9* Driver...did I make a mistake?

I have a 9*. 95 swing speed. Ball definitely doesn't get as high as you would be used to.. but I get plenty of distance and have no issues with distance or clearing any hazards and whatnot.

 

Saying that.. if I could buy another driver with a higher degree.. I would in a heartbeat. 

Once again I am going to be the jerk here but we often get new guys on here posting things like this expecting the resident know it alls like myself (being facetious) to be able to provide you a answer without knowing your swing at all.

 

I would post a video and state some stats and maybe we can give you more than a guess.

 

So my first "guess" is that you could easily be as unhappy with the driver given the fact that you put zero effort in if the shaft and loft would fit you. On a positive note, you aren't out much moola.

When choosing club specs, the goal is to optimize a set of measurements. Your flex, kickpoint, loft, swing-weight, etc, should all work together to produce an optimal combination of launch angle, speed, and spin for the ball.

Get on a launch monitor. See what your numbers are. Fitting it can be a bit of an art and I'm certainly no expert, but if you can get some reasonably good measurements you can find some resources (consult a fitter or the Internet) and see how your numbers match up against an optimal set. Generally swing speed is the base constant that others are compared to, so given your swing speed determine if your other measurements are anywhere near where they should be.

Less loft on the club is primarily going to lower the launch angle and possibly reduce driver spin. Do your numbers suggest that you get a high enough launch angle? Are you launching it too low?

For the record, I think that common wisdom is that players tend to need more loft, and a 9* face is not optimal for most lower swing speeds. I think that the stereotypical golfer who needs a 9* driver is swinging at least 97 MPH with a stiff shaft, but YMMV.

For 38$? I wouldn't lose a minute of sleep over it. Even if you don't hit it great now, perhaps you can grow into it or use it on windy days or as a practice club. And knowing Callaway, the stock shaft will be so soft my grandma could balloon the 9˚. If it doesn't suit your game, no big loss.

Give it a whack and come back and you tell us if you made a bad decision.

Really depends on the shaft, I can hit a 9* with a regular flex shaft just as high as a 10.5* with a stiff shaft.

I am not one who can cream the driver, by any means, but I have a 7.5* ben hogan driver that I like to hit sometimes if I am feeling confident.  While my mizuno 10.5* driver is more forgiving, it tends to balloon up in the air for me (and gets no roll-out).  A clean wack with my 7.5* sends a missle down the fairway that can roll an extra 50 yards.  However, off-center hits with the 7.5* hogan driver can spin out to last thursday.  If I need to hit fairways for a course, I bring the mizuno.  If the fairways are open, but some distance would help, I'll take the 7.5* hogan.  I think the mishits on the hogan would not be that good of hits on the mizuno either, but a bad hit on the hogan could be a worm-burner or a big, low slice.

My 9* G5 went high. My 9* R11s goes low. Shaft is everything. Thankfully the R is adjustable. Hit it and see what happens. May be just fine. But $38? Don't lose any sleep.

Let's take a look at the Edge driver specs:

 

Both 9* and 10* heads have a square face/ the 11* and 12* heads have 1* closed faces. A closed face actually increases loft a bit because people adjust it by eye to "square."

 

Stock shaft is the Aldila Habanero shaft. The Light (A), Regular and Stiff shafts are all 60 gram, mid torque and low kickpoint. Basically, it would have a lively feel and get the ball up with the low kickpoint (low kick = high launch).

 

What was the loft and shaft on your old driver?

 

Test out your Edge and see how it works. If it doesn't work, send it back to Callaway Preowned and swap it for a 10*. (Edge loft) Check the CPO turn-in policy.

I've tried to fall in love with a couple other drivers from Wishon and Maltby, but I keep coming back to my first, an 11° Diable Edge with the stock R flex Habanero shaft that is cut to 44" and swing weighted to D4.  I have a long, slow lazy swing and consistently get 230 out of this club with a ball flight that is straight to a slight fade.  I'm one of the few that prefers accuracy over distance with my driver, so unless I run over this club and flatten it, it's here to stay!