Low Spinning Driver

Really great question. Are lower spinning drivers a double edge sword? I do think they are.

I found that to be true when I gamed the original SLDR driver. It was amazing when you get near the sweet spot. If you hit high on the clubface, with out the traditional severe downward angle of attack, you can actually get a ball that just dives out of the air. If you couple that with a slice or a hook, the ball can really do some funky things.

I also found that very aggressive low and forward CG does make a driver harder to control.

I rather game a club that isn't overly severe in the CG location, and try to hit up more on the ball to get that lower spin. For my swing I would like to see on average about 2200-2400 RPM, with some going near 2000 when I catch up with a really aggressive upward angle of attack. To me this just balances out the driver out between distance and control.

I do think that people get obsessed with trying to find optimal numbers instead of what they should be doing which is finding a driver that is the most playable for them.

I am currently playing a mizuno mp 600 driver.  It is a pretty low spin driver, and not very forgiving.  By best strikes with it are really, really good.  But slight mishits are really not good.  I played a round of golf with a different driver a few weeks ago.  My best strikes didn't go quite as far, and didn't run out as much...but my average drives were much better.  And I think that's what people forget about.  Its really not about how good your best is....its more about keeping your not so good ones more playable. Obviously no driver is going to cure a really bad swing.  But I definitely see a difference when it comes to the "ok" swings where you didn't nut it...but you made a ok pass at it.  a head that still advances those down the fairway a decent bit and keeps it in the fairway or closer to it makes playing a lot easier...

I am going to be switching drivers BTW.  I'm more concerned with making my average drive better then taking maybe 10yds off my great drives.

Would you put the i25 in the low spinning classification? That what I switched to recently and I don't find it to be harder to hit than the grenade I was previously gaming. I definitely get longer drives when I get one right with the i25. the only major difference I see is toe shots don't go as far with the i25.

I would say it is close, but more in the mid-low spin range.

I would say right now the lowest and most forward CG locations are,

Mizuno JPX 850

Cobra Fly-Z+ (weight set forward)

Taylormade SLDR

Taylormade R15

Callaway DBD

I would say the Ping i25 does have the CG lower, but it places it further back from the face. I wouldn't place it in the really low spinning driver category.

Interesting video. I'm kind of at a crossroads on this, but with fairway woods (very similar issue).

I went to an SLDR driver a bit ago, it changed my life (only slight exaggeration). So I'm a big believer in low cg, low spin, high launch, etc. Not really any of the issues mentioned in the video, I'm 58, 95 ish driver SS.

But then I went to an SLDR fairway wood.  Off a tee, perfect lie, no issues. But off the fairway, odd lies, etc. I ran into the same issues like those noted in the video. A few real clean hits go a mile, some mishits go way shorter than the feel would suggest (more of those than super clean ones). And I did loft up---

So my concern would be it's a fairway wood issue too, although I don't want to make too big a deal out of it, don't want it to turn into a mental thing.

Anyone else notice this effect with fairway woods as well?

Well stated, Matt.

I should add, as Doc Hoc said in the initial post, if you do not hit a low spinning driver in the correct spot, one is severely punished (spin so low the ball drops like a dead bird), whether or not one has a high swing speed.

I think most (normal) players swing and obtain excessive spin because of their setup - if one has a positive angle of attack and the correct loft, one can increase launch and lower spin to more ideal numbers at a surprising lower loft.

I did not think I'd ever play a 10 degree driver again. But here I am with an XR at 9.5 (if the spec is correct) and a V Series at 10 degrees. My positive AOA is 4-5 degrees and am hitting mid high bombs (for me) for a guy whose SS is 92-98. Spin is not an issue (as far as I know). Will hop on Trackman in about 9 days and know for certain.

By the way, the XR Series head is 186.5g while the V Series 9 degree head is 190g with the screws and stuff being the same since both are Callaway. They are different designs -- the XR has a huge forgiving face but it was more temperamental about going left -- so I had to work on post impact turning  of the hips, and extension with the body and arms -- once that kicked in, the XR produced mid-high straight drives. For some reason, the V Series did not do that to my swing; something in the XR was more temperamental -- it was my issue, and I'm glad it was communicated to me. It was just surprising.

I think most of us can demo the mid-spinning driver with confidence if we are setup for a high launch with acceptable spin using a positive AOA and a loft that might surprise one - lower than expected.

So would you say the i25 and  LS tec are kind of a forgiving version of a lower spinning driver?

An SLDR fairway with that tech is going to be prone to more errors -- you are hitting it off the ground.

Good luck.

I went to the Callaway V Series because I wanted a light club, high launcher with moderate spin, a forgiving cup face and a light shaft. I want forgiving carry.  One could go to Ping or any other easier fairway ... even an Aeroburner.

Like I said, good luck.

When I went from the Titleist 975D (5600 rpm backspin - measured at Callaway fitting studio in Carlsbad) to the Ping i15 (3200 rpm (measured at Roger Dunn Santa Ana), I noticed an immediate difference in distance (20+ yards of carry).  I used to hit a low "climber" that the old timers used to love watching, but my carry was maybe 230, even worse with any wind.  With the improved spin rates on the i15, the same swing moves me to 250+ carry (probably 260 max).  My swing speed is 110-114 measured on the store launch monitors at RD Santa Ana.

I think (as posters have noted) you'll need the requisite swing speed to make the effect useful.

5600rpm seemed way too high for a good hit until I remembered that the 975D still had grooves carved across the face. Though from your numbers you must hit down on the ball a bit. You could be carrying 270 with that swing speed.

I agree with the Swede.

You're not getting enough out of that driver. 3200 rpm is far too high for a 110-114 swing speed. You should have a 270-280 carry with the right combo. at 110-114.

Bring down that spin to low 2k.

Check your angle of attack. If you go to a positive angle of attack, you could use less loft (less spin), hit up (less spin) and get more carry (happy face).

A few threads here on setting up for driver with a positive AOA.

If you're doing everything correct, check the shaft.

Ok thanks broseph