Distance gain from LD setups?

[jedimater]

What would you guys say would be a realistic gain from a normal off the rack stiff shafted lower lofted off the rack driver compared to something custom built with a 48" shaft etc....20 - 30 yards type of thing? Anyone try an LD setup and see any decrease in distance? Control obviously will decrease with a longer shaft.

 

Currently with my normal cally driver I can carry the ball 300 pretty much any day of the week, under normal conditions. Longest drive on course on a flat non windy day with GPS is 365 (was in a tourney and won a nice wedge as it was on the long drive hole) Longest drive ever I drove ten yards short to 422 yard par 4 but its downhill and I had some back wind.

 

Being a lefty its hard to come by anyone carrying a big stick to try out, and I don't think I relaly want to bother investing in a real LD setup.

[RRFireblade]

I don't think I relaly want to bother investing in a real LD setup.

 

With all due respect , I would forget about it then.

 

Proper fitting and set up on a long driver is of far more value than the driver itself. With out spending the time and money to do it correctly your just wasting the effort and will never know what true gains are possible.

 

Just being honest , not trying to be mean.

 

Otherwise just pick up a longer shaft pull and stick it one of your heads and see what happens. It will be longer more than likely but beyond that is pure luck.

 

:)

[jedimater]

Not really planning on buying one purely talking hypothetically here. Assuming you guys spend whatever thousands on various shaft and head combo's how much of a gain in distance do you actually see on the range when hitting whatever the perfect match is for you versus a normal off the rack lower lofted Stiff shaft combo.

[Lefty402]

I would say you should see an increase of at least 20-30 yards. I've always heard that you get an increase of 2-3 mph of club head speed for every inch that's added to the shaft.

 

You should check out the classified section on incepta.ca. You should be able to pick up a LH LD club for under $200. A lot of the clubs on there are 3x and 6* or lower loft. If I was you I would try a 7* or 7.5* and a 1 or 2X shaft since you've never hit an LD club before.

 

 

I'm a lefty also, so I know all about how hard it is to find clubs sometimes. I've had to buy all the LD stuff I've wanted to try out.

[RRFireblade]

I'm no big time long driver but I wouldn't say 20-30 yards unless you current stuff is way wrong for you now.

 

I depends on whether you swing a longer driver faster , many people do not , and whether or not you can hit the sweet spot . . . again many people can't with a longer driver. The length adds alot of variables and magnifies any flaws. Plus , in most cases , is harder to swing faster than a shorter driver. That's the bottom line to gaining distance.

 

For me . . . I don't know , maybe 20 yards would be the max with a perfect swing. My swing speed is under 130.

 

Maybe the big boys will chime in. :)

[jedimater]

I would be interested to try one out, just to see what its like. Several years ago I added a 3 inch extension to my driver and I did actually hit it about 10 - 15 yards further, but when I missed I had a retarded boomerang slice, normally I play a draw(strange for a lefty I know). I am pretty satisfied with my distance on the cally, I had it on a launch metere the other day when looking for clubs for my wife and I still hit it further than any of the current driver offerings from TM, Titleist, callaway and cobra.

Best I could muster for SS was 126 with my steel toe dress shoes. :)

I don't have dreams of going for the LD Tour, sure would be fun to go to the annual tournies with a 48 inch boom stick(one of those tournies I have the LD 4 years in a row now with 7 of the last 10 years(3 years I missed the fairway, One of whitch went OB with the entension driver..haha served me right I guess)

 

My biggest worry would be the weight. I notice a huge difference in my SS when I am playing with drivers of different weights. Iam a small guy about 5'8" 150pounds, so a heavy driver noticibally affects my swing.

[PGW]

alot depends on how much control you keep going to a longer club-as you increase length you want to lower loft

Like lefty402 said you can see alot but....

like I tel guys-you can get a Porshe but...if you cant reach the petals it wont go fast

Most see an increase in distance but it does take time-believe it or not some actually slow down to swing an LD club faster!

Takes tempo and timing to get it to work

I have a few LH used heads and shafts if I can help ya' on the cheap

[QuigleyDU]

just picking one up and swing it the first little bit you will more than likely lose distance due to impure contact etc.

 

but after adjusting, you could easily see gains of 50+ yards with the right set up.

[extremeld]

er 50 yards? NO

 

 

 

90% of golfers dont hit ld setups any further than standard drivers as the clubs are heavier (This was from something i read recently golf digest schools i believe) put a club in the hands of someone who swings at 80mph and the results are often a surprise to the guy that thinks that EVERYONE could hit a ball miles if only they had one of those LD clubs.

 

 

10% Do -

 

for me i get around 15 - 20 yards -

[bigphil]

Took my new Geek to the range today. It has a shaft about 2" longer than my G10. I would say I avg'd 15-20 more. I do believe when I choked down on it, I still hit it 10-15 yards further than the G10. Now the G10 is forgiving for my toe hits I tend to have from time to time. Also the G10 has a higher sweet spot.

 

Really was impressed with the Geek. Looking forward to trying a different shaft in it.

[jeffblais09]

i actually pick up 13mph in club head speed over my normal setup with a 48" shaft

[i002399]

[quote name='jedimater' post='1583121' date='Mar 26 2009, 08:47 PM']I would be interested to try one out, just to see what its like. Several years ago I added a 3 inch extension to my driver and I did actually hit it about 10 - 15 yards further, but when I missed I had a retarded boomerang slice, normally I play a draw(strange for a lefty I know). I am pretty satisfied with my distance on the cally, I had it on a launch metere the other day when looking for clubs for my wife and I still hit it further than any of the current driver offerings from TM, Titleist, callaway and cobra.
Best I could muster for SS was 126 with my steel toe dress shoes.
I don't have dreams of going for the LD Tour, sure would be fun to go to the annual tournies with a 48 inch boom stick(one of those tournies I have the LD 4 years in a row now with 7 of the last 10 years(3 years I missed the fairway, One of whitch went OB with the entension driver..haha served me right I guess)

My biggest worry would be the weight. I notice a huge difference in my SS when I am playing with drivers of different weights. Iam a small guy about 5'8" 150pounds, so a heavy driver noticibally affects my swing.[/quote]

Hi Jedi,

I just found this message. If you're in Toronto I'd be pleased to loan a lefty LD club to you to try. Perhaps something halfway between a stock and an LD club (Single X Flex, Max Length less 1.5", 7.5 or 8.5 degrees) to see if you add speed / distance?

New LD events are coming to Canada for 2010... it's going to be a very interesting year.