Need advice for LD driver setup please help me out

[jeffblais09]

hey everyone. im thinking of trying out for some long drive events, and even just crushing em for fun, in the next year here aybe try n get to ReMax but thats high hopes for a newbie to the LD world lol. neway I'd like to know some of your thoughts on a good competition setup for me. here are some basic avgs. of my stats with my current on course driver and my pro's driver i was hitting.

 

Playing Driver:

SS = 128mph

 

Launch = 14*

 

Spin Rate = 1800rpm

 

now the big boy........

 

 

7.5* Adams 9016D with 48in. XXX-flex House of Forged Whup' N shaft:

 

SS = 141mph

 

Launch = 17*

 

Spin Rate = 2600rpm

 

 

I really like the Adams setup but my pro told me my spin rates should be a bit lower for Long Drive, and i should have a bit lower launch like right in the 13-16* area. i was thinking i might just need a 6.5* or even get a more tip stiff shaft, or same shaft but have it tipped. i find it actually kind of strange i hit it kinda high with Adams because im actually a low ball hitter with driver hence the 9* in my gamer. im new to long drive other than watching my pro hit so any advice would be awesome, and im not looking to spend an arm and a leg, something reasonable please.

[TKing]

Ask here: [url="http://www.longdrivers.com/forum.php"]http://www.longdrivers.com/forum.php[/url] There's always used equipment for sale there pretty cheap.

My ss is not as high as yours at a little over 130 with the long stick but switching to a 6 degree head made a big difference for me from the 7.5 that I bought to try out to start with. I've never been on a launch monitor but it obviously brought down the launch angle and yielded more carry and a lot more rollout.

[Jimbo999]

It sounds like less loft could do you good as it would reduce launch angle and spin.

[Akabeth]

Jeff,
It seems like according to the launch data you just need to find the magic shaft/loft combo with the 9016D to bring the launch* and spin down a little bit.

But I would like to ask you the following:
[quote name='jeffblais09' post='1858984' date='Aug 2 2009, 08:49 AM'][b]Playing Driver:
[/b]
SS = 128mph

now the big boy........

[b]7.5* Adams 9016D with 48in. XXX-flex House of Forged Whup' N shaft: [/b]

SS = 141mph[/quote]

#1) 13mph SS difference??? in average?!
#2) On what launch monitor are you basing those numbers from? Zelocity? Trackman? (I really hope those #s are [i]not [/i]from the Swing Speed Radar)

If I've interpreted your post correctly, [i]your playing driver[/i] is 45" USGA length and [i]your 'LD' stick[/i] is 48" USGA (almost 50" LDA?)
And just letting you know that I'm no LDer... but I still fail to see how a club that is 3" longer can make that much of a difference

Thanks.

[TKing]

I see that much difference too even though I do use the SS Radar to measure clubhead speed, but there is over 40 yards of carry distance between my 45" WB and the 48"(USGA) HOF. The HOF shaft is quite a bit different than the typical on/course played shaft and if you can load it and unload it right, it adds a lot.

[extremeld]

swing speed radar is VERY consistent

Regular driver may not be suitable, swing may work better with longer shaft, i personally get 8 mph more with 48" rather than 45"

[Akabeth]

[quote name='TKing' post='1859340' date='Aug 2 2009, 01:15 PM']I see that much difference too even though I do use the SS Radar to measure clubhead speed, but there is over 40 yards of carry distance between my 45" WB and the 48"(USGA) HOF. The HOF shaft is quite a bit different than the typical on/course played shaft and if you can load it and unload it right, it adds a lot.[/quote]

Dang... I guess I need to try it out and see for myself. Not that I'm doubting you but 40 yards difference carry is... almost unbelieveable to me. My driver length 44.5" USGA so...
Oh btw, on a more relevant note, can you explain to me that difference between the HOF shaft vs. 'regular' course shaft. Is it just something that you felt or was it quantifiable vs other LD shafts? And if it hasn't caught up to you yet, I'm trying to gain some distance off the tee as well.

[quote name='extremeld' post='1859873' date='Aug 2 2009, 06:49 PM']swing speed radar is VERY consistent

Regular driver may not be suitable, swing may work better with longer shaft, i personally get 8 mph more with 48" rather than 45"[/quote]

I use the the SSR myself and it's proven rather helpful for my practice sessions. It's just that sometimes it reads rather high [or low] depending on the positioning of the SSR unit.

Btw to extremeld, or anyone else for that matter, can anyone tell me a ballpark estimate of what LD'ers usually swing at (club head speed) using 45" clubs [i]on the [u]Trackman[/u][/i]?

Cheers.
 

[TKing]

My distance differences are nothing scientific since I've only owned a couple of different LD shafts-a Harrison XX and the Whup-N XX. For me the HOF accounts for almost half of the yardage difference over the Harrison. I guess there's a reason most LDers use it. It does have a really good kick. I don't think it would work the best for a tight fairway-at least not for me.

I have tried a fair number of different driver shafts for the course driver and haven't found a lot of difference in distance but there are of course noticeable differences in launch. I went from a ProtoPype 70X (broke), to a VS Proto 80X, to the current Whiteboard 73X.

I too use the radar to figure out what different little changes make but I really don't care about the number. It has been very useful for that.

Also with the long stick, I'm hitting the ball off a 4" tee off the outside of my left foot and the course driver not nearly as high or as far forward, so I guess it has a bit more time to get to top speed.

There are strength limitations too. Not everyone can automatically swing a longer driver faster than a shorter one. Some people will even slow down when going from 44" to 48". A friend wanted to see how fast he could swing my LD club so with the radar he couldn't get it past 89 mph. His normal driver ss was 95.

[jeffblais09]

thanks for the advice guys.

[ChxDigLongBall]

An SMT head might help bring the spin down. I used to use my boss's Cherry Red SMT 6* head with an Apollo XXX shaft at 48". The spin and launch numbers with that combo worked really well for me. I used to hit that thing surprisingly straight too.

[idrive400yards]

I don't know how your LA/spin numbers went up that much compared to the LD set up. Which HOF model were you hitting? The Adams head, IMO is a higher spinning head than most, but those numbers looked a little wierd to me.

[jeffblais09]

[quote name='idrive400yards' post='1862179' date='Aug 3 2009, 06:05 PM']I don't know how your LA/spin numbers went up that much compared to the LD set up. Which HOF model were you hitting? The Adams head, IMO is a higher spinning head than most, but those numbers looked a little wierd to me.[/quote]

i know they looked really weird that's what i thought haha. my guess for the increase would be that i catch the ball at the bottom of my swing arc with my playing setup, but with the LD setup i was catching it on the upswing which i know increases loft, couldnt tell you the difference in degrees at contact between the two swings though, i didnt change my swing other than to adjust for the longer length shaft and i moved the ball up about an inch or 2 in my stance, thats the only thing i can think of to explain the difference. and it was just the original Whup-n shaft. i want to try the geek FS3 in 7.5 or maybe 6* i've heard those are pretty sick, which would you recommend cause i see you have quite a few of their drivers lol. yeah for some reason the launch angle skyrocketed with the Adams maybe its just a bad head for my swing or because i adjusted a bit for the added length, but i was told it is in fact a high launching club not sure bout the spin. the shaft is amazing though.

[idrive400yards]

Without really seeing your swing, it's hard to say. But with those numbers you posted, I would say a 6* with the same swing. And I would also go with a 6* in a DCT if you wanted to go that route. You can't go wrong with either head, but most use the DCT in competition, with the FS3 coming on strong.

Shoot me a pm or email if your interested, maybe I can help further.

[email protected]

Mike Brody
Captain, GEEK Golf Longdrive team.

[PGW]

Youngstown is right around the corner from Conneaut Lake-
heres a 'day b-4' qualifier also
[url="http://longdrivers.com/remax_local.php?id=1154"]http://longdrivers.com/remax_local.php?id=1154[/url]

I'll be up there and believe Mike will also-I have to qualify yet but-great place to compare stuff
I also do qualifiers just sw of Cleveland and have a bunch of guys get together on Sundays prepping for Regionals and worlds

[idrive400yards]

Yes I will be up there this weekend. If you're close by, come by and check it out.