New Driver Technology

I'm currently playing a 975D driver. All else being equal (same head speed, solid contact, etc.), how much farther could you expect to hit one of the new drivers?

Originally Posted by Bigwill I'm currently playing a 975D driver. All else being equal (same head speed, solid contact, etc.), how much farther could you expect to hit one of the new drivers?

BigW,

Possibly the more important question is how well does your current driver fit your swing vs. how well would a new driver fit your swing. While the technology of both shafts and heads has progressed since your 975D was designed, the most important factor to consider is fitting. You will get more forgiveness with a larger head, but I think the 975D was an .830 COR head so no spring effect help available with the latest stuff.

The biggest gains can be found by optimizing launch characteristics and providing more forgiveness with the larger heads. For example, I was playing the latest technology, but my ball flight was high and ballooning. I was getting no roll. Enter a launch monitor session. Bottom line was I naturally launch high and needed to lower my flight just a bit and reduce the spin as well. I also found out that I could swing a lighter shaft just a bit faster without losing control. Voila', I went from a Wishon 9.5* head with an Aldila NV65 (67 grams) to a SMT Spectrum 8* with a UST V2-55 (58 grams). My distance increased by about 10 - 15 total yards. My swing is the same, but my launch conditions are now optimized. It makes all the difference.

That is a great example of how fitting is supposed to work

Originally Posted by golfguru That is a great example of how fitting is supposed to work

I had a little bit of an advantage since I build my own sticks and know my swing / game. It opened up my club selection to a whole range of shafts and heads that most places won't have available. Still, the confirmation that my launch was a little high and my spin was quite high made choosing loft much easier. I got a little lucky with the shaft fit, but had some excellent information on shaft profile of the V2 vs. the NV. I maintained a stiff tip, but got the benefit of a little mid-shaft kick all in a lighter shaft. Gave me control of the trajectory with a bump in clubhead speed and nice feel for the release. Perfect!

Originally Posted by Bigwill I'm currently playing a 975D driver. All else being equal (same head speed, solid contact, etc.), how much farther could you expect to hit one of the new drivers?

The difference in forgiveness between a 9745D and most any of the heads on the market now is like night and day IMO. You won't pick up distance on dead center hits, but slight misses will certainly be better with the newer heads. No doubt a launch monitor can make a big difference, well worth doing if you are looking at a new driver.

NO extra distance?

I haven't tested much but I figured you'd get about 10-15....no?

Originally Posted by birdie_man NO extra distance?

I haven't tested much but I figured you'd get about 10-15....no?

In theory, a center club hit on a 975D which has a COR of 0.830 vs. a center club hit on a current technology driver with the same COR, would yield the same distance assuming both clubs yielded the same launch conditions. The big advantage of the current technology is the forgiveness of the larger heads making your average drive longer and the ability to get better launch conditions from some shaft / head combos. The only reliable way to optimize those launch conditions by finding the right shaft / head combo for your swing is a driver fitting on a launch monitor or (rarely) a human equivalent. Well, you could also join the GEA and try every OEM shaft / head combo until you found the happy one, but that costs many greenbacks.

I was recently at Chuck Evans he said he hits persimon 4 yds further than titanium and was going to go back to a persimon driver instead of a hot faced callaway.
Testing has shown that these so called longer drivers are in fact shorter than manufacturers want you to know.as long as you can hit the sweet spot .

I think there is a significant difference in distance between 975D and 975J (even for on-center hits). However, subsequent versions of Titleist drivers (e.g. 983K and 905T) are very similar...except for forgiveness as people have already mentioned.

Originally Posted by chestnuts I was recently at Chuck Evans he said he hits persimon 4 yds further than titanium and was going to go back to a persimon driver instead of a hot faced callaway.
Testing has shown that these so called longer drivers are in fact shorter than manufacturers want you to know.as long as you can hit the sweet spot .

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Chuck Evans can probably hir ANY driver LOOOONG. He IS LONG!!!

It would be interesting to see some testing on this... WOOD vs. METALS.