Looking for a new driver

SuprSi

I'll be in the market for a new driver next weekend and was wondering if I would be better off opting for something like the Taylor Made Burner or whether I should go to a Pro Fit shop and have a club custom made? I would imagine that the head on the Pro Fit driver won't be as good/long as on the Taylor Made, but will is the shaft or the head more responsible for long, accurate driving?

I'm a mid-single figure handicapper with a relatively fast swing.

conno16

custom cut always the way forward if you can afford it
the experts here will support that view i'm sure

Dolph Starbeam

I'm in the same situation, i am testing a Titleist D2 this evening, i have a Cleveland launcher 460 at the minute but block quite a few so will probably get the pro to fit it for me.

Mister Sifter

Sounds like you need a Titleist d2 909 with a stiff shaft and 9.5 degrees loft. Then again, that's only cos i have one for sale!!

But in all seriousness, even if you don't get custom fit, go to a place where you can at least try out a good few different models/makes. I'm the king of buying drivers without trying them first... it has ended in tears every time.

SuprSi

So I'm guessing the Titleist is a good driver? They're not too bad a price in McGuirks at the moment either. My current driver is 5 years old so I'd imagine any new driver will give me a bit of extra length but naturally enough I want to be sure.

Mister Sifter

SuprSi wrote: »

So I'm guessing the Titleist is a good driver? They're not too bad a price in McGuirks at the moment either. My current driver is 5 years old so I'd imagine any new driver will give me a bit of extra length but naturally enough I want to be sure.

If you're changing driver to try and get extra length, i'd go for custom fitting. If it's done properly they can work out which specs will give you a good ball flight, sping rate, club head speed etc.

Of course the Titleist is a good driver, but it all comes down to the individual. I can't hit it out my way, but i played with a guy on Saturday who was deadly with the exact same club.

Going into a shop and saying - "Titleist looks nice and is a good price and has a good reputation - i'll take it" - could quite easily end in disaster. Whatever you do, try before you buy. Even if it's a Slazenger, but works, get the one that suits you.

gerrymadden1

The Pro at my club has got a new demo unit from Cobra. It allows him to interchange heads & shafts in seconds.

You can try out a number of combinations of head, loft and stiffness until you get a club to meet your needs.

I hope the other brands follow the Cobra lead!

I use a Ping G5 driver with a firm shaft & 9 degree loft. I've had it about 3 years and love it's consistency.

Like all golfers in search of that little bit extra, I've tried Cobras, Taylor Mades & even the Ping G10 but I've yet to be even tempted to change from the G5!

PhilipMarlowe

I noticed a similar unit in Kilkenny golf club for Titleist when I was in there recently.
When I got fitted it was a similar system for TaylorMade.
I presume you'd start with a conservative enough clubhead and then screw in various shafts... I remember some of the options felt radically different to each other so it's fairly vital to try out several options and go from there.

markie4

SuprSi wrote: »

I'll be in the market for a new driver next weekend and was wondering if I would be better off opting for something like the Taylor Made Burner or whether I should go to a Pro Fit shop and have a club custom made? I would imagine that the head on the Pro Fit driver won't be as good/long as on the Taylor Made, but will is the shaft or the head more responsible for long, accurate driving?

I'm a mid-single figure handicapper with a relatively fast swing.

If you're genuinely interested in getting a driver that suits you, then go somewhere that does a decent club fitting job eg Fore Golf in Naas, Golf Studio in celbridge, or some titleist/mizuno/TM etc accredited fitter to name a few. They'll have a range of head and shaft combinations and will be able to recommend/advise based on Launch monitor readings what might suit you. Golf Studio in Celbridge, as an example stock Epon, Miura (I think), Wishon and a number of other "minor" manufacturers, as well as stocking a bunch of the mainstream manufacturers.

Really and truly it's the player's swing that's most responsible for long accurate driving, but as a single figure player.....I'm sure you know that.
After that I'd say the shaft, then the head, but to optimise it's all about matching the right shaft head with the right shaft, custom fitting takes out some of the hit and miss out of the process.

What driver are you using at the moment by the way?

SuprSi

Thanks for that advice - I'll check those out. I'm currently using a TM R540 with a stiff shaft. I've always liked it, hence my reasoning behind picking up another TM driver.