A reader recently sent us a driver request that sounded simple enough.
He swings between 110 and 115 mph, can take his good drives around the 300-yard mark and play a PING G430 LST. He had already decided that this would be the year he upgraded. Distance is not his problem.
His problem was that one drive might miss 30 yards left and the next might miss 30 yards right. He would take two or three shots per round and was willing to give up a few yards if it meant keeping more tee shots in play.
So I took his question to the MyGolfSpy Forum. Which of the newer drivers should I try?
There were some specific tips, but the conversation kept coming back to the same answer.
The answer is more complicated than choosing a new driver
The Forum kept coming back to fit because there were too many variables we couldn’t see. Was the problem the head, the shaft, the length, the loft, the setup or the swing itself? Without knowing what happens to launch, spin, ball speed and dispersion when these variables change, recommending a different driver is still partly a guess.
There are a few clear signs in this reader’s question that a fitting is the next step.
Your best records are already good enough
This golfer can hit 300 yards. Finding another five or 10 yards won’t help much if he’s still punching out multiple times at a time. If your best units already have enough speed and range, stop doing it better fired your priority. Find out why bad those cost you so much.
Maybe a new driver will help. Maybe it’s the shaft, loft, length or setup. Without seeing what happens to the numbers when these variables change, it’s hard to know.
Your miss goes both ways
The two-way miss was probably the biggest red flag in this reader’s question.
A Forum member pointed out that a high swing speed does not automatically mean you should play a low head. A large left-to-right dispersion pattern doesn’t automatically mean that moving into a more forgiving MAX-style head is the answer. You want to know more about the launch, spin and the rest of the installation first.
Another answer suggested a useful goal: get your good swings producing good results while making your bad swings more predictable. A fitting is not going to fix a bad swing. What it can do is help you determine if your equipment is making your existing mess more difficult to manage.
You have too many theories about what is wrong
Look at how many possible fixes this golfer came up with.
Should he move away from the LST head? Trying a shorter shaft? Are you going heavier or stiffer? Add loft? Change driver settings? Keep the G430 and work on his swing?
There are too many theories and variables and those start to get into your head on the golf course.
Once the answer depends on what happens to launch, spin, ball speed and dispersion when you change individual variables, it becomes quite difficult to diagnose on your own.
You’ve had the same driver for a few years
The golfer in this example had the G430 LST in the bag for a few years. His swing and his game may not be exactly the same as they were when he first started playing.
If you’re going to spend several hundred dollars on a new driver and potentially keep it in the bag for another three or four years, it makes sense to make sure you’re buying for the golfer you are now. Things like swing speed, your typical miss, launch and spin can change.
Where do you start with a fitting?
One thing I like about the PGA TOUR Superstore the configuration of the adaptation is that you do not need to commit to a full bag when you have a specific problem.
Their menu of STUDIO fittings includes:
- Driver
- Ferris
- Woods and hybrids
- Wedges
- Putter
- Bag full
For this reader, a driver adaptation is enough to begin to answer the question. PGA TOUR Superstore uses TrackMan during fitting and starts with the golfer’s current club as a base. From there, the fitter can test different tests, shafts and specifications against the numbers the golfer has already produced. The adaptation process takes some of the guesswork out of what is actually wrong.
You may not need a new driver
This may be the most useful to take the question of this reader.
The Forum didn’t say that equipment doesn’t matter. We don’t have enough information to know which part of the equipment, if any, needed to be changed.
Perhaps another leader tightens his dispersion. Perhaps the tree or length make the biggest difference.
Getting the numbers first gives you a much better chance of knowing before spending hundreds of dollars on another driver.
That’s the idea behind it too MyGolfSpy’s Find A Fitter Near You tool. The test can show how the equipment works in a group of golfers. A fitting helps you determine how the equipment will work for you.
The place We Asked Which Driver This 115-MPH Golfer Should Buy. No one chooses one appeared first MyGolfSpy.
