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Posted
I started playing last year. Gear-wise everything was free, irons were 20+ years old. My father-in-law who is a gear junkie gave me a driver, 3 and 5 wood, a putter and a sand/gap wedge. All very nice.

I replaced the irons this spring with AP1's which I love. The woods seem fine, regular flex Cobras, probably 3 years old.

The driver is a Cobra as well, same vintage, but it's offset and has a senior flex shaft which is very whippy. I don't have a really fast swing yet, but it definitely seems soft. I hit it well enough that I usually have 2-3 drives over 9 holes that I am really happy(straight and far) with, and only 1-2 drives that I'm really unhappy with (mis-hits that would probably be bad with any driver).

I take a semi-private lesson about every other week and my instructor mentioned that I should replace the driver at the end of the season when I can get a good deal.

My question is, is my current driver set up going to cause me to develop bad habbits, or am I ok waiting til fall when demos will go on sale?

Posted
The flex of the shaft might force you to make some compensations as you get better and begin to figure out how it effects your ballflight, but it couldnt hurt to get something inexpensive now, then go for more of a late model driver after the season. Ask your pro to see if he has any recommondations for a cheap "hold me over" driver if you're dead set on getting something different.
THE WEAPONS CACHE..

Titleist 909 D2 9.5 Degree Driver| Titleist 906f4 13.5 degree 3-Wood | Titleist 909 17 & 21 degree hybrid | Titleist AP2 irons
Titleist Vokey Wedges - 52 & 58 | Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 Putter | ProV1 Ball

Posted
Is my current driver likely hurting my swing development?

That's the only reason I'd pull the trigger now. I'm not hunhappy with it, I just don't want to have to break a bunch of bad habbits.

Thanks for your help with this.

Posted
  hrspear said:
Is my current driver likely hurting my swing development?

Don't take this the wrong way but what is wrong with the driver? Is it doing something that you don't like or are you doing something that you don't like? Is your current driver optimum for you, probably not, but if you replaced it with a brand new driver and was prefectly fitted to you how many strokes would it shave?

If your index is current then I doubt it is a result of equipment. Are you currently taking leasons? When you talk about swing developement and breaking bad habits, who is guiding you through your developement? If you are not taking leasons, take the $200 and go get some leasons to establish a good foundation to build on. Once you get a swing established then you can start looking at equipment that suites your game. Your teaching pro is going to be able to tell you if your driver is not suited for you and probably give you some recomendations about what to look for when you go to upgrade.

Posted
  beung said:
Don't take this the wrong way but what is wrong with the driver? Is it doing something that you don't like or are you doing something that you don't like? Is your current driver optimum for you, probably not, but if you replaced it with a brand new driver and was prefectly fitted to you how many strokes would it shave?

I agree that it's important to build good fundamentals but at the same time I don't think that a senior flex driver is going to help this much if you aren't swinging really slow. Snapping the ball all over the place off the tee can be very discouraging and there are many good drivers out there that are a few years old, and very cheap, that will be more than enough to last a beginner for a few years. I think that buying a new driver would be a good investment if the OP is even semi serious about trying to improve his game. Also I believe that learning to hit an offset driver will develop bad swing habits and will definitely make it harder to build good fundamentals.

909 D2 8.5° Fubuki Tour 73x
975f 14.5° DG R300
909H 19° AXIVCore Tour Red 85x
690.mb 3-pw DG S300
Z TP 52° and 56° Studio Select Newport 2 34"


Posted
Your driver shaft that flexy might help you develop a nice smooth swing when you are starting off,it might stop you trying to lash at the ball,i say hold up on the driver yet.

aeroburner tp 10.5 stiff
superfast tp 2.0 3 wood stiff
Halo 25 and taylormade tp 19 degree hybrids
miura cb 202 and wedge
tp 52* wedge, tp 56* taylormade spider mallet putter


Posted
Re-shaft the driver if you like it. Fairly inexpensive from what I hear. Holds you over till you find a new one and gets rid of any concerns you have about the senior flex.

Andrew


Posted
  teal said:
Re-shaft the driver if you like it. Fairly inexpensive from what I hear. Holds you over till you find a new one and gets rid of any concerns you have about the senior flex.

I vote for this option. It' cheaper and it can make an old club feel a lot better with a new shaft.

Driver Ping G10 10.5*
Hybrids Ping G5 (3) 19* Bridgestone J36 (4) 22*
Irons Mizuno MP-57 5-PW
Wedges Srixon WG-504 52.08 Bridgestone WC Copper 56.13
Putter 33" Scotty Cameron Studio Select #2


Posted
  hrspear said:
I started playing last year. Gear-wise everything was free, irons were 20+ years old. My father-in-law who is a gear junkie gave me a driver, 3 and 5 wood, a putter and a sand/gap wedge. All very nice.

Hate to break this out to you, but a driver isn't the club that's gonna help you out the most in golf course.

Instead of getting a new driver (if you have to), I suggest you to wait until the sale and focus more on your irons, short games, and putting during the lesson.
What's in the bag:
Driver: r7 SuperQuad 10.5° ~ UST Proforce V2 65g Regular
Wood: 906F4 18.5° ~ Aldila VS Proto 80g Stiff
Irons: MP-60 3-PW ~ True Temper Tour Concept S3
Wedges: Vokey Oil Can 252.08, SM56.10 & SM60.08Putter: Marxman Mallet 33"

Posted
Beung, thanks for the info. Actually I don't have a handicap yet, one more round to get one. I estimated the 42 based on typically shooting mid to high 50's over 9 holes (no mulligans or gimmes), no 18 hole rounds yet.

Some background, I started playing last year, did 10 private lessons last season. I am continuing that path this season...typically get to the range once a week, and then alternate playing and lessons (play one weekend, 1 hour private lesson the next, play the next, etc.).

I was perfectly happy with my driver, it's a Cobra 400SZ offset with senior flex graphite shaft, well, I could tell the shaft was too flexible for me (when I get comfortable and swing freely I feel like the head is way behind my hands) but it wasn't really bothering me. My teaching pro noticed it and said I should replace it at the end of the season.

I'm not looking for a new driver to take strokes off, I'm more concerned with establishing a good swing.

I'll happily wait til fall and get a demo driver if this one isn't going to create problems with my swing that I have to fix later. I'll ask my teaching pro at my next lesson if I need to be concerned.

Posted
Thanks fusioncal. I got new irons this spring. I also have a good putter that I am happy with.

Definitely spending time concentrating on irons and short game.

Posted
I'll ask my instructor about reshafting, he was concerned with the offset as well, but I'll ask.

He'll probably be the one fitting me for the new driver anyway, so I'll see what he thinks.

Posted
it wont let me post it there for some reason.

i would have but it seems to be blocked?

i thought if i cant post it in marketplace this thread is reasonably relevant


Edit - HEY THAT IS SO UNFAIR - IT TURNS OUT I COULDNT POST IN MARKETPLACE AS MY REPUTATION WAS ONLY 4 - 2 PEOPLE HAVE JUST REDUCED IT TO 2!!!!!

WTF

k

Posted
  hrspear said:
Beung, thanks for the info. Actually I don't have a handicap yet, one more round to get one. I estimated the 42 based on typically shooting mid to high 50's over 9 holes (no mulligans or gimmes), no 18 hole rounds yet.

Take it from some one who is a gear junky himself, you don't need the best gear to be the best player at the level that 99% of the people who play golf. Just listen to what your instructor has to say, he will probably know best as he has seen your swing and probably knows what your potential is. I just don't want you buying into the marketing and wasting money on a driver that isn't going to be any better and possibly be worse then your current one.


Note: This thread is 6278 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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