What does it mean when............

[Legend McSniff]

You hit your 5 wood nearly the sames distance as Driver?

I do, and its really bugging me.

Possible reasons i've come up with.


a) I need more loft on my Driver

b) That 45" shaft is too long to effectively control

c) My Driver head has a hairline crack in it

d) That bargain driver shaft i bought on ebay was a bargain for a reason

e) Actually, 460cc Driver heads are not a great idea for many people


I dont make a 'big move' at the ball and rely on timing and a good release for my distance so i'm thinking A + B and a bit of E.

What do you guys think?

I can feel a 'thriver' build coming on............

[danattherock]

I would certainly hit a friends driver and compare results. You could have a crap driver/shaft, sure.

However, it is also possible you can control the shorter and smaller head of the 5W and this allows you to strike it in the center of the club face. That is where you get max distance of course. Most folks would be surprised how much off center hits effect distance. If this theory is correct, it means you are not hitting the driver near the center of the club face. But with the 5W you more consistently do so. Get a pack of the impact stickers and you will know immediately. I keep a pack of them in my golf bag for similar uses. Very handy.

With that said, your Ebay shaft could be the weak link. I would definately use a quality driver and see if you get the same results. A stranger on the range might even let you hit their driver if you told them what you were doing.

Lastly, what is the ball flight of your driver? Too low? Too high? This could be another factor to consider.


-Dan

[mx6262]

sounds like you need to work on your driver, grip pressure maty be the cause to start. Grip pressure is a forgotten key to good golf shots.....have fun...

[DaveLeeNC]

Assuming that there is no physical issue with the driver, then I would assume that (for some reason) your driver 'fits you badly'.

A launch monitor and someone to intelligently interpret the results is the most efficient path to an answer, if that is available to you.

It is also possible that your driver swing is 'particularly bad' in terms of angle of attach and clubhead path (possible, but not the most likely).

dave

ps. What is your ballflight with your current driver and same for the 5w. Plus what are the respective specifications (loft, shafts, lengths, etc). BTW, 460 cc heads are MUCH more about forgiveness rather than being inherently longer on solid hits.

[Legend McSniff]

Thanks guys, in response.

 

"I would certainly hit a friends driver and compare results. You could have a crap driver/shaft, sure"

 

My regular playing partner is built like a fully grown male Silverback, so his 46" xtra stiff will hold no answers for me!

 

 

:cheesy:

 

No launch monitors near me. My flight with my Driver is a low to medium height draw. the odd hook, the odd push, i never slice and rarely fade. I'm not missing many fairways, the ball looks good in flight but then you get to it and its just not as far as you expect it to be.

 

The 5 wood is a high draw as standard, quite a big draw actually, maybe 20 yards?

 

Its a Wishon 919thi Head 13 degrees which should be plenty of loft??

 

The shaft is an Aldila NV65, i appreciate this is a low launch shaft and thought it would go well with the more lofted driver head? Its 45". I bought the shaft for £10 on ebay which i know is well below market price, could it be dodgy?

 

The nearest range to me is about 90 minutes, i might have to make the effort at the weekend.

[russc1597187869]

b,c,e
A crack in your driver is a big red flag.Buying on ebay is sometimes questionable.Tiger woods used to play a 43.74 inch driver.Anthony Kim grips down on the driver grip

[danattherock]

Buy a new driver. Might not be the problem, but it will be fun

[Dizz]

99% of people need more loft than they think. Go out and ask a big pool of golfers what driver they play and a majority they tell you 9.5 stiff. Nothing more, nothing less...funny, the tour average is higher than that. Also, many players think they hit the ball too high and always wanna hit the lowest lofted drivers you have. The problem with that is, they don't hit it too high they have all their weight on their back foot and spin it 5000 rpm's. Another problem with modern drivers is shaft length, most OEM's are going longer and longer and longer. When unless you hit it out of the middle of the face everytime this is actually counter productive. My opinion, it has nothing to do with 460cc and everything to do with loft and shaft length. Did you say your 5 wood had 13 degrees of loft?

[bryanr]

There are a lot of factors that could affect the ball flight, and even small quirks can have significant impact.

Here are some rough example numbers using TrajectoWare :

5 wood 18°, 95mph club speed
Carry distance: 197 yards

Driver 13°, 100mph club speed
0° Angle of attack (driver moving horizontal at impact)
Carry distance: 232 yards

Let's say you're hitting down on the ball and delofting a bit with your driver.
-2° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 223 yards
-3° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 209 yards

You can see how much distance you lose as your driver attack angle becomes more and more descending.

If you're missing the sweet spot by just a little you could be losing another 10 yards there. The cracked driver head is also a concern. There's no easy way to test it, and if it is robbing the ball of velocity, it's the same as hitting it off the sweet spot. That could be another 10+ yards there.

Best bet would be to spend some time on a launch monitor. You'll be able to see what's going on at impact and look at ways to optimize. The shaft you have may be a culprit but it's still possible that it's a good fit (it's not a cheap shaft material-wise) and it's just your swing that needs adjustment.

[MonteScheinblum]

Thanks guys, in response.

 

"I would certainly hit a friends driver and compare results. You could have a crap driver/shaft, sure"

 

My regular playing partner is built like a fully grown male Silverback, so his 46" xtra stiff will hold no answers for me!

 

 

:cheesy:

 

No launch monitors near me. My flight with my Driver is a low to medium height draw. the odd hook, the odd push, i never slice and rarely fade. I'm not missing many fairways, the ball looks good in flight but then you get to it and its just not as far as you expect it to be.

 

The 5 wood is a high draw as standard, quite a big draw actually, maybe 20 yards?

 

Its a Wishon 919thi Head 13 degrees which should be plenty of loft??

 

The shaft is an Aldila NV65, i appreciate this is a low launch shaft and thought it would go well with the more lofted driver head? Its 45". I bought the shaft for £10 on ebay which i know is well below market price, could it be dodgy?

 

The nearest range to me is about 90 minutes, i might have to make the effort at the weekend.

 

Sounds like physical issue with the driver as you listed.

 

One more possible swing issue not just for you, but in general for all golfers. Because of the longer club and tendency to make a longer swing to hit driver harder, many people have too long of a backswing with driver. The arm swing takes over for the shoulder turn and there isn't enough speed to accelerate the club all the way through the ball and distance is lost.

 

I see this issue often.

[Legend McSniff]

[quote name='bryanr' timestamp='1288798466' post='2772149']
There are a lot of factors that could affect the ball flight, and even small quirks can have significant impact.

Here are some rough example numbers using TrajectoWare :

5 wood 18°, 95mph club speed
Carry distance: 197 yards

Driver 13°, 100mph club speed
0° Angle of attack (driver moving horizontal at impact)
Carry distance: 232 yards

Let's say you're hitting down on the ball and delofting a bit with your driver.
-2° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 223 yards
-3° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 209 yards

You can see how much distance you lose as your driver attack angle becomes more and more descending.

If you're missing the sweet spot by just a little you could be losing another 10 yards there. The cracked driver head is also a concern. There's no easy way to test it, and if it is robbing the ball of velocity, it's the same as hitting it off the sweet spot. That could be another 10+ yards there.

Best bet would be to spend some time on a launch monitor. You'll be able to see what's going on at impact and look at ways to optimize. The shaft you have may be a culprit but it's still possible that it's a good fit (it's not a cheap shaft material-wise) and it's just your swing that needs adjustment.
[/quote]


That post is why I love this forum.

[dlam]

I noticed the same problem with my 3wood and driver. Sometimes my 3wood ball flew further than my driver even though my ball speed was higher!!!

The angle of attack and ball speed and where you contact the ball on the driver are the major consideration IMO

I can usually get 5-10 mph faster with my driver than my 3wood that should give me extra 10-20 yards IF other factor spin rate and attack angle is constant with the 3wood.

Trouble was the other factor changed too when I tried the driver vs the 3wood.

I was hitting to much down on the driver and lost carry distance. If you can hit up like the LGA or LPGA players you can optimize the carry a bit.

The huge head on the driver is another consideration. The5,4,3 woods are usually smaller head and is much easier to hit the sweetspot
So it is harder to mishit a fairway wood.
The larger face depth of the driver makes mishit easier. Off center hit will reduce the smash factor so check that out on the swing monitor if that's the problem
With the driver its harder to get instant feedback from the FEEL of the swing like I can get from. 3wood. I know instantly if I mishit a 3wood. I hit it off center on a driver I don't have that instant feedback.

Hitting off center isn't bad. Players want to hit off the top center of the driver to reduce the backspin. The lower in the face the ball rebounds of the driver the more backspin. This would reflect on less forward roll on the driver but I don't think it would signifigantly change the carry

Having said all that.
What do you expect from a driver?
Refering to golf digest what's in my bag. Most touring pros seem to have average 20-35 yards more on their driver vs 3wood
I am sure the reason is faster ball speed. Less negative angle of attack(or in some cases positive angle of attack)
Lower spin rates.

[offapex]

I'd bet big money that it's center hits. with the 5wood you're hitting it in the sweet spot. driver you're hitting it all over the place. you're probably also putting a lot of distance robbing spin with the driver.&nbsp; buy some tape and see where you're making contact with the driver versus 5wood.<br>

[nitram]

[quote name='bryanr' timestamp='1288798466' post='2772149']
There are a lot of factors that could affect the ball flight, and even small quirks can have significant impact.

Here are some rough example numbers using TrajectoWare :

5 wood 18°, 95mph club speed
Carry distance: 197 yards

Driver 13°, 100mph club speed
0° Angle of attack (driver moving horizontal at impact)
Carry distance: 232 yards

Let's say you're hitting down on the ball and delofting a bit with your driver.
-2° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 223 yards
-3° Angle of attack (driver descending at impact)
Carry distance: 209 yards

You can see how much distance you lose as your driver attack angle becomes more and more descending.

If you're missing the sweet spot by just a little you could be losing another 10 yards there. The cracked driver head is also a concern. There's no easy way to test it, and if it is robbing the ball of velocity, it's the same as hitting it off the sweet spot. That could be another 10+ yards there.

Best bet would be to spend some time on a launch monitor. You'll be able to see what's going on at impact and look at ways to optimize. The shaft you have may be a culprit but it's still possible that it's a good fit (it's not a cheap shaft material-wise) and it's just your swing that needs adjustment.
[/quote]

Very well said Bryan.

It also means you need to find the time and resources to go to someone who can fit you for the correct driver. If it's the one you have (with a non-cracked head) so be it. The peace of mind knowing you have correct equipment for [u]your[/u] numbers is worth the price and effort to gain them.