Giving up on my driver... kind of.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Here is my situation. I play a lot of golf. Enough golf to realize I have good to great golf hands but poor technique & especially poor shoulder turn. I am just no longer flexible enough to get the yardage I should from my driver. My irons thru my 3 wood are fine. Right now I am playing a lot of simulator golf so I see distances on every shot and it is very clear I do not drive the ball far enough. With a swing speed of 84 mph my  3wood travels 195,200,205... Driver only 210-215!  My current driver is a Cleveland 270XL (Persimmon lookalike)  with a regular shaft 10.5 loft. Previous driver was  R9 Supertri again with regular shaft. I assumed Ultra-light Cleveland driver would pick me up some distance. It might have for a month or two but no longer.

My plan is to begin looking for a used driver on Ebay that I can experiment with. Increase loft to 11.5 or higher! Switch to a senior shaft but keep length 45.5 or shorter. With reduced shoulder turn I feel I need to let my hands do the work... thus shorter more flexible shaft? Am I making a correct assumption? I hit the 3wood well I assume because it has a shorter shaft and more loft. Shaft weight? After the ultra-light Cleveland shaft I think I need to go back to a heavier shaft. After the R9 Supertri I can safely say adjustablity is not a big deal to me. Even with adjustments galore I ended up in Neutral.

Can some one suggest a club that might fit my needs?  High loft, Senior shaft, Mid to shorter shaft length? My goal... be in the fairway 225-230 yards out!  Thanks.

[Lihu]

Here is my situation. I play a lot of golf. Enough golf to realize I have good to great golf hands but poor technique & especially poor shoulder turn. I am just no longer flexible enough to get the yardage I should from my driver. My irons thru my 3 wood are fine. Right now I am playing a lot of simulator golf so I see distances on every shot and it is very clear I do not drive the ball far enough. With a swing speed of 84 mph my  3wood travels 195,200,205... Driver only 210-215!  My current driver is a Cleveland 270XL (Persimmon lookalike)  with a regular shaft 10.5 loft. Previous driver was  R9 Supertri again with regular shaft. I assumed Ultra-light Cleveland driver would pick me up some distance. It might have for a month or two but no longer.

My plan is to begin looking for a used driver on Ebay that I can experiment with. Increase loft to 11.5 or higher! Switch to a senior shaft but keep length 45.5 or shorter. With reduced shoulder turn I feel I need to let my hands do the work... thus shorter more flexible shaft? Am I making a correct assumption? I hit the 3wood well I assume because it has a shorter shaft and more loft. Shaft weight? After the ultra-light Cleveland shaft I think I need to go back to a heavier shaft. After the R9 Supertri I can safely say adjustablity is not a big deal to me. Even with adjustments galore I ended up in Neutral.

Can some one suggest a club that might fit my needs?  High loft, Senior shaft, Mid to shorter shaft length? My goal... be in the fairway 225-230 yards out!  Thanks.

So, just because you can't hit your driver 230 yards you would give up an additional 10 yards by using your 3W? This does not sound like a good reason. I would think that gaining the most out of your driver is the best route. 215 is always better than 205.

I'm not 100% sure that a weaker shaft is necessarily a better solution either. IMHO you should find a good club fitter to help you maximize your distances.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Upon re reading my OP I probably misled the discussion with the "Giving up on my driver" headline. What I am looking for is a replacement driver that mimics my successful 3wood. More loft, shorter shaft ,45.5-46" is just too long for me, and more flex? Yes, fitters say not to go the senior flex with my swing speed but by the end of the round I am pushing the ball right. Last three holes are killers for me. I will shoot 9-10 over par (par 70) with 4-5 of the strokes coming on Par 4, Par 3, Par 4 finishing holes. Absolute round killer with my driver failing me on the final 2 Par4's.

[Lihu]

Upon re reading my OP I probably misled the discussion with the "Giving up on my driver" headline. What I am looking for is a replacement driver that mimics my successful 3wood. More loft, shorter shaft ,45.5-46" is just too long for me, and more flex? Yes, fitters say not to go the senior flex with my swing speed but by the end of the round I am pushing the ball right. Last three holes are killers for me. I will shoot 9-10 over par (par 70) with 4-5 of the strokes coming on Par 4, Par 3, Par 4 finishing holes. Absolute round killer with my driver failing me on the final 2 Par4's.

Mini-Drivers are some 3W-like options. Maybe you like a smaller head like a 430cc Titleist 915D3?

[DrvFrShow]

Seriously, 84 is not a bad swing speed. Why give up the 10 yds. Check out the Cobra Fly-Z. It has adjustable loft, and Rick Shiels gives it a good review. At your SS the Fly Z would probably be best., and set it at 12 degree. They make it in black BTW.

OR I contacted Cobra directly and asked this question and the answer was "yes." Get the women's clubhead which allows loft settings up to 13.5 degrees, and have the men's regular shaft put in it. This one adjusts from 10.5 degrees up to 13.5 degrees.

I would get mine in the white because it would go with the other clubs in my set, but I'm sure other club manufacturers would do this for you at no additional charge. It would be a special order, yes, so make sure you get fitted. All they have to do at the store is swap shafts and put the R shaft in the women's club head. It's that simple.

So if you liked the Ping G-30 in the 13.5 degree, just order it with the R shaft. You can adjust +/- 1 degree loft

The Callaway XR Mens comes in the 13.5 degree head, so there's your strong 3 wood. You can go to 12.5 degree with it or up as high as 15.5 degree loft.

So if your issue is loft on the driver, there's your answer. However, here's the thing - many stores don't stock the men's 13.5 club heads even though they are available.

Thinking about shortening the shaft? wrap some electric tape about an inch down about 1/8" thick and try it out. See if you like it before you cut the shaft. Play a few rounds with it. It's just a reminder that your driver is shorter. Don't enter a tournament like this, however.

[rdsandy]

Here is my situation. I play a lot of golf. Enough golf to realize I have good to great golf hands but poor technique & especially poor shoulder turn. I am just no longer flexible enough to get the yardage I should from my driver. My irons thru my 3 wood are fine. Right now I am playing a lot of simulator golf so I see distances on every shot and it is very clear I do not drive the ball far enough. With a swing speed of 84 mph my  3wood travels 195,200,205... Driver only 210-215!  My current driver is a Cleveland 270XL (Persimmon lookalike)  with a regular shaft 10.5 loft. Previous driver was  R9 Supertri again with regular shaft. I assumed Ultra-light Cleveland driver would pick me up some distance. It might have for a month or two but no longer.

My plan is to begin looking for a used driver on Ebay that I can experiment with. Increase loft to 11.5 or higher! Switch to a senior shaft but keep length 45.5 or shorter. With reduced shoulder turn I feel I need to let my hands do the work... thus shorter more flexible shaft? Am I making a correct assumption? I hit the 3wood well I assume because it has a shorter shaft and more loft. Shaft weight? After the ultra-light Cleveland shaft I think I need to go back to a heavier shaft. After the R9 Supertri I can safely say adjustablity is not a big deal to me. Even with adjustments galore I ended up in Neutral.

Can some one suggest a club that might fit my needs?  High loft, Senior shaft, Mid to shorter shaft length? My goal... be in the fairway 225-230 yards out!  Thanks.

I'm in the same boat as you, loosing distance over time. I switched to a Ping I25 10.5 degree and it can adjust to 11 degree. What really surprised me was when I stumbled upon a 48 inch shaft for this club and I immediately picked up 15 yards.

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Fly-z likely out of my price range.  Maybe one of the older AMP models?  They came in higher lofts ?

Consensus seems to be to stay with regular shaft...

If that is so... what would be a good higher lofted head I could put on my R9 Supertri reg shaft?

I have all the wrenches, etc so it would not be difficult... and reversible!

BTW Had my annual cortizone shot in my right thumb tendon today... De Quavarian(sp) syndrome.

Good to go for another 6-8 months...

Not much worse than getting old and living in the northeast during the winter.

10 days in FLA coming up on March 10th...  Did a week at the end of Jan as well.

Jealous of all those who can play year round... but doubt my body could take it???

Thanks for the suggestions...

[Lihu]

Fly-z likely out of my price range.  Maybe one of the older AMP models?  They came in higher lofts ?

Consensus seems to be to stay with regular shaft...

If that is so... what would be a good higher lofted head I could put on my R9 Supertri reg shaft?

I have all the wrenches, etc so it would not be difficult... and reversible!

BTW Had my annual cortizone shot in my right thumb tendon today... De Quavarian(sp) syndrome.

Good to go for another 6-8 months...

Not much worse than getting old and living in the northeast during the winter.

10 days in FLA coming up on March 10th...  Did a week at the end of Jan as well.

Jealous of all those who can play year round... but doubt my body could take it???

Thanks for the suggestions...

Biocell (not the plus) adjusts up to 12 degrees. Comes stock with P5.0,PX5.5 and PX6.0 shafts. You might be interested in the P5.0?

Honestly, a good swing might help you more than a different driver? IDK what your swing looks like, but I'm just guessing that you might be able to improve your mechanics?

[cape cod beachfront golfer]

Somewhere I said current Cleveland driver was 270XL...  that was incorrect. Club is the CLASSIC 270 with the persimmon look of old style drivers. Haven't measured it lately but I think it is 46 inches. Did switch out the grip as the ultra light grip had zero traction in my hands. So grip is now heavier than stock which may be altering club performance. Club does get good results... which is why I only want to experiment with inexpensive replacement... shorter shaft and higher loft. My signature/profile still shows R9 STri because I forgot how to change it...

[Lihu]

Somewhere I said current Cleveland driver was 270XL...  that was incorrect. Club is the CLASSIC 270 with the persimmon look of old style drivers. Haven't measured it lately but I think it is 46 inches. Did switch out the grip as the ultra light grip had zero traction in my hands. So grip is now heavier than stock which may be altering club performance. Club does get good results... which is why I only want to experiment with inexpensive replacement... shorter shaft and higher loft. My signature/profile still shows R9 STri because I forgot how to change it...

That's a pretty long driver.

[DrvFrShow]

And this is a very nice driver, and a very good price.... 2014 Callaway Big Bertha 13.5* Senior Flex NEW