Working the ball

[unomizuno]

with modern drivers

I've been playing a 975J for years and am shopping for an upgrade this year.

I enjoy being able to turn the ball either way with this club

After demoing Cleveland's Hi-Bore, the Cleveland rep asked me what my standard ball flight was. I told him that I like being able to shape it either way. He said the Hi-Bore has such a low-spin characteristic that I should look into the Comp 460.

The demo day (scheduled from 10-4) turned out to mainly be for the pro-am entrants who teed off at 10:30 (I showed up at 10:15 and they had 80 orders to fill by the time the pro-am finished) I only took his time to figure out the shaft and loft for a Comp460: NVS-65s/10.5* :...I didn't press him to let me feel out the shaping capabilities.

The question...

should I just go with the flow and forget about shaping and take the extra distance...upgrade my fairway woods and save the shapes for 3-wood off the tee;
or should I keep shopping...the right club is out there somewhere?

(by the way...for my first little step into new equipment, the Comp460 was very impressive)

:)

[carpediembp]

TITLEIST 905T, forgiving, long and workable, just like all the other titleists, or maybe the 905S if you want a more flatter traj

 

hope this is of some help.

[unomizuno]

Thanks.

[alcap26]

Bridgestone 460 is workable both ways. Easier to fade but you can make it draw.

[unomizuno]

Thanks...

[unomizuno]

Out of two replies plus what the Cleveland guy said...new stuff is still workable.

 

Would anybody venture to say that bigger heads are just a tad more difficult to work than the smaller heads of days gone by?

 

Or should I look for something to feel fairly close to what I'm used to?

 

Sorry for asking such simple questions...I've never really cared too much about equipment...I've had too much work to do on my swing, until recently.

 

:)

[Yooper]

I have the Cleveland Launcher and the Comp and for me and my swing I can only work the ball one way....draw. I know a lot of it has to do with swing and shaft but that is my take on it. A couple of weeks ago I went to hit the Callaway X460 tour and the FT-3 tour and I could only hit a fade with these clubs. After hitting about 50 balls with the two drivers I was only able to make 4 of them actually turn over. Both drivers had stock shafts in them though. I feel each person is going to have their own take on drivers and being able to work the ball. It is true that the right driver is prolly out there for you. The hard and fun part of the process is trying to find it. Good luck!!!

 

Yooper

[chingali]

I actually think that the golf ball is a HUGE contributor to the workability problems encountered with modern drivers, they tend to go a lot straighter than the balls we used to play. I've always been able to hit the ball in either direction whenever I want to, but in the last 5 years I have found that the amount I am able to move the ball has decreased considerably. Up until a year ago I was still using a Taylor Made Burner Plus 9.5* driver with a DGX100 in it and experienced much the same lack of workability with it as I do with my newer 455cc driver (still with a DGX100 in it at 43.5" - yep I'm an old skool kind of guy).

 

Last christmas I went away for a week with some mates to play golf and since there were three of us in a car with luggage I took an old carry bag I hadn't used for years to save space. In the bag I found a dozen old Titleist Pro 100's (balata) and I played all week using them and I found I could work the ball a LOT more, I could move it 20 yards right to left or left to right instead of the 5 or 10 yards I am now used to. That being said though, if I turned one over too much or blocked it, it went a hell of a lot further off line as well.

 

All being said, I'm hitting a lot more fairways these days, and that has to be a good thing regardless.

[Yellow Jacket]

My 400cc 905S has no problem making the ball fly crooked :)

[alcap26]

another option you could look into is the smaller Bridgestone Drivers...I believe the J33p is supposed to be more "workable" versus the more straighter hitting 460. I think the moi and forgiveness of these drivers is what makes them harder to work. Good luck in your search....don't be afraid to give the b-stone a try.