Opinions please

MarcusP12

Hi folks,

Just looking for a few opinions on my driving in so far as is possible from a thread like this....

Basically, i'm curious as to why i'm not getting more distance from my flushed drives than seems to be the case.

Context...I'm a bit of a flipper with clubs. Started out with an M2 2017 and although it was a bomber when i hit it, at the time my misses were wild and costly so changed to a more forgiving Ping G Series. In this case, the misses weren't so bad but felt i was losing a bit of distance....my longer term plan was to pick of a Cobra F9 which i did and have been gaming this since the courses reopened....I've been impressed as its easy enough to hit and the shot dispersion has been good but when i really feel like i crushed it, I'm underwhelmed by the yardage....

To bring figures into it....from garmin app ...M2 average 244 yds, max 285 (freakish drive), Ping ave 234, max 272...F9 ave 248, max 263......so based on those figures, im obviously more consistent with the F9 as my average and max are closer i would say.......i sometimes drive with a TM M4 3HL and to be honest, when i catch that, its not that far behind my usual length with the F9 and i've actually a longer drive with it......

My thinking is that maybe i'm losing distance because the shaft isn't right for me.....i'm fairly sure stiff is right for me but the cobra is 70g i think (elements chrome), the M2 is 65g and the ping 55g....I was recent put on the launch monitor in American Golf and got a free lesson before the lock down and my swing speed was around 105 so i'd say in practice it would be anything between 100 and 105mph.....my flight with the F9 would be middling...i.e. not too high or low i would say...natural shape is a draw...

Any thoughts? would tweaking the loft get more carry for example? Obviously getting "fitted" would answer a lot of the questions but lets assume thats not a runner, unless say i wanted to change the shaft.....I'd even be tempted to go back to the M2 to see if my swing improvements mean its more playable than this time last year when i parked it....

Thanks for the opinions!

mike12

The M2 was very forgiving so not sure that's the issue.
70g is heavy and would reduce swing speed and distance.
105mph would be bordering on xflex.
Are u also measuring drives from winter and post lockdown when the ground was hard with loads of run.

MarcusP12

mike12 wrote: »

The M2 was very forgiving so not sure that's the issue.
70g is heavy and would reduce swing speed and distance.
105mph would be bordering on xflex.
Are u also measuring drives from winter and post lockdown when the ground was hard with loads of run.

Thanks for the reply....thought i was going to draw a complete blank!

Yeah I'm thinking i might give the M2 another try even just to compare. You see, i did tweak a couple of things to do with my setup which may translate across to the M2 and result in a similar consistency as the F9..

All of my data for the F9 is post lifting of restrictions for ground conditions have been good enough and comparable to the time of the year the figures on the M2 were taken for last year.

Part of my concern is i was expecting the F9 to be a step up given how highly regarded it was from last year. I assumed a 2019 driver (in the correct configuration) would be a step up from the M2 and the G series but doesn't seem to be as clear cut as that...

I was actually thinking of swapping out the shaft for an F8 3 wood shaft just to see how differently it performed....i know it would be slightly shortly but might be worth seeing how a different shaft performs for the craic....

blue note

Firstly, you need to not say gaming. I don't know how it started, but it's stupid. Stop it.

Secondly, you seem to be expecting a lot from changing driver. It has far more to do with how you hit it (regardless of what it is) than what it is. Having the right driver for you is more to do with tweaking, it'll yield noticeable, but modest improvements. I've been fitted and upgraded from a ten year old driver. My swing speed was slightly faster than yours and I was using a regular shaft. And I've noticed modest improvements with my new club. I notice much better improvements when I remember to concentrate while swinging.

Thirdly, I'd take garmin averages with a pinch of salt, especially with the driver. Mine currently says I average 259m with my driver. I certainly do not. I think it takes out the outliers (mi****s) which is good, but I'm not sure it takes out the biggest ones. Since the lockdown I've hit a decent percentage of drives around the 270/280m. These are not normal, they're downwind with plenty of run. With no wind, slope, average temp day if I had to carry something with my driver I wouldn't take on more than 220m, and even at that I'll probably wuss out of it and take an easier line.

MarcusP12

blue note wrote: »

Firstly, you need to not say gaming. I don't know how it started, but it's stupid. Stop it.

Secondly, you seem to be expecting a lot from changing driver. It has far more to do with how you hit it (regardless of what it is) than what it is. Having the right driver for you is more to do with tweaking, it'll yield noticeable, but modest improvements. I've been fitted and upgraded from a ten year old driver. My swing speed was slightly faster than yours and I was using a regular shaft. And I've noticed modest improvements with my new club. I notice much better improvements when I remember to concentrate while swinging.

Thirdly, I'd take garmin averages with a pinch of salt, especially with the driver. Mine currently says I average 259m with my driver. I certainly do not. I think it takes out the outliers (mi****s) which is good, but I'm not sure it takes out the biggest ones. Since the lockdown I've hit a decent percentage of drives around the 270/280m. These are not normal, they're downwind with plenty of run. With no wind, slope, average temp day if I had to carry something with my driver I wouldn't take on more than 220m, and even at that I'll probably wuss out of it and take an easier line.

Thanks for the feedback! On your first point, yeah, sorry about the using of "gaming", didn't realize it was so divisive! I agree that "is in the bag" or something similar is better!

On your second point, i get what you're saying. Maybe i was reading too much into the hype of it. It has been more consistent however i put that down to tweaks in my set up as much as anything else.

On your third point, again, i get what you're saying and i agree, a pinch of salt is required. I'm not basing it solely on the averages, more so the occasional drive which i feel i couldn't have hit that much better and when i arrive at the ball and check the distance, i'd be a little underwhelmed with how far it would have gone without any mitigating factors like a head wind or soft ground, etc. Also, the fact that my max with it has been a good 10-20 yds less than my other two drivers i find a little odd given how well i feel i had been hitting it compared to them. If anything, i'm swinging a bit faster than i did with the M2 so can't quite put my finger on why i'm not seeing my absolute best drives with the F9 keeping up even with the G series....

It just got me thinking that maybe the set up is not right for my swing and if the shaft was a different spec, i might be getting and extra 10 yds or something...

eggy81

MarcusP12 wrote: »

Thanks for the feedback! On your first point, yeah, sorry about the using of "gaming", didn't realize it was so divisive! I agree that "is in the bag" or something similar is better!

On your second point, i get what you're saying. Maybe i was reading too much into the hype of it. It has been more consistent however i put that down to tweaks in my set up as much as anything else.

On your third point, again, i get what you're saying and i agree, a pinch of salt is required. I'm not basing it solely on the averages, more so the occasional drive which i feel i couldn't have hit that much better and when i arrive at the ball and check the distance, i'd be a little underwhelmed with how far it would have gone without any mitigating factors like a head wind or soft ground, etc. Also, the fact that my max with it has been a good 10-20 yds less than my other two drivers i find a little odd given how well i feel i had been hitting it compared to them. If anything, i'm swinging a bit faster than i did with the M2 so can't quite put my finger on why i'm not seeing my absolute best drives with the F9 keeping up even with the G series....

It just got me thinking that maybe the set up is not right for my swing and if the shaft was a different spec, i might be getting and extra 10 yds or something...

I use a ping g5 driver most of the time. Its a 9 degree. I can't hit any driver I've tried further on a consistent basis. Tried the M6 driver and while id very rarely hit a massive hook or slice which does happen occasionally with the g5 i just couldn't hit it anywhere. I'll stick with it another while.

MarcusP12

eggy81 wrote: »

I use a ping g5 driver most of the time. Its a 9 degree. I can't hit any driver I've tried further on a consistent basis. Tried the M6 driver and while id very rarely hit a massive hook or slice which does happen occasionally with the g5 i just couldn't hit it anywhere. I'll stick with it another while.

Sounds like you're in a similar boat.....surely the M6 with all its technology advancements relative to the G5 should be outperforming it, if all else we equal? Or maybe I'm a marketers dream in how i think when it comes to golf equipment!

RoadRunner

I don't think you're far off the mark for how swing speed maps to distance. You should be able to google around and find tables of how swing speed maps to average distances.

From the info you have posted, I'd guess that you are a higher spin player. M2 lower spin than Ping G etc and bearing out in the distances you posted. You haven't mentioned spin anywhere. You could try a lower spin head - at a fitting or Pick up the original M2 which was very low spin and should be quite cheap now there's newer stuff out. Although if you are hitting fairways @260 with the current GAMER :pac: then doing nothing is also a good option.

eggy81

MarcusP12 wrote: »

Sounds like you're in a similar boat.....surely the M6 with all its technology advancements relative to the G5 should be outperforming it, if all else we equal? Or maybe I'm a marketers dream in how i think when it comes to golf equipment!

My reading of it is that the shaft I had in the g5 just suited me. I know the exact point in my swing where I'm letting g the club off and feeling the shaft delivering the head to the ball and getting feedback to my hands through it. I personally get none of this from the m6. Just feels dead in my hands. But that could be the effect of all the tech reducing the cost of off centre hits and bad swings. I. Not to sure. I love the g5 to be honest.

MarcusP12

RoadRunner wrote: »

I don't think you're far off the mark for how swing speed maps to distance. You should be able to google around and find tables of how swing speed maps to average distances.

From the info you have posted, I'd guess that you are a higher spin player. M2 lower spin than Ping G etc and bearing out in the distances you posted. You haven't mentioned spin anywhere. You could try a lower spin head - at a fitting or Pick up the original M2 which was very low spin and should be quite cheap now there's newer stuff out. Although if you are hitting fairways @260 with the current GAMER :pac: then doing nothing is also a good option.

Yeah good point on the spin side of things.....that could be a factor alright....might research a bit on the shaft maybe to see if that might be an issue...low spin high launch is king i think for driving.....i suppose its impossible to know without being put on to a launch monitor and i'm kind of hoping to come up with ideas without going down that route at the moment! Also a good point on the do nothing side of things....i have struggled a little with the driver lately but that could be down to a lack of trust in the club due to the distance thing so maybe i need to just take a step back and not worry too much about the technical reasons why its not going 10/20 yards further than my head thinks it should....

Henry Ford III

How good a player are you?

MarcusP12

Henry Ford III wrote: »

How good a player are you?

Jays, difficult question to answer! I used to be very good as a kid....maxed out at 9.6...will always remember the putt i missed to get to single figures.....fell out of the game for a long time and only now getting back into it in my early 40s....consistency is an issue...tee to green i tend to be pretty decent....for example, i'd be disappointed if i didn't hit the green from say 170 odd yds in or say with an 8 iron in or at a stretch 7....i would go so far as to say i have the long game of a high single figure golfer but the short game of a 20 odd handicapper...i just can't chip and too many 3 putts. its not unusual for me to scratch a hole from the edge of the green if for example i can't putt from off the green....i will also rack up 2/3 scratches in a round....last time i had a card in my hand, i had 32 pts off 14 which includes 2 scratches for example...like an awful lot of people say i'm sure, if i could find a short game and eliminate the hole killing misses, i'd be comfortable off single figures...

From reading the above, i know i should be focused on my short game instead of worrying about why i'm not hitting 10/20 yds further but that's a whole other thread to be honest!

srfc d16

I think you have already answered your own question here and you should focus on your short game.
If you can reliably hit a green from 170 with an 8 iron distance off the tee probably isn't an issue to your scoring.

MarcusP12

srfc d16 wrote: »

I think you have already answered your own question here and you should focus on your short game.
If you can reliably hit a green from 170 with an 8 iron distance off the tee probably isn't an issue to your scoring.

Yeah no you are right on that alright but its not really what i set the thread up for really. If i asked how to be a better player then, improve short game all day long. But i was specifically looking for thoughts around the driver distance thing....its just a source of mild concern is all....

BTW, i never said i reliably hit the green from 170, just that I'd be disappointed I'd say maybe 2 out of 3 would be on the dance floor at a guess from inside that...

Ottoman_1000

MarcusP12 wrote: »

Yeah no you are right on that alright but its not really what i set the thread up for really. If i asked how to be a better player then, improve short game all day long. But i was specifically looking for thoughts around the driver distance thing....its just a source of mild concern is all....

BTW, i never said i reliably hit the green from 170, just that I'd be disappointed I'd say maybe 2 out of 3 would be on the dance floor at a guess from inside that...

I have to 2nd srfc here, driving and your long iron game does not seem to be your issue. At the end of the day golf is about improvement, there is no point tormenting yourself on why 1 driver is going it 260 yards and the other only 250 and when your GIR is 66% from 180 yards to boot. But you scratch holes from the edge of the green due to chipping and putting deficiencies...the reality is the most likely difference in your driver distance between each driver is down to slight variance in your swing, alignment/swing speed etc...

MarcusP12

Ottoman_1000 wrote: »

I have to 2nd srfc here, driving and your long iron game does not seem to be your issue. At the end of the day golf is about improvement, there is no point tormenting yourself on why 1 driver is going it 260 yards and the other only 250 and when your GIR is 66% from 180 yards to boot. But you scratch holes from the edge of the green due to chipping and putting deficiencies...the reality is the most likely difference in your driver distance between each driver is down to slight variance in your swing, alignment/swing speed etc...

Don't disagree at all with what you are saying and as I've said before, if i was looking at advice to lower my score, its all about the short game...and i am working on that....

But i wouldn't rule out the benefit of squeezing an extra 10/15 yds out of a good driver from something like a better shaft match (as an example)....for no other reason then it means you're hitting a club less on each hole that you get the benefit...the shorter the iron, the more likely to hit the green. For someone like me with a $hit short game, more specifically with chipping, whereby i'd be increasing the chance of taking that aspect of the game out of play, what's probably more of a gain for me than others who are competent chippers, if that makes sense. There was a time, a long time ago, where i didn't need to be able to chip because i'd hit GIRs or be just off the green....can think of plenty of occasions where i'd hit +1 gross back nines, +2 for 16 holes on one occasion and -1 for 16 on another back in my hey day....but back then i don't think i was nearly as bad a chipper as i am now cuz of less frequent play so probably looking back with rose tinted glasses....

Daniel son

If its bothering you then get on a Launch monitor, check out the smash factor, angle of attack and then your spin rates.

You can smack it as hard as you want but if the angle of attack is putting spin on the ball you are not going to be efficient with any kind of decent swing speed.