My TM compared to new drivers on the market

[whackfore]

I got a TM 7.5 degree forged Ti bubble shaft 2 - stiff S90 shaft made in 1996. I drive and carry to 250 yards and with roll to around 270. I'm happy with the drive 6/10 to where I want it to land but I recently saw this guy hitting a new titleist 905T almost reaching my carry distance. I asked my girlfriend to compare my swing to his and yep she confirms me that I swing a lot faster than him. I watch the guy swing and its not that crash hot... not that mine is a stunner but he's drive is all over the place with no direction. His carry is close to 240, and this made me think if I could benefit from a newer driver on the market.

[fred3]

I got a TM 7.5 degree forged Ti bubble shaft 2 - stiff S90 shaft made in 1996. I drive and carry to 250 yards and with roll to around 270. I'm happy with the drive 6/10 to where I want it to land but I recently saw this guy hitting a new titleist 905T almost reaching my carry distance. I asked my girlfriend to compare my swing to his and yep she confirms me that I swing a lot faster than him. I watch the guy swing and its not that crash hot... not that mine is a stunner but he's drive is all over the place with no direction. His carry is close to 240, and this made me think if I could benefit from a newer driver on the market.

what makes your girlfriend able to judge clubhead speed so reliably? Next thing is why are you concerned with more distance with your driver. I can promise you that isn't why your scores aren't getting lower. Lack of accuracy and lack of a repeatable swing are more likely culprits. What you will benefit from is not a newer driver, but better practice sessions and lessons. Luck.

[dorkman53]

There has been a trend lately for higher lofts in drivers. Tests have shown that many people get increased overall distance by increasing the loft of their club. Obviously, this is an individual matter, but 7.5 is a really strong loft. You might want to do a demo session at a range comparing your driver with several of the more recent offerings, particularly with higher loft. You may or may not be surprised at the outcome.

[AJW]

A ten year old driver with a head less than 300cc large and not at the Maximum COR. I think you can gain a few yards by upgrading and probably quite a few yards by going to a higher loft.

[fred3]

But will that really improve the scoring? Nah.

[Boomhauer]

John Daly led the PGA driving distance stat in 1991 with 288.9 yards, using a then recent model Big Bertha. His stat this year is around 303...a considerable gain. How much of that is the club, how much of that is the ball? (I imagine very little is physical conditioning, although he is flexible for a portlier fellow...). I hit my older Titleist farther on average than I hit my new G2. The 975 was 8.5* and the Ping is a 10*. The difference is I can stay a bit straighter with the Ping on off days than I could with the Titleist, which has lowered my scores, in escence, but I think the determining factor in that has been that I've gone from playing 5 - 15 rounds a year with the Titleist to 45 - 60 a year with a couple lessons here and there while using the Ping. The bigger driver will give you a bigger sweet spot, which should translate into more frequest straight drives, which tend to get more distance anyway (don't forget the improvement in balls, as they have probably improved as much if not more than clubs), but I also agree with Fred that the swing is still the essential requirement for lowering scores...my uncle is a scratch golfer who uses a 1960's set of Touney blades and 15 year old driver. He not only kills me in scores, but outdrives me as well, despite being smaller and weaker than me and 15 years my senior. The bigger driver would probably add a few yards and make the sweet spot easier to find if you control it.

[philfrance]

at best i carry 240 - i wish i could more, but don't want to swing harder, i think power lies elsewhere, in rythm and timing.... when i hit harder, i don't go any further ( or barely), but i tend to be much less accurate.

new clubs can produce more distance, more accuracy - i don't think you need to change often, but a club 10 years old will see improvement - evry 3 to 5 years.

you will probably be longer with a new driver.

as for your babe's capacity to visualize your swing speed compared to someon elses... it might be possible in a general perspective ( from the begiing of the downswing to the finish), but she CANNOT evaluate clubhead speed at impact - and all the rest is futile..... think about it....

[ce_me_golf]

But will that really improve the scoring? Nah.

Interesting question. But look at PGA Tour players on many of the longer courses some players simply cannot compete for the lead bescause THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DISTANCE OFF THE TEE TO CONSISTANTLY PUT THEMSELVES INTO POSITION FOR BIRDIES.

The best of both worlds is obviously a combination of distance and accuracy. I'm my opinion once you get close to 300 yards in terms of driving distance any further increases are mariginal in terms of scoring. At that point any further improvement in scoring has factor in some accuracy.

[Horseballs]

I got a TM 7.5 degree forged Ti bubble shaft 2 - stiff S90 shaft made in 1996. I drive and carry to 250 yards and with roll to around 270. I'm happy with the drive 6/10 to where I want it to land but I recently saw this guy hitting a new titleist 905T almost reaching my carry distance. I asked my girlfriend to compare my swing to his and yep she confirms me that I swing a lot faster than him. I watch the guy swing and its not that crash hot... not that mine is a stunner but he's drive is all over the place with no direction. His carry is close to 240, and this made me think if I could benefit from a newer driver on the market.

You could absolutely benefit from a new driver vs. you 10yo driver. The gains made in clubheads and especially shafts would provide you with a noticeable difference in both distance and accuracy.
What some people fail to realize is that hitting big bombs off the tee is fun, even if your score stays the same. Having a chance to hit a water-filled par 5 in 2 is much more fun to try occasionally than laying up all the time. Golf is a game, and games are meant to be enjoyable.
Or, you could just "get lessons" or hit "range balls all day long." Get the new driver and pummel the hell out of some balls!!! Whackkkk!!!! Foooorrrre!!!

[shooter mcgavin]

I got a TM 7.5 degree

Scott Hend, Hank Keuhne(sp?) and many others of the PGA's longest hitters, say the biggest mistake they see in amateurs is they have too little loft on their driver. In a recent golf digest article, Hend recommended a minimum loft of 10.5, even for tour pros. Something to consider if you're looking for a new driver.

[whackfore]

Thanks for the info guys. I bought my TM a year ago from a used rack it was clearly the best in the rack at the time. It felt good went straighter and got more distance than my previous dunlop ddh driver (230cc) TM I think its 270cc.
My scores have gone down.
The reason why some of my scores blow out are due to my lack of:
1. ability to block out irritating playing partners..... talking a lot after they have a bad hole and so on.
2. Lack experience in windy conditions.
3. lack experience reading green.


I just love it when I reach short 500y par 5's in 2. I still enjoy golf even on a high round but not as happy as I would like to be when I'm in the 80's.

[fred3]

Then please explain Fred Funk winning at Sawgrass. While great distance is a big plus if it weren't for Tigers short game he'd likely be waaay down in the standings. It's all about accuracy and please remember that the professional courses are designed to give lots and lots of roll. Most of us play courses with much less roll. There are times when your long hitters carry it 300yds and get another 50 to 100 yds of roll. That means if I get my typical 240 yds carry I'd then have a ball end up at 290 to 340 yds off the tee. Man am I long or what!?

Ever notice that on really wet courses a lot of your so-called long hitters are only getting it 270/280 off the tee?

[dorkman53]

Then please explain Fred Funk winning at Sawgrass. While great distance is a big plus if it weren't for Tigers short game he'd likely be waaay down in the standings. It's all about accuracy and please remember that the professional courses are designed to give lots and lots of roll. Most of us play courses with much less roll. There are times when your long hitters carry it 300yds and get another 50 to 100 yds of roll. That means if I get my typical 240 yds carry I'd then have a ball end up at 290 to 340 yds off the tee. Man am I long or what!?

Ever notice that on really wet courses a lot of your so-called long hitters are only getting it 270/280 off the tee?

Fred;
While I agree that technique, lessons, and accuracy are all important, and that while his girlfriend may not be the most accurate instrument at assessing swingspeed, you seem to be ignoring that he is playing with a 10 year old 7.5 degree loft driver, and may certainly benefit from a higher loft and a head/shaft combination better suited for his swing.

[ce_me_golf]

Scott Hend, Hank Keuhne(sp?) and many others of the PGA's longest hitters, say the biggest mistake they see in amateurs is they have too little loft on their driver. In a recent golf digest article, Hend recommended a minimum loft of 10.5, even for tour pros. Something to consider if you're looking for a new driver.

I'm not disagreeing with your suggestion that many golfers would be better served by using a higher lofted driver. Personally I've never used anything lower than 10*. However, I find it ironic that most golf shops tend not to carry higher lofted drivers in great quanities. I have to wonder why that is?

[Boomhauer]

I'm not disagreeing with your suggestion that many golfers would be better served by using a higher lofted driver. Personally I've never used anything lower than 10*. However, I find it ironic that most golf shops tend not to carry higher lofted drivers in great quanities. I have to wonder why that is?

I've actually noticed the exact opposite of this trend at Golftown lately - there are now more options in the 10 + loft range than in lower ranges, and they are with stiff shafts, so they aren't just senior rigs.

[dorkman53]

The low lofted driver, blades for irons craze seemed to get a lot of momentum when Tiger burst upon the scene. Several years ago, people were buying 7, 8, and 9 degree drivers all the time. Now many pros play 10-11 degree drivers. It's all about trying to match the slope of the upswing with the loft of the club to minimize spin on the ball, which promotes straighter flight and longer air time. If the ball hits relatively square on the face with the upward swing imparting an upward launch, high, hanging line drives with lots of rollout can result.

[Boomhauer]

When I bought my 975 LF-E a few years back I took the lowest loft at the store - 8.5*. I did so because I had a tendancy to hit moon-shots. Of course, paying $300 dollars for a driver made much more sense than spending $50 on a lesson to help solve the problem at the time (2nd year golfing). Now that my swing is a mersterpiece (Ha!) I have noticed that I do get a nice ball flight with my 10* driver. My best shots don't get the same distance I used to get with my Titleist, but I hiot a lot more "best" shots with the 10*...it may also have something to do with swinging a little more intelligently now than I used to before taking lessons...I only go balls-out now when screwing around or have a massive fairway with a lot of room to clean up the mess I'll leave myself. I think I have hit less drives that have rolled past the 300 marker with the 10* G2, but I am in play more often. I think there are definite advantages to newer drivers, but I still agree with Fred, because I don't think my results would be much better with the 10* driver than they were with the 8.5* if I was still swinging the way I used to.