Please help me make sure I'm getting the right driver/shaft combo

[nicoy3k]

Right now I use a 9 degree Big Bertha 454 head with a Aldila NV 65 stiff shaft (cut to 43 inches).

I can hit the thing fairly straight and long but can't get the ball in the air at all unless I over-swing. (I normally don't have problems getting the ball up).

I'm thinking of getting an 11.5 Degree Snake Eyes XLD head with an Aldila NVS 65 stiff shaft (cut down to 43 as well). Do you think that switching to an 11.5 degree head and to the NVS shaft will result in a ball flight that is TOO high? I tend to hit the ocassional slice so I'm hoping the higher loft will help me keep the ball in play also.

Finally, do you think that keeping my old 454 head and switching to a NVS stiff shaft would help me get the ball up significantly?

Thanks in advance

[xmanhockey7]

Originally Posted by nicoy3k

Right now I use a 9 degree Big Bertha 454 head with a Aldila NV 65 stiff shaft (cut to 43 inches).

I can hit the thing fairly straight and long but can't get the ball in the air at all unless I over-swing. (I normally don't have problems getting the ball up).

I'm thinking of getting an 11.5 Degree Snake Eyes XLD head with an Aldila NVS 65 stiff shaft (cut down to 43 as well). Do you think that switching to an 11.5 degree head and to the NVS shaft will result in a ball flight that is TOO high? I tend to hit the ocassional slice so I'm hoping the higher loft will help me keep the ball in play also.

Finally, do you think that keeping my old 454 head and switching to a NVS stiff shaft would help me get the ball up significantly?

Thanks in advance

The only way for me to know whether you're getting the right driver/shaft combo would be if I saw your numbers on Trackman. The two main numbers are launch angle and spin rate. Other numbers come into play but those are the two main numbers.

[WUTiger]

General rule of golf pros seems to be find the right driver loft and fine-tune with the shaft adjustments.

The BB 454 Titanium was designed for a 45" shaft and a D2 swingweight with a square face (from Callaway Pre-Owned) . You have a custom shaft: The NV 65 stiff has medium torque (3.5), mid-high bend point (slightly low launch) and medium-firm tip (will slightly increase accuracy and foster lower ball flight). The shaft is cut 2" short, so this will increase the stiffness of the shaft somewhat. Basically, the shaft encourages low ball flight.

For a decision like this, you need to find a decent clubfitter, get on a launch monitor, and get some comparison data. Use your current 454 driver for baseline data, and then find a head/shaft combo which will get you more height. BTW, what made you consider the Snake Eyes driver?

Hopefully you also can see how the ball flies outdoors. Be cautious about hitting from elevated tees - realize that this can exaggerate the height you think you're getting on the ball.

As for reshafting the 454, you should talk to someone who knows the design scheme on the head. With its 9* loft, was the head designed for high launch or low launch? How deep was the vertical center of gravity? (Skilled clubfitters could answer this for you).

Probably would be worth it to get a new driver, as technology has advanced since 2006.

[TourSpoon]

I had the same set-up at 45". Loved that driver but it was booted out by the Octane Tour. You can get this and other 2010-1 drivers for a song. But everyone is correct, you need to get on a launch monitor to be sure or test it on the course at minimum.

[nicoy3k]

Thanks for the help guys. I don't really have a way to get to a fitter any time soon, so I'm trying to wing it as well as possible...

I'm considering the snake eyes head for two reasons. 1) I want to try a high loft driver to see how it goes 2) it's only 27 dollars.

[LBlack14]

Go for it! The hell with all this rocket science and for $27, it's worth tryin'.