Multiple cracked crowns on Taylormade drivers! Help!

[Huff61]

Hey guys, have been a lurker for a while and really enjoy the forums. So after replacing an old Burner driver after 3 years of use, I have cracked 3 Taylormade drivers in a row! I'm an average golfer, and every once in a while I will take a ball off the toe and watch it rocket into the stratosphere at a 45 degree angle. I have always had this problem, but haven't played enough in the past to worry about it, i find it in the next fairway 250 yards up and usually finish strong.

So I got a Taylormade Burner 2.0, first one off the toe, CRACK, dented and cracked. Replaced with an RBZ, first day at the range, crack, split straight down the crown. Just got The RBZ stage 2. On the 16th hole, took one off the toe, and tada another dent and crack.

I have been having these lone toe shots all my life. I had a Callaway Big Bertha for 4 years and my first Burner for 3 years. I cracked the shaft and found it was more economical to just buy the 2.0. On the Big Bertha and original burners I took hundreds of shots off the toes/crowns dozens if not hundreds of times fooling around at the driving range.

I know they have thinned the crowns as they make these drivers lighter, but should they be denting and cracking on one bad hit? Taylormade has been great about replacement, but is there a club that will hold up to one errant shot? I am 6'5 and an ex college athlete with a pretty darn fast and strong swing, but shoot..... Any advice?

I even started teeing the ball low to try to avoid this, for fear of another broken club. Obviously not taking it off the toe is a great idea, but I don't have hours to practice and I just like going out and having fun bombing 340 yard shots.

Cheers!

Matt

[sofingaw]

When you say 'Toe', are you meaning 'Crown'? I ask because toe hits shouldn't come close to causing this. But if you are popping these shots up due to hitting the crown itself... All that damage is apparently the penalty.

[LuciusWooding]

You obviously need to get yourself one of those persimmon drivers, never heard of anyone able to crack or dent one of those.

[hercules71185]

I have cracked the top myself but I hit with the inside too much and crack my shafts. They need to make them more durable for sure. Im afraid to use my good clubs and I won't tee high enough to hit the crown anymore because of this.

[GaijinGolfer]

If you are hitting the crown and popping the ball up, this is what you get.  Id suggest either teeing the ball lower or learning how to not hit down with your driver.  Today's drivers are paper thin, especially in the crown, so it doesnt take much to ding/crack them.

[bukifvr]

Wow, In all my golfing years I have not seen a cracked driver head.  I agree with teeing the ball lower.  I think it would be interesting to see a photo of your clubhead and teed up ball at address, and also a photo of your setup.  Could it be a problem with your setup, or your swing.  Maybe you can find select a driver with a deeper clubface.

[rbowman180]

3 weeks after getting my stage 2 I popped one up at the driving range and it caused almost identical damage as what is in your picture. Taylormade customer service was great. They replaced my club no questions asked. During my second round of golf with the new club I popped another one up just like before and dented the driver in the exact same spot. Since it didn't crack I've just continued to play with it but I'm teeing it up super low (killing my trajectory on good swings). Today I went to a demo day at a local driving range, and the Taylormade rep said someone cracked one earlier today. I have played with many drivers and I've NEVER had a problem with popping the ball up before the Stage 2. In fact, today I hit every big name driver there is and the ONLY club I had this trouble with was the Stage 2. I don't doubt that most new drivers would damage similarly when struck in the same spot, but there seems to be something about the Stage 2 that makes me get under the ball too much.

[MrSinister]

This is unfortunately gonna happen with almost any New Model driver, 99% of drivers use a thin body with a weaker metal mix than the face ( Now don't get me wrong its still strong and durable) but a rock hard golf ball at 85-115+mph is gonna cause some damage no matter what type of metal its made out of. Best suggestion from me would be is get a cheap used driver and a swing coach and learn to make proper contact.

[Lihu]

I hear the long drive club heads like geek are much thicker. You might consider a long drive career. You'll actually meet more people closer to your size too! ;-)

[MrSinister]

Geek makes a great Head I don't think they are thicker though, He uses a 6AL/4V body so a hit like this would cause a similar effect. The Face of the Geek driver might be taller, but then you run the chance of hitting the seam and that can weaken and crack.