Has anyone else switched from a player's driver to something more forgiving? I have finally found my

[Matadorb32]

After getting back into golf after a hiatus, I have gotten serious about improving my game. Took a few lessons and now have a serviceable swing.

 

Driver SS: 95-102mph

Handicap: 18.2

 

1st driver: I started out with a Callaway Hyper X Tour Driver (9.5, stiff) - This club served me well but for some reason was super prone to slicing, didn't work, couldn't time out loading the shaft.

 

2nd driver: Then I got a Callaway FT-9 Draw (10.5, stiff) hoping this would help combat my slice. I got it in the mail, regripped it and was ready to start piping them. I took my girlfriend to the range with me the next day to show her what a stick I was... first swing - slice. Second swing - straightening out a little bit here, i may have a winner. Third swing - I hear a tremendous pop! Half of the club head goes flying down the fairway. I was able to convince my girlfriend that it was due to my intense strength but I mean, c'mon I don't swing that fast.

 

I contacted the online vendor who I got it from and they gave me a credit (double what I payed for the FT-9) to get a new club. Awesome!

 

3rd driver: I was getting better and figured it was time to get a driver that I could "work" the ball with. Big mistake. I picked out a Ping i20 (9.5, PX 6.0 stiff shaft). This club is beautiful, matte black head with the black shaft - sexy. This club has been a disaster for me though. Spraying it everywhere and anywhere, lack of distance, etc. This killed my confidence driving which caused me to hesitate through the swing proliferating the problem. Due to the lower loft, lack of SS, and low-spin this club is anything but forgiving. If you are above a 10 handicap I wouldn't recommend.

 

4th/current driver: I have landed on a Cobra Fly-Z (9-12 loft, stiff Matrix 60g stock) and just went to the range today. I can pound the ball with this club. I messed around with the loft settings, and found the best for me to be the 11.5 neutral setting. My dispersion is amazing and I am legit carrying it 250+. No longer trying to adjust 20 things with my mechanics, this club just works for me.

 

Has anyone else had such tremendous luck switching from a more workable/player's type driver to something more forgiving?

[Jackal]

Those FlyZ and FlyZ+ are great! Glad you found something that works

[GolferRy785]

I played a 915D3 for a season and a half and just switched to a regular Epic and find it alot better.

 

Happy to hear you found your gem of a driver!

[dano0726]

Ditched the driver completely...now tee off with a Cobra King LTD 3 wood dialed in at 13 or 13.5D settings

[95124hacker]

Due to some lower back issues, I’m only averaging 85 mph with my driver. I have S flex shafts. My driving performance was horrendous yesterday (Cobra King LTD Pro at 10 degrees w/ Speeder 569 Evo II, untipped, 45.5” , Srixon Z-Star Ball). Only hit 3 FW’s and nothing past 210 yards.

 

Looking for a better head/shaft/ball combo... any suggestions for my reduced SS? Going to see a chiropractor soon.

[95124hacker]

Anyone with 85-95 mph driver swing speed tried Titleist 915D2 vs 917D2? Which one is more forgiving?

[gioguy21]

Anyone with 85-95 mph driver swing speed tried Titleist 915D2 vs 917D2? Which one is more forgiving?

if you're looking for forgiving, the list usually doesn't include titleist -- just saying.

 

you'd be better off with something like, a callaway fusion, taylormade M2, ping G400 max, or something of that nature.

[95124hacker]

Anyone with 85-95 mph driver swing speed tried Titleist 915D2 vs 917D2? Which one is more forgiving?

if you're looking for forgiving, the list usually doesn't include titleist -- just saying.

 

you'd be better off with something like, a callaway fusion, taylormade M2, ping G400 max, or something of that nature.

 

Yeah I thought that might be the case but I haven’t hit a Titleist driver since 983K so I thought I’d ask in case the D2 is a FW finder.

[95124hacker]

I just read the MGS articles about CG, CG-NA, and MOI.

I’ve always thought low CG, rear weight (high MOI) was the best for me.

At slower SS’s, higher CG is recommended (generally) over low CG.

I tend to hit the ball high on the face so higher CG is optimal.

[leejohnkieh]

I went from M1 to M2 if that counts lol :dntknw:

[elwhippy]

85 mph and Titleist woods not going to be very good combo.

[bellken]

85 mph and Titleist woods not going to be very good combo.

 

Actually, 917 D2 models can work for more moderate swing speeds, but, find a Titleist Thursday, and, see for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[Justsomeguy]

Anyone with 85-95 mph driver swing speed tried Titleist 915D2 vs 917D2? Which one is more forgiving?

Tried em both and very similar.

The 917 line is basically just a more adjustable version of the 915, which is already pretty adjustable.

The adjustable weights don't really matter as much for us avg Joes, as 1* offline on a 220 hit is not as far offline as a 280 hit.

I love my 915, but it's more similar to a 910 than different. And the 917 isn't really a leap forward.

The 919 will be interesting if they can retain all the good parts about titleist woods while finding that extra distance that some of the other oems have figured out.

[Sean2]

I think forgiveness is a bit overrated, however finding a good fit is not.

[Kleab]

I know this topic hasn't been touched for a couple months, but I wanted to add in my opinion in case anyone finds themselves in the same boat as me.

 

I have a moderate swing speed (avg 95-98 mph) and I typically find myself needing something stronger than Regular, but softer than Stiff. The perfect shafts for me are often Project X shafts in the 5.5 flex or Graphite Design shafts in the SR (stiff regular) flex. I can also get away with Regular shafts that play firm or Stiff shafts that play soft.

 

Anyway, back to the topic. I was playing a Srixon z565 head and was getting good results - not great results - but nothing to complain about. One of my closest friends used to work at our local golf shop and they still let him use their bays and fitting equipment any time he likes. We went in to take a look at my swing and he noticed that I was almost always hitting slightly low on the club face. Not so low that I was getting worm burners - but just low enough that I wasn't maximizing the potential of the club. We played with a couple different head options, but nothing really felt as good or fit me the way that the Srixon does. As a last check, he swapped my z565 head out with a z765 head. This seems counter-intuitive since the z765 is for "better" players, but he explained that since the z765 has a shorter face, my constant "low" hit could potentially fall right in the center of the face. Turns out this was exactly what happened. For whatever reason, this compact head works better for my swing.

 

Despite being an overall mediocre golfer, this club just simply works for me. Not a perfect formula for everyone, but it might be worth trying if someone else finds themselves consistently just low of the sweet spot.

[Bobb3rdown]

Recently switched from a titleist 905t to a ping g400 LST. I'm getting just a bit more yardage out of it on perfect strikes. But my yardage and dispersion on mishits have greatly improved. I guess you could consider them both a "players" driver. But this is my first experience with a ping driver and have heard they are very forgiving. I must say. I agree 100%

[lcn]

Due to some lower back issues, I'm only averaging 85 mph with my driver. I have S flex shafts. My driving performance was horrendous yesterday (Cobra King LTD Pro at 10 degrees w/ Speeder 569 Evo II, untipped, 45.5" , Srixon Z-Star Ball). Only hit 3 FW's and nothing past 210 yards.

 

Looking for a better head/shaft/ball combo... any suggestions for my reduced SS? Going to see a chiropractor soon.

 

I also have/had back issues (had back suregery 2 years ago) and have a swing speed like yours. However I use an A-flex shaft in my Wishon driver. My first thought was that you might want to switch to a softer shaft, however maybe *I* should use a firmer shaft ?

[kylemd]

Anyone with 85-95 mph driver swing speed tried Titleist 915D2 vs 917D2? Which one is more forgiving?

 

I have both. Prefer the 917 D3 ( tour issues) with addi 6 stiff. High bombs. Will alternate back to a reg flex white tie when not playing much ( now). At ss of 85 you may find reg flex gives alot better performance for you. You can tip it some to tighten dispersion.

[Bowlorgolf]

Due to some lower back issues, I’m only averaging 85 mph with my driver. I have S flex shafts. My driving performance was horrendous yesterday (Cobra King LTD Pro at 10 degrees w/ Speeder 569 Evo II, untipped, 45.5” , Srixon Z-Star Ball). Only hit 3 FW’s and nothing past 210 yards.

 

Looking for a better head/shaft/ball combo... any suggestions for my reduced SS? Going to see a chiropractor soon.

 

Also have back issues for accident over 30 years ago and add aging on top. Recently switched to 440 size head from 460 and was surprised my SS and distance improved. Not working on trying different shafts to get everything in sync. It is much harder with back issues because you don’t want to try too many combinations in one session or you are out of the game for a time. Went to regular/stiff shaft to straight regular. Trying to swing smoother to keep everything working and with reg seems to be more consistent.

Good luck, back issues are not fun.