Driver Build Experiment gave me 12 more yards!

[tuffluck]

For the last 2 years I have been playing a Nike SQ Dymo 9.5 Stiff.  I am a 20 handicap but quite honestly I play a bit better than that.  I am a pretty good ball striker but generally I lose about 5 strokes to what I call just plain bad luck.  i.e. last weekend I had 7 lip outs on putts and shot a 92.  Anyway, that consistent curse is a different story altogether.  Nike driver results on LM:

105mph SS
~145-150mph ball speed
LA: 15-16 degrees
Spin: 3800 RPMs
AVERAGE drive distance (using GPS) after last 3 rounds combined: 257.6

Spin was a serious issue, so I sought out for another driver.  For the last year I have hit mainstream drivers and every one of them produced similar spin numbers.  Did some research and was told, “hey, shaft makes a big difference on spin, and most mainstream drivers don’t have low-launch/low-spin shafts because most average golfers need to hit the ball high to get any distance.”  So did a little research and ended up deciding on just building my own driver and see what happens!  I wound up snagging an Adams Fast 12 LS head 8.5 brand new on CL for $40. And I purchased a Prolaunch Red at PGA Superstore, had it pured and installed at 45.5”…after coupons I wound up paying $65 for all that.  Plus the $40 I ended up with a brand new driver with a low-launch/low-spin shaft for $105.  But I hadn’t hit it yet, so this experiment was still a bit tentative.

Actually initially I went to a driving range and on my 3 ^rd ball strike the head came loose.  Took it back to the PGA store and they forgot to tighten it all the way!  Luckily it didn’t seem to do any damage, so then I went on the launch monitor and saw some interesting numbers:

105mph SS
145-150mph ball speed
LA: 12-13 degrees
Spin: 3000 RPMS

Then the same day I decided to play a round of golf, still getting used to the driver mind you.  I hit driver on about every hole except par 3s, even when I don’t usually drive on these holes.  Average distance for the round for drives was: 269.7.  Launch angle was much lower, but not too low, and spin was significantly more as I could watch the ball roll out.  I carried on a few holes to a bunker, and measured that distance with my GPS as 247y.  So if that was average, I was getting about 22y of roll, which I think is pretty decent.  Lowest drive was 240y uphill into the wind, and longest was 294y, which actually was a flat hole with a minimal amount of tailwind.  I really smacked that one.  Time will tell if the average stays at the near 270 mark, but the sample size I used in the first day with the driver seemed pretty legitimate.  In fact hopefully the more I get used to the driver, the longer it goes.

Anyway, I wanted to share my experience with building a driver I hoped would fit me well, and so far seems to fit the bill.  I would definitely encourage anyone with a little intrigue and curiosity to do like I did if they have high spin and can’t seem to fix the problem with any regular driver on the market.  It certainly has been an excellent investment for me, as I could have easily spent 4 times as much $$ buying something that would not have solved my problem at all!

[14ledo81]

I should really look into this myself.  My drives seem to launch to high with to much spin.  If the fairways are not a bit firm, I get no roll out at all.  On a wet fairway, I have many times seen the plug mark, and my ball had backed up!! Not sure if that is even possible to do with a driver, maybe I was seeing things.

[tuffluck]

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

I should really look into this myself.  My drives seem to launch to high with to much spin.  If the fairways are not a bit firm, I get no roll out at all.  On a wet fairway, I have many times seen the plug mark, and my ball had backed up!! Not sure if that is even possible to do with a driver, maybe I was seeing things.

i've actually seen pros have their ball back up in really wet conditions on drives.  i think that's from the ball plugging more than spin playing much part.  i.e. if you see a divot with a wall of grass/dirt on the green facing side, the ball only had backwards to go!

still though, if you can spend less than $150 it is a worthwhile experiment.  worst case scenario you can sell it on ebay and make most of your money back.

[Beachcomber]

Good to hear you found positive results.

One thing you should consider is getting impact tape (or painters tape) and place it onto the face of your driver.  Hit balls with it and see where you are making contact with the driver.  The lower the contact is on the face, the more spin you will find.  The higher the impact is on the face, the lower the spin.

Ideally, you should be hitting the ball less than an 1" above the center of the face.  And more toe side than heal side.  If you can consistently hit that spot on the face of the driver, you will maximize your distance.  See the following photo I marked up.  I'm guessing you were hitting your Nike driver down in quadrant 3 or 4, rather than 1 or 2?

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

Good to hear you found positive results. One thing you should consider is getting impact tape (or painters tape) and place it onto the face of your driver.  Hit balls with it and see where you are making contact with the driver.  The lower the contact is on the face, the more spin you will find.  The higher the impact is on the face, the lower the spin. Ideally, you should be hitting the ball less than an 1" above the center of the face.  And more toe side than heal side.  If you can consistently hit that spot on the face of the driver, you will maximize your distance.  See the following photo I marked up.  I'm guessing you were hitting your Nike driver down in quadrant 3 or 4, rather than 1 or 2? [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/68306/] [/URL]

Most of my hits are quadrant 4. I really need to fix that.