Recs on Driver set-up/shaft for 115-120 SS + X7 shafts in irons?

mryank · September 21, 2021

3-5 handicap here.

Feel comfortable with iron/wedge play. But, like many on here, Driver is the club that gives me most variance in distance/dispersion (and thus score). Good days I'm low 70s, bad days, high 70s/low 80s. I'm aware part of the variance is probably swing flaws, but wondering what I can do to replicate the relatively higher success/consistency I have in my irons with driver. On bad driving days, I rely on my driving iron (I don't carry a fairway wood).

My driver now:

8* Mavrik Sub Zero, 57* lie, 44.75" Tensei AV Raw White 65 (Torque = 3.7)
My very bad miss is a push slice. I very rarely hook the ball.
Unpredictable launch angles. Occasionally have the high slice, sometimes the low spinny fade.
Well connected shots carry 300-310. Preferred flight is a low launch (10-11* launch angle) fade.

For reference, my iron set-up, which I feel quite confident in delivering:

15* UDI; 59.5* lie angle; 41.00" Fujikura Tour Spec 95i
Titleist 680 blades - 2-PW, X7 shafts, +0.5"

What I've tried/tinkered with so far (to no avail):

Shorter shaft length (even down to 43")
Tinkering with swing weight; ranging between D2-D6
Using 13.5* 3-wood as main choice off tee (but still suffering same dispersion, without upside of distance). Note: this 3-wood had a 33.25" Mitsubishi Diamana D+ Plus Ltd 70TX in it.

My hypotheses of what might be going on:

Lie angle is too flat. My UDI is 59.5* and I wonder if the flat lie angle + long shaft combo is not harmonious with my swing/delivery. I prefer max ulnar deviation/1-axis delivery, a la Bryson (but not saying I'm anything close to his skill/level; just my preference).
Shaft torque is too high. My UDI is 2.7, my X7 iron shafts are 1.4. Both feel stable. Wondering if going to a 2.5-3.0 shaft (which I recognize is the standard for most Tour-grade shafts) is a partial solution.
Kick-point is too high. Tensei AV Raw White has a high, almost-butt kick point. I wonder if there is a shaft that is a bit lower in kick-point that would help with delivery.

If I were to change shafts/clubs, these were what I was thinking, which I have tried before.

Fujikura Ventus Black 6x/7x/6tx
Fujikura Evolution Speeder 757 Tour Spec 6x
Fujikura Tour Spec Pro 2.0 6x/7x

Thanks for reading the tome here. I appreciate any feedback on the hypotheses/shaft ideas/any other observations/comments.

Cwebb · September 21, 2021

Try basically the stiffest driver shaft you can get your hands on, which will also likely have the lowest torque. Profile should be "one piece"....'X+' from butt to tip. Then work from there

Edited September 21, 2021 by Cwebb

Valtiel · September 21, 2021

I initially stopped here...

Quote

8* Mavrik Sub Zero

...because this is one of the most unforgiving modern driver heads out there, especially if you have the weight in the front. Combine that with your miss which suggests a potentially overly in to out path and I think it is worth looking at both the head and your delivery. Can you describe what happened with the length and swingweight experimentation that did not work out?

Outside of that I would strongly suggest abandoning the three hypothesis you listed as none will help you. Lie angle is more visual/personal preference in low lofted clubs and has minimal impact on start line and basically none on curvature. Torque should be considered only as component of feel and also has nothing to do with your issues either, and shaft kick point is very outdated, non-specific, unhelpful measure of what is going on with a shaft and there are half a dozen significantly more relevant shaft specs to consider.

I agree with @Cwebb in that trying something extremely stout might be helpful at your speeds, if for no other reason than to find out how you respond to it.

Howard_Jones · September 21, 2021

15 minutes ago, Valtiel said:

I initially stopped here...

...because this is one of the most unforgiving modern driver heads out there, especially if you have the weight in the front. Combine that with your miss which suggests a potentially overly in to out path and I think it is worth looking at both the head and your delivery. Can you describe what happened with the length and swingweight experimentation that did not work out?

Outside of that I would strongly suggest abandoning the three hypothesis you listed as none will help you. Lie angle is more visual/personal preference in low lofted clubs and has minimal impact on start line and basically none on curvature. Torque should be considered only as component of feel and also has nothing to do with your issues either, and shaft kick point is very outdated, non-specific, unhelpful measure of what is going on with a shaft and there are half a dozen significantly more relevant shaft specs to consider.

I agree with @Cwebb in that trying something extremely stout might be helpful at your speeds, if for no other reason than to find out how you respond to it.

I hardly ever suggest a certain shaft, but since i had a few players who played X7 in my studio, i have a idea of what might work for this player too, and since he is in the upper end for Club speed
i would suggest the Grafalloy TOUR as XX flex. Its actually a few available on the bay with connectors. It would be very hard to find a more solid and stable shaft than this for the price, so it might be worth a try.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=Grafalloy+Tour+XX&_sacat=0

EDIT: TQ for the XX is unknown to me, but R was 3.5, S was 3.3 and X was 3.1 so i expect XX to follow that pattern and be in the area of 2.8 to 3.0

Edited September 21, 2021 by Howard_Jones

pb_n_joe · September 21, 2021

Agree with others that 1) Mavrik SZ is not the most forgiving head and 2) you'll want to target the stoutest of shafts out there. At your swing speed, dispersion is extremely exacerbated with any miss or sub-optimal tendencies in your driver set up (and naturally driver will have the highest variance given highest SS), hence it's even more imperative to get dialed in with a proper fitting session.

I'm in a similar bucket as you - preferred ball flight is a penetrating fade that carries ~300. Took me a while to find something I was really comfortable and confident with off the tee. I was fit into Titleist TSi3 with Tensei CK Pro Orange 60TX (tipped 1") and this was the best driver I had ever played.... until I was fit into TM SIM2 with Ventus Black 6X (tipped 1") 9 months later. I held onto my TSi3 for sentimental reasons just because I personally think it's the best looking / feeling / sounding driver ever made by Titleist, but SIM2 just outperformed on forgiveness, and that Ventus Black is as stable as advertised. Tightest variance on every metric of any setup I've tried.

Rather than trying to research your way into the ideal setup (like so many of us do on GolfWRX), I'd highly recommend setting up a fitting session with your local shop so you can demo a few combos of heads / shafts. Agree with you, Ventus Black should definitely be on the radar. I'd add Tensei White 1K, the new Diamana PD and HZRDUS Smoke Green to the list (all in the stiffest flex, weight is personal preference). As far as heads go, my favorites this season for a balance of speed and forgiveness: SIM2, TSi3, Ping G425, Callaway Epic Speed. Try the heads out on your own first, head to the fitting session with an idea of what suits your eye, then dial in the right head/shaft combo. Hope this helps - best of luck and enjoy the process!

Gtyler14 · September 21, 2021

I know you game the AV raw white 2.0 75tx. I swing in the same range but don’t use x7s and I game the 2.0 75tx tipped 1 inch. Maybe the extra weight will help and that’s a stout shaft. An 8° head especially that one is unforgiving as you can get.

A-A-RonCCC · September 22, 2021

I have a similar swing speed and started with AV White as well. Ultimately I ended up with the HZRDUS Smoke Green TX and am loving it. It's super stable with a tight controlled kick.

Rosco1216 · September 22, 2021

I don’t play the x7’s but I play the 7.0s and have driver SS in the upper 120’s-low 130’s. As others have said, your 8* mavrik sub zero isn’t doing you any favors. I’ve never played the tensei shafts, just never got along with them. Hulk or ventus black would be a a good option for stability.

The main reason I responded is because you said you don’t game a 3w, why is that? Reason I ask is because I didn’t carry a fairway wood because I I would never need to hit it. I sent an entire season without hitting it once. I simply never would have a situation where I would need that much club coming into a green and I would basically hit my 18* driving iron if the driver wasn’t working. I decided to go with a larger headed 2 hybrid as a fairway wood replacement and haven’t looked back. I have it turned down to 16* and playing at 41.25” and it’s basically everything I would need a fairway wood for but much more accurate and versatile. I also changed my driving iron to a 3 DI at 20* to spread out the gapping from my set 4i. Now if the driver is acting up or I need a very accurate 280-300 yard tee ball, I use the hybrid. I can literally hit it anywhere from 250-300 if I air it out and go after it. Best decision I have ever made regarding any changes to how I set up the bag.

Edited September 22, 2021 by Rosco1216