How old is too old?- Driver question

[Valleygolfer]

I say yes you need a new driver. New ones are much shinier than the old ones.

[Ping Man]

I know many people that say their softball bats lose their "pop" over a year or so. Could it be the same happens to drivers? I just got rid of my TM Superfast 2 in favor of a G30 because I felt I lost some yardage over the past couple of years. My numbers are back up to where they used to be with the fresh metal. 

[vangator]

2 hours ago, Ping Man said:

I know many people that say their softball bats lose their "pop" over a year or so. Could it be the same happens to drivers? I just got rid of my TM Superfast 2 in favor of a G30 because I felt I lost some yardage over the past couple of years. My numbers are back up to where they used to be with the fresh metal. 

That is a good point.  I'm an engineer and metal does fatigue after repeated flexing.  I think I may need to bring this up to my wife.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, Ping Man said:

I know many people that say their softball bats lose their "pop" over a year or so. Could it be the same happens to drivers? I just got rid of my TM Superfast 2 in favor of a G30 because I felt I lost some yardage over the past couple of years. My numbers are back up to where they used to be with the fresh metal. 

 

6 hours ago, vangator said:

That is a good point.  I'm an engineer and metal does fatigue after repeated flexing.  I think I may need to bring this up to my wife.

The face is titanium, which is very resilient. There may be data out there on fatigue and driver faces. I would think the shafts would be more susceptible to fatigue than the face.

[vangator]

50 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

 

The face is titanium, which is very resilient. There may be data out there on fatigue and driver faces. I would think the shafts would be more susceptible to fatigue than the face.

So, I need to mention my tired shaft to my wife as well.  I think she may already know....

[paininthenuts]

On 3/14/2016 at 2:53 PM, golfncowboy said:

I have been playing a Titleist 909 d2 driver for just shy of 6 years. I was fit for it and still hit it well, I would say driving accuracy is a strong suit in my game, but have been wondering if it might be worth upgrading this year. As far as distance goes I'd say I'm not long average carry is about 245-250 and would like to pick up a few more yards. I know you can't buy distance but sometimes the improvements in tech over a period of time can make a difference. Has tech come far enough since 2010 to make a difference?

I play with a bloke who is a far bigger hitter than me off of the fairway. Off of the tee he only hits it a bit further than me. On the final hole today he asked me if he could have a go with my R15, and it went for miles. So maybe that might answer your question. 

Funnily enough, after he hit this enormous drive I decided to see if I could match it. I placed the ball on the tee, visualized an enormous drive, set myself up for the stroke, topped the ball and it fell 10 feet short of ladies tee. How embarrassing   

[iacas]

From what I recall reading, a face gets hotter as it thins a bit - the CoR increases - and then before it breaks.

[DaveP043]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

From what I recall reading, a face gets hotter as it thins a bit - the CoR increases - and then before it breaks.

Case closed, keep it until it breaks, its just now starting to get hot!

[Fourputt]

One thing good about getting older - I'll never have to worry about wearing out my driver.  I guarantee you that I'll fail from fatigue long before my 913 D2 does.

[Lihu]

On March 17, 2016 at 3:39 AM, boogielicious said:

 

The face is titanium, which is very resilient. There may be data out there on fatigue and driver faces. I would think the shafts would be more susceptible to fatigue than the face.

Shhh, don't spoil it for him or anyone else looking to upgrade. 

Yes, if you never stress metal beyond the elastic limit it can go forever. Think of springs designed for the correct application.

[cutchemist42]

On 14/03/2016 at 5:22 PM, Beachball said:

My driver is fairly new but my irons are Ping ISI-K's that were a gift from my dad in the '96 or '97.  So they are just going on 20 years old.  I'm sure I could benefit from new irons but just haven't done it yet.  Maybe this year.  

I say if you can still hit the driver well then might not be worth it.  The only reason my driver is newer is because I broke my old Calloway 2 years ago or I'd still be playing that.

What has changed about iron tech? I game close to 30 old Lynx Parallax and wouldnt even think I need new irons. At the same time, I benefitted when I switched from an old Black Cat driver to a TM R7. The only thing I would consider is a fitting.

[Lihu]

2 minutes ago, cutchemist42 said:

What has changed about iron tech? I game close to 30 old Lynx Parallax and wouldnt even think I need new irons. At the same time, I benefitted when I switched from an old Black Cat driver to a TM R7. The only thing I would consider is a fitting.

Shot flight is higher on newer irons, more spin in some cases and more forgiveness of pretty bad mishits in some cases as well.

[cutchemist42]

On 17/03/2016 at 8:09 PM, Ping Man said:

I know many people that say their softball bats lose their "pop" over a year or so. Could it be the same happens to drivers? I just got rid of my TM Superfast 2 in favor of a G30 because I felt I lost some yardage over the past couple of years. My numbers are back up to where they used to be with the fresh metal. 

As a slo pitch player, I know this to definitely be true. I just wondered if it was from the abuse bats face, with hits as well as the multiple times it gets dropped after a hit. A bat is facing multiple hits and drops a game than what a driver faces.

I dont know if both feature similar construction or not.

[Valleygolfer]

1 minute ago, cutchemist42 said:

As a slo pitch player, I know this to definitely be true. I just wondered if it was from the abuse bats face, with hits as well as the multiple times it gets dropped after a hit. A bat is facing multiple hits and drops a game than what a driver faces.

I dont know if both feature similar construction or not.

Materials are completely different. Balls, bat and club.

[boogielicious]

4 hours ago, Lihu said:

Shhh, don't spoil it for him or anyone else looking to upgrade. 

Yes, if you never stress metal beyond the elastic limit it can go forever. Think of springs designed for the correct application.

That's why I bought a titanium road bike frame in 2000. The frame with last forever!

[golfncowboy]

The results are (sort of) in. I took my current driver in to the local golf smith and tested it against some of the newer demo clubs, specifically the Ping G and Titleist  915 d3. I'm no golf pro and only have what the Internet tells me and what the simulator shows to go by but the results surprised me. My average swing speed with all clubs was 105mph and ball speed somewhere around 155. My current driver had an average carry of 248 and total average of 260. Spin rates were in the 3200 range. The Ping G was the winner for me. With the same swing and ball speeds it was spinning much lower 2300 ish and had an average carry of 270 total distance round 290. Huge improvements! This was all on a gc2 simulator and the numbers are from memory but they're close. I need to go see a fitter but it looks like it's time for a change!