Slice with my driver but not with my irons!!

[SwissTJS]

This happens to me ocassionally. Last Sunday in a tournament on the 1st tee a huge out of character slice (ball started straight then cut left (I am a leftie)). My partner (2 handicap) instantly noticed that with my enthusiasm to smash it down the fairway my upper body moved towards the target as I started the downswing. I concentrate on upper body staying behind the ball with the driver.

[Paulbee]

Seen a couple of references to shafts and tip-stiffness in the thread, which is sound advice, but not carved into marble.

Yes, rule of thumb is stiffer shafts favor a fade, but there are exceptions as where the shaft is loading comes into play as well.

Somebody has suggested ball position in your stance which is as good a starting point as any. Again, rule of thumb is further forward in your stance will promote a fade, but again, exceptions exist.

Experiment a little bit with where you're positioning the ball at address. A driver with a touch more loft might also help.

Let us know how you get on

[Mongoose]

I slowed my swing speed down to almost 'ridiculously' slow (keep in mind I'm 6'4" with a wide wingspan so my speed is still faster than most). I lengthened my driver shaft out to compensate the head speed and I went to the McGregor NVG2 460 Draw. The set up seems to work for me. You might just need to mess with your hardware a tad. I know most people would rather fix the swing than just buying a game, but when all else fails, might be something to try.

[FHopper]

I do the same thing. I slice my driver because I "stand up" on the follow through which means I come outside in. On irons I am more able to follow through toward the target. (At least this is the rational I have settled on.)

[mazza78]

orginally i had a matrix x-con 5.5 regular shaft on my driver and although i occasionally i hit slices i did hit quite a few nice drives but was told by pro my shaft should be stiff so i got it reshafted with v2 stiff shaft which makes me worse and more inconsistent! Thinking it could have been one of my worst decisions!! My irons are 2 degree upright and like the R9 which has a neutral upright setting!! Question is which shaft option and do i get R9 or R9 460!!??

[Paulbee]

Both versions of the R9 have the movable shaft but the 460 doesn't have weight ports. For what it's worth, at a recent demo day, my preferred combo was the 460 with a Motore in regular.

If your pro shop carries both, hit them in as many shaft combos as they have. Standard shafts from TaylorMade are the Motore and an Aldila Reax.

Which weight V2 are you playing. These came in 3 weights and torque ranged from a manageable 3.7 to a very low 2.2 degrees. That's a lot of shaft to manage and takes a lot of effort.

[mazza78]

Both versions of the R9 have the movable shaft but the 460 doesn't have weight ports. For what it's worth, at a recent demo day, my preferred combo was the 460 with a Motore in regular.

My v2 shaft is 67g with 2.9 torque and tip stiffness 30 in stiff flex!! Would you say this is better player shaft and suitable then for someone of my handicap?? Like i say driving is the one part which is holding me back hence the many questions and posts!!! Thanks for your help!!

[Paulbee]

2.9 degrees of torque is pretty low. Very low in fact and it takes a very long, smooth swing to load a shaft with that kind of rating. With a shaft like that you'd be looking at a carry of around 220 - 230 yards to manage it. That's carry, not total.

General rule of thumb is too much shaft will leave the club head open, encouraging a slice. I say general, as it's not 100%. How the shaft is presenting the club head has a lot to do with where your load is coming. Is it a gradual back and through or are you loading the shaft in one big burst at the end?

See if your pro-shop will let you try some drivers with different shafts. Even playing partners will usually oblige. Not during a march of course, but try a few combos and see which shaft feels best for you. Then check the specs of the shaft in question. I'm betting it comes in at something like a 3.5 - 4.5 degrees of torque and is a regular flex.

[mazza78]

2.9 degrees of torque is pretty low. Very low in fact and it takes a very long, smooth swing to load a shaft with that kind of rating. With a shaft like that you'd be looking at a carry of around 220 - 230 yards to manage it. That's carry, not total.

thanks for your info on shaft torque! im either gonna get a Ping G15 which has 2 shafts one which is ping tfc 149 which has 5.8 torque in regular shaft and 5.3 in stiff and other is aldila serrano which has 4.0 torque or alternatively itll be R9 460 which has aldila reax 3.5 torque or fujikura motore which is also 3.5 torque!! which would you recommend for someone with quite a quick swing???

sorry for all the info but want an idea in my head before i go custom fitting so i know what there on about!! thanks

[Paulbee]

I did like the R9 / Motore combo when I tried it. It's not the "real" Motore, it's a proprietary for TaylorMade but a very fine shaft indeed.

Not to say the Reax is a slouch, but I liked the Motore a bit more.

3.5 - 4.0 is a good band to play in. Keep in mind new weave patterns mean modern shafts are much more playable in higher torques than even a few years ago. Having said that, I think the 5.8 deg. would be a bit on the soft side.

Keep the launch in mind as well. Distance with modern drivers comes from high flying, long carrying drives. The Motore has a lovely piercing flight that just seems to keep rising. Quick drop-off but plenty of carry.

[mazza78]

I did like the R9 / Motore combo when I tried it. It's not the "real" Motore, it's a proprietary for TaylorMade but a very fine shaft indeed.

so if i was going for the ping g15 driver you'd recommend the aldila serrano shaft then with 4.0 torque cos the tfc shaft would have too much torque at 5.3 then??

so basically its either; Ping G15 with aldila serrano shaft OR Taylormade R9 with fujikura motore shaft hmmmm

[Paulbee]

I haven't hit the G15 so no real opinion on that one, but how many really bad clubs have Ping come out with in the last few years? Not many.

I liked the R9 with the Motore. Changing the shaft orientation around is a good idea and it works. You can come up with a setup to make the most of your normal flight without taking away the other side.

Grab a bunch of drivers from your proshop and hit them. Choose the ones you like the best and see what shaft specs they have. That's the spec band you want to be looking at on your new driver.

[mazza78]

I haven't hit the G15 so no real opinion on that one, but how many really bad clubs have Ping come out with in the last few years? Not many.

ive been range today and measured how quick my swing actually was and its slowed down loads from what it used too be! im between 88-92 mph so guess that puts me back in the regular shaft bracket again!! Salesman tried pushing me into r9 460 over ping g15 draw saying when i got my swing sorted the g15 draw would be no use to me then whereas the r9 460 could be changed back to neutral!! Im so confused!! Both felt good too hit and results were very similar although i could only try out one shaft in each!!!!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

[Paulbee]

If you can hit a dependable fade, stick with it. You'll be in good company: Hogan, Nicklaus, Woods - to name just a few.

I'm not a great fan of clubs which are biased - as in offset drivers. That's just me though. Anybody with a bad slice will benefit from an offset driver. Just not for me.

Like I said, I haven't hit the G15 yet. I did like the R9.

Don't worry too much about being "back in the regular bracket". I hit a ladies flex shaft in my driver because it's the best fit for my game.

No pictures on score-cards.

[ajles]

The longer shaft on a driver means that any imperfections in your swing will be emphasised in the golf shot, plus you compress the ball much more with your irons which means they tend to deviate less from their intended path. See a good coach and ask him to get you on video... no doubt its something simple!

[Paulbee]

Most things usually are and it's the simple things we seem to spend most time on. Loads of fun though.