need help with my new driver

[gottaplay]

Hi all,

I'm new to this game and I've been playing for a good 2 months. I took a few lessons before I got started also....

(really already played about 35 rounds of golf though...I played 20 times in February and I've played already about 15 in March...! Did I mention I live in florida?)

Anyway, I'm up late tonight thinking about my driver. I started out with a set of clubs from Sports Authority.... a $200 set which I loved when I bought. After a few rounds I quickly deemed my set's driver (Wilson Tour Rx) "unplayable" because I always sliced it badly and always played a 3 wood off of most tees for more accurate drives.

When I finally learned a couple weeks ago that a slightly slower/smoother swing would allow me to play my driver... I felt like I started absolutely pounding the ball (In truth, "pounding" it for me is anything more than 230 yards). I felt like sometimes I could get 250-260 out of it. Anyway, like a luck the graphite shaft on the Driver decides to crack. (Ofcourse, it was just when I started bombing it over the trees on this short dogleg Par 4).

Everytime I would swing I would hear a slight crackling (maybe the integrity of the shaft is screwed up?) so after that, I wasn't able to drive straight with it.

Here's my dillema finally. I can't buy that wilson driver. It only comes with sets, supposedly its a crappy driver. I can't get any specs for the shaft so I can get a club built with similar specs... It just says, Wilson Tour Rx Men's Flex.

So what do I do? I go to sports authority and buy on a great sale a Callaway Big Bertha 454 Titanium driver. The thing costs what my whole set of clubs cost, about $190.

I've got two choices for flex of the driver and 3 choices for loft (none of which are printed on my wilson tour rx driver).

The loft and Flex I choose are the most "Visually & Physically Similar" to my wilson. Regular Flex & 10 degrees loft.

Anyway, with my pockets still empty from spending on this driver, I go to the range to find out that I can't really hit with it. I adjusted to tee the ball up higher. That helped me find the sweet spot, but I feel like I have to swing in slow motion to get the ball to go straight. And when I do get the sweet spot in my slo-mo swing... it only travels around 200-210 yards. If I tee-up my wilson 3 wood and play my normal smooth/swing that I was doing with my old driver, I get about 210 yards.

help me figure out what's going on? anyone?

I really don't want to shelve a $200 club. I would get it re-shafted it if it wouldn't cost me more than say $80 bucks...? also I don't know what to re-shaft it to?

Ofcourse, now that I've hit it, Sports Authority won't take it back... maybe I should sell it on eBay and keep trying new clubs.

I almost bought a $30 driver at walmart today to see if it hit like my $30 driver (estimated) that came with my set from sports authority!

sorry for the book, if you got here, thanks for your time... any thoughts are appreciated.

PS. You are supposed to get BETTER, the MORE you play right?

[iacas]

In this case, it's gonna be the indian, not the arrows. You're still at an early enough stage where you're not going to benefit enough from the newer, "better" technology out there. Your swing isn't consistent enough. Here's what I might do if I were you:

1) Keep the driver. For $190, it's a GOOD deal.
2) Tee off with your 3W for now.
3) Keep taking lessons. As you improve, start doing #2 less and tee off with your driver as your skills improve.

If you got a different flex shaft than your set, well, that's another possible problem... but without knowing, I can't comment on that.

[gottaplay]

Thanks! I'll try do that for now. Emphasis on "Try" But if you remember how being a beginner is... we want to hit with the big stick even if it ends up in the trees!

[LDAV]

idk, for your driver dilemma, im not sure. i play a taylormade r580 XD and i love it. it costs $200 right now tho. the best bet i guess would be try out a bunch of drivers and then find a used one on ebay if you dont wanna shell out a couple hundred.

and yeah...if you play more, you will get better. but thats only if you are playing RIGHT. the right machanics and stuff. cuz if you play alot, but your swing is all over the place, it wont do you any good.

[Golfer7945]

Eric, makes good points as does LDAV allow me to weigh in on the subject. Have you visited your teaching pro for a session with a launch monitor? If not schedule a $35.00 session with the pro. Grip, set up and simple swing mechanics will be critical for you to learn and much more important than ripping away on the driving range (using poor technique). Remember that practice should be a pleasant experience and a method for imprinting good skills. Once you learn the grip, set up and inside swing path your pro will be able to help you choose the correct driver for you.

Happy golfing!

P.S. Ebay is a good place to buy different types of clubs but I suggest that you know your swing speed and then research which types of shafts work best for that swing speed before you spend any more money on clubs.

[smazza]

golfer7945 hits nail on the head

invest in instruction at this point to avoid building bad habits

less play, more practice