Big Headed Driver Woes

[starretj]

Over the last few years as the size of drivers has gotten bigger and bigger, I have never been able to find a driver that I can hit. I still use a Titleist 975J with a steel (Rifle) shaft at 43 or 43 1/2" (I can't remember the exact length). I carry the ball about 255 yds. with this club and can work it both ways fairly easily. I played Saturday for the first time in 3 months and hit 7 out of the 10 fairways that I use my driver off the tee. One of the misses was when I hit one of my partners Ping G5 instead of my driver. I have 2 questions, am I giving up much distance with the 975J? I couldn't find any information on what the COR measures on this club. Secondly, why can I not find a bigger headed driver that I can swing? Did any of you have to make any adjustments as the drivers got bigger? Thank you for your help.

Jim S.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Over the last few years as the size of drivers has gotten bigger and bigger, I have never been able to find a driver that I can hit. I still use a Titleist 975J with a steel (Rifle) shaft at 43 or 43 1/2" (I can't remember the exact length). I carry the ball about 255 yds. with this club and can work it both ways fairly easily. I played Saturday for the first time in 3 months and hit 7 out of the 10 fairways that I use my driver off the tee. One of the misses was when I hit one of my partners Ping G5 instead of my driver. I have 2 questions, am I giving up much distance with the 975J? I couldn't find any information on what the COR measures on this club. Secondly, why can I not find a bigger headed driver that I can swing? Did any of you have to make any adjustments as the drivers got bigger? Thank you for your help.

Jim S.

hmm....at 255 yards cary with that driver and that shaft i'm guessin you're swinging it around 100-105. At that speed you are probably giving up about 20-30 yards. A lighter and longer shaft (44.5-45" in the 60-80g range) plus the advantages of newer heads with their higher launches and lower spin rates to promote more distance i would say anywhere between 20-30 yards i would say.

Bigger driver heads to take adjustment, you just have to keep trying until you find something that you are very confident with.

If you want others to respond to this as well please let me know if you'd like me to move this to golfing discussions.

 

[starretj]

Hey Jim, thanks for responding to my question. If you don't mind you can move this thread to the Golfing Discussions area.

Did you find it harder to find a club that you felt comfortable with as the heads got bigger? Is my problem somewhat normal or do most people not have as much trouble as I am having finding a big headed driver that they can swing well?

Thanks,
Jim S.

 

[dodger]

I am convinced that the shaft is far more important than the head size. I used to hit the 975j, it was a great driver, and I hit it farther than the 983, which was bigger. The difference, I had a ys-6 shaft in the 975 which was perfect for my swing. Changed to an NV shaft in the 983, which did not work as well for my swing. I would suggest trying a heavier weight graphite shaft , which would still be lighter than the steel. Try something in the 80 weight category, at around 44-45 inches. Interestingly, I went from a 460cc driver down to a 400cc driver with no distance loss. The 400 has a better shaft.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Titleist drivers have never been known for their tremendous ballspeeds. In this day and age, if you don't have a max cor high CT driver you are leaving yards on the table, it's as simple as that.

How much, well...it depends.

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I started golf with 400cc drivers and have hit pretty much anything between 400-460 for whole golfing life so it's hard to say about any trouble i've had. As for as 460cc drivers go, people to tend to have trouble finding one that they really like. Head shape/sound/paint is very important. You have to be able to look down and tell be confident with that driver for it to work.

For instance i know that i'm leaving a few yards on the table with my Cleveland Comp (i'm currently testing the new Hibore XL) versus say a Callaway FT-3 or a Taylormade head. Both have better ball speeds and lower spin rates on average that would definately hit it longer for me. But i think all taylormade heads look like inflated bubbles to me and the cally is just odd looking with how it attaches the face. But ironically i have no problem hitting a hibore

It all comes down to personal preferance.