How Do You Even Get Close to 1.5 Smash Factor?

[klineka]

7 hours ago, iacas said:

You can get 1.51 or 1.52 by hitting the ball toward the toe a little bit.

This. While I certainly don't average 1.50+ smash factor, I get 1.45-1.50 on a pretty regular basis, occasionally I'll get a 1.51, and one time a couple weeks ago I managed a 1.52 (technically a 1.515 but Trackman rounded up.)

[mighty]

8 hours ago, ChetlovesMer said:

BTW - What illegal head are you using? 

Old Cobra model 440 sz and Nike Ignite 460, all stock shafts so they are very old, I dont know if that affects the smash factor

Edited March 25, 2020 by mighty

[Killa]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

1.46 is pretty good. You're only talking about 0.03 or so here, you know…

Yeah but that was the maximum. Average was 1.4. The only thing that the optimizer would change on that swing was the ball speed - so indirectly smash factor. 
 

 

And now watching these current reviews of the new drivers and the Taylormade sim is often 10 yards+ longer than the other ones the only difference should be smash factor don’t you think?

[iacas]

21 minutes ago, Killa said:

Yeah but that was the maximum. Average was 1.4. The only thing that the optimizer would change on that swing was the ball speed - so indirectly smash factor.

You should have shown us one of the 1.4 ones.

21 minutes ago, Killa said:

And now watching these current reviews of the new drivers and the Taylormade sim is often 10 yards+ longer than the other ones the only difference should be smash factor don’t you think?

No. Maybe smash factor on off-center hits is improved somewhat, but… no. Drivers with close to or 0.83 COR get about 1.5 smash factor. Legal limit.

And they've been at that limit for a decade+.

[ChetlovesMer]

29 minutes ago, iacas said:

Maybe smash factor on off-center hits is improved somewhat, but… no. Drivers with close to or 0.83 COR get about 1.5 smash factor. Legal limit.

And they've been at that limit for a decade+.

Yeah, I'm guessing 2 things. One, if you are all over the face (like me) your "average" smash factor may improve with a more modern driver. Also, possibly a better fit shaft may get you more club-head speed. (Clubhead speed won't increase your smash factor, but will increase your distance) The club head companies try to claim more speed from aerodynamics, but I think that's mostly bull-roar. 

It's been my experience that any of the drivers I've been fit for in the last 5 years for sure, maybe the last 10 are pretty much limited by only one thing. … That's the part that's wrapped around the grip portion of the club. 

Having said all of that... I LIKE SHINY THINGS! So, I have a brand new driver in the bag which will likely perform no better on the course than the last brand new driver I had in the bag. But it is definitely shinier. 

[Killa]

52 minutes ago, iacas said:

You should have shown us one of the 1.4 ones.

No. Maybe smash factor on off-center hits is improved somewhat, but… no. Drivers with close to or 0.83 COR get about 1.5 smash factor. Legal limit.

And they've been at that limit for a decade+.

if you don’t have the time to watch the whole thing the results are at ~11:30. How could one explain the difference?

[Bonvivant]

9 minutes ago, Killa said:

if you don’t have the time to watch the whole thing the results are at ~11:30. How could one explain the difference?

I did not watch the whole thing, only results. Was Peter displaying club head speed during testing? If so, were they all consistent? As @iacas stated earlier, COR is limited, so unless TM is making non-conforming product differences must be attributed to *forgiveness and strike quality, including spin loft, face, path, location on face, etc.

Edit*

I went back and skimmed the video, and it seems he was literally swinging faster with the sim. Yeah, if you gain  5-7mph, the ball is going to go farther and ball speed will be increased.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Bonvivant
left out key word and section

[iacas]

7 minutes ago, Killa said:

if you don’t have the time to watch the whole thing the results are at ~11:30. How could one explain the difference?

Because… one was a better fit for him?

Not sure what else you think is at play here.

[ChetlovesMer]

12 minutes ago, iacas said:

Because… one was a better fit for him?

Not sure what else you think is at play here.

This. 

 

[RayG]

Couple of years ago at a Demo day and 'free evaluation session", I was right about 1.43/1.45 with my R11s and was told, that's pretty good, better than most Ams. (using 'real' balls, not the usual range balls). SS was at 103/105 for the 10 balls in that part of the evaluation. 

[Killa]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Because… one was a better fit for him?

Not sure what else you think is at play here.

I really don’t know, that’s why I’m asking 🙂 because if I stay locked in this house any longer I’m gonna order a new driver as well 😂 and the Sim seems to be outperforming the others in most of the tests on line (most being most I’ve watched). So you and @ChetlovesMer are of the opinion it doesn’t matter which driver I buy as long as I get fit for it?

 

And just a side note. The only driver in the video that Pete was fit for was the Titleist a couple of seasons ago...

Edited March 25, 2020 by Killa

[iacas]

Even just having a longer shaft can lead to increased ball speed.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

I really don’t know, that’s why I’m asking 🙂 because if I stay locked in this house any longer I’m gonna order a new driver as well 😂 and the Sim seems to be outperforming the others in most of the tests on line (most being most I’ve watched). So you and @ChetlovesMer are of the opinion it doesn’t matter which driver I buy as long as I get fit for it?

 

And just a side note. The only driver in the video that Pete was fit for was the Titleist a couple of seasons ago...

I'm going through the same issue right now. I've just about pulled the trigger on a dozen online orders. 

Here's the thing about the SIM. Do you like twist face?
Personally, I hate it. I used to be a Taylormade driver guy. But I can't stand twist face. I look down at that club head and all I can think of is how on Earth am I supposed to hit this where I'm aiming it. 

Order what ever you want. Support the economy, but if you haven't seen twist face make sure you can get your money back if you don't like it. 

BTW - There are a bunch of on-line fitting sites that will get you close just by answering a series of questions. ...Okay, it's not the same as a "real" fitting, but if you are losing your mind it might be something to tinker with to keep your sanity. Hang in there, brother. 

 

 

[Killa]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

I'm going through the same issue right now. I've just about pulled the trigger on a dozen online orders. 

Here's the thing about the SIM. Do you like twist face?
Personally, I hate it. I used to be a Taylormade driver guy. But I can't stand twist face. I look down at that club head and all I can think of is how on Earth am I supposed to hit this where I'm aiming it. 

Order what ever you want. Support the economy, but if you haven't seen twist face make sure you can get your money back if you don't like it. 

BTW - There are a bunch of on-line fitting sites that will get you close just by answering a series of questions. ...Okay, it's not the same as a "real" fitting, but if you are losing your mind it might be something to tinker with to keep your sanity. Hang in there, brother. 

 

 

Nah I’ll probably wait on the driver purchase, I think there is a store about 150 miles away where I can actually get fit for different brands so if I decide to go for a new one that’s the place I’ll visit, and I actually never held a twist face driver in my hand let alone hit one 😞. I did buy a new (used) wedge set yesterday. Vokey Sm6 52 56 and 60. I’ll stay off ebay for a week now 😂

[KoHo]

A few weeks ago during a Mevo session I noticed my avg smash factor was lower than normal.(~1.39) When I got home I looked closely at my club face and noticed a crease starting to form around the toe. Bought another used club of the same type and it went back to normal.(~1.46) Not sure how common this type of thing is but it has happened to me twice in two years(both used clubs). The first time cracks started to develop on the bottom of the club head causing a similar decrease in smash factor.

[iacas]

Are they authentic?

[KoHo]

Yes, both were. First one was a Callaway Big Bertha V-Series(2014) that I bought on the Callaway Pre-Owned site a couple years ago. Shaft broke after 6 months. Callaway said since the break was not at the hosel it was not under warranty. Bought a new shaft. A few months ago I emailed Callaway the pics of that driver head cracking. Didn't get a response. Bought a Callaway XR16 driver head only from an ebay seller(won't do that again). Everything was great until a couple months later I noticed the crease. Callaway said since the club head was not purchased through their preowned program the only thing they could do for me was to give me a discount on a new driver. I decided to by another XR16 on the preowned site. In all fairness, I had thousands of impacts on that V-Series driver.