Are New Clubs Better?

[Pinger]

11 hours ago, mighty said:

I'm no scratch or single digit player, so old or new equipment probably dont make any difference, I just play 15-20 year old second hand clubs because they look and sound better than new ones 

Old clubs will certainly save you a lot of money, but there is excitement trying something different or newer. If you like the look of your clubs, that is a big indicator how well you will hit it if it is a quality product. At one point, the club didn’t matter as much, but it is crucial for me these days. We didn’t do much fitting 30-40 years ago, but we adjusted to the clubs. Now, it is the complete opposite. I dream what it would be like to take a driver back in time and give it to my younger self(say 25 yrs. old) when I was using Woods with steel shafts and tiny heads, but could swing as hard as I wanted. Now that the technology is great and heads are large and forgiving, my swing speed won’t let me take advantage of the extra forgiveness. Oh well, it is still a blast to play and score well,although in a completely different way.

[Double Mocha Man]

40 minutes ago, iacas said:

Such as…?

In terms of gaining distance, but not including better swing mechanics or increased strength... or hotter golf balls, I think shaft improvements and new driver face technology (that doesn't affect COR or CT) would be two.

[iacas]

29 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

In terms of gaining distance, but not including better swing mechanics or increased strength... or hotter golf balls, I think shaft improvements and new driver face technology (that doesn't affect COR or CT) would be two.

Okay, that's not what I thought you meant. I don't call "swinging faster" really "getting around" technical limits.

[Pinger]

22 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

In terms of gaining distance, but not including better swing mechanics or increased strength... or hotter golf balls, I think shaft improvements and new driver face technology (that doesn't affect COR or CT) would be two.

Agreed. I changed shafts over the winter to the Fuji Pro tour spec which has added 3 mph indoors and hopefully more out on the course while improving consistency and am trying to work on my flexibility and speed to get back some of the distance lost, but Father Time is a tough opponent.

[NM Golf]

I saw first hand the difference my father and a couple of the older guys at my course saw when they got fitted and went to lighter graphite shafts and more forgiving heads. They picked up yardage and they hit it more solidly. And these are good players, guys that have been single digit handicaps for 40 years. 

As Erik said year to year you might not see much difference, but if you compare the technology now to technology say 10-15 years ago it's night and day. This is especially true if you are aging and you swing speed isn't what it once was.

[Pinger]

8 hours ago, NM Golf said:

I saw first hand the difference my father and a couple of the older guys at my course saw when they got fitted and went to lighter graphite shafts and more forgiving heads. They picked up yardage and they hit it more solidly. And these are good players, guys that have been single digit handicaps for 40 years. 

As Erik said year to year you might not see much difference, but if you compare the technology now to technology say 10-15 years ago it's night and day. This is especially true if you are aging and you swing speed isn't what it once was.

My swing speed has been dropping for the past few years. I swing hard and make good contact, but the power isn’t there. I saw myself on video and was surprised how much my swing has slowed down. Bad knees and wonky shoulders have not helped, but playing is still fun and a great thing to do with friends. All of my clubs are at least 3 years old, the most recent being the Ping g400 driver, three wood and hybrid. The driver and three wood are at the bottom of my depth chart for clubs, so I posed the question. Some older clubs are better for me than the newest ones. As your father did, I looked into different shafts and changed several of my woods’ shafts over the winter. All of my clubs have been fitted for many years. 
Can I get back 20 mph of swing speed? Probably not, but maybe some with technology and more with stretching and weight training.

[DrvFrShow]

3W? I just want to throw this out there if I hadn't already. The Cobra F9 3W is the only one I've ever been able to hit off the deck.

[Mr Puddle]

On 4/4/2020 at 10:21 PM, Bonvivant said:

I know what you mean. The 11.75 wood LD shafts are almost identical to carbon. I think that Predator even advertises that the Z is the same as the Revo in terms of deflection. It's cool that you made the switch after so many years. I am by far the youngest on my league team and none of them are every going to make the switch because they are so comfortable with what they have. They are all in their 50s and 60s whereas I am only 31 and new to pool.

I don't think that the pool players that aren't going to switch would deny the superiority of LD or carbon, same as I wouldn't in golf, but it really is a feel thing. I can't seem to hit an iron that doesn't have a thin top-line and tiny sole, and I am not a good golfer by any means. If I take out my Eye2s, I hit far more crap shots than my SSBR or my gamers. Just can't seem to get over the giant face and large offset. It messes me up something fierce. Perhaps this is what the OP has going with him too.

I play pool in the UK, but it's not the same game. We use cues with very small tips in order we can get the various spins we need, I have no idea how you lot can play with broom sticks you use 

[Bonvivant]

2 minutes ago, Mr Puddle said:

I play pool in the UK, but it's not the same game. We use cues with very small tips in order we can get the various spins we need, I have no idea how you lot can play with broom sticks you use 

Lol great comment. I'm fortunate enough to have a snooker table in my town (they are very rare in the states) and I own a snooker cue. I think that the tip is 8.5mm. Quite the difference. The reason for this is ball size. American pool balls are quite a bit bigger than snooker or black-ball balls. 

[Mr Puddle]

23 hours ago, Bonvivant said:

Lol great comment. I'm fortunate enough to have a snooker table in my town (they are very rare in the states) and I own a snooker cue. I think that the tip is 8.5mm. Quite the difference. The reason for this is ball size. American pool balls are quite a bit bigger than snooker or black-ball balls. 

Yes, and having watched American pool the only spin used is top spin. 

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, Mr Puddle said:

Yes, and having watched American pool the only spin used is top spin. 

This is not remotely accurate.

[Bonvivant]

5 hours ago, Mr Puddle said:

Yes, and having watched American pool the only spin used is top spin. 

 

5 hours ago, iacas said:

This is not remotely accurate.

Iacas is correct. I can draw/screw the cue ball a table and a half in length if i need to. 

[Vinsk]

6 hours ago, Mr Puddle said:

Yes, and having watched American pool the only spin used is top spin. 

A lot of rookies claim that. Keep playing/watching and you’ll learn better.

[dennyjones]

It's no different than table tennis.  You can impart spin many different ways.

[David in FL]

On 4/11/2020 at 11:10 AM, Mr Puddle said:

Yes, and having watched American pool the only spin used is top spin. 

Congratulations.  That may be one of the most remarkably incorrect statements I’ve ever read on the Internet!  

[Bonvivant]

No draw at all......

[David in FL]

On 4/10/2020 at 11:41 AM, Bonvivant said:

Lol great comment. I'm fortunate enough to have a snooker table in my town (they are very rare in the states) and I own a snooker cue. I think that the tip is 8.5mm. Quite the difference. The reason for this is ball size. American pool balls are quite a bit bigger than snooker or black-ball balls. 

This ^^^

For reference, American pool balls are 2.25 inches (57mm).  Standard snooker balls are 52.5mm.  It doesn’t sound like much, but the difference is substantial.

My playing pool cue tips are 12.5mm.  Break and jump cues 13mm.  My snooker cue is 9mm.

[DuckDuckFoose]

I dont know if my numbers changed since going to my Srixons from my Wilson complete set, but new club confidence is real. I can say my good shots look better, but I still have the same amount of bad shots, my clubs just look better doing it.