Snake Eyes Driver Head VS. Store Bought

[albatross]

I've been building clubs for a pretty short period of time and I have a question. I understand that the shafts on a Wal-Mart driver are very low quality and that the shaft makes a huge difference on how a driver performs.

What I'm struggling with a little is trying to justify $160 for a Snake Eyes driver head. I know that they sell really quality components but here is my question:

This isn't a rhetorical question. What's the difference between one of their driver heads and one that comes on a driver at Wal-Mart.

Again, I'm not trying to be ignorant, I just don't understand.

They're the same size (460cc), same technology as far as shape of the head, same material(Titanium).

So technically speaking, what makes golfsmiths heads worth $100 more???

Will you see a $100 difference off the tee if you choose a Snake Eyes head over something store bought with a nice shaft in it?

[HytrewQasdfg]

Where are you paying $160 for a golfsmith driver head? The most expensive one they have on their website is $134.

As far as quality difference and price, let me use an analogy.

You can master 90% of golf practicing 1 hour a day.
95% practicing 2 hours a day.
98% practicing 4 hours a day.
99% practicing 8 yours a day.
99.5% practicing 16 hours a day.
There are not enough hours in the day to master the last 0.5%.

This is true for just about any endevour in life (including manufacturing a clubhead.)

It doesn't take a lot of effort to build a good clubhead that will meet 90% of your needs on a golf course. The cost and effort to build a clubhead that will meet 95% of your needs isn't an extra 5%. It is 200%.

Whether the big extra cost is worth it for the improvement depends on you. A Wal-Mart club will probably meet 90% of your needs. The Snake-Eyes 98%. Is that extra 8% worth the cost?

[albatross]

Where are you paying $160 for a golfsmith driver head? The most expensive one they have on their website is $134.

Thanks for your response but your answer doesn't really tell me anything. I was looking for a specific difference between the quality of the heads. What is the 8%?

I appreciate your anaolgy but I don't think it really answers my question.

[Cody]

This isn't a rhetorical question. What's the difference between one of their driver heads and one that comes on a driver at Wal-Mart.

Well, this would also mean whats the difference between something such as a taylormade driver head vs a walmart driver head?

Honestly, if i wasn't absolutely in love with my irons i would trade them for snake eyes irons because they are AMAZING. A friend of mine has all golfsmith components and they are simply amazing. The viper irons have a style similiar to the AP1/AP2. The driver head he has is very similiar to a hibore xl. See if you can try the club head out before you buy it.

[joshtpa]

It is also the same thing as saying, what is the difference between any driver out there other than shape nowadays. It is all about feel and setup.

[HytrewQasdfg]

Thanks for your response but your answer doesn't really tell me anything. I was looking for a specific difference between the quality of the heads. What is the 8%?

OK, I'll give it a shot.

1. Consistency of materials. There are different grades (or purity) of material. Just because something is titanium you have no idea the quality of titanium used in it. Beef can be graded from Prime at the top, Standard in the middle, and Canner at the low end. Would you pay the same for Prime Beef and Canner Beef? 2. Different types of materials. There are different types of titanium that each act slightly differently when used to build a clubhead. Goldsmith does a good job (imho) of explaining why they picked a specific type of titanium to build a head out of. What type of titanium are you getting in a Wal-Mart head? 3. Consistency in manufacture. It costs more to ensure each item meets a predetermined standard. Is that 10 degree driver really 10 degrees, or 11 (or 12, 13, 9, 8, 7?) Is the lie really correct? Does it really weight what it says? Lower prices mean more variant heads are allowed to ship. A higher price generally means tighter manufacturing processes. Golfsmith publishes the manufacturing tolerances for all of its heads. You can also pay them an extra fee and they will go though their stock and find a head with the exact specifications you want. 4. Advanced design features. Golfsmith has done some interesting things such as ultra thin tops (to move to MOI lower), changing the COR of the face so it bumps up agains the legal limit, and distributing weight around the head to produce a specific ball flight. The manufacturing tolerances in Wal-Mart heads are simply too low to allow them to attempt to do anything like that. The same is true for most high end manufaturers.

[albatross]

OK, I'll give it a shot.

Very well explained. That makes a lot of sense and I feel better going ahead and purchasing a golfsmith head.