Driver upgrade?

[bogeyczar]

New to the forum, forgive me if this is the wrong sub forum for this.

I've started playing golf again after a complete hiatus of 6-7 years. Glad to be back at it and finding my swing again. 

My question, my current driver is a Callaway XHot, circa 2013 I believe; would a driver from the last couple years give me much more forgiveness and/or distance? I'm not an equipment guru. Just unsure if equipment has advanced enough over the time I've been away to see "significant" gains in forgiveness and/or distance off the tee. Thanks for letting me join! 

[phizzy30]

It will be more forgiving off the toe and heel in terms of retaining higher ball speeds and possibly less curve.  More distance off mishits but not necessarily off the sweet spot. 

[getitdaily]

Yes to both, unless you hit it dead center every time with a face to path that is never more than +/- 1.5*

 

The last 2 driver cycles have really stepped things up. TM sim2 and stealth, callaway rogue st, titleist tsi...all took a step up. Pxg is doing good things. Ping is ping - tho I've seen more people happier with the g410 than g425. 

 

OEMs are doing a really good job of reducing deviation in speed, spin, and launch for shots that stray from the dead center.

[getitdaily]

Oh...and get a ventus. It's the cheat code for the driver...

[bogeyczar]

Well I ain't hitting it dead center every time, that is certain!!! Thanks to both you and @phizzy30for the reply. Sounds like there may have been significant improvement in forgiveness this hack might benefit from.

[bogeyczar]

7 minutes ago, getitdaily said:

Oh...and get a ventus. It's the cheat code for the driver...

When I said I am not equipment guru I'm not sure that painted the correct picture lol. I do know Ventus is a brand of shaft but don't know much beyond that. Any particular one?

[getitdaily]

1 minute ago, bogeyczar said:

When I said I am not equipment guru I'm not sure that painted the correct picture lol. I do know Ventus is a brand of shaft but don't know much beyond that. Any particular one?

You'll have to hit them. Just make sure you don't pay more than $50 for a ventus that doesn't have velocore on the tip section. 

[leftylama]

Off centre performance is where the benefit will be at. Loved the original Xhot, had one in the bag for a few years. As long as anything today out of the middle.

[ShortGolfer]

Get fitted for a driver.  You want a shaft that works well with your swing, not someone else's!

[bogeyczar]

Thanks for the feedback! I've got a first lesson with a new to me instructor next Saturday. He should be able to give me some info to start on based on the Flightscope data. My XHot, has a stiff shaft and I'm not sure that is what I need at this juncture.  

[Striker Ace]

Well since you are new to the forum, allow me to introduce you. This is GolfWRX, We always need an upgrade! In fact my clubs are coming up on a year old..

 

Just kidding, of course. 

[Milfordlefty]

23 hours ago, bogeyczar said:

New to the forum, forgive me if this is the wrong sub forum for this.

I've started playing golf again after a complete hiatus of 6-7 years. Glad to be back at it and finding my swing again. 

My question, my current driver is a Callaway XHot, circa 2013 I believe; would a driver from the last couple years give me much more forgiveness and/or distance? I'm not an equipment guru. Just unsure if equipment has advanced enough over the time I've been away to see "significant" gains in forgiveness and/or distance off the tee. Thanks for letting me join! 

What is your average driver distance? Shaft flex? Loft? What is your normal miss (left or right?) What do you mean by forgiveness? (accuracy vs. loss of distance off mishits?) Finally, budget for a new (to you) driver?

[farmer]

22 hours ago, Striker Ace said:

Well since you are new to the forum, allow me to introduce you. This is GolfWRX, We always need an upgrade! In fact my clubs are coming up on a year old..

 

Just kidding, of course. 

No, no, he's not.

[Marty86]

35 minutes ago, farmer said:

No, no, he's not.

 

[sanzo]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:05 PM, getitdaily said:

Oh...and get a ventus. It's the cheat code for the driver...

Is this a TM shaft  what is good about this one?

[getitdaily]

1 hour ago, sanzo said:

Is this a TM shaft  what is good about this one?

It's a fujikura shaft. Whatever your dispersion is now, it'll get better.

[bogeyczar]

On 8/11/2022 at 11:14 AM, Milfordlefty said:

What is your average driver distance? Shaft flex? Loft? What is your normal miss (left or right?) What do you mean by forgiveness? (accuracy vs. loss of distance off mishits?) Finally, budget for a new (to you) driver?

260-270, currently shaft is a stiff, 9.5 loft. Normal miss is left, left. Forgiveness in terms of off center hits. Will of center hits carry further and curve less with current version of drivers over what I am currently hitting. I'm frugal but become less frugal if spending more gets me more up until diminishing returns take over.  

[phizzy30]

1 hour ago, bogeyczar said:

260-270, currently shaft is a stiff, 9.5 loft. Normal miss is left, left. Forgiveness in terms of off center hits. Will of center hits carry further and curve less with current version of drivers over what I am currently hitting. I'm frugal but become less frugal if spending more gets me more up until diminishing returns take over.  

Modern drivers from the past 3 years will retain more ball speed across the face which means it's less punishing on mishits especially toe and heel side.  I myself see less curve overall with my Stealth Plus unless I just put a really crappy swing on it. 

[rkillian]

11 hours ago, bogeyczar said:

260-270, currently shaft is a stiff, 9.5 loft. Normal miss is left, left. Forgiveness in terms of off center hits. Will of center hits carry further and curve less with current version of drivers over what I am currently hitting. I'm frugal but become less frugal if spending more gets me more up until diminishing returns take over.  

As far as frugality goes, Callaway Pre-Owned is your friend. Waiting for the right sale can get you what you want usually a good bit cheaper than what it would typically sell for on the used market anywhere else. In my experience, their customer service is great. I’ve gotten several “like new” condition clubs that were brand new still wrapped in plastic. 
 

If you have a golf galaxy or something like that near you, go to the used section and hit some used Mavrik and Epic Speed drivers. Even better if you can  bring your current driver to compare. If something new is better than why you have now, look for it on CPO. 

[Milfordlefty]

On 8/13/2022 at 10:12 AM, bogeyczar said:

260-270, currently shaft is a stiff, 9.5 loft. Normal miss is left, left. Forgiveness in terms of off center hits. Will of center hits carry further and curve less with current version of drivers over what I am currently hitting. I'm frugal but become less frugal if spending more gets me more up until diminishing returns take over.  

As phizzy30 said, a modern driver should provide more forgiveness on non-center strikes. You might want to take a look at a driver with sliding or toe/heal weights, which you can adjust for more toe weight and see if this slows the club head closing and going left (50/50 the lefts are from the swing and no amount of weight adjustment will fix). Main problem is, trying out pre-owned drivers is not as easy vs. Pre-Covid.

[MtlJeff]

If you want to be a bit frugal have a look at the PXG 0211, hard to demo but they are dirt cheap brand new and are a very good driver. Also they lean a bit more on the forgiveness side if that's what you are looking for. I own 6-7 drivers and have been using the 0211 all year even over more expensive ones

 

Comes with a mid launch (Diamana S+) or low launch (RDX smoke black) shaft option

[blangst1]

On 8/10/2022 at 12:05 PM, getitdaily said:

Oh...and get a ventus. It's the cheat code for the driver...

Really? which one lol

[markeson]

Go and get fitted and just push them for on heads that aren't super new (e.g. TSR). You should be able to find something that works and you could purchase the head used and find a shaft from eBay. 

[Zena]

On 8/10/2022 at 10:13 AM, bogeyczar said:

When I said I am not equipment guru I'm not sure that painted the correct picture lol. I do know Ventus is a brand of shaft but don't know much beyond that. Any particular one?

 

LOL please don't listen to this. It's a bit of a joke. Ventus is played by a lot but it's not for everyone. A $150 driver fitting would serve you better than dropping $350 randomly on a driver shaft.

 

Welcome back to the game! The best money you'll spend is on a proper fitting at a brand agnostic non-"big box store" fitter.

[Zena]

On 8/16/2022 at 6:44 AM, blangst1 said:

Really? which one lol

 

If the hype is to be believed, Ventus Black TR tipped 2 inches 🙃 and even then it wont be stiff enough.

[sanzo]

On 8/13/2022 at 11:08 AM, getitdaily said:

It's a fujikura shaft. Whatever your dispersion is now, it'll get better.

Are these for adjustable drivers oy ? Are they available for a fixed hosel driver

[getitdaily]

29 minutes ago, sanzo said:

Are these for adjustable drivers oy ? Are they available for a fixed hosel driver

Shaft is a shaft. Adapter or fixed hosel is all the same. 

 

Driver, 3w, etc are .355

Hybrids are .370

[me05501]

On 8/10/2022 at 12:40 PM, bogeyczar said:

New to the forum, forgive me if this is the wrong sub forum for this.

I've started playing golf again after a complete hiatus of 6-7 years. Glad to be back at it and finding my swing again. 

My question, my current driver is a Callaway XHot, circa 2013 I believe; would a driver from the last couple years give me much more forgiveness and/or distance? I'm not an equipment guru. Just unsure if equipment has advanced enough over the time I've been away to see "significant" gains in forgiveness and/or distance off the tee. Thanks for letting me join! 

 

 

Welcome back! 

 

Did you like your driver when you stopped playing? Did it give you good results back then? If so, I'd focus on that "finding my swing again" project until your game is back to where it was when you quit. 

 

Chasing equipment fit and your full swing at the same time is a recipe for frustration. Take them one at a time. 

[bogeyczar]

On 9/21/2022 at 10:12 AM, me05501 said:

 

 

Welcome back! 

 

Did you like your driver when you stopped playing? Did it give you good results back then? If so, I'd focus on that "finding my swing again" project until your game is back to where it was when you quit. 

 

Chasing equipment fit and your full swing at the same time is a recipe for frustration. Take them one at a time. 

Agreed and a bit of an update. I've kind of taken your approach over the last month. I've found some stuff and become much more confident off the tee. I'm gonna keep working the swing till I'm striping it consistently. At that point I'll go see if I can gain any yardage or tighten up dispersion with a new club.