Why are there grooves on drivers?

[Shanks A Million]

exactly.

Yes. I have a carbon fiber Yamaha from about 1991. They also made kevlar drivers. They weren't so great, they felt dull and they didn't have a good weight to them, hit the ball obscenely high. Basically metalwoods were regarded as something of a silly club, like many regard hybrids and mallet putters.

Drivers have grooves on them for the same reason metal drivers are called woods. If a driver had no grooves, it wouldn't look right.

[jamo]

I bet the grooves help some in the rain. No?

[DavidFehertysBike]

I bet the grooves help some in the rain. No?

Im guessing. I can see how grooves on a driver would be useful to channel away water from the center.

[allin]

The grooves were cut right through the inserts on wooden woods. The insert was not flat.

Well I can't answer for all wooden drivers but I had drivers from a number of sources my first few years and all had inserts, but none of mine had grooves in the inserts. Some were glued in and some were screwed on. Materials varied, fiber, plastic even one had a metal insert, but none of mine had grooves.

[James_Black]

Well I can't answer for all wooden drivers but I had drivers from a number of sources my first few years and all had inserts, but none of mine had grooves in the inserts. Some were glued in and some were screwed on. Materials varied, fiber, plastic even one had a metal insert, but none of mine had grooves.

what year are your's from?

Mine are from the 60's. Maybe things changed later on

[allin]

what year are your's from?

1983-1989, changed to metal part way through 89, I played sporadically before 89, mostly Macregor or Wilson.

[Shanks A Million]

1983-1989, changed to metal part way through 89, I played sporadically before 89, mostly Macregor or Wilson.

Every wood driver I have from the 40s all the way to the 80s all had grooves. Some had a smooth part in the middle, but all of them had grooves, even on the insert.

[TourSpoon]

And they had screws...as in "I hit it on the screws"

[James_Black]

And they had screws...as in "I hit it on the screws"

some did.

Mine didn't, the insert is just set into the wood somehow.

[TourSpoon]

some did.

Probably some sort of epoxy..."hitting it on the screws" referred to hitting it on the sweet spot which is the center of that insert. The screws didn't really help...kind of like the grooves which are mostly for looks and face alignment. I remember a year when some manufacturers had smooth faced drivers, but people had a hard time with their looks.

[JerseyThursday]

And they had screws...as in "I hit it on the screws"

Yes indeed.

It’s interesting that baseball announcers use that expression when a hitter crushes one.

[jamo]

Yes indeed.

Yet if you hit any of those screws you would be missing the sweet spot.