My driver: Should i change?

[Gioguy21]

There is an interesting article in this month's Golf Digest that talks just about the benefits of longer drivers. I tried linking but I couldn't.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-equip...looks-stachura here ya go :)

[lugonza_2001]

Thanks a lot to all.

I will try to go to the golf store today to see if i can test some drivers.

[lugonza_2001]

Well, they gave me a Ping i15 9.5º UST stiff. Will try to test it tomorrow.

[Shorty]

I'm not sure the above statement is correct...at 43" you are looking at a 3W instead of a Driver....

Completely untrue. Tom Wishon did extensive testing with regard to this. You might lose a a couple of yards. Your accuracy will be improved, but the main thing is that your length will not change in any noticeable way. Most touring pros are using drivers very slightly longer than 44". Many use a driver shorter than 44".

[Shanks A Million]

Completely untrue. Tom Wishon did extensive testing with regard to this. You might lose a a couple of yards. Your accuracy will be improved, but the main thing is that your length will not change in any noticeable way. Most touring pros are using drivers very slightly longer than 44". Many use a driver shorter than 44".

Ha, I already posted this information, but he said I was full of it.

Here's the text block I quoted:

Theorists will point to the radial arm length in a golf swing as being the prime determinant of swing speed; stating that the longer the radial arm, the greater the swing speed and resultant distance in a golf shot. A common misconception is that club length alone is used as the determinant of the radius of a golf swing. Regardless of how many hinging points and resultant secondary arcs/planes are involved, the true center of a golf swing is a point somewhere between the golfer's shoulders (this center point moves laterally between the shoulders during the swing). Hence, you must include the golfer's arm length into the radial arm length equation for any meaningful analysis. Therefore, assuming a 45” driver length and an arm length of 24”, the radial arm in the golf swing is actually 69”. This means that a 1” decrease in club length results in a radial arm length decrease of 1/69th or 0.014493. A 2” decrease in club length results in a radial arm length decrease of 1/34.5 or 0.028986. As you can see, these fractional decreases in radial arm length do not produce any measurable decrease in swing speed or distance. However, what they do produce are progressive increases in the ability to make consistent center face ball contact which translates into greater distance.

So, this guy, with a swing robot, and a grasp of phsycis, did his own research and discovered that Wishon was 100% correct. To a golfer who is terrible, I.E. strikes it all over the face of the driver (like those golf digest article strike positions, yikes! I guess they would only hit it about 310 on the internet though, right?), it won't make as much of a difference. But to people like me, with a high swing speed, and a good ability to strike the ball, it makes a huge difference.

My current driver I had cut several times. It was 46", 45" and 44" at different times. I saw no noticeable difference in the distance of on center strikes, but the longer it was, the more inaccurate the strikes were. So, at 44", there was no noticeable difference in distance. However, here's the funny part. My clubhead speed was higher with the shorter driver. That's because the extra weight and extra flex made it harder for me to control the club, and therefore I had to (although I wasn't cognizant of it) swing slower.

[spitz20]

maybe check out the 905r, has a 35% bigger sweet spot according to titleist

[lugonza_2001]

I would like to thank you all for your help.

I hit a few balls yesterday with the i15, i really felt confortable with the club, the shaft seems to fit well my swing features, and i found the club more forgiving than my current 905T. It sounds good as well. Just don´t see why Golf Digest stated that this driver (among with the new Supertri, ona Callaway and the TM Superfast) had been designed "for the very goods".

I am purchasing it today.

[Crey23]

Maybe your are that good!!! :)

Enjoy! Nothing better than new stick in the bag!