How do determine my driver loft without a fitting?

[toddmlazarchick]

Im looking to upgrade to a new R9 Supertri and I currently have a Superfast with a 9.5 loft with a regular flex shaft. The regular shaft seems a bit whippy to me so I am going to go with a Stiff shaft but how can I determine, without a driver fitting (because I dont think my game is good enough to need a fitting yet) if I should stick with a 9.5 or lower to an 8.5?

[golfro]

Im looking to upgrade to a new R9 Supertri and I currently have a Superfast with a 9.5 loft with a regular flex shaft. The regular shaft seems a bit whippy to me so I am going to go with a Stiff shaft but how can I determine, without a driver fitting (because I dont think my game is good enough to need a fitting yet) if I should stick with a 9.5 or lower to an 8.5?

you don't need to go lower to 8.5.

why would you want to go down to 8.5...? If anything, I say you may want to venture into thinkign about moving up to 10.5, depending on your swing... but going down to 8.5? you better have a solid swing and some speed to get that ball up.

[toddmlazarchick]

you don't need to go lower to 8.5.

Why a 10.5? I believe I get very good height on my drives.

[delav]

Did you strike oil while simultaneously drinking too much CoolAid from the TM rep?

Don't buy an 8.5.... driver "fitting" is pretty trivial until your swing is solid.

[toddmlazarchick]

Did you strike oil while simultaneously drinking too much CoolAid from the TM rep?

Cool thanks for adding your intelligence to the topic of discussion.

[newtogolf]

If you're game isn't good enough to warrant a fitting I'd stick with your current driver for now. You have to at least know your swing speed, and spin so you get the right shaft. 8.5 is pro level loft, which requires a high swing speed to get the same distance, it also requires you get the right shaft for your swing too.

[toddmlazarchick]

If you're game isn't good enough to warrant a fitting I'd stick with your current driver for now. You have to at least know your swing speed, and spin so you get the right shaft. 8.5 is pro level loft, which requires a high swing speed to get the same distance, it also requires you get the right shaft for your swing too.

Thank you. Is there anyway to determine if I should stick with the 9.5 or bump up to the 10.5?

[newtogolf]

Thank you. Is there anyway to determine if I should stick with the 9.5 or bump up to the 10.5?

Maybe the better golfers here know a trick, but without knowing your swing speed I don't know of a way. Based on what I've read and been told there's two factors that influence distance for a golfer, loft and spin. If you have a high swing speed then you go lower loft and higher spin, if your swing speed is slow (under 100mph) then you want higher loft. That's just the club head, the shaft is going to have a major influence as well based on torque, flex, and kick point. There are just too many variables for me to tell you what to do.

Most golf stores will do a fitting for free if you buy the driver there, and otherwise it will cost you about $50. You have a great driver now so if you're happy with the results then stick with it for a while until you're comfortable going for a fitting. A fitting really isn't a big deal you take some swings on a simulator with your current driver and they record your measurements then have you swing some other drivers that are set up for your swing. If you narrow down your driver options, you can do it in about 1/2 hour.

[srjorion]

Find a shop that has demo clubs you can check out and take to the driving range or even the course. Try one loft/shaft combo then go back and get a different one and try that one. I was going to go with a 10.5 but could quickly tell that was too much loft for me. Regular shaft quickly showed itself as not enough. It was easy to zone in on the right loft/shaft combo.

If there is an Edwin Watts near you they should have demo clubs.

[mlf16507]

Get a copy of"The Search for the Perfect Driver" by Tom Wishon. There is a new copy on Amazon for .83 plus 3.99 shipping. It will be the BEST under $5.00 you have ever made!!!

[mcgriff]

Loft of a club doesn't necessarily dictate the height of your shot. I use a freakin 16 degree driver and aside from the occasional 235 lob drive I hit it no higher than my old 10.5. Higher lofted clubs reduce the sidespin you get from less than perfect strikes. The shaft is the engine and has a lot to do with how high you hit the ball. That your driver feels whippy doesn't mean you should go to a stiff flex. The whippyness (is that a word?) you feel comes from a lower flex point on the shaft.

You have to somehow find out how fast you are swinging your clubs. I wouldn't spend a nickel until I knew that. If you go off and buy a stiff shafted driver and only swing it at 88 MPH, well, you are shafted so to speak.

And yes, read that book. I have only read portions of it, but that guy will make things MUCH clearer to you and save you from wasting money.

[WUTiger]

I got a driver fitting in 2008. The fitter was a PGA teaching pro who had given me lessons. After using my old driver to establish a baseline, I hit six other drivers on the launch monitor. It came down to statistical tie between my current driver and a Cleveland Hibore gold. The Hyper-X T won out because I liked its set-up better. The fitting took about an hour, and was free because I bought a new driver. Also, I kept the two pages of printouts for future reference.

At many shops, you could hit your driver and a couple of others for comparison without the cost of a driver fitting. It all depends on how crowded it is on a given day.

As for swing stability and fitting, it all depends. If golfer X hits 8 of 10 drives with a hook, he has a stable but flawed swing and might benefit from a fitting. If X hits 2 pushes, 3 slices, 3 high draws and 2 snaphooks, he has an unstable swing and probably wouldn't benefit from a fitting.

It all goes back to using your funds wisely. People will spend $400 for a new driver, but balk at spending $50 for a fitting. Remember, lots of places make the fitting free if you buy a new driver.