TM Burner....9.5* stiff or 10.5* regular?

[m11]

I'll start out with im a relatively high handicapper mainly because of lack of distance of the tee. I've focused very heavily on iron/wedge/short game play over my wood play. Basically, i've been hitting 3 iron off the tee (i have hybrids but im pretty comfortable with the low irons) and when you are going 220 off the tee...there isnt much room for error when you are hitting another mid/long iron to get a GIR on a par 4. This grooved a steep swing path that is far too steep for the driver, and causing a lot of my driver to be mishits. However, on some days something clicks and i randomly carry it 270....but whatever...i take those as they come. I've been using a 360cc 9* stiff shafted knockoff driver that was fit to me, but i've been looking to upgrade to something that may be easier to hit and more forgiving on mishits.

I was at my local golf store getting fitted for a new driver, and after hitting several clubs, he recommended the TaylorMade Burner (this recommendation is consistent with what other stores said to me when they put me on the monitor, so i'm happy with going with that club). They also dropped it down to $199 including the fitting due to the release of the Tour Burner...so thats nice. By the end, he came down with two variations of the burner for me to demo, one being a 9.5 Stiff and the other a 10.5 regular. My swing speed at the beginning of that session was about 95mph. For some reason i just wasnt swinging right...it seemed like just silly things like my clothes were a little restrictive and i was wearing loafers instead of golf shoes or sneakers....so basically i was just not getting behind the ball as much as i would like. By the end of the session, my swing speed had fallen to about 88mph by the time i got to the last few clubs. Generally, my swing speed has been somewhere between 99 and 102 based on monitors at other places....and basically all the guys at the various places agreed that getting to 113-115 was a feasible goal for me...a few times i'd get it up to about 108mph and carry about 275 when i was getting a good turn on the ball.

So, the guy at the place i went to today gave me both the 9.5stiff and the 10.5 regular to try out....he recommended the 9.5stiff at first, but upon seeing my swing speed fall...brought out the 10.5 regular. The fastest he saw my swing speed was at 95mph for about 15-20 swings.

My caveat for the whole situation is basically i feel that 95mph is less than i normally swing...and i feel that i've been improving pretty well with my driver on the range (again, i dont really use it on the course much due to inconsistency)..and with improvements in tempo and swing plane and what not...i feel that i would need to be at a stiff shaft anyways. So for now..im feeling that 9.5 stiff. My launch angle has been kinda high...so im thinking that going with a 10.5 stiff wouldnt be a good idea. What do you all think?

[wrx_junki]

I'd say go with a 10.5 stiff, its what I use and even bad shots turn up pretty okay. Even if I mishit my ball high it still goes 200 yards. I hit on average 250 yards with a low 90's swing speed. Thinking about going to 9.5 stiff in the future if I get everything to click.

[Garthmo]

Whatever you like i guess, i supposidly have a swing speed of 74mph and use a Sumo2 9.5* with a stiff shaft. I hit it 250- 275. I like it and my swing speed isnt very fast if it is correct