Small head drivers

[iWALK18]

Its not the club...

But if you insist on hitting a wood with a smaller head, go with a "strong 3"... probably a 13* 3 wood.

[Uthinkso]

I have my Taylor Made 200 Steel that is a small headed driver and I crush the ball and have much more accuracy with the club. With the big 460cc head on my current driver it kind of feels like a stop sign on a stick.

I may well just shelf the big driver here soon.

[907golfer12]

  Uthinkso said:

I have my Taylor Made 200 Steel that is a small headed driver and I crush the ball and have much more accuracy with the club. With the big 460cc head on my current driver it kind of feels like a stop sign on a stick.

Are you referring to your R7 425? Because those drivers are only 425cc's.

[CosmosMpower]

I'm a big fan of smaller head drivers, after trying a few of the new 460cc's I decided I don't like most of them except a few (TM Tour Burner TP and Adams A3 XTD). I have been teeing off with my R7 CGB max 3 wood with good success (220-250 total yards) and I picked up a R7 425 with a Fuji Speeder 569 tonight. I think having a smaller head subconciously forces you to hit the center of the face instead of just making contact with the ball anywhere on a huge 460cc head giving you better overall results.

[chingali]

  CosmosMpower said:

I think having a smaller head subconciously forces you to hit the center of the face instead of just making contact with the ball anywhere on a huge 460cc head giving you better overall results.

Subconscious or not try hitting it in the middle of the one on the right, buggered if I know how I used to do it!

The thing on the left belongs to my son, it's 460cc, second from the left is my current driver a Mizuno MP001 at 390cc, third from the left is a graphite headed Yonex ADX 300 I used for a few years about 10 years ago and the tiny thing on the right is a Dunlop persimmon I used in the mid eighties for a year or so. I've got loads more of them packed away in boxes, we moved house on the weekend.

[AlCzervik]

Well I used that old small driver today and I did not slice nearly as much. Drives didnt go real far but they were straight.

[TexasSR]

How much smaller must it be to be comortable? Titleist's new lineup includes a 440cc driver.

[ChvyKc]

I generally like smaller heads on my drivers. I grew up playing my dad's old persimmon Wilson driver and I guess I just got use to it. I played with a 460cc driver for a while but went to the Ping that I use now and I love it.

I had the chance to hit a TaylorMade R7 this past weekend and really didnt' see that much difference in distance. I was putting it out there about 270-275 with both.

[Timothy D Watson]

I have used a 130cc driver. It is scary to look at when addressing the ball. The thing is the size of the ball! It doesn't hit that bad, but does take focus. The original TaylorMade Burner is a little bigger at around 145cc. Metal drivers from about 130cc to 185cc were once called "standard size drivers." A persimmon or laminated sugar maple driver that is 240cc is like a 200cc metal driver. The large wooden hosel takes up a great deal of extra volume. The smallest wooden driver I have seen is 175cc. It is about the same as a 150cc metalwood. I just restored the head on the 130cc and reshafted and regripped it about a week ago. The shaft is spine aligned, the grip custom sized at .960'', and all of the works. I hit it a few times about a month ago. I plan to hit it again soon with the new treatment.

I prefer to use a heavily modified version of Wilson's 1993 "The Whale." It is a midsize graphite driver and is equivalent to about a 250cc metal driver. The graphite head feels great and for some reason I hit it really well. I love the contented looking whale on the soleplate.

Drivers over 290cc look too big to me. I consistently slice with them. 460cc drivers are just crazy! None of the modern driver offerings of today get my serious consideration. I wish the manufacturers would shrink the size of the drivers. I keep hearing about cracked and dented drivers nowadays. Smaller heads should be more durable. All driver clubheads weight close to 200g. A smaller size could afford to give more weight to the crown, sole, and skirt strength. Why do they keep making lighter crowns when I see people cave in the crowns on their drivers accidentally. I am just plain aggravated by the golf driver trends. I like my Whale!

[Timothy D Watson]

  Timothy D Watson said:

I just restored the head on the 130cc and reshafted and regripped it about a week ago. The shaft is spine aligned, the grip custom sized at .960'', and all of the works. I hit it a few times about a month ago. I plan to hit it again soon with the new treatment.

I hit a bunch of balls with the little driver yesterday. It must be me or something because it was outperforming "The Whale."

Both were giving excellent sweet hits, but the 130cc was working the ball back to center a whole lot more on the poor strikes. The distance loss on the off-center hits was essentially the same with the two as well. The 130cc sometimes had a pop-up, but I could hit it off of the short grass too. The Whale has the same loft, but I can't do that with it. The little driver practically has a low profile face, so that helped on the grass. Both had great shaft feedback. The little guy made a tiny ping on the sweet hits, but felt solid also. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience using the 130cc once I forgot about the size. Its performance was not proportional to its volume, so I forgot about it.

[sam004]

  AlCzervik said:

Right now I've got a 460cc size driver, and all I hit is massive slices with the ball. It stayed out of my bag while i used my 3 wood to tee balls since i hit that fairly straight. My 3 wood is busted and I dont plan on replacing it until next season.

Try looking at Callaway's pre-owned site. They also have other brands of vintage [used] clubs. I have also found similar items at Golf Galaxy and Golfsmith, as they have trade-ins and used clubs for sale. I think there are a few reasons why there is a difference between the 460 and older clubs. 1. I've noticed that some of the grooves have been removed from the sweet spot on my new vs. old driver. I believe this is because the equip. mfg. are trying to produce a few extra yards of distance by reducing spin. 2. Loft and launch angle and shaft flex vs. swing speed The 3W has a higher loft angle which, I believe, helps fly straighter shots. I did a little experiment myself on the course the other day. I had Callaway X460 tour 9.5*and a GBB/Warbird 200cc 10* I was slicing the X460 all over the place, while the WB was making a slight fade down the fairway. I wasn't getting as much distance, but I was left with a much better 2nd shot. BTW, picked up the Warbird for $12 at Golf Galaxy. Can also be used to hit off the deck with it's small size. http://www.golfgalaxy.com/ http://www.golfsmith.com/ http://callawaygolfpreowned.com/

[JerseyThursday]

As competitive as the golf club industry is you would think one of the major players would come out with a new smaller headed driver just for the niche market and the novelty of it. You walk into Golf Galaxy and it’s a sea of ham hocks on a stick. A high tech looking small head driver with a claim of faster club head speed and more control would stand out (be it true or not).

[Righty to Lefty]

  AlCzervik said:

I tee it up alot lower with the 3wood and have the ball more forward in my stance. If i try that with the driver I get a slice that carries 2 fairways over.

Wait a minute did you say that you play a 3 wood further forward in your swing than your driver? That would definately be the source of a slice because you can't close the face in time for impact. I used to have the same problem with woods but you have to trust it is going to work. You are likely not getting enough extension through the ball, yet when you play a driver back in your stance you get stuck and can't release the clubhead in time. You should definately be playin the ball slightly ahead of where you tee your three wood. You can tee the ball lower to reduce sidespin. Also work on your flexibility because your swing is being rerouted at a certain point and you aren't able to fully extend through the ball that is played past a certain point in your stance.

[bprater13]

I have a problem with 460 drivers also. I consider the driver as one of my best clubs but can't come around on a 460 driver. I have an old TaylorMade r7 Quad from 2004 that is I believe 400cc and I hit it awesome, about a 5 yard draw pretty consistently, and I can do that with a couple of my friends older and smaller headed drivers. However if you put any 460cc driver in my hands I will not get around on it and it will cut about 40 yards. The only one I have ever gotten around a small percentage of the time is the callaway ft-i. I am really excited about the new 440cc Titleist. I wish it was a 420cc but beggars can't be choosers I guess. Hope I can hit that thing cause I will buy it in about 3.2 seconds if I can.

[rgoudy1975]

I honestly don't like the sound of most of the rivers over 400cc that I have hit. They all seem to make a "KLONK!" sound. My 350cc King Cobra sounds good and looks good at address/impact.

[Emmett Johnson]

I too like a small head to drive with. I bought the new Taylormade 3 wood-driver that has three different lofts, 12* 14* and 16*. I bought the 14* and originally used it for a three wood only and it is loooong ! I also use it as a driver and it is straight as an arrow and on average of all drives it is just as long as a driver. It is a fixed loft SLDR so there are no adjustments. I am wondering how it would do in a 12* with a driver length shaft. Any one of you might want to try that 3-wood/driver. I don't think you will be disappointed.

[SoundandFury]

  traviswise said:

I slice but it's more operator rather than equipment.

Pretty sure that's the case 100% of the time...