Driver, Woods, and Hybrids for a beginner

[putty]

Hey,

I'm a new golfer and I have already purchased my irons (taylormade R7 Regular Flex Steel) but now I am looking for a driver and something to connect my irons to my driver. The two drivers I am looking at are the Nike Sumo and the TaylorMade Burners. I have tried one of the square nike sumos and hit it about 225 on average but I have not tried the burners. I have no idea what the difference is and what loft/shape/make/model or anything that I am supposed to be looking for so any advice on that would be great.

As for connecting my irons and driver I have a few questions. What is the difference between hybrids and fairway woods? Hybrids seemed a lot easier to hit but what is the difference in distance? If there is anyway to get only one wood or hybrid for now, what should I be looking for?

Thanks in advance for any help whatsoever!

[ApocG10]

I tried a ton of drivers before buying one, then I ended up buying another 4 days ago.

I had a Nike originally, and sold it with a 3 and 5 wood to buy a g10 driver. I thought I had tried everything. Then a few days ago I demo'd a Titleist 909D2 w/ a stiff Mitsubishi shaft and bought one immediately. I gave the G10 to my dad, it only had 7 rounds on it and a day or two at the range. Hit maybe 200 balls. Told him it was his early fathers day present.

Im am super happy with my Titleist. It launches at just the right angles and flies further than my g10 did, and its getting regripped as we speak with an oversized grip. 255-260 yards consistently when I hit a good shot.

[putty]

I tried a ton of drivers before buying one, then I ended up buying another 4 days ago.

Thanks for the response. I don't really want to buy and sell clubs over and over and my local sports shop does let you demo them but you cant really tell because you just hit it into a net a few feet in front of you. Is there anywhere that you demo a club at a range (Like I know for tennis rackets you can order like 4 rackets to demo online for 20 bucks and use them for a week and ship them back; is there anywhere like that for golf?)

[ApocG10]

thats the point I should have finished with, but trailed off and got lost.

Your local pro shop at the golf course should have plenty of demo drivers to try, try them until you find what you want. Most of them will let you demo free, or subtract the price of the demo if you try. Youve got nothing lose, try lots!

[putty]

thats the point I should have finished with, but trailed off and got lost.

Thats a good point. So obviously its just a preference thing and I'll have to try a lot out. Do you have any insight/wisdom into what clubs I need to fill in between my driver and irons?

[deafheaven]

There are often deals where you can purchase a wood and get a hybrid free. I suggest you do that. I'd go with a 5 wood and a 3 or 4 hybrid because new golfers often have difficulty hitting a 3 Wood, long irons, or 2 even 3 hybrids.

For a driver I'm going to recommend you at least look at the Cleveland Hibore XLS. It's more reasonably priced than most and is a very forgiving and long hitting driver imo.

[putty]

There are often deals where you can purchase a wood and get a hybrid free. I suggest you do that. I'd go with a 5 wood and a 3 or 4 hybrid because new golfers often have difficulty hitting a 3 Wood, long irons, or 2 even 3 hybrids.

What is the usual difference in distance between a 5 wood and a 3/4 Hybrid? If these questions get annoying just let me know but I figured the best play to go to get my questions answered would be a golf forum.

[deafheaven]

There's no direct correlation because not all hybrids or woods are created equal. You'd have to look at the lofts as well as the shaft lengths. That said, generally speaking, a 3 hybrid is generally comparable to a 7 Wood.

[ApocG10]

Thats a good point. So obviously its just a preference thing and I'll have to try a lot out. Do you have any insight/wisdom into what clubs I need to fill in between my driver and irons?

If your just getting in the game, i'd get a 3 hybrid, and a 3 wood. But I have a hell of a time hitting my 3 wood straight, so it barely ever gets used.

But I agree on looking for deals. Callaway had a sweet buy a driver, get a fairway wood for a dollar. I've never used the FT series drivers, but im sure they are a top quality product.

[Bourbon and Coke]

Just as a matter of practical strategy:

I would go to a store that will let you try out their drivers, and only try out drivers from the used bin. If you go to a big box store like PGA Superstore, TGW, Golfsmith, or even Dick's, they will probably only have major-brand drivers. Look into a driver with a 350cc+ sized head in the $30-70 range that you are comfortable hitting.

Will this produce the best results? Probably not. Will it be perfectly fitted to your game? If you're patient enough, maybe. But the biggest pet peeve of owners of new drivers: scuffs, tee marks, and dummy marks. And if you're a new golfer, you're going to earn tons of them. If you plan to trade or sell it, it's going to kill the value. On top of that, as you get better, your swing is going to change. And the 10.5 degree driver you bought for $300 with a high-launch shaft is going to end up a moon ball. Now you're out $300 to make your game playable when you're a better player.

Personally, I would learn on a decent, used driver before shelling out for a new model driver you're going to want to protect.

[xjlee20]

hi, i am a beginner as well (kind of), and i actually just bought a driver and two woods few weeks ago. i went with the callaway deal (buy a driver and get 2 woods for a dollar) after trying out few different drivers. I bought the Callaway FT-9 10* and 3, 5 X-fairway wood. the ft-9 driver wasnt too hard and i like the look of it and the feel as well. the driver is 399 bucks but you do get two drivers... so the price kinda works out... hope you find a driver that fits you

[Alley Cat]

There are often deals where you can purchase a wood and get a hybrid free. I suggest you do that. I'd go with a 5 wood and a 3 or 4 hybrid because new golfers often have difficulty hitting a 3 Wood, long irons, or 2 even 3 hybrids.

I'm a brand new golfer as well and I recently purchased the HiBore XLS Monster and got a free club with it (I chose the 3i Hybrid). I find both clubs pretty easy to use for a newbie like myself. I tried out the TM Burners as well, but found it easier to hit dead center shots with the Cleveland.

But, like others have said.... everyone is different and what might be great for some may not be best for you. You just gotta try a bunch and see what works for ya.

[umpiremark]

I'm going to apologize before I get going here, because my intent is NOT to make anyone angry with my response, NOR am I being a wise-guy.

My first impression in reading this thread is, "What are you thinking?" In that, here's what I mean: What clubs (that you've paid $200, $300 even $500 for) did you get "fitted" for? How good is your swing right now or your current game?

Before I'd spend a nickle on any club, I would want to make sure it fits me, my swing and my game. I have been making my own clubs (i.e. Golfsmith, Golfworks) for years and wouldn't think of buying a club off the rack - if I didn't know it was good for my game/swing/style.

As an example: If you buy an off the rack Nike (say), it has what, a 45" shaft? 45.5" or even maybe 46" shaft? Is it stiff, x-stiff, regular, senior shaft? You can look but you can't tell. Is the Bend Point high, mid, low? What's the playing loft of the club in your hands (not the loft that's inscribed on the back)? In other words do you want the ball to go higher, lower? Do you - can you - work the ball or do you just want it to go straight?

What's the overall swingweight and MOI of this new club compared to your favorite "feel" club, like a 7-iron or 8-iron?

My point - again, not to anger or incite critisism of these posts - is, get fitted for a your clubs before you buy. Head to a Golf Galaxy or a place like that that fits clubs for swingweight, length, feel, overall weight, loft and lie AND especially your swing. Buying a 45.5" driver (because Tiger hits his 45.5") does you no good unless you can put the center of the head on the center of the ball, consistently. To do that - which is what golf is all about - you need a club that fits your game/style/feel.

I'm a big proponent for getting fitted for clubs before buying them Or for me, making them). Now that they run 2, 3, even 5 hundred bucks each, I wanna know before I buy.

Sorry for the very long, long post. I hope no one gets mad at my thoughts, here. Thanks!

[Brooklyn]

You should check out the new callaway Diablo... My friend just bought one and im slightly jealous that i got the R9 instead. I was hitting consistent 290 yard carrys and could shape it pretty well.. I can shape shots better with the taylormade but i lose maybe 25-30 yards of distance. But my playing level i would rather have the distance. Maybe next year i can learn shot shaping a little better.

[hkphooey00]

What is the usual difference in distance between a 5 wood and a 3/4 Hybrid? If these questions get annoying just let me know but I figured the best play to go to get my questions answered would be a golf forum.

Hybrids are built with shorter shafts and are made to swing like a long iron while woods have longer shafts. If a wood and hybrid have the same loft, the wood should go farther having the longer shaft and therefore, higher swing speed.

[alcorn]

This one goes out to all you beginners out there... Go some place you can try the club and try the club. Putty, if those are the drivers your interested in then go try them. They're good clubs. There are a hundred posts on this site that say what great clubs each are. Go try em.

As far as the difference between your fairway woods and hybrids, IN MY OPINION (I have been known to be wrong from time to time so I can't say its a fact) The biggest difference is the shaft length. You swing hybrids like a mid to long iron because they have a shorter shaft. You use a more sweeping swing with woods. A shorter shaft could also affect you distance.