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Driver Evolution

bkuehn1952

Entry posted by bkuehn1952

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I have been fortunate to have played golf for close to 55 years.  A lot has stayed the same in golf during that time but much has changed.  I started thinking about the evolution in my driver (or 1 Wood/1 Metal/1 Multi Compound).

My first non-junior driver was a laminated maple, steel shafted, leather gripped brown behemoth.  On those rare swings that I hit it on the sweet spot, I could literally state I had hit it on the screws as it had a screwed in insert.  Through high school and college I carried that seemingly unhittable club.  I mainly used 3-wood and just carried the driver because I was allowed to have 14 clubs.

After getting out of school and joining the working world, I became interested in golf once again.  As a Christmas gift one year, my parents gave me a Daiwa Exceler driver.  If one is a fisherman, Daiwa is probably a more familiar name, but they have also been involved in golf for many years.  The Exceler had a graphite composite head and graphite shaft, all black.  My phobia with drivers continued for a while but finally I decided I had to learn to hit driver if I wanted to get the most from my game.  Eventually I tamed “Big Woody”, a name my wife & I gave to the Exceler despite there being not a single molecule of wood in it.  He stayed in my bag until the Big Bertha revolution occurred.

A member of our golf league showed up one year with a Big Bertha driver.  It looked enormous and he could hit it long and straight.  Eventually golf club envy took hold and Big Woody was replaced by Bertha.

A few years rolled by and my love affair with Bertha continued until the Member-Guest at my parent’s club in Florida.  One of the team members of an opposing team wielded a Great Big Bertha.  It made my Bertha look like a 5-wood.  And that 70+ year old man could hit his ‘balloon on a stick’ a mile.  I had to have one.  Poor old Bertha got dumped for the latest & greatest.

As time passed, driver heads continued to grow bigger until we hit the 460cc limit.  I settled on a Big Bertha 454 and was content for many years.  Then fate (or luck) intervened.

I had been active on a website for a number of years.  Periodically there would be a drawing for a golf towel or sand wedge.  Then one day they had a drawing for a Nike Covert Driver.  You guessed it, I won.  After letting the club sit in the basement for several months, I decided to give it a try.  Started using it on the “factory” setting  of “neutral” and never felt the need to adjust it.  So far I am just a bystander to the adjustable driver revolution.

What will be the next driver?  I have no idea but if I follow through with my plan to get fitted this summer, I may be getting a new dance partner.  

How about the rest of you?  Tell us about your first driver or how you arrived at your current equipment.

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Dave325

Dave325 30

Posted

Oh yes. I can totally relate. My first driver and set were given to me by my dad. The driver (1 wood) was truly made of wood and screws. I used it so much that a piece literally cracked off. I inherited my dads clubs... A set of Power Bilt which was another complete set of woods (1,3,4,5) all made from wood. I rejoined the golf thing about 10 years ago... Went from the early Big Bertha, to Nike and finally the Cobra Fly-Z which I love.

adam3553

adam3553 2

Posted

Im 30 years old so I grew up with the balloon heads you speak of. I had my first job at 17 and with my very first paycheck I bought a King Cobra SS 350 driver. I still have that thing in the closet but havent hit it for 10 years or so. I currently have a G30.

Dave325

Dave325 30

Posted

Something just came to mind, when I was a small child... In the corner of our garage, there was a number of rakes, shovels and garden tools. Mixed in there was a few wooden shaft clubs having strange names like Niblick and Mashie Niblick (forget the spelling)... The old style irons, but no leftover woods or drivers.

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DaveP043

DaveP043 3,383

Posted

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I don't remember what I started with, back around 1970, but the first driver I bought, I think it was 1975, was a Titleist laminated driver, part of a Driver 3-4-5 wood set.  In the early 80's I upgraded to a Cleveland Classic RC-85 persimmon, a beautiful club.  I entered the modern era with a couple of no-name metal-headed drivers I assembled myself, including one with a stepless and seamless titanium shaft.  Then back to the commercial world with a Calloway Steelhead, A Titleist 983, and my current driver, a Titleist 910

SavvySwede

SavvySwede 354

Posted

27 years old and the first real club I ever swung was hickory. My grandfather most likely pull them out of a dumpster somewhere. When I decided to pursue the game with some serious I received my Dad's old Taylormade Tour Preferred Burner Plus (the tiny steel headed one from 1991', they sure like to recycle the burner name.). First driver that was meant for me was the Cleveland Launcher 460, then the Callaway Big Bertha 454, and now I bounce between my Callaway X Hot pro and Titleist 975J-VS depending on the conditions.

300drive

300drive 0

Posted

I remember having a cheap wal-mart driver and being able to hit it a mile, deadly straight.  Then I splurged and got a $600 Liquid Metal driver!!  Still can't hit it! lol.

esayers

esayers 0

Posted

started off with some used wood woods which i actually liked. then when i was about 13 my dad one me a set of wilson 1200 tn wich i thought the irons were ok .but i never liked the small driver. i  still have these clubs ... i play a callaway x2hot which i like a lot . i hit the wilson driver for fun last year and caught it pretty good . and thought what a terribile club . i bet it was about 20-40 yards short of the x2hot and if you mishit it at all it makes you pay a lot no forgiveness at all.

RussUK

RussUK 188

Posted

Wow, looking at the above comments i feel soooo far behind!. When i started playing my Uncle advised not to bother with a driver till i could hit my 3 wood. After a while i was bought a John Letters Trilogy High Launch. This was ok but the shaft (regular my arse) was so whippy it was untrue!. Bought a Ben Sayers 12 degree offset then after a while stopped using driver. Last year i decided to see what a "premium" brand with better materials would be like so spent £35 on a nearly unused Ping G5 (I'll catch up tech wise in 10 years or so!) and have to say despite its age i love it. I can finally hit decent, long drives and its my 2nd fave club. 

Tee2Trees

Tee2Trees 10

Posted (edited)

I bought a used Wilson "Prestige" box set for kicks and the driver is a 44" Aluminum-headed 460cc with "men's flex" graphite shaft.  It is the easiest driver I have ever hit.  I would probably score better if I bagged it in place of my Ping G25, but I don't since I still try to reach Par 5's in two.

For the nostalgic or those who like a shorter stick, I would guess the 12* Aeroburner mini would be quite effective as a driver replacement.

Edited by Tee2Trees

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