Father in law

[abbello]

Hi all,

my father in law used to have a cobra driver which became illegal two years ago or so. Based on my FIL's instructor suggestion, last year my wife and I bought my FIL a brand new FT5 senior flex 11dg draw biased.
Bottom line is, my FIL lost 40 yards on his driver, which frankly seems a bit too much even if his previous distance was based on an illegal driver. As you can imagine, he's not very happy about that.
My FIL is in his 65s, has a HI of 18 and a very low swing speed.
Can anyone help me limit the number of driver models he should try in order to replace his FT5 and gain some distance?

Thanks so much for your help.

a

[denver_nuggs_15]

  abbello said:

Hi all,

The shaft and loft could be wrong for him. If he hits the ball too high, a 10* may work better. The FT5s come with the E160 if I'm not mitaken...I'm not a huge fan of them (E360 is better IMO) and maybe your FIL isn't either. You could try the shaft that is in the Cobra. If that doesn't work, then there may be something wrong with the head. 40 yards is too much.

[Lemay427]

Use the old driver. Who cares if its illegal. It isnt like he is playing in tournaments.

[abbello]

  Lemay427 said:

Use the old driver. Who cares if its illegal. It isnt like he is playing in tournaments.

Actually, in Italy - where we both live - weekend tee times in most golf courses are taken for tournaments. Hence, if you wanna play during the w/es in decent hrs you have to play in tournaments.

As to the head, I am under the (probably wrong) impression that composite materials such as the ones in the FT-5 head do not help much for distance. My FIL's shots, in addition to be short, are also quite low.

[Jay-Bird]

Buy a driver he can hit. Demo before you buy. Also, I'm guessing he's not as strong as he used to be.

[abbello]

I guess so to, but haven't known him for very long.
I was hoping someone could give me some help shortening the list of drivers he should demo. Plus am having a friend leaving the US where you buy golf stuff for much cheaper than EU and wanted him to bring something here for my FIL. So I don't have much time either.

[Jay-Bird]

Maybe you could pull the shaft from the Cobra and stick it in the Callaway?

Typically the biggest indicators of using shafts that are too stiff are: Lower ball flight, less distance, ball leaks out (weak fade), the ball contact never feels flush/solid.

If he gets these results, it's the shaft .

[Fourputt]

Focus on loft and shaft. And maybe the ball. He needs a high spin ball like a Nike Power Distance Soft or similar. Maybe 11° loft isn't enough... try 12°. And a shaft with a low kick point will usually tend to get the ball up easier. The shaft and face loft are more important in the driver than anything else. The draw bias may also be a bad thing for him... that will also tend to close the face and hit the ball lower. I'd go with a more neutral bias... at least to try out.

Don't even consider a Tour model of anything. They look like the standard head, but tend to have a lower launch for the same loft and are neutral to fade biased.

[thr33]

He could try the old 07 burner draw. With the proper shaft and the light head, it could work out to be more yardage

[glebert]

Can you take the Cobra to a shop and have them check the loft and flex? I would then try to get something that matches in a conforming club.

[Quinn07]

  glebert said:

Can you take the Cobra to a shop and have them check the loft and flex? I would then try to get something that matches in a conforming club.

I will second this recommendation. Get the old club stats and attempt to match them as close as possible, while staying legal obviously.

[kevntri]

My father is 67. He went through the same issues. I believe it is a strength issue.
He has had very good luck with the Nike 5900 sumo square. 13 degree loft, Nike senior flex.
Can be bought at a good $ on Ebay with the new model out now....

Good luck

[ks8829]

Something like this below

http://cgi.ebay.com/Callaway-FT-5-Dr...QQcmdZViewItem

Your FIL should still hit the driver at the golf store with his current driver to compare the distance.

[abbello]

  ks8829 said:

Something like this below

Well this is pretty much what he already has except for the loft.

I coming to the conclusion that he should probably try out and in the first place as is where he was coming from and has probably the largest variety of models. Plus he's got a 3wood which he hits very well.

[LeafsFanNL]

Ping G10 at 13.5 degrees, with a soft R flex might work for him.

[Pat007]

why not put him on a launch monitor with a pro or a clubfitter and make sure his driver is optimal for him? That's what I would do..

[elchene]

  abbello said:

Well this is pretty much what he already has except for the loft.

I don't think the brand matters so much as the loft and shaft do. Find a clubhead that he likes, and then get the loft and shaft to match his swing.