (used, $129 from Global Golf) to replace my aging driver from a boxed set I bought in '96. The first thing I noticed was just how large the club head is. It's probably twice the size of my previous driver, and feels even larger. I hit a few bad shots off the driving range tee and was forgiven far more than I would have been with my old driver. For someone with my experience and skill, I think the idea of making the bad shots "less bad" is going to be more important than anything else. I can tell I'll have more of that with my new club. This alone was worth the price of upgrading. The feel of the club is great. The sound of a nice shot makes me feel like I nailed it. The club is extremely lightweight (again comparing against the old driver) and feels good during the swing and on impact. I also noticed a bit more distance in the new driver. It's hard to pinpoint on the range but I could tell from where they were landing. I hit with my old driver a few times, then hit with the new, and I certainly gained distance. I won't make a guess on how much, but it's enough that it's noticeable. The unfortunate part of the new driver is that I'm slicing it a little more easily than I was previously. My old driver was off set, something I wish I knew more about when I was 15 and bought my existing set. I think of the countless times I've swung my driver, it's simply grown on me and my natural swing. There's definitely some relearning that needs to happen, but the truth is my swing needs fundamental work to begin with so maybe it's about time that happened anyway. It wasn't a constant issue, but it was there. I had plenty of nice shots along the way. Overall I'm excited about my new club. Looking forward to the weekend to get it on the course.

cool

Congrats.

That's 46.5 inches of driver. I'd suggest a fine club maker who can hot melt for swing weight and decrease the length to 45 inches without affecting flex. You could also tinker with the shaft to optimize your distance and dispersion.

As to the fade - video. It's usually an open face issue combined with a little over the top.

I worry about taking a club somewhere and having them "adjust" it, simply because I've never done it, don't really understand it, and I'd hate to ruin my first new club in 15 years. :) I think fittings/adjustments/etc are something I need to learn more about and understand. I do plan to get a video put together for the member swings forum. Where I am, I'm inconsistent but I guess that won't change the type of feedback I get to improve. I'll do that soon, maybe tomorrow if I can remember to bring my video camera to work with me (and therefore the range after work!)

Per the ball flight laws, your clubface is open relative to the swing path and your swing path is more than likely out to in.  So, if you want to start hitting that driver straighter, you're going to have to learn how to hit the ball with either a lesser out to in swing path or an in to out one.  Sure, you can shorten the driver and this may help somewhat, but you'll see a bigger net gain if you fix your swing faults first.

That's my intent.

That's great to hear.  IMO, you're already on the right "path".  Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

Thanks, I will. I guess the first thing I need to do is capture and post a video of my swing. Should I pick one club to swing in the video, or does it help to see a few different ones? I'm also wondering if there are recommended instructional videos on YouTube, as a place to start. I've never taken lessons, mostly just learned organically in all aspects of the game. Never really had someone with knowledge showing me the ropes. Looking forward to putting myself out there, understanding what to focus on, and having some direction for how to improve.

I think that while one with just an iron (say a 6 or 7) would suffice, you can do one as well with your driver.  It wouldn't hurt.  Besides we all get to welcome the latest addition to your bag =).  Also, post a video of each club taking two swings each.  One swing where the camera is viewing you face-on and one swing where the camera is down-the-line behind the golf ball.  I would do that before I looked at some (free) instructional videos on-line.  There's a couple of reasons why I suggest this.  First, you get no feedback.  You may think you're doing what the guy in the video says you should do, but how do you know?  Unless you have some form of interaction, you're flying blind.  Also, video is 2-D, but the swing is 3-D.  Hence, that is why you want to post a FO and DTL video.  It just helps people get a more complete picture of your swing.  Secondly, I don't want a bunch of possible solutions to fix whatever ails me and I don't care where or what the majority of golfer screw up at/on.  I just want to know where I'm screwing up and what I need to do to fix it.

At any rate, get that video of your swings and post it in the instruction / playing tips section when you can.

A funny thing about inconsistency, while the results you get from your swing may be inconsistent the chances are that your swing itself is actually pretty consistent. Video of your swing when you hit a pull, then a slice, then a top will probaly not look all that different.

Thanks for the feedback. I did manage to bring my video camera to work today, so I'll have it for this afternoon and should have a video posted tonight.

Here's my swing... go easy on me. :p http://thesandtrap.com/t/55907/my-swing-chris-stewart