Driver Fitting Experiences?

[p1n9183]

Hi all ! Next Saturday I´m getting a Titleist fitting for my driver. I have a Titleist 915 D2, 9,5 loft (lowered to 8,75 draw setup). Shaft: Rogue Black 95MSI 70-3,3-S.

I hit 250 Carry in average but everyone i play said I hit the ball to high and I agree, i hit up on the ball (AoA +) with draw. Never been fitted before, so i don´t know my swing speed, lunch angle, spin rate.. etc.

Do u have any good/bad experiencies of driving fitting? Any recomendations for me to do or to check douring the fitting ?  

(A video of me hitting the driver it´s on the proper section of TST)

Driving it´s the worst part of my game, even in length and accuracy so i hope with this fitting mybe i could improve a little bit al least one of those areas. 
It´s to much to ask for a fitting?

[WUTiger]

6 hours ago, p1n9183 said:

... I hit 250 Carry in average but everyone i play said I hit the ball to high and I agree, i hit up on the ball (AoA +) with draw. Never been fitted before, so i don´t know my swing speed, lunch angle, spin rate.. etc. ...

... Driving it´s the worst part of my game, even in length and accuracy so i hope with this fitting mybe i could improve a little bit al least one of those areas. 
It´s to much to ask for a fitting?...

A good fitter can help you make sense out of the data you get from a launch monitor. For a driver, you're trying to get the best combination of shaft, launch angle and spin rate for your swing. And besides {head + shaft} combination, the ball you play can influence how well you drive.

As for what to expect in a fitting, here is a post discussing my 2011 Driver Fitting.

The process for you will be a lot different. These days the fitter can screw in several different shafts, and adjust the loft, face angle, etc.

[klineka]

7 hours ago, p1n9183 said:

 

I hit 250 Carry in average but everyone i play said I hit the ball to high and I agree, i hit up on the ball (AoA +) with draw. Never been fitted before, so i don´t know my swing speed, lunch angle, spin rate.. etc.

 

I am by no means a swing expert at all, definitely a much higher handicap than you, so take this with a grain of salt, but if you know that you hit up on the ball with a positive AoA and you hit the ball too high, have you tried decreasing the AoA to a more level path, or even a slight -1 degree downward AoA to see if that helps the ball flight at all?

My drives are very low, but I hit my 3 wood very well, and after watching this video yesterday, I believe I am hitting down on the ball too much, so the next time I go the range I am going to try to swing more up on the ball with my driver. 

 

[p1n9183]

20 hours ago, WUTiger said:

A good fitter can help you make sense out of the data you get from a launch monitor. For a driver, you're trying to get the best combination of shaft, launch angle and spin rate for your swing. And besides {head + shaft} combination, the ball you play can influence how well you drive.

As for what to expect in a fitting, here is a post discussing my 2011 Driver Fitting.

The process for you will be a lot different. These days the fitter can screw in several different shafts, and adjust the loft, face angle, etc.

Thanks ! i will read tour post rigth away, 

20 hours ago, klineka said:

I am by no means a swing expert at all, definitely a much higher handicap than you, so take this with a grain of salt, but if you know that you hit up on the ball with a positive AoA and you hit the ball too high, have you tried decreasing the AoA to a more level path, or even a slight -1 degree downward AoA to see if that helps the ball flight at all?

My drives are very low, but I hit my 3 wood very well, and after watching this video yesterday, I believe I am hitting down on the ball too much, so the next time I go the range I am going to try to swing more up on the ball with my driver. 

 

I read that an AoA+ is better for maximing driver distance, i guess that with a proper shaft i could hit the ball lower and lower my spin. We´ll see on saturday what the expert have to say.

[klineka]

52 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

I read that an AoA+ is better for maximing driver distance, i guess that with a proper shaft i could hit the ball lower and lower my spin. We´ll see on saturday what the expert have to say.

Where are you getting the club fitting done? A retail store like Golf Galaxy, or at a course?

[p1n9183]

7 minutes ago, klineka said:

Where are you getting the club fitting done? A retail store like Golf Galaxy, or at a course?

On the 2nd midAm of the year Titleist fitting staff will be at the driving range of the course.
Talked to them and they let me do the fitting of one club for free there and for the rest of the bag they offer me to go to theirs fitting facility´s. 

[Typhoon92]

Make sure you bring your current driver with you and make sure u hit it on the launch monitor there.  You will want to be able to compare what it says for your current driver with what they fit u for.  All u want to see is the improvement of the new over the old.  Don't dwell on the distance the monitor says....just the improvment.

[p1n9183]

9 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Make sure you bring your current driver with you and make sure u hit it on the launch monitor there.  You will want to be able to compare what it says for your current driver with what they fit u for.  All u want to see is the improvement of the new over the old.  Don't dwell on the distance the monitor says....just the improvment.

Yes, i`ll do that. I know some store fitters try to force the fit to their new drive by twiking the monitor to show more carry and total distance than real.  

[saevel25]

5 hours ago, p1n9183 said:

Yes, i`ll do that. I know some store fitters try to force the fit to their new drive by twiking the monitor to show more carry and total distance than real.  

I've never encountered that. 

15 hours ago, Typhoon92 said:

Make sure you bring your current driver with you and make sure u hit it on the launch monitor there. 

I agree. It could be a driver from this years models might not be much better than what a golfer has.

On 2/23/2017 at 0:22 PM, p1n9183 said:

Thanks ! i will read tour post rigth away, 

I read that an AoA+ is better for maximing driver distance, i guess that with a proper shaft i could hit the ball lower and lower my spin. We´ll see on saturday what the expert have to say.

Hitting up does produce the best results for driver distance. 

Hitting up doesn't necessarily mean you hit the ball to high. I think most golfers think they hit the ball to high when they don't. 

[p1n9183]

Hello again ! After 2 weeks in Peru on Holiday i resume this topic with the results of the driving fitting i made the day before the trip.

I arrived at the driving range of the Club Olivos Golf Club where the Titileist Fitter was waiting me with the trackman, i brougth my own driver for the test.

My Driver: Titleist 915 D2, 9,5° set to 8,75. Shaft: Aldila Rough Black 70 grams Stiff.

They Gave me to test the new Titleist 917 D3 9,5° with Shaft Aldila Rogue Max 65‐Stiff and the XStiff. The XStiff was to hard for me and my swing speed.

I hit 5 shots with both, here are the numbers, the first one it´s my driver, the second the recommended for me by Titleist. In the bottom the average values.

C Speed	B Speed	Sfactor	Carry	Total	AoA	Lunch A	Spin	Heigth	Side
102,0	155,9	1,53	261,9	282,1	4,8	13,6	2756,0	112,8	75,6
	156,6		267,5	283,3		15,0	3122,0	136.5	85,0
101,2	155,7	1,54	255,5	276,0	4,5	14,9	2571,0	114,7	58,4
101,5	155,6	1,53	257,4	268,6	2,2	18,8	2785,0	167,8	126,6
	157,4		259,4	274,5		15,0	2964,0	134,5	26,3
101,6	156,2	1,53	260,3	276,9	3,8	15,5	2839,6	132,5	74,4
C Speed	B Speed	Sfactor	Carry	Total	AoA	Lunch A	Spin	Heigth	Side
	159,3		270,0	292,7		14,4	1995,0	114,3	89,9
102,2	157,3	1,54	256,5	268,6		15,7	2966,0	150,2	146,0
104,5	157,5	1,51	257,4	269,5	3,4	16,4	2609,0	148,2	63,6
103,7	157,6	1,52	271,2	292,2	2,7	14,7	2137,0	118,4	57,7
101,9	150,1	1,47	245,8	263,3	6,2	13,0	3010,0	111,9	5,4
103,1	156,4	1,51	260,2	277,3	4,1	14,8	2543,4	128,6	72,5

Club Speed: 1,5 M/h gain.
Ball Speed: Practically the same.
Smash Factor: Both over 1,5 ?? that´s illegal or the trackman was not correctly calibrated.
Carry: Practically the same
Total: Practically the same
AoA: Practically the same
Lunch A: 1 degree lower 
Spin Rate: 300 rpm less
Heigh: 4 feet lower.
Dispersion: 2 feet tigher.

Because of the 1st and 4th shot with the new driver of 292 yards over the best of my driver 283, he argue that i will gain 10 yards by reducing spin rate with the D3 model.

What I see in the numbers: In average i didn´t saw a clear difference between the two clubs. Yes, the spin rate drops 300 rpm but the gain in distance is practically 0 either for carry and total distance.

My used Driver value it´s 330 UDS here in argentina, and the new one it´s 660 UDS. I Have the money for the exchange but it worth ir ???

 

  

 

Edited March 16, 2017 by p1n9183

[Lihu]

330USD for 10 yards seems worth it, for you. The fitter was basing the two max shots against the 2 max shots with your old driver. I think you'll hit farther with the new one? You also need to get used to swinging the new one.

10 yards for a 1 handicap is actually quite a bit even for the roll. . .For me, it's not worth considering spending that much unless I get 10 yards more carry.

[HitAndGiggle]

I recently got a driver fitting. My only complaint about it is that I hit so many drives during the session that my right elbow hasn't recovered. Also, I ended up sticking with my own driver - which was interesting and based on the numbers. It's an interesting experience. If you've centered in on one particular brand of driver and are going to stick with that I (strangely) think there's some advantage with that as it could easily cut 45 minutes out of the process. I tried all different kinds of drivers and was interested in the new Calloway Epic.

The video above is very interesting to me because during my fitting we found that I hit down on the ball about 1.5 degrees but spin between 1500 and 2400. My clubhead speed came in at 96 (I had no clue what it was) and I'm hitting the ball about 250-260 on good impact. It's an educational experience. See what the numbers say about your swing.

[Lihu]

24 minutes ago, HitAndGiggle said:

I recently got a driver fitting. My only complaint about it is that I hit so many drives during the session that my right elbow hasn't recovered. Also, I ended up sticking with my own driver - which was interesting and based on the numbers. It's an interesting experience. If you've centered in on one particular brand of driver and are going to stick with that I (strangely) think there's some advantage with that as it could easily cut 45 minutes out of the process. I tried all different kinds of drivers and was interested in the new Calloway Epic.

The video above is very interesting to me because during my fitting we found that I hit down on the ball about 1.5 degrees but spin between 1500 and 2400. My clubhead speed came in at 96 (I had no clue what it was) and I'm hitting the ball about 250-260 on good impact. It's an educational experience. See what the numbers say about your swing.

Same here, and the numbers from the GC2 seem to be pretty accurate. I tested the same fitted driver on the driving range and got pretty much the same results as on the simulator. I'm testing it out on the course today with the same ProV1 balls I used on the simulator.

The 96mph club head speed with optimal launch and reasonable strikes should get you about 255 yards total (~230 carry?) on average, and I see that's what you were getting with your good strikes on the LM.

BTW, how many balls did you hit? I hit like 5 on the LM then 10 on the driving range after getting my driver. You must have been like the guy in the next stall when I was getting fitted. He probably hit 100 or more during the entire time I was in the store.

[HitAndGiggle]

1 hour ago, Lihu said:

Same here, and the numbers from the GC2 seem to be pretty accurate. I tested the same fitted driver on the driving range and got pretty much the same results as on the simulator. I'm testing it out on the course today with the same ProV1 balls I used on the simulator.

The 96mph club head speed with optimal launch and reasonable strikes should get you about 255 yards total (~230 carry?) on average, and I see that's what you were getting with your good strikes on the LM.

BTW, how many balls did you hit? I hit like 5 on the LM then 10 on the driving range after getting my driver. You must have been like the guy in the next stall when I was getting fitted. He probably hit 100 or more during the entire time I was in the store.

It's not exaggeration that I hit hundreds of balls. That part was stupid. I stated that it felt like 400, was probably around 200. Yeah, you're right - about 230 carry in the sweet spot. What was strange was that my clubhead speed dropped for some clubs, including the Epic. I just kept my RBZ that I've had for about 3 or so years. How did I orginatlly select it?...I grabbed a few drivers I was interested in and went out on the range to test them. It was the Ping (I think G15?), Calloway and TM RBZ. The RBZ was clearly better in my hands. So, that method seemed to be about as effective as the trackman method, while the swing data I got on the trackman was certainly valuable info regarding my swing.

[Lazarus]

Isn't the smash factor as you mention, a little suspect? It's hard to quantify perceived gains if that isn't on the money (maybe its all relative across all swings but even so).

I'd also want to get the shaft right first, try a few different shafts and then hone in on what works. Chose the head and play with the settings once you havr the best shaft for you. 

 

[TechnologyGolfer]

On 2/22/2017 at 7:58 AM, p1n9183 said:

Hi all ! Next Saturday I´m getting a Titleist fitting for my driver. I have a Titleist 915 D2, 9,5 loft (lowered to 8,75 draw setup). Shaft: Rogue Black 95MSI 70-3,3-S.

I hit 250 Carry in average but everyone i play said I hit the ball to high and I agree, i hit up on the ball (AoA +) with draw. Never been fitted before, so i don´t know my swing speed, lunch angle, spin rate.. etc.

Do u have any good/bad experiencies of driving fitting? Any recomendations for me to do or to check douring the fitting ?  

(A video of me hitting the driver it´s on the proper section of TST)

Driving it´s the worst part of my game, even in length and accuracy so i hope with this fitting mybe i could improve a little bit al least one of those areas. 
It´s to much to ask for a fitting?

I have the same exact driver with the shaft set to D1. I was fitted for it. I am also a high ball hitter. What I have found with this driver is that I have to tee it lower than any previous driver I have owned. That keeps my spin rate down and gives me a nice penetrating ball flight. While many 460 head drivers have a high sweet spot and hitting higher on the face is idea, this is NOT the case with the 915. Simple fix. 

[p1n9183]

7 minutes ago, TechnologyGolfer said:

I have the same exact driver with the shaft set to D1. I was fitted for it. I am also a high ball hitter. What I have found with this driver is that I have to tee it lower than any previous driver I have owned. That keeps my spin rate down and gives me a nice penetrating ball flight. While many 460 head drivers have a high sweet spot and hitting higher on the face is idea, this is NOT the case with the 915. Simple fix. 

Mine is set to D2 (Most Draw) But i will change it to D1 like you. In the beginning i hit always a slice so i set it that way to minimice it. Now a hit draw and with that configuracion a draw can change into a hook pretty quicky.

Tee it lower for less spin? I heard that teen it lower cause you hit more down on the ball, resulting in more spin. More spin is less side spin so you gain control over distance. On contrary tee it up, hit up on it and the result is less spin and more side sping for more distance over control.

[TechnologyGolfer]

5 minutes ago, p1n9183 said:

Mine is set to D2 (Most Draw) But i will change it to D1 like you. In the beginning i hit always a slice so i set it that way to minimice it. Now a hit draw and with that configuracion a draw can change into a hook pretty quicky.

Tee it lower for less spin? I heard that teen it lower cause you hit more down on the ball, resulting in more spin. More spin is less side spin so you gain control over distance. On contrary tee it up, hit up on it and the result is less spin and more side sping for more distance over control.

When you get your fitting, ask the club fitter what the best setting would be for you. At my fitting they determined D1 was best. As far as teeing it lower, just try it. It really worked for me and I've read the same thing for many others with this driver.