Drivers

[Mr Puddle]

Thought I would share my recent experiences with you all. For the last four years I have owned an old Taylormade Burner. I bought it from a friend, and in general it worked well for me. For a few weeks I noticed I wasn't hitting the ball as far as usual, and occasionally the contact sound was a little strange. I thought nothing of it, suspecting I was to blame. OUCH, I got a graphite splinter, and after a little inspection I could see that what was a bag rub had turned into something more sinister. Unfortunately replacing the shaft was far more expensive than the value of the club, so I started to look around for a decent used one. I found what looked like a nice hardly used Yonex SD. The reviews were good, and the price excellent, so I ordered it. It was horrible. Despite being described as a high launch, I couldn't get the ball to rise more than about six feet, and the feel was dreadful. I sold it within a fortnight, and only lost a few pounds. Then I found a private seller on the Bay selling a Taylormade M1 for a very reasonable price, with a new grip and good head cover, 10.5* reg flex. Whilst waiting for it's delivery, my friend lent me a few drivers. Firstly a Ping G25. It felt nice, but I couldn't get the ball going straight. Then I tried his old Ping G2. Although the grip was as smooth as a babies bum, I was hitting the ball long and straight. It was if we were old friends. I have since given him a nominal amount of money, and am going to re-grip it, with the intention of keeping it as a spare. The M1 then arrived. As you probably know there are three different adjustments, loft, draw/fade, and high/low. I have a bit of a natural fade, so set it at maximum draw. Well, even after tweaking the weights, I am really struggling with it, but am not ready to give up yet. Unlike the old Ping, we don't appear to be very good pals. 

I have since been talking to several golfing friends, and a pro friend of mine. I was told by the pro that despite all the YouTube videos promoting certain clubs, that technology pretty much maxed out thirteen years ago, and since then it's all been about marketing. Needless to say, what will suite one person, won't suite another. I am going to persevere with the M1 for a little while longer, but if it doesn't work,  the old G2 is going to be my go to driver !

[Cantankerish]

Good luck, mate.  It would be nice if you could have got a driver that is adapted to your swing rather than adapting your swing to the driver.  That is what fitting is for.  If you can not get a good feel for either of what you have, consider spending the cash to get fit.

[mcanadiens]

4 minutes ago, Cantankerish said:

Good luck, mate.  It would be nice if you could have got a driver that is adapted to your swing rather than adapting your swing to the driver.  That is what fitting is for.  If you can not get a good feel for either of what you have, consider spending the cash to get fit.

That's my plan for this year. ... Driver was extremely poor last year. Even resorted to an ancient Burner Bubble model late in the year that I had in the garage.

Funding efforts are under way. ... Feel free to send me money.

[70sSanO]

If the G2 works, then I’d use it.  I was surprised to see that the G2 head weighs only 193 grams.  Typically around 200 grams is kinda a run of the mill weight.  Of course the older shaft is probably heavier, but it seems to suit your swing.  Straight and long is a desirable result.

Probably the biggest advancement over the past 10 years or so is the adjustable hosel.  Unfortunately, the marketing would lead you to believe there are enough adjustments to offset a bad swing, which isn’t reality.  The best thing about an adjustable hosel is being able to set the driver up for different playing conditions.

The other stuff has been thinning out the face and using more carbon fiber on the head to lighten the driver head weight back to your fixed hosel G2... lol.

John

Edited January 30, 2020 by 70sSanO

[CharlieB]

I refer to the new drivers as ‘dial a drive’. LOL

[RayG]

Good Luck... but a fade is still a fade. Changing the weight wont stop a fade. Coming across the ball from out to in will still put the same side spin on the ball.

[DrvFrShow]

Good luck. I resorted to using my older blue one that's in my avatar late in the season before unloading my newer one for a Ping. I kept the blue one as a backup.