Inconsistent Shot Dispersion

[nick1998bunker]

Hello,

I've recently been changing a couple of things up in my swing and game for a couple of reasons and it has been moving along nicely, however I am having trouble hitting my driver. Everything in my bag up to driver I am getting consistent results with, albeit not always what I want. My driver however seems to be very inconsistent in terms of dispersion and flight, moreso than I think it should be relative to the consistency of the rest of my game. I play a Taylormade R15 with the stock Speeder 661 Tour spec in X flex with a larger midsized grip and cut down to 42 inches. It is also the 430 cc head. I have hit a couple of my friends drivers ranging from the M1/M2 to the 915 all with stiff, low launch/spin shafts choking up to the 42-43 inch range. I seem to be getting a lot more consistent results, although they are much too high and spinny with a big fade, but atleast it is consistent.

So my question is could this possibly be an equipment issue or is it likely just me. The other drivers I have tried do seem to be a lot more consistent but I am not entirely convinced it isn't just a placebo or me swinging better or something when I try them. When a driver is cut down 3 inches from the butt does that drastically impact launch conditions? Is maybe an X flex simple too stiff for me to hit a repeatable and smooth swing with, and are there other ways to drop spin? Does swingweight have much impact on how consistently the club is delivered (mine still feels heavy but I have no idea what the swing weight is)? Are the newer drivers simply more forgiving than my 430 cc head and maybe that is why I am seeing differences?

I'm thinking maybe it would be best for me to get a newer driver in the 460 head with a stiff flex shaft and Im going to lengthen it to 42.5 inches. 

Sorry if that is confusing I can add more detail if need be.

 

Thanks

[saevel25]

2 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

I play a Taylormade R15 with the stock Speeder 661 Tour spec in X flex with a larger midsized grip and cut down to 42 inches. It is also the 430 cc head. I have hit a couple of my friends drivers ranging from the M1/M2 to the 915 all with stiff, low launch/spin shafts choking up to the 42-43 inch range. I seem to be getting a lot more consistent results, although they are much too high and spinny with a big fade, but atleast it is consistent.

Though it would be better to see your swig. If you are seeing a high spiny shot with a low spin driver with a low spin golf shaft, then you might be hitting down on the ball with the driver. 

2 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

So my question is could this possibly be an equipment issue or is it likely just me.

What miss are you having with your current driver?

2 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

When a driver is cut down 3 inches from the butt does that drastically impact launch conditions? 

Sure. 

1. The stiffness of the driver. A shorter club flexes less.
2. The lie angle
3. The Swing Weight

2 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

Is maybe an X flex simple too stiff for me to hit a repeatable and smooth swing with, and are there other ways to drop spin?

Depends. Were you fitted for the club you have now? Did you try out golf shafts that were shorter in length? Was this just a decision you made because you thought it was a good idea?

3 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

Does swingweight have much impact on how consistently the club is delivered (mine still feels heavy but I have no idea what the swing weight is)?

Depends. Swing weight is really an archaic method of trying to fit clubs. In the end you can actually have two clubs have identical swing weights, but if the golf shafts are completely different, they can feel and swing totally different.

I got fitted for wedges. I tried out KBS Tour, KBS C-Taper, and Nippon golf shafts. They were all the same weight, so same swing weight. When I tried the C-Taper, I hit everything fat. It's how the club bend and moved in the swing.  

If you cut 3 inches off then you chopped a lot of swing weight off the club. 

3 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

Are the newer drivers simply more forgiving than my 430 cc head and maybe that is why I am seeing differences?

Nope. The R15's MOI sits right where the M1 and M2 are at. The 430 cc would effect MOI more than anything. 

I will say that the M1/M2 should spin a tad less than the R15 and the 915's. 

Forgiveness has not as much to do with how far offline you hit it, but maintaining ball speed. I have the Ping G driver. One of the highest MOI drivers out there. I can slice that thing off the course. 

3 hours ago, nick1998bunker said:

I'm thinking maybe it would be best for me to get a newer driver in the 460 head with a stiff flex shaft and Im going to lengthen it to 42.5 inches. 

Here is what I would do. Post a face on and DTL video of your new driver swing. I am 99% sure it's the user not the equipment. In the end, you are a 2.5 handicap. You probably swing the club fast. An R15 at X-Stiff Fujikura Tour Spec might be a bit too stout for you, but it's not out of the ordinary. 

If you are looking for a new club. GO GET FITTED!!! or check out Ping's, Titleist, Taylormade, or Callaway's website and check when they have an event at a course near you. Talk to the people who know more than you about golf clubs. 

 

[nick1998bunker]

4 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Though it would be better to see your swig. If you are seeing a high spiny shot with a low spin driver with a low spin golf shaft, then you might be hitting down on the ball with the driver. 

It doesn't spin much with my current driver, only with the ones I try out. I'm 90% sure I don't hit down on it, but I haven't had any way to measure that.

6 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

What miss are you having with your current driver?

A quick hook and sometimes a slight toe block. But also just varying trajectories and just the way the shot and swing seem to look. Its hard for me to explain. With the ones I've tried out every single miss has been right which is what I want.

8 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Depends. Were you fitted for the club you have now? Did you try out golf shafts that were shorter in length? Was this just a decision you made because you thought it was a good idea?

I was not. Its hard for me to get fitted because I am on a very tight budget and nobody I know in my area has the means to let me hit different shafts that fit me at different lengths. I got the X-flex because at the time I was swinging in the 106 range and wanted to reduce spin and get a more boring flight and to prevent a hook and play more of a fade. I've always used a short driver but cut it to 42 because that was the longest I felt comfortable with at the time. My wrist to floor is 29" and my height 5'3" etc everything I read tells me to go to the 42-43 range.

12 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Nope. The R15's MOI sits right where the M1 and M2 are at. The 430 cc would effect MOI more than anything. 

I will say that the M1/M2 should spin a tad less than the R15 and the 915's. 

Forgiveness has not as much to do with how far offline you hit it, but maintaining ball speed. I have the Ping G driver. One of the highest MOI drivers out there. I can slice that thing off the course. 

 

My miss is also a misshit, but I chalked that up to my swing rather than the club. But now im thinking maybe the misshits might cause the inconsistency I see in launch and spin and what not.

15 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Here is what I would do. Post a face on and DTL video of your new driver swing. I am 99% sure it's the user not the equipment. In the end, you are a 2.5 handicap. You probably swing the club fast. An R15 at X-Stiff Fujikura Tour Spec might be a bit too stout for you, but it's not out of the ordinary. 

If you are looking for a new club. GO GET FITTED!!! or check out Ping's, Titleist, Taylormade, or Callaway's website and check when they have an event at a course near you. Talk to the people who know more than you about golf clubs. 

 

I will post swings tomorrow when I go to the range. 

Again, I don't really know anyone who can fit me so I might just have to pay up and drive somewhere. We were doing Titleist Thursdays for a while but my friend got fit with them but I was not very impressed with the fitting at all. 

 

 

Thanks

[saevel25]

4 minutes ago, nick1998bunker said:

I was not. Its hard for me to get fitted because I am on a very tight budget and nobody I know in my area has the means to let me hit different shafts that fit me at different lengths.

I would check out any of the big manufactures and see when they will do a demo day near you. Being near Charleston, SC I am sure they will be in that area at some point next year. 

6 minutes ago, nick1998bunker said:

 I've always used a short driver but cut it to 42 because that was the longest I felt comfortable with at the time. My wrist to floor is 29" and my height 5'3" etc everything I read tells me to go to the 42-43 range.

Next time I would see if you can get a fairway wood shaft put into a driver instead of just having one cut. At least then the golf shaft is specifically cut to be that 3-wood length. 

8 minutes ago, nick1998bunker said:

Again, I don't really know anyone who can fit me so I might just have to pay up and drive somewhere. We were doing Titleist Thursdays for a while but my friend got fit with them but I was not very impressed with the fitting at all. 

Thanks

http://www.lowcountrycustomgolf.com/experience-technology/ (In Mt. Pleasant, SC) *A golf Digest top 100 fitter, and Ping top 100 fitter. 
Edwin Watt's has a golf center in Charleston, SC

If you are specifically looking for a certain brand, then use their websites to search for fitters. Golf courses will fit you for clubs as well. Some places will throw in the fitting for free as long as you buy the club that day. 

 

[nick1998bunker]

12 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

Next time I would see if you can get a fairway wood shaft put into a driver instead of just having one cut. At least then the golf shaft is specifically cut to be that 3-wood length. 

They are different??

12 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

http://www.lowcountrycustomgolf.com/experience-technology/ (In Mt. Pleasant, SC) *A golf Digest top 100 fitter, and Ping top 100 fitter. 
Edwin Watt's has a golf center in Charleston, SC

I go to David Ayers lowcountry golf quite a bit but have never been custom fit. I didn't think he would be able to let me hit shorter shafts close to what I need but I guess I should ask him.

Heres some swings from this summer 

and here is one from a month ago. Ive been working on some stuff since then to improve it and it starting to look a little better and a lot smoother. Ill try and post those tomorrow.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2017 by nick1998bunker

[nick1998bunker]

 

I'm pretty certain I figured out what was wrong today. One of the things I have been working on has been a later release. Before I had been playing my driver at the 8* setting and had left it there. I brought out my old driver today with a 42.5" stiff Ahina shaft and was hitting it consistently again, but still the super high and spinny shot that I have seen with all the other ones. I think that because the loft/launch was so much higher that It was just having less speed going in the side directions if that makes sense. It seems to be more of a high consistent fade rather than a low screamer in either direction that I leave the face. I also don't have to try and force the launch as much and can just focus on my swing and it seems to be a lot more consistent. I made some videos that will follow but I realized the loft thing afterwards, and was higher (probably closer to the ideal) launch and low spin ball with the loft set at 11* I think the shaft is fine just a little short. The head still isn't as forgiving or soft as id like so I might still be looking into a new one. Or maybe going back to my trusty 910!

Thanks

1. Current Driver at 8*

2. Old driver 9.5 stiff-midlaunch

3. 7 iron today