Looking for help with my Driver set up

MizMan29 · December 23, 2009

Have Trackman #'s need help with shaft/head combo

I am haveing a real hard time finding a driver set up that I really like. Went through so many set ups last season I cant even keep track of them. Finally I decided to pay up for the trackman fitting and hopefully get some clarity on what set up works best for me. I have always had a hard time getting the right launch conditions with a low spin number. For whatever reason I tend to get better results from a stiff shaft rather than an X flex even though my swing speed is in the 115-120 range. The driver that I have used the most and the best numbers with was an old Cobra Comp 414 10.5 with the SL-45 Mitsubishi Rayon shaft in a Stiff flex. This is probably the last set up I would think could work for me but it has always been pretty good. Here are the avg numbers i got on the trackman with that driver:
Avg Club Speed:115.6
Attack Angle: -2.3
Club Path: -5.1
Vert Swing Plane: 53.2
Horz Swing Plane:-6.9
Dyn Loft: 12.6
Face Angle: -2.8
Ball Speed: 171.5
Smash: 1.48
Vert Angle: 10.7
Horz Angle: -3.1
Spin Rate: 3398
Carry: 280.4
Total: 298.3

I have numbers on 10 other set ups I tried, some were better than others but this was with my club that i was fitted into years back on a vetrix launch monitor.(they fitted me into a G10 DVS60g on the trackman but when i got it on the course i didnt like it as well) I want to find a heavier shaft that doesnt have a super boardy feel. I have always liked the Mitsubishi shafts but I'm open to anything. I have been looking at the Fubuki 73g, the BB in an 83g, and the Motore in a 75g. I think I want a shaft with a torque rating between 3.0-3.5. My only guess is since i seem to like the feel of the lighter shafts with more torque, but i want a shaft that gives me more consistency. The heads im considering are the FT-9 tour with IMIX, Ping G10, and the R7 limited(or R9 420). Any help would be appreciated.

nmsrick · December 23, 2009

I have a friend with similar #'s to you. He was using a Ping G10 10.5* with an Aldila NV 85 or 95 grams i think. He loved it.

PJDog · December 24, 2009

My SS is 117-122 , pretty similar. I also have gotten my best results from Stiff compared to X, with one exception.

What has continued to work for me regardless of how many shafts I try is Grafalloy.
They seem to play more stiff to flex than anything else.
I've had great results from the Blue and the prolite. I'm currently using a prolite 3.5 S, and can't say enough good things about the performance. Last year I was using the prolite in the X flex, and it was amazing. The thing is... the high kick combined with a stiff tip and light weight works flawlessly. It is stable without sacrificing the feel of the kick through the ball. I really can't imagine anyone swinging 110-120 mph not liking this product. It doesn't have the cool sexy name and it's dirt cheap, but you can't beat em for guys who can really load a shaft. The prolite is still the best graphite shaft ever made, followed closely by the blue IMO
Good Luck -

Hstead · December 24, 2009

My numbers are similar to yours. My SS is just a little higher and my spin numbers are always pretty high. I have a hard time keeping the spin off of the ball therefore I always carried the ball long with no roll. I used to play a TaylorMAde TP 425 9.5 with a BlueBoard X in it. It could keep the spin around 3000 and the launch was good.

Recently, after reading the Adams 9015 40+ page thread, I couldn 't resist and bought a tour issue 9015D with 9* of loft. I threw a White Board in it to kill the spin, and man is this thing awesome. I hit is so much straighter than the TM and it rolls forever. I can still carry it over 280+ and it rolls at least 25 yards nearly every time. I love this setup. The head is nice to look at, the sound is good, the feel of the White Board took some getting used to though. It has a soft butt and it is really funky feeling at first.

My driving is better than it has ever been. I am hitting nearly twice as amny fairways that I hit with the TM and farther. I can hit it really low if I need to into the wind with little effort. I am hitting 8-12 out of 16 fairways per round now. It is also much harder to hook than my old setup. My TM used to go left on me at least once a round. I never snap this Adams. I really like it.

Awalkspoiled · December 24, 2009

You seem to be that rare high-swingspeed golfer who can get acceptable performance from a super-lightweight shaft, so why fight it? Dropping spin and increasing consistency would turn your already outstanding numbers into something really special. The HD5, HD6, Griffin, or if you come into some money the TP5HD would all be outstanding choices. Hard to suggest a heavier shaft unless you do some demo-ing, since you rnumbers are derived with that lightweight, and not every golfer makes that transition easily.

MizMan29 · December 25, 2009

Thanks for all the replies. I think the main reason I keep trying to fight the light weight shaft is the fact i really need more consistency off the tee. Compared to other parts of my game I feel like my tee ball causes the most trouble for me keeping my scores low. I have had the opportunity to golf with and against a couple of state am champions the last couple years and the one thing that really sets them apart is there ability to put themselves in great positions off the tee. One of my buddies has the adams head and swears by it, I ended the season with a TM R7 limited with the TP graphics whiteboard in it and actually hit it pretty well, but only had maybe 5 rounds on it before I set the clubs aside for the winter. I think what I'm really looking for is something that has the feel of a lighter shaft as far as how it loads and releases on the ball but with a heavier weight so hopefully i end up with a tighter dispersion. I picked up a Motore 75s in a R7 limited head to try, hopefully this will be a step in the right direction. I am going off the theory of the lighter shafts usually have a higher torque number so if I can find a heavier shaft with a modest torque number(3.0-3.5) hopefully it will have that "feel" that I'm looking for. Maybe there are some shaft experts that can shed some light on that theory, or possibly tell me if I'm thinking along the right lines.