Golfers - Driver Recommendation?

[nostatic]

technology does make a difference. Back during grad school I had about a single digit handicap. I took up the game again recently after a long layoff. I have my original Titleist DCI irons and hit them fine. My wood were Sam Snead persimmons that I got from my dad. A friend suggested I try the silly clown club woods. Damned if I didn't hit the ball straighter and further with the exact same swing. Went out and bought a "last years best" Cleveland Launcher driver. Went to the range and was short hopping the fence first time out. With my Sneads I couldn't get close to it.

[JCF]

The Golden Bear could hit the woods 350 yards.
Norman also.

Of course there is a difference in the sweet spot on a wood driver (less than a dime) and a modern 460 ( a little bigger than a quarter)
But an average weekend player will not be able to find that sweet spot consistantly enough with a 395/400/460 cc head to make a big difference with their score.
If your swing is not grooved the larger head will still send the ball off line.
If you want to lower your score - PRACTICE YOUR SHORT GAME !!!!!

[mattdavis11]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

I play as well today as I played 30 years ago, the difference in my game in certainly the result of technology and of perimeter weighted irons, I would suck if I had to go back to Wilson Staff's that I played 30 years ago.

I play those Wilson Staff irons of 30 years ago. There isn't an iron out there today that can match them. They have the best feel of any iron I have ever hit.

For the driver rec's, anything. They are all about the same, no feel or workability. That is unless you throw a weight this way or that way to move the ball. Joker clubs. They are long though. I hit an R7 poorly about 35 yards longer than my deep face persimmon headed Hogan when I hit it good.

[JCF]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

I hit an R7 poorly about 35 yards longer than my deep face persimmon headed Hogan when I hit it good.

That's the thing.
A modern driver gets you a little extra off a less than perfect swing.
You have to hit a small headed driver perfect to get anything at all.
35 yards - the difference betweeen an 9 or 8 iron and a 5 or 6 iron.
That's a lot !

But the difference between a miss hit (same swing) with either a 395/400/460
will not be enough to change your score any amount that matters.

If you can learn to hit a blade or a small driver - the game gets a lot more interesting.

[mattdavis11]

The bigger driver hurts my game more than it helps. They are helping those that need the extra length, but don't be surprised if you hit it that much farther into the trees, as someone mentioned before.

Hitting blades. That's not for everyone. When I was playing alot, I used to practice with an old MacGregor Tommy Armour Silver Scot blade, a butter knife of a 3 iron. The sweet spot was about the size of a pin head. The newer generation of clubs don't produce good ball strikers. By "produce" I mean the clubs don't require a player to manufacture shots anymore, and I see swings getting worse as the technology gets better. It's kind of sad really.

[sammyg2]

I'm callin BS. A couple of years ago golf digest did a controlled study and proved with golf machines that the state of the art giant bertha or whatever the state of the art driver was that day was only about 15 yards longer than an old steel shafted persimmon driver.
The sweet spot on the new club has to be bigger, you're swinging a VW bug for pete's sake.

I learned to play the game with forged blades and a steel shafted stainless driver I bought for $25 at sam's club. I'n not very good but I outdrive someone and their $350 driver just about every time I go out.

[mattdavis11]

I wasn't BSing. My swing didn't gain me 35 yards in the time it took to switch clubs and reload. Most of the time I don't even hit a driver. My trusty 1 iron is more than enough.

2 of my long time golfing buddies and I got together a couple of weeks ago for a rare round. They paired us with a local, really nice guy. I was hitting a few drivers that day pretty deep, later he had a puzzled look on his face when I toted that 1 iron to the tee on a par 5. I just smiled. After I hit it he had to ask what it was, and before I could say anything my one of my buddies said, "That's Matts 1 iron. That's nothing new so don't feel bad that he just blew it past all of our drivers". My other buddy added a "Yep".

[911Rob]

Me and the Pings get along just fine.
Currently smacking Si3 Drivers and G2 clubs.

Buy the best that you can afford, don't look back.
We call it 'buying' strokes, ha ha!

[the]

Originally Posted by mattdavis11

My trusty 1 iron is more than enough.

1 iron?!?

I don't even carry a 1 iron in the bag. Except of course when playing during a lightning storm.

[JCF]

Sam - How far on average do you hit that 1 iron ?

The issue with the big heads is not that they hit the ball so much farther, but that an average player does not have to hit it perfectly and still gets distance.
To hit an old driver long you have to be close to perfect.
Miss-hit a blade or a persimmon and the ball goes 50 yards .

I carry a 2 iron but I don't play enough links type courses that a 1 iron makes any sense.

[mattdavis11]

I hit mine 280-285 on average +/- 10 draw/ fade. Normally I'll hit 2 drivers, 2 3 woods, 5 1 irons, and 5 2 irons per round.

[nostatic]

yeah Matt...you're an "average" golfer...

I carry a 1 iron too. I used to rarely pull my driver out of the bag. I could hit the 1 iron about 230 plus or minus.

Sorry, but if you're hitting a 1 iron 280 yard straight, you have little to offer an "average" golfer in the way of club advice. imho.

Yes, practice is the key. But the reality is I've seen people who could practice every single day and still not get better than a 20 handicap. And the technology has mad it easier to hit the ball straighter and farther with more consistency. That last part is the key..you don't have a tiny sweet spot to make the ball go.

I used to hit blades and could work the ball. My original DCI irons aren't really much more "game improvement" than a set of blades, but they are easier to hit than a set of Staffs. I don't play enough to do that now. All I can say is that for someone who doesn't hit the ball perfect every time, the big drivers help.

[TerryBPP]

I use a Taylor Made 540. Hard to get use to due to the head size but keeps it low and I hit 300 every once in awhile.

[sammyg2]

LOL, I've never even swung a 1 iron.
I get about 210 yards from my three iron on a good day, about 10 yards on a bad day

I hate having to hit my second shot with my shorts pulled down.

I retired the blades and bought some knock-off cavity backs for $125 a set. They work fine, and my hands don't go completely numb when I hit one off the toe like they did when I was using the blades.

I probably have less than $250 in golf equipment (including my shoes) and I break 100 regularly, getting into the high 80's or low 90's on a good day. A decent drive for me will go 240 and straight, a great drive will occasionally go 280. That's the one I talk about until someone tells me to shut up about it
I've only payed with a few players who can hit the ball farther than 280 with no exaggeration or funny rolls or bouncing it off the cart path or whatever. I agree with Todd, hitting a 1 iron 280 is not average, it is spectacular. Suire there are guys who hit 300 or farther (my oldest brother for example), but they aren't going to be playing with someone of my caliber and they are the exception, not the rule.
For someone who plays five or six times a year and shoots like I do, the equipment is not really that important. if you are much beter and play all the time, the equipment will make a bigger difference.

They say that 50% of all non-professional golfers will never break 100 without cheating. I believe it, some of my friends are very good with a foot wedge and to them it's always winter somewhere so winter rules are OK.

A guy went up to the starter and asked if he could play as a single. the starter pointed to a tall blonde woman and said, she's a single, do you mind playing with her?"
No problem.
They teed off and after about the 5th hole he hit his ball out into the trees. he was looking for it when the lady walked up, pulled down his pants and gave him oral sex.
Cool.
After the round, he said "same tiem next week?" She said OK.
The next week, same hole, same result. He thought this was great.
This went on for a couple of months but he started feeling guilty about just using this woman for sex and didn't really know anything about her.
he admitted this to her the next week.
She said that she was feeling guilty too, and had to tell him something so she just came out with it, "I'm not really a woman, I'm a man".

He was furious and started yelling at the top of his lungs, "you SOB ......... this whole time ...... you were hitting from the red tees?"

[JCF]

Matt, I,m not saying you can't hit it that far (with the ability to control it to "+/- 10") but not only would that make you much better than average, but of pro caliber.
There are NO pro golfers who regularly carry a 1 iron (not Tiger - NO one). Why not ? It is not easy even for them to hit it .
Only time I have heard it being used is at the British Open because of the wind - and relatively open fairways.
You must play an awful lot - and get tune up lessons.


And Sammy - 210 with a 3 iron - that's much better than average also.

[mattdavis11]

Thanks for the not an average golfer compliment. It took years of hard work to get where I am.

My advice would hold true no matter the caliber of player. If you read through my post, the new tech does help. I don't normally launch one out of sight off the toe without the aid of a driver that has a head the size of a tennis racket. I do however, hit the golf ball a long way regardless of what is on the end of the shaft. I don't exaggerate, Tiger Woods does not hit the ball a long way, I do. Part of my "growth" was playing with guys that could hit the ball a mile. Take Hank Kuene, played with him, kept up with him. That was years ago, but the mileage is about the same comparatively.

The down side, I have played once in the last year, and 5 times in the past 2. I am however, going to break 80 everytime out. I'm a 4. I've had 1 lesson since Rives McBee turned me loose with a golf club at age 9. That was simple lesson, my alignment was whacked. I'm self taught.

I don't like the fact that some guys are closing the gap on me though. It's not right, it's not fair, it's too easy. You guys (not literally) are almost forcing me to invest in a new driver to get things back to normal. I haven't had a new to me club in 18 years.

[sammyg2]

JCF, I tend to get alot of club head speed on my irons hense the 210 3 iron, mostly because of my size and how much forearms and hands I can get into the club. I lose some control but distance is what wins, not accuracy (I know, it was a joke). I have to take something off my longer clubs to be able to get the head around before my body, otherwise it goes waaaaay left (i'm left-handed).

Hay idea!..... Pelican annual golf tournament, with chicks, and guns, and fire trucks!
(what movie?)

[mattdavis11]

That doesn't sound right. When you spray the ball left for a lefty or right for a righty, you normally haven't cleared your body(hips) enough to get your hands into position to strike the ball appropriately. You are right, you're late, but not with your hands. Lead the down swing by clearing the hips first and see if that doesn't straighten you out. The last 18 inches before impact is where most people get their length.

[JCF]

Pelican tourney - I like that idea.

[pwd72s]

I've never played golf in my life, but may I suggest the course for the Pelican Tourney? Bandon Dunes, Southern Oregon Coast. Hell, I'd show up to watch...rooting on JCF! His posts sound good to me...

http://www.bandondunesgolf.com/