Am I the only one who has trouble with modern drivers?

[WedgeHead]

I bought a 460cc Ping G10 driver pretty cheap to give it a shot. I feel like I am swinging a frying pan at the end of the shaft.

But first, when I started playing in the 80's I was using the classic small head metal wood. I could hit it a country mile, and it felt great and smooth. With the new drivers, (I've tried several) I just can't find a rhythm and it feels like I'm swinging Thor's hammer. I've given up and going to go back to what I know and love. I have a TaylorMade from around 1990 that feels awesome to swing. The head is probably the size of a modern 5 wood if not smaller.

So I sold the Ping on ebay, and going to stay old school. I believe half the battle is confidence, and I don't feel confident with new, giant clubs.

Anyway, anyone else feel the same or am I a dying breed?

[Harp stein]

I think you're a dying breed, but I could never hit a driver straight until roughly a month ago :)

I had an old Burner from 2000 for the longest time, could never hit it straight. Could never hit my driver in HS in the early 90s straight either, and it was just a bit larger than my current 18* 5W. I bought a cheap Covert 2.0 off EBay last Summer and I'm finally hitting it straight after a year of practice. I can feel when I hit it off the toe, but it still goes straight and I only lose about 25 yards of distance. I can hit my old Burner straight now too, not sure on distance though I haven't compared them at the range because I'm never going back to that Burner. The bigger head on the Covert gives me more room for error. If I could hit it off the sweet spot every swing then I might not care, but I'm a weekend golfer and just can't swing that consistently.

Just bought a used 12* SLDR S for $75 off EBay last week in fact, to give myself a backup driver and see if maybe I can get even more consistency out of a fixed-head club with a little more loft (Covert is at 11.5*).

[isukgolf]

Golf is certainly incorporates attitude and visualization ... I am the inverse, but can understand what you are saying ... but would say you are dying breed. :-D

[WedgeHead]

I think you're a dying breed, but I could never hit a driver straight until roughly a month ago :)

I had an old Burner from 2000 for the longest time, could never hit it straight. Could never hit my driver in HS in the early 90s straight either, and it was just a bit larger than my current 18* 5W. I bought a cheap Covert 2.0 off EBay last Summer and I'm finally hitting it straight after a year of practice. I can feel when I hit it off the toe, but it still goes straight and I only lose about 25 yards of distance. I can hit my old Burner straight now too, not sure on distance though I haven't compared them at the range because I'm never going back to that Burner. The bigger head on the Covert gives me more room for error. If I could hit it off the sweet spot every swing then I might not care, but I'm a weekend golfer and just can't swing that consistently.

Just bought a used 12* SLDR S for $75 off EBay last week in fact, to give myself a backup driver and see if maybe I can get even more consistency out of a fixed-head club with a little more loft (Covert is at 11.5*).

Huh?

[WedgeHead]

Golf is certainly incorporates attitude and visualization ... I am the inverse, but can understand what you are saying ... but would say you are dying breed.

I just can't hit the big head clubs. Too unwieldy. The smaller footprint drivers seem to cut thru the air better, and feel more balanced. But that's just me.

[roughcutmike]

I have the same problem. I recently bought a Taylormade mini driver. I'm driving more accurate and a lot more distance. Still would like to find a driver with a smaller head.

[shanksalot]

I have been playing for over 50 years. I was never a good driver of the ball. Back in the 90's when Callaway came out with the Big Bertha War Bird series the larger head helped me hit my drives much better. When the heads kept getting larger the faces were also getting longer and higher which again helped me hit drives straighter and longer. I love the larger heads they may have more drag because of the size, but the larger face makes it so much easier to hit the ball in the middle of the club face.

[dbuck]

I wouldn't say you are a dying breed, but are and will always be a minority. There is a minority with moderate growth though.  Check my signature. I am even more retro than you.

I do occasionally use more modern stuff including larger head drivers. I am playing in a shamble this week, and will be using a Titleist 905T. This 10 year old club has a head about 400cc, which is twice the volume of the persimmon driver in my sig, but not quite as big as some. If you are wanting to "modernize" a bit, a lot of folks stuck in the past like the Titleist 975 series. It is a little more performance and forgiveness without being as much of a mailbox on a stick, and can be found on Ebay and in used bins. Both Taylormade and Callaway have introduced some smaller head drivers recently.

I play about 80% or more of my golf with wood woods and forged blades. I pretty much only play titanium and cavities in scrambles and to reacclimate prior to. I am not a "blade snob" and I certainly don't need blades or even have a handicap that warrants them. I just enjoy playing that way. I grew up with it, so there is an element of nostalgia, but the enjoyment entails more than that. For me, it's not that I hate the modern stuff, it's just the older stuff is fun to me. There are others of various ages that enjoy it, and a growing number that enjoy playing with hickory shafted equipment. We will always be a minority, though not extinct.

[WedgeHead]

I have the same problem. I recently bought a Taylormade mini driver. I'm driving more accurate and a lot more distance. Still would like to find a driver with a smaller head.

They don't get much smaller than this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TaylorMade-Burner-Plus-9-5-Loft-Driver-1460-tfb-Good-Condition-/281711858315?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash;=item419755d28b

It's a mid 80's model. (I have this model) The TM driver I'm going to use is a little newer, and slightly bigger. Heck they're cheap enough, pick one up and try it out.

[rkim291968]

I don't think you are a dying breed - more of a special breed.   Here's my experience.

When I started playing golf 6 years ago, of course, I started out with hand-me-down clubs that are like 20 years old with very small club heads.  I had a 5w with its club head no bigger than a golf ball.   Surprisingly, I made good contact with the club .... BECAUSE ... I had to really focuse on making good contact.   Now, I use a modern driver but find myself not focusing on making a middle of the clubhead contact.   The darn thing is so much bigger than a golf ball that it's easier to forget that I still need to make a good contact.   The other day, I was thinking about going back to smaller headed driver just to get me focused on making the right contact.

[Lihu]

I bought a 460cc Ping G10 driver pretty cheap to give it a shot. I feel like I am swinging a frying pan at the end of the shaft.

But first, when I started playing in the 80's I was using the classic small head metal wood. I could hit it a country mile, and it felt great and smooth. With the new drivers, (I've tried several) I just can't find a rhythm and it feels like I'm swinging Thor's hammer. I've given up and going to go back to what I know and love. I have a TaylorMade from around 1990 that feels awesome to swing. The head is probably the size of a modern 5 wood if not smaller.

So I sold the Ping on ebay, and going to stay old school. I believe half the battle is confidence, and I don't feel confident with new, giant clubs.

Anyway, anyone else feel the same or am I a dying breed?

My son uses a 5W pretty effectively. Although, now that he's worked out the issues with his swing he hits his driver 30-40 yards further than his 5W.